My friends and I stayed in Kuta for 3 nights, followed by 3 nights in Ubud. We also hired drivers to take us around Bali as most of the tourist attractions are far from town. I will try my very best to include all the miscellaneous expenses in our one-week Bali trip (excluding food and accommodation). Monetary figures will be highlighted in red. Side notes are in blue.
Day 1 (24/7/12)
When we arrived at Ngurah Rai Airport, there was an unbelievably long queue for the application of visa-upon-arrival despite having so many counters. Fortunately Malaysians do not require visa to enter Indonesia, or we would have been stuck in the airport for another 2 hours or so. As soon as we exit the Ngurah Rai Airport arrival hall, we found the taxi counter on the right. We paid 55000 rp to go to Kuta (standard price), where we stayed for 3 nights.
The hotel that we stayed in is called Green Garden Hotel. Everything in Green Garden Hotel is nothing short of perfection - price, location, service, facilities, room, atmosphere, etc. The hotel is only a few steps away from the biggest shopping mall in Kuta, Discovery Mall (aka Centro), plus easy access to the beach; what more, it only costs 59 USD per night for a comfortable fully air-conditioned, ensuite (with bathtub) double room. It is no wonder that it is rated 2nd on tripadvisor and I would strongly recommend Green Garden Hotel if you want an enjoyable and yet reasonably cheap stay.
In the evening, we had a quick browse of Discovery Mall. See below for more details on Discovery Mall. If you are one of those who always refer to google map for travelling tips, you will see another grand-looking building next to Discovery Mall, known as Kartika Plaza, and you might think that it is yet another shopping mall but it is actually just the name of a hotel. The word "Plaza" is really misleading!
Day 2 (25/7/12)
SOUVENIR HUNTING
We explored Discovery Mall thoroughly. There is a large collection of wooden handicrafts (tagged as Bamboo) on the ground floor which is worth spending at least an hour. But I suggest that you do NOT buy from Discovery Mall because it is often overpriced (unless you really can't find it elsewhere). There is a Kuta Art Market further up which also offers a wide selection of handicrafts but we realised that the prices here are pretty much the same as that in Discovery Mall.
The best place to buy souvenirs and handicrafts alike that we found at the end of the day is one of the less known convenient stores. It is located right next to Green Garden Hotel. If you are walking from Discovery Mall, head south and look for Green Garden Hotel on your right. When you walk past the hotel, you will find a two-storey building which sells VCDs upstairs, again, on your right. Although the choices are rather limited, generally things are much cheaper here. We truly regret buying lots of souvenirs from Discovery Mall only to realise that the real bargain is just next door where we stayed.
FOOD HUNTING
As for food, the general rule of thumb is that the further up north from Discovery Mall, the more touristy it gets as it approaches the Pantai Kuta (Kuta Beach) area. If you are looking for cheap authentic local food like we were, head south. From Discovery Mall, walk along the road towards south until you reach a roundabout with a Barong statue, then turn left (or 9 o'clock). Just walk along the street and you will find a host of local restaurants, most of which look gloomy, worn out and unconvincing. We finally found one that is well decorated (and CHEAP as well!) and decided to stop walking because at that point we could barely see any tourists around (being the only tourists in that area is scary in many ways). A note of precaution: there is neither traffic light nor traffic police in that area so crossing the road was hellish. Also, honking in Bali is commonplace and it is by no means rude or inconsiderate. In fact Balinese (or perhaps all Indonesians?) use honks to communicate their positions and this practice probably helps avoid accidents in Bali. So don't be shocked by the cacophony of honking at a cross junction or a busy street.
We went into the restaurant and chose a seat under the fan. We got to experience the traditional Indonesian dining style - low tables and mats. I ordered Ayam Penyet + rice, one of the local dishes for 17000 rp + 4000 rp and it was beyond my expectation. I have been to an Ayam Penyet restaurant in SS15, Subang Jaya and had always wanted to try the authentic Ayam Penyet in Indonesia. Now one of my wishes had been granted. Haha! In comparison, the Ayam Penyet in SS15 was much spicier/hotter whereas the one I tried in Bali was slightly more sourish. They are both nice in their own way.
Normal price of a meal in Discovery Mall and the surrounding area is 32000 rp and above. There are also a number of mid to high-range restaurants behind Discovery Mall which offer brilliant seaside view and are mainly targeted at the well-heeled tourists. We ordered some drinks at one of the restaurants and enjoyed the cool sea breeze (theoretically it is land breeze) at night.
However, I was not very impressed by the beach in Kuta (and Tuban), probably because I have been to more beautiful beaches such as the ones in Sabah. The sand was coarse and dotted with little junks everywhere. It was no doubt a long stretch of sandy beach though, spanning from Tuban, Kuta, Legian to Seminyak. The best beach in Bali is known to be either Jimbaran or Geger beach. I had the opportunity to go to the former (see day 4).
Day 3 (26/7/12)
We hired a driver to bring us to 4 destinations for a price of 400,000 rp. We set off at 8.30pm after breakfast firstly to Pura Taman Ayun, followed by Pura Ulun Danu Lake Bratan in Bedugul, then had lunch at a restaurant in Pacung. The last destination was Pura Tanah Lot before we headed back to Kuta.
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