Hi, everyone
Rather lengthy and not new to you maybe, but hope you'll enjoy our Just Back Report (or rather "impressions"). We really feel we're obliged to you and owe you a million for having made our trip so wonderful with your info and advice.
NUSA DUA
is a very comfortable area to be in. It has anything and everything all the vacation resorts have to offer: incredibly comfortable time, extravagant space, gorgeous atmosphere, courteous service, good food and drinks, and so on and on. Things are expensive (in terms of the Indonesian standard of living) but you will get what you pay for. You might say it's un-Bali-like and too much "Westernized," but it IS "a Bali," too. It had everything we had wanted for this trip of ours.
However, we didn't spend too much time in the area during our stay, although we did take some time and enjoy getting around the beautiful sunny beach on the Indian Ocean, canoeing and snorkeling. On a few occasions in the evening when the wind got cooler, we walked to the Galeria and the Bualu, to which areas it was only ten-minute's walk or so from our hotel. We, however, somewhat later found both of them not too interesting (especially after we visited Legian/Kuta and Ubud).
Be careful, there are two types of shuttle buses running in the area: a small one (free) and a large one (like a truck, they charge you Rp.2,000/person).
HOTEL PUTRI BALI (Tel: 0361-771020 / Fax: 0361-771139 / e-mail: putribali@denpasar.wasantara.net.id )
located in Nusa Dua between Grand Hyatt and Bali Hilton, was a cozy retreat. The staff were very polite and friendly. Everything was OK, except for a couple of trifling matters: for example,
.... we didn't like the room we first got because it smelled fusty or moldy, like it hadn't been used for ages (we remembered the movie "Hamnaptra," although it was just a joke, of course, and it wasn't that bad at all, but...) we had a talk with the front desk and after some minutes of "no"s, "full"s, and "not available"s, they agreed to change rooms. We got a room with an ocean view, close to the swimming pool and the beach.
The hotel provides the guests with various free events/activities, which many people didn't seem to know about. We enjoyed canoeing, for example, on Sunday morning, but there were only two of us. About two hours of paddling and floating on the ocean, with occasional gentle waves making us feel like we were in the cradle -- oh, boy, it was Heaven ! I'm sure you will find the similar free guest activities at other hotels, too.
KUTA (JL.LEGIAN)
was, so to speak, a big, long marketplace, we thought. We had a great time shopping and eating there. We took a taxi (Bali Taxi, a light blue one) from our hotel to Kuta (we asked for a metered taxi at the hotel). A little more than Rp.15,000 and about thirty minutes' comfortable ride.
As was posted on the Forum, we saw practically no hawkers and stalls along the street. According to a taxi driver, they got evacuated into Central Park about two months ago. He told us nostalgically he missed the busy noisy street, adding that he thought the number of the tourists seemed smaller, the street looked staler, and the prices were higher than ever. However, we did see a few "time-shares" and "transport /taxi" (no pushy at all) and pushers (who tried to sell drugs; serious or joking ? we couldn't know).
*** as to the tourist numbers, see Tourist Numbers posted by LOnnie on Thur 19 Aug 99 ***
My wife had a leather jacket tailored at the Dolphin Leather (on Jl.Sehadwa near Jl.Melasti) for Rp.600,000. Good soft leather and excellent job. We paid Rp.200,000 (deposit) there and when they delivered it to our hotel two days later when it was done, we paid the rest. The price was very reasonable (I mean, fairly "inexpensive" for the quality and the job), and my wife was more than satisfied. The staff were all very polite, helpful, and very well-skilled. We highly recommend this shop.
MONEY EXCHANGE
is something we always sort of "enjoy" wherever we travel, for the reason we ourselves don't know for sure. We somehow just get "excited" to get the foreign money; I guess it is the money or the act of exchanging that makes us feel we are definitely in a foreign country.
We exchanged some amount at the Denpasar airport. There were several exchange booths, and the last one closest to the exit offered the best rate, which was no worse than those offered elsewhere.
In Kuta, we went to P.T.Central (which was recommended by many on the Forum), but, Ah, you too, Brutus !, here at P.T.Central, too -- rip-off !!! We went there three times and every time they gave us less than what we were suppose to get (each time exactly the same amount less: intentional !), and only after we pointed it out did we get the right amount. The amount does matter, but it's not only the amount but the act of cheating, the rip-off, that bothers us more.
We exchanged money at some other places, too, where the rates were not better, but we decided we wouldn't mind it, since, unless you're doing business of millions of dollars, it's not a big deal, you're talking about just several dollars difference after all.
UBUD
we found, was a small but nice and interesting town. It takes about a little more than an hour from Kuta by Perama shuttle bus (Rp.10,000). The Perama buses run to many places (even to the other islands) for the very reasonable fare. Better make reservations in advance. (Perama Tourist Service: Jl.Legian Kuta / phone: 751551 or 751875 / fax: 751170 // Jl.Hanoman Ubud / phone: 973316 or 974722)
We were so very sorry we had only a short, limited time to spend; there were so many interesting things and places you would want to stay years to see, do, and visit -- we stopped by at one gallery (sorry we don't remember the name) and watched a painter working on the traditional Bali picture, enjoyed talking to him about not only the Bali art but also about various things, mostly cultural matters, of Indonesia, Bali, and of our country, and a half day was gone -- we stopped by at the market, which is on the corner of Jl. Monkey Forest and Jl. Raya Ubud, a fantastic place; hundreds of thousands of stores and stalls squeezed together. You could find anything and everything Bali here (although we were not interested in having lunch at any one of the stalls). You would want to spend hours and what Rps. you have. Again, a half day gone -- see ? you couldn't have too long vacation.
We went around by bike. We rented them near the Perama bus terminal (Rp.15,000/day for two bikes). There were some ups and downs but they weren't a big deal at all; we really enjoyed biking around, occasionally stopping here and there. The cars and motorcycles were not as unfriendly as they were warned on the Forum (you would feel a lot more scared in some cabs; you would feel as if you were in the racing car).
Well, it's been already too lengthy, and I think we'll stop here. We have more to tell you, but please let us save it for another occasion. We thank you all again, especially those who responded to our posting, Larry, Sandi (sorry we didn't get the chance to visit your town), and many others. Let us tell you finally that on returning we've already started planning the next trip to Bali :) Ciao
Tee & Jay (^^)/~~~