Zully's useful
For enquiries or help in
The prices shown here are accurate at the time of writing but with
inflation running at a brisk rate price rises are inevitable. Most goods and
services are cheaper here than in our home countries, and our dollars go a long
way in
Driver
We use Pak Eko or Pak Made. If you need any Driver
(or Car- or Bike-rental), just let me know.
LOTTE (ex Makro)
If you like a large wholesale outlet selling goods ranging from
groceries, beer by the crate, hardware, clothing, electrical goods, and much
more - go to Makro
at Jl Bypass Ngurah Rai
number 222X. It’s about 20 minutes by taxi from Kuta. Note that daily
membership costs Rp 5,000. In Oct 2006 we bought a DVD player (Rp 230,000)
and a fridge (Rp 1,000,000) for bargain prices here. Beer, fruit juice and
water can be purchased by the crate. Note they do take some credit cards at Lotte (including Diners Club) There’s a small surcharge if you use a card, but there is an
ATM handy if you want to get cash. Note that the Makro website has
details of their specials. A taxi from Jayakarta Hotel to Makro
is about Rp 30,000.
Carrefour
the large French department store chain has now opened in Sunset Road. It’s a
12 minute taxi ride from Jayakarta. Its probably the
biggest single store in
If you want to do a bit of shopping we always look at the department
stores at Denpasar. Take a 20 minute taxi ride to Ramayana Department Store
(Jl Diponegoro) - DVDs, PS2 and Xbox games are at the
Sakura shop on the top floor, clothing
and shoes on floors 1 and 2. There is a good little Sportswear factory
outlet on the top floor of Ramayana. The 50% off rack is a good source of
Nike, Adidas and other branded sportswear. The supermarket is on the 3rd floor and the
small food hall next to it has (amongst other things) great Sop Buntut and ice creams.
Matahari and Robinsons
stores are a 10 minute walk from Ramayana. Also within walking distance is Millennia
(Jl Teuku Umar) which
sells many US branded men's, women's and children's clothes at bargain prices. Its good for jeans, shorts, T shirts etc. Brand name jeans
were Rp 110,000, Gap separates Rp 49,500, Abercrombie & Fitch T shirts Rp
49,000, Mossimo cargo shorts Rp 79.000, OP swim shorts Rp 29,000. They had
More good shops are at the Bali Mal Galeria
at Jl Bypass Ngurah Rai. (Next to the big statue/water fountain.) There is a Matahari
Department store there; the upstairs food court has some tasty local treats.
There is a good surf outlet shop selling Billabong, Rip Curl,
Quicksilver, Volcom etc at Jl Bypass Ngurah Rai about 1 km from the
big statue/fountain heading South. If you rummage through the bargain and
seconds racks you can find a bargain. I got some genuine cool Mossimo dark glasses for Rp 95,000.
The Discovery Shopping Mall
is situated next to the Kartika Hotel on
A good hardware store is Ace Hardware, situated at Istana Kuta Galleria, has most hardware and electrical stuff you
will need including a range of better quality items that don't fall apart on
you or blow up if inserted into a wall socket! Much of their stuff is imported.
Last time we visited they had a range of furniture including leather lounge
suits on sale.
DVD's - we have found over 90% of the DVD's
work well although some of the newer titles are made by people in the audience
using handicam's - its a bit of a laugh when the
person in front coughs or stands up - or the battery dies halfway though. We
get most of our DVDs at Sakura (Kartika Plaza
& top floor Ramayana in Denpasar) However the DVD shops near the Jayakarta
Hotel in Legian are also good - just remember the more you buy the cheaper they
get. Ask the shopkeeper if you come back can you purchase more for the same
rate, and try and get the best bulk rate (Rp 10,000 at the time of writing).
Despite your best intentions you will buy more later
in the trip! Sakura is also the best place for playstation
2 or Xbox games. Remember your playstation or Xbox needs to be mod chipped to be able to play
these games. In NZ a playstation modchip is about Aud$50 and an Xbox chip around $60 not
sure about Oz. As at Dec 2006 we paid Rp10,000 for
DVDs and audio CDs and Rp15,000 for PS2 games. If you get 10 DVDs you get a
further 3 free or if you get 100 DVDs (God help you with your luggage!) you get
another 50 for free at some outlets. Cheap!!!! A good idea is to leave
the DVD cases behind and buy a zip up holder. These cost about Rp 50,000 and
can contain up to 75 DVDs. The shop assistants will help you to do this.
Computer based Windows software is also cheap in
Supermarkets
We like the Bintang Supermarket at Jl Seminyak
- about 15 minutes walk or 5 minutes taxi from our Jayakarta apartment
at Legian - a good place to get your groceries plus a good selection of local
and imported wines, beers and spirits at reasonable prices. Pick up the latest
copy of the free Bali Advertiser newspaper from here - it contains useful
information. It also stocks vegemite, a good range of cheeses and other
essentials! Take home some of the Balinese Arabica coffee beans. We
find Bintang is cheaper and has more variety than the Matahari Supermarket
at
There is also an even cheaper and bigger supermarket called Alfa at
Jl Imam Bonjol that many locals use and has a good
range. We bought our 2
Another supermarket – Tiara, is
situated at Istana Kuta Galleria near Ace Hardware.
(7 minute taxi ride) and is fairly cheap.
As mentioned above the Carrefour
Department store has a huge range of goods.
Beach massages are cool. You may need to shoo away
the carved wooden bow and arrow salesmen to get some peace :-) Bargaining is
expected - I normally pay around Rp 20-25,000 for 30 minutes of massage - if a
manicure is desired as well - an extra Rp 10,000 is needed. If you find a good
one, stick with them and you don't need to go through the bargaining process
again next day! I like Nyoman (with 10 on her hat) outside Jayakarta Hotel
beach entrance.
Remember that people in
If you don't get recalled it means that they aren't making any profit on
the transaction.
Eating & Liquor
Our current favourite restaurants are:
Enhay between Poppies 2 and JL Benesari.
Very cheap but delicious. Total bill for 2 including
beers (2) is about Rp 70,000.
Brasil Bali Jl Benasari is a
good warung not far from Enhay.
It’s a great cheap place that has been operating for years. Avocado prawns (May
07 Rp 9,000) and their mixed juice Rp 8,000 are my favorites.
Ryoshi Japanese Jl
Raya Seninyak
Situated next door to Bintang Supermarket this is a real treat. Their
sashimi and sushi are excellent. Prices are reasonable given the quality of the
food. Many locals and expats eat here.
Queens Tandoor
JL Raya Seminyak no 73 about Rp 20,000 taxi from
Jayakarta. This is top class Indian food that’s a little expensive by
We paid Rp 180,000 for 2 people including beers. (May 2007)
You must try the Dosa – a southern Indian
treat.
The Royal Palace Chinese
Restaurant, at Istana Kuta Galleria upstairs above
Tiara Supermarket has great Dim Sum all you can eat lunches everyday. On
Sundays they bring around the trolleys so you choose what you want. It’s a
fixed price of Rp 40,000 per person including Chinese Tea and desert.
Warung 96 - off Poppies 2.
Wood fired pizzas and Pasta are specialties here. A pizza is around Rp 38,000. Chilli Con Carne is our favourite.
Bamboo Corner on Poppies 1 is great value and has
good juices and food at ridiculously cheap prices. Lunch for 2 people is about
Rp 35,000.
Rainbow Cafe on Poppies 2 opposite Bounty Hotel
is also a good value place to eat.
Halfway down Poppies 1 is Nusa Indah which is good for a few bintangs and has cheap and very good food. The staff are always friendly. A three course meal and 3 bintangs cost less than Rp 150,000 for both of us.
A bit dearer (still cheap by our standards) is Made's
Warung Jl Pantai Kuta
(Turn right at Bemo Corner.)
Eating places near Jayakarta:
We think the breakfasts at the Jayakarta are good but expensive. We
prefer a 3 or 4 minute walk to Blue Ocean,
Go out to the beachfront from the Jayakarta Hotel and turn right
and you will find
Next door to
About 50 metres past
If you are staying at the Legian end of Kuta as we do there are several
good value restaurants including:
Yut's Place
which has good steaks from around Rp 40,000 as well as Indonesian foods and
salads. I liked their Caesar salad and veal Cordon Blue (Gordon Blue – as many
Balinese call it). If you tire of Indonesian food they will fit the bill with a
good range of mainly Swiss and Western style food. It’s a 5 minute walk from
the Jayakarta Hotel.
Unfortunately Marco the Original Owner & Chef left and it’s now up
to his (ex?) wife to fill the gap, but …. It’s not what it was when Marco was
still in charge.
Left out of Jayakarta Hotel and when you get to JL Doublesix go 30 metres to the left and across the road is Warung Murah.
It serves great local food and juices at cheap prices.
Also left outside the Jayakarta security gate and about 500m walk is Warung Asia which specializes in Thai
food. This is left outside Jayakarta main entrance gate and about 50 metres before Double Six intersection. Excellent Thai
cuisine. This place is popular with locals and expats
and we recommend it. It was busy each time we ate there so that it a good sign
for a restaurant. We recommended it to guests when in
Remember that many restaurants sell large beer at happy hour
prices for a few hours in early evening to attract customers. Prices like Rp
10,000 - Rp13,000 for a large Bintang or Bali Hai
beer are common and often work out cheaper than what you can get in the
supermarket! Cocktails with the local '
On the subject of alcohol we found the Hatten's
Rose wine made in
Half way down Poppies Lane 1 next
door to the Secret Garden Bar & Restaurant there is a little outdoor cocktail bar that sells jugs of cocktails for Rp
35,000, large Bintangs Rp 12,000 and soft drinks Rp
3,500 at happy hour (
If you are going past a KFC and want a cheap snack we often order
KFC chicken and corn or chicken and vegetable soup - its yummy and costs about
Rp 9500. McDonalds sell snow freeze type ice creams dipped in hot
chocolate. At Rp 2000 they are good on a hot day.
One of the best places, to buy fresh bread and cakes is the Bali
Bakery (Corner Jl Imam Bonjol &
Jl Patih Jelantik) They
have good meals there too. Try the soup of the day! We often take a fresh baguette home to eat.
If you eat in try their soup of the day Rp 30,000.
The Bali Deli - you can
get your order delivered to you if you want a snack or browse their wonderful
selection of breads, meats and cheeses. Many imported items at
a reasonable prices. The garden area outside is a nice place to have
lunch.
Don't forget to check the Beatmag to find the location of the popular
restaurants. Pick up a copy of HelloBali
magazine - they are based at Seminyak but arrange hotel/home delivery for around
30 local restaurants for Rp 10,000 to 30,000 as far a field as Sanur. We haven't tried it out yet but you get to check out
the menus for a number of restaurants.
Money
We have found it better to take our local banknotes (NZ) for
conversion into Rupiahs. Australian notes are fine but take $50
and $100 notes and you sometimes get a slightly better rate. Damaged notes will
be rejected, so check there are no tears. ATMs work ok - I think most banks
charge about $5 per transaction for ATM use - so you may as well get a
decent amount of cash out in one transaction. I cant
see the point of changing NZ or OZ dollars at home into US dollars, then
changing them to Rupiahs in
Keep valuables in the safe deposit box at Hotel reception.
Use of credit cards is fine in major department stores but many
smaller retailers will add a surcharge. We have found Visa and MasterCard
to be the most popular cards. Make sure you have a PIN number for your card
which enables it to work in ATMs. There are heaps of ATMs around
Tipping
- usually we don't but for good service at restaurants we add an extra thousand
Rupiahs or two. Remember just how little this is to us but what a difference it
is to them. The average wage is around AUD $120 per month in
Money changers –
We use the PT Kuta Central - Money
Changer which is 500m around Bemo Corner past the
Kuta BCA Bank. If you don’t want to travel far, we often use the Kodak store near Posers Pub, and have
NEVER had any problem - remember if you see a rate that seems too good to be
true - it probably is. The money changer in the Kodak shop about 10 minutes
walk from the Jayakarta – opposite the BCA ATM machine, is a PT Central agent
and has the same rates as the main office.
The money changer beside Matahari in Kuta
square is also good - PT Kuta Central is the biggest
and best changer and where many of the other money changers change their
currencies! Remember NOT ALL
MONEY CHANGERS ARE HONEST and Count your money before you leave their premises.
Many Kodak shops, which are agents for PT Central, have a good
reputation for honesty, although sadly, some of these are using slight of hand
and dodgy calculators to rip off unsuspecting tourist..
Don't use the hotels to change money as their rates are ratshit.
Be careful not to confuse 10,000 notes with 100,000 notes - its a bit confusing with all those noughts.
If you need a Bank we use the BCA in Kuta, 200 metres around Bemo Corner on the road to Denpasar.
Taxi
Taxis are cheap in
Remember that all taxis have a meter, even the non-Blue Bali Taxi's.
During 2005 the Indonesian Government removed most of the subsidies on fuel
with the result petrol prices more than doubled. This is the reason taxi fares
are somewhat higher than they were.
Airport taxis
When arriving in
When using the taxi to get from Legian to restaurants and bars in
Poppies Lane we often get out on Jl Legian opposite Poppies 2 and walk -
quicker than taking the taxi all the way around. Fare approx Rp 25,000.
Going from Kuta back to Jayakarta we usually go to the beach end of
Poppies 1 and get a taxi to the sharp 90 degree corner where Jl Melasti starts then take the 10 minute walk back along the
cobbled walkway to the Jayakarta Apartment at Legian. Its
a pleasant walk and good shortcut if you want to walk all the way from Legian
to Kuta and it takes about 25 minutes. At night you can see the bright lights
of hundreds of fishing boats in a line, 20km or more out from the beach. I
think they catch squid and tuna.
Places you should go
For day trips we like the
Ubud is an
interesting place where many artists hang out. It has a more relaxed feel than
Kuta and has good markets - art, carving and sculpting etc. There is plenty to
see on the way.
Nusa Lembongan is an island off the east coast of
Other tips
Don't drink the tap water. We have found it good value
to buy large 3 gallon water at the Supermarket and take it to the apartment in
the taxi - you need to purchase the bottle first. There is a shop outside the
Jayakarta Hotel that will swap empties over and carry them up to the apartment
for you. We paid Rp 10,000 for the refill including freight! If you are out and
about its a good idea to take a small bottle of water
with you. Dehydration is easy if you don't drink water often. Fruit juices cost
very little and taste delicious.
Electrical Appliances It’s
rare to find a light bulb over 25 watts – perhaps that’s a reason many of the
rooms are dark! Toasters that never toast and jugs that never boil are common
because their wattage (or power) is about 33% of what we use back home. We have
our own jugs in all our apartments after guests complained about the 45 minute
time to boil a
Luggage allowance Be
aware that excess baggage fees are often charged when you take home more than
20KG per person of checked on baggage. It can be expensive. Ways around this
are: Take as much carry on stuff as you can or buy a body board or surfboard
bag and stuff it with stuff. Some airlines including Garuda allow a
sports bag on without counting its weight. I guess golf clubs and bag also
qualify. Shops in Poppies 2 can make such bags cheaply. You can check baggage
weights by standing on scales with, then without, your bags then subtract the
difference. If flying Jetstar they can be strict on
baggage also take a warm jacket with you as they charge for blankets. We also
take along some snacks like nuts as you pay for meals and drinks.
Carry on luggage - liquids
Lately (May 2007) most airports won’t let you take
bottles containing more than 100ml with you onto the plane. Its OK to pack these items in your checked luggage, but
otherwise be prepared to lose your expensive cosmetics etc. if they are in
containers of more than 100ml.
Visa on arrival: Pay with undamaged
You can bring wine and spirits into
Toilets
in
Departure Tax is
Rp 100,000 so remember to have this available when you get to the airport. If
you need a snack before you leave the McDonalds outside the airport is much
cheaper than any of the food inside.
Hiring a motorcycle can be a fun way to get about. Remember you
need an International drivers licence! I didn't
bother and got fined Rp 200,000!! (The bike rental was
Rp 35,000 per day in Dec 2006 and included the helmet but not petrol.) Car
hire, if you're brave is around Rp 400,000 for 3 days hire. I tried
to get a temporary licence while in
We have our own bikes (Peddling bikes) in
If travelling around
When swimming always swim in a patrolled area. The
surf is fun but can be dangerous at times so if you are not experienced be
careful. For a good day trip go to Dreamland beach
(20km from Legian) - the beach is wonderful. The swimming opposite the
Jayakarta, at Legian is excellent and 4 minutes walk from our apartment.
Remember to swim between the flags.
Phone/Internet
Mobile phone calls are cheap in
Local calls cost about Rp 2,500 per minute and texts
(SMS) were about Rp 500 each to NZ/Oz or Rp 350 to another
There are many internet cafes and a growing number of wireless
hot spots in
Before you travel to
Laundry
A good laundry, and the one we use is The Family Laundry ph 08164701988, if you
ring about 8am and give your Jayakarta apartment number they collect about 9am
then deliver about same time next day. Their English is about as good as my
Indonesian so persevere!
Another laundry service for Jayakarta guests is Nyoman's
Laundry. If you turn left outside the gate and walk 2 minutes to the alley on
the right you will see laundry 15 metres down the alley. As at May 2007 undershorts were Rp 500 shorts Rp1500, socks Rp500 per pair
and shirts Rp1500. The tailor next door can do repairs and alterations to
garments if required.
Printing
We get our business cards printed at Bali Graphic Design at Jl Raya
Legian no 472. Cost per 100 business cards is Rp 25,000
(Dec 2006) including the setup and design cost! They also do posters and
other printing.
As luck would have it, I stumbled on to a great dentist in
Good Links
Pics
of our apartments and a link to our driver. www.puketoki.com/pics.htm
Bali Travel Forum www.balitravelforum.com
Bali Advertiser www.baliadvertizer.biz
Zuji a good place to find cheap fares. www.zuji.com
Hallo Restaurants –
Places to eat and they will arrange delivery to your hotel. Pick up a booklet
at the Bintang Supermarket. www.hallorestaurants.com
Currency
converter. www.oanda.com/convert
Indonesia Post Newspaper
www.indonesiapost.com
Bali.co nz
NZ travel agent. www.bali.co.nz
Makro Wholesale www.makro.co.id
