A Pampered Weekend in Bali

Usually when we travel, we stay in hostels, eat in local markets or inexpensive restaurants and kill ourselves walking around seeing the sights. This year we decided to take it easy, only visit two or three places, and do a lot more relaxing and lying on the beach. As part of our winter break this month, we checked into an all-inclusive resort in Bali for a long weekend of pampering. We had stayed at the Bali Tropic Resort last year for a few days after being sick off and on for most of our holiday and loved it so much we returned this year for a repeat visit. It was also a birthday present for Nancy!

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Before last year, I had never stayed in one of these types of places. But once I experienced it, I was sold. After the bracelet is snapped around your wrist, you are good to go. Food and drinks around the clock, three restaurants, four bars (including a sunken one in the pool), non-motorized water sports, nightly entertainment and sandy beaches. I can’t speak for other places like this but this one is definitely a beautiful experience. The rooms are incredible, the food is great, and the people working at the resort are wonderful.
We touched down at the Bali airport on a Thursday afternoon. It is the only airport I have been to where you land on what was at one time a sandy beach. The ocean waves break up against the side of the runway. As we flew in over the island, the beauty of the countryside was evident, even at several thousand feet in the air.

Once we left the airport exit doors, we were bombarded with taxi drivers. The first thing we realized is that our Chinese haggling skills would have to come into play, as per usual. A lot of places don’t have metered taxis, at least not which are visible right away. We knew from past experience that the resort was not that far from the airport but, nonetheless, the first driver opened with an asking price of 350, 000 rupiah. This is only an equivalent of about 40 bucks Canadian but we knew it was way out of line! We headed over to an information booth and were told that the price should not be more that 95, 000 at the most. So back to the drivers we went. Nancy took over since she is the haggling pro from all her shopping in China and countered with a price of 50, 000 along with a disgusted look! Of course, they all whined and complained about how they couldn’t even consider such a ridiculous price for such a long drive. But the saga continued for a few minutes until we ended up agreeing with one driver on a price of 100, 000. Ten dollars is a lot better than 40. Despite what many people think, every foreigner is not filthy rich. By the way, the return trip to the airport in a metered taxi was 57, 000. We have since figured out where to get the metered taxis the next time. They are parked a short walk from the airport but, once again, a lot of tourists are taken for a ride, pun intended.

Our time at the resort was great. The staff threw a surprise birthday party for Nancy at the restaurant. She received flowers and a nice card during the day, inviting her to the celebration later that night. They provided a great little birthday cake after dinner that we shared with a couple of nearby tables. There was no way that we could eat it all ourselves. We booked in for a traditional hour and a half Balinese massage at the spa which is on the site, another great experience. And it is easy enough to escape the resort to experience the real Bali. All you have to do is walk out the front door and out onto the street or walk along the beach until you leave the resort property.

We left on Monday to head for Korea and a 40 degree Celsius drop in temperature. Leaving Bali is also an experience. It is definitely the most corrupt airport I have seen. Almost every employee is trying to make a fast buck under the table in some way! You can pay somebody not to line up but be moved to the front, you can pay to go back out and in if you need to leave the secured area for some reason, you can pay in American cash to save a few bucks on the price of the exit visa; it is just one thing after another. This year, we didn’t pay any extra. Last year, I had to go back outside to get enough money for the exit visa and paid a guard to let me out and in again. I could have done it if I had had my passport on me but it was with Nancy in another part of the airport and I didn’t want to bother going back to get it! We got into a conversation with one a Chinese tourist and he said that the airport employees must all make a few extra thousand in the course of the week. Having a Chinese person complain about the corruption really says it all!

In any case, Bali is a great place to visit, whether you travel on the cheap or go all out and stay at a place such as the Bali Tropic Resort.

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