Reciting the 'Ratib' and glorifying The Almighty and His Messenger.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Moving Around In Bali
The easiest mode of transport in Bali is the taxi. There are plenty of them in the city and the most popular is the Bluebird Taxi, light blue in colour, whose services are professional and very satisfactory. I use them quite a lot this trip and never had any unhappy incident. The drivers will switch on their meters and the air-cond if it is not already on, as soon as you board, without being asked and will give exact change when you pay the fare, although it was much easier for me to round off to the nearest thousand rupiahs plus one or two more. (One thousand rupiah is about US10cents!! Small to tourists but big to the drivers!!). There are also two other taxi companies (that I know of, one with their fleet of taxis coloured dark blue and the other grey) operating and all are metered, air-conditioned and with radio communications to their base or control centre. Apart from these three companies there are the individual and small fleet of taxis operating on ad-hoc basis. I would not recommend them as they operate like freelance taxis and am not sure whether there is insurance coverage and whether they are licensed to operate as taxis. But if it is inevitable that their services are needed it is recommended that the rate is bargained and agreed upon prior to using them.
On arrival at the Ngurah Rai airport, and on exiting the concourse after customs, there is a taxi counter where cupons are sold according to set prices to specific areas in Bali. The price list is clearly displayed. The taxi drivers will also be at the counter and will assist with baggage. No hassle. My taxi driver was so helpful and friendly, giving me tips on what to do and see, and answered my questions positively, that I gladly gave him a tip when we reached the hotel, although it was unnecessary as the fare, as charged, was good enough for the journey.
To get a metered taxi in the tourist areas, downtown, in and around the hotels is no big hassle. There will be one, from one of the three fleets of taxi companies I mentioned earlier, cruising by within minutes. Everytime I walk out of the hotel where I stayed or when I pass some of the major attractions, shopping complexes and the likes, there will be someone attracting my attention shouting ‘transport’ with hands driving an imaginary steering wheel. I just waved my hands and said no while waiting for the metered taxi to come by and it will only be within one or two minutes that one will come by.
Other than the taxis there are the self drive hired cars. However, the roads in Bali are very narrow, congested, and chaotic, and that is saying it mildly!! It will be tough but fun nevertheless, if no mishaps takes place. It would be adviseable to hire a car with driver for the day or a specific period of time, and if there happen to be a mishap its the driver who will handle it.
Unmarked public transport or vans ply the major routes and these are very cheap and mostly patronized by the locals. I did not try any of them. Looking at the condition of the vehicles, the number of people they pack into it reduces my confidence level, and further more I am sure Ram will not forgive me for taking her in that kind of transport, even if it is with an excuse of feeling the experience that the locals go through in moving around!!
There are also motorcycles and bicycles for rent all over town and I see quite a number of tourists using them to get around. I would use this mode of transport if I had been alone as it is a good and simple way of moving around the town, and I know I would enjoy it but ........ with Ram along ……….. ahh well .........!
MKI Ramblings Unlimited,
Petaling Jaya
On arrival at the Ngurah Rai airport, and on exiting the concourse after customs, there is a taxi counter where cupons are sold according to set prices to specific areas in Bali. The price list is clearly displayed. The taxi drivers will also be at the counter and will assist with baggage. No hassle. My taxi driver was so helpful and friendly, giving me tips on what to do and see, and answered my questions positively, that I gladly gave him a tip when we reached the hotel, although it was unnecessary as the fare, as charged, was good enough for the journey.
To get a metered taxi in the tourist areas, downtown, in and around the hotels is no big hassle. There will be one, from one of the three fleets of taxi companies I mentioned earlier, cruising by within minutes. Everytime I walk out of the hotel where I stayed or when I pass some of the major attractions, shopping complexes and the likes, there will be someone attracting my attention shouting ‘transport’ with hands driving an imaginary steering wheel. I just waved my hands and said no while waiting for the metered taxi to come by and it will only be within one or two minutes that one will come by.
Other than the taxis there are the self drive hired cars. However, the roads in Bali are very narrow, congested, and chaotic, and that is saying it mildly!! It will be tough but fun nevertheless, if no mishaps takes place. It would be adviseable to hire a car with driver for the day or a specific period of time, and if there happen to be a mishap its the driver who will handle it.
Unmarked public transport or vans ply the major routes and these are very cheap and mostly patronized by the locals. I did not try any of them. Looking at the condition of the vehicles, the number of people they pack into it reduces my confidence level, and further more I am sure Ram will not forgive me for taking her in that kind of transport, even if it is with an excuse of feeling the experience that the locals go through in moving around!!
There are also motorcycles and bicycles for rent all over town and I see quite a number of tourists using them to get around. I would use this mode of transport if I had been alone as it is a good and simple way of moving around the town, and I know I would enjoy it but ........ with Ram along ……….. ahh well .........!
MKI Ramblings Unlimited,
Petaling Jaya
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Places To Visit In Bali (continued)
There are other dance shows in other parts of Bali apart from that I mentioned in my earlier posting. They are performed either in the mornings or in the evenings. A popular show is at the Uluwatu Temple, where there is a high vertical cliff overlooking the open sea with a view that’s breathtaking. Never mind the dance. The view in itself is mesmerizing. However, a visit to the Uluwatu grounds has its own pitfall. I am referring to the monkeys that populate the area. They are very mischievous and daring. If you bring food with you, they will be after the food and if you are not careful they may even snatch your camera, or spectacles etc. I have been warned and have always kept a lookout for them, not only at Uluwatu, but also all other spots I visited that has monkeys as the side-show!!
For the arts, there are many places to see craftsmen at work. We visited a batik factory and saw the production line from the weaving of threads into cloth, the design and transferring of patterns onto the cloth, painting the colours and so on. Some are hand painted while others are block painted. The hand painted ones will of course attract higher premium. Ram was ‘lost’ here picking up piece after piece meant for our daughters and daughter –in-law, our grandchildren and others in the family. I was very worried when she started picking up piece after piece and I began to add on the prices and calculated in my head how much all these will come to. (It was quite mind boggling to convert as one USD is equivalent to about 10,000 IndRuppiah). Finally, as she had bought more than ‘quite a few’ pieces, they gave additional discounts to the standard discounts they normally give, and also deducted the commission they normally give to guides since we came without a guide plus a further reduction on bargaining. Phewww! that was a relief.
Another crafts outlet we visited was the gold and silversmith workshop. They had quite a wide display of the finished product, fine artwork not only for adornment but also for static display in homes. We saw the artisans at work, mostly young girls working on the precious metals, fascinating.
We also stopped at a wood work display outlet and saw the wood craftsmen at work. There was this elderly man, in his seventies I guess, busy working on a piece of wood with a chisel and mallet. It was a long piece of wood and by the looks of it he was converting it into some sort of interlocking patterned lamp stand. He had no template to work with, no pre-markings on the wood to guide him and no design anywhere to refer to. I guess it was coming straight out from the head!! Another much younger craftsman was also busy at work, on a stool leg I was told, and he had markings on the wood to guide him. That’s the difference in working style between the experienced and the one trying to gather experience! We viewed the display they had for sale and were captivated with the intricate designs and carvings, some with minute and detailed carvings, majority of which has Hindu depiction. There were also quite a few display of objects that were quite indiscreet and vulgarized, like a phallus designed door handle, bottle opener or a man and a woman in compromising, copulating position in a garden. We did not buy any of the wood stuff as they were bulky to carry and we do not need more display items for our house. We were just interested to see the artwork. Before we left for Bali Tessa reminded us that things are cheap in Bali but not to get so engrossed and bring container loads of wood-stuff and furniture home!! Tempted, yes we were, especially when they were so cheap, practical we had to be……
MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Petaling Jaya
For the arts, there are many places to see craftsmen at work. We visited a batik factory and saw the production line from the weaving of threads into cloth, the design and transferring of patterns onto the cloth, painting the colours and so on. Some are hand painted while others are block painted. The hand painted ones will of course attract higher premium. Ram was ‘lost’ here picking up piece after piece meant for our daughters and daughter –in-law, our grandchildren and others in the family. I was very worried when she started picking up piece after piece and I began to add on the prices and calculated in my head how much all these will come to. (It was quite mind boggling to convert as one USD is equivalent to about 10,000 IndRuppiah). Finally, as she had bought more than ‘quite a few’ pieces, they gave additional discounts to the standard discounts they normally give, and also deducted the commission they normally give to guides since we came without a guide plus a further reduction on bargaining. Phewww! that was a relief.
Another crafts outlet we visited was the gold and silversmith workshop. They had quite a wide display of the finished product, fine artwork not only for adornment but also for static display in homes. We saw the artisans at work, mostly young girls working on the precious metals, fascinating.
We also stopped at a wood work display outlet and saw the wood craftsmen at work. There was this elderly man, in his seventies I guess, busy working on a piece of wood with a chisel and mallet. It was a long piece of wood and by the looks of it he was converting it into some sort of interlocking patterned lamp stand. He had no template to work with, no pre-markings on the wood to guide him and no design anywhere to refer to. I guess it was coming straight out from the head!! Another much younger craftsman was also busy at work, on a stool leg I was told, and he had markings on the wood to guide him. That’s the difference in working style between the experienced and the one trying to gather experience! We viewed the display they had for sale and were captivated with the intricate designs and carvings, some with minute and detailed carvings, majority of which has Hindu depiction. There were also quite a few display of objects that were quite indiscreet and vulgarized, like a phallus designed door handle, bottle opener or a man and a woman in compromising, copulating position in a garden. We did not buy any of the wood stuff as they were bulky to carry and we do not need more display items for our house. We were just interested to see the artwork. Before we left for Bali Tessa reminded us that things are cheap in Bali but not to get so engrossed and bring container loads of wood-stuff and furniture home!! Tempted, yes we were, especially when they were so cheap, practical we had to be……
MKI Ramblings Unlimited
Petaling Jaya
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