Bali, Indonesia

[Hevn]

Hi there!

We will be having our short honeymoon sa Bali!

ASk ko lang sana saan kayo nagstay and why?

Hi sis, we stayed at Zoe Villa in Canggu. It has a private pool na rin. Hubby loved it very much na we cancelled our booking in another resort for our last day. Canggu is parang bungad ng major areas and yung mejo malayo na. What we liked about it is tahimik talaga sha. It's bit far from places. May 30 minutes but prefer kasi namin yung tahimik. Transpo is a bit of a problem but if you have a driver then no problem. Ingat lang sa tourist traps and scammers.

We booked through Tripadvisor

[itsKat!]

^thank for the reply guys!

appleberry9: thanks for the feedbacks sa different places sa bali. We are not into surfing kasi so maybe I would skip Kuta. I think Jimbaran is different from Nusa Dua (not sure though) pero I heard maganda nga din daw dun, medyo high end nga lang yata? Not sure again. haha. but thanks for the feedback. really appreciated!

Hevn: hi sis! honestly, I haven't heard of Canggu yet, but the resort must be so good that you decided to cancel your earlier reservation. I like an area na tahimik din but at the same time yung makakapagexplore din kami if we want to. Ano yung mga tourist traps and scams na meron sa Bali? hehe

[Hevn]

^ Hi sis, ito yung mga na encounter namin na feeling namin tourist traps:

1. The temple naar Mt. Batur (northernmost part of Bali)
Sa entrance merong humihingi ng entrance fee pero parang hindi legit kasi sa labas sila ng temple unlike sa ibang mga temples na may outpost talaga sa harap na alam mong payment area talaga. Tapos may mga babae na ifoforce ka bumili ng sarong na super mega over ang price. Hindi rin naman ganun kagandahan ang temple na to compared sa iba so don't bother. If you find yourself in this situation, say NO and move on nalang sa next temple.

2. Restaurants
Never ask your driver for recommendations kasi sobrang mahal ng mga pinupuntahan. We feel na parang may kickback sila. List the restaurants you really want to go to. Places like Pacung, buffet na sobrang mahal na di naman sulit talaga, although nice view. And then sa Jimbaran seafood area, yung unang pinagdalhan samin feeling namin scam kasi dun kami binaba ng driver tapos nung sabi namin sa waiter na maglalakad muna kami ng beach para tumingin tingin eh dapat daw sabihan namin driver. Buti nalang nabasa ko na yung tungkol dun kaya sabi namin cancel nalang ang dinner. Sa villla nalang kami nagdinner at the next day na kami nagpunta sa Jimbaran after researching muna.

3. "Guides"
Yung tipong mga lugar na kala mo may free guide tapos at the end dadalhin ka sa store nila tapos ifoforce kang bumili. Sasabihin pa ikaw ang first customer at need daw nila kasi "lucky" ka lol. Just learn to say NO and walk away without turning back.

4. Taxis
Di naman kami naka encounter nito pero wag nalang sasakay sa mga taxi na walang meter.

5. Money Changers
Di rin kami naka encounter nito kasi nag ingat talaga kami. Minsan bibilangin nila sa harap mo pero nababawasan sha. Always count before you leave.

5. Overpricing
Almost everything is overpriced at the start but always bargain even up to 50% of the current price.

[itsKat!]

^thanks sa mga tips Hevn! talagang naka-itemized! very helpful  I will take note of that! Ano palang dala nyong money pagdating nyo dun, IDR na? hindi na kayo nagdollars?

Saka for the simcard/ wifi? how did you deal with it?

Thanks again!

By the way, nabasa ko nga yung sa Jimbaran, sobrang mahal daw talaga ng food dun! Maybe i will skip that area considering na masasarap din naman seafood dito sa atin! haha

[Hevn]

^ Dollars sis. Dun kami nagpapapalit ng IDR. If pupunta kayo ng Ubud, mas okay ang palitan dun pero ingat pa rin and make sure you count your money.

Yung sa simcard, may nagbebenta paglabas nyo ng arrival area. We got yung may 3gb internet with local and international call. Around 1.3k pesos. If you can get lower than that mas ok kasi di namin nagamit [textspeak!] 3gb kahit lagi kami naka internet nun.

Sa Jimbaran actually I highly recommend it. Sobrang nasarapan ako sa timpla ng Lia Cafe and for 300k IDR sobra sobra yung food for the two of us. Masaya dun pero we went lunch time kaya konti tao, mainit lang hehe. Pag sunset kasi ang daming tao dun.

[zee87]

Mga sis.. We will be in Bali this coming August for 5 days. May reservation ako sa
Sun Island Hotel Kuta which is in Kuta. Ok lang kaya dito? Or talagang sobrang touristy at crowded? First choice ko kasi talaga e Seminyak. 4 Adults kame with 1 kid. Mga single guys yung mga kasama namin. May crowd din kaya sa Seminyak?

[Hevn]

^ Madaming tao sa Kuta sis. Para kasi shang city proper. Pero ok lang naman. If you check Youtube palang makikita mo na ang dami talaga. Seminyak is a good choice kasi not too quiet and not too crowded. For the price of Sun Island you can actually get a private villa already with a private pool kahit sa Kuta or Seminyak area.

[zee87]

^Di ba maliliit yung mga pool sa villa sis? baka kasi parang nagpansol ka lang? lol

[princess20]

We stayed in Ubud for 3nights and Kuta for a night. Very relaxing and peaceful place ang Ubud. Yung Kuta napakacrowded not my type.

[zee87]

Parang naiisip ko tuloy mag stay sa Ubud. Hmmm.... 4 days lang kasi mga kasama ko. Kame naman 5 days. Wala pa ko itinerary.

[itsKat!]

^zee87: natawa ako sa parang pansol lang, but sa totoo lang yan din naisip ko ang liliit ng pool. hahaha! anyway, i'm checking kayon resort in Ubud. yung pinakamahal nilang room is may video ata and I saw the pool maliit din. although the whole resort is "bali" feel talaga! Wala pa din akong nabobook! lahat maganda!

[appleberry9]

Be careful also yung mga time shares, madami sa kuta.  They'll ask you to scratch a card or answer a survey and you'll win something but you have to go to the hotel and listen to their pitch.  Read more about it online.  We always just say no or tell them we did it already last year para hindi na kami kulitin.

We bought our sim card at kuta for IDR 50k, with internet na yun.  We mostly used it for navigation and map when we're out, free wifi naman kase sa hotel where we stayed.

[zee87]

Gusto ko ng magandang pool.
I am torn between staying in Ubud and seminyak/kuta or just stay in  seminyak/kuta at magtour na lang sa ubud. Any suggestions po?

[itsKat!]

 ^Ako, I am planning to stay at Seminyak then tour nalang sa ubud. more on nature and palayan kasi sa ubud. eh marami din tayong ganon sa pinas! haha balitaan mo kami zee87 kung saan ka mapunta!  :)mauna ka sakin pumunta ng Bali!

[Hevn]

^^ Sis zee87, yes maliit lang yung pool pero kasi iba ang feeling ng Bali villas compared sa pansol. Baka it's just me pero I preferred spending time inside the villa than sa beaches nila. Medyo disappointing ang beaches kasi mas maganda talaga dito sa Pinas. Siguro another thing na nagustuhan ko is yung privacy ng villas. Super comfortable compared sa hotel.

Anyway, if you're into villas and yoga maganda sa Ubud. Also, if you're planning to go dun sa mga temples sa north siguro ok rin to stay in Ubud but you can spend your last few nights sa Seminyak or Kuta na para madali papunta sa airport.

[zee87]

Thank you sis Hevn. Nabasa ko nga mas maganda pa rin mga beach sten. Gusto ko sana yung may magandang pool na malapit sa beach din. Parang gusto ko nga yang Grand Inna ba yun. [textspeak!] sis itskat, update ako pagbalik namin from Bali.

Miss na miss ko na ang tropical weather!

[zee87]

Booked Hotel Puri Madawi in Seminyak. Medyo malayo sa Seminyak Center pero accessible ang dagat kaya ok na rin. We will stay here for 5 days. and yeah, wala pa rin akong itinerary. lol

[Hevn]

^ Sis, I just made a guide for a friend pero it's mostly for Ubud. I edited some for you.

To start off with your itinerary, I suggest opening up Google Maps and marking the places you want to go to. Then check yung route nyo. I checked yung layo ng mga places and how far they are from each other kasi masasayang lang sa biyahe yung punta nyo if di maayos ang itinerary.

Temples List:
* Tanah Lot - I recommend going in the morning, not sunset kasi ang daming tao sa sunset. 1hr from your hotel
* Uluwatu - way way south but one of the best temples na maganda sunset. probably 1hr from your hotel
* Pura Ulun Danu - this is way northeast. It's nice but depending on your taste, might not be worth it. It can be around 1.5 hrs from airport and around 1.5 hrs from Ubud.
* Tirta Gangga - this is way too far north, we didn't go here pero we wanted sana. ang layo lang talaga
* Besikah Temple - north east but ingat sa mga "guides" na hihingi ng extra "donation". Say NO and you don't need a guide. Be firm about it
* Tirta Empul - north of ubud this is one beautiful temple and you can join in sa "Cleansing pool" nila. Just bring clothes na pwede mabasa
* Bedugul - northmost part of Bali. I suggest not going here. Scammer yung mga nagbebenta ng sarong.
* Taman Ayun - this is around 30 mins from Seminyak
* Pura Sarsawati - Inside Ubud town, when you see starbucks and lotus cafe, go inside, andun sha sa gitna. Good for picture taking and no entrance fee.

Food
* Lia's Cafe at Jimbaran - mostly nagpupunta mga tao pag sunset but I suggest wag kayo sumabay kasi ang daming tao. We went there lunch, super init pero at least walang tao haha. Siguro mga 7 or 9pm kayo magpunta. This is south mga 20 minutes lang from airport. Mejo matagal yung order pero sulit, sobra para sa 2 yung na order namn.
* Babi Guling - kahit sang may babi guling try nyo, ok naman sha haha. We tried sa Warung Babi Guling sa Ubud

Other notes
* Maraming fees along the way. Almost all temples may fees na around 5k to 30k. Then sa gitna ng daan meron pang mga naniningil ng road tolls na tig 5k. Di mo alam kung legit or hindi pero wala kang choice.
* Be ready for parking fees rin
* If you're planning to use Grab or Uber, ingat lang kasi not all places welcome them. May mga lugar na bawal sila mag pick up kasi maraming against sa kanila.

Here's our itinerary
Day 1
Taman Ayun
Ulan Danu + Lunch
Monkey Forest
Tanah Lot

Day 2
Money Forest in Ubud
Walk around Ubud (2.5 hrs)
Tirta Empul
(If I would do this day again, i would've gone to Tirta Gangga kahit malayo in the morning then derecho sa Ubud)

Day 3
[Insert: do something else in the morning kasi nasayang oras namin going to Nusa Dua kasi di naman kami nag water activities dahil expensive. Probably walk around Kuta nalang or Seminyak]
Padang Beach (swim)
Suluban Beach Cave (lunch)
Uluwatu
Jimbaran Dinner

[zee87]

Wow!!! Maraming thank you sis Hevn!

[itsKat!]

Wow sis zee87! nakabook kana! congrats! ako hindi pa rin.. though gusto ko sana magbook na this august dahil parang maraming promo and discounts. haha!

sis Hevn! galing ng paggawa ng itinerary. kahit di para sakin ito ill take note. haha!  thanks!