In Reply to: It's so hard to remember posted by Colleen on Wednesday, 23. February 2005 at 23:56 Bali Time:
many friends told us about where we MUST stay and what we MUST do etc. We thanked them all for their help, but took notice of someone who really knew about our likes and dislikes. We didn't want noisy hotels, we didn't want to stay in the middle of "the action". We had friends of many nationalities in Australia, so welcomed the opportunity to meet people from Europe etc, as well as other Aussies.
We divided our first trip between Bali Intan at Seminyak and the Tjampuhan at Ubud and thoroughly enjoyed them both.
Bargaining was never a problem, perhaps partly because I'd experienced it in Southern Europe and North Africa. I also realised that for many of the Balinese people, going into the street or onto the beach to sell things was an economic necessity and I respected that. Although I'm polite and cheerful by nature, I won't be pushed too far and that comes through.
One thing I wish I had known was how poorly paid the drivers are. I don't like the practise of tipping and I'm happy this is not customary in Australia. First time or two in Bali I did not tip drivers. Now I round off upwards on the meter price every time.