In Reply to: Questions for a first timer...pls help posted by dim76 on Wednesday, 9. February 2005 at 12:14 Bali Time:
Just got back a few days ago & really appreciated the advice that others gave me before I went ... so now it's my turn to help out with some advice
1. Much easier to pay VOA with cash - just get American money from the bank back home before you go. Saves time & hassle.
2. Seafood Restaurants - best ones are at Jimbaran Bay. Great atmosphere for sunset dinner & fresh as. Our fave was Sharkeys & the musicians that come around & play for you make it that much more special. Well worth the 15 minute drive from the Padma. Just make sure you catch a pale blue taxi as they are legit & have meters running. Some other taxis on the street will rip you off by charging astronomical prices. If you really want seafood near Legian we ate at Gosha on Jalan Melasti - the food was good, but we were the only ones in the restaurant, so not too much atmosphere. The food is all very reasonably priced.
3. My partner brought back ~ 100 DVD's. Customs were no problem as we only had 1 copy per DVD. If you have numerous copies of each DVD, that's when whey get sus that you may be selling them back home. At Rp10,000 per DVD (AUD$1.45) you can't go wrong. Just check the DVDs in the shop on their DVD player before you buy to make sure the quality is good. This is a normal practice, we found, so they're OK with it. DVD shops are everywhere so you can get a good range of just about everything you want. Just don't buy the most recent releases (i.e. within the last few months) as all the copies we checked were poor quality & in the end the girl told us that all recent releases are the same no matter where you buy.
4. My partner & I & another couple of friends stayed at the Padma for 11 nights in a Deluxe Chalet & we all loved it - wouldn't stay anywhere else. It's my 2nd time at the Padma & I love the place. The pool is fantastic - we would take our drinks down after we got back late from dinner out & swim from midnight till the early hours of the morning as the weather was so great. I so miss my Padma buffet breakfasts - they're amazing! The Japanese buffet dinner (Tuesday & Friday nights) is well worth staying for. It's a taste sensation!
5. Dept stores - Kartika Plaza on Jalan Kartika Plaza has only been opened a few months, so its modern, airconditioned & a nice change from being harangued out on the streets. The prices are more expensive than on the streets but generally the quality is better. Next door & to the right of the plaza on the beachfront is a cool little restaurant/café called Atmosphere. It's only been opened a month or so & is a great place to go & chill out for a cold Bintang & a snack or dinner on the balcony lounges. One of our favourite little places. When in the plaza, head out the back door towards the beach, turn right & keep walking till you spot the white lounges on the balcony.
Must do's:- La Lucciola restaurant in Seminyak for a sunset dinner, Koris restaurant down Poppies Lane in Kuta, snorkeling off Lembongan Island, Bodyworks 2 in Seminyak for an Exfoliation massage, The Living Room in Seminyak, to name just a few. Enjoy!!