Visit Bali Island

The beautiful, colourful island of Bali is located just 3.5 flying hours, north of Perth WA. on the same longitude of 115 degrees. Bali is part of Indonesia and has a population of 4 million people and 8 million motorbikes. The Balinese people are a happy, joking bunch, who generally have little in worldly goods but are always ready with a smile.

They rely heavily on the tourism industry to make a meagre living selling clothing, music and movie CD's, leather goods, souvenirs etc. There are a good mix of 'made to order tailors', who use cloth and leather to make the garments and shoes at very good prices. There are numerous restaurants and hotels ranging up to 5 stars, plenty of bars and places to socialise. The transport industry provides taxi's at very cheap rates, a ride of maybe 10kms would cost you only 10,000 rupias (less than 2 Aus$), the exchange rate recently was almost 7000 rupia to Aus$1.00. It is wise to use the metered 'Blue' taxi's, if you use the unmetered private 'Bemo's', you must barter the price before entering the cab. West Australians mostly prefer Bali as a holiday venue, to travelling to Sydney and Melbourne, as the cost of a Bali holiday is much cheaper. Bali caters for all kinds, if you are into nightclubs, surfing, shopping, water sports, it is all there. Day tours are very popular, you can visit volcanoes, historic temples, wildlife parks, go bungy jumping, white water rafting or go para-sailing, whatever takes your fancy. The City of Denpasar is the main city with up market shopping and sightseeing, while Kuta is the hub of the night life, Legian, Seminyak and Ubud are the restaurant and local shopping areas.

Pictured left is the well known Jalan (St) Melasti looking east, the 'Gosha' restaurant is one of the better restaurants, is clean, cheerful and serves very good food of various nationalities and types. I can recommend this restaurant to everyone visiting Bali. Ask for Gerry or Johnny and tell them Maurie sent you.

One of the main reasons for visiting Bali (Apart from Shopping), is to explore the hinterland and discover many hidden treasures. One way to do this , is to take a guided tour by a tour company, however, this can be quite expensive and you are limited to going where they choose to take you. A better way to get around and see the island, is to hire an individual tour driver to take you to where 'you' choose to go!! From my experience, one of the best tour drivers in Bali is Koko (below).

Pictured here with us at Lake Bratan, Koko is a very easy going and laid back person who speaks very good English and is just itching to receive your call or email. Koko is also very knowledgeable about his island and will readily take you to many places of interest away from the beaten tourist track. He is an owner driver of his air conditioned van and prefers to serve the tourist trade by providing a tour plus guide, rather than being limited to general taxi type operations. We hired him on a half day or full day basis.

There many wonderful things to see and visit, among them is the lovely Lake Bratan in the Bedugul area, the volcano's of Kintamani and Mt. Agung in the north-east. Singaraja lies to the north, the drive there is through the incredible rice fields which appear so simple yet are very cleverly designed to maximise the use of available land and water, the water being introduced to the top level where it finds its way down the terraces until it reaches the bottom, then flows away along a creek or river system. Below is a perfect example of the system.

The water is fed in up at the tree line, then it zigzags its way down the terraces filling them with water until they are all full. The water then ends up in the creek, shown at centre page bottom, (Right). It is a very cleverly designed system, the terrace levels being worked out with great precision.

In the area known as Bedugul is a beautiful temple on Lake Bratan which has special significance for the Balinese. The air in this area is cooler than down on the coast and attracts many visitors every day. The huge lake is home to smaller fish which are harvested by local fishermen.

These are just some of the lovely sceneries around the island, and these coupled with the beautiful beaches and the huge array of accommodation ranging from beach type bungalows and hotels up to 5 stars, all make for a wonderful stay which ever you choose. While the areas of Kuta and Legian are the noisiest, Tuban, Seminyak and Ubud are generally quieter. On the south-east coast is the area of Nusa Dua and Sanur which also boast fine hotels and are away from the busier tourist areas. Commuting from these places into Kuta or Denpasar is easily done using taxi's or bemo's. Some of the hotels provide courtesy cars or shuttle buses which can be used for a small nominal charge. A few precautions should be observed, like not drinking the local water, its okay for the locals but not for westerners unless it is boiled first. Drink bottled water and remember to clean your teeth in the bottled or boiled water. Do not eat salad vegetables as they might have been washed in local water, stick to cooked vegetables and always have your steak cooked well done. Any fruit still with the skin still on is generally okay.

Click on the 'Tour Driver KOKO' link below for more detailed information about his service..

Enjoy your holiday.....!