Hotels in Bali Indonesia

How to: Go to Bali, Indonesia

2010-02-12T01:03:00.000-08:00

How to: Go to Bali, Indonesia

Going in:
Budget airline flights are available from Kuala Lumpur. The airport in Bali is at Denpasar. So look for Denpasar or DPS in the flight destinations.

Going around:
There are taxi's in Bali that would cost around US$5 for short trips. It's best if you hire vans that give daily flat rates (starts from US$35) regardless of the number of people. Expect to pay extra for farther tour sites.

What to See:
Go to GWK Cultural Park.
It's also a must to see the Uluwatu Temple. Ask your driver to bring you there during sunset. Just be careful of the monkeys stealing your stuff.
Tanah Lot and the Royal Temple are popular temples you can visit.

Watch the Barong and Kris Dance for a cultural experience.

What to Do:

Hit the beach and surf
Don't forget to hit the Spa!

What to Buy:
Bali has a lot of arts and crafts. They have silver jewelery, wood carvings and paintings. There are stone-works, too, but you need to have them shipped.

What to Eat:
You can have dinner while enjoying the sunset at Jimbaran Bay.
You can also have lunch overlooking Kintamani. Take note that it takes about 2 hours drive going to Kintamani. So make sure you budget for the travel time.

What to Drink:
Try the local beer!

Where to Sleep:
We were able to get a promotion at Rama Garden Hotel. For budget purposes, their list price was around $80 for twin sharing. The place is actually good enough since you'll want to be outdoors the whole time. It seems a bit old, though.

Budget: estimate for 1 person
Airfare - around $200 from KL. You can wait for a promo so you can save.
Lodging - $80x3 days = $240 (twin sharing)
Day Tours - $200 for 3 days including extra charges for long trips
Food - $8 max per meal in local restaurants

I hope you find these information helpful. If you have questions or comments, feel free to drop a comment.

Enjoy!
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Top 5 reasons to go to Bali

2010-02-11T01:02:00.000-08:00

Top 5 reasons to go to Bali, Indonesia:

1. the surf
2. cheap local food and beer
3. night life near the beach
4. temples built on cliff-sides
5. Balinese Spa!

Here's a summary of the Bali posts, in case you missed them.

GWK Cultural Park
Uluwatu Temple
Jimbaran Bay
Barong and Kris Dance
Bali Arts and Crafts
Kintamani and Kuta Beach
Tanah Lot
Royal Temple

Was our trip worth it? YES!!

We only stayed for 3 days, but our tour guide was showing us a weeks' tour plan!

We'll surely be back to finish off the rest of the tours we missed.

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Adventure Travel Asia: Bali, Indonesia (Tanah Lot)

2010-02-10T01:01:00.000-08:00

Tanah Lot

Tanah Lot is the second-most famous temple in Bali. It's situated at the edge of the island. Unlike Uluwatu on the cliffs, you find Tanah Lot along the beaches.

There are no monkeys in this area.

The temples are under renovation so you can't go around to see what's inside.

We saw a group of people gathering around the cliffside. They have this "holy snake" which you can see in exchange for a small donation. They said it is for good luck.

It looked normal to me. So when I asked the guide why it's holy, he said that it was found on the temple grounds. If the snake same snake was found somewhere else, would it still be holy? I wonder.

The view again is breathtaking especially from the higher points of the area.

Adventure Travel Asia: Bali, Indonesia (Kintamani and Kuta Beach)

2010-02-09T01:01:00.001-08:00

Kintamani

Kintamani is one of the cooler mountainous region of Bali where growing fruit and vegetables is the main produce. The main attraction for travellers Mt. Batur and beside it, Lake Batur.

Mt. Batur is an active Volcano. I'm not sure when it last erupted, but you can see from the panoramic view the burned surroundings. The last eruption must be very recent. Click image to view large.

A popular tourist spot would be restaurants located along the cliffsides, offering lunch while enjoying this fantastic view.

Kuta Beach
Kuta beach is probably what you'll often see when you people show you pics of Bali. Waves are good for surfing.

You need to be careful when swimming in areas with red flags such as this.

It's a sign saying that swimming is prohibited in such areas (although you still see people swimming). It's a warning that currents in that area are strong and can suck you into the open seas.

You'll also enjoy the sunset from this side of Bali island.

Many restaurants and bars can be found at Kuta beach area where you can enjoy the popular Indonesian beer, Bintang.

It's good and it's very cheap! A little less than US$1!!!

Adventure Travel Asia: Bali Arts and Crafts

2010-02-09T01:00:00.002-08:00

Bali Arts and Crafts

Like the Baguio in the Philippines, Bali has it's silver and wooden crafts.

Tours will stop at one of many silver, wood and art stores, hoping that tourists would find themselves buying what they like.

First stop was the silver works. To be honest, it's more expensive in Bali compared to the Philippines. However, I like their designs more. Their designs are also very intricate, so I guess they can ask more for it.

Here is a silver replica of the Barong. You may remember this in the Barong and Kris Dance I posted earlier.

This is a silver replica of the Garuda. Vishnu usually rides this creature and is also featured in the GWK statue.

Their wood works are also intricate. I feel that they are at par with the works of Paete in the Philippines. Their only difference would be their designs. Balinese woodworks are heavily influenced by the Hindu religion.

Paintings are also available on sale. We were only allowed to take pictures of unfinished works. Finished paintings vary from images of Indonesia, flowers, fishes to abstract paintings.

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Bali also has stone works which are huge, often used for landscaping. We didn't stop for it since we had no intention of bringing home such large items.

Adventure Travel Asia: Bali, Indonesia (Jimbaran Bay)

2010-02-09T01:00:00.000-08:00

From Uluwatu Temple, we headed for Jimbaran Bay for a dinner by the beach. Literally by the beach!

Jimbaran Bay

The area is organized by a community of 24 restaurant owners. All their restaurants have the same size and overall look. All offer barbecued seafood at the same rates. Although they probably have their own specialty dishes.

They do this to make sure that everybody makes profit. No one big restaurant will monopolize the market.

While waiting for the sun to set and for your food to be served, you can have grilled corn ([i]inihaw na mais[/i]).

We ordered a seafood platter. It was good!.. except for the crabs. I guess we got used to nice big chili crabs in Singapore.

Adventure Travel Asia: Bali, Indonesia (Uluwatu)

2010-02-09T00:59:00.000-08:00

Uluwatu Temple

Uluwatu Temple is one of the main Hindu temples in Bali. The temple is situated along the cliffs, about 70 meters from the raging waves of the ocean. It is quite popular due to the breathtaking view of the sunset.

You need to be properly dressed when going inside the compound. You can't wear short pants. Sarongs are available for rent while sashes are lent for free.

I have nothing much to say about this place other than it's truly breathtaking! I'll let the pics speak for themselves.

Only worshipers are allowed inside the temple itself so I don't have good pics. Personally though, there's nothing interesting to see inside. Unless there's a ritual going on.

The waves were really crashing into the rocks below.

You'll be taking a lot of pictures here.. not knowing that monkeys will be sneaking in to steal your stuff.

Notice the monkey at the bottom left corner of the frame? That dude grabbed a keychain hanging from my camera bag. Good thing he wasn't able to yank it off. None of my stuff was taken.

There are hundreds of monkeys there. They are very very quick and will try to steal your things. We were told that a lot of people lose their glasses, caps, hair clips. The guides can get them back for you for a fee, which ranges to around US$40-50.

These monkeys just hang around the temple areas and wait for food from tourists.

We were told by our guide that there's a technique in getting back stolen items. You need to give the monkey two food items. Give the monkey one item first. When you give the second item, they will drop your things since they wouldn't let go of the food that's already in their other hand.

Unfortunately, giving the monkeys food to get stolen items back simply encourages them to steal more.

We were not able to wait for the sunset, but it's still a pretty sight.

.. more to come..

Bali, Indonesia - Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) Cultural Center

2009-10-28T21:04:00.000-07:00

We had a long weekend because of the Hari Raya Haji celebration last year. Looking for a place to unwind, my wife and I found ourselves in the beautiful island of Bali, Indonesia.

GWK Cultural Park

GWK (Mandala Garuda Wisnu Kencana) is a large cultural center carved out of limestone. The main attraction of this center is the statue of Vishnu, the supreme God in Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism.

This is the upper body of the statue of Vishnu. Notice the woman at the right corner for reference in height. Vishnu's arms have been set aside temporarily in another location within GWK.

In Hindu mythology, Vishnu is often seen mounted on a Garuda, a lesser Hindu divinity. Garuda is depicted as having a golden body, white face, red wings, and an eagle's beak, but with a strong man's body. He wears a crown on his head. He is ancient and has size enough to block out the sun.

Only the Garuda's head and shoulders have been built as of this time.

This is how the final statue will look like. The final statue is expected to be taller than the Statue of Liberty.

The plan for GWK was to have a 146 meter gold plated Vishnu riding his winging chariot Garuda and have the whole thing on top of an 11 storey entertainment complex. A large amphitheater will also be found at the foot of the statue. It will be used to stage concerts, shows and other festivals.

A peace memorial statue is found at the end of the amphitheater.

The whole area has been carved out of limestone. Some sections of the limestone have images carved on it.

The art museum is located close to a small shop selling refreshments. The surrounding areas of the shops are littered with fountains and pools.

The center was targeted to finish last 2003, but the Bali bombings has slowed down the development. The new target is 2010, but it seems that this will be further moved due to the still low number of tourists visiting Bali.Adventure Travel Asia: Bali, Indonesia (GWK)