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#1
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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. |
#2
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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 |
#3
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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 |
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"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! |
#5
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"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 |
#6
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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 |
#7
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"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. |
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Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Wakatobi and Bali | Ramone Cila | Asia | 0 | September 11th, 2004 12:21 AM |