In Reply to: tips needed posted by rustee on Friday, 15. September 2006 at 11:22 Bali Time:
There are plenty of maps available on the internet which can be located with Google and printed out. This way, you'll have a pretty good idea of locations and distances well before you actually arrive in Bali.
For a start, you could try baliblog. A very good assortment of maps, probably diagramatic rather than accurately to scale, but easy to follow.
Have a look at some websites on your hotel. At least some of these will probably include location maps.
BTF regular Mic has plenty of info on maps. Type mic maps into the search facility on the BTF home page and you'll find links to maps of everywhere.
In regard to shopping. The markets are very interesting and full of all sorts of goodies, but all involve bargaining. If you've not done this before, it's a good idea to have some prior knowledge of what various things are worth in Bali. Before you try your hand at bargaining, have a walk around Matahari's Dept Store in Kuta Square and Bintang Supermarket up towards Seminyak.