I need some help from the experts here about Bali
 

OK so am going to Bali on the 22nd of January to have my jewelry samples made.( Fair trade/wage places) Have been kind of a slacker in planning the trip.Been living in Italy, Found a few flights, want to purchase my ticket next few days. One is Singapore Air London- Denpasar with a stop in Singapore for 1200 US. Is there economy class better than most? And, is this a good price? Also saw one out of Milan for 1450 but it stops in 2 places.

I want to stay in Ubud, since that is closer to the places we have meetings with. I need someplace for 15 nights, have looked at a bunch am having a hard time deciding. I have a pretty tight budget for me on this trip so am looking not to spend more than 75 US a night, any ideas? Also if anyone can recommend a great and knowledgable driver I would appreciate it.

Unfortunately this is more of a work trip than a vacation. Thanks

glad to see this post....i read a little from you on the europe board and then it disappeared from my sights...

let us know what you are doing with the jewelry and where we can find it when finished...

are you returning to italy?

Hi laartista-

As you're staying for 2 weeks, it might be more economical to rent a house. This website has some great deals:
http://www.balispirit.com/resorts/ba...rent_sale.html

Try the Tegal Sari in Ubud. Real friendly people in a dynamite location. The price should be well within your price range.

Hey, thanks you guys!

rkk- yes, I involuntarily manslaughtered my laptop over a month & 1/2 ago but now I got a new one. Am returning to Italy afterward.

thanks cruisin and Dr. Ralph will definitely check out those websites.

Hey also today I found a rt out of London on Singapore for 712 L all inclusive ( about 1050 US I think). Is that considered a good fare?

looks quite good to me

make sure you visit prapen just outside ubud to see thier jewelry and ask for a tour of john hardy...they give you lunch at the end of the tour with all the execs...

ooohhh John Hardy, I'm hoping I'm gonna wipe the floors with him :) Lofty goals!

Seriously, I would love to see that, thanks for the tip!

Hi Laartista
The guide/driver I used in Nov may be good for you. Connie and Made are a husband and wife team and I know they have helped lots of people with sourcing suppliers/manufacturers. They will even inspect the goods on your behalf before they are sent for quatity control.Connie is a licenced tour guide and Made is a safe and careful driver. The cost of them both is about the same as a driver and Connie is a valuable source of infomation about various suppliers. You could send them an email about your requirements if you think they could help you.They may even have a suggestion for accommodation. Email [email protected]

I would also suggest that you consider renting a house, if for nothing else than to not have to eat out for every meal and to have more room to spread out. You also might want to or need to say longer than 2 weeks to get everyting done, which is another reason to consider renting which will be cheaper overall. I would suggest vrbo.com as a good source. I have not rented from them in Bali, but have had very good experiences renting houses in Europe, Canada and the US through this website. I would suggest Penestanan, an interesting artists’ village outside Ubud. It is nice to be near, but not in, Ubud, which is quite touristy. I found a random one there at US$37 a night that looks lovely, (it even has air conditioning and a pool! I may rent this next time…) I would also agree on asking everyone you meet there about places to stay, everyone seems to have a cousin who has a place to rent, that is how I found a place to rent for for a few months several years ago. You can stay in a hotel for the first few days and start asking around about rentals. If you like the house you can then rent it for subsequent trips.

laartista, I'd recommend Ketut's Place. For a long-term stay I'm sure they'd give you a good rate. It's family run, very friendly, and convenient both to the town of Ubud and local transport.

I doubt that you would need to contract a fulltime car/driver. It's fairly easy to find someone to drive you where you need to go and in the Ubud area public transportation -- the mini-bus -- is reliable and easy to use. Alternately, if you're working with craft shops they would be able send someone to pick you up.

Thanks for all the additional info u guys! Checked out the links, Bali Spirit is a great site and I like the idea of a little house, trying to make a decision between that and some other bungalows.

I read that it is rainy season during Jan. and Feb., does that mean rain every day? That would suck especially since it's been pretty much raining here for 2 months! Also are the mosquitos as bad there as in Thailand?

And not to be an info hog, BUT any recommendations for good cheap eats? AND, who's flown Singapore Air economy and how is it? Thanks again Fodorites!

Hi laartista,

So good to “see” you here again. I went to Bali for 2 weeks in Feb of this year and I’ll add my two cents (as I am certainly not an expert on Bali).

While in Ubud, it rained several days while I was there. Nothing major, maybe about 2 or 3 days that it was cloudy but the rest was beautiful, sunny weather. But the weather varied even within the day. For example, I took a bike ride/tour through the countryside and though there were clouds in the morning, it got sunnier and hotter while taking the bike ride. When we were being driven back to our hotels, the clouds opened up and rained throughout the night. I remember that there were some fallen trees on the road as I was making my way back to the airport. I don’t remember mosquitoes being a problem.

As for cheap eats, I’m notorious for being cheap (according to the wife – however, I consider myself a flashpacker). With that, the best cheap eats for me was Warung Ibu Oka, for its suckling pig. Lunch for one cost me 30000R or about $3. It's located across the Ubud Palace. There are also many restaurants along Monkey Forest road – I ate a delicious and reasonably priced dinner at Cinta Grill (they also had B1G1 free Happy Hour every evening). I remember eating well at Kafe Batan Waru also. These restaurants are owned by the same people and I ate here because I had received a 15% off voucher for these restaurants for the duration of my stay in Ubud. These were recommended to me by the hotel staff.

As for Singapore Economy class, I’ve only flown once – from BKK to SIN. In that very short flight time, we were treated very well and given a boxed meal to boot. I’d love to fly them again.

As an aside, if you want a very good internet connection, go to @Highway which has broadband speeds and cost me 500R per minute. It beat the free and sporadic wifi at the hotel.

If you have any more questions re Ubud, I can check my notes and receipts etc. You can also check out some pics of my Bali meals at my Indonesian gallery at http://stgabriel.smugmug.com/Travel.

Thanks so much bkk for the info. Kind of late in planning so Tegal Sari is filled up but for a few days here and there. Waiting to hear back from some others.

bkk, your pictures are amazing, thanks for the link

rhk- if you happen to check back here can you post the link to that trip report that you went on w/ gpanda, i've been looking for it all day, can't find it.thanks :)

i just brought it to the top for you....address is toooo long for someone simple minded like me....

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...amp;dirtyBit=1

here it is....i just had a brain storm...

lol, thanks r, but that the link to this post, i remember reading it but guess i didn't bm, maybe i did, i'll check, the search continues