Anything About Bali?

Anything and everything about gay life anywhere in the world, especially Asia, other than Thailand.
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xiandarkthorne
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Re: Anything About Bali?

Post by xiandarkthorne »

Thanks for the additional information. It's knowing things like that well before I even buy a plane ticket that help me decide where I plan to spend my holidays.
I'm too old to be an enfant terrible so I'll just have to settle for being an irrrrrrrascible old fart! My Blog is here http://xiandarkthorne.blogspot.com/
Keyvan

Re: Anything About Bali?

Post by Keyvan »

xiandarkthorne wrote: b. How much should I expect to pay for food (street food - I am not a fan of restaurants), and is it going to be priced entirely in US$?

Xian
Forget about 'street food' this is Indonesia not Thailand. Here street food is via a hand-pushed cart, you share the plate with others after it has been dipped in a tin of water carried on the cart! Better to go to local warungs [small open-fronted cafe/restaurants] they are everywhere. You can pay anything from $3-10 for a local meal, but then you can sometimes eat in International cafes/restaurants for less than $10 too, and maybe much more hygenic?

Check out http://www.balieats.com
..... it is the most comprehensive restaurant guide to anywhere.
Keyvan

Re: Anything About Bali?

Post by Keyvan »

All restaurants outside of a few 5 star ones charge all food and beverage in Indonesian Rupiah
pong
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Re: Anything About Bali?

Post by pong »

so, selamat jalan dan petang/siang sudah, yah. meet you also on this new board.

I made a kind of ''happy souvenir'' trip back to Indon. in may/june, from JKT via Java-Bali, end in Kuta beach, last visit before was 7 yrs ago. Traveled AirAsia, and made a stop on the way in KUL/Malaysia. I speak enough of Bahasa to get by. Most of it has been said, not much to add.

KUta has about the same function in Indo as Pattaya in Thaild-it is also a magnet now for domestic tourists and for local gays. Kuta is rowdy-noisy and has lots of young Australians let out on the loose. For quiet stay somewhere else-or in the more hidden quiet lanes (gang). In this area there is hardly ''street-food''/Malay or Thai style, but loads of fairly cheap local restrts-many also doing some fairly good other foreign cuisine-up to Brasil.

This is Indo (and Balinese are Indonesian, for sure) so about everything is negotiable-tidak ada harga pas. Note that airport-Kuta/corner is just 4 kms-in fact taxi's cost more as in BKK=-per km.
Walk along the beach-about any time of day or night-near Hard Rock-and you will as a lone male be found before they find you-though for you are Asian it may be a little different. Not all boys come from Surabaya-in fact I met none from there, but from near Bandung, Batak/Sumatera and Sulawesi/Toraja. Long time seems not very common-most have a daytime or other job. Other as Thaild it is always better to make a price beforehand. You must know far better as orang putih as how to do tawar-so i leave that to you. There are no fix prices and no real set service.

Except for some very high-end resorts, all money is done in rupiah-and though it is unwieldy, it is now simply done in r=ribu/1000units. Only some very small things fetch 100=seratus coins or notes. general price-level comparable to Thaild/Malaysia. Moneychangers are ev. 10 mtrs-but DO check rates-as those who offer a lot more now have not mentioned commissions (elsewhere unheard of in Indo). MYR are also readily taken there.
Kuta is now also heaving with massage-shops with a far longer menu as Thaild.
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xiandarkthorne
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Re: Anything About Bali?

Post by xiandarkthorne »

Terima kasih, Keyvan and Pong. Your contributions are much appreciated.

Actually, what I classify as street food also includes coffeeshop/stall (warung) food and local fast food. I seem to have a cast iron stomach where street stall food is concerned. the only time I ever suffered food poisoning in Thailand was the one time I went to a real restaurant to eat. Otherwise, I have sampled everything (except fried spiders and scorpions) at roadside stalls, up to and including fried silkworms and grasshoppers as well as the raw pork the Isaan hawkers sell wrapped in leaves and never had so much as a single rumble in my tum.

As for sex, I've always been a predator and since I speak Bahasa Melayu fluently, I think I'll be okay. Still, it's good to know what to expect in terms of how much to pay, etc.

Now, since I have never been to Pattaya either...it's just a matter of making up my mind where to go when I do manage to get some time off in early October, right after I play my first singles tennis tournament in 33 years, wonky knees notwithstanding.
I'm too old to be an enfant terrible so I'll just have to settle for being an irrrrrrrascible old fart! My Blog is here http://xiandarkthorne.blogspot.com/
Rin

Re: Anything About Bali?

Post by Rin »

Just to reply, I have stayed at Spartacus in Bali the past two years. They are very friendly and helpful. The rooms aren't that large and some are a bit dark, that said it is still an enjoyable place to stay.They have a good breakfast and even their lunches and dinners are quite reasonable. It is a short walk to the gay beach, very convenient. The beach there is more of the open ocean with fairly substantial waves most of the time. You need to take a taxi for most other places. Taxi's are cheap, particularly as long as they use the meter. Going back at night from the clubs can be problematic since most drivers want to charge a set amount which is usually 2 or 3 times the meter rate.

The clubs MIxwell, Bali Joe's and I forgot the name of the new one which opened in May are all very close together in the same location. The clubs have intermittent drag singers or go-go boy's dancing on the bar. The clubs are quite jam packed. I go with my Thai boyfriend, however, I have been approached many times when at the bar and he is at store or gone for a minute. It is quite easy to find a friend. The same holds true for the beach.

If you speak the language then it would be quite easy to get along. I find the food to be cheaper in Bali than Thailand, as long as it is not a 5 star hotel. The ambiance is much different from Pattaya.
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xiandarkthorne
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Re: Anything About Bali?

Post by xiandarkthorne »

Thanks again, guys. I do know that Balinese are mostly Hindus and I've heard about the resort, but the rest of the information you've provided is invaluable for anybody who's never been there and I really appreciate the effort you've put in. I've seen some good things on Gay Bali at Facebook and it looks like bali could be a lot of fun, too. And not all that expensive even when compared to LOS. Now if only I could find a way of flying directly there and back again from Penang...
I'm too old to be an enfant terrible so I'll just have to settle for being an irrrrrrrascible old fart! My Blog is here http://xiandarkthorne.blogspot.com/
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