whoa.... I finally read your long rant.... which now makes me worry a little. my driver seems to be very friendly on the conversation between us. he charges us slightly cheaper than other drivers' quotations. hmm... now really makes me worried...... hopefully he will be the exceptional one.

once again, thank you for your detailed review.

hi can share with me your driver info.Will be goin to bali on may want to find a friendly driver

If you want, i have a supir i can recommend, he is friendly and charges cheap (Rp 350k whole day)
Only thing is he is a bit pushy.

I go to Bali almost every year and i have a cousin who lives there, which means i am quite familiar with Bali and have been to most of the touristy and non-touristy places.
So last two weeks when i took this supir, i told him i only wanted him for one day as my husband has never been to Tanah Lot, Kintamani etc so we wanted one day to do these things.
He gave us free airport transfer to hotel when we arrived, which was quite nice of him but once in the car, he started planning the day's activity.
I told him that we just wanted to rest today as we had an early flight and we're tired.
He said he'll bring us to a shop for lunch and after that we can discuss.

After lunch he kept pushing us and said that he'll take us to Uluwatu and Jimbaran today.
I told him again that we wanted to rest and we'll just be walking around Hard Rock and Kuta Beach today, then he said he can take us there.
I told him i know the way to the beach as this is not my first visit but he said it's easier if he brought us and showed us the sights along the way.
After a while  he agreed and told us he will pick us up tomorrow for Tanah Lot.

Everything then went fine. Actually he is quite young, funny, can speak english and indonesia/malay so it was a very relaxed trip filled with jokes and all.
But at the end of the day he again planned for tomorrow to go to Jimbaran etc.

So to cut things short, if you do not have a plan, he can definitely recommend where to go and what to do.
Which is super helpful i guess.
But since i've been here before and i just wanted to relax, meaning i did not want to visit the pura, or go to Uluwatu, Lovina and all tourist destinations, it is really quite annoying.
My cousin lives in Seminyak and i wanted to go there and he was like "tak ada apa situ, it's the same as Kuta and Legian, just shops".
But that was what i wanted, i did not want to go to Turtle Island or Goa Gajah but that was where he wanted to take us.

If it is your first time and you want to see all the must see places, take him, he knows a lot and can help you plan your trip.

If you want, i have a supir i can recommend, he is friendly and charges cheap (Rp 350k whole day)
Only thing is he is a bit pushy.

I go to Bali almost every year and i have a cousin who lives there, which means i am quite familiar with Bali and have been to most of the touristy and non-touristy places.
So last two weeks when i took this supir, i told him i only wanted him for one day as my husband has never been to Tanah Lot, Kintamani etc so we wanted one day to do these things.
He gave us free airport transfer to hotel when we arrived, which was quite nice of him but once in the car, he started planning the day's activity.
I told him that we just wanted to rest today as we had an early flight and we're tired.
He said he'll bring us to a shop for lunch and after that we can discuss.

After lunch he kept pushing us and said that he'll take us to Uluwatu and Jimbaran today.
I told him again that we wanted to rest and we'll just be walking around Hard Rock and Kuta Beach today, then he said he can take us there.
I told him i know the way to the beach as this is not my first visit but he said it's easier if he brought us and showed us the sights along the way.
After a while  he agreed and told us he will pick us up tomorrow for Tanah Lot.

Everything then went fine. Actually he is quite young, funny, can speak english and indonesia/malay so it was a very relaxed trip filled with jokes and all.
But at the end of the day he again planned for tomorrow to go to Jimbaran etc.

So to cut things short, if you do not have a plan, he can definitely recommend where to go and what to do.
Which is super helpful i guess.
But since i've been here before and i just wanted to relax, meaning i did not want to visit the pura, or go to Uluwatu, Lovina and all tourist destinations, it is really quite annoying.
My cousin lives in Seminyak and i wanted to go there and he was like "tak ada apa situ, it's the same as Kuta and Legian, just shops".
But that was what i wanted, i did not want to go to Turtle Island or Goa Gajah but that was where he wanted to take us.

If it is your first time and you want to see all the must see places, take him, he knows a lot and can help you plan your trip.

Mind to share your supir 
I been to bali b4(follow tour) now bringing my gf and 2 other friend to bali since it their 1st time to bali going on a free and easy trip,i plan bring them to uluwatu,jimbaran,tanah lot and Kintama Volcano.
Is there any min day to rent your supir like some i ask they say must be min 2 days and they charge me 420k rph everything in also it not very flexible as they already plan your ittennary.

Ok, i PM you this evening, since his number is in another phone.
I dont think there is a minimum, since i only took him for one day.
But i guess if you want to take 2 days or so he'll give you free airport transfer to and from hotel.

Hmm, when you say they plan itinerary meaning if they say go to Lovina, you must go there?
Or they tell you what can be done in one day?
Because if you want to go to Uluwatu and Jimbaran, this can be done in one day, but you cannot squeeze Tanah Lot and Kintamani in the same day because you'll be going opposite directions then.

If you want, i have a supir i can recommend, he is friendly and charges cheap (Rp 350k whole day)
Only thing is he is a bit pushy.

I go to Bali almost every year and i have a cousin who lives there, which means i am quite familiar with Bali and have been to most of the touristy and non-touristy places.
So last two weeks when i took this supir, i told him i only wanted him for one day as my husband has never been to Tanah Lot, Kintamani etc so we wanted one day to do these things.
He gave us free airport transfer to hotel when we arrived, which was quite nice of him but once in the car, he started planning the day's activity.
I told him that we just wanted to rest today as we had an early flight and we're tired.
He said he'll bring us to a shop for lunch and after that we can discuss.

After lunch he kept pushing us and said that he'll take us to Uluwatu and Jimbaran today.
I told him again that we wanted to rest and we'll just be walking around Hard Rock and Kuta Beach today, then he said he can take us there.
I told him i know the way to the beach as this is not my first visit but he said it's easier if he brought us and showed us the sights along the way.
After a while  he agreed and told us he will pick us up tomorrow for Tanah Lot.

Everything then went fine. Actually he is quite young, funny, can speak english and indonesia/malay so it was a very relaxed trip filled with jokes and all.
But at the end of the day he again planned for tomorrow to go to Jimbaran etc.

So to cut things short, if you do not have a plan, he can definitely recommend where to go and what to do.
Which is super helpful i guess.
But since i've been here before and i just wanted to relax, meaning i did not want to visit the pura, or go to Uluwatu, Lovina and all tourist destinations, it is really quite annoying.
My cousin lives in Seminyak and i wanted to go there and he was like "tak ada apa situ, it's the same as Kuta and Legian, just shops".
But that was what i wanted, i did not want to go to Turtle Island or Goa Gajah but that was where he wanted to take us.

If it is your first time and you want to see all the must see places, take him, he knows a lot and can help you plan your trip.

Hav ya'll ever wondered y these supirs r so pushy when it comes to which place to go n to eat?

Hav ya'll ever wondered y these supirs r so pushy when it comes to which place to go n to eat?

i think it all comes down to commission. they made a deal with certain shop owner, and if they bring tourists to their shop, the driver will get commission. it's a very popular "thing" all over indonesia

Hav ya'll ever wondered y these supirs r so pushy when it comes to which place to go n to eat?

Just wondering, is your supir's name Hans?

hi can share with me your driver info.Will be goin to bali on may want to find a friendly driver

No need to wonder, everyone knows they earn commission.
And furthermore independent supirs earn daily, meaning if they dont have anyone to bring on a specific day, they won't get paid.
Which is why this supir really wanted me to use his service, like the day when he picked me up from airport he wanted to take me to Jimbaran etc so that i will pay him for his service i guess.
Since most supirs rent cars, they have to pay the rental for that day, and when i didn't use his service, he'll be at a loss to cover the cost for the rental.
Common knowledge.

Time to contribute back to the forum.

I've read thru v2,v3 and v4 in around 2 weeks ... lolz ... imagine my dizzyness digesting all the info that i can get 
So far, i found v2 has the most useful info. Now i'm going to give some update on the current situation/food in Bali.
Firstly, bali is not cheap. Especially if it's just two person travelling together.
It's affortable to travel in large pack ( eg. 6 and above ) and stay in backpacker hotel all the way in one town (eg. kuta, legian, seminyak, sanur )
I spend around rm1.3K just for food and driver for each person. I stayed for 6 days and 5 nights.
I ate at all recommend places but that doesn't mean i eat like a king

My earlier mission was to travel all around bali and cramp all the activities as much as possible.
Here is my detailed itinerary:

Day 1:
-------
Arrive at airport around afternoon.
          Lunch : Malioboro Ayam Tulang Lunak
          Check In Legian Hotel.
          Free & Easy : Check out Legian Beach, Walk along Legian road, Shopping
          Dinner : 66 Cafe
          Free & Easy : Walk till Kuta, Shopping

Day 2:
-------
Free Breakfast in Hotel
          Bedugul/Tanah Lot Tour :

Dinner: Naughty Nuri
          Check in to Ubud Hotel
          Free and Easy : Walk along ubud center, Shopping
          Supper : Pizza Bagus
Day 3:
-------
Breakfast in Hotel
          Kintamani Tour :

Dinner : Cafe Wayan
          Free & Eazy : Walk along ubud center, Shopping
Day 4:
-------
Breakfast in Hotel
          Hired driver for 4 hours : Ubud Market
                                              Lunch : Bebek Bengil
                                              Krisna @ near airport
          Check in Jimbaran Hotel
          Free & Easy : Spa, Rock Bar, Dinner ( stuck in the hotel    )
Day 5:
-------
Free Breakfast in Hotel
          Uluwatu/Jimbaran/Nusa Dua Tour :

Free & Easy ( in the hotel , stuck again )
Day 6:
-------
Free Breakfast in Hotel
Hotel Transfer to Airport
I did change a few things from my original itinerary due to driver and weather.
After the 2nd day, it started to drizzle a lot in the evening.
You can't visit much in the hot weather .
If i'm going back to Bali, i prefer to visit the northern places/temples and spend more time there because it's cooling.
Recommended places to visit:
---------------------------------
After day 1, i realised that you can only visit 1 or 2 temple in a day.
That means 3-4 places in a day. You do not need to fill up all the 10 hours of the drivers time.
Maybe from 8:30am till 3:30pm is enough. Usually it takes 30 min till 1 hour to reach a place. ( Thankfully, i have been in only 1 traffic jam in entire trip )
Yes, you have to start your trip early as it gets hot even at 9am. Have more free and easy time to enjoy the town and your hotel .

In bali , they have many different temples to "guard" over them. You can even see them praying almost everywhere.
Some of the temple has very nice area, here is some of my personal favourites:

1)Ulundanu Bratan Temple - Temple near a huge lake. The space is huge and wide, windy and cooling . Feeling like having a picnic there .
The reason that it's cooling it's because the land is near the foot of the mountain.

2)Holy Spring Water of Tirta Empul ( Tampak Siring ) - Temple with holy spring water. The place is hot but nice to look around.
They have a nice stretch of souvenir shops like Tanah Lot Temple.

3) Monkey Forest - Temple in a forest. The forest felt like well kept and untouch for at least 1 century.

I did not recommend Tanah Lot Temple because it's over commercialised. I went there at 9.30am and it's already packed.
Worse thing is that i can't walk near the temple because of high tide. You able to walk near the temple like those in the picture only at certain day of the month ( low tide ).
Taman Ayun is small and hot. You can't even go in the temple area as it's sealed. Uluwatu is fine if you can hike . There is a lot of stairs and uneven pathway.
The same reason why i didn't insert Bersakith Temple into the itinerary as you need to hike nearly 25min before reaching the temple.
I choose to watch Kecak Dance in Uluwatu ( there is kecak dances in different places ) because i heard that it's one of the best . To my dismay, after the rain , the sky is cloudy.
The Kecak Dance is worth to watch for only once because the story telling is a bit slow. There is ppl leaving at the first 20mins of the show.
At least i do get a piece of paper explaining the story and their costume grade is not bad.

There is a place not yet introduced in the forum, which called Bali Collection in Nusa Dua. A nice place to walk and hang out. ( Shopping if you have the dough ).
Basically, it's a nice well kept which have high end shops, fixed price souvenir shops and good restaurant. ( Most restaurants offer free transfer back to nusa dua hotels ).
The place lets you walk straight one end to another. There is 3 gates, from Gate A till Gate C, it takes around 20min of slow walk .

As places to buy souvenirs for yourself, i recommend only 2 places.
1) Ubud Market.
To my surprise, most of the place refuse to haggle properly. Most of the time if you haggle near 50%, they rather let you go and wait for the next customer.
That includes, sukawati and candi kuning ( fruit ) market. They insist to sell me 15K idr for a small bali pineapple.
Ubud market is different. Cleaner than sukawati and their souvenir felt more "updated". They also have food market behind. Maybe you can buy your own ingredient and cook in your villa .
You also can find people selling kuih muih and packed food . We manage to haggle till less than 50% all the time in ubud market 
2) Holy Spring Water of Tirta Empul shops
Clean , more "updated" souvenir and able to haggle.

Lastly, I personally felt that Krisna Shop is only for souvenir ...  for family and friends. They have dirt cheap gifts there and you can buy in bulk .
The things that you want might not be in Krisna. So please do not place Krisna as your last hope for cheap souvenir for yourself .
Tips on languages:
---------------------
In Bali, they do have their own dialect which none of us can comprehend.
For formality, they will use what they call "Bahasa" to communicate with us. It's similiar to our bahasa, you just need to use/exchange different selection of words.
Older people might not know bahasa.

Boleh change to Bisa
Sedap change to Enak
Sudah change to Udah
Balik change to Pulang
Pukul 6 pagi change to Jam 6 pagi
Pada Hari 6 Feb change to Pada Tanggal 6 Feb

You can call all male as Pak, Female as Bu. It's more respectful.
Or you can use less formal calling, male as mas, female as bak ( shortcut from ermbak )

Other meaning that you might need to know
Girl = Cewek
Boy = Cowok
Parent = Orang Tua
Free = Gratis
Toilet = Kamar Air
Dating = Pacar
Tired = Capek
Evening = Soleh
Traffic jam = Macet
Souvenir = Olek olek
Driver = Supir
Review on visited Food
-------------------------
One thing i learned from bali's food is ... DO NOT order anything that says crispy ^^!
It's true that they are crispy but it's nearly tasteless. Mostly deep fried from skin to the meat.
That includes ayam tulang lunak, goreng garumi ( a type of fish ), crispy bebek bengil ( duck ) and crispy babi guling ( pork ).

Malioboro Ayam Tulang Lunak
Pros : Salt egg Ayam Tulang Lunak ( not bad ) , juice ( but everywhere juice is around the same , range from 15K to 35K and you are good to go )
Cons: The chicken is quite tasteless and hard to eat. Expensive .
Overall : Won't be visiting again 

Naughty Nuri ( in Ubud , they have one more in Seminyak )
Pros: BBQ sauce is good. Portion is quite big on certain food.
Cons: Everyday the vendor with provide the restaurant with limited ribs. I was bad luck. That day the shop sold out their ribs in 2-3 hours.
They ready around noon, when i get there around 4 plus, the ribs are gone T.T
Overall : Service is not that good as they are always busy. But i still want my ribs T.T

Pizza Bagus
Pros: Cheap and large selection
Cons: Not authentic
Overall: Service is not bad, it's ok if it's not for main meal 

Bu Oka Babi Guling ( 3rd branch in Ubud )
Pros: Food is between normal and good. Portion normal.
Cons: We actually have to stand for 10min to line up for seats and 15 min for the food to arrrive.
Overall: Go when not hungry and don't expect memorable gastronomical food 

Cafe Wayan
Pros: Quite good. We order their nasi campur special, mee goreng ala bali and special crepe. Service is good.
Cons: A bit pricey.
Overall: It's our 3rd day, to be honest, finally we got to taste some delicious bali food !
We order everything special of the day and of the week ( except for the mee goreng ).
Definitely will come back 

Bebek Bengil
Pros: Quite good except for the bebek itself.
Cons: Duck wasn't a personal favourite , so we end up order nasi campur again with crispy bebek.
You can order marinated smoke bebek the day before but it's quite pricey.
Overall: Food is quite good , large menu and pricey like Cafe Wayan.

Minang Saiyo
Introduction: Introduced by my driver because i keep pestering them for local food. Opens 24 hours.
Like every restaurant nasi padang i have before, they will plate all their dishes before you when u sit on the table.
Don't worry, it's just small portions. You pay what you eat. Their specialties is ayam pop, basically a curry chicken that is being fried till dry
Address: Jln By Pass Ngurah Rai Tuban, Tel : 0361754328
Comment: This is a special review because this restaurant have not been introduce in the forum yet.
Nasi padang is my personal favourite. Price is not expensive.

Lia Cafe
Pros: Quite cheap. Nice environment. Sauce not bad , just a bit too sweet at times.
Cons: Felt that the food is boiled and then only bakar. And their seafood mainly is frozen, not fresh.
Overall: Ordered the 300K idr package. Quite filling for 2 person. Will only return if it's convenient.
Rant Section:
Read at your own risk. I will take down the post if majority thinks that it's unsuitable.


 
Thanks for reading.

can, no problem, why not I only tell you the review after my trip, then I can be more accurate mah. alright? =)

Well, thts the prob with these supirs, is there any driver service tht is purely for taking us to where we want to go specifically? I mean all i know we can plan our itenerary all we want but it doesnt mean tht these supirs will agree to it, based on my previous exeprience we basically had to fight with our supir everyday just to get to places where we wanted to go just because he wanted to go to places where he can get his commision n finally we gave up, seriously not a pleasant experience

Really? What a shame u had those supirs! The previous supirs i had were all really nice.
Like during my previous trip i told the supir i did not want to visit those silver, wood carving places and i did not want to go to Goa Gajah and he did not question me and took me where i wanted to go instead.
Even the supirs i had in places besides Bali were great.
It was just this one supir who was a bit pushy.