Hi all,
Here’s a few random notes from my trip to Bali last week, which at 7 days was the shortest visit I’ve ever made there—but that was all the time I had and a week in Bali is better than nothing! I spent most of the time in the Sidemen (Karengasem) area, though drove to Ubud for a day, and spent a night in Kuta on the way out—but no time to do my usual roaming around East Bali.
First, Barrie recently asked “Is Bali really that busy?” Yes. For me, the low season is the new high season, though I can't really compare as I’ve never been there in the high season (and what it must be like then is a scary thought), but both Ubud and Kuta were as busy as I’ve ever seen it. Ubud especially—one blogger remarked a while back how it was like “Kuta in the hills” now, and certainly in the daytime hours, when the tour groups are there, the roads are jam-packed with pollution-spewing buses—it can take ages to pass through Monkey Forest Road, and the intersection with Ubud Main Road (where the so-called “traditional market”is—motto, “if you want expensive junk shop here”) is basically in gridlock. I feel sorry for people living in the area; the new traffic patterns must be a nightmare for them. But around 4 pm, when the groups are gone, and the 2 for 1 mojito happy hour starts at Cinta Grill, things get a little more quiet (the mojitos help a lot!) and there’s more foot traffic. But I don’t think I’d stay overnight there any more. There’s little to do besides eat, though I have to admit there’s good food to be had (Ubud, like Kuta, seems to have gone crazy for BBQ ribs!). The western Eat Pray Love crowd likes it in Ubud I think. The tourist litter-ature (sic) in the restaurants was full of articles about reflexo-this, hypno-that, and aroma-whatnot. All very deep and mystical and expensive too.
The weather: it rained parts of every day, usually starting in the mid-afternoon, and sometimes in the evenings. Around Sidemen, it was light and welcome, as it was hot and muggy. In Kuta the afternoon rains were heavy and I was told it had been like that for about a week.
Traffic: was bad and many of the roads are in poor shape, due to neglect, the bad weather, and all those trucks. The bypass, which runs from Denpasar North to South up the East coast is under construction a few kms south of Sanur, all the way to about parallel with Klungkung. One day this will be a speedy 4 lane highway, but for the foreseeable future it’s a mess--motorcyclists especially should avoid it due to the dust. The heavier road work goes on at night. Smaller roads were beat up pretty bad, with lots of potholes. I was really glad I had someone drive me to Sidemen rather than driving there myself as I usually do. I had use of a car once at Sidemen, but driving at night was especially tense as the holes in the roads are not marked.
Kuta: the alcohol fueled revelry seemed to start much earlier than before, say around 10 pm. I had dinner at a newish place on Poppies Lane called the Havana Club (specialty—ribs!). It’s close to TJs and had a good atmosphere with a fun Latin (sounding) band. Prices were reasonable too, though it’s not a nasi goring/sate ayam type of budget.
Prices: rising. The cheap bungalows in Kuta where I’ve been staying for years finally raised my rate 25%, and they were about 75% full. They were not open to negotiation either—I was told this was still a “special price”. Never mind, it was still reasonable and I sure didn’t feel like trudging around trying to save a few bucks.
Wi-Fi: wireless Internet at OK speeds was free (well, for the price of a drink or meal) almost everywhere. Casa Luna in Ubud doesn’t even bother with passwords if you want to mooch from the curb! The password at Cinta Grill is aabbccddee by the way.
Tourists: inland, lots of French spoken. In Kuta, lots of German and East European along with the Aussie twang. Ubud, the groups are mainly Asian, from China, but most don't overnight there.
Airport stuff: there are now 5 visa on arrival counters (only 2 the last time) and the lines move pretty fast. They take all major currencies and the exchange rates are posted, so don’t worry if you don’t have US dollars. The immigration lines which come next moved faster than usual it seemed. I got through the whole thing in about half an hour, even though it was crowded. I still recommend getting off the place as fast as possible—every person you pass is one less in front of you later.
That’s about it. Barrie already scooped me on the Batur climbing ban. Suggest serious hikers try Gunung Agung instead; the guides are not so aggressive there either and you’ll have the mountain to yourself. You can do this conveniently from Sidemen.
