Bali, Indonesia

[mama squeak!]

Ladies, there already is an existing thread on Riandrew's unfortunate experience in Bali at the Current Events forum. Please post your relevant reactions on that thread. Thank you.

http://www.femalenetwork.com/girltalk/index.php/topic,245418.0.html

[diyosa]

sis riandrew i feel for you. i felt anger and fear when i read your blog. i've been to Bali very recently, last April lang. but we had a connecting flight from jakarta so we didn't go through Denpasar's immigration (sa jakarta na). i'll still go to Bali (in fairness to the place, i really liked it) but I pray to God I won't have this traumatic experience that you had. i hope you and your friend are ok. i hope that you'll get through this and find in your hearts the courage to see the world again.

[ilurvepeanutbutter]

Tsk tsk, this should be addressed by our government asap. Good thing you guys are okay and safe!

[riandrew]

just glad to share this..

Press Release from DFA
http://www.gov.ph/2011/06/06/philippine-embassy-to-provide-assistance-to-two-filipinas-suspected-as-drug-mules-in-bali/


PH EMBASSY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO TWO FILIPINAS SUSPECTED AS DRUG MULES IN BALI
 
06 June 2011 – The Philippine Embassy in Jakarta said that it stands ready to provide assistance to two Filipinas who were allegedly subjected to unfair treatment from immigration officials at the Bali airport.
 
“The Embassy takes these allegations seriously, and the Embassy is verifying if there is basis to file a protest” the DFA said.
 
“We admire the two Filipinas’ courage in relating their ordeal, and we ask them to touch base with the embassy or the DFA, so the incident could be further documented. This will form basis for the embassy’s actions,” the DFA added.
 
According to reports, the two women who prefer to be anonymous went to Bali as tourists but were singled out from the immigration line and ushered into the immigration office. 
 
There, they were subjected to a bag and body search allegedly without justification, allegedly because they were suspected to be drug mules.
 
After an and a half hours at the immigration office, the two Filipina tourists were allowed to leave the airport, where they were surprised to see the hotel driver still waiting for them.
 
Their hotel driver allegedly told them that he was not surprised that they were the last ones to go out, as Filipinos were usually the last ones to be let out of the immigration line. END


-- hope this will lead to safe travels in Bali in the future..

[mama squeak!]

Ladies, there already is an existing thread on Riandrew's unfortunate experience in Bali at the Current Events forum. Please post your relevant reactions on that thread. Thank you.

http://www.femalenetwork.com/girltalk/index.php/topic,245418.0.html

Ladies, once again please keep to the topic. Post only relevant travel guides, tips and infos in this thread. Any off topic posts will be automatically deleted. Thank you for your usual cooperation.

 

[hulawho]

hi riandrew,

how many days did you stay in bali? where did you stay?

[riandrew]

^
4 days, having the 1st and last - days of flight. so bale 2 whole days lang.

night 1: Hotel Sorga in Kuta (kasi free pick up from the airport). the room is creepy. pero pwede na dahil may free pickup, free bfast, hot and cold showers, and pool area.

night 2: Teba Guesthouse in Ubud. i like the ambiance. very cozy. ang gaganda ng Balinese setups ng rooms. may free breakfast, free wifi.

night 3: Hotel Kodja in Kuta (walk in). Creepier than hotel Sorga pero very ideal location. Eto lang swak sa budget that time (tutulugan lang kasi kaya ayaw na namin gumastos ng malaki). A/C room for only 200,000Rp. In the heart of Kuta Square pa. May pool, walang wifi, walang bfast. And again, creepy.


btw, iba outlet nila dun. at lahat ng hotels na yan, hindi makapagprovide ng adaptor.
eto sa kanila: rounded and three legged. bahala ka na magdala ng adaptor mo para makapagcharge ka..

[Frozen Toes]

^ Ay, ganyan ata talaga sa Indonesia. Standard nila yung three holed outlet. Nung nagpunta ko, di ako makacharge ng mga gadgets ko kasi may rental fee pag nanghiram ka ng adaptor. Nothankyou.

[riandrew]

^
for rent pa talaga? hehe di nalang nilibre, tutal for customer satisfaction naman..
swerte ko lang yung camera ko, 3-holed ang charger nya. so yung kasama ko, empty batt ang camera buong Bali trip. 

[phurple0515]

^^ natawa rin ako don ha, for rent na adaptor, hehhe...dapat part of service na nila yon....

is it the same as the outlet here in KL? Or iba? 3 holed din dito, pero parang di siya bilog.

san ba maganda na area sa Bali? pero parang Phuket din lang ata ang beach don...

[diyosa]

maganda yung pinagstayan namin sa seminyak area - www.kembalivillas.com

about the outlets, yes three-pronged lahat but pinahiram nila kami ng adaptor sa villa namin

[riandrew]

san ba maganda na area sa Bali? pero parang Phuket din lang ata ang beach don...

sa Ubud. dami nilang Hindu temples.
temples overload. 

beach, im sure you wont be pleased too. nung day 2, puro beaches nila pinuntahan namin. nabored kami. 

[mooncake and leaves]

La Vida Dulce: thanks for the correction. my bad, nauuna talaga emotions madalas.

Chyng, much as I don't want to cause any more bad feelings, how did you find bali? setting aside your bad experience, which I know is hard, but since this is a travel thread, I'm really curious as to what you thought about it. My friends still want to go and I was browsing pics awhile ago and I'm honestly still interested din eh. TIA

[phurple0515]

^^ thanks sis riandrew...malamang nga we'd have a tour sa Ubod temples once magpunta kami don, depende pa sa sched ni hubby...and still having doubts pa nga e after your post...pero it's not in our priority naman so ok lang to postpone muna...

[riandrew]

Chyng, much as I don't want to cause any more bad feelings, how did you find bali? setting aside your bad experience, which I know is hard, but since this is a travel thread, I'm really curious as to what you thought about it. My friends still want to go and I was browsing pics awhile ago and I'm honestly still interested din eh. TIA

Only the people from the airport and money changer booths gave me the creeps. pero other than them, ok naman yung ibang locals.

For me, every place is worth visiting. At walang lugar na "panget". It always depends sa interest mo. It may be ordinary to me, but it may be excellent to you. And v.versa.

I like Ubud. It really showcased the Balinese culture. When I travel kasi, priority ko maaral yung religion nila, visit their temples, know their culture, and try their food. So far, nasatisfy naman ako.

I learned that Indonesia are mostly Muslim. pero sa Denpasar, Hinduism ang religion.
Also, sa liit ng Indonesia, 2 ang timezone nila. 1 hour late sa Jakarta. Same timezone tayo sa Denpansar.


and Im not really after the beach. Nauumay na kasi kami sa temples ng day1, kaya nagbeach na kami ng day2. Yung food din pala hindi masyadong outstanding. Though may nakainan kaming warung (store), ansarap ng nasi goreng nila!


PS. US Passport ka naman di ba, then go ahead!

[hulawho]

thanks for the info chyng!

yun plug nila same as singapore ba? yun tatlong butas?

[diyosa]

^yes three-pronged mga outlets nila

i like Bali. i'll definitely go back there. we weren't able to tour much of ubud kaya gusto namin bumalik. we went there because our aussie gay friend invited us to his birthday party there. napansin ko maraming australians pumupunta dun, mainly because they have direct flights going to bali from australia. tsaka surf spot din ang bali so my officemate na surfer, gustong gusto din dun. must try food ang babi gouhleng. sa ubud masarap yun

[iggypop]

sis riandrew bat ganon most of the hotels we visited were creepy din, parang eerie yung feeling di ba? si hub pa sabi parang nasa twilight zone daw kami kase the first one we visited we were led to room #24, creepy kaya hindi nagustuhan ni hub. so we went to another hotel, the room boy led us to room #24 ulit!!! tinaya tuloy ni hub sa jueteng 24-24, kaso talo LOL!

am reposting lang sis on this thread kase i posted it sa kabilang Indonesia thread....

waaaahhh! sis riandrew am glad ganon na lang nangyari sa inyo, iskeyri nga!

we were also in Bali a week after you were there and fortunately we had a pleasant experience naman. siguro it helped na din that we were with a big group.

on topic:

i never realized that a Bali vacation can be relatively cheap. our airfare was more expensive than the vacation itself

exchange rate was between 8200-8500 : 1USD

500usd yung pinapalitan namin and gulat ako when we were given 4,000,000++ rupiah! milyonaryo kami sa Bali LOL! i suggest huwag kayo magpapalit sa airport, better ang rates outside.

for the first 3 nights we stayed in a hotel in Nusa Dua (?), medyo expensive pero worth it naman. on our last two days, we hired a driver and asked him to bring us to a cheaper hotel. we told him our budget (around 50usd/night) and he was able to find one in Kuta. gulat ako kase parang boracay rate lang  although syempre not as nice and comfortable as our first hotel, pwede na din coz natulog lang naman kami don, free breakfast pa!

for our tour naman, we hired the same driver to take us around. we paid him 500,000 rupiah for almost 10hours, kasama na don ang gas  we were able to visit a few places lang kase 1pm pa kami nakaalis. we had to eat lunch pa. pero nice naman yung mga na-visit namin like the temples, rice terraces, jimbaran bay where we had our dinner by the beach and best of all shopping for souvenirs.

we bought our souvenirs at the local market thinking na mas mura. but our driver suggested we buy at Krisna Oleh-Oleh. Para siyang department store na puro souvenirs. I was able to buy a lot of stuff na for 2500pesos: keychains, shirts, sarongs, fans, hats, batik clothes for kids etc.

the following day, the driver picked us up to bring us to the airport (10mins away). He said free na daw coz we were nice to him. Katuwa!

Ooops napahaba na post ko  I hope this helps mga sis!
Here’s the number of the Balinese driver in case you guys are interested:
Mr. Putu: +62 878 6135 1000

[hulawho]

Sayang. Mukhang ok sa Ubud area. I just planned for a day trip there. We will be staying in Legian area.

[foruiz]

I really want to go here but for security reasons are keeping me from pursuing it. Sayang I was already about to get a really cheap ticket. Afraid kasi ang mga extremists, lalo na with Osama's death... But I would still love to go to Bali sabay daan na sa Borobudur.