Hi All,
Firstly IanZ - you are a legend!!! Love the JBR - I hope you find the real Bali (it is probably just south of Wellington)
Having read the Forum comments for the last week or so I have put together a list of comments posted by fellow Forumites. It covers things from where to eat; good and bad, Bank Scams, buying clothes (ie suits, shirts), Play station stuff - you guys get the drift. Anyway read on and I hope it helps you enjoy your stay.
IT IS NOT THE DEFINITIVE LIST - BUT IT COVERS ALOT...
JETSTAR (AUSSIES)
• Baggage - 20kgs
• $7 per kg over 20kg
• Surfboards upto 2.7m free
• Wrap surfboard in bubble rap
Things To Take To Bali
• Indonesian Money
• Hook up to Smart Traveller (Aussies)
• Buy small padlocks for suitcases
• Zinc Cream
• Hat
• Sunscreen
• Stubby holder
Travel Documents
• Take copy of Passport/travel docs and also leave a copy at home with family/friend
Surfing
• Dreamlands - good easy wave
• Spare Leg Rope for your surfboard
• Rash Vest x 2 (short & long sleeved)
• Wetsuit 1mm Rashie
• Wetsuit Booties
• Surfboard - take your own
• Buy a tide Chart
Surf the mid/high tide (reduces coral cuts etc)
Places to see & Things To Do
• Waterbom Park
• White water rafting
• Candi Dasa and Padang Bai.
• Anything with surf
• Visited Carrefour Supermarket. WOW is all I can say about that and next visit to Bali will be straight there to get our supplies. Has everything that you need and more.
• Bali buggy, they have a website - we had a ball - the more mud the better
DVD
• Opposite the Pub - DVD shop to get movie stock
• DVD's we pre-ordered with H - had a designated time for delivery at our hotel - perfect way to shop. Saved us hours browsing DVD shops.
NOTE: Bali Forum people recommend all DVD's through H****
Electrical - Power Adaptors & Memory Cards & Play Station Stuff
• Buy power adaptors from Ace Hardware (located in Kartika Plaza).
• Memory Cards - buy at Discovery mall next to bgh
• PS1 & PS2 Chips/Games - Bali Gong music shop in Jl Sahadewa off Jl Padma and speak to Dee Dee a really nice person who wont scam you.
Medical/Hygiene/Misc Health
• Drink bottled water
• Wash teeth in bottled water
• Buy mozzie repellent and spray the room each night (if they don't annoy don't worry about this)
• Dengue Fever -we found aussie bushman repellant to be the best. it comes in a tube and is a gel, easy to carry, easy to apply and not greasy. Also has very strong levels of DEET. Works for us
• We were careful with hand washing but not over the top, and drank bottled water which we also used for our teeth cleaning.
• Our son got an ear infection so we took him to a clinic called Surya Husada on JL Kartika, opposite Ramada Bintang. I was impressed with the care given here by the staff - it was much quicker than BIMC. We got a report and receipt ready to claim back on our travel insurance
• about ear infection.....daughter had one one trip and then I had trouble next trip....if you go to waterbom at all for a day out then the doctor there is free.Medications and scripts cost nothing.
Food/Restaurants/Bars
• Bagus pub
• La Luciaola's Restaurant
• Vincents restaurant Candi Dasa. Lovely and clean and excellent food and service.
• Macaroni's Italian owned restaurant - excellent reviews
• Celsius - lunch, in Centro near youth cloth section, Kuta Beach side in the Discovery Mall - good meals - good prices, is air-conditioned and NON smoking - balcony for the smokers.
• Nero's - dinner, meals were good. Drinks quite strong, alcohol wise.
• Bamboo Corner - lunch, good very cheap meals, staff very attentive.
• Kori's - dinner, expensive on Bali standards but the food was the best meal. Does have a gentlemen's billiard/cigar smoking area/room.
• Poppies Garden, for dinner, good food,
• Secret Garden, for dinner, wouldn't bother again, the worst food we had.
• Bali Colado - dinner, ground floor, Discovery Mall, good food and air-conditioned. Fat Yogi's, for dinner, good food 2 large movie screens with movies showing.
• Daddy's - for dinner, really a breakfast or lunch/snack place but suited us for dinner and the food was good
• La Scala - for dinner. This is one of the restaurants along the Tanjung Benoa strip, good food, upstairs and a good view of the passing traffic. Attentive staff.
• Coriander - lunch. Good meal and nice staff - this is in Sanur.
• Coco Bistro - dinner, along the Tanjung Benoa strip, excellent meal, service and the staff attentive, good prices, a little more than the average. Entertainment whilst eating.
• Lanai,
• Impalas - went there twice, great meals each time. I had the Rijsttafel which was delicious.
• Zanzibar - slightly more up market, service food, ambiance excellent
• Rumours - slightly more up market, service food, ambiance excellent
• Panterei [Greek] slightly more up market, service food, ambiance excellent.
• Legends, great food, service, entertainment and price.
• Garden View Cottages, Sunday roast!! Yummy if you feel like western cuisine.
• Bubba Gumps (mainly seafood)
• Ultimo Italian restaurant in Seminyak.
• Ricky's Bar and Grill
• Kin Khao - beautiful thai food
• Mini's on JL Kartika - half a dozen jumbo prawns freshly bbq on coals for 100,000rp (aud $13). Everything we had was delicious.
• Pundi - Pundi (Ubud) - this is a new restaurant
• Nomad (Ubud) - delicious meals here -prawn laksa - yummy!
• Uncle Norms
• TJ's - always great - gotta love the frozen daiquiris!
• Kebab Palace If you are looking for a quick lunch meal try the on JL Kartika. We had lovely Souvlaki's for about $3 each.
• Mini's on JL Kartika - beautiful fresh seafood on ice ready to be bbq over coals. They had pink snapper for 100,000rp - half a dozen jumbo prawns with a garlic butter sauce for the same price - delicious (See not so good below)
• S & S
Not So Good Restaurants
• Wayan & Friends - nice but wouldn't rave about it - staff were a bit cold
• Fukutoro - very, very slow service. Had to wait ages for our meals. Expensive vowed never to go back there.
• Pantai: had the fish and was very disappointed as it was very thin, dry and tough. The other meals we had were also ordinary.
• Indian Palace (I think this is the name) opposite BGH (upstairs). Reasonable food, expensive for size of serves and absolutely appalling service. I had to get up twice to ask for service.
• Warung 96 - cheap - I suppose you get what you pay for. Friendly service though.
• Mini's - been twice in our last 2 visits., we were sadly disappointed with the higher prices, lower quality, small serves and wrong meals. But as another post said, there are others in the same area that you can try also. (see good eats above)
•
Money Exchanges
• Kodak money changers most times, a bank a couple of times, no problems except the rate started falling from the first day, 7825 down to 7100 on the last day.
Prescription Glasses
• Optic Seiss in Kuta Square
• optick tiara at super market tiara dewata jl letjend sutoyo in denpassar far cheaper than the other stores in kuta (2 people recommended this store).
Clothing - Suits - Billabong - Quicksilver
• Alta Moda -we always get good quality from, you can choose lower priced fabric - if you go there tell Gorben Mark & Denise say hello.
• Just down on the opposite side of the road from Discovery Mall - towards Tuban. I go there every time. My husband had his Hugo Boss suit copied (including the lining). Cost $120 (v good quality material) - cheaper cost $60.
• Merrys Collection
• Janokos to get the tailoring
• Wayans (Billabong stuff) and Ketuts - Garlic Lane
• Putu at Bali Brumby 6 khaki coloured t-shirts, screen printed with the word
• Leather jacket made by Putu at Bali Brumby (BTF recommendation) - cost AUD100, good quality leather, nice and soft, fit first time. Perfect!!
Banking Scams
Next door to Haaris' Cyber Cafe, is a branch of Bank Niaga. Last April, swiped once at ATM and withdrew RP750,000 = $102.20. Once home we found out that RP1.500,000 = $202.40 had been debited to our account TWICE, on the same withdrawal number, at the same time; this despite the fact that extra transactions have to be swiped separately. Complained to my Bank here, who tried unsuccessfully to ratify the matter; no reply came from Niaga.
Unexpected by Niaga, I was able to confront them personally in two separate interviews, after only two months, in the person of the Branch Manageress. She even showed me the transaction roll for that day, which didn't show any of the transactions concerned, even the genuine one!
Conclusion, admitted by her, the machine has been faulty! Conclusion by me, "you owe me the money for faulty debit of $404.40" The usual reply, quite predictably, "I'll ask my boss". -Smile) It appears that non-Indo banks can be programmed to cheat foreign banks.
Please be aware that this is apparently proved to be happening at NIAGA; don't patronise them. Stick to more reputable banks like BCA or BNI. Always keep an eye out at home. In my opinion this thievery is rampant because A they don't expect confrontation within a year or more, if ever. B As the bank advises, they keep the fiddles to a level where they are not worth prosecuting.
In January, I gave my C'C to Puri Raja to have a Deposit of one night, registered for a future trip. At home the Bank rang to ask us about two suspicious transactions, elsewhere in Asia on our C/C numbers, which they had not honoured. It seemed unlikely to them that, while I was in Bali, I was simultaneously in Hong Kong and Phuket, buying horse-riding gear. Apart from being simultaneously in three places at once (wouldn't I love it), the closest I've been to a horse has been the TAB over 60 years!
Puri Raja just smile and advise that they know nothing; probably happened at the bank, they say and I would support this supposition.
Hope this helps,
Pete
See ya all in Bali 08 Sept to 22 Sept. (staying at the Dynasty)
Obviously this is all subjective and I apologise for any spelling mistakes blah blah