100'000 Rupiah. I'm still getting reminders about this tax when I am checking out the air ticket prices at various airlines' websites. I'm planning to go this Sept. Not confident about Oct as I'm not sure if the screwed-up global weather has brought forward (earlier) the rainy season that starts in November.

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Added on July 31, 2007, 2:27 amQuestion to those that have bought way too much stuff or large stuff while in Bali: How do you ship them back? Their postal service any good?


This post has been edited by cjtune: Jul 31 2007, 02:27 AM

Ha sorry for the late reply, din chk this thread until now... ur gf can wear bikini or dun wear also OK..can go topless there too ..U can swim if u dare but dangerous-lah...certain hours the wave is mild that that is the best time for swimming..however for swimming recommend those beach at Nusa Dua or Sanur...

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Added on July 31, 2007, 10:14 amYes still at Rp100K or about RM40. However the same airport tax in Thailand (500bath) oledi incorporated to ticket price recently...dunno when Indon Airport implementing integrated ticketing....

Those seller will know how to arrange for the shipments..Hv not buy any large stone images or large wood carving..but i can see every corner of Bali selling large Buddha or Bali stone carving...U will be suprise some of these carvings find its way in Bangkok as what I found out last week...They even shipped by container load if u want to become a bizmen..I saw 1 advertisement...20ft TEU wood carving for 800Million or something....

This post has been edited by stimix: Jul 31 2007, 12:16 PM

Hi, there.

Which date in October are you going to? I'm going there from 20th - 27th Oct.
Hope the raining season has not started yet.

Hey!!

I'm going on 20th too.. but i'll be there till 23rd only.. its a surprise Birthday escapade for my bf.. due to work, both of us can't take long leave.. so i just plan to relax though.. pray hard that rainy season won't come early this year.....

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Added on July 31, 2007, 9:08 pmPpl.

I booked a package from AA. RM 1500 for 3D/2N at Hard Rock Hotel & air tickets return.. is it expensive or i kena con d ar?

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Added on July 31, 2007, 10:30 pmsorry la, so many questions at 1 time.. is Kuta/HRHB far from Jimbaran or Ramayara? cos i dun seem to find it in the map of Kuta..

also, Stimix, the candle lite dinner by the beach is the seafood at Lia Cafe is it?

This post has been edited by aLaStIaR: Jul 31 2007, 10:42 PM

Hard Rock is located at the corner of Kuta Beach & within walkingdisatnce away from Kuta Square i.e the 2nd bombing site in 2005. It is fronting the Kuta beach road & Kuta public beach..so effectively it is not a beach resort. I went into Hard Rock and I can tell u it is a very nice hotel.... Kuta & Jimbaran is seperated by Nyurah Rai Airport as u can see from the zoom-down map below:



Lia Cafe is one of many restaurants located at the same Jimbaran seafood centre....They are not famous but probably the cheapest compare wth the middle & more crowded Ramayana...U can check the pricing of those restaurants....

Hey!!! It's such a coincidence!! My flight is 4 sumthing by Air Asia coz the afternoon flight is quite expensive. Are u having the same flight as me?

Me and my bf are going to celebrate our birthday there too!! Coz both of us are borned on 27th October.

I'm still thinking how to celebrate our birthday. Wondering whether is there any cake house nearby our hotel. I'll be staying at Jimbaran Bay by the way.

any idea how much Rp should we bring over there for daily expenses i.e dinner, entrance fees & etc... all the hotel n car rental fees, river rafting, dolphin n snorkeling fees i have oledi calculated, it cost me about USD100..so i have no idea how much should i change for Rp for expenses there?

oh yea, any nice and reasonable price for spa & massage near HRHB? HRH a bit pricey le..

Naah dun really like Bali massage too soft to my liking ..still prefer Thai massage really can feel the pain....Bali Massage is soft type and they noramlly strip u almost naked up to ur underwear & soft massage ur whole body..for ladies, u will need to take-off ur bra too ....My wife abit shy at first... ..after each soft massaage they will clean ur body using kind of flower water....price start fro RP60,000 or RM24 up to as high as Rp150,000....My Spa was located at Seminyak road..I'm sure u can get that rate too along Kuta area or the narrow poppy lane..

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Added on August 5, 2007, 10:45 pmWow..wth ur river rafting, dophin wathcing & snorkelling..I dun think it is enuf.....The snorkeeling fee itself is a killing!!They are quoting >US100/pax normally and after some negotiating, the best they can reduced is at US150 for 3 person..OMG..that's goes my snorkelling trip in Bali...such a dissapointment...Redang also not so expensive!!...Dophin watching will be even worst..I hv seen brochure price all exceeding US$100/pax...similarly to river rafting..not cheap too...for food pricing, In Kuta expect to pay Rp15K to Rp25K for simple nasi goreng or RM6 -RM10 per plate..It is pricy!! however if u dare to take those selling from cart or smaller village u might hit something as low as RP6,000!!...BTW. if can goto Jimbaran seafood for dinner....price of seafood (certain less famous restaurants) is cheaper...see my previous posting...my seafoo0d dinner for 3 only cost me RM26 only...

This post has been edited by stimix: Aug 5 2007, 10:46 PM

hey..i'll be there on 2-5 sept...
by 3 sept i'll be at Ubud oledi...i just stay at Kuta for 1 night...

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Added on August 6, 2007, 9:16 amI have found somebody at Bali there arrange all for us.....so the car rental, river rafting, dolphin watching and snorkeling just cost us about USD84.50 per pax...is very cheap.......some more the price for river rafting is including lunch...

That's y i prepare USD100 for those thing...n i not sure how much Rp should i change to bring there for others expenses....any idea?

This post has been edited by yin1226: Aug 6 2007, 09:19 AM

Wow that's cheap if really true..u can't get this price if u DIY Is it all in 1 package?? BTW do u know the 3 places are all in diff locations & far apart, dun think can complete within a day! If spread within 3 days yes but if really US$84.50 grab it man....dunno any hidden cost..duh....

I brought in Rp3.5million for my last trip and only spent Rp2.8Mil...so if u can get that cheap rate, probably Rp2.5million will do for any othe contingency...

ya...is not a package.....I DIY 1.....i manage to get someone there for car rent, then he say can arrange those the river rafting & dolphin & snorkerling for me also.....i will go to Ayung Rafting, n dolphin & snorkeling will be at the same place which is Nusa Dua (he quote me USD40 for both)...my 1st plan is to go Lovina (he quote us only USD15)....but is too far...my schedule is too pack if i choose there.......so i have no choice..gonna change my plan.... i hope there is hidden charges lah...

This post has been edited by yin1226: Aug 6 2007, 04:44 PM

There is no snorkelling site at Nusa Dua-leh..probably u mean from Benoa to Penida or Limbongan Island....and that Islands are not near....so the price can't be so cheap...Although Nusa dua has a calm beach but the wave level is at the middle of the sea..so it is not recommended for snorkelling..It is also 1sttime I heard about dophin watching at Nusa Dua...Can't find any dophin watching brochure about that in Nuda Dua..Only Lovina!...so better check properly..dun get con b4 reaching Bali!!

yea.. dolphin watching only in Lovina.. don't think Nusa Dua beach have sumthin like dat.. snorkeling oso dun have (never heard before)

do check properly so u won't get con. its easy to get con there. my advice take down any no. listed in this thread then call n ask them.

May I know when is the best time to see Dolphin?

Where exactly is Lovina located?

Lovina is located on the Northernmost part of Bali. u have go thru high mountain and down the mountain to the otherside of Bali. Distance about 110KM away. If I'm not mistaken, the travel brochure did mentioned u need to wake up early in the Morning about 4am and start the journey at ~6am to watch the dophin...price not cheap oh..and chances of seeing of dophin I think also not guranttee. BTW, read that Lovina is a colvano sand beach i.e black sand beach which will makes the sea looks dirty...& thus not a picture perfect location too...BTW, I din go there...so dun take my word 100%...

Finally is my turn to share my experience with you guys ....

1st DAY
Went to KL Sentral, wait for the KLIA Express for about 10 Mins, then get into the KLIA Express on 2:20 PM. Reached KLIA about nearly 2:50 PM and then straight go to the bus terminal and get into the feeder bus to get to LCCT. Reached LCCT then straight away check in already.

Fly ..... Flight depature at 4:50 PM (flying to Bali).... very happy .... Reached Bali at 7:50 PM. Here, the story begin from Bali. As you guys mentioned, need to look for Bluebird Taxi ... Can't find any inside the airport, but a lot of Taxi Driver hunting for passengers outside there ... Some of them even started to grap your luggage, please don't let them grap ur bags ... they are Taxi Driver and some of them very the fierce ... I saw got 1 tourist carrying a big bag ... then after the taxi driver helped him to carry the bag until outside of the entrance, the tourist rejected the Taxi Driver ride, the taxi driver started to ask for Tips Tips Tips .... then the tourist ignored that taxi driver and he started to scold the tourist ... (Not a good impression). So, i manage to walk through those stupid taxi driver ... then go outside, another bunch of idiots waiting outside ... i just ignore them and trying to find bluebird bluebird .... cannot find ... then my gf told me ... Hey, there is a taxi booth over there .... Oh ... then i go there ... Hmm ... quite a lot of ppl queing there though, so i just pay Rp 55,000 to reach my Hotel.

Stayed in Balisani Hotel, RM 80 per night. Then check in the hotel, take a shower and walk outside the streets near by my hotel. The restaurant look like very high class but the food quite cheap. Range from RM 5 - 6 per dish depending on what u ordering. Spend the rest of my night exploring the area around my hotel. Bought a SIM Card there, coz my stupid phone donno why don have international roaming. SIM Card i bought RM 30 with Rp 10,000 inside then i top up another Rp 50,000. Go back to Hotel and started to call Pak Gedel as recommended by our lyn members here. The price is quite reasonable to me at first, coz first time right? So, he said Rp 350,000 for 8 hours and we can go for 4 places. Ok, try to bargain, but in vain and decided to go for it. Close the deal with Pak Gedel and go to sleep .... That's my DAY 1 journey.

2nd DAY
Woke up, shower, take my breakfast in Hotel Balisani (Food quite nice though). Then walk to Hotel Lobby, and a few guys are sitting there waiting for their customer (Tourist). Then i went to reception there and ask, is Pak Gedel here already? Then got 1 guy came to us, yea yea Pak Gedel, i m his brother and he could not make it today that's why he asked me to come. Okie Fine, get into his car, then he asked us (where u wan to go?). So, i said, Pak Gedel promised to bring us to 4 places today. But, he said where u wan to go first? Ok lar ... i was so blur that time, so i showed him a list of places that i have listed down from this forum. Then he said .. ohh ... the places u wan to go is a bit far ... why don i bring u to Tanah Lot and Bedugul first? But you only got time to go this two places. Fine .... follow him .... That's our 2nd day.

Bedugul
1st destination, sightseeing .... see the lake & etc .... Tips: For those that affraid of cool, please bring along your jacket. Luckily my gf did keep 1 jacket for herself in my bag. I personally felt a bit cold though coz i m not wearing jacket. Again, nice view ... can take alot of photos there if you want. On the way down from Bedugul and heading Tanah Lot, that's where the driver introduce us to the Babi Guling at the road side as mentioned by him is very famous. (Don't see much ppl eating there though, probably is again another bullshit from him). Okie, some how i agree with some of the lyn member's comment, the Babi Guling that i ate is not as special as i thought. The skin is as hard as a stone ... lol ...

Tanah Lot
Nice view again... and worth going. But a lot of ppl told me after i came back to Malaysia, they said i should went there during sunset? I donno ... They said so ... So, prepare urself to take a lot of photos as well.

Ended we finished visiting this 2 places before 3 PM. So, we asked the driver ... Since we have some time now, can we go to another place? The driver told us, no no .... is getting late .... you still need another 1 hour to reach Kuta & bla bla bla bla .... Ok fine, then we asked, is there any place that we can go around Kuta? So, ended up he dropped us at Kuta Beach. Nice beach ... full of tourist and do spend another 1 and half hours there.
Went to Matahari shopping mall, bought some instant mee & etc.

Meet up with the driver at 5 PM and he sent us back to Hotel. Reached Hotel also not yet 6 PM. Then we asked him again, what we can do during night time today? He think think think ... then said ... You can go to Kuta Night Market by Taxi. Ok, at the Hotel, asked for hot water coz wanna take the instance mee. The guy send us two small pot of hot water with a bill stating Rp 6000 (I Was like WAT THE f***) , Hot water also need to pay? Nvm ... paid him. Enjoy our dinner at the balcony there with nice view.

Then, go hunt for bluebird taxi and planning to go Kuta Night Market. So, we do asked the taxi driver, what can we do at the Kuta Night Market? He said ... u can have ur dinner there ... and that's all ... Okie ... i was like ... may be he donno speak english ... so i stop asking more question. So, he stopped us infront of a sign board stating "Kuta Night Market". We went down, paid Rp 23,000 and i saw few shops seling food. (Just like you know? In Malaysia those malay stalls that selling food) I was like, God Damn It, is this what you called Kuta Night Market? Cursing the Driver that recommended us to here and cursing the Taxi Driver that drove us here.

Later on, i saw a sign board just opposite the Kuta Night Market saying Kuta Beach ... Cool ... at least is a sign that it is nearby my hotel? I not very sure .... So decided to walk. Walk along the streets and got alot of shops there ... Then ended up we spend about 2 hours + walking back to Hotel. Not that tiring though ... Coz we really take our sweet time walking and exploring the places.

Tips: Never try the food in Kuta Beach Food Court. Especially the Bak So there .... you will regret ....

Back to Hotel about 10 PM ++. Then start calling another number that my friend recommended me. His name is Pak Kadek Putra +62 8133 820 4026 Email: dek_uci@yahoo.com (this guys is cheaper, he offer us Rp 250,000 for 8 hours as well). So decided to book him for 2 days since his price is cheaper.

3rd DAY
Around 8 AM Putra call my mobile. Said he cannot come and asked his friend to come. (At least better than Pak Gedel that didn come but didn inform us). So, he said his name is Ngurah and he will meeting us at 9 AM. As usual, take break fast and at 9 AM sharp we went to Lobby. A guy already holding a peace of paper "Writting my name on it" <-- Cool and proffesional. Went in his car and he start to probe us questions such as first time in bali? Welcome to bali ... where u prefer to go? etc etc ... (Speaks moderate English at least) We tried to speak malay with him but he still insist to use English to reply us. (Very good impression for me) As usual, we showed him the list of places we wanted to go. Then, he indeed quite professional, he recommended us on how we should go for our journey according to my list. He said, okie Today i bring u here here here and here .... tomorrow i will bring u here here here and here.

1st Desination is to a factory outlet that recommended by Pak Ngurah (All items 50% discount already.) But still not that cheap lar ... coz the quality of the items there is pretty good. I just bought 1 sarung for my mom there (Note: He can earn some commision here if not mistaken, but i still willing to let him earn). Then heading to Sukawati, shop around there and pls bargain the price and chop down to 70%.

Along the way, he will explain to you where are we going .... what we can do over there ... and what are the things that we are not suppose to do. (VERY Kind person).

Then he brought us to a restaurant forgot the names, but we ate Nasi Complit & etc (You can ask him to introduce u the place for lunch, coz i got the place from him). Then heading to Uluwatu ... But before that he stopped us some where that i also forgot the names (i think a place called Garuda Wisnu Kencana) From here u can view their city and etc (but not recommend you to go if you are in tight schedule coz they haven't fully develop this area yet). And we ended up around 4:50 PM after visiting quite a few places. Then still too early to go jimbaran beach for sunset + dinner. He given us another suggestion, why don't i drive you to another place called DreamLand? Coz, at first we wanted to go to Nusa Dua beach, but he said we only go there if we want to play water sports, but i told him no lar ... we don wan. Then, he said don wan then no point going there. So, he recommended us to this place called DreamLand. In fact, it is DreamLand, the beach still clean ... and here is where i saw some topless girl though .... Pretty and Sexy ....

After that heading to Jimbaran for our seafood and enjoy the view for sunset. Finsihed dinner at 8 PM and of course heading home. (Coz it is already exceeding the 8 hours as we promised.) But again, i think he don mind because we asked him to recommend us to the seafood restaurant where i think he can earn some commission again. But quite expensive for our dinner, i ended up spending around Rp 500,000 for our dinner.

Reached Hotel, before we go down from his car. He suggested to us, tomorrow pls wake up early har ... i will come to fetch u at 8:45 AM. hahaa ... sounds funny but i appreciate his kindness. He said because i don't want you two to be late for a barong dance tomorrow.

4th Day
Barong Dance at Putra Barong. Another place that he recommended. Again i think he can earn some tips here ... But again as i said ... no matter how many places that he brought us to, and i willing to give him the chance to earn it .... (But i don really recommend you guys go for Barong dance unless you really wanted to see their culture. Kind of boring for me and expensive though Rp 50,000 for 1 person.

Heading Kintamani, our main objective. And as usual, he will stop a few places before your main destination ....
Then we went to Tengalang & etc etc.

Had our lunch at Kintamani (buffet with Rp 60,000 /person). Nice view from the restaurant. Pay for the view but not the food ... hahaa

Tips: Kintamani and Tengalalang a lot of ppl selling items ... sigh sad to say but i will still advice you all not to look at them and their items are freaking cheap. (Out of imaginations) Then after that i asked Pak Ngurah, why is it so cheap? He said because they are very poor and they are just kidding about their price, they wanted you to stop and look first.

Oh ya ... before Kintamani i think he brought us to a shop called Agro Wisata. Selling Bali cocoa and coffee and ginseng tea. Worth to go and worth to buy even though the price is not cheap. But the quality is good. (again i think he earn some commission. So you have to judge urself whether worth or not. Personally, i felt very very very much worth it compared to the first driver i went through)

And then he drop us at Ubud and that's where we do most of our shopping. The price is same at Sukawati but a lot more choices.

Then he drove us to a SPA that he recommended. (Kind of expensive and the balinese massager are kind of lack of experience <-- Don't recommend you guys to go). And after the SPA around 8 PM, we asked him to drop us at Carrefuore there. Here is where he really give us a very good closing by Thanking us .... Hope that he gave us a very enjoyable moment with him & etc .... (Again, to me this is very professional).

Both day that he took me out i pay him after the trip. And both days i also given him Rp 10,000 as tips .... Not much, but i think he appreciated it.

5th Day
This is our final day, and i still haven't gone to beach for sun bath ... hahaa ... That's why i plan everything to the last day for my free and easy travelling there. Sun bath at kuta beach, walking distance from our hotel. sun bath there for 2 hours. Then had our lunch at KFC (Not recommended, the fried chicken is worse than Mc D over there). Then spend a lot of time walking there shopping there and looking for our final SPA ... keke ... really spoilt ourself a lot. Compare the price .... and ended we decided to walk back to the SPA beside our Hotel.

This is where i found very very nice SPA that i must recommend to you all. The name of the SPA is Melasti SPA. Please go if they still having 50% discount. If not then it might be a bit costly. 2 Hours SPA normal price is Rp 340,000 and after discount is Rp 170,000 excluding 20% tax. But, very very very experience lar the girl .... I really like it so much. They even help you to shower a bit after the SPA. Coz, some areas like our shoulder and our back is hard to reach ... so she will help us. But i asked my gf, did her girl did the same to her? Then she said noooo ... hahaa ... i guess i got special treatment? Again, you judge yourself. But i truely recommend you please go this SPA center. Professional ....

After SPA heading to Airport lo .... That's our journey end .... Very very tiring ....

Ok, first of all, very very sorry for my long winded story but i just wanted to share

Things must do
1. Please call Pak Ngurah if you don mind trying (081 239 82306)
2. Tanah Lot
3. Bedugul
4. Kintamani
5. Jimbaran sunset
6. Melasti SPA
7. Ubud <-- for the girls to do their shopping

Overall comment of the Driver
1. Professional (Speaks moderate english)
2. Willing to learn (Keep asking us how to speak this and that in English)
3. I saw him reading some story books while waiting for us inside his car. (He is already an uncle but yet to stop learning)
4. I rate him 4 out of 5

Balisani Hotel
1. Nice environment
2. At least got hot water for shower
3. Food is acceptable
4. Just beware of the receptionist there, they might tends to recommend you this and that to earn commission.
5. Just quite fark up with the Hot Water that we order which cost me Rp 6000 .... $%!@#!$%!@#
6. Quite clean.
7. I donno how to switch off the aircond, so it was on for the 4 days stay over there.
8. TV No Remote control ... But not much TV Show to watch one ... a bit sien ....

Cost
1. Air Asia free tickets only pay the TAX RM 350 for 2 person
2. Airport Tax when we return Rp 100,000 /person (AGAIN !@#!#@!$!@#! ) Coz, i thought i have paid when i pay in Air Asia Tax. So, i finished all my Rupiah before heading to Airport. And the customs (f***er) asked us to pay RM 100 for two person, i was like !@#!@#!$!@# RM 100 is Rp 260,000 !!! He earn my Rp 60,000 (I cursed him till now !!)
3. Taxi & Driver - Around RM 400+ for 2 person
4. SPA - around RM 350 for 2 person
5. Hotel - RM 350
6. Shopping - RM 300
7. Food - RM 400
8. Miscellaneous - RM 200

Total Cost:
Around RM2450 for 2 person.

Lastly, i hope everyone would enjoy your trip to Bali and this might be the last message to post in this thread .... hehee ... of course i might share with you all some of the photos. But let me take some time to resize it ... coz too big .... hehee .... Take care all !!!

This post has been edited by jootat: Aug 11 2007, 11:05 AM

Here are the photos ....

Nice-nice..so u covered almost all the famous attractions oledi...but too bad also few bad incident ho..like ur 1st day driver & etc..wondering the Dreamland beach is it far from Geger beach..from ur description look like either the same or somewhere in between Nusa Dua & Uluwatu

The seafood wow so expensive wan-ah..u din check the price first?? or to the one I recommended earlier... ..The bali spa...wah they bath ur whole body...strip u naked too hehe..I was almost naked & the massager even pull part of my underwear (Bck side) during the massage ..my wife even worst got strip topless during the duration of the massage ..However dun really enjoy Bali Massage compare to Thai massage...atleast they dun strip u to underwear & really painful massage...

This post has been edited by stimix: Aug 11 2007, 12:09 PM

hehe ... in fact i just tried my best to describe what i can only. I skipped quite a lot of details already. Coz i scared i will bored someone reading it.

And the dreamland that i mentioned i do uploaded the photo here. And to get to the beach, we have to go into a guard house where we have to drive through a development area. IF not mistaken, they are building that area for those Rich ppl coz there got Golf court and the houses there are bunglos .... Just like what we see in Tropicana here. But toward the end of those housing are, we can reached the beached that i so called it DreamLand.

And yea, have to strip and they gave us the disposable underwear. I don feel shy at all lar ... Coz i was expecting this to happen one. And yea, they do pull down my underwear when they applying the body scrupt on my buttock ... hahaa ... But of course infront they don pull down anything ... (It is a very healthy body massage). And about the shower, the girl just help me to pour the water lar ... i m still wearing my disposable underwear when i go into the bath tab. Then after the girl will leave the room and leave us inside shower one. So, don feel shy or anything to be naked. Unless u r shy to bath together with ur gf ... then that's different story ...

About the seafood? hmm ... i did check for the price and i din just expect it to be so expensive lo ... If u look at the photo i uploaded, there is a dish for the Prawn, big prawn .... 4 prawn = RM 100 ... half of our whole dinner already ... hahahaha .... but the prawn is really fresh and big ....

This coming October i m returning to Bangkok again for 2nd time. This time i gonna try the body massage there. Coz during my last trip i didn manage to go. hehe ....