Budget Travel - bali trip

hi,

my wife and I are making our first long haul trip, to bali,
(our longest journey previously was to langkawi)

its a free and easy package. we are staying at a hotel in legian, I hope you guys can assist with some queries:

1) we booked the trip before the earthquake in I'sia, and well now there are quite a few 'negative' news from I'sia, eg: earthquake, bird flu and so on.

Q: shld we NOT eat chickens in bali? anything to look out for while we are there?

2) We are given a complementary tour to select from below list:

afternoon denpasar city tour + seafood dinner
afternoon tanah lot sunset tour + seafood dinner
afternoon ubud true life village + seafood dinner
afternoon kuta & uluwatu temple tour + seafood dinner
morning ubud true life village tour + turtle island
full day kintamani tour with lunch
full day ubud true life village + bedugul tour with lunch
2 hrs spa treatment at galuh spa

any tips on which is a good one to go on.

we are interested in balinese culture and also to have a look at the non-commercial sides of bali


2) we will be travelling by Garuda airlines, transit at Jakarta airport.
(SIN - JKT - Denpasar)

do you have any tips for us in terms of the flight itself?

3) any recommendations to see/do in bali?

any recommendations/ tips/ advise/suggestions will be greatly appreciated


thks
:cool:

hi,

my wife and I are making our first long haul trip, to bali,
(our longest journey previously was to langkawi)

its a free and easy package. we are staying at a hotel in legian, I hope you guys can assist with some queries:

1) we booked the trip before the earthquake in I'sia, and well now there are quite a few 'negative' news from I'sia, eg: earthquake, bird flu and so on.

Q: shld we NOT eat chickens in bali? anything to look out for while we are there?

2) We are given a complementary tour to select from below list:

afternoon denpasar city tour + seafood dinner
afternoon tanah lot sunset tour + seafood dinner
afternoon ubud true life village + seafood dinner
afternoon kuta & uluwatu temple tour + seafood dinner
morning ubud true life village tour + turtle island
full day kintamani tour with lunch
full day ubud true life village + bedugul tour with lunch
2 hrs spa treatment at galuh spa

any tips on which is a good one to go on.

we are interested in balinese culture and also to have a look at the non-commercial sides of bali


2) we will be travelling by Garuda airlines, transit at Jakarta airport.
(SIN - JKT - Denpasar)

do you have any tips for us in terms of the flight itself?

3) any recommendations to see/do in bali?

any recommendations/ tips/ advise/suggestions will be greatly appreciated


thks
:cool:


I was there a while ago, so I can't comment on current conditions. But I can tell you that Tanoh Lot is a sunset, nothing more and nothing less. What's really worth seeing is a Balinese funeral. The thing to do is ask around in Ubud. Don't go to Kuta, it's a waste of time (or worse), lots of package holiday Australians looking for beach and beer (and inexpensive prostitutes). Also definitely go see some traditional Balinese dance and gamelan. Don't know about the "true life" village tours.

I'd probably pick a temple over a "true life" village.

ok thks

but our hotel (legian paradiso) is in legian which is supposedly near kuta

nvmind, we will travel around

any good halal restaurants in bali worth recommending?

thks

Q: shld we NOT eat chickens in bali? anything to look out for while we are there?

2) We are given a complementary tour to select from below list:

afternoon denpasar city tour + seafood dinner
afternoon tanah lot sunset tour + seafood dinner
afternoon ubud true life village + seafood dinner
afternoon kuta & uluwatu temple tour + seafood dinner
morning ubud true life village tour + turtle island
full day kintamani tour with lunch
full day ubud true life village + bedugul tour with lunch
2 hrs spa treatment at galuh spa

any tips on which is a good one to go on.

we are interested in balinese culture and also to have a look at the non-commercial sides of bali


2) we will be travelling by Garuda airlines, transit at Jakarta airport.
(SIN - JKT - Denpasar)

do you have any tips for us in terms of the flight itself?

3) any recommendations to see/do in bali?

thks
:cool:Hello

I visited my family in Jakarta this past January and took my dad on a trip to Bali (and Jogjakarta)

As for eating chicken, make sure they're fully cooked and stay away from chicken farms area.

Out of the list, I would get the Kintamani tour + lunch. Lake Kintamani/Mount Batur is about 2 hours trip from Kuta. This allows you to see the country side of Bali and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Providing that there's no fog around, the view by Lake Kintamani is priceless!

And see about walking down the lake, as you will pass a traditional Bali gravesite called Trunyan. It's unique because the dead bodies (recent & old) are laid above ground, only covered with some type of crate so the bodies won't be eaten by dogs or other animals.

As for GA ... the airfare is much cheaper compare to other asian airlines. The FA's are friendly (no fake smiles like edited), good food but poor IFE's and the aircraft is of old age. And they almost never on time. If you're not on a tight schedule and looking for a great deal, GA is your best bet.
If you sit in econ on their 737's, request row 5

Have a great time in Bali!

Take the Kintamani tour, if it includes going around Lake Batur. That whole interior area of Bali is absolutely breathtaking.

[QUOTE=teezer125]
Q: shld we NOT eat chickens in bali? anything to look out for while we are there?

A: eating well cooked chicken is safe, just don't have direct contact with live birds or droppings (all birds not just chickens). Wash hands often, don't touch eyes or mouth. You should be fine.

tanah lot is a nice setting. Sunsets all over bali are generally well regarded.

ubud is was a really nice village village, good for shopping for art, carvings etc, also dance performances, and also occasionally if you are lucky, ceremonies. Ask at your hotel if they know of any ceremonies in ubud area, like cremations (trust me you don't want to miss it if you can go to one). You can hire a car and driver for a day to drive you up to ubud and have a good look around and do some shopping. see the monkey forest, local scene.

Batur is ok too, especially if you want to see a volcano, but i've never gone down to the lake myself.

don't bother with lovina beach, pushy hawkers spoil the experience there.

"we are interested in balinese culture and also to have a look at the non-commercial sides of bali"

go to water gardens, go for walks in country side around ubud, really nice walks around ubud, never know what you'll run into, may find yourself worshipping a banyon tree...


2) we will be travelling by Garuda airlines, transit at Jakarta airport.
(SIN - JKT - Denpasar)

do you have any tips for us in terms of the flight itself?

when you depart, make sure the check in gate agent doesn't try to overcharge you for the departure tax. Last time through the garuda agent tried to double the departure tax for me even though the amount was printed on the departure form.

3) any recommendations to see/do in bali?

relax, talk to the locals (not just the off islanders who flock there to work tourists), you'll want to go back.

hi,

my wife and I are making our first long haul trip, to bali,
(our longest journey previously was to langkawi)

its a free and easy package. we are staying at a hotel in legian, I hope you guys can assist with some queries:

1) we booked the trip before the earthquake in I'sia, and well now there are quite a few 'negative' news from I'sia, eg: earthquake, bird flu and so on.

Q: shld we NOT eat chickens in bali? anything to look out for while we are there?

2) we will be travelling by Garuda airlines, transit at Jakarta airport.
(SIN - JKT - Denpasar)

do you have any tips for us in terms of the flight itself?

3) any recommendations to see/do in bali?

thks
:cool:

I agree with the advice of other FTers here - there is lots to do in Bali - nice shopping for little trinkets, some fabrics (silk) and nice furniture (which you can get shipped back fairly cheaply).

I have been to Bali three or four times, but only once for a holiday (rather than transit). The weather is lovely, so are the sunsets (as mentioned). We did a tour to the volcano - on the way you usually get taken to see a sample of the Indonesian dancing, followed by a visit to a jeweller, followed by a stop at a fabric shop and a painting shop. All interesting stuff and you can decide from there if you wish to go back to any or all of the types of shops at a later date. The volcano itself is interesting, make sure you eat at the restaurant that is right on the rim.

Now however for a word of warning - I would stay away from birdlife... but more importantly there are severe travel warnings advising against all travel to Indonesia and Bali. There is a very real threat of terrorism, especially against Australian interests - so rather than staying away from Kuta because it is cheap and full of package tourists, I would be recommending you stay away because it is an easy target for terrorists. Stay away from all large gatherings of tourists - especially attractions highlighted in tourist brochures (ie popular sights).

Now back to the good news (you really will love Bali!) - Garuda Indonesia Airways has been getting some quite good reviews lately. I always used to fly them to/from Bali and Europe and their A330s are kept in nice and new condition, even in economy. Seat pitch is good and the food isn't too bad. Service has also been very good, but inflight entertainment is limited. Not sure if you are on a 737 from SIN to JKT?

Regards

L/M/E FF