I picked up Putu where Bob left off. Have seen pretty much all of central Bali in the last two days. Last night we went to a village temple festival. Apparently a once in thirty years kind of event. Putu, me, a few hundred Balinese and three or four other westerners were there. Traditional dancing and music and a beautiful temple complex in that village which is near Ubud.

In less than an hour he will pick me up and we are going to be in the parade today, the last day of the festival.

Am enjoying seeing Bali with Putu, he is a fine young man and his English is very good. He is also providing details of the snippets of Balinese life that we've seen in travels. I met Putu's mother yesterday. She works at Ananda Cottages (for 23 years) where I was staying.

Can I ask you both something? I did the entire island of Bali back in the 80's without a car and driver. I did it on my own, on foot, on bicycle, and bemo, I believe. Why do you find it necessary, on an island as small as Bali, to have a car and driver? Just curious....

It is not necessary. Back in the 80s I probably would have done it the way you did. But today, it is more affordable to me. The price is low enough for me to see things this way, with a driver who goes where I want and where I want in an air conditioned car. No waiting for the bus or being crammed in a little bus with a bunch of strangers. It is a matter of comfort and convenience, but also a matter of saving time. Am willing to spend money to save time. Really, I could ask you the same question about taking the bemo: why take the bemo when you can walk for free?

Because taking the bemo is far more interesting, and puts you in touch with Balinese culture.

And let us be clear, even in the 80's, it was never a question of money, (because nothing cost much then in Bali, and at any rate, I've never been a backpapcker type) but of experiencing the culture first-hand, without the insulation of an air-con car and driver.

In dase I didn't make my position perfectly clear- I think it's utterly ridiculous to have a car and drive in Bali.

Glad to hear that your your experiences with Putu have been good. One very good reason to have a driver is that the Balinese "style" of driving is not what we are used to and it is much safer to have someone else do the work. Even if you have the luxury of time (and most of us don't), I would not consider doing Bali on my own. I certainly would not ride a bicycle there. I should point out also that Bali has changed since the '80's - it may have been practical and safe to see it on your own back then - less traffic, less population.

airlawgirl: To each his own. Tolerance of our differences and travel styles is a good thing. Diverstiy training is good too- maybe we should have a session for travelers. I would never "roll" myself across the world like that fella did (or is doing- is he finished yet?) but who cares, it's his body and his travels, if he wants to roll, I say "roll on!" Like mrwunrfl, I used to do it differently when I was in my 20s, stayed in hostels and took the bus w/the chickens in Mexico. Now I am almost 50 and I don't take the chicken buses anymore, but it doesn't make me a naughty, bad tourist. I spend more to be comfortable now, and so what. Now go run and catch that next bemo, and have a nice time in your travels, no matter how you choose to do it. (Ever think of trying the rolling thing? It might be a unique way to see a country from a different perspective.)

We are very excited about Putu, we will be with him the in the first half of August (thanks Craig and Bob!). He has been a wonderful help even planning our hotel stays, where he pointed out a festival he didn't think we'd want to miss in Ubud on a day we planned to be leaving. We would have never known if not for him via email.
When we were younger we did farm stays and home stays all over the world and didn't worry.
Now we like COMFORT....and most importantly have very limited time. In order to see as many things as possible, and to cherry pick the best sites, a guide is great to have. Wish we had the luxury of more time to drift but we don't. Also traveling with kids, not so easy to herd them on to busses and get them to shlep on foot all over the place. To each his own.
My cousin just got back from Papau New Guinea where she slept on straw mattresses and woke up with bugs crawling all over her body and welts the next day. And she had a great time. That's great for her but NO WAY for me! My husband and I work hard and during the few weeks/year we get away we want comfort!!! Personal opinion.

It is my last two days of a three week trip: 2 weeks in Japan and 1 week in Bali. I am going to do something even more ridiculous today: stay at my western hotel (Hyatt in Sanur), eat western food, and get some sun and sand on the beach. I probably won't even leave the hotel grounds today.
I've got two reasons for this choice:
1) will relax today and tomorrow because I've got 30 hours of travelling to do starting tomorrow night.
2) got a cold from the air conditioning at the Ananda Cottages (NOT from Putu's car, I am convinced).

Another reason: there is no scooter exhaust here.

mrwunrfl: Can't believe your vacation is almost over. No reason to explain your down time. It has sounded like a great trip. And we have been getting the reports "on the road", which has been helpful for those who are getting on their planes to go to both Japan and Bali, even as you will be getting on your plane to come home. How does one say, "Have a good rest before your trip" in Japanese?

Thanks, emd. I am actually looking forward to the trip home. It will be two redeye flights back to back. Leaving Bali at 11:55 AM EDT on Tuesday arriving JFK at 11:30 AM EDT and DCA at 4:40 PM EDT on Wednesday.

Putu took me to another Balinese cultural experience yesterday when we watched the preparations for and beginning of the parade. The parade started in a neighboring village and when to the village temple that we visited the night before. There were nine floats that the boys carried. The men played instruments in bands of a dozen or so. Some of the young men were dressed like women. The women and girls walked in groups wearing marvelously colorful clothing. For this, as the night before, I wore a sarong of two parts and a white headband with a crest and gold trim that Putu brought for me.

How do I contact Puto? If I want to stay on Nua Dusa:
1) What is the best 5 start hotel?
2) Where is Puto based? If I want to use Puto to drive us to Ubud how much time would that take?
3) Can I schedule Puto for 3-4 hours at a time?
4) What type of vehicle does he drive?
5) What is his hourly rate? Are there extras for going to other locations?

Whoa, the outfit sounds great- how nice that he provided it. Will he let you bring it back so you can wear it the office on casual day?
Too bad Putu doesn't do Japan- I'd call him too!

To BillT - email putuarnawa@aol.com. He lives in Ubud but can drive you anywhere. I think Nusa Dua is 45 minutes away at the most. You can schedule Putu for a half-day (250,000 Rupiah). He drives a Toyota Kijang SUV which can seat 5 comfortably without luggage. There are no extra charges and he does not charge to drive to where you are to be picked up. For 8 to 12 hours, he charges 300,000 - 400,000 Rupiah.

Additional details on his website:
http://www.balifriend.net/

just a reminder--prices are slightly higher in 2012

I must admit Putu took me for a fool. I paid 650,000Rp./day for 10 hours last year for up to 10 hours and most days it was only 8-9 hours but that was our decision. I was going to use him this Dec. for 1 day though after 3 visits to Bali (11 days of touring over a 16 year period)but I sure doubt it it now if the above is correct. We are spending 4 days in Bali at The Chedi Club prior to 12 days on a liveabaord in the Raja Ampat Islands.

Stan, the above prices were for 2004. I expect you simply paid current prices.

even at 65,000, that's only about $65---a bargain

The current going rate in Ubud (2012) is about Rp 300,000 = 400,000 for a full 8 hours day, depending on the car. If you are going all the way to Pemuteran for example, that will be more as its harder driving and much farther away than touring rice fields and shops and so forth. There are several different models of cars and if your driver has one of the lower end cars, like an older Kijang, that is therefore usually towards the borrow of that scale. The Kijang Innova is the best of the Kijangs, and the Kijang Kapsul is the second best. For additional hours figure on about rp 50,000 an hour, but often they will drive you to dinner and pick up after for free, since you have booked a whole day. The gasoline hike, when it takes effect later this summer, will add some to this cost.

http://www.balifriend.com/our-service/ explains Putu's pricing...basic price is 500,000/day, additional for some itineraries or destinations.

Don't forget Putu is a guide as well as driver.

putu is a bargain at twice any price quoted..

i have used him on 3 different trips..

thanks to craig and jeane for having found him...

Alas, Bob, your effort to help by topping this antique thread has thoroughly confused Stan.

I contacted Putu and Craig and others who mention 350,000Rp. for Putu for a 10 hour day were misleading you. That was back in 2005-2006. He is now chaging 500,000Rp.550,000Rp. based on where he comes to to start the day. I know this for 2 reasons. I used to pay 300,000Rp. in 2005 but not to Putu and I wrote toi him and he checked his records and he found Craigs and it appears he toured with Craig in 2005 was 350,000 Rp. Because of cost of living he will be raising his rates slightly, so he mentioned in the email, as of Ja. 2013.

Stan, look at the date of the original post - 2004. No one was misleading you - you were misleading you by not noticing the original date and by not reading the responses to your post.

Kathie; You are correct. I suppose I am used to TripAdvisor which is in my opinion more efficient. If there are no comments in 12 months they do not continue the conversation that way a gallery that might have been open 5 years ago and is now closed would not confuse a traveler.
It turns out I paid 650,000 and not 555,000Rp. because Putu did some research for me that unearthed an object I would not have expected from the run of the mill 400-500,000 guide.

this is why i mentioned that rates probably had increased.

stan--this is his job, do you want him to spend the day hauling you around for peanuts? come-on $65... buy one less italian cloth pair of slacks..

rhkkmk; You got me completely wrong. I am an advocate of his rate.Last year he was with us for 3.5 days and we paid for 4 plus tip because he is quite good. Those paying 400Rp. for 9-10 hours are getting what they pay for in 99% of the cases.

I think this thread should be retired anyway. But in any case, the discussion about one particular driver/guide's prices is ridiculous. There are thousands (ok maybe I exagerrate) of wonderful guides and drivers besides just one person on the entire island. I'm sure he's fantastic but threads like this can give people the impression that unless they can book Putu that they will have an inferior experience. That is simply not true.

Really? I didn't get that impression--just that he's one guide that is recommended.

i have personally found a number of guides on this site, as i did find putu originally, and i prefer a 1st hand fodorite endorsement in my selection process

kuluk is correct. It just was imporetant for me to correct his rate at 500,000-550,000Rp./day.

I just think there are other people who might get that impression if they are new to this forum or find it on a search. I recently read a post on Trip Advisor where someone said they didn't heard back from a recommended driver and were "panicking" because they thought they would not be able to find a guide otherwise.

This is from the Bali Discovery site, an excellent weekly resource of news about Bali tourism.

http://www.balidiscovery.com/messages/message.asp?ID=8234
" At present Bali have 5,265 licensed and registered tour guides, 60% of whom are freelance guides unattached to local tour agencies."

does guide#2999 still show up late and try to take you to his cousins restaurant and uncle's jewelers?

I don't know because I don't have a trusted fodorites recommendation.

If I needed a guide and I didn't have a recommended one I would ask the hotel I was staying in to recommend one. We all want a recommended guide, jewelry shop, temple, beach, restaurant, etc. To state that Bali has 5000 + anything is useless to me unless they are good and recommended by you. If there is no recommendation then we defer to the "life is like a box of chocolates" method.......you takes your pick and takes your chances as they say. I would pick the chocolate truffle every time.

Aloha!

i hate chocolate truffles, but love putu

I have found that when staying stayinfg at 4+ or 5 star hotels and request services such as guides, messages (outside the hotel) we tend to pay top dollar unless we give the conceirge $25 USD upfront in Asia except HK. Then we get the best, most often and at the best price and it covers the gratuity.

tips well placed turn tricks, for sure

and what sort of places have you been visiting lately Bob??