Bali, hi again

[maia200]

What a wonderful trip report. I was in Bali in June and going back next month. I loved revisiting it with you. Thank you.

 

[OZDUCK]

Thanks for another TR. Great to see how well you are adapting to your new 'companion'.

 

[drron]

Thanks for a really good TR. Plenty of tips for our short sojourn next March.

 

[VPS]

Thanks for another great TR and glad Colin behaved himself

 

[Pushka]

Thankyou for the Bali update. Looking forward to our turn in just about a month.

 

[craven morehead]

Another ripper TR. I've never really considered going to Bali, but this has made me reconsider. Cheers CM

 

[Flyfrequently]

Thanks for your entertaining trip report and photos @bPeteb , looks like you have a fair bit planned - enjoy!
We have made it to Magnetic Island and very happy with the peace and quiet.

 

[bPeteb]

Thanks for your entertaining trip report and photos @bPeteb , looks like you have a fair bit planned - enjoy!
We have made it to Magnetic Island and very happy with the peace and quiet.

Glad you're liking Maggie

 

[jase05]

Been here just over a week now and had another fantastic time. I haven’t taken as many snaps of the food as I would have liked but the food quality has been absolutely superb at every place we have eaten even if the service was sometimes quite slow. We have stayed over in Nusa Dua and just travelled over to the West from time to time for dinner/shopping etc
Already looking at squeezing in another short stay before Christmas

 

[mandja]

On our way now. Is there seperate lines for eVOA?

Is there a queue for APEC? Is it separate to eVoA ?

 

[SYD]

Is there a queue for APEC? Is it separate to eVoA ?

I didn’t see one (for APEC) but I wasn’t looking either. Someone else might know.

I noticed in both CGK and DPS signs suggesting “Priority” lines for First and Business class but nothing obvious once you moved beyond the sign….

In DPS, people who hadn’t already bought their eVisa were off to the left (in front of the main passport control desks). To the right are eGates but I believe they were locals/residents only? There might have been a Flight crew line also. Everyone else, including those who just purchased their eVisa just took their luck joining one of the many reasonably long, slow moving lines….

 

[mandja]

So i'm now back from Bali and can report that the separate queue that i used was almost empty and a breeze to go thru without any dramas. My wife who has no APEC card (but did get a Visa online before leaving home),

 

[Blinky]

Back home after nine nights in Seminyak, our fifth visit. My four children who were there independently included us in their get togethers with their friends every day, which they didn’t need to, and we had a fantastic time.

Now Bali in 2024, or a least the tourist centres around Kuta, Seminyak, Legian and Nusa Dua. Traffic is worse, but it was bad when we first visited nearly 30 years ago. It’s no longer cheap. Balinese know the capacity of tourists to pay. But it is still incredible affordable (more later).

The fundamentals haven’t changed. Weather is sublime. Usually 22C minimum to 28C maximum with sea breezes to ease the humidity. Warm but not oppressive. Balinese are generally calm and polite. If not, the road death toll would be appalling.

In contrast to our early visits, upmarket restaurants and shopping centres are everywhere. There are still warungs and cheap markets, so bargaining for counterfeit everything is still a good, and welcome thing.

Sadly, my “Bintang index” has worsened. $A3.50 from supermarkets, but up to $A8 in top restaurants. Heineken owns the brewery and in many places their own beer is cheaper than the local. Sad.

For the first time we stayed in a villa with its own pool. The package included breakfast and lunch or dinner with coughtails for about $A300 a day. Remarkable value, given the quality of the food.

Further on affordability, taxis (provided you get a genuine Blue Bird with meter) are ridiculously cheap. A 2km trip is around $A1 (I always paid $A5). Non-metered, your risk. One night we went to one of the best seafood restaurants we have ever been to, Seasalt at the Hyatt Seminyak. Two courses for both of us, with coughtails for my wife and a bucket of 5 beers for me. Less than $A100.

Anyway Bali is still paradise for us. While we were perfectly happy for this to be our last visit, the children who were there are keen for a full family reunion, including partners and children, in a couple of years to celebrate the first time we took all the kids there. A total 24. Hope it comes off.