Wakatobi and Bali

In April 2005 I am heading to Wakatobi (for the non-divers out there it's a
dive resort in the Banda Sea). The only flight to Wakatobi picks us up in
and returns us to Bali. We will spend only a week at Wakatobi and are
looking for some another place to spend time while in the area. Since we
have to be in Bali coming and going I was wondering if it is a place worth
visiting and a place where one could relax (hopefully no hustle/bustle) as
well as have interesting sites to visit.

If Bali is nice that would make it easier than flying to some other
location. By nice I mean clean, maybe some resorts or areas that are not
crowded, welcome Americans, good food, variety of sites (historical or
novel) to visit...etc. We will probably not be looking for diving in Bali. I
think it will be more along the lines of veg, and short trips of interest
followed by good food and drink. A luxury resort would not bother me at all.

Any help would be appreciated.

Ramone Cila wrote:
My apologies, I thought I addressed that when I said "a luxury resort would
not bother me at all".

I am not looking for budget accommodations in Bali, we'll spend our time in
Wakatobi in a bungalow. In terms of pure US dollars, up to 3 or 4 hundred
dollars a night for two is the range I hope would get us on a nice quiet
property, with privacy and services.

Ok - I'll leave the accommodation question to others as I don't think I can
be very helpful.

And while I am concerned with accommodations I am also concerned that Bali
isn't an Asian Vegas or DisneyWorld. I have heard a few different opinions
on that point. Some people find it overwhelmingly crowded, loud and
commercial while others have said it was relaxingly quiet and private.

It's both - depends on where you are. There are some areas of dense tourism
development, full of hotels and western-food restaurants and people offering
tours and transportation to every foreigner they see. Almost all of these
areas are in the south, within a few km of the airport.

I am looking for the latter and my wife will be wanting a high level of
accommodation and service. And am asking if Bali offers a diverse menu of
things to see and do. Hikes, trips etc to ruins, markets, scenic vistas etc.

All of the above. Not necessarily so many ruins, but many things
(particularly temples and related facilities) are still built in the same
styles as hundreds of years ago. Here's a typical building on temple
grounds:

http://travel.u.nu/photo-id-22.php

This kind of stuff is everywhere you look, once you're outside of the
touristy areas (and it's there too, but you often have to wander down the
back alleys to fid it). If you're in a town, you're never more than about a
5 minutes' walk from a temple.

In addition to the island-wide holidays, each temple has an annual festival
of its own. As you can imagine, with that many temples, you're never very
far from a festival. They're beautiful affairs; dozens or hundreds of women
in beautiful dresses walking down the road with offerings of fruit piled
high atop their heads; men in matching sarongs, sashes, and shirts playing
music as they walk along. If you are away from a touristy area you will
surely be invited to come along and watch the festivities.

Markets are all over the place; personally I enjoy the night market in
Gianyar (on the main road through town) which is very friendly and offers a
wide sampling of good (but spicy!) food.

You can wander as you please through the rice terraces, there are also
national parks, rivers, and mountains to hike. You're supposed to hire a
guide to climb the volcano, and I have to admit the guide culture at the
base of the mountain is pretty annoying.

And of course there are the beaches. Surfing, swimming, diving, boat rides,
whatever you like.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos from 30 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu

Ramone Cila wrote:

In April 2005 I am heading to Wakatobi (for the non-divers out there it's a
dive resort in the Banda Sea). The only flight to Wakatobi picks us up in
and returns us to Bali. We will spend only a week at Wakatobi and are
looking for some another place to spend time while in the area. Since we
have to be in Bali coming and going I was wondering if it is a place worth
visiting and a place where one could relax (hopefully no hustle/bustle) as
well as have interesting sites to visit.

If Bali is nice that would make it easier than flying to some other
location. By nice I mean clean, maybe some resorts or areas that are not
crowded, welcome Americans, good food, variety of sites (historical or
novel) to visit...etc. We will probably not be looking for diving in Bali. I
think it will be more along the lines of veg, and short trips of interest
followed by good food and drink. A luxury resort would not bother me at all.

Any help would be appreciated.




Hi,

a very good place in bali is the amed area on the east coast: it's a
very quiet place with a lot of beautiful resort. I was in santai hotel
(http://www.santaibali.com) and it was beautiful (very clean, quiet,
....) and for a very reasonable price (about 50-60 $ night with breakfast
wich is very expensive for bali).

The problem (for me it wasn't a problem...) is that it's a remote area
and you need a lot of time to get there in car from airport (about 4
hours...).

For diving (you don't plan to dive but diving can be very good in
bali...) there is some of the best dive in bali: the liberty wreck, Gili
selang, ...

In conclusion Bali is a beautiful area (except the south - kuta).

best regard,
julien
www.diveinredsea.com

"egmacrae" wrote in message
om...
My wife and I went to Wakatobi last year and stayed at the Pansea Puri
Bali Hotel while in Bali in a beach bungalow. Here is the web address
http://baliwww.com/pansea/. We liked it there very much. If we did a
second trip to Bali here are the two other places we would stay.
http://www.begawan.com/ , http://www.thebale.com/. Ask Crispin at
Wakatobi to hook you up with Radi to give you a tour of some Bali
sights while you are there. Gar MacRae

Very nice Gar, thanks for the info. Actually I have been in touch with
Crispin to find out if they have yet installed AC in the beach
Bungalows...Ha ha (he keeps telling me they don't need it, then later says
it would be nice to have it. I keep wondering why it would be nice if it
wasn't needed :^)

Now I have something else to bug him about.

Thanks again!

"Ramone Cila" wrote in message ...
"egmacrae" wrote in message
om...
My wife and I went to Wakatobi last year and stayed at the Pansea Puri
Bali Hotel while in Bali in a beach bungalow. Here is the web address
http://baliwww.com/pansea/. We liked it there very much. If we did a
second trip to Bali here are the two other places we would stay.
http://www.begawan.com/ , http://www.thebale.com/. Ask Crispin at
Wakatobi to hook you up with Radi to give you a tour of some Bali
sights while you are there. Gar MacRae

Very nice Gar, thanks for the info. Actually I have been in touch with
Crispin to find out if they have yet installed AC in the beach
Bungalows...Ha ha (he keeps telling me they don't need it, then later says
it would be nice to have it. I keep wondering why it would be nice if it
wasn't needed :^)

Now I have something else to bug him about.

Thanks again!
Ramone;
I really don't think air conditioning is necesssary because of
tradewinds. We were there in July and it wasn't unbearable. If you
have any other question regarding Wakatobi you can e- mail me
directly- Gar

egmacrae wrote:
"Ramone Cila" wrote:
Very nice Gar, thanks for the info. Actually I have been in touch with
Crispin to find out if they have yet installed AC in the beach
Bungalows...Ha ha (he keeps telling me they don't need it, then later says
it would be nice to have it. I keep wondering why it would be nice if it
wasn't needed :^)

I really don't think air conditioning is necesssary because of
tradewinds. We were there in July and it wasn't unbearable. If you
have any other question regarding Wakatobi you can e- mail me
directly- Gar

I was in Bali just a few weeks ago and I found myself turning off the fan at
night because it was too chilly.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos from 30 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu

"Miguel Cruz" kirjoitti viestissä
...

I was in Bali just a few weeks ago and I found myself turning off the fan
at
night because it was too chilly.

I have sometimes switched off the air con temporarily because I didn't find
any knob to ease the blow somewhat. The spinning blades have never caused
this though.