Checking guests houses on Jalan Benesari in Kuta Bali

Today I hit all my favourite places, well almost. Started out at GlobalXtreme in Kerobokan ( Bali&#39s premier ISP ) .

Riding downtown I swung by Indograph printers on the loop on Jalan Legian to get our stickers started. Manager Opi was there and is very organised, she asked where my friend was, meaning Sean. Seems I get asked that about once every couple of days.

Ran into Potter from New York in Internet Outpost and got on with some online stuff. I was starving by 11am and took the opportunity to swing by Warung Nikmat on Jalan Bakung Sari. Man it was good looking at those piles of delicious food. I had a plate of plain rice, green beans, chicken pieces spicy sauce, chicken livers, potato thingy, anchivies in some assorted heap and a large bbq chicken breast. This was topped with some yellow curry sauce. The whole lot cost 14,000rp ($1.56).

I swung by Captain Haddocks on Jalan Benesari for a cup of coffee and to compose questions for an upcoming interview I’m doing. The staff were waiting for customers and waitress Sri was in charge. This place serves okay French food and you’d be totally amazed at the selction of food they offer if you’d seen the state of the kitchen!

I’m researching guests houses in the Jalan Benesari area. Believe me there are stacks of them and still have many more to see. My feet are now like flat slabs of steak after walking up and down stairs all afternoon.

I totally know what its like getting off a plane after a long flight, ending up in Kuta and having no idea what’s here or what one should expect. For those on a budget here are some simple tips to remember.

1. Guest house prices in Kuta on Poppies Lane I & II, and Jalan Benesari are competitive, you won’t find too much lower without getting a local to rent you a room.

2. When you get here check out at least 2 places. Sometimes you’ll find a very comfortable place next to a junker for the same price!

3. When you want to look at a guest house check out at least 2 rooms, in different parts of the property.

4. When negotiating a price make sure no one else is around. Things are negotiable usually and you might get a deal, but give the manager a chance to do it secretly.

You might think this is taking things a bit far, especially with the checking more than one room, but let me show you a couple of places I saw this afternoon.

This place looks quite nice from the outside, nice paint job, flowers etc. The staff were friendly too. Couple of problems though. Some rooms are right next to busy Jalan Benesari which can be clogged with traffic. I’d choose a room furthest from the road. Second problem, the bottom level is very shady and has a pond at the end making it musty and not all a place you’d want to relax in. I’d choose a room on the sunnier upper 2 levels. Lastly, the room I looked on the bottom level was dark to begin with and had one tiny light, I felt like I was in semi darkness…who wants that on a vacation? This place looked way nicer on the outside than it really was. The opposite can also be true believe it or not, with older buildings having new sections that are hidden from the road.

Many of the budget guest houses have this kind of set up with 2 sets of facing rooms and a central garden.

Here at Internet Outpost I bumped into Potter again has been working ( or is that partying? ) so hard he looked totally whipped.

They’re playing the Eagles greatest hits. Ah, it takes me back to Santa Barbara and ‘my friend Jay’.