Archive for August, 2006
Tommorrow at 6.30am I fly out to Singapore, to renew my Business visa. Last week I picked up paperwork at Arjuna Immigration in Kerobokan, for 2m rp. I’ll file this at the Indonesian Embassy in downtown Singapore and get back here the next day.
You never totally know where you stand with the Indonesian immigration, as they don’t like communication. New rules are released and we read about them in the press. I’m still on a Multiple Entry Business, which works out well. Arjuna took a copy of my old passport, with a previous Multiple Entry Business, stamped in. I was told people who had previously had them can continue, newcomers get a Single Entry Business visa. Take this with a grain of salt, it could be nonsense.
Singapore is a good place to do a visa run; close, efficient, easy to get around, has some budget accommodation downtown, people speak English, non-corrupt (we’ll get to that later) and I know my way around.
The flight tommorrow goes through Jakarta to Singapore, then direct back. I should be in Singapore at 11.15am or so. Processing paperwork at the Indonesian Embassy is real easy. I have the number of an Indian guy, Mr Wahid, who is an ‘agent’. You’ll always find him at the desk right outside the embassy, fiddling with a stack of passports and paperwork. I’ll pass him my paperwork plus a small fee, he’ll jump the queue for me and get the passport back asap. That can mean within 2-3 hours, assuming I can get it in before 12 midday. I’ve cut it as close as 5 minutes before and if I miss, I could have headaches with my return flight. This time I’m staying overnight, put it in on tuesday, and pick it up that day or wednesday morning.
My friend Fauzi knows I’m coming, so I hope to hang out with him for a while. For people who have never been to Singapore, it has to be one of the easiests places to travel in, with speedy, no-hassle immigration, ATM’s, and a bus garage in the basement.
Reports fro, Singapore will be coming, plus my shopping for a new camera.
source : www.baliblog.com
August 29th, 2006
Ray from Melbourne pulled out of the bbq last night because a friend had an accident. Ray sms’d me just now, and said his friend was coming back from golf in Sanur and had a head-on collision.
Ray’s friend lost 4 pints of blood and was ‘on the brink’. He made it through and is on a plane back to Australia tonight. He spent plast night at Sanglah hospital in Denpasar. We wish him well and hope he makes a speedy recovery.
In that situatin your options are, visit a clinic, either SOS International or BIMC, both in the Kuta area, or go to Sanglah in Denpasar, if its life threatening. The 2 clinics are spendy, but good, although they can’t do major surgery.
For a European, or American, who is far away from home, and needs non-lifesaving surgery, you might consider jumping on a plane and going to Singapore. With the right travel insurance, you can literally choose where you have the surgery.
source : www.baliblog.com
August 29th, 2006
Bali is the driving force behind Indonesia’s tourism economy. With its unique culture, intertwining with the landscape in a seamless fashion, still being the major draw, or at least the canvas, upon which everything else is served, the ‘Bali dream’ endures.
Recent tourism figures show that Bali’s airport remains the busiests in the country, and the way most visitors come to Indonesia. The Ministry of Tourism and Culture in Jakarta predicts 5.5 million people will visit Indonesia in 2006 and 6.6 million people in 2007. SE Asia is a strong markt for Indonesia right now, along with the European market.
Here’s more from the Antara news agency.
source : www.baliblog.com
August 29th, 2006
Travelling in Indonesia can be a real pleasure, new sights, sounds, people and the chance to explore a different culture. As with many places in the world, Indonesia has its share of hustlers, especially around major airports. You have to keep your wits about you, and be one step ahead of the situation. Here is an account from the Jakarta Post, of one traveller’s experience.
Traveling saga
I recently had the pleasure of visiting some Indonesian friends living in a small village near Kebumen, Central Java. In my previous visits, I arrived from Bali but this time, I decided to travel via Jakarta. Unfortunately, my experiences at both the international and domestic airports in Jakarta left me most unhappy.On my arrival at the international airport, I went to use the toilet. A male cleaner saw me approaching and beckoned me inside. “This way, this way”, he said. I entered the toilet, used the facilities and noticed that he was inside the toilet area and appeared to be waiting for me. He put out his hand and said “Money, money”.
I thought this was unusual but gave him Rp 10,000 and thought it must be normal to provide a tip to use the facilities but have since thought about it and consider this practice to be most improper.
I then left the airport to obtain a Blue Bird (or Silver Bird) taxi as recommended on the Qantas Flight and on many Internet sites. I was confronted with many people trying to sell me a taxi ride which for a traveler is most distressing. Anyway, I settled for a taxi driver who claimed he was a Blue Bird taxi driver. The vehicle did not have a meter or any signs apart from a piece of paper on the dash saying Blue Bird Taxi.
A second man who did less than one minute’s work by pushing my luggage laden trolley to the taxi seemed most upset with the Rp 10,000 tip I gave him. I then had difficulty obtaining a price from the driver for the trip to the Meridien Hotel and was eventually told it would be Rp 350,000 which I agreed to pay for the trip. I later discovered that this price was far in excess of what it should have been.
The next day, I traveled to the domestic airport for my trip to Yogyakarta. The taxi I had obtained from the hotel was metered and provided good service. I had prebooked my return air travel to Yogyakarta on the Internet with Lion Air two weeks before and arranged for my friends to pay for the fare at a Yogyakarta Bank when I discovered that payment could not be made online.
When I went to collect my ticket at the Lion Air counter, I had to pay for the return airfare again as I did not have the receipt from the bank confirming my payment for the fare. There appears to be no confirmation between the bank and Lion Air that payment has been made.
After moving inside I checked in and went to the waiting area which changed on four occasions before boarding the aircraft. My friend was waiting for me at Yogyakarta but my baggage (unknown to me) had arrived on an earlier flight and was left in the far corner of the arrival area which left me standing around waiting for my baggage on the now empty conveyer belt.
NATHAN CAMPBELL
Queensland, Australia
Its easy to let your guard down and end up looking like a sucker. Happened to me in the Philippines some years ago.
source : www.baliblog.com
August 28th, 2006
Dry season in Bali (April-Oct) is the best time to visit. The months of June-Sept being the absolute best. With increased breeze, lower temperatures, humidity, rainfaill, and higher percentage of sunshine, its a tourists dream.
Check out the 10 day weather forecast for Bali.
August 28th, 2006
Sunday evening at 5pm a little bbq kicked off at my house. My goal this time was to only cook meat that was not atttached to me, my feet now almost recovered.
Ray from Melbourne was the instigator of the bbq idea and I expected a dozen people or so, including Ray’s wife, the lovely Wayan. Unfortunately one of Rays friends had a bad accident and Ray couldn’t make it. The people who showed up were a couple of Aussie couple surfers fm Byron Bay, Jim, a longtern American expat, an English expat, a French expat and a couple of Ika’s Indonesian friends, plus her brother and sister.
Pepito’s supermarket was where I picked up some meat and other items, including a bag of Kingsford charcoal bricks. Pepito’s didn’t seem like the cheapest place to shop, but they had good stuff.
Pepito’s - Jl. Kediri No. 36A, Kuta Tel. (0361) 759-112
My bbq skill is getting better, and starting the fire at 3pm, was already into cooking large potatoes, chicken and corn before people arrived. When the first people showed up we continued with steak, more chicken and saved load of sausages for last. Little Jevon hasn’t really tasted the feel of a party and now he can walk, we have to make sure his mits stay off of the grill.
Our small group generated some noise and polished off a decent amount of beer. Great to get some smoke moving again.
source : www.baliblog.com
August 28th, 2006
Its been over a year since I had the house painted, and today the painters came over for a tour of duty. My landlord Nyoman, doesn’t want to pay for either the paint, or the labor, but I figured its worth it, as the place will look better.
My brother in law works at a paint shop, but his price are the same as the one up the road. I think I know what’s going on there, but in Bali, people are always looking to make a couple of bucks. The ladies who painted the house last time did a good job and are very experienced. They showed up today with their ladders, scrapers and poles. Wasting no time they sandpapered some of the flaking paint away and soon had 5 kilos of white paint spread over the walls. I picked up another can for 55,000rp on upper Jl. Seminyak. We also have 3 cans of blue paint, I’m going to color the ugly grey wall blue, let’s see how that looks! The ladies are charging 45,000rp a day each, but the way they work it won’t take long.
source : www.baliblog.com
August 28th, 2006
My friend Ebong is a pretty clued in guy. He just sms’s me from Thailand with some info on the party scene here in Bali.
The Junction House Music Fest is starting tonight (Aug 24th) and runs till Aug 27th.
Location:
Hotel Tugu in Canggu - 3pm-8pm
Hu’u Bar - 10pm-2am
F Lounge - 2am-5am
Check out The Junction.
source : www.baliblog.com
August 25th, 2006
In general, shopping hours in Bali are 9am-6pm. daily. Of course it depends where you are and what you are shopping for.
In Kuta the handicraft vendors start getting going around 9am-10am, as do internet cafes. Warungs and restaurants are open for breakfast, at least those with a western menu and you can get served at 8am.
Each place is different and at Cafe Moka in Seminyak, you can get breakfast at 7.30am, Global Xtreme internet cafe and ISP, opening at 8am. As Bali is a holiday island, shops have to be concious of the tourist’s schedule, which is to get up late, eat a late breakfast, do some shopping, go to the beach, back for drinks, eat dinner, bit more DVD shopping, then party.
In response to this, shops stay open till 9pm-10pm. pretty much most of the shops are shut by 10pm.
One of the main shopping areas in Bali is Kuta Square, the narrow street leading from Jl. Pantai Kuta, through to Jl. Kartika Plaza. Kuta Square is lined with shops selling surf wear, watches, clothing, and has Haagen Dazs, McDonalds, KFC and Matahari Department store, a great place to browse and pick up everyday items. There is also a supermarket on the ground floor. Kuta Square gets going around 9am and ends around 10pm.
Here is a list of supermarkets and department stores in Bali.
Bintang Supermarket
Jl. Raya Seminyak No. 17 Seminyak - Kuta - Bali
Jl. Raya Sanggingan No. 45 Campuhan - Ubud - Bali
Tel : (62 361) 730552, 972972, Fax : (62 361) 972845
Open 8am-11pm
Delta Dewata Supermarket
Jl. Raya Andong No. 14 Ubud - Bali
Tel : (62 361) 973049
Fax : (62 361) 978041
Discovery Shopping Mall
Jl. Kartika Plaza - Kuta - Bali
Tel : (62 361) 755522
Fax : (62 361) 767300
Open 10am-11pm
Hardy’s
Jl. Danau Tamblingan 136 Sanur - Bali
Tel : (62 361) 281914
HR Toserba
Perumnas Monang-Maning Denpasar
Tel : (62 361) 483869
Perumahan Bumi Dalung Permai Blok GG Denpasar
Tel : (62 361) 421111
Libi Plaza
Jl. Teuku Umar 104 - 110 Denpasar - Bali
Tel : (62 361) 221439
Mal Bali Galeria
Jl. By Pass I Gusti Ngurah Rai - Simpang Dewa Ruci - Kuta - Bali
Tel : (62 361) 237364
Fax : (62 361) 753380, 755277, 753380
Matahari Duta Plaza
Jl. Dewi Sartika 4G Denpasar - Bali
Tel : (62 361) 237364
Matahari Kuta Square
Jl. Bakung Sari - Kuta - Bali
Tel : (62 361) 757588
Open 10am-10pm
Matahari Mall Bali Galleria
Jl. By Pass Ngr Rai - Simpang Siur - Kuta - Bali
Tel : (62 361) 755277, 753380
Pepito Supermarket
Jl. Kediri No. 36A Tuban - Kuta - Bali
Tel : (62 361) 759112
Fax : (62 361) 763960
Alfa
Jl. Imam Bonjol 440 Denpasar - Bali
Jl. Diponegoro 183 Denpasar - Bali
Tel : (62 361) 483075, 234821
Open 8am-11pm
Ramayana Mall
Jl. Diponegoro 103 AB, Denpasar
Tel : (62 361) 246306
Open 10am-10pm
Sarinah Supermarket
Jl. By Pass Ngurah Rai No. 119 Sanur - Denpasar
Tel : (62 361) 282199
Fax : (62 361) 288481
Supernova
Jl. Raya Kuta - Kuta- Bali
Tel : (62 361) 751186
Tiara Dewata
Jl. May. Jend. Sutayo 55 Denpasar - Bali
Tel : (62 361) 235733
Fax : (62 361) 235934
Tiara Grosir
Jl. Cokroaminoto 16 Denpasar - Bali
Tel : (62 361) 423609
Fax : (62 361) 423602
Tiara Monang Maning
Jl. Batukaru 100z Denpasar - Bali
Tel : (62 361) 482175
Fax : (62 361) 481241
Tiara Gatzu
Jl. Gatot Subroto Barat No. 567 Badung - Bali
Tel : (62 361) 418918
Fax : (62 361) 418910
Tiara Kuta Galeria
Jl. Raya Kuta No. 68 Kuta - Bali
Tel : (62 361) 750977
Fax : (62 361) 750972
Tragia
Komplek Wisata Galleria Nusa Dua, Jl. By Pass Ngr Rai NusaDua - Bali
Jl. Diponegoro 98, Denpasar - Bali
Yudistira Supermarket
Jl. By Pass Ngurah Rai 240 Sanur - Bali
Tel : (62 361) 285656
Fax : (62 361) 284169
Most of the big supermarkets and department stores have similar hours. In places such as Kuta Galeria, a specially built complex of shops, it depends on each shop. For example Global Chiropractors in Kuta Galeria open at 7am. Other businesses open later.
Shopping in Bali can be a lot easier than in Europe, things don’t close on the weekends, as far as the stuff you are likely to need.
source : www.baliblog.com
August 25th, 2006
Hello Bali is a locally produced magazine, that contains a wide variety of information, and articles about life in Bali. I always flick through Hello Bali, when I’m in an office or restaurant waiting to be served. You’ll find many local businesses carry this magazine for customers to read.
Published once a month by the Bali Tourism Board, Hello Bali is a large, colorful and fun look at the culture and lifestyle of Balinese people, and those expats who live here.
Subjects covered include: Travel, Dining, Shopping, Golf, Spas, Villas, Culture, Entertainment. Sections of the magazine are divided into This Month, What’s On, Regulars, Features, Arhives, Listing. There are also Letters to the Editor.
•Glancing through the August 2006 edition, I see that This Month features the Bali’s Best Restaurant Awards 2006 poll, complete with an online form.
•What’s On features a cultural calendar for the month, plus news about sporting events.
•Regulars has articles about villas, garden parties, chefs and history.
•Features has articles on luxury living, fashion, jewelry and a book review.
•Archives goes back to September 2005.
•Listings has geographically arranged info under the headings of: Nightlife Bars & Clubs, Good Food Guide, Shopping, Spas.
You can sign up online for the subscription to Hello Bali.
12 Issues Rp. 180.000
24 Issues Rp. 336.000 (Save 30%) plus FREE copy of Bali Dining.
If you have a question or comment about Hello Bali Magazine, please e-mail editor@hellobalimagazine.com
source: www.baliblog.com
August 25th, 2006
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