This has been a fun trip report to read so far. As you can tell I am an infrequent poster here but try to read a few times a week. My new bride and I were in room 1415 (the last room on the left, on the Club room level in the same building) at the R.C. from 7/27 through 8/1.

Your trip report has been very accurate and anyone going to Bali would be well served to read it!!!

[This message has been edited by SkiMerlin (edited 08-07-2000).]

SkiMerlin,

No kidding? We were in 1425 7/23-7/28. We prob'ly saw you in the lounge. (White guy & Japanese wife.) You aren't that British family, are ya?

Small world indeed! I will continue with my postings (2-3 more planned) once work settles down enough to let me.

-KP

The Good, The Ubud and the Hungry:
<not to imply Ubud was "bad," of course!>

Ubud is an arts/crafts village, a little over an hour's ride Northish of Denpasar. We decided to make a day trip out of it, and had the hotel call us a taxi. <"you're a taxi">

An older driver drove up, and I explained that we were "off to Ubud, after a quick stop at the money changers in Kuta." The hotel had told me the m/c to the right of Matahari Dept store gives the best rates. As we were driving out of the hotel grounds (2-3 km), he pulls the car over, gets out and yells something to someone we can't see.

{On an earlier day, our taxi driver pulled over suddenly in mid-ride, and exchanged money with a sketchy-looking roadside dude. It looked like he exchanged a 10,000 Rp bill for some 1000's, but it also looked like something else might've been exchanged. I dunno, and our question went unanswered.}

Anyway, a young guy comes up to the taxi, and the driver explains that the younger guy has better English. When asked if we wanted him to drive us, we said "Whatever's fine." The new driver said the old guy was his uncle.

He explained the 20% surcharge for going out of town, which we had heard about from the hotel. He would take us around and then leave the meter running if we wanted to spend time walking around, etc. I don't remember how much an hour of "waiting" costs, but is not enough to worry about. <I checked the meter when we got out, and it hadn't gone up much while we were gone.>

We stopped in Kuta, and I found the m/c I was told about. An even 9000 Rp = $1 today, which beats the 8400 at the hotel and the 8500 at the Nusa Dua bank. (The $ had fallen from 9100 to 9035 that day.) I wanted to cash $400, figuring I would use any leftovers to put against resort charges (dinners, etc.). He started counting out 10,000 Rp bills. I asked if he had anything bigger, but he didn't. (Another foreigner came in as we were counting, and was turned away as I had apparently broken the bank.)

He laid out 5 stacks of 200,000 Rp, and asked me to recount them. This was to be the start of my single most idiotic move in quite a while.

All I can figure is that my brain, in a rush to get back to the taxi and my wife, recounted the initial 1MM Rp as a "new" 1MM. Thus, after counting out the initial 1MM, I then counted out a new 1.6M to arrive at my 3.6 million Rp. <And to think I'm in charge of importing/purchasing for a major company!> I don't remember it too clearly, but I think the m/c guy gave me a puzzled look as I gathered up 2.6MM Rp for my $400.

The other possibility would be that he skimmed off Rp as I was busy counting - not too hard to do when counting millions 10,000 at a time. Still, I would prefer to think it was only my fault, with the m/c's blame only being that he could have actively said "You don't have enough Rp!" Either way, I'm an idiot.

At any rate, I walked out of the m/c with a 3 inch stack of bills instead of a 4 inch stack. (Maybe this was an example of the "good luck" all the shop hagglers were hoping to get?) Probably the only person to go to a 9000 Rp/$ place and come out with under 7000 Rp/$. (Didn't realize this until on the way home.)

Kuta is a bustling place true to its reputation. Nusa Dua is certainly more relaxed, but there are many more shops in Kuta. Kind of like the crowded backstreets of Singapore, maybe. Still, not bad to visit, and Kuta has many non-resort hotels for the backpackers, etc. among us.

Driving along was just a fun way to see the countryside, etc. <Even saw one m/c offering 9090 Rp/$! -He must not have watched CNBC in the AM to learn the actual rate was 9035.> The first week of August brings a big religious holiday to Bali, our driver told us, and preparations were being started that day. <Sorry I don't know more.>

There is a huge gap between the resort areas and the "normal" towns of Bali. It is clear the economic problems of the last couple years have not helped anything, either.

One interesting surprise was all the kites flying in the air. Some fascinating shapes and designs for what I am guessing are relatively cheap and simple toys.

We stopped in to the "Monkey Forest" on the way to Ubud. Our driver told us there wasn't really much to see, so we said we'd be back in 20-30 mins. In all truth, it is just a forest that has monkeys (entrance fee = 3,000 Rp = $0.35). There was a family with a baby monkey that my wife fawned over, and a temple tucked away inside. A neat little nature hike, but no need to be there more than an hour.

As you approach Ubud, an arts/craft town, you pass gold/silversmiths, woodworkers, etc. Everything is pretty much divided into sections, and the goldsmiths seem to have bigger/better houses than the others. If you were seriously into buying some precious metal goods, this would probably be the place for you. Since I apparently have enough trouble exchanging money for money, I am glad we told our driver to keep on driving! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

A hotel guy had recommended the Cafe Lotus (Buddhist version of the hard Rock?) in Ubud, so we headed there first, after working out a 2 hour wandering break with our driver.

A had a beer and the Nashi Goreng, while Mrs. Kid settled for mineral water and the vegetarian spinach lasagna. About the only mistake made here was my plunging in with a forkful of what I thought were vinegared vegetables garnishing my rice. I'm not sure what it was, but I know it wasn't vinegar!

My mouth was burning out of control - although a man -even a Kid- has got to remain calm and cool. I cooly downed my beer and some of Mrs.' water, before my saliva began to issue forth at a rate warranting any other liquid unnecessary. It was kinda like when we would try and see who could swish Listerine around in their mouth the longest, only worse.

After about 5 minutes of this, the sting died down. After 10 minutes, I was able to resume eating. The Mrs. (for some strange reason) refused to try my vegetables, but I was surprised to find that I could now eat them with impunity. (The initial mouthful must have killed off my senses.)

Everything at the Lotus was good. It's constructed right next to a temple, and was a great place to just sit and salivate.

We walked around Ubud a bit, and bought a few local things. I got a shirt (that I just wore this weekend) that makes me look just like, well, just like a white guy in Tokyo wearing an Indonesian Aloha-type shirt.

We also got a necklace that broke, and that painting I wrote about earlier. Prices in Ubud are cheaper than in the city, but don't let that stop you from doing your best Marvin Haggler impression. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif Lots of the same touristy crap, with more craft-stuff available. Also an abundance of temples haphazardly scattered around. If the many people offering "Transport" were not so pushy, it would be even more pleasant.

We considered going another 30 min North to see a famous terraced farming area, but opted against it due to the time. (Plus, there were plenty of terraced rice paddies where I used to live - albeit doubtless less picturesque.) We headed back home. (Mrs. mentioned stopping in Kuta to check out some shops, but I was too tired.)

The taxi meter (prob'ly close to 150 km and 6-7 hrs) read 116,000. Plus 20% is just about 140,000, so I gave the guy 190,000 Rp ($21). A $20 cab ride in Japan would get you 6-7 km. My wife didn't think he was the most friendly guy, but for a guy called over by his uncle to waste 6-7 hours schleppin us around, I think he was just fine. (And his English level could very well have limited his desire for all-out banter - although he did answer questions of "What's that?" etc.)

Dinner was at the seaside restaurant at the hotel - although the name escapes me now. Seafood and meat Satay skewers are their specialty, and everything was reasonably priced (under $50 for two, I think) and very good.

The only down side was that my wife picked up a lingering cough on the flight over, and I had a rare bout of allergy troubles. (Not sure why, but I imagine stress of work/wedding plans and showing the family around by day and working into the night might have caught up with me.) It was bad enough that we called the hotel doc, as I had run out of my "emergency stock" of Benadryl. (575,000 Rp for the room visit and medicine.) I had been taking a bunch of medicine, and neither one of us had much of an appetite, despite good food.

The tuna steak was good, but I was surprised that their "butterfish" was even better. Not sure if it a seasonal fish, but Bali butterfish is highly recommended.

The view from this restaurant is perhaps better than the others, and it was a rather-casual-yet-very-romantic atmosphere. I think my R-C restaurant rankings are therefore the Seaside Skewer place 1st with Sami-Sami a close second, and then Padi bringing up the rear. Neat pier on the other side of the Skewer place with lanterns and two guys playing traditional music over the sound of the waves.

And thus ends our last night at the R-C.

Next: "Sun, you ain't no friend of mine!"

Kidpachinko,

The white flower is "Frangipani."
Sorry about the M/C incident, they're good at it. BTW, congrats! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Congratulations kid! And thanks for this well-written trip report.

People sing songs with words like "Here comes the sun la-la-la-la. Here comes the sun, and I'll say ... it's alright." These people have clearly not sat by the pool in the Bali sun through the lunchtime hours!

Most Denpasar flights seem to happen at night. Although arriving in the daytime with time to do something would have been nicer, our 7:15 PM pickup for the ride to the airport gave us a full final day to hang out. The R-C offered us a late checkout of 4:00, which I then had them extend until 5:00.

After morning packing and breakfast in the Club (again!), we headed for the pool. The people that occasionally bring around fresh pineapple slices are appreciated. I would have given them AA SOS cards, but I figured I'd only get blank looks.

The original plan was to relax by the pool until a break for a late lunch, and then return until checkout and dinner. Instead, we must have been at the pool from 10:30 to 3:00. My wife was tucked under the umbrella shade, whereas I was actively seeking the sunshine in an SPF 0 bid to make up for 2 days of clouds. This turned out to be a very bad move!

The day was thus spent reading, relaxing and eavesdropping on a group of 10 young Ozzies apparently staying at the R-C Bali on business. <-Not too shabby for a bunch of 30 year olds!
:utter_jealousy: (I know it's not a smilie, but it oughta be, dangit!)

The sunset that night was probably the best one of the week, and we snapped a couple more pictures before heading up to the Club for some final food and drink. (This is about when the sunburn began to set in.)

The Club manager gave me another sarong/pants set (he prob'ly didn't know I'd been given one the night before) with a "thank you for choosing to spend your honeymoon with us." Friendly folks, and everyone was so nice I never knew who to tip.

We joined another couple and a group of three for our shuttle to the airport. In keeping with FT etiquette, I refrained from wearing shorts, even though my legs were at this point starting to heavily dislike the black jeans they found themselves in. 50,000 Rp departure tax per person.

Check-in was quick, and we had a solid hour to kill before boarding. The Mrs. was not interested in airport shopping, except for a requisite purchase of Toblerone (sp?) chocolate for the people in her company, and I was ready to just get a seat somewhere and regret ever being near the pool that day.

We left for Bali with a half-filled suitcase and two half-filled (small) backpacks. We checked our very full suitcase, and were left with only our backpacks and 5 shopping bags full of Bali's finest. (or maybe not)

As we were waiting for JAL boarding (I memorized how say "Attention ladies and gentlemen. Boarding announcement for Garuda flight xxx departing for Tokyo from Gate 5, blah blah blah" in Indonesian), we heard an announcement saying "1 carry-on is allowed per passenger."

Right.

We compressed our junk into 3 shopping bags and our backpacks, and tried to think of which one(s) wouldn't break if we were made to check them. Luckily we weren't, and everything fit where it was s'posed to fit, with minimal discomfort to anyone. -Except perhaps the guy in Biz Class whose overhead bin we used. <Just kidding!!>

The flight back would have been just as enjoyable as the flight over, had I not been glowing like http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mad.gif and had not my allergies been bothering me. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

Our seats for this leg were 46 J/K. The upside is there is no one behind you. The down side is that you are right next to the galley. I don't think there was a seat on the plane I would've been comfortable in, and it was a long flight through no fault of JAL's.

The flight attendants were very good about keeping water coming, which I appreciated. I changed out of the dang jeans as soon as the bathroom was available, and my legs thanked me for putting a pair of shorts in my backpack.

We deplaned in Jakarta for almost an hour, before getting back to our seats. With nothing else to do, I stopped into the 1W executive lounge to see if they would let me in despite my ungainly appearance and the fact that I was not flying on a 1W carrier. As expected, they didn't. I didn't try the JAL lounge next door, and opted instead to sit by the gate and watch the tv monitors. (RAW wrestling - or is it "wrastlin'"?

Back in the air for NRT, and luckily the allergy medicine kicked in halfway through, allowing me a couple of hours of sleep. This sleep occured through the meal service, so I don't know how the food was. (I've got the menu here somewhere, but I'm not sure where.)

We landed in Tokyo Sat morning, and were finally home a couple hours later. I was surprised that the luggage service is able to deliver on the same day for AM arrivals, My plants in the bathtub made it through a very hot week in the apartment, and once the A/C got going we were OK - if tired.

Sat and Sun brought an increasingly crimson hue to certain parts of my body, and my itchy allergies didn't help. With lots of gift allocation and a week of e-mail to catch up, the weekend flew by.

All in all, it was a busy week. Bali is great, and the R-C was wonderful. (Although those more familiar with the resort scene may say that all resorts are great, or that the 4 Seasons would have been much better, etc.) The only downers were having allergy problems, miscounting money and overdoing the sun (both my fault), and spending more time than I would have preferred shopping for people back in Japan. Mrs. Kid and I decided that we will take off on another trip before too long (Guam again?) without telling people we are flying somewhere. -That way we can just relax and not worry about such duty-bound shopping.

When we do, you can rest assured a Report will be issued! (And prob'ly as wordy as this one.)

"And that's the way it was."
-KP

[This message has been edited by kidpachinko (edited 08-09-2000).]

Great job of reporting, Kid!

Congratulations both on the mariage and the report (love your sense of humour) http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Piece of advice about the sunburn: take plenty of aspirin...

Great report and a belated congratulations!

Congrats on the report and your nuptuals!

As a Bali regular, and since I speak Bihasa, I loved your report...seing Bali through the eyes of a newbie, and laughing with my partner about how your 60,000R purchase would have been 8K if you haggled in Indonesian! Did you find the wonderful women's art center. For $40 US we are sponsoring a teenage girl's whole YEAR of art lessons, including a canvas sent to us to show her progress!

Great to here your stories of Bali. I love the place and couldnt figure how a sober person could get ripped off by a moneychanger till it happened to me with a moneychanger in Kuta TOO.I only changed $40us.he counted it, my friend came to the counter i looked at her for a second and lost half. I told a waitress at a restraunt a couple of doors up and she took me back stood with her hands on her hips yelled at him and he gave me my money BACK!Ill never change out of a hotel or hole in the wall again!

------------------

Great reading.

BTW, do you ever get the urge to grab a microphone and scream "MY NAME IS KID .... PACHINKO"!?

Thanks to all for the comments! Before I go to Bali again, I'll have to learn Bihasa.

The classes here in Tokyo'd prob'ly cost more than I would save in the haggling!!

And Opus, my urges tend to run in other directions! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

-Mark (one of many here)

Great Report kidpachinko!

I can't wait to go to Bali. There are similarities here: white guy (with Japanese wife), burns easily! I will be glad my new sister-in-law, a local, will be there to look out for us!

-RKG

Great report.. your not the first or last to get conned on a money change in such a place!