In Reply to: first timer posted by blueysbali on Tuesday, 24. May 2011 at 17:19 Bali Time:
No.1 Tip - tipping is a good thing to do, good for you and good for them.
Do Not start shopping or bartering for the first couple of days. Give yourselves some time to get used to things and try and find some fixed price shops (Mataharis or Discovery Mall) to get an idea of prices and quality of of goods.
A little piece of paper with currency conversion can be handy if you cant do coversions quickly in your head eg:
9,000 rupiah = $1
20,000 = $2.23
50,000 = $5.56
100,000 = $11.12 etc etc. Can be made up when you arrive.
Be careful and wary of dodgy moneychangers, if the rate is too good to be true, it NORMALLY is.
Dont pack too much as you will need space to bring back all your shopping :)
Try and visit a market or two, they can be very interesting and plenty of bargains to be found.
Make sure you do a few tours either with tourist companies or by yourselves.
If your thirsty, an icy cold Bintang is refreshing and quenches your thirst quickly.
Make sure you have a massage. They are wonderful and at 50,000 per hour - approx $5.50 its great value.
But most of all smile, be happy, dont worry (everything will be alright and it WILL) and have a fantastic holiday.