Bali

[kinboshi]

Anyone been, and if so, what did people think of it. 

We're thinking of going there in July.

[Graham C]

Was there for a week in '98, probably changed a bit since.  The Indonesian currency collapsed not long before we arrived, it's the only time I've been a millionaire.  Spent our time in Kuta which was quite nice.    Not a lot else to say really, just a thin "I've been to Bali" post really.

[Woodsey]

Not for a long time. From what I remember Kuta is like Benidorm for Aussies, we stayed in Nusa Dua on the south Coast which has some of the nicer hotels and nice beaches, Ubud was the only other worthwhile place I remember going to. Is a small village with loads of wood carving shops, was a nice drive up there and the surrounding countryside was quite nice.

A mate of mine loved Lombok which is a small island next door, but not been myself.

[kinboshi]

Damn. Had Woodsey at 1/3 to be the first to reply

Yeah, we were looking at spending some time in Ubud for some sights and stuff to do - does look good.  Then the rest of the time we were looking at somewhere to chill out and relax with a nice beach and stuff. 

[bobAlike]

Why don't you run a poll to see who likes it best and then forget to post the results

[kinboshi]

Why don't you run a poll to see who likes it best and then forget to post the results

Good idea. I'll get round to it soon...

[kinboshi]

Cheers everyone, and thanks for the advice.

We're looking for places to stay and Airbnb is bringing up places that are a lot cheaper than through other sites such as Expedia. Any other suggestions on where to look?

We're now looking at 8 days in Ubud area and 5 near the beach.

[Woodsey]

Agoda and booking.com are the 2 places I usually look at and book through for asia. They are better for finding smaller independant locally owned hotels than expedia, these types of hotels are often cheaper too. July in most of asia is low season, so you won't need book to book everything in advance (there is never a problem finding accommodation in that part of the world apart from 2 or 3 weeks over xmas and new year anyway), you could easily just book somewhere for a couple of nights and either extend when you are there or move if you find somewhere better.

[kinboshi]

We've found an amazing villa in the hills on the edge of Ubud. It looks fantastic and it's also pretty massive and a little overkill as it's just the two of us (that's not an invitation for anyone to join us!), but it's such a lovely place and exactly what we were looking for. It's also half the price villas are going for elsewhere.

We're staying there for eight nights, and then heading down to the coast to stay there for five nights.

[hhyftrftdr]

Got robbed there in 2010, in my backpacking days, they got my phone and about £200. My own fault for carrying such a large amount on me after having (quite) a few beers.

Stayed near Kuta beach, in like a 2 storey chalet hut type thing. Cost a whopping £8 a night and was nice to have my own space after months of hostels.

I regrettably didn't see anywhere near as much as I should have; it was my last week before flying back to Blighty and so treated it as a holiday and spent my days doing fuck all down the beach. Sea was like a bath, and the waves were huge.

Loads of Aussies, as it's their version of Ibiza/Benidrom/Magaluf. Depsite this, would go back tomorrow.

[hhyftrftdr]

Agoda and booking.com are the 2 places I usually look at and book through for asia. They are better for finding smaller independant locally owned hotels than expedia, these types of hotels are often cheaper too. July in most of asia is low season, so you won't need book to book everything in advance (there is never a problem finding accommodation in that part of the world apart from 2 or 3 weeks over xmas and new year anyway), you could easily just book somewhere for a couple of nights and either extend when you are there or move if you find somewhere better.

Whilst this is mostly true, July is pretty much high season for Bali, cos all the Aussies flock here to escape their winter.

[kinboshi]

Yeah, we're going to be avoiding Kuta, as from what we've read it's the busy area for those looking for the crowds and more nightlife.