February 24 2004

Bali travel report: Kuta beach

Two years after the bombings, tourists are finally returning to Bali. It's not surprising, really, because the facilities are swanky and the prices cheap. To enjoy Bali's lively nightlife, Kuta is the place to stay.

We thoroughly enjoyed the nightlife in Kuta. An overabundance of farang girls dilutes the underlying sleaze. The unattached gentleman can take his pick of fun-loving Aussie slappers or friendly Indonesian freelancers.

Kuta's best nightlife venues are clustered around site of the flattened Sari Club. The Bounty is a landlocked wooden sailing ship and the party takes place on deck. Next door, the rebuilt Paddy's Bar (See Paddy's Bar: #1 pick-up joint in Kuta, Bali) is also great fun.

Daytime in Kuta can be a chore, though. Walking down the main street is a deeply unpleasant experience. Hundreds of touts and hawkers hassle you every step of the way and some of them actually grab hold of you. I struggled to contain my rage.

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Jimbaran beach near Kuta

Bali's beaches are windswept and rubbish-strewn - good for surfing but unsuitable for loafing. The hawkers are intolerable and will bother you every 30 seconds. I took this photo at Jimbaran beach near Kuta. Thousands of tons of rubbish carpet the entire resort.

Bali travel report: Kuta beach

Unless you're a surfer, the only way to enjoy Bali by day is to check into a decent hotel and relax by the pool. We stayed at the Bali Matahari Hotel and enjoyed luxury on the cheap for $25 a night.

Indonesian food has a poor reputation. Bland and totally devoid of spice, forcing the stuff down is no pleasure. The only good news is that it's cheap. The farang food is infinitely preferable. We enjoyed several European-style meals at a stylish restaurant called Maccaroni, located close to the bomb memorial. The head waiter there had great patter:

"Where are you from, sir?"
"London."
"Ah, like Jack the Ripper. Do you know Abbey Road?"

The fake watches and DVDs were cheap but, unless you're a surf-dude or a hippie, Bali is not the best place to buy clothes. Kuta's streets are lined with stores selling upmarket surfer gear or downmarket tie-dyed rags but the normal brand names are all but absent.

On February 1st, Indonesia introduced a $25 fee for its 10 day visa-on-arrival. The scene at Denpasar Airport was chaotic as hundreds of visitors queued for hours at a single booth. No seating was provided. After 90 minutes waiting in line, the elderly woman in front of me was exhausted and close to tears. Paying the fee in Thai baht was unacceptable. Without some UK pounds, I would have been turned back.

Our lengthy ordeal was made worse by the airport's piped Indonesian music. Entirely percussion, to western ears it sounds like children throwing stones at a greenhouse.

The Indonesian authorities should sort this fiasco out quickly or it could have the same negative impact on Bali tourism as the bomb.

[Posted to Travel by David]

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Readers' comments

Cliff says:

"Indonesian food has a poor reputation. Bland and totally devoid of spice, forcing the stuff down is no pleasure. The only good news is that it's cheap. The farang food is infinitely preferable."

I wonder what planet you are from - Indonesian food has a poor reputation; bland & totally devoid of spices? Indonesian food is amongst the spiciest in the world, (And I don't mean just hot) although Balinese cuisine (significantly different to elsewhere in Indonesia) not quite as much.

I think you must have tried some food made for foriegner's palates, maybe at one of the Balinese Chinese restaurants which are pretty ordinary.

Do yourself a favour and be a little more adventurous on your next trip and try eating the same food as the locals - Cheap, delicious & spicy.

Hawkers & Touts - what tourist area in a 3RD world country is any different? If you are't interested, don't make eye contact or say Tidak Terimah Kasih (No thank you) and keep moving. Why were you angry? Playing with the hawkers is half the fun of travelling.

Also, your comment on the clothes available for sale puzzled me - I remember seeing all the big fashion houses very well represented in Kuta Square.

It's almost as if you didn't go to the same Bali that I have travelled to.

July 25, 2004 6:58 PM

YABS says:

I remember going to the volcano and gojng to a restaurant there and the food was excellent and some of the spiciest food i've ever had.
I guess David only tried the nasi goreng or fried rice.
My only complaint with the food was that
everyone and i mean everyone was ill at some point with bali BELLY. I think hygiene was way down on the list.
I agree about the touts.
the touts in kuts are amongst the worst in the world.
Cliff is right though
For shopping for surf gear or regular fashion Bali is THE place to go. Apart from surfing it has to be its main drwcard.
what about nusa dua beach. i don't remember
the beach here being dirty?
kutas sands in my experience were alright as well

August 8, 2004 8:29 AM

Dasar Brengsek says:

The touts in Kuta are the second worst in the world. Head up the road to Batur/Kintamani (a bit past Ubud).

August 8, 2004 8:39 AM

AngloTeuton says:

Agree: the Indo immi officials are even more inept and corrupt than the Thai ones. Now they charge you both ways too: $25 admission and $10 ransom on departure?

The Balinese say: "The best Indonesian food is to be found in Amsterdam..." But during my 6 month stay as editor of Bali Today I had plenty of excellent meals, home cooked by the publishers' own cooks, and at some local retaurants and take-outs.

When I travel it's not for shopping, due to the new low luggage limits and their strict enforcement by greedy airlines. Saw plenty of fake Swiss watches, DVDs and software-CDs though.

Kuta is indeed a dump.

But I had a great bungalow at Sanur Bch for under EUR250/month (Alit's Bungalows) near the Grand Bali Beach Hotel where the sand was manicured and clean and I met a lot of nice local and Euro lasses, all volunteers. But Sanur is also a good mongering ground....

January 7, 2007 4:18 PM

John says:

Went to Kuta a couple of years ago.Spoiled by vendors on beach. Trying to relax looking at sunset every ten seconds a vendor in front of you trying to sell cigs or crap.Never going there again.

February 27, 2007 1:42 AM

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