Bali

[interlude]

Hey guys,

Has anybody ever travelled to Bali? Looking for some suggestions on where to stay, must see/stay areas, etc.

Thanks!

[tch7]

Go to Ubud, spend most of your time based there. Just showing up and browsing for a place to stay is my recommended approach. There are a ton of options, and don't trust pictures you see on the internet...

Rent a scooter for about $5/day and explore.

Stay away from most of the beaches, they're filthy. Even if you find one that isn't filthy, they're still crappy beaches by SE Asia standards. If you want some nice beaches, head over to the south side of Lombok.

[xnvy]

We stayed at the InterContinental which was amazing. Can't really remember what we did but we did go see a lot of temples. I would agree that most of the beaches are filthy.

[interlude]

Thanks guys!

tch7, I was thinking the same, but the thought of lugging everything around isnt really appealing to me.

Have you guys stayed at any nice villas?

[l/l/rX]

I will agree with staying in Ubud.

Bali is Australias, Mexico. The Kuta/ Legian area is filled with loud, rowdy, drunk australians.

[interlude]

Originally posted by l/l/rX
I will agree with staying in Ubud.

Bali is Australias, Mexico. The Kuta/ Legian area is filled with loud, rowdy, drunk australians.

Good to know, thanks!

I will definitely stay away from those areas. Looking to relax and scuba dive. However, it wouldnt hurt to check out the nightlife. I watched a video on the dark side of Bali, kind of scary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fTC5tV3Wnc

[n1zm0]

Originally posted by tch7
Stay away from most of the beaches, they're filthy. Even if you find one that isn't filthy, they're still crappy beaches by SE Asia standards.

+1, not saying other beaches in SE asian aren't also ruined but Indonesia is like a whole different level of 'idgaf about my country's beaches'. Even when my mother goes there from East Msia for work and vacation, it's always staying away from Bali itself and goto Ubud.

[interlude]

Damn, the beaches are that bad? Thats a huge disappointment!

[davidI]

Originally posted by interlude
Damn, the beaches are that bad? Thats a huge disappointment!

Kuta beach is pretty dirty and bad. As already mentioned, it's more of the party place in Bali, complete with Hard Rock Cafe etc. There are some pretty amazing night clubs there though.

The Gili Islands have some nice beaches and I imagine there are some nice spots hidden around Lombok as well.

[CompletelyNumb]

Indonesia in general is disappointing compared to the rest of Asia.

All of this is my opinion, of course, but avoid Java completely. In Bali, everything south of Denpasar is a wash, not even worth your time unless you want to find a bumpin night club. Padang Bai had one nice beach, I enjoyed my time there. +1 for staying in Ubud. North coast is nice, but you won't find post card beaches there. Just a quieter environment.

Your time is best served going to the Gili Islands. Best beaches I found in indonesia (I didn't go at the peak of high season, so they weren't overcrowded).

Lombok if you have the time is worth a visit.

[adamc]

I stayed in south lombok in a small home stay hut for $10/night with a newly paved "road" out front (cart path), surfed all day every day, and didn't look at a screen for more than a second over the course of 2 weeks. Coffee in the morning, surf til noon, light lunch, nap, surf until dinner time, eat, $1 bintangs all night, rinse and repeat.

The beaches were phenomenal down there, imho.


South Bali (kuta) is a Aussie bogan nightmare of epic proportions, more bintang tanktops than you can shake a stick at, and the ever present smell of vomit from the night before.

I rented a real motorcycle (a rarity) and circumnavigated the island, the interior is fucking stunning. A lush, mountainous reprieve from the horrors of kuta. Highly recommended if you're the off the beaten path type.

Ubud was lovely, definitely can get crowded in town, but the vibe was ultra laid back, even with the hordes of tourists. I could see myself living there part time, very chill.

[timdog]

agreed that you will miss out if you dont go to lombok or the gili islands. I liked Gili Trawangan but i'm biased since I have a friend that owns a place there. it had lots of night life and restaurants, but nothing crazy loud/busy. still easy to find some quiet and there are a bunch of good dive shops.

[interlude]

Thanks all.

What are your suggestions on the Gili Islands? Day trips? Stay there?

My wife and I will be there for 3 weeks. We are looking to travel around the island a bit. We are not into the nightlife, just looking to check out the history of the island and scuba dive (just me). We were hoping to check out some nice beaches for snorkelling as well.

[tch7]

With 3 weeks you may as well spend some time on the Gilis & Lombok. 1-2 weeks is plenty for Bali itself.

I wasn't a huge fan of Gili T, so I'd only suggest 2-3 days there. Still not the nicest beaches (but fairly clean), and during low tide kinda ugly. Plus the road is covered in donkey shit. Good bunch of restaurants and a nice overall vibe though. It's often referred to as the party island, but it really is pretty mellow.

[timdog]

yeah, Gili T is called the party island.. but it's not really. not clubber type , but mellow mushroom-taking hippies playing trivia games or something, haha

All of the Gilis are good, do some googling to find out which one you think is better for you. but you cant do a day trip there. from Bali, it's a solid 3 hours in a fast boat just to get there and will cost you something like 40 bucks or so. I would stay on one island for atleast a couple days. Lombok is much less touristy as well so if that's something you are interested in definitely check it out. lombok is about a 30 min boat ride from the Gilis

[Dumbass17]

One thing to not about the Gilis, well, Gili T anyways, is that there are Mosque's doing their prayers over loud speakers, ALL THE TIME. You cannot understand and it's played through a loudspeaker and just crackly and annoying at 4am thru til midnight at various times throughout the day. I know it's their culture/country/whatever, but just saying try to find a quiet place to stay. We ended up staying pretty much right beside a loudspeaker and it was very intrusive. :banghead:

also, why the draw with Bali? I don't get why people want to go here.

Skip it, head to Lombok and climb Mount Rinjani - a volcano inside a lake midway up a mountain. Probably the most specatular view I've ever seen (Also, Indonesia's 2nd highest peak)

http://rinjanitrek.com/Images/rinjani-hiking.jpg

[timdog]

isnt that a volcano inside another volcano? we had friends that did it, but we were too lazy. wish we did now though.
also good call on Gili T and the loud prayers every morning. somehow I managed to forget about that. if you read reviews about different hotels online you can probably find a place that is a good distance from the noise. but it was a pain in the ass and it goes on for like 20-30 mins at like 4am!