Reasons to be cheerful - Part 2 Bali (Bali)

Member Name: markw-d

Product:	Bali
Date:	25/06/02 (326 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Hot, People, Surf

Disadvantages: Long way to go

The clue is in the title! This review is part 2 of a review of my holiday this year, the first part of which was in Hong Kong. You will find this review on my profile page as “Reasons to be Cheerful Part 1”

That review also details the decision and booking process and reviews the decision to go in the first place, accoladia the tour operator, Flightlink coaches, Heathrow, and British Airways performance.

This review picks up from leaving Hong Kong for Bali.

To re-cap, I was travelling with wife, 2 kids and wifes mother plus friend (both 74 years old).

Hong Kong Departure

As I have mentioned before, Hong Kongs terminal building at the new (4 year old) airport, is not only massive but very bright and cheerful. Beware however that when they say that it will take 15 minutes to get to your departure gate, they are not joking.

Just like Heathrow, a number of the departure gates are remotely based, and accessed only by a fast underground train. However fast it is however, you should leave plenty of time to clear security control to get to it.

We did the normal thing of meandering around the shops and then getting stuck whilst security scanned and re-scanned my camcorder looking for an anti aircraft missile, before a mad dash to the train and then to the gate. Not recommended with 2 OAP’s and 2 young kids in tow.

Cathay Pacific

Sometimes its easier to be number 2 as the expectations on you are somewhat less. I have always been led to believe that Cathay Pacific were the worlds top airline, and therefore I was looking forward to a fantastic life changing experience.

What I got was a very pleasant adequate service, but ended up feeling disappointed, as my life hadn’t been changed. The food service was good and tasty, drinks were plentiful and the cabin entertainment was good. The kids received some very funky backpacks full of things to do on the flight. Th
ey were chuffed.

Cathay Pacific, which is now the Hong Kong airline, was formed after world war 2 by two ex RAF pilots with one transport plane. It is now one of the worlds leading airlines and is owned by the Swire Group. It is also part of the BA “One World” alliance.

The flight from Hong Kong to Bali was approx 4 hours and followed a path directly between Vietnam and the Phillipines and over Borneo.

Denpasar Airport – Arrivals

Coming in to Denpasar airport in Bali is breathtaking in itself. The aircraft comes in from the west and descends over the sea with the popular resort of Kuta to the left. I had made the decision that as this was a big family holiday I wouldn’t be tempted to wander off looking for surf, however as we came down over the marching white Kuta lines I could feel the urge to go straight to the beach and hire a board!

After touching down I was immediately impressed by the architecture and construction of the airport arrivals and terminal buildings, which are all in the ornate temple inspired mode so typical of Bali. Even the control tower resembles a temple.

Although called Denpasar airport, after the capital of Bali, the airport is actually right next to Kuta, and probably about 20 minutes drive from Denpasar itself.

After leaving the aircraft we lined up in the arrivals hall. Here a number of things hit us. One was the many adverts for surf shops in Kuta, and the other being the huge queues to get through the three immigration desks, which were actually manned. The tourist industry must be able to do something to make the official welcome more inviting without compromising security.

The most visible thing however was the huge signs, which said that if you were carrying drugs or firearms you would be given the death penalty. I clearly wasn’t carrying either but found myself thinking that if I was, what would I have done at that point? <
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It certainly removed any shreds of sympathy I have ever had for the naïve numpty’s who get caught smuggling drugs around these places, its not like they are not warned enough of the consequences. Carry drugs and we kill you…..simple….. so don’t do it idiot!

Eventually though we were through and making our way to the baggage re-claim. Here was our first taste of unpleasantness in that as we tried to pick up our bags a gang of very helpful porters threw our bags on trollies and set off through customs at a pace before we could say anything. They then took us straight to a money changer shop and demanded money.

I had got around £20 worth of Indonesian Rupiah in the bottom of my backpack for emergency, but there was no way I was going to be extorted to either change a travellers cheque (at a crap rate) or to unload my backpack in front of people and scrabble around for money. Instead I gave them some Hong Kong dollars (about £2) from my pocket and took over the pushing of the trollies myself. They wanted more, and demanded it, so I very politely told them their fortune and they elected to withdraw.

This is NOT typical of Balinese people however, but is typical of airport porters! When you get through arrivals, claim your own luggage and do not let these people anywhere near it.

Bali Tours

Accoladia’s representatives in Bali are Bali Tours and they met us outside the airport. What a contrast from the mad scramble with the porters…..we were greeted by having floral Lei’s hung around our necks, and we were shown to our own private air-conditioned minibus where we were given ice cold water to drink.

Our guide, Walika, became a real friend. Born and bred in Bali has was quietly passionate about his country and was a source of fantastic information regarding his culture. We had some brilliant conversations about the recent political history of Indonesia and the religio
us impact of Buddhism and Hinduism coming together with animism.

Bali Tours can arrange any excursions you want and have an extensive catalogue to choose from. They are very well recommended.

Nusa Dua and Tanung Benoa

The journey from the airport took us first south and then East to the “island” of Nusa Dua and Tanung Benoa. Local people talk about it as being an island as effectively it is separated from the rest of Bali by mangrove swamp, although this is now starting to be developed and landscaped.

In times gone by criminals were banished to this part of Bali, although being a criminal could include just having spoken to someone of a different Caste in the wrong way. Much of Indonesia still operates a strict caste or class system.

Nusa Dua is pretty much a purpose built resort housing exclusive 4 and five star hotels and complex’s, however it co-exists happily with small rural villages and outlets. It also boasts a large shopping mall complex, the Galleria, which is actually very good. There are Versace and Gucci shops with all of the correct signage and bags, receipts etc, however the pair of (excellent quality), holgrammed, and certified Versace jeans which I bought for £15.00 must have been genuine mustn’t they???!

Our hotel however was to the north of Nusa Dua in the rural fishing area of Tanung Benoa.


The Hotel Melia Benoa

Despite what I have always felt about all inclusive hotels (Reasons to Be Cheerful Part one), I agreed to go all inclusive in Bali, as I was persuaded that it would be easier with the kinds wanting drinks and ice creams etc all the time and it would be easier and cheaper to just let them get on with it.

The Hotel Melia Benoa was one of two all inclusives and was actually the more expensive of the two. We were however personally recommended to go there by the guy at Accoladia.

The all inclusive package consisted of
all food and drink in any of the three restaurants and 2 bars, all non motorised watersports, private beach, sunbeds, towel service etc.

Not included were motorised watersports, minibar, and occasional specialities on the restaurant menu’s.

There is also a “Gold Exclusive” which includes the minibar, free laundry service and additional menu items, but frankly the normal package was brilliant.

I am now a convert for all inclusive in terms of family holidays. The convienience of the children having what they wanted when they wanted it, and being able to go to the bar at any time without having to find money or sign bar tabs was just the ultimate in relaxation.

The hotel itself is built along Balinise guidelines in that it has temple style architecture to the front and height wise is not taller than a palm tree. To the front is an impressive open foyer and bar area and to the right is a car park and taxi area, to the left is the gym, health spa and function room.

Below reception is the games room with two pool tables, a dart board, and a massive TV screen. In here they have Kareoke and show the World Cup football and other sporting events. In the end they had to move the England games upstairs to the big function room because of the size of the support.

A funny football story is that this is a truly international hotel with many Italians, Spanish, and other nationalities other than British, which mad it a good place to watch the world cup. When the Italians were watching a game however the room was subdued and the occasional drink was served. England v Argentina however had the hotel laying on a constant stream of waiters with jugs of lager to run around re-filling peoples glasses, and the hotels guest relations manager actually did a lap of honour with the cross of St George when Beckham scored the penalty. Amusing also is that the local police saw fit to send an armed policeman to stand on the d
oor and advise non English people to stay away! He enjoyed the game, and so did the two Spanish guys who were behind me who loudly supported Argentina (until even they got fed up with Argentina playing dirty) and enjoyed the banter throughout. It was a great atmosphere and everywhere you went people wanted to talk to you about the football.

Also below reception is one of the 3 restaurants, “The Dwarwhatti”. This is the main evening buffet restaurant and serves a truly international selection of Balinese, European and oriental dishes. This is also the 24 hour snack restauarant (I recommend the Nasi Goreng) and also serves an international breakfast buffet. Again I recommend a freshly cooked omlette with spring onions and peppers with Japanese chilli sauce, steamed rice and Mie Goreng noodles. If you are so inclined, and I’m not, I’m told however they do a great egg and chips 24 hours a day!

In this hall there is also a small shopping mall and a corridor to the Italian Restaurant “Amarta”. This is an exclusive restaurant, which you have to book in advance, although I think that this is more for effect than necessity. This serves a normal Italian menu ranging from Pizza and Pasta through to Liver, Steaks and chops. The food is very good, although I struggle with travelling to the other side of the world and then eating Italian.

The third restaurant is the Megwata and is through the gardens, past the pool and actually borders the beach. This is a predominantly fish restaurant in the evening and serves an international buffet at lunchtime. This is an excellent restaurant and the Chilli Crab is recommended.

The two bars are the one in the main reception area, where the bar staff are brilliant (and also very pretty) and the pool bar, which you can either swim up to or sit at where the bar staff are also brilliant, good company but not pretty (all guys!).

The hotel gardens are small
but excellently landscaped with waterfalls and palm trees.

There are two pools, one small childrens pool and a large “free form” pool with the swim up bar and concrete stools (excellent for sunbathing with a cocktail), basketball boards, and waterpolo nets. The bar serves all drinks, cocktails, coffee, tea etc.

There is also a pool hut which hands out towels and has a good stock of books and news papers. The Jakarta Post is English language and a good read.

Sunbeds are of the hardwood wheeled variety and there are plenty around the pool and on the beach area.

There is also a giant chess set, where I taught my two girls to play chess in a fun and sunny environment.

Finally there are a number of areas where you can get a massage or other spa treatment, although you will pay around $20 dollars for a massage at the hotel whereas you will pay about $6 dollars down the beach 100 yards.

The private beach is small but nicely kept and is shared with the local outrigger fishing fleet, which is nice. The beach itself sits inside a lagoon protected by an outlying reef, over which viscous and steep waves break. The water in the lagoon is not deep, but beware of walking out without shoes on as there are things which can leave a lot of painfull spines in your foot if you are not carefull.

In terms of entertainment the hotel is very good. There are nightly caberets which are excellent for the everyone, and there are a couple of open air Balinese traditional dances with food and drink on the beach.
There is a childrens club but frankly there were not enough children to make it worth opening, and ours were more than happy to live in the pool.

The hotel has a good supply of taxi’s outside at all times, and runs a courtesy minibus to the Galleria shopping centre.

Bali

Bali is one of the many islands and provinces, which make up the country of Indonesia (Capi
tal Jakarta). Indonesia is actually the worlds largest Islamic country, however Bali is unique in being predominantly Hindu with Buddhist and Animist influences.

The history of this area is one of kingdoms and ancient cultures, influenced by colonial power, war and politics. The Dutch were the colonial power and you and still see their influences in things like the consumption of Rose wine.

The Dutch governed by leaving the various royal families in place and using consensus politics however the second world war changed everything when the islands were invaded by the Japanese. The people of Bali initially welcomed the Japanese as they claimed to be liberating Asia from European colonialism, however they quickly proved themselves to be cruel and oppressive invaders, hence the Balinese fought against them.

After the war the Dutch came back, however by this time the Indonesians were prepared to fight for independence and in 1947 they got it under the presidency of Sukharno, who was part Balinese.

The history of the region since has been grim with military and civil dictatorships, repression and war under Sukarno, Suharto, and now Megawhatti (there must be a joke in there about power!!). We even fought them in the 60’s when the SAS, Ghurkas, and various other British Army units supported the Sultan of Brunei in keeping Brunei and the province of Sarawak independent of Indonesia.

Bali however has always sat in tranquillity in the middle of all of this strife and is still a paradise island, partly because Sukarno recognised its tourist potential very early on. My impression however is that Bali does not sit easily within Indonesia, as its people, culture religion and outlook are so peaceful and so unique.

Bali’s population is now 4 million, of which only half are actually Balinese. There is now talk of linking Bali to the neighbouring island of Java with a massive bridge. The Balinese are against this as
they are acutely aware of the potential erosion of their culture by any mass influx of their fellow Indonesians.

The currency of Indonesia is the Rupiah, which is currently at an exchange rate of 12,000 Rupiah to 1 pound sterling, and 8,300 to the U.S dollar. We were millionaires for a couple of weeks!

Most currencies are accepted by the street traders in Bali. I even used a combination of US dollars and Euro’s to buy one item off a guy who had climbed up a wall to get to me.

I would recommend however that you take US dollar travellers cheques, and US dollars in cash as well, as its easier to keep track on whether or not you are getting a bargain or not plus the local guys like dollars better than Rupiah.

Serious tourist development on Bali has only been going on since the 80’s so now is the time to go.

The Volcano Tour

We are not great ones for tours and trips preferring instead to just get out and explore, however Bali Tours had a great trip which took in a number of elements which we wanted to see.

Bali’s volcano is still semi active and last erupted in 1963, killing over 1000 people. This created a huge crater with a mini volcano peak and a lake inside it. This is a really spectacular sight and worth the drive from Nusa Dua.

Our day started with our private air conditioned minibus and Walika picking us up from the hotel at 8.30 in the morning. From there we went to a village north of Sanur where we were treated to a traditional Balinese dance performance, which detailed the conflight between two of their gods. This was spectacular, amusing and also haunting.

From here we travelled to visit a typical Balinese living compound. It is the tradition here that families live together in little compounds with a communal cooking and recreation area, sleeping and living quarters. The one which they take you to actually is someone’s home, however the
income they make as a family from the tours probably puts them in the Posh and Backs category in terms of Balinese income.

Onwards then to the various areas which specialise in wood carving, silversmithing, and art. Beware here that these places are top dollar and whilst you get to see the master craftsmen at work, the real purpose of bringing you here is to get you to part with your money in the factory shops.

The craftsmanship is fabulous and to watch the master woodworker sitting cross legged on the floor turning an old tree trunk into the most brilliant sculpture is worth seeing, however I was quoted $200 in the factory shop for something which I subsequently bought for $30 on the street.

Needless to say all of the tour companies are on a commission. Don’t feel bad for not buying anything on these stops as there are plenty of gullible Americans who will buy at the listed prices and not even haggle down to the real (50% lower) price.

The silver here is very good and if you buy make sure that it is both heavy and hallmarked. Some friends at the hotel who were getting married had two rings made in a couple of days including engraving, hallmarking and diamond setting. They spent the day in the silver area on foot doing deals.

From here we travelled through the rice paddies to the jungle plantation where we visited a fruit, coffee and spice production area, where we did buy some of the great local coffee and a selection of spices. We also sampled the local rice wine brew (very similar to Saki).

Onward then to the Volcano and we were taken straight to the Bintimani restaurant (again the guides are on commission) and you are hustled straight in through a crowd of aggressive looking hawkers. Here you have a $10 buffet lunch which was very nice with Japanese and Indonesian specialities, and then you can go out onto a private lawn where you have panoramic views of the volcano, without the hawkers bothering you.


This is where I looked over the wall down a 20 foot drop and expressed an interest in a wood carving one of these guys was carrying. The next thing I knew he had clambered up the wall and started negotiating. To cut a long story short $80 became $30 and I had bought a wood carving.

Unfortunately this put the crowd of hawkers outside the gate into a feeding frenzy and we had to be escorted back to our minibus by a policeman. This made my youngest daughter feel very special indeed and she is now convinced that she is famous. As we drove off one hawker who had been trying to sell me a chess set for $60 threw it onto my lap and hit the magic $10 level. Unfortunately we were already moving and it was too late for me to sort of the money, so I gave it him back through the window and thanked him profusely.

From here we went to the temple of the waters, which is a Hindu temple based around natural springs. Your admission fee is peanuts and this is a very special place. Set into a rock and jungle background and over grown with moss this place looks like something out of Indiana Jones but it is very much in use. Both men and women have to wear sarongs when visiting this temple. Again there was shopping to be done before the trip home.

This was only interrupted when we stopped in a small village to film the paddy fields. I jumped out of the van to get some good film and was immediately swamped with hawkers. Because they are generally quite short however I was able to film over their heads whilst I was being seperated from my transport.

One toothless old guy was trying to entice me down some steps to get better film but I thanked him profusely and carried on from where I was. He called me again and I looked down to see him with his pointy hat and rice carrying yolk on smiling at me. 2 minutes later he was standing beside me with his hand sticking out asking for money for the photo.

The scene was now one from the kill
ing fields where the reporter is having to force his way through a crowd of short but excited people as I forced my way back to the minibus followed by the old guy. I felt sorry for him, particularly when he though that I was going to jump in and speed away without paying him, so I made sure that I went back and gave him a couple of bucks.

The way I saw it was that the hawkers all had things to trade, and in fact our guide told us that most of them were farmers who did pretty well anyway. Mr toothless was using his initiative to get by.

We arrived back at the hotel in time for a sunbathe and swim in the pool and an agreement that this trip was a great use of the day. Price $60 dollars per person.

Many people decide not to go on organised tours and instead hire a Taxi for the day which is cheaper. This is fine but I would recommend the tours as they take care of everything for you and in the end all of the little entrance fees for places can add to the cost of a proper tour.

Taxi’s are very reasonable however and you can always hire them for the duration of your trip and they will wait for you. Tipping is not compulsory by between 5 and 10 percent is considered to be normal.


In the Jungle

A second trip which our senior citizens did was the jungle trek. This involved a 2 hour walk through primary jungle and paddy fields with a personal guide, ending with lunch at an elephant reserve.

They loved this despite the mother in law falling into a drainage ditch en route.
Price $45 dollars including lunch.


Buddhism and Hinduism collide

Religion is a big part of Bali. The original worship is of the gods of the elements and mythology, or animism as its known. This is quite a pure and simple way of belief. Hinduism and Buddism arrived with trade from India and the Balinese took the best of these religions and merged them with their traditional belief system to produce a
very friendly and pragmatic faith.

Every house, hotel, shop and business has a temple, where every day the women make offerings to the gods of pieces of food, incense and flora in little trays made from banana leaf. Even the taxis have them on the dashboard. I personally find this simple, non-judgemental, pragmatic, yet devoted display of faith very appealing and re-assuring.

As aggressive as their sales techniques were I instinctly trusted the people we met. The only place where this is somewhat compromised is in Kuta where the worst of the west has brought its influence. Here you will find prostitution, timeshare touts, and bad attitudes from all quarters.


Dolphins and Reefs

We didn’t have anymore formal trips as we were chilling out, however we did hire a boat and driver from the beach to take us out to the Dolphins. This saw us on a 20 foot traditional launch with two very non traditional 40 horsepower Evinrude engines on the back.

This was the night after England thrashed Denmark in the World Cup so there was at least one delicate head on board the boat and the sea was not calm beyond the reef, however we pressed on and found the dolphins about 30 miles offshore. There were loads of them playing and jumping and surfing the waves around the boat. A brilliant sight.

Could we swim with them? The boatman just smiled and reminded us that where there were dolphins there were also sharks…he obviously didn’t know my reputation with sharks!!

On the way back we stopped over the reef and watched the brilliant colours and varieties of fish through the boats glass bottom. This was great to see all of these exotic fish in their own environment.

The trip was half a day and cost £120 for 4 adults and the kids were free.

Just Looking!!!!

Next to the hotel Melia Benoa is a street market full of clothes and craft shops. These guys really work hard to get you int
o their stalls and pester the life out of you. Its unfortunate that they would sell a lot more if they left you alone, but its just not their culture to do that!

We have to find a different way to say “just looking” as this has become a catch phrase for the street traders because they have heard it so many times.

The thing to remember is to negotiate hard….they expect you to. They also have a code with the bags that they give you. If you get a pink bag, you are easy meat, a stripey bag and you have done ok, and finally a black bag means that you are a negotiator to be feared. This lets other traders know what to expect from you. By the end of the fortnight we were the black bag family.

Always remember though to be polite as the Balinese are offended by rudeness, but not by hard bargaining. These people are only earning a living so there is no reason to be rude.

Elephants and Chimps

Two attractions which we didn’t go to are the Elephant and Chimp parks. People we spoke to raved about them, and we will certainly go next time.


Surfing Kuta Lines

I mentioned earlier that I was not going to surf, however on the last full day I grabbed a cab into Kuta to do some shopping for surfing gear, which is much cheaper out there (or supposed to be!)

When I got there however and had exhausted the shopping gig, I strolled down to the beach. The sight which met my eyes there was both mind blowing and upsetting. Kuta beach is mile after mile of golden sand fringed by the resort itself and palm trees.

Pounding up the beach is the most perfect beach break surf I have ever seen or even dreamed about. Big, regular, clean and very very surfable. I was hit by a dilemma. I had no towel, no board shorts, and nowhere to leave my wallet and watch. I considered buying a pair of board shorts for a couple of dollars, but couldn’t resolve the wallet and watch issue. It was a very de
jected me who arrived back in Nusa Dua.

Apparantly though I had been a good boy all holiday and so Fiona came back to Kuta with me and sunbathed on the beach whilst I hired a board and surfed myself silly.

In fact we fell in love with Kuta, because of the beach, the surf, and the 2 Gucci handbags which Fi bought for next to nothing (again from a Gucci branded shop!).

Kuta is the original holiday resort of Bali and for the Australians with a 4 hour flight it is like their Majorca. It is therefore very busy and full of shops, bars clubs and restaurants, plus MacDonalds, Burger King, Hard Rock Café etc etc.

At night it is party town with all of the good and bad things that come with it, however we simply fell in love with that beach, the surf, and the shops. Our reasoning is that if we can get an all inclusive hotel in Kuta then we will have the best of all worlds.

Hiring a cab (TAKSI) to take us to Kuta from the hotel and wait for 3 hours and then bring us back was about $15 dollars.

Hiring a brilliant custom longboard was $8 for 2 hours.

Things not to do in Bali

Bali is a laid back place, however there are some things that you shouldn’t do.

· Topless or nude sunbathing is against the law, although some aussies were doing the topless bit in Kuta.
· Bizaarely mentruating women or anyone with an open wound should not visit the temples as it is forbidden to spill blood on holy ground.
· Don’t be rude to people.
· Don’t buy anything for the quoted price. Haggle!
· Don’t buy drugs. The police will pick you up and give the drugs back to the dealers in places like Kuta and Sanur. You will be killed.

Departing Denpasar

Going home is always a depressing experience, particularly when there are 27 hours of travel ahead, however having to go to the cashpoint and withdraw £10 each departure tax in cash (accoladia never told me about th
at one) isn’t nice.

Its also depressing that out of 20 passport control booths only 4 were open and the queues were horrendous.

Finally do not leave any shopping until the airport. Everything is a massive rip off (much worse than normal airports). Tourist chiefs should appreciate that final impressions are very similar to first impressions if you want people to come back.

Back to Hong Kong

So it was back to Hong Kong by Cathay Pacific and then onwards to Heathrow. Another good service by Cathay.

British Airways

The BA transfer desk at Hong Kong were great and were able to sit us all in our favourite 747 seat row (which is still my secret!). The flight was good, cabin crew fine and entertainment ok. One thing which I did find interesting was the midnight buffet. On long haul night flights you have a period after the main meal where the cabin lights are dimmed and people try to sleep for a few hours. During this time a buffet of sandwiches and drinks are layed out in the galleys for people who can’t sleep and you can just wander around and help yourself. Because this service includes a lot of Chinese people one of the choices was big baskets of pot noodle, which people were tucking into enthusiastically! Are you really expecting me to believe that Pot Noodles are authentic???

Touchdown at Heathrow had one small event when over Central London we got caught in the slipstream of the plane in front and performed some minor aerobatics. I then had to explain the slipstream effect to the 74 year olds!

We did have a suitcase and holdall damaged in transit however this has happened to me before so I knew the procedure for making a report at Heathrow. The next morning a brand new suitcase and holdall were delivered to our house. Excellent service!

The whole holiday including the Hong Kong stay detailed in the first op was £1200 per adult and £700 per child.

So will we go bac
k to Bali………DEFINTELY!!

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