Thursday, September 7, 2017

Fun Travels: Our Honeymoon to Bali and Gili Trawangan!

We traveled to Bali (and Gili Trawangan) in August 2017 for our honeymoon and visited many places in Kuta/Seminyak, Ubud, around Bali in general and Gili T. (as the locals call it).  Information below on places we stayed and places we visited.  Indonesia is a great country that you should definitely visit and everything is pretty cheap compared to the US!  Great food,  friendly citizens, and a nice atmosphere makes for a great vacation!


Places we stayed:
Kuta Villa
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/13789686

Ubud - Bungsil Gading (Mangga Room)
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/10170227

Gili Trawangan - Rumah Cahaya- Elephant Suite
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/14767146

Kuta - Puring Cottage
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/9869263

Places we visited:
Waterbom Bali - Fun waterpark!
http://waterbom-bali.com/

Wahaha Ribs - Famous for their pork ribs
http://www.wahaharibs.com/

Bali Zoo
http://www.bali-zoo.com/

Goa Gajah Temple
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297701-d451059-Reviews-Elephant_Cave_Ubud-Ubud_Bali.html

Tegenungan Waterfall
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297701-d2643063-Reviews-Tegenungan_Waterfall-Ubud_Bali.html

Mandala Suci Wenara Wana Monkey Forest
https://www.monkeyforestubud.com/

Museum Puri Lukisan
http://museumpurilukisan.com/

Jambe Budaya Barong & Kris Dance
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g2646686-d3292115-r155854312-Barong_Kris_Dance-Sukawati_Bali.html

Water Blow
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297698-d8837227-Reviews-Water_Blow-Nusa_Dua_Nusa_Dua_Peninsula_Bali.html

Pura Geger Temple
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297697-d10235638-Reviews-Geger_Temple-Kuta_Bali.html

Dreamland Beach
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297697-d6706028-Reviews-Dreamland_Beach-Kuta_Bali.html

Uluwatu Temple
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g1380108-d592779-Reviews-Uluwatu_Temple-Pecatu_Nusa_Dua_Peninsula_Bali.html

Jimbaran Bay
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297696-d379179-Reviews-Jimbaran_Bay-Jimbaran_Bali.html

Ayung River Rafting/Bali Bird Park (they have a bunch of different full day combo packs)
https://ayungriverrafting.net/

Tegalalang Rice Field
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297701-d1515658-Reviews-Tegalalang_Rice_Terrace-Ubud_Bali.html

Tirta Empul Temple
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g1025505-d1912575-Reviews-Tirta_Empul_Temple-Tampaksiring_Bali.html

Mount Batur
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g303952-d2423504-r410450837-Kintamani_Highland-Kintamani_Bangli_Bali.html

Information about the Gili Islands
http://www.gili-paradise.com/

Fast Boat from Bali to Gili T. (about a 2 hour ride) - we used Marina Srikandi
https://marinasrikandi.com/

Snorkeling on Gili T. - we booked this when we arrived on Gili T.  There are many many companies you'll see by the beach advertising snorkeling.  Most of these companies have a morning and afternoon session.  Make sure you go with one that has a glass bottom boat (I think most of them do).  We paid $100k IDR per person (I think this is pretty much the standard price for the morning session).  The trip was from about 10:30AM to about 1:30PM (they also brought us to a nice lunch spot on Gili Air for a lunch break, although lunch isn't included in the booking price).

Tanah Lot Temple
http://www.tanahlot.net/home/

More general information...
-MAKE SURE your passport has more than 6 months before expiration, or the Indonesian government will not let you into the country, no ifs ands or buts.  We almost had to cancel our trip because of this.  Luckily for dual citizenship, we were able to get through on a different passport.  No visas required either!
https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/indonesia.html

-Taxi's - Only use Blue Bird Group taxi's.  They are government regulated, so the drivers won't try and rip you off because you are a tourist.  They have to set their fare meters before the ride starts so you know how much you'll have to pay at the end of the trip.  We used these taxi's many times and every time, they did set the meter and didn't try to pull a fast one.  They also have an app called mybluebird in the Apple AppStore and Google Play Store if you want to book rides.  From our experience, it's a lot easier to flag one down rather than wait for a specific driver like Uber/Lyft here.  There's so much traffic all the time, that flagging a taxi will be faster.
http://www.bluebirdgroup.com/

-Bring LOTS of cash.  We brought $1k USD for our 10 day trip.  Many of the places we visited don't accept credit cards unless it's super touristy.  And even if they do, a lot of places will charge you a 3% fee just to use your credit card that will be on top of (most likely) a 3% foreign transaction fee.  Get ready to be holding lots of red $100k IDR bills.

-Hiring a daily driver to drive you wherever you want is very common in Bali.  Daily drivers cost $40 USD for a small, 7 seater car.  We highly recommend this because driving in Bali is much different than it is in the US.  For starters, right hand drive cars and the way they drive I call "organized chaos."  I'd avoid driving if you can.  More commonly, people ride small scooter bikes that are everywhere.  Links below to our driver Dodi's company.  As for him by name to be your driver.  He's the best!
http://www.yourbalidriver.com/
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g297694-d3331619-Reviews-Your_Bali_Driver_Putu_Sudiana_Day_Tours-Denpasar_Bali.html

-Cell service - Bring your unlocked cell phone and get a SIM card at the airport.  We ended up getting a Telkomsel 10GB prepaid SIM card for $350k IDR.  Total overkill as we were actually looking for a 2GB SIM card for about $150k IDR, but didn't see any around.

-Travel adapters for your electronics - Indonesia uses the same 110/120 voltage for their electricity, so all you need is an adapter for your electronics.  The ones we bought are below.  They worked fine.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GIL0TD2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Music:
All music is royalty free from Youtube's Audio Library channel.  Songs below in order of appearance.
Zoom - Vibe Tracks
Bay Breeze - FortyThr33
Beach Buggy Ride - Elexive
Take It Easy - MBB
Buddha - Kontekst


All videos shot on a GoPro Hero 5 Black 

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