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Once we were in a Kijang taxi that had come to a stop at a traffic junction (at Jl Raya Ngurah Rai ByPass, in Sanur area), and boys holding newspapers offered us newspapers. My husband wanted to get a international paper, and they had the Weekend Australian, The Age and several Chinese and local Indonesian papers. We choose the Australian and bargained the price down from 35,000 to 25,000 rupiahs and handed him the money as the lights turned and he handed us the newspapers.
As we drove on, we pulled out the papers from the plastic wrapper and found that we had been given a stack of old newspapers, some dated 22 Oct, others dated 1st Nov, and others dated 5 Oct. A thick stack of old newspapers for 25,000 rupiahs (over US2.00)...what a clever trick for the unsuspective and naive tourist.
I would say this -better to buy your papers from a shop and check the dates before handing your money over. Leave a Comment
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 watch out~the monkey is
behind you! by Wild_Orchid
Hang on tight. Upon the wall at the periphery of the cliff, there were a few monkeys, & the small ones were cute & had rather innocent faces. I stood next to the wall for my photo to be taken with the charming monkeys, & suddenly my daughter shouted out because the monkey had reached out to grab my pearl necklace. Instinctively, I moved away, but then there was a tug on my hair. A monkey again! Fortunately it was only a small monkey & it didn't pull hard enough to break my necklace.
I quickly walked away and put my earrings, necklace & hairband safely into my handbag, and clutched on tightly to my belongings. Nevertheless, I wasn't safe yet. A monkey came behind me & pinched a tourist leaflet that was on the outside pocket of my bag. I was certainly caught by surprise by the little critter.
Learn from your mistakes...or maybe not
My mum who was seated far off from the monkeys was surprised when a large monkey came from behind & grabbed her spectacles off her face! She was helped by a local lady who gave the monkey a piece of cucumber, and the monkey then dropped the spectacles to pick up the cucumber.
While we were there for 45 minutes waiting for the famous Uluwatu Temple sunset, we saw no fewer than 5 monkey snatchings-two cameras from the hands of their owners, 2 spectacles, and 1 hat.
The monkeys here are cute, but certainly mischievious. Be careful!
Each time the local lady was there to help the owners get their stuff back, and each time she would be rewarded by the owners, or she would ask for a tip. This makes me wonder whether someone actually trained the monkeys!?
Footnote: Tourists may want to bring their own supply of cucumber pieces... Leave a Comment
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 Uluwatu Temple from south side by bryINpoland
Uluwatu temple, is one of the more famous temples throughout Bali. Because of the heavy flow of visitors coming thru, this brings the oppertunity for people to make money, and Uluwatu temple is a perfect example of that.
Upon entrance (which is around 4,000 Rp per person, and well worth it) you will be issued a guide. The reason for the guide, which if half true, is to not only show you the temple, but to keep the overly aggressive monkeys away from you. The monkeys are in fact aggressive (due to tourist feeding them) and its actually better to have someone with you to keep them back, so they dont climb all over you, and steal any loose item you possess. The guides carry sticks, which seems a little mean. Though they dont hit the monkeys, the monkeys are obviously scared of the sticks, suggesting they have been wacked before. To provent this, i suggest tourist stop feeding them, simple as that.
At the end of your tour, the guide will now ask for a donation for his organization that runs the park. This is the tricky part. Do not let them suggest you a price, becuase it will come out to 20 or 30 bucks. On the other hand, the guides do show you the best angles to see the temples at, and save you from a lot of time wondering around the area. They also give some great info about the temple. Feel free to give them what you are happy giving, but i suggest about 20,000 to 30,000 Rp. If you want to give more, thats fine, but dont let them guilt you into it. Trust me they are good at it.
In the end, Uluwatu temple is well worth paying a visit to. Its just better when you are aware of the situation. It can make things a lot more pleasant, eliminating some of the stress. Have a great time. Leave a Comment
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The sign at the Ngurah Rai Airport (near the baggage reclaim area) says 2,000 rupiahs for porterage. I am not sure if this means per bag, or per person.
The thing that bugs me is this - they don't ask first ! After we had collected our bags from baggage reclaim, and went to queue to buy a coupon for the taxi, a couple of guys came over to help us with our bags, without us asking for their help. Assuming one of them was our taxi driver, we let them handle some of the bags. It was only when we were crossing the road from the airport towards the car park when the real taxi driver materialised and then we realised that the first guys were porters, and were not in fact "helping us"! Of course, it was too late by then. Once they loaded the bags onto the cab, they asked for payment.
I didn't have any small change and pulled out RM2.00 (about 4,500 rupiahs) and they wouldn't leave until we gave them another 5,000 rupiahs.
While crossing the road, I noticed an older Caucasian guy whose bags had been grabbed and when he told them that he could manage, they muttered f*** you, to which he replied F*** You too. Leave a Comment
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Street vendors who hang around at car-parks near major tourist attractions may tempt you with wood carvings or batik cloth or pencils or whatever at such cheap prices that you are simply amazed. In fact, they "attach" themselves to you as soon as you get out of the car! You sometimes you may just make a purchase to avoid being hassled any further or out of goodwill, especially when the vendor is a little girl of boy. (If you know what you're doing, and why, then it's fine. That's your good deed for the day.)
However, be careful when offered an ivory carving or wood carving or something more valuable than a bunch of pencils when you have little time to examine the merchandise. At Kintamani, outside a major touristy restaurant, my husband was tempted to buy a small wooden carving, and when he handed over the money, the guy gave him the carving in a black plastic bag just as we were about to drive off. When he looked into the bag, it was not only completely different from the one that he had been shown, but also much poorer in quality and finish.
To our alarm when we protested, the guy walked off with our money, leaving us with the inferior carving, but later returned with another one, which we also turned down and finally, we got our money back and left without making a purchase.
Caveat Emptor! Leave a Comment
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 Nadine and Myself, Rocking our
Sarongs by bryINpoland
The first option, is having your own sarongs and sash. We bought our own before going to the temples for about 30,000 Rp. ( A fair price for both you, and the merchant ) By having your own, it can eliminate having to buy or rent sarongs at each temple, and in the end can save you a lot of money.
Your second option is ofcourse to rent a sarong or buy one at each temple. This can be stressful sometimes, since you end up renting one, for the price you can by one. You can sometimes rent them for about 10,000 Rp, but some places drive a hard bargain, and you may pay 20,000 Rp.
In the end, i suggest buying some yourself, which can make great gifts later, or great souvenirs for yourself. It will save you money, and the time of having to bargain at every other temple. Leave a Comment
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 Bali Bathrooms by bryINpoland
When it comes to the restrooms in Hotels and most restaurants in Bali, you can pretty much find suitable facilities. But the farther you ventur into the country, tot he more remote locations, the more harder it is to find a restroom up to your standards.
The picture to the left is typical example of the toilets throughout Bali's country sides, and around temples. This picture is actually of one of the better bathrooms. Unfortunatly i was to discustedby the other ones to take a picture, and didnt think to take one until i got to this one.
I recommend bringing a spare role of tissue paper with you when touring around Bali, becuase at most facilities it is not provided. You would think the donation boxes at the bathrooms would go towards some toilet rolls. Guess not...
Also you should know that the sink to the lest of the toilets, and the scooper within it, is to flush the toilets with. Simply scoop a cup full of water once you are finished with your business, and pour it down the toilet. Simply as that. I can also recommend carrying around maybe a small bottle of hand sanitizer, because soap is also not provided at most public toilets.
Anyways, its all part of the adventure, and not so bad. Well if you are a guy... Leave a Comment
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 Poor animal ...I really feel
bad by kenyneo
Thats what happens when we were dropped off Sanur beach for some water sports ...we were quoted Rp 100,000 for each person for a ride to Turtle island in a boat with transparent bottom ( you supposedly can see the fishes and corals )
1) First , you can hardly see the marine life and corals , coz the glass is coloured and the water is not crystal clear
2) I heard from a guy from Jakarta ( Mr Budi ) that you can actually charter a boat for 10 person for only Rp 150,000 ( that idiot asked us to gather 10 person for him in a boat which amounts to Rp 1 million ) see how ridiculous that can be ?
3) I feel bad after going there coz the turtles are keep in a small area , murky water and hundreds of tourist just step into their pool and take pictures with them .... Leave a Comment
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 Dreamland Beach by bryINpoland
The first thing is, when you enter the main road into dreamland beach (Griya Alam Pecatu), you will be stopped by a group of guards. Though this is actually an illegal stop (you are in Bali, you cant do nothing about it) the men will ask for an entrance fee into the area. There is a long story behind it, that still doesnt make sense to me. Anyways, the charge is only 5,000 Rp, (less then a dollar) so just pay it and get on your way. Dont let them charge anymore, just have your 5,000 ready before you get there. Easy as that.
Second warning is, when you get to the parking area above the beach, there are some gentlemen waiting to walk you down to the beach, because they want you to rent a beach chair from their area. Do not feel preasured into renting from them. Also if you do, never pay more then 10,000 Rp ($1 US) ($1.30 AU)
Third, the waves can be big at Dreamland, so be careful when entering the water. There are some areas at the far end of the beach that are much calmer.
Last but not least, its better to arrange for your driver to wait for you while you swim (unless you plan to spend the whole day there) If you dont have a driver waiting for you, you'll have to go thru the hassle of other drivers hassling you for a ride, and offering high prices. A taxi back is $40,000 Rp, try not to go much higher then that.
It seems like a lot to worry about for a beach, but if you go in prepared for all the little suprises, it makes it a whole lot easier. You have to remember you are in Bali, and this is all part of the show. It takes some getting use to, but after a while it becomes a part of everyday life.
Have a good time, and enjoy Dreamland beach. Leave a Comment
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 Nadine was hapy with her
exchange by bryINpoland
The truth is that most of the exchange places are licensed and legitimate establishments. With so many to choose from, if you dont feel comfortable with the way one looks, you can just move on to the next.
When choosing a place, always make sure their sign says "NO COMMISSION". Next, always make sure the exchange rate is always converted on a calculator infront of you. Once agreed upon the rate, and the concersion is correct, always watch carefully while the money is being counted. Then recount the money on the counter infront of the attendant. Never let them re-handle the money afterwards.
Last but not least, make sure you know what every bill / note amount looks like, so they dont try to pass a 5,000 note for a 50,000, or a 10,000 not for a 100,000 note. With all the zeros it can get confusing, and mistakes can be made.
99% of the time you should have no problems, but you should always take caution. Leave a Comment
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