Maybe not! Bali has the veneer of a tropical paradise and, if one sticks to the tourist beach areas, the illusion can be maintained. Kim wanted her illusions left untouched.
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We landed in the late evening unsure if we had a room. A phone call from the local booking agent confirmed our reservation and we taxied over. The ride took us through some rather dismal areas of town. The roads were very narrow and most establishments (hotels and homes) are surrounded by greying concrete walls. The Lokha hotel is nice enough but is located on a very busy and very narrow street that accesses the beach. The grounds are carved out of a very small lot for a hotel, but the achievement is impressive. The three story walk up and the room were acceptable but the location left much to be desired.
After dinner we walked to the beach (about 200 metres). The shops along the street reminded us of Wasaga Beach on a poor day, although the street was clean. We found a beach side hotel with the tropical paradise grounds that we all recall from an Elvis film. We decided to stay the evening at Lokha but we booked Saturday evening at the Mandira.
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We landed in the late evening unsure if we had a room. A phone call from the local booking agent confirmed our reservation and we taxied over. The ride took us through some rather dismal areas of town. The roads were very narrow and most establishments (hotels and homes) are surrounded by greying concrete walls. The Lokha hotel is nice enough but is located on a very busy and very narrow street that accesses the beach. The grounds are carved out of a very small lot for a hotel, but the achievement is impressive. The three story walk up and the room were acceptable but the location left much to be desired.After dinner we walked to the beach (about 200 metres). The shops along the street reminded us of Wasaga Beach on a poor day, although the street was clean. We found a beach side hotel with the tropical paradise grounds that we all recall from an Elvis film. We decided to stay the evening at Lokha but we booked Saturday evening at the Mandira.
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Before we left for our walk on Friday evening we had the concierge at the Lokha book an all day tour for us. On Saturday morning we had breakfast, checked out, and moved to the Mandira. We had the concierge there contact the tour company and we were picked up at 8:15 at our new place. The tour lasted 12 hours and would have been longer but we were all too tired to go to the dinner that was laid on. The tour was another gem. We had a van with a driver and a personal tour guide. The guide was very entertaining and informative. I don't think he realized his malapropism when he was telling us about the "handicraps".
The tour covered a large portion of the island along with several craft houses for batik, silver, wood, and painting. We were treated to two cultural dance performance, a look at the terraced rice fields and a more or less close up of the two volcanoes. We also visited several temples and a monkey forest. While Indonesia is predominantly Muslim Bali is in fact 90% Hindu. The Hindu belief structure was explained to us in detail by our Hindu guide.
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We were also warned about the hawkers who are among the most aggressive we have seen. We were told not to touch anything. Once you touch the hawkers will consider it sold and the price will escalate. They will come right into the vehicle to collect (hands head and shoulders, anyway). The best policy is to ignore them. They try to play on one's sense of politeness by continually calling, "Excuse me!" but don't make eye contact or you are through.
A big part of the tourist trade is kickbacks. We were treated to several tradesmen's homes and shops (as mentioned) where the instruction was informative and sales pitches were only slightly less intense than the hawkers. Despite this and with the counsel of our guide we were able to negotiate what we considered very good deals. The sellers probably thought that they too got the better deal, so everyone is happy.
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unday was spent watching the surfers on the beach and lying around the pool and the tropical paradise grounds of the Mandira. The day included a spa treatment a lunch near the beach in a cool sea breeze.
The tour covered a large portion of the island along with several craft houses for batik, silver, wood, and painting. We were treated to two cultural dance performance, a look at the terraced rice fields and a more or less close up of the two volcanoes. We also visited several temples and a monkey forest. While Indonesia is predominantly Muslim Bali is in fact 90% Hindu. The Hindu belief structure was explained to us in detail by our Hindu guide.
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We were also warned about the hawkers who are among the most aggressive we have seen. We were told not to touch anything. Once you touch the hawkers will consider it sold and the price will escalate. They will come right into the vehicle to collect (hands head and shoulders, anyway). The best policy is to ignore them. They try to play on one's sense of politeness by continually calling, "Excuse me!" but don't make eye contact or you are through.A big part of the tourist trade is kickbacks. We were treated to several tradesmen's homes and shops (as mentioned) where the instruction was informative and sales pitches were only slightly less intense than the hawkers. Despite this and with the counsel of our guide we were able to negotiate what we considered very good deals. The sellers probably thought that they too got the better deal, so everyone is happy.
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unday was spent watching the surfers on the beach and lying around the pool and the tropical paradise grounds of the Mandira. The day included a spa treatment a lunch near the beach in a cool sea breeze.Kim's illusions are intact!
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