We arrived in Bali about 8PM. We gto through customs and grabbed our luggage. Once we exited Bali’s airport, we were overwhelmed by the locals. There were at least 100 people bombarding us with offers of side trips to temples and monkey jungles, taxi rides to our hotel, and offers to carry our luggage to the taxi.
We somehow bypassed the mob unscathed, and arrived at a Bali-sanctioned taxi vendor’s booth. Quick aside, I use the term “sanctioned” because in Bali, as in other Asian cities, you have sanctioned taxis and non-sanctioned taxis. The primary difference is that sanctioned taxis use meters to determine the fare, whereas non-sanctioned taxis do not. With the latter, you must negotiate the fare in advance. Sometimes this can be cheaper, but when you don’t know where you are going or how far it is to get there, it is often times not cheaper. What makes it even more difficult to taxi in Bali is that there are counterfeit sanctioned taxis. In other words, the taxi’s owner paints the cab in a sanctioned taxi’s colors and dons an “official” logo. Anyways, as we walked to our taxi, three guys approached us and grabbed our bags from our hands. They insisted on carrying our luggage to the car. We thought the men worked for the taxi company, and that it was part of their service. Wrong. We let them carry our bags a mere 50 feet to the taxi. Once there, they held their hand out for a tip. Although we had just visited the ATM, we only had bills equivalent to $50. We told them no. They just stood there with their hand outstretched for a tip. We told them no again and closed the taxi’s door. They stuck there hand inside the taxi’s window (not to grab us or take anything, just to receive their tip). We told them a firm no, and they finally got the hint.
Our Hotel Room in Bali
Outside of Our Hotel
Our hotel was only five minutes from the airport, which is one of the reasons why we selected it. Although it was not on the beach or centrally located in Kuta (the main beach city on Bali Island), it was only a 5 minute scooter and/or taxi ride away from the beach and city center. Our hotel was very nice and we were impressed with the customer service. They gave us coupons for complimentary drinks at the bar, discounted laundry rates, a 30 minute free massage, and free breakfast. Jumping ahead, they even packed us a warm boxed breakfast when we checked out of the hotel because it was too early for their normal breakfast services. The hotel featured a beer garden and a wine bar; both served food, though we never ate at either. The rooftop swimming pool was nice, and it had a view of the Indian Ocean. It also featured a waterfall in the pool. A DJ played music in the evening as we swam.
Our room was also very nice. It was a mixture of modern and classic styles. I especially liked the color scheme of the black and white.
Beer Garden
Beer Garden
Our Free Breakfast
Pool
Pool
Pool
Pool
We did not do much the first night, as it was already late and we both were tired. We went to a local restaurant and ate some Balinese food. It was alright. We’ve yet to find better food than in Thailand, which makes us anxious for our last 8 days being spent there.
Our Balinese Dinner
Our Balinese Dinner
The next day, we decided to get scooters. It took a little bit of convincing on my part for Danae to do it because the traffic was denser than it was in Phuket. Danae finally agreed, so we rented scooters. It only cost about $8 dollars for both of us to rent scooters for the day. Scooting through Kuta is not for the faint at heart. I was able to record the following two videos from my camera to give you an idea of what scooting is like (warning, very shaky camera work). Click the play button. Scooting around the city requires you to weave in and out of cars, and sometimes drive on the shoulder, sidewalk, or even in the oncoming traffic lane. Also, the roads kind of suck, in that they are narrow, bumpy, and not well-marked. It is also difficult to navigate the city. There are lots of one-way roads and the city is not on a grid; in fact, the streets are long with very few crossing streets. This means that if you miss your turn, you have to drive a long way before you can turn around. Also, sometimes we had to drive through long and narrow alley-ways, all the while dodging pedestrians, junk peddlers, and oncoming traffic. All that being said, it was actually quite fun. Danae may disagree, however, because on a couple of different occasions a truck almost forced her into a ditch.
I even got pulled over by a Bali police officer. We were on this main road filled with traffic, and Danae was behind me. I went beyond our turn, and Danae shouted for me as she made the turn. I tried to do a quick U-turn in the wrong direction to double back. There was a police substation at the corner of the intersection. I got nabbed for not having an international driving license and going the wrong direction on the road. Normally, they make you appear in court, but I bargained with the cop. He let me go for $25. What sucked though was that Danae already made the turn, and she could not stop and wait for me because traffic was so thick. Moreover, I could not go down the street she just took because I already passed it. Fortunately, we were close to our hotel and she knew how to get there.
Our Scooters
The Way you Purchase Gas for the Scooters. Vendors are all over the roads
The sell the gas in Absolute Bottles
Danae on Her Scooter
One of the main reasons why I wanted to get a scooter was to visit Pura Tanaha Lot. This was a temple on a cliff overlooking the Indian Ocean. It is one of the most famous temples in Bali. It was only about 25 miles outside the city. It would have cost us about $60 to go with a tour group; or, alternatively, we could drive there ourselves for $9. Then, once we got there, we could take our time and not be on a time schedule. It was not easy getting there, and there were numerous turns we had to make. Also, it was not marked by directional signage until we were basically already there. We had to get directions several different times. One guy even had us follow him for about 10 miles. Once we got outside the city and into the country side, it was very pleasant. We were surrounded by rice fields most of the way. We’ve never seen them before, so it was kind of a neat experience. I’ve include some pictures of them and other photos from the countryside as we scooted to the Temple.
Rice Field
Once we got to the temple, it was worth the trip getting there. It was spectacular. All we know about the temple (because we did not have a guide) is that is overlooks the Indian ocean, and tourists are not allowed inside. The cliffs were neat, and lots of people were there to surf because the waves were very high. Below are some pictures of area, plus a video --> Click for Video of Tanah Lot
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