BALI - can anyone offer advice

[pumpjack]

need to get away from this hell hole pattaya for a week ,    thinking either vietnam or bali.  

anyone in the know can offer me some advice please on either, prices ,  hotels,  visa .  i obviously want some girl company 

tips tricks & pitfalls 

cheers in advance guys

jack

[siam2007]

Bali can be the same hell hole as Pattaya (including traffic jams and the Chinese invasion) if you stay at the wrong places, and lovely and beautiful if you stay at the right places away from the hordes (AMED comes to my mind).

Girl company will be not that easy, now that the government has proposed a law that outlaws all extra-marital sexual activity. Stay at international chains to avoid problems.

For many nationalities, a 30 day stay is now Visa-free, you just get a stamp in your passport same as in TH.

The Rupiah is extremely weak at the moment, so you can get real bargains. Think of 15€-20€ for a VERY decent room with AC close to the action (and mess) of Kuta/Legian. GRAB is operating there, but local Taxi Mafia is fighting and attacking them so be careful. Newbies will be detected and invariably be ripped-off. Still, it is a beautiful place, the Balinese are lovely people (keep in mind most of the crooks hail from Java), you will find out when you make the effort to explore roads and villages off the beaten path.

And even Shopping malls (Beach Walk) offer lovely sunset views whilst sipping a Latte or a famous JUS ALPUKAT (Avocado Juice with Choco Topping)

[pumpjack]

4 hours ago, siam2007 said:

Bali can be the same hell hole as Pattaya (including traffic jams and the Chinese invasion) if you stay at the wrong places, and lovely and beautiful if you stay at the right places away from the hordes (AMED comes to my mind).

Girl company will be not that easy, now that the government has proposed a law that outlaws all extra-marital sexual activity. Stay at international chains to avoid problems.

For many nationalities, a 30 day stay is now Visa-free, you just get a stamp in your passport same as in TH.

The Rupiah is extremely weak at the moment, so you can get real bargains. Think of 15€-20€ for a VERY decent room with AC close to the action (and mess) of Kuta/Legian. GRAB is operating there, but local Taxi Mafia is fighting and attacking them so be careful. Newbies will be detected and invariably be ripped-off. Still, it is a beautiful place, the Balinese are lovely people (keep in mind most of the crooks hail from Java), you will find out when you make the effort to explore roads and villages off the beaten path.

And even Shopping malls (Beach Walk) offer lovely sunset views whilst sipping a Latte or a famous JUS ALPUKAT (Avocado Juice with Choco Topping)

great info...im going..thanks so much for your time

[BEVUP]

Be prepared to be Haggled to death & they may even keep chasing you

[pumpjack]

is it dangerous ?

should i change thai baht before hand here in thialand ?

prices of taxi from airport to katu ?

best town or city to stay & see ?

 

thanks

[BEVUP]

8 minutes ago, pumpjack said:

is it dangerous ?

should i change thai baht before hand here in thialand ?

prices of taxi from airport to katu ?

best town or city to stay & see ?

 

thanks

Just treat it like Thailand 

You can change their  

Not know Q3

Q4 Depends on your nature

[phuketrichard]

I was there last Oct for 2 weeks, did a 10 day trip around the whole island by motorcycle.My last previous trips were in 2002/94/88/84

 

The island is terribly congested with way to many bus's an cars. Traffic in and out of Ubud was backed up for hours each day, Kuta.... less said the best. ur hassled all the time,( one thing i disliked is having a 10 year old ask me if I wanted a massage) >i was there in the Low LOW season as MT Agung was set to blow and parts of the east coast were closed. Lake Batur is really nice but no longer can u drive aorund the volcano  as the trucks hauling out rock back it up for hours but great views. Nice places on the north coast right on the beach for 300,000-400,000 IDR /night; air con, breakfast and tv (although no english language channels, except in Kuta) which is great value, high season i am told the price triples. Food is so so and EXPENSIVE, (I live in Phuket)  lots of places tag on  17% tax!!

Was approached for ladies ONLY on the street in Kuta, didn't hit the bars or clubs but i understand loads of freelancers.
i cant even think of trying to be there in the high season, must be hell.

 

Where as before Bali was magical, now its just an overpriced holiday island for Chinese and Australians. 

As above the Balinese are wonderful people when ur away from the tourist area but....

ONLY place food was cheaper than Phuket, was MacDonalds and Burger king

Fried noodles and fried rice at a small local place, was over 100 baht> Bintang Beer thou is a great deal 1,500 IDR for large bottle an delicious ice cold

 

1. should i change thai baht before hand here in thialand ? You can change at airport or at money changers which are allover. BUT check the rate, as it really varies a lot

2. prices of taxi from airport to katu ? from airport to kuta, best i got was 140,000, from kuta back to the airport 70,000 (from same hotel)

3. best town or city to stay & see ? I really liked Mt /Lake Batur area, and Amed beach,  Udud ...used to be nice, now just to dam crowded...

 

 

As far as bartering goes, I found i needed a plug adapter for my thai plugs.

went out on the street and found them1st price 150,000 IDR ,over 340 baht. i knew they were like 100 baht in Phuket, so offered 50. he laughed at me and said 100.

walked away, went to another shop, found one, offered 50 and the lady accepted it>

Tee shirts, started at 100,000, got them for 40,000

Edited May 6, 2018 by phuketrichard

[InMyShadow]

Since OP is in Pattaya it makes sense he will want to stay in the heart of the tourist action where you will see a million Australians mostly youngish on the piss 24/7

 

Went once..never again (im oz)

[Argus Tuft]

On 05/05/2018 at 7:58 PM, BEVUP said:

Be prepared to be Haggled to death & they may even keep chasing you

+1 to this

 

In the tourist enclave of Kuta, the amount of scammers is a pain.  They are relentless touts.

 

And for money changing, be aware.  There is an ongoing scam even at official looking FX booths.  They count out the local currency in front of you, and then hand it to you.  In between there is a very subtle sleigh-of-hand where some notes get dropped back in to the lap of the counter staff

 

Always make a point of counting the money clearly as soon as they hand it to you

 

Aside from the above scaremongering (these are valid points though) - once you get away and explore the rest of the island, you can have a great time.  The cost of really beautiful villas is cheap and the Bali architecture is wonderful.  Rooms with huge private balconies that can be enjoyed, rather than a 1 metre wide space with a hot aircon blasting away

[siam2007]

On 5/5/2018 at 7:58 PM, BEVUP said:

Be prepared to be Haggled to death & they may even keep chasing you

 

This statement shows you stayed at the WRONG places.

I have been to Bali at least 15 times, including longer 60-days stays, and have never been "chased"

[siam2007]

I have never been cheated or shortchanged when changing money. Why? Because I only use the reputable money changers there. Bali has some sort of "Superrich" too. I always use one of their two main offices, the one at Jl. Kuta Raya.  http://www.centralkutabali.com/

Their spread is extremely favourable, even for Thai Baht. I suggest you just withdraw some cash from an ATM at the airport (and NO 220-Baht Thai-style extra charge rip-off !!!), buy a snack or two and a drink at different places so you have some small bills to pay taxi or similar, and then later after you have made yourself familiar with the place, you go to a reputable money changer. If you fly ex-Swampy: The two Superrich companies at the Air-rail-link level always have Rupiah at hand, less options at DMK though, as far as I know.

 

Taxi from Ngurah Rai Airport is indeed a rip-off if you use the official counters and there is little chance to escape if you are not familiar with the conditions. Difficult for a first-timer. I always walk out of the airport via the parking exit (where the payment booths are located, and then hail down a leaving BLUEBIRD Taxi that is not allowed to pick up PAX from inside the airport, once it has paid the parking fee and has left the airport compound.

Also, there is a tiny PEDESTRIAN exit, basically just a (legal and official) hole in the fence, used almost exclusively by airport workers or local travelers in the know. I could give further details if someone is really interested to know. From there, you can reach hotels in Tuban or South Kuta in 7-8 minutes on FOOT. I did that two years ago from my hotel in Jl. Kartika and asked myself why I hadn't done this in all those earlier years.

Unlike Phuketrichard (who I believe is actually a seasoned traveler) says, a regular METERED BLUEBIRD CAB should not be more than 40K from any point in Kuta, unless you are stuck in a traffic jam.

GRAB is most useful as is GO-JEK, a reliable homegrown Indonesian app (both offer very cheap Motorcycle taxi rides too). If using regular cabs, ONLY use the GENUINE BLUEBIRD TAXIS. They can only be identified by their large sticker on the front screen , saying "BLUEBIRD GROUP". At least ten copycat companies trying to mislead PAX by using almost identical cabs in colour and with front screen stickers like "BLUE TAXI GROUP".

If you do not use a genuine Bluebird, you will INVARIABLY be scammed. They scam rate is not 60, 80, or 94% percent, it is 100%. In the past five years or so, I have never heard a single story, where one of those cabs did use the Meter.

That is why they hate GRAB and Bluebird and even burn Bluebird cabs or assault Grab drivers.

 

Yes Ubud is crowded too nowadays, and that crowd is almost 100% mainland Chinese. But even in Ubud it is easy to avoid the masses by just walking a few streets down away from the main strip and you will be able to inhale the original Ubud spirit.

 

Just go there with a positive attitude and when approached, smile and say "no thanks", or, even better "tidak mau, terima kasih" ("I don't want, thank you" in local Bahasa Indonesia).

 

Feel free to ask, if you need more information, same if you want hotel recommendations. Just tell me your budget and what you are after. I can say a word or two about at least 300 accommodations  and have inspected at least 100 of them myself.

Ah and NO, Bali is NOT dangerous at all. Just apply your common sense, same as you would at Thai tourist destinations.

And as mentioned before, do NOT forget to try the lovely JUS ALPUKAT, see my attached pic

[Argus Tuft]

siam2007 - while your detailed responses I am sure will be appreciated by some - why do you find it necessary to assume everyone apart from yourself is not a seasoned traveller, and therefore has no clue what they are supposed to do?

You also find it necessary to tell everyone exactly how many times you have been to Bali and how long you have stayed there.

 

 

[YTP]

On 5/10/2018 at 1:43 PM, siam2007 said:

I have never been cheated or shortchanged when changing money. Why? Because I only use the reputable money changers there. Bali has some sort of "Superrich" too. I always use one of their two main offices, the one at Jl. Kuta Raya.  http://www.centralkutabali.com/

Their spread is extremely favourable, even for Thai Baht. I suggest you just withdraw some cash from an ATM at the airport (and NO 220-Baht Thai-style extra charge rip-off !!!), buy a snack or two and a drink at different places so you have some small bills to pay taxi or similar, and then later after you have made yourself familiar with the place, you go to a reputable money changer. If you fly ex-Swampy: The two Superrich companies at the Air-rail-link level always have Rupiah at hand, less options at DMK though, as far as I know.

 

Taxi from Ngurah Rai Airport is indeed a rip-off if you use the official counters and there is little chance to escape if you are not familiar with the conditions. Difficult for a first-timer. I always walk out of the airport via the parking exit (where the payment booths are located, and then hail down a leaving BLUEBIRD Taxi that is not allowed to pick up PAX from inside the airport, once it has paid the parking fee and has left the airport compound.

Also, there is a tiny PEDESTRIAN exit, basically just a (legal and official) hole in the fence, used almost exclusively by airport workers or local travelers in the know. I could give further details if someone is really interested to know. From there, you can reach hotels in Tuban or South Kuta in 7-8 minutes on FOOT. I did that two years ago from my hotel in Jl. Kartika and asked myself why I hadn't done this in all those earlier years.

Unlike Phuketrichard (who I believe is actually a seasoned traveler) says, a regular METERED BLUEBIRD CAB should not be more than 40K from any point in Kuta, unless you are stuck in a traffic jam.

GRAB is most useful as is GO-JEK, a reliable homegrown Indonesian app (both offer very cheap Motorcycle taxi rides too). If using regular cabs, ONLY use the GENUINE BLUEBIRD TAXIS. They can only be identified by their large sticker on the front screen , saying "BLUEBIRD GROUP". At least ten copycat companies trying to mislead PAX by using almost identical cabs in colour and with front screen stickers like "BLUE TAXI GROUP".

If you do not use a genuine Bluebird, you will INVARIABLY be scammed. They scam rate is not 60, 80, or 94% percent, it is 100%. In the past five years or so, I have never heard a single story, where one of those cabs did use the Meter.

That is why they hate GRAB and Bluebird and even burn Bluebird cabs or assault Grab drivers.

 

Yes Ubud is crowded too nowadays, and that crowd is almost 100% mainland Chinese. But even in Ubud it is easy to avoid the masses by just walking a few streets down away from the main strip and you will be able to inhale the original Ubud spirit.

 

Just go there with a positive attitude and when approached, smile and say "no thanks", or, even better "tidak mau, terima kasih" ("I don't want, thank you" in local Bahasa Indonesia).

 

Feel free to ask, if you need more information, same if you want hotel recommendations. Just tell me your budget and what you are after. I can say a word or two about at least 300 accommodations  and have inspected at least 100 of them myself.

Ah and NO, Bali is NOT dangerous at all. Just apply your common sense, same as you would at Thai tourist destinations.

And as mentioned before, do NOT forget to try the lovely JUS ALPUKAT, see my attached pic

Very useful info, especially about taxis.  Thanks.

 

Is there any benefit to buying rupiahs in BKK at Superrich to avoid hassles later?

 

Any difficulties in selling rupiahs back in BKK afterwards?

 

Going there for 4 days 3 nights, staying in Seminyak so wondering about this.

 

Thoughts with the quake victims.

[blackhorse]

Just go to Australia. Better islands, beaches and more to see. Bali is just another Australian state filled with blind drunk Australians

If your 20 you will love Bali

[Different]

I visited Bali long time ago, I really enjoyed it from airplane touchdown run way in waters.

 I stayed at one of the resorts on the beach not in the 5 star hotels village on the other side of town. Don't forget to visit cliff resort which is located out of Bali city on very beautiful cliff, then you go down in a lift where you can enjoy dinner and see traditional folklore band with wind breeze of the ocean. Unforgettable times, good luck.