(1) having to get used to the absence of strange road habits
(i) the balinese use car horns like there's no tomorrow. they honk at passing motorists to "alert them of your presence" (this was from a guidebook). yup. when a motorcycle emerges at the upcoming junction and your driver goes *honk*. in fact you would honk at virtually every junction. your driver changes lanes and while passing the guy who was in front of him, *honk* (and i don't think this was cos he knew the driver of that car). when they're stuck in a traffic jam, when it's obvious nobody's moving, *honk*. car accessory shops and mechanics must have a good life there.
(ii) they hardly use their brakes. going up a mountainous road MAY be an exception.
(iii) officially, they drive on the left side of the road. but more often than not, they seem to prefer the right side. (overtaking-lah)
(2) it's such a RELIEF now that you don't have to bargain every time you step into a shop!
i don't see why bargaining is such fun. it's an awful chore. every time you approach a shop they probably think Ooo, here come rich tourist, we must sell everything at sky-high price because tourist don't know better. for goodness' sake, do you seriously think i would purchase a pair of wraparound pants from a side stall in Bali at Suria KLCC prices when i can get the same thing at the Thai Fair near Carrefour's at RM10 without even having to bargain? and i'm sick of the i'll-have-to-say-take-it-or-leave-it-and-walk-away-but-you'll-come-after-me-anyway-yelling-the-last-price-i-wanted.. look, i just wanted to quickly grab a souvenir so i can move on to a bit more sightseeing and and you KNOW you'll sell it to me at that price anyway (and i don't look anything like a gwailo so i don't have any coffers filled with so much Rupiah equivalent the number of zeros will bust your calculators) so how bout we quit the whole charade? (i later found out that at the new Sogo store in upmarket Nusa Dua, you can get little batik-lined souvenirs at less than RM10 each. all in comfortable air-conditioning and no pesky salespersons and no bargaining necessary)
and speaking of Sogo bags, i should have left them at the hotel before venturing out into the stalls outside the Nusa Dua entrance..
"Oo, sir, ma'am, shopping?"
"Oh, So-go!"
"So-go shopping!"
"Eh, So-go!"
"So-go, ya?"
"You want shopping? Oh, So-go!"
"So-go!"
if i stepped into any of those shops then they'd probably be trying to sell me wraparound pants at the price of Benetton cos i'm bloody Japanese and i shop at Sogo (hubby does carry a bulky canggih-looking camera anyway and i lug a tripod around, so of course we're Japanese-lah). never mind that my Sogo carrier bag which attracted so much attention just contained stuff the stalls would sell me at twice the price.
the balinese are a friendly people, they really are. i wish they'd stop trying to make use of their charm to give me the "please ma'am pity me, i'm not even breaking even, i haven't sold anything today" pitch. i'm glad nobody this time round in Bali has resorted to "i've got kids to feed" thing or i'd have imploded (i'm too nice to explode, so i implode). hey, i'll do charity when i wish to, to a cause I feel like donating to. and after all i'm only a millionaire in Rupiah terms..
5 comments:
hey...im off to bali in feb..any do and donts? places of interest?
cool! ok don't try driving, esp if it's your 1st trip there - there are hardly any road signs and the roads are generally narrow. get a local guide who will drive you around.. there won't be any shortage of them, they generally hang out in the touristy areas / outside shops and stalls.. a guide will pick you up in his van on the day you want and take you to places you'd like to go. try to negotiate for a rate of about Rp 350,000 per full day (which is generally about 8am to 8pm). (the guy we had initially quoted Rp 600,000 PER DAY) during my 1st trip (this was my 2nd trip) we didn't do much research and we let the guide suggest places.. we ended up being taken to expensive tourist-oriented shops where the guide was probbly more interested in getting a commission out of (like a batik store selling shirts at RM200 equivalent).. this time we told him what we wanted and, combined with his suggestions, we managed to avoid wasting time at unneccesary touristy shops selling overpriced goods. if you like shopping, Ubud is good for souvenir-shopping (and has a nice, quaint, cool atmosphere).. the Ubud Centre market is a convenient one-stop place for stuff from clothes to crafts. the (in)famous Kuta area (where most hotels are, and where the first bomb occurred) has loads of shops too but found it too commercialised.. Sightseeing - go look at temples (called 'pura' in Bali) - Pura Uluwatu down south is situated at a breathtaking location - on a cliff overlooking crashing waves - go at sunset, there you can also catch a performance at sunset of the Kecak fire dance (quite a spectacle, mainly cos of the use of fire). A lot of guides like to recommend a journey up to the volcano Mt Kintamani.. do take a trip up if you wish, but beware of very very pushy street-peddlers, and maybe pack food cos otherwise the guides will take you to this particular restaurant which boasts a view of the mountain but serves horrible buffet lunch with costs a bomb. if you're into seafood dinners by the sea, try the Jimbaran area. a useful thing to do might be to get a travel book and read it, say on the plane.. i got the "Bali & Lombok" travel guide published by Periplus (which includes a detailed map of bali) which i found quite good.
other temples which may be of interest - (1) Tanah Lot temple - it's built on a rocky outcrop out in the sea, when the tide is low in the daytime, you can actually walk across the water to it. (2) Pura Taman Ayun - one of the larger ones, surrounded by a moat.
Try out a Balinese spa/massage session or two.. if yours is not a spa package, you can pick up some brochures at the airport. your guide may have some suggestions too.
as for local food - Soto ayam over there is a LOT better than the often-tasteless soto we get here. don't know where you're staying; but there was this particular restaurant (not a terribly fancy place, just a makan spot amongst the shops) located at the main entrance to the Nusa Dua resort area called Nusa Dua Cafe had great food at great prices. A restaurant across the road from it, called Bali Bistro, had nice atmosphere & good food too. Depending on where you're staying, some of these restaurants provide free transport back to your lodgings after dinner.
Another thing to try and makan is (if you're not Muslim or vegetarian, that is) babi guling (roast pork). This is mostly sold at small eateries on the roadside. Ask your guide to stop by one of these warungs; you can either eat there or takeaway (takeaway is cheaper). it's served peking-duck style - the meat is in strips and the crispy skin placed separately. the bumbu, or gravy, is spicy and to die for.... *slurp*
Bali is generally hot and very humid.. bring sunscreen! Can be wet too, have a raincoat or umbrella handy. Some hotels provide umbrellas.
thanks lot. well im staying at kuta beach and leagian beach, 2 nites each. quite on a budget. whr to club in bali for reasonable price?
unfortunately both times i was in bali i didn't have a chance to go clubbing (cos friends/family i was travelling with had post-bomb phobia - 1st time i was there, it was shortly after the 1st one, this 2nd time i was there, after the 2nd one). generally, where you are - kuta, legian - should have great places to club. the areas aren't too upmarket but are definitely tourist haunts so am not sure what the charges are like. anyone else out there got any recommendations? [oh, alternatively, i noticed a lot of jazz bars in Ubud.. ]
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