ID: Jalan-jalan Island (1)

A night before, I made a call to one tour operator in B4li. From the pamphlet, it provides a car/van rental inlcuding driver for Rph250,000 for 8 hours. At first, the tour operator quoted me Rph300,000 for 8 hrs, but when I mentioned the pamphlet suggests different rate, he agreed with me. Agreed for a pick up at 11am, however, there was a miscommunication between him and the driver, our pick up arrived at 10am.

Our original plan is Ubvd - Kintam4ni - Sukaw4ti - Kec4k Dance. Discussed with the driver, he suggested we reached Kintam4ni before noon (due to raining season) and had lunch there. We will stop by areas along the way to Kintam4ni such as Celuk and another place I can't remember. Then after Kintam4ni, we should move to Sukaw4ti and later be at Kec4k dance by 6pm. Since the driver is a native B4linese, we just agreed with him. Instead of 8 hrs as planned, we ended up paying him for 10 hours.

On the way to Kintam4ni, we stopped by the usual tourist places i.e., batik painting and silver craft. The price here is exorbitant. We just cuci mata checking out the prices and handicraft only.










Reached Kintam4ni around 1 pm after the rain. The view is beautiful. Need to pay to get into the area. Our driver drove us directly to the restaurant by the valley. The view is amazing from the restaurant. You can have your lunch on the cliff overlooking the mountain, lake and valley. However, for the very very low quality food and cost Rph60,000 per head is just not worth it. You can still take the photos without having lunch there. The restaurant just took advantage on the tourists. Well, who will not do this? This is money. In fact, the waitress kept on asking me the cologne I am using (??). She kept praising how lovely the smell is and asking what brand it was.











After Kintam4ni, we moved down to go back to the south area (towards Kut4). On the way, the driver stopped by at the coffee plantation. Had a small cup of B4li chocolate and B4li coffee. Surprisingly, you will find C N I 3-1 coffee on sale there too :-)











The Kec4k performance will not be staged until 6pm, so we went to Sukaw4ti for handicrafts. Although there are abundant of choices there, the prices are not that cheap. Some are actually more expensive than Kut4/Legi4n. It is good if you already walk around Kut4 checking out the prices before coming to Sukaw4ti. At least you know what is cheap and where - an advantage for you. As for the paintings, better not to buy from here. They are imitation and you will see the same paintings at the gallery/studio in Ubvd signed by the original artists. If you want to get the paintings, go to the studio, not the gallery. You can deal directly with the artists and get the cheaper price. My friend bought six huge paintings (with two small paitings free) for nearly Rph3,000,000 - I think it is a good bargain.

I have watched Kec4k dances during my first visit to B4li in 2001. So, nothing great for me. Personally, I'd rather watching Bar0ng show as opposed to Kec4k. Leg0ng dance may be worthwhile as well.












VERDICT:
1) To get a transport with the driver, shop around or try to get contact via friends who have been to B4li before. Negotiate.
2) At Kintam4ni, tell the driver that you want to have lunch somewhere else, not the 'pre-arranged" restaurant. Or better still, pack your own lunch :-)
3) When buying paintings, start the bargain with at max 50% of the quote prices. If you dare to go lower, go ahead. The paintings we bought originally quoted around Rph5,000,000.
4) No regret if you can skip Sukaw4ti. Nearlyof the handicrafts on sale there are available in Kvta/Legi4n area at the same price or even lesser.

~ M T @ Ind0nesia
~~ Seminy4k, B4li

~ To Travel Is To Discover Oneself ~