The use of guide books in Bali

Bali is a relatively small island with 3 million people. Pretty much everything has been discovered and logged in a guidebook somewhere.

I have a couple of guidebooks, LP and Rough Guide. Both are good, with RG being a really well researched book. The amount of information in it is amazing, and I take my hat off to the guy who wrote it, he’s taken the time to explore places to the full and can write about it.

There are pro’s and cons to using a guidebook. The cons are that the book directs your trip, and everyone else who has the same book, will go to the same places. That is true if we are talking about backpacking the world. Here in Bali its not so true, because the island is primarily a holiday destination, not a backpacking destination. Most people know that Kuta / Nusa Dua / Sanur has hotels and that Ubud is good or a day out, they have no desire to go exploring more than that.

Riding around Ubud on my motorbike I passed a small guest house downtown and saw a pastey European guy sitting next to his backpack, waiting for transport. I had been in that situation in 1993, my first time in Bali. I could read what was on his mind, which was ‘Man its hot. This is supposed to be the art center of Bali, but it feels like the shopping center of Bali. I’m not exactly sure what I’m looking for, or how to access it.’

Its times like that when a guidebook will help you. Ubud especially has so many nooks and crannies. Yes its steaming hot, so you need your own transport, but just by stepping a block or 2 off of the main streets often you can access something special.