Bali Expat Forum - Bali Travel Forum

For me the question would have to be what I would NOT bring...

A RETURN TICKET!!!

i'd bring:

!) much less beauty junk like creams & serums. i found that the local indonesian skin care stuff at matahari's in denpasar gave me way better results & the makeup i bought there suted balinese weather. the stuff i brought here from back home just felt sticky on my skin. even the balinese shampoos & conditoner worked better. bought my serums here, as well.

2) i would DEFINITELY bring my gold bond medicated powder. the indonesian prickly heat powder they have has a very strong smell although it worked fast on prickly heat bumps that plagued me all through out my bali trip.

3) a big 98% SPF sunblock hat. they have nothing like that in bali. i had one at home but thinking that bali probably has it, i didnt want to have carry it. turns out that i really needed it. my scalp was steaming under the noontime sun. is amazing how the natives in bali barely break out in a sweat. they look so effortless while i feel like ive ran a marathon after just a 5 minute walk.

4) carmex lip ointment. its better than gloss & hydrates ur lips without a funny taste.

5) a water bottle holder. they sold several types all over bali but i wanted the velcro kind. thank bottled god water is everywhere in bali.

Seeing as this thread got started up I just noticed your question to me Roy, so let me explain -

This is a language thing - by shoes I mean anything you put on your feet, ie footwear. Unless you go barefoot I'm sure you put something on your feet ?

I can't even get slip on sandals unless they are men's sandals/thongs/flip flops - what ever you want to call them. They are fine for most things, but if I want to go to dinner, or some social event I like to wear something other than flat plastic men's sandals on my feet. I'm no Imelda, simple is fine. Not available to me in most of Indonesia. Even in Bali I haven't ever found much in the way of nice 40+ size ladies footwear. So I bring em.

As to knives - I spent half a day running around the stores in Kuta, including the big American hardware store - and they had junk. Perhaps you don't cook much? Good, chef quality knives, are imporant to me. I like to cook, and I like good tools to do it with.

Most of my ex-pat female friends who cook have also resorted to bringing their good knives from home - either because they couldn't find the quality, or they didn't want to go to the expense of replacing them. (For the quality they must be imported = expensive)

I trust you are now enlightened!

Freo

The shoes, yes.

I have a 46, and they are difficult to find.

The knifes. We have a knife which was bought in the street, sometimes you see a guy running around selling knifes.

Its the best we have.... Handmade in Bali.... Not exactly stainless steel, but very sharp..

Freo - That big American hardware store must be Ace, ya? Don't know where you were looking but they have a specialty counter there that sells many different Henkel knives, as well swiss army and some others - anything you may need. Also there's a good Kitchen supply store next to the nearby Bali Bakery. Cheers.

Freogirl posted:"One last thing - I'm sure you already know - tampons. A year's supply, flat packed in plastic resealable bags, easy to get into the suitcase that way, and not heavy. As I said, it's the little things ".

I agree! That post brought me back to the verry first time i came to bali and had 7 of my relatives all looking for tampons,each going a seperate direction.Only one found a small box. Now I know NOT TO FORGET to bring my own supply.These things you take for granted. And then again mostly my suitcase is empty when I arrive in Bali,you can get everything (besides tAmpons).
The opposite is for the trip back,Ending up with double the amount of suitcases,the funniest item I took was a carvedwood trim for a house,several meters in lenth. Cannot fit in my suitcase. Had them saw it into little pieces all 27 inches in lenth-filled that entire case. Yes I know A bit ridiculous!

Jimbo
Ring Liz on 01709 549 147. She is a travel councillor who books all our flights and has done for the past 5 years. She gets us fantastic prices on flights. Just tell her Alex Foord gave you her number.
Hope this helps

Alex

Jimbo
Ring Liz on 01709 549 147. She is a travel councillor who books all our flights and has done for the past 5 years. She gets us fantastic prices on flights. Just tell her Alex Foord gave you her number.
Hope this helps

Sorry not quite sure where you are coming from here

Hi Anicca,

Do you know..... all this practical advice about knives and stuff going on and all the esscence of Bali is buried here. What do you need to bring?

Bring the following:

1) A willingness to accept that no matter how long you stay here this will always be Bali and you will have been accepted as it's visitor, then guest and then - if you are really lucky - it's resident.
2) Humbleness and humanity
3) Love and compassion
4) An open mind and an open heart
5) Tolerance and a desire to learn

These essential items will always do.... for a start

PS: Quality knives easy in Bali

since there is a bit of talk on this thread on knives....

doesnt Gourmet Garage in Jimbaran have decent (professional) kitchen quality knives? i thought so.

... and they have decent BBQ's also.

overall, i agree with the generality that most things can be found in Bali.... just keep in mind that you might have to scuttle about to find them. the more esoteric the stuff, the harder you'll have to look (eg spare windsurfing parts, quality fishing eqpt), etc and i hear mixed reports of how good the mail service is, should you decide to mail order from abroad.

Ace Hardware has a complete selection of all the top kitchen knives. There is a special counter for these located just inside the main entrance on the left.

Personally, we don’t bother with these, as the Balinese way is to simply sharpen local knives on a regular basis. Sharpening stones are much cheaper.

Ace have a much better range now than they did in 2005 when I was looking. (this is quite an old post). At that time there really was not much there in the top of the line items. I checked with the manager and discussed what stock might be coming in, and took the contact details so I could follow up later from Lombok.

They have a large display and assortment of JA Henkels knives, which IMHO is a huge waste of money. What’s the point of spending 1.5 million on one knife when that amount can keep you in a host of various local knives for a lifetime?

In our kitchen, we prefer to spend the money on top of the line refrigerators, ranges and ovens. In our view, that’s what can make a difference on what comes out of the kitchen. A sharp knife is just a sharp knife, regardless of what name is stamped on the blade.

The executive chef from Shangri-La in Surabaya, (who has twice cooked in our kitchen) couldn't agree more.

Tampons are available in the supermarkets and even in places like Circle K however they cost about 3 x what they do in the UK, so still worth bringing a years supply as they are light and dont take up much space.

In case anyone is wondering why tampons have been historically difficult to find here, it’s simply that Indonesian women very rarely use them. That being “said” I will gladly differ all questions requiring expertise on this matter to the other gender.

Confirmed.
We don't like to have a foreign object within our body.