I successfully arrived in Bali yesterday in the evening. Flight was (as always) not quite enojoyable (Amsterdam -> Singapore more than 12 hours) – however it was bearable.
I was surprised actually by the service offered by KLM and Singapore Airlines in a positive way (food was surprisingly great: both offered fish – first time I got fish offered on an airplane as regular meal within economy class; Singapore Airlines additionally had real metal cutlery and a big portion of awesome ice-cream afterwards, for a flight of just two hours).
Met a German couple on the plane going to do professional diving somewhere in the south of Bali for three weeks. They offered me to visit them there and taking a deep look into the water with professional diving equipment. From what they told it has to be really incredible and if any way possible, I’m going to take that offer whenever I’ll be in this area.
On the final flight from Singapore to Bali I met an English guy, who is living on Bali with his Balinese wife and daugther for quite some time now and offered me to stay with them in their place for a couple of days which offer I thankfully took, as I had no clue anyway what to do after dropping out of the airplane (I in case of doubt I would have aimed a hostel near the airport mentioned in my guide).
These three people (actually four, there is an attendant living with them who is treated as part of the family) are really lovely, doing everything to make my stay enjoyable – well, I got in touch with the guy just two hours ago on the plane!
Their place – they call it “simple” – is wonderful; the whole kind-of 2nd floor is mine, within an own (bed)room, bathroom and an area with chairs and table which is opened to the inside of the whole area which in fact is a little garden – if I want to just “relax” they said…
Just take a look by yourself:
When writing this text it’s about 4 ‘o clock local time – bloody jetlag… _right now_ I just did see Bali at night (arrived at 9 ‘o clock); I’m really curious about how this all looks by day.
I took a walk in the area nearby at about 11PM and have to admit – I don’t really feel comfortable just walking around alone… Overall people offering you every kind of services in a very aggressive way, trying to rip off tourists.
However walking around in this area, tired and a little bit agitated because of the long flight, just wanna have everybody shut-up, might not have been the appropriate preconditions facing the situation in an open-minded way.
UPDATE: That was really just the first impression… the people are nice and kind, seriously. Yes, they want to sell their stuff quite often and quite everywhere, however you get used to it… just saying no, starting ignoring them or taking with them about all the world and his wife or whatever elese 🙂
So much for now – as there are lot of things I’d like to see/visit very close by the place I’m currently staying, I think I’ll keep staying here for a couple of days – trying to figure out where to go and what to do next.
5 replies on “successfully arrived on Bali”
… enjoy your holidays + take care
cu somewhere in universe NT
Nice. Keep the updates coming! And check out couchsurfing.org groups and members from the area if you want to meet more locals.
take care and have a lot fun
cu
NT
Hi… Is it safe to arrive In Bali at around midnight?? Our flight time of arrival in Denpasar from Singapore is 2320(DPS) and I was thinking if its safe. And can you recommend any cheap hotels to stay for 2night only for two.Do they offer pick-up from airport???
Response would really appreciate.Thank you.
Hey Beth,
Bali is quite safe in general, however I’d recommend you to _not_ stay in Kuta or surroundings, at least not in the beginning.
What I absolutely recommend is the area Sanur where I stayed most time.
It’s not far away (maybe ~10USD per taxi from the airport (which btw is not in denpasar)).
Pick-ups from the airport are available, you can order a transfer directly in front of the airport – use one of these official counters, otherwise you may get ripped off by the driver (tourists, you know…).
A personal homestay recommendation there would be:
“Yulia 1 homestay, JI. Danau Tamblingan 38, Sanur” which is about 10-15 USD per night and really nice. Mind, there is another Yulia homestay, same street, different number, which is far from being perfect.
Hope that helps
mirko