Christmas Vacation Or: How I Learned to Leave Kuta and Love Bali

Bali Traveling Tips

1.  Don't go to Jakarta...ok, just kidding but, when you do be sure to always lock the taxi doors if you have a layover in this city.

2. Extra cash on hand for Indonesia's Arrival Tax: 40,000 Rp/Departure Tax: 150,000 Rp  

3. Do not take the first taxi you see once you leave the Bali airport. You will save yourself a lot of money if you walk 100 yards outside of the airport to catch a metered taxi.

4. There are many money changers in Kuta. Take your time and check a few out to find the one with the best rate that does not have a commission and make sure to count your money after each transaction.

5. To save money on food find a local Indonesian restaurant that sells Mi Goreng (noodles, vegetables and meat of your choice). It's delicious and can cost as little as $1 a plate.

6. Many private tour companies charge high prices for an island tour. However, many taxi drivers rent vans and hire themselves out as private drivers at a lower day rate. Just be sure to specify exactly where you want to go, avoid extra "market" stops and pay at the end of the day.

My friends and I stayed in Legian near Kuta, the tourist, shopping mecca of Bali. We found Kuta Beach to be great for surfing but it was a little crowded and dirty.  If I were to visit Bali again, I would stay in Nusa Dua. This area has more resorts and more resorts means cleaner beaches.  As well as being cleaner than Kuta, Nusa Dua is much quieter and the beach has fewer vendors which makes for a more relaxing beach experience. Close to Nusa Dua is the Monkey Temple which provides an excellent view of some sea side cliffs and gives you the opportunity to be attacked by real monkeys! When dealing with these well fed beasts remember to leave your snacks in the car or you might get up close and personal with one of these dastardly pickpockets! An hour to the center of Bali brings you to Ubud, an art-filled hub full of wood carvings, paintings, and statues galore. The art stores go on for miles. My question is: how do they sell enough of this art to have so many shops?  There were five stone statue shops in a row!  How do you get a five foot tall stone statue back home? I hope the island has a good shipping service.  Once you buy the artwork of your choice I recommend stopping by the Elephant Cave.  After a ten hour van tour of Bali's tourist traps I found the Cave to be my most interesting non-beach stop in Bali.

I enjoyed my holiday break in Bali but for all the hype (aka Eat. Pray. Love) I feel that the island was a little over-rated and personally, prefer Hawaii.

Mi Goreng - Yum!

Monkey Temple

Bali Volcano

Rice Terraces

Elephant Cave (Ubud)

Kuta Beach- Great for surfing!

Nusa Dua

Statues Galore

Upcoming Trips

Nha Trang, Vietnam (January)

Cambodia (February)

Going International- Hello Saigon!

Whether you want the finest hotels or the cheapest guesthouses, the classiest restaurants or the most humble street stalls, the designer boutiques or the scrum of the markets, Saigon has it all.

 -Lonely Planet- Ho Chi Minh City Review

It has almost been two weeks since Max and I landed in Ho Chi Minh aka the Motorbike City. With the help of our friends and our 4-story western built home (with a maid!) we have made a smooth transition in to our new Expat lifestyle.

Getting Here

1 of 3 great meals

International flights are the way to go-Asiana Airlines treated us well on our 12-hour Seattle to Seoul flight (2 meals+bottomless water/soda+movies/games/music) and on our 5-hour flight from Seoul to HCM (1 meal+movie). Bonus: The long flight provided slippers and toothbrush/toothpaste in the restroom. 

After a long day of traveling and a lot of sleeping on the plane we reached our HCM destination. 

NOTE on Time Change:  For those of you back home wondering what time it is here we are 14 hours ahead of our WA friends/family.

The City

There is an energy in this city unlike anything I have ever experienced before. Much like the Lonely Planet review above describes there is an enormous amount of variety here.

Some places we have been so far:

• Reunification Building: Formerly South Vietnam's Presidential Palace, this is a restored five-floor time warp to the Sixties left largely untouched since the day before Saigon fell to the North. 
• Notre Dame Cathedral: A French-built Catholic cathedral in the city centre next to the Post Office.  
• Saigon Square: A very popular for shopping mall for hip, young people looking for cheap watches, DVDs, T-shirts, jeans, shorts, slippers, etc.
• War Remnants Museum: Formerly known as the Exhibition House of American War Crimes. This disturbing display of man's cruelty during the Vietnam (American) War includes halls full of gruesome photographs, a real guillotine, a simulated "tiger cage" prison and jars of deformed fetuses blamed on Agent Orange.  
• Ben Thanh Market: Located in District 1 this is probably the largest, most popular market in HCM. A shopper can find everything here from designer bags to live ducks. Popular with tourists, so prepare to haggle. 

Backpackers District

Park in District 1

Park in District 1

Notre Dame Cathedral

War Museum

War Museum

Transportation

Taxi View

The transportation mode of choice is a motor bike hence the city's nickname. For now Max and I have opted for the reasonably priced Taxi rides (10,000 VND/km or 50 cents USD/km). The way traffic moves out here reminds me of a school of fish.  One way streets and roundabouts make it possible for cars and motorbikes to glide through the city.  Cars tend to stick on the left side of the road allowing motorbikes to stay on the right (well, most of the time) the bikes pretty much weave wherever they like.

NOTE Money Exchange Rate: 19,000 VND per 1 USD

Cuisine

With over 500 Vietnamese dishes, there is plenty of food to try.

However, if you are not in the mood for noodles and rice it is not difficult to find Italian, French, Indian, Thai, Mexican and American food.

American Chains here include Carl's Jr., KFC, Hard Rock Cafe and Pizza Hut. They, also, have a fast food chain called Lotteria which to me is similar to the American version of a McDonald's. 

For all you coffee drinkers out there you will love Vietnamese coffee aka Cafe Su Da.  

Step 2 All Stirred Up

Step 1 Coffee & Condensed Milk

NOTE on grocery shopping: The City Plaza, a store which is a combination of  Uwajimaya and Fred Meyer has everything they even sell peanut butter and Cocoa Krispies/ Fruity Pebbles (for Max).