Things to do in Bali?

[JKam]

I'm heading there for my brother's wedding in May... I'll be in the Seminyak area so ideally I'd like to stay around there so I can be with some of the other wedding guests. I'll be with my SO, we're not really into the partying scene.

Anyone know of any good places to see, eat and things to do that are in the area?

So far my list is...
- learning to surf @ kuta beach
- waterbom (water park)
- bali safari and marine park

[LiquidTurbo]

http://www.revscene.net/forums/61572...pig-world.html

[JKam]

Originally Posted by LiquidTurbo

http://www.revscene.net/forums/61572...pig-world.html

Yeah I saw that, Do you have any details of actual locations though? I'm going to be really short on time there especially with the wedding so I want to make an itinerary to maximize my experience haha.

[LiquidTurbo]

Here.

https://maps.google.com/?ll=-8.50706...408,115.265411

[JKam]

Ubud area is a little farther than I want to go, especially since I might need to head back to the hotel at a moments notice to help my brother with wedding stuff.. Maybe I'll just stay another day or two since it seems like there is so much more to see and do in Ubud.

[zx7rrrr]

Get laid
Posted via RS Mobile

[LiquidTurbo]

Yes Ubud is worth it.

[sh0n]

I was in Bali for my honeymoon last year around the same time in Nov 2011.

Here's what I recommend:

Hire a driver:
I cannot stress this enough!!!!!

We found our driver on Tripadvisor. Company name is The Bali Driver and Tour Guide. Didi is the owner of the company and we had him personally drive and give us a tour of the Bali for 3 days.
It's pretty good price as it's $40-$45 USD for a 8 hour day (including gas, parking, tolls) and plus whatever you want to tip. Without a driver it would be so hard to get around as I wouldn't trust getting into a cab in Bali.

I'm not saying it takes 3 days to tour the whole Bali but you want to spend some time in different areas. Also the roads are very congested there and the guys on cars and bikes drive like they are in another world. If you think Richmond on a Saturday afternoon is bad, wait till you see Bali!!!

The Areas:

Seminyak:
This is more of the beach resort side where you find really nice beaches and private villas. We ended up renting one here for about 5 days on a honeymoon package and it was great! Villa was a 1 Bedroom 1500+ sq ft with own pool.

I would definitely check out KUDETA (restaurant and beach club). It's fronted along the beach. Food and Sunsets there is AWESOME!!! and cannot be stressed. It's where all the Aussies go. Think about this place as the best beach restaurant club in KITS.

There's one main street in Seminyak, not far from KUDETA that is like the main drag (has all the restaurants (warungs fancy and normal), designer stores) worth checking out but nothing too too special.

Ubud: (45 mins to 1.5hr away from Seminyak)
I actually love this area the most. It features all the cultural, heritage and rural parts.

The rice paddie fields and all the greenery (jungles, forests, whatever) is amazing here!!!!

I would hit up that main wet market (I think this is pretty much the DT of Ubud) where you can buy all the trinkets, souvenirs and knick knacks. Next to the Ubud market is also this lotus temple place which is pretty historical and quite the scenic. The few streets around the area also features pretty cool local artist shops for different types of crafts.

The Roast Pig Place (Babu Galing) is located across from the Ubud market. It's the one and original one. There are other locations which I actually recommend those ones as its cleaner and more tourist orientated.

** Recommend to try the Bali Roast pig but it has nothing on Chinese Roast Pork. Don't want to spoil too much but try it and you'll know what I mean **

There is also a good ATV rental tour service here (3-4 hour tour) where you rent the ATV and go ATV in the rice paddy farmland and jungle.

Jimburan:
Famous beach area where you go for Seafood.
Go here for dinner in a restaurant near the middle or whatever is recommend. You literally sit on the beach, beach side, enjoy the seafood dinner and sunsets.

Historical Sites:
I went to quite a few including Monkey Forest, this temple the north west point of Bali, Elephant Cave, the Volcano, war musuem but all in all they were all MEH for me. So YMMV if you like that kinda stuff

Local Art (Silk making, silver and wood crafting)
It's quite famous there and I recommend to visit the crafting estates (owned by a family that specializes in one of the crafts) and see if you wanna pick up and buy anything yourself.

MUST READ TIPS!!!!!! (Cannot stress enough)
- Make sure you are current on all your vaccines (check with your doctor)
- Watch out for Bali Belly (Traveler's Diarrhea) bring your medicine or get vaccinated. Drink only bottled water and don't trip the tap water. We were very careful (washing hands and watching what we eat) and both ended up getting the runs the whole trip. My wife had it the worst and I ended up not to far from her.
- HIRE A DRIVER (worth the money spent on it - read above)
- Safeguard your passport, money, valuables. Leave money in your hotel safe. Have 2 wallets when you go out or split up the money thats on you
- Observe and respect Balinese tradition and religions (Balinese people are very religious and you'll see alot of it when you are in Bali)

RECOMMENDATIONS:
- KUDETA for sunset with pizza and beers
- ATV'ing @ UBUD
- Visit a coffee plantation (try the Cat Shit coffee) and see the rice paddies located past UBUD
- Eat at Naughty Nuri's @ UBUD. I'm still salivating from there charcoaled pork ribs
- Try the Babu Galing (Balinese Roast Pork). Lots of locations.
- Try Teabolee (herbal teal like soft drink)
- MUST eat Rotiboy (franchise bakery that sells the most fresh and best crispy sweet bun - kinda like a chinese mexican bun)
- Try KOLEGA (clean Balinese home styled food in a cafeteria setting its in Seminyak)

One small observation:
It's unfortunate but the locals have preferential treatment and kickbacks as tourism is a predominate industry in Bali.
- At the Babu Galing place in UBUD they have the menu with no prices. Tourists pay the higher price while local taxi drivers pay the local price. You get the same amount of food.
- It's notorious for drivers to get commission and kickback from the money you spend at the places they bring you (artist factory, restaurants)

Hope this helps with the very long post. Let me know if you got any questions!

[LiquidTurbo]

My favorite restaurant in all of Bali was at Damai Lovina Villa in Lovina.

[sh0n]

One important tip I forgot to mention.

Bring USD as they easily exchange to the Indonesian Rupiah.

For the best rate go into town at the qualified exchange rate places (they are often very small) just look forward in the news paper to see which one is the largest and most qualified.

Make sure to count all your money before you leave. I got pulled quite a few fast ones and a few times I was short 100K rupiah (this is like 10 bucks if I remember correctly)

[LiquidTurbo]

Pro tip, have the 'exit' visa fee ready, otherwise, you will have no choice but to go to the ripoff money exchanger at the airport.

[JKam]

Originally Posted by sh0n

One important tip I forgot to mention.

Bring USD as they easily exchange to the Indonesian Rupiah.

For the best rate go into town at the qualified exchange rate places (they are often very small) just look forward in the news paper to see which one is the largest and most qualified.

So it's better to exchange money when I get there and not prior to flying? I was planning on exchanging money before I go there. I'll be in HK before if that matters.

Originally Posted by LiquidTurbo

Pro tip, have the 'exit' visa fee ready, otherwise, you will have no choice but to go to the ripoff money exchanger at the airport.

Sorry, what does this mean..? What is this "exit visa fee"?

[sh0n]

Originally Posted by JKam

So it's better to exchange money when I get there and not prior to flying? I was planning on exchanging money before I go there. I'll be in HK before if that matters.



Sorry, what does this mean..? What is this "exit visa fee"?

I can answer both questions.

Currency Exchange:
For any type of international travel and when you plan to exchange money abroad it's best to carry USD (more recognized than CAD and you always get the better rate).

Think about it if you are in HK they'll most likely make you convert to USD then to IND Rupiah (as IND Rupiah is considered more an exotic currency then your typical USD, CAD, EUR, YEN, RMB, HK, etc). You'll lose a fare bit in both the conversions.

I would exchange a small amount of IND Rupiah in Vancouver (enough for the cab ride, first few meals) and I would exchange the rest or whatever I wanted to use in Bali (using the USD that's exchanged in Vancouver).

I wouldn't recommend to exchange it in HK for following reasons:
1. No idea where I would go
2. Most likely would get ripped off (as what I stated above).

Another tip is try to avoid using your credit card (unless it's a reputable 5 star hotel or you must make large purchase) I simply don't trust all the fraudulent activity that may go down in Bali.

CASH is KING there and it's easier to settle everything.

Visa Exit Fee
From my memory you are charged a VISA fee when you arrive and also when you depart Bali.

Last poster mentioned that make sure you have enough when you depart or you'll get ripped off exchanging at the Airport. Do a quick Google Search to find out how much the VISA entrance/departure fee for it (take that money and stash it where you'll remember it)

Few last tips:
If you are exchanging money or getting change MAKE SURE to count the bills.
Some of the bills look the same (same color) but what's different is the 0's on the end of it.

I forget which bill it was but I think it's the 1k and 10k bill that looks the same.

[97ITR]

I would skip the Jimburan seafood dinner. It's a tourist trap. Also avoid the so-called glass-bottom boat and turtle sanctuary. You can hardly see anything in the boat and the turtle sanctuary was the saddest thing we ever saw.

Do hire a driver to take you around. We enjoyed the parasailing and elephant rides.

BTW, we stayed in the Nusa Dua region and loved it.