I was never really attracted to beach holidays let alone surfing. So, understandably, Bali, famous for its surf beaches, was not on my to go list but nonetheless, I was invited by friends and last week a couple of friends and I went on a trip to Bali. I thought Bali was all about beaches, but I soon found out there is a lot more to it.

Earlier this year we had purchased Airasia flight tickets to Bali during a promotion so we got the tickets at a reasonable price; RM300++ for return tickets. We also booked Tune hotel rooms (single rooms for all three of us) for just over RM50 per night. We spent 4 nights there. TIP: Interestingly enough to save money on the flight baggage, we only booked 1 ticket with 20KG baggage where all of us will put our baggage under his name. In that way we didn’t need to pay baggage for 3 persons. Besides, we didn’t need that much check-in baggage space anyway.

After a 3 hour flight, we arrive at Denpasar Airport and after getting our luggage we proceeded to get a taxi to our hotel. Taxis use a coupon system where you have to purchase a coupon from the counter. the price differs according to where you are going to. Ours cost IDR55,000 which is about RM28. Extra charges apply for people with surf boards.

The Hotel

So, after 15 mins, we arrive at Tune Hotels, Kuta. There are actually 2 Tune Hotels in Bali, on in Kuta and one in Legian which, both are not far from each other. We checked in and IDR15,000 per room was charged as a deposit.

The room was, well, adequate. You get a cozy (I mean small) room with a bed and a toilet + shower and that’s about all. The room comes with a fan but with a bit extra Rupiah, you can have an air conditioner. But I don’t see why you need it. In the daytime when it’s hot, you are usually out and about, and at night it is surprisingly cool.

Transportation

There are a few ways to travel in Bali. You can rent a car, or motobike, that is if you know your way around Bali, but for newbies, its advisable to rent a car/MPV with a driver. Usually they charge on an hourly rate. 6 hours, 8 hours, 10hours  or 12 hours(which basically is a day). If you still want to rent a bike, good luck to you. The traffic is like crazy and the roads are quite narrow. Signboards were also not that helpful.

But be careful. There are people on the streets offering car rental services, some good, some bad. But it’s cheaper due to “competition”. But if you are afraid of getting ripped off, you can get the services from the hotel. We got the Tune Hotels contracted transport operator to take us around. The fee was pretty pricey though, IDR360,000 per day + IDR100,000 for petrol = IDR460,000  per day which is about RM155 per day.

Money

It’s advisable to change your money while you are in Malaysia as the rates in Bali all are pretty bad. If you have a Maybank or CIMB bank account in Malaysia, you can go to BII and CIMB Niaga ATM machines respectively to withdraw money without any extra charge. But again, the exchange rate you get is pretty bad. So, it’s advisable to change adequate money while you are in Malaysia. If you really need to change money in Bali, beware of the money changers. If you see a money exchanger with an unusually good exchange rate, beware, he might be a swindler. Check whether he has given the exact amount of money at the given rate, they might short change you.

Food

Food is pretty expensive in Bali if you compare it to Malaysian prices, most probably due to the status of Bali as a tourist destination. As Bali is a prominently Hindu, not all eating outlets are Halal.  If you’re a non-halal foodie, you will have no problems eating out. But if you eat halal, it might be a challenge.

Padang Food

But not a big challenge. Fast food is usually halal, and so are Padang or Minang outlets. Most of these establishments will display Halal logo in their premises. For fast food, there are 2 rules you can follow if you to save some money.

1. choose chicken over beef.
2. choose rice over potatoes. (Yes they serve rice as a replacement for potatoes)

But by all means try to avoid KFC because it’s really bad in Indonesia.

Buying gifts

When it comes to gifts, you can either buy them in the big wholesale stores (such as Krisna or Hawaii Bali) or in small stall or bazaars. In wholesale stores, by default you can’t bargain the prices but always bargain at least half price in bazaars or small stalls. Try bargain more if you are really good at it. But unfortunately if you are a Caucasian, you wont get a better price than if you are a local or a Malaysian who speaks Malay. But then again their are many shops selling the same thing, so if one shop doesn’t give you the price you want, go to the next one.

Must Go Places.

The good thing about having a driver is you can discuss where you want to go. He will recommend interesting places to go, but you are the one who has the final  say. But, the driver will usually stop by a few places to bring traffic to a few outlets that offer things to buy (such as coffee plantation, batik factory, goldsmith etc). I’m guessing they are paid to bring you there. But just go along if you want. They will offer you stuff, but never force you to buy anything. Among interesting place you should go are :

Beaches

Kuta/Legian Beach

Nusa Dua

Dreamland

Temples

Bedegul

Tanah Lot

Highlands

Mt Batur

Strawberry farm

Other interesting places

Garuda Wisnu Kencana

Ubud Market

Bali Bombings Memorial

Hard Rock Cafe, Bali

Bottomline

Bali was quite an experience I must say. I used to think it was all about beaches and kampungs (as portrayed in Eat, Pray, Love) but they have beautiful temples, awesome coastlines and rich culture. I really enjoyed the trip although the travel cost was more than I expected. if you have the time and money, Bali is a great place to spend them.