Safety Tips in Bali

Balinese celeberate the first day of their lunar calander as a Day of Silence, Nyepi, after a crazy Ogoh-Ogoh festival last evening. All businesses, shops, traffic, schools, and even the airport remains closed the whole day. No one is even allowed to go out of their homes, or hotels, for that matter. This is taken seriously, and any adventurism may take as far as the Kerobokan jail. Exceptions is limited to medical emergencies only.

Real problem occurs if you want to travel close to Nyepi, especiall the day before, or very early morning the subsequent day due to road blockades and processions. So avoiding the travel, especially flights, in the mentioned period is wiser.

However, if you have already booked a flight then your last resort would be to stay near the airport. Also, be ready to walk to the airport in case you don't find a transport.

Having said that, this does not mean at all that you avoid visiting Bali around Nyepi. In fact that would be a big mistake as Nyepi is preceeded by the crazy Ogoh-Ogoh festival which is listed as one of the Best Festivals of the World by Lonely Planet.

Click here to see how we escaped after violating Nyepe rules

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The ow so ever main drink in Bali,
The Bintang Beer.

This beer is drunk by locals drunk by tourist and every drunk by monkeys, as i heard hehe haha.

This beer you can find any where from restaurants to supermarkets to night clubs to petrol stations to corner store.

Bintang beer to me has a very bitter taste i dont drink beer at all in australia i love my Malibu and exotic drinks where every i am, but when im in Bali i love to drink Bintang also.

Very cheap ranging from Rp5 000 to Rp10 000 for a small one from nighclubs to restaurants to corner store, but for big ones around Rp11 000 to Rp16 000.

As they say "Best Drunken Ice Cold", in Bali thats what you would want trust me.

Also just so you know there are a number of types of beer you can also get aussie beer like fosters and 4x, also bali beer called bali hai, also german beer and american beer.

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The most lethal alcohol in Bali.

The Arak.

If your an aussie and you think passion pop is bad wait till you try Arak, go on i dare you.

This drink is best served with either juice or coke, but if you want to get really really drunk very quick just do it how the locals do it, STRAIGHT!!!!

Just be careful where you by it from and either who you get to buy it as in locals or who you buy it from, try to buy it from supermarkets and when nighclubbing buy it from the bar.

Stay away from the very cheap Arak you can buy off the street as it contains im sorry to say PETROL.

Thats why try and buy it yourself from shops, the best place to go is Bintang Supermerket just after Legian in Seminyak.

When in clubs you get arak in long containers called Jam Jars or Illusions etc they contain Arak of course but with either juice or cordial, they are perfectly fine as they really dont put my Arak in it, but when you have your own bottle the more u drink the worst it gets.

A Balinese ‘squat toilet’ is
a western traveller’s worst nightmare –
and the worst of the worst is
probably one you’ll be asked to pay for!

Don’t think for one minute that
nice shops, department stores,
or even hotels at times,
will have anything other than Squat Toilets!

Above all, don’t expect toilet paper.
ALWAYS take your own for emergencies.

Have disinfectant hand wash/wipe
with you just in case.

.

Bali, the beautiful island with the slogan "More Than You Dream ... For Less Than You Think" got attacked by increasing tourism in Bali and abundant vendors promoting various wares. The peace and quiet of the so famous Island of the Gods got disturbed at first at Kuta by the rich and famous of Australia, USA and Europe. The artists went to Ubud, later the real Bali-tourist went up northward to Lovina, Candi Dasa and Sanur. And the upmost rich and famous went for Nusa Dua ...

On October 11 - 2002, Kuta Bali got shocked by a terrible bomb-explosion. The whole world could not believe their ears, and tourism slowed down. To return in a even slower way ... I pray for Bali and its beautiful people, and the balance of peace and quiet. I'll go for the new slogan >>>

Keep Bali
Bersih (clean), Aman (safe), Lestari (sustainable) and Indah (beautiful)

KUTA BALI BOMB

They can be quite bothering when they want to sell things to you on the beach and when you are walking around. It is best to show directly that you arent interested in buying anything. I have a very good example, that one tourist promised to buy from one woman, but then he forgot which one. he bought some smaller clothes of another saleswoman, and the other one got very upset and angry. I guess he thought she would not rememeber or recognize him, but so wrong he was. They ALWAYS rememeber you when you promise to buy something!

The porters who ask to carry your bags are fake porters. They will not return your bag to you until you pay them a minimum of $25 PER BAG!!!!
Just refuse them when they ask you, so a firm "no" and keep hold of your luggage.
They look legitimate, they have name tags with photographs and a uniform. This scam is tolerated and supported by the airport staff. they will not interven and help you.
We saw a poor man have to pay $100 for 4 bags.He had two small daughters, who each had a little pink luggage with wheels. Four "porters" wheeled out his luggage and wouldnt give his luggage back until he paid.

I got this very good tip from a colleague today. Upon entry to Indonesia you will complete an entry card. The small portion of the card will be stamped and should be retained in your passport for your exit. If you lose this card you can be fined.

My colleague had his card in his passport and handed it and his boarding pass to the immigration agent upon exit. The agent said the exit card was missing. He was quite certain it was not but was forced to pay a $10 fine to exit. Very fishy. Make sure to hand the card AND the passport AND the boarding pass to the agent to avoid this little trick!