Photo time!

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cheers Peter

Thanks, oz. I'm not sure I'm happy to learn that the M/C prob'ly was able to get me, tho' it's marginally better than thinking I screwed myself!

And before you get an idea of selling me a rare "two-sided stamp," I oughtta let you know that I only have a couple hundred $, so would need your "best price." ugh. ;p

Nothing like us "early morning posters," eh?

Kid ... nope, double sided stamps you do not want .. you want this baby at $US2,500,000.00 .. the most valuable thing on earth for its size and weight. FT'ers should check their old childhood stamp albums, as it is a pretty common USA stamp after all. Photo and story at.

http://www.ozemail.com.au/~ozstamps//dec99text.html


Peter .. great photos .. like the one of you in Jail in the Wild West!

Yes Ozstamps

That photo is taken at a small town at the back of Arizona, possibly on route 66. They had a few displays like that for the tourists and that small jail cart could be climbed in the back so I thought - hey great photo opportunity!

Everyone I have spoken to thinks the photos (400!) came out well from that trip. I really like the Yosemite pics and the group photo at Sedona. If anyone is interested (and young enough) I can strongly recommend Contiki. They're a great company and the staff we had were like second parents to us.

Actually I have yet to develop what will no doubt be my favourite photos of the trip. At toon town in Disneyland I had my photo taken with Minnie and also with Mickey. I'll remind my wife to get those developed.

cheers peter

From another who has happily honeymooned in the "Land of a thousand smiles" and actually made multiple trips - I love it there! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

As PremEx noted, I prefer the Grand Hyatt over the Sheraton in Nusa Dua but I also like the Bali Hyatt in Sanur which has been remodeled! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

See:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum94/HTML/000555.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/002882.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum94/HTML/001111.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum94/HTML/000587.html

*HighFlyah*,

Welcome to Flyertalk from another fellow member of the Diecast Aircraft Forum! You're with good people here who are always willing to give frequent flyer and travel advice.

------------------
AlphaSigOU
Causa latet vis est notissima - the cause is hidden, the results are well-known.

I have stayed at both the Sheraton Nusa Dua and the Sheaton Nusa Indah. The two hotels are right next to each other, and share common facilities. To be quite honest, I beieve the rooms at the Nusa Indah are nicer than the Nusa Dua. If you are staying at the Nusa Dua, they do have some swim up rooms that are not available at the Nusa Indah but these rooms are quite small and very expensive. You will be able to have just as good a time at the Indah and save yourself a lot of money. I just checked hotel web site and rooms are available starting at $100 a nignt. Quick tip, most of the pool view rooms at Nusa Indah also are Ocean view rooms. Register for Starwoods promotion, after five nights you will receive a free Friday. Good luck.

I love Bali!!! Spent 10 days just wandering around the island.

Places not to miss:

Uluwatu - a beautiful Balinese temple overlooking the ocean. Go at sunset - beware of the monkeys and make sure you wear long pants or a sarong.

Ubud - wonderful. Great restaurants. cool places to shop.

Stay away from Kuta - nothing but trouble there.

Here's a great website: www.bali.com

Have a great time!

OK Kuta bashers - Yes there are a lot of hawkers, but if you handle yourself well no worries at all (to coin an OZ phrase). I stayed at a small place North of Kuta, met some nice OZ folks who shared their Bundy; got 1 1/2 hour massage by the pool for about $4 US.

Some good clubs off the beach near Kuta too, can't remember the name of the one with an enclosed dance floor and outside bandstand???

Also stayed at Hard Rock Beach Hotel for 2 nights - large pool and staff had free cocktail parties in the evening for guests; the Hard Rock Cafe had great bands and a large dance floor too.

So like always there are good and bad parts of everyplace, including Kuta. But hey I liked the monkey forest too...boy those monkeys are smart, one saw my friend put some bananas in his backpack, waited until he put it down to take a photo, went over to the bag, unzipped it, grabbed the bananas and walked away. Of course for a honeymoon it might be more important to stay in a nice enclosed area, but don't be scared to venture out either.

FYI, I got some great teak furniture there too...but don't go to the cheap discount shops. In one shop with wood carvings I bought a GARUDA piece at 10% of the marked price - the sales guy even got it for me cheaper so long as I agreed to "cut him in" by slipping him a few bucks out of sight of the owner...what a fun place http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Yeah, what's with all the Kuta bashing?? It's no more tourist tacky than Ft. Lauderdale or Cancun or Zushi or Surfers or Pattaya or Cap or Ibiza, yada, yada, yada.

beetee is absolutely right; it is what you make of it. And you shouldn't be afraid to go to these places and pick out the interesting bits of culture there also. I'd wager there are a few more interesting things to see 50 yards outside your hotel entrance in Kuta than on the sanitized grounds of the Four Seasons, etc. Plus, to me, there is something about being able to walk everywhere. When on vacation, worrying about car/taxi/bemo/etc. just isn't my thing. Plus, if you've got the money to spend, you can get anything in Kuta. Awesome.

That being said, I'm all for those resorts, fantastic places. But a day or two or more in Kuta is fun and will certainly let you appreciate your secluded resort experience even more.

One thing that I don't get, and this is obviously just me, I do not understand the attraction of Ubud. It's like some balinese craft mall in the middle of the woods, all artsy-fartsy. No thanks. If you want jungle and woods and interesting culture, try Tana Toraja on Sulawesi.

[This message has been edited by tfjim (edited 08-17-2000).]

I love Bali! Kutais the pits but I am not one to bash it. I was told that it was the neatest place on the island. It clearly was not. I did get a nice twenty minute foot massage on the beach for $1 USD and a pair of leather pants custom made for $65. I never saw or heard of anyone getting ripped off in any way shape or form.
Ubud was nice and the monkey forest is interesting. Luckily I was not attacked by the monkeys.
I stayed at Le Meridian Tanah Lot and that property is magnificent! The staff was pleasant and the food superior. Food on the island of Bali is delicious as well as inexpensive. I am not familiar with Nusa Dua or Sanur but I do know that you will have a great time and will want to stay.
Also, do find some activities to do as they are safe and cheap!
Have fun!

Another thing, take a lot of $1USD as they go a long way. The Market in Denpasar is nothing to get excited over. It is rather disappointing.

Hi Everyone,

Many, MANY thanks for all the helpful responses to my original message about Bali. I've since cancelled my Sheraton Laguna Nusa Dua reservation (thank God for online bookings - cancellations are a cinch!) and went with Grand Hyatt Bali after several strong confirmations that it's superior while not costing an arm and a leg more than Sheraton.

Right now I've done an online booking with Grand Hyatt Bali at a rate of USD160.00 plus 21% taxes and gratuity (total USD193.30) per night for a garden terrace L-shaped room (nothing fancy, by Grand Hyatt standards I bet but it's a Grand Hyatt so it MUST be nice).

However, I was curious and found a local travel agent who quoted me a rate of HKD1310.00 (USD167.95) for the first night (Aug 25) inclusive of tax and HKD1000.00 (USD128.20) for the subsequent nights. That seemed too good to be true, and I am currently waiting to see if they come up with any vacancies. Unfortunately, HK agents don't have access to the handfuls of at-cost prices that Oz agents appear to have!

Anyway, I've listened to your sound advice and will bring US currency only, credit cards for ATM machines in case of need, and have acquired a copy of Lonely Planet's Bali and Lombok travel guide for reference before our departure next Friday.

Thanks again for your advice!

*HighFlyah*
P.S. How would one have access to the Internet in Bali?

Have a great trip http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

In Legian (just to the north of Kuta) I visited an Internet Cafe in 1998. Should be still there.

It is located on Jalan Pura Bagus Taruna in Legian. By the way there are two other places you should visit in Legian. The Swiss restaurant (which doubles as the Swiss Consulate) is a great place for a meal. Rudi may know of it. I had breakfast there every day. Also there is a great painting shop nearby which is well worth a visit. Don't forget to haggle!

cheers Peter