Hi all,
Have been an avid reader of this forum since beginning to plan our first trip to Bali, we went in November last year (though never did get around to posting a JBR! Will promise to next trip!)
I have read a lot of reports of people finding great taxi drivers and guides which they have used throughout their trip. On our second day in Bali we hailed a blue bird taxi and met this great driver, who told us that he was voted the best driver in Bali. We were pretty sceptical, but found him to be really nice.
This driver was a really nice funny guy who had us laughing with his crazy antics the whole time we were in the taxi with him. We arranged a day trip to Kintamani volcano with him while we were based in Ubud, but the only problem was that he took us to see all his 'friends' who could give us cheap deals on the way - a silver factory, an artist's studio, an egg-painting factory and a wood-carving factory, despite us insisting we really just wanted to see the volcano. We felt really uncomfortable at these places, as there were no other customers whilst we were there, and felt really pressured to buy. Bought some silver jewellery and a painted egg, but were unsure even what we would be expected to pay for the artwork and carvings. He also implied that if we didn't buy, it was ok for us, but "not for him", as they were his 'friends'.
He also took us to the Elephant Cave and a Barong dance, which were both great experiences, but the only problem was that when we finally got to Kintamani, it was 2pm in the afternooon, and so cloudy we couldn't see anything! And my boyfriend got what you might call 'bali belly' from eating from the Buffet restaurant, despite it being the most expensive meal we had the whole time in Bali!
Despite a pretty stressful day trying to tell the driver that we didn't want to make all those stops (but not wanting to seem rude), we decided to give him another go a few days later, as he did have a great personality. He took us down to Jimbaran Bay to his 'friend's' restaurant, despite us insisting that we wanted to walk along and pick our own. We were a bit wary as felt his 'friends' had ripped us off on the Kintamani day trip. We were right - we ended up walking out due to gut instinct, and found his friend's restaurant had been at least double the price of Sharkey's, where we ended up going, and many of the other restaurants, despite the fact that they showed us the 'special discounted menu'!
Am hoping to book a trip back to Bali soon, as had an absolutely amazing time, but was just wondering if anyone can relate to this experience, or recommend any advice for tactfully asserting "no, that is not where we want to go". Perhaps we would be better to take group tours to avoid this pressure to buy? (Though then we still wouldn't be able to name specifically what we wanted to do). Also, how much would you normally expect to pay for artwork from a studio?
Many thanks xox