Saturday, March 24, 2012

Vacation To Bali - Intro

Described as 'Island of the Gods' the Indonesian island of Bali is one of the most beautiful tourist destinations in SEAsia.
80% of Balinese are Hindus and it is a land of temples, beaches, paddy fields,volcanoes and a colorful and exuberant culture.
We went on a 3 day trip some days back and it was one of the best vacations I have ever had.Bali is quite a big island and it takes more than 3 hours to reach the northern tip from the southern one. Denpasar where the airport is situated is in the South of Bali. Nusa Dua, Kuta, Sanur are the regions in the South Of Bali with beach resorts. We stayed in Ubud which is in central Bali and is landlocked a.k.a No Beaches- Its at a higher altitude with a lot of greenery and paddy fields around and famous for art.Lovina and Singaraja are regions in the north of Bali - Can be considered if going for a long vacation like 10+ days or so.
There are innumerable travel agencies in Bali that offer their own planned tours or can provide you with a car and driver and sometimes a tour-guide for fixed number of hours.
Few things to remember if you are planning a vacation to Bali
1) Check the weather....Some months esp Dec,Jan etc are supposed to be in the rainy season...
2) The Balinese New Year is called Nyepi Day...It usually comes in March or April and on that day all activities in Bali comes to a virtual standstill...Hence if you are going on a shorter duration like me make sure that its not Nyepi Day.
Indonesian Rupiah is the local currency but USD is accepted everywhere. In fact some prices are quoted only in USD.
It would not be possible to cover every place in Bali in one trip. Hence it would be best to pick a few places based on popularity and feedback and of course personal interest.
Almost everyone we came across were quite affluent in English and hence there would not be much of a language problem for anyone from India in my opinion.
Being a tourist place there are a whole lot of restaurants and we did not face much difficulty in gettingfood considering the fact that we are vegetarians.
I would follow up with more posts on my vacation including some results of my amateur or rather child-level photography :).

10 comments:

  1. perfect timing for a Bali post.. hubby and me going there in two weeks..

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  2. Have a fun and safe trip, Jayashree. :)

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    1. We are actually back from Bali Akshay and it was a fun and safe trip :) .Thanks .

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  3. One of my friend had just been to Bali and the pictures just made me envy! Will wait for your pics and travelogue!

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  4. Thanks Vaish...Do plan a trip there when you can....Definitely worth it!

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  5. I always want to explore SE Asia but my husbands is quite fond of Europe. I wish I can plan a trip to Bali as now I have some tips from you. Will be waiting for the pics...

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    1. Hi Saru,Thanks for stepping in :) .SE Asia does have a lot of beautiful places to visit...Being in Singapore I have got a chance to explore them...Have never been to Europe except for transit :)

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  6. wow, that sounds cool! and great info for those who r planning to visit that place especially about Nyepi day. moving onto part 1 :D

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  7. Wonderful introduction. Bali has always been in my to go list. :) Now I am off to read your wonderful experiences.

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