Bali, who's been recently?

[Barrabart]

G'day all,
We're off to Bali next year (wife, myself and 3 kids 15 - 21yrs old), long way off yet, don't leave till August. Just wondering who's been recently, where did u stay and what did you do that you can recommend as a must see?
Any other tips or recommendations, feel free to give me the info.....

Thanks in advance,

Barrabart & family.

[speewa158]

Leave you Boggy board bad at home unless you want the extended tour 

[scarpsD40]

Laying here in Bali now, next to a pool with a slab of green.  Heineken green that is.  We left our kids at home to keep an eye on the castle, CT, Boat, car and brand spanka new awesome Navara. Probably all been pinched by now. Lucky I also have the ferocious Scottish wolfhound and attack Leopard in the back yard.

[scarpsD40]

Best tip we got for this trip was to grab some duty free alcohol in Melbourne before we boarded.  Each adult can bring in 1 litre so we grabbed a 2 for $50 special of JW and Baileys.

If you can grow your hair long by August they do great dreadlocks over here, and have your eyes tested before you travel. God knows I've got eye strain just after 1 day and haven't even been near the beach as yet. Caution also advised here as with possible eye strain comes bruised shoulders from swmbo punches........

Also, jump onto the trip advisor website and search for the Bali forum. Heaps of great info there.http://www.tripadvisor.com.au

[scarpsD40]

Most places here offer free wifi, so bring your iPad or laptop and post away on myswag while swmbo sleeps in. Remember it's a 2 or 3hour time difference.

This is our second trip to Bahlee. First time we stayed in Semiyak, which is known as the foodies paradise. Great restaurants with great prices. You could feed your tribe on fresh seafood and pizza for under $100 with basic drinks. It was nice up there, but you are a bit out of the way and pretty much have to walk or taxi everywhere.  One upside was there is a great supermarket that stocks gourmet food and drink at reasonable prices, and we got a villa with another couple with it's own kitchen so we didn't have to go out each mealtime if we didn't want to.

The only con we found in that area was you were constantly hassled by touts and guys on motorbikes trying to sell you stuff!!!! We learned to either ignore them in the end or politely tell the to #%¥€ off.  I just have to watch swmbo as she still believes those people 'not selling, it's just a survey' are genuine people.

[scarpsD40]

This trip I wanted to be a bit closer to some action without being in Kuta itself, so found some great accom in Legian which is about 1km north of the main Kuta drag. We have found we can pretty much walk to a fair bit here, and then grab a Taksi back to our accom for $5aussie.

Bit harder to find a supermarket, but we dined at a place called Mama's last night on steak, chicken and steins of beer and it came to $45aussie.

The only hassle we had so far was when we landed at the airport after the 51/2 hour flight from Melbourne. It's late, you've been jammed in a sardine can with 300 other smelly, talking too loud people and a couple of screaming kids....... and you finally get through your visa line, then immigration, then finally get your bag, walk out the doors to find 1,000 drivers and touts all watching you and working out a way to extract your hard earned. Now I should say that one of the many charms of Bali is the genuine friendly people all trying to make a living.  We got stung $20 Aussie for two porters (who we thought were from our hotel) to wheel our bags 100m to the pick up area. Lesson here, never ever let your bags go, or if you do agree to a porter service, just tell them $5 Aussie max or FO.

[edz]

The Army wont call up a 50 ish fat guy and load him up with kevlar /combat kit and invade, So I wont get to see it anytime soon.

[loanrangie]

We went May last year and stayed in Sanur as its quieter, went to Kuta for a day trip and you can keep that hole. Grab your bags yourself as soon as they appear on the carousel and dont let the porters grab them, most hotels will provide a transfer service so use them if you can or one of the Bluebird Taksi's.
 Couple of things we did that the kids enjoyed was a sunset cruise on Benoa Bay and the Monkey Forest at Ubud, you can hire a driver for a full day for about $30-$40 and they will often have a choice of set day trips with brochures. Be careful though as they like to take you to the tourist markets where the prices are no better then what you can buy here.
  If you want to buy cheap souvenirs and clothes without the hassle of bartering, Matahari supermarket near Kuta is best place to shop.
 I have a couple of phone numbers of reliable drivers if you like.

[fishfinder]

Went there in 1988 second day there I went to a café that made really nice omelettes and with every omelette you purchase you come out with a pet unicorn after two weeks there I was worried that I had too many unicorns to take back on the plane but all was good they could fly and followed me all the way back home every now and then I would wave at them out the planes window. They're great pets they fend for them selves so cost nothing too look after and vey loyal after years they have never left my side.

[fuji]

Sent you a PM

[scarpsD40]

I just have to watch swmbo as she still believes those people 'not selling, it's just a survey' are genuine people.

I just have to watch swmbo as she still believes those people 'not selling, it's just a survey' are genuine people.

and right on cue this morning the phone in our room rings. Guess what? It's our friend Elle.  Thinking wtf is Elle.
Seems the survey swmbo filled out last night automatically put her in the draw for.........wait for it.........you guessed it..........a holiday to Bali..........and guess what else?...............swmbo won the holiday!!!
Not bad hey!  I said to swmbo what details did she give them last night?  Seems name and hotel where we're staying was just enough info to track us down.

I politely told Elle, we're not interested!
Elle says, "but you've won the holiday!"
I said, thanks but no thanks.

Now this is an interesting one to watch out for. The friends we stayed with previously fell for this one.  All you have to do is sit through a time share presentation for the day.

Never ever give anyone your real name or where you're staying?

Now having said that, not everything about Bali is like this, just like at home, there's a minority of unscrupulous individuals that will take you if not careful.
The majority of people in Bali are by nature very helpful and friendly and looking for you to have a relaxing and safe time here.

[Alan Loy]

1st time I went was 1980 and the last time was 1994 so I'm not going to tell you where is good now.

However you need to decide whether you are only going foe a holiday or if you want some kind of cultural interaction that may shape you kids view of the world.

Bali's cultural centre is Mt Agun and before us western holidayers turned up the beach areas were just a few fishing villages.  You will meet more Javanese people than Balanese in the typical hotel/resort at the beach.  You have more chance of meeting Balanese people in Ubud but remember it is very touristy.

There are beaches on the east and north coasts that are worth a look

There are many faces of Bali and you need to decide which one interests you

[ldsparrow]

last time we were there we stayed on Gill T for a week. was awesome, no cars, noone hassling you, plenty of bars and restaurants.

http://www.gili-paradise.com/gilis-information/about-gili-islands/gili-trawangan/

We then headed into Legian for a week.

[Barrabart]

Thanks all for the replys and PM's, all interesting stuff.......... will give the Mrs and i some info to research....... keep it coming though, the more the merrier.

[Jen, Sprogs n Him]

There is a FB Page and an app called Little Miss Bali.   LOADS of really helpful info,  ideas on where to stay,  best shopping, massages, coffee, local experiences etc.. As well as practical info about the people and their culture..
We went last year with 2 kids 7 and 10.   Bali Safari Park was good,  Waterbom etc all the tourist places.
Cocoon beach club was awesome,  LaLucciola Restaurant is beautiful..
My tips.. When hassled on the street,  just smile, say No Thanks Boss!  and keep walking.
If walking with a bag, keep it away from roadside.
When walking with kids,  they don't hassle you much,  but adults or men on your own will get a guiding handshake in an attempt to lure you into a nice massage with a
happy ending ;-)
Only use Bluebird taxis. 
Don't participate in surveys.. No you did not just win a camera.

[dazzler]

We went a while back with our younger kids and found the hawkers would try and grab them so you would stop and look at their garbage.

Bloody annoying and constantly having to watch them was tiresome.

We paid a local to drive us around to all the spots and having him with us seemed to stop some of the harrassing and it was a pretty good deal.

[scarpsD40]

Just spent the morning at the Discovery Mall shopping centre. Not sure if it was just Christmas sale specials, but the prices for gear I was looking for was 50% off and much better quality than what was being offered in the street. Unless you like the cut and thrust of street side haggling, do yourself a favour and just go to the Mall. Air con comfort, no haggling, genuine quality at great prices.

[dazzler]

Just spent the morning at the Discovery Mall shopping centre. Not sure if it was just Christmas sale specials, but the prices for gear I was looking for was 50% off and much better quality than what was being offered in the street. Unless you like the cut and thrust of street side haggling, do yourself a favour and just go to the Mall. Air con comfort, no haggling, genuine quality at great prices.

Is that the place where the shop staff wear traditional dress and look superb?

And you can get satay sticks and beer and watch the sun go down over Java?

And the staff leave you alone - except for more beer and satay sticks?

If so.......... sweeeeeet!

[scarpsD40]

Is that the place where the shop staff wear traditional dress and look superb?

And you can get satay sticks and beer and watch the sun go down over Java?

And the staff leave you alone - except for more beer and satay sticks?

If so.......... sweeeeeet!

yep, that's the one

[Barrabart]

More good info, thanks heaps............... keep it coming.

We'll be making notes from the above details here as time gets closer, and likewise all the good info here will most likely come in handy for plenty of others....

Thanks again.

[Jen, Sprogs n Him]

Grab a driver and get him to take you to the surf shop outlets.
Oh and if you like coffee and donuts,  head to Galleria for
 J Co Donuts.. Mmmm...
Discovery mall in Kuta also has a pastry shop... Sooo cheap..
Agghh... So jealous..

[scarpsD40]

Walked Poppies 1 & 2 laneways today. Still heaps of stallholders, but less hassled than the main drag and market areas. Also seemed like some good out of the way bars and coffee shops in this area.
Also found Beachwalk shopping centre, opposite Kuta Beach, but higher end, big brand names etc all attached to the Sheraton. This is where we also found the cinema centre and managed to just make it into the premier (gold class) showing of the Hobbit movie. Tickets were equivalent to $10aussie each. Ordered food and drink to our reclining seats for $15.
Something quite strange I saw was security guards with walk through metal detector scanners on the hotel side of the shopping centre, but nothing on the beach side entrances?

[phatassphairy]

one day i would like to have while i am there ... with my daughters is a full body exfoliating scrub and mineral wrap .... followed by a full body massage and facials .....in a traditional Balinese setting ....but not at aussie prices!! ... any tips on where to find my princess diva-ville?

Also wouldn't mind doing a cooking class .... but i would like one that has a farm experience with it ... where you pick your produce that will be used in the cooking class..... and is done culturally and traditionally as possible (but i don't want to have to kill the chicken!!!!)

would also like the kids to do surf lessons ... and maybe a dive on a reef ....

these are just thoughts out loud really, but any info is greatly appreciate ....and will be pondered over for months to come

[fishfinder]

If you think your out of site and in the need of a wee just be careful were you go as I upset a local cop that was sleeping under some shrubs got the full flow on his face

[Mik01]

Went once, never again.
Avoid Kuta if you can - I found it had no redeeming features! Legian is ok, but at night full of street touts. Jimbaran bay stinks and the bay is full of rubbish - went there for a nice seafood dinner but the rubbish is a turn off! If you can, head to the islands away from the crowds. That's the real Bali.
Just my opinions, but Thailand etc offers far better value than Bali