Bali attracts a wide variety of people, with entirely different interests and cultural backgrounds. Its hard to write a set of rules everyone should abide by, because something simple like being outgoing, or being upfront, things appreciated in the US and Australia, can seem rude to people from other cultures. Here are a few general thoughts on responsible tourism in Bali.
2 comments
Bali is a relatively safe place to visit, in comparison with other major destinations, such as London, Miami, Rio, Joburg and Bangkok. Still you need to be carefull, and keep aware of the possible dangers / crimes. Here’s a few tips.
No Comments
Wet season in Bali means hot steamy days and nights, will the occassional downpour. Good thing about this is you don’t have bring a ton of warm clothes. If you pack one t-shirt too few, or need an extra pair of underwear, go down to Matahari department store on Kuta Square and pick one up, very cheaply.
No Comments
My friends from Oregon, brought over a couple of old cell phones that use SIM cards. I thought it would be simple to get them changed over to the local numbers, but it took longer than expected. Last year the Indonesian government made it law that cell phones have to be registered. After buying a 50,000rp SIM card which included 10,000rp of pulsa, outside Bintang supermarket, the guy told me I could not use the phones without registering. In order to do that you have to have a passport if you are a foreinger. I didn’t have mine handy, but the guy said I could register later.
No Comments
There are a variety of maps available for visitors to Bali, including paper map, plastic maps, guidebooks with maps of the island eyc. The most detailed map of Bali, that is widely available is the Periplus Bali Street Atlas.
No Comments
The level of health care in Bali varies from local clinics and hospitals, to foreign run clinics such as BIMC and SOS International. If you are in a tourist area such as Kuta, Seminyak, Sanur, Nusa Dua or Ubud, there are small clinics that can handle simple injuries. For major injuries you need to go to the local hospital, which in the Kuta area, means a trip to Sanglah hospital in Denpasar. Each district in Bali has a hospital located in the main town, however Sanglah is the only one capable of dealling with really major operations and injured locals will often get shipped to Sanglah from elsewhere on the island. Sanglah hospital is accessed by taking Bypass Ngurah Rai in the direction of Sanur, then hanging a left across from the turnoff to the port of Benoa.
6 comments
A look through BootsnAll’s currency converter, shows the rupiah has gained against the US dollar over the few months, and that anyone with Euro’s is a happy camper. The best strategy for saving money in Bali, is to price shop for everything, and start to ‘think in rupiah’, rather than saying ‘this meal is cheap, it only cost $20 for the 2 of us’.
No Comments
Renting your own transport is the best way to explore Bali, in my opinion. This morning my friends from Oregon wanted to join our friend Palu, who was surfing at Green Ball, on the southern tip of the Bukit Peninsula. He said to meet him at his house at 8.30am. prblem was most of the car rental places on Jl. Dhyana Pura open around 9am.
4 comments
Living in a tropical climate, exposes you to new medical challenges. Bacteria grow fast and there are a range of diseases and afflications westerners are not familiar with. Recently I met 2 older westerners who have fungal / parasitical problems (and we’re not talking about their girlfriends!).
2 comments
According to some sources, the internet has over 100 million sites and in the last year has doubled in size, due largley to blog sites, which use ‘personal publishing software’.
No Comments
