davee
hi there my name is dave i am an annual traveller to the island and have been on and off since i was a kid.i discovered this forum via google after trying to find some answers. mostly old and outdated info. i am going to ubud, to get out of the more touristy spots. having been last year nothing looked like it had changed: scammers selling timeshare, dodgy money changers( around every corner now) and the odd 'hey i know you!' my mum got it alot and one of them called her rhonda.one thing i got caught out on was upon arrival, never happened in all my travels but three porters grabbed my bags within a flash, rushed me over to the exit towards customs and tried to extort me for $20. each. i gave them 20k Rp each and i got the dirtiest look from all three. so i am taking carry on with a foldaway duffle bag. now i dont have to wait and que and risk having my bag snatched. when i got back i did a bit of research and found this is common. so wont bother taking checked luggage. i would like to know is that smoking ban in place? went last year had no problems but didnt hear of this til i got back that they were gonna ban tourists from lighting up. surely there are far worse things like the shrooms ans metho drinks. i love kreteks, something you dont get in aus. are they still 10k Rp a pack? also i had trouble with my phone last year the iphone 4 has a smaller sim and the guy at the shop had to cut it into shape. do they have the smaller sims now?
mat
Hi and welcome davee,Smoking ban is officialy in place but rarely enforced, especially in the semi open places. Kreteks still around 10,000 IDR [prices differ place to place]. As to sim cards, I'm not sure, but I never had any trouble with the cut to size ones, so why worry?
davee
not a real worry, just seemed odd when i went to get a sim card and he began chopping it up! i guess too as long as the local government are smokers nothing will change.
SHoggard
I guess it depends what you're smoking
no.idea
i would like to know is that smoking ban in place? went last year had no problems but didnt hear of this til i got back that they were gonna ban tourists from lighting up. surely there are far worse things like the shrooms ans metho drinks. i love kreteks, something you dont get in aus. are they still 10k Rp a pack? also i had trouble with my phone last year the iphone 4 has a smaller sim and the guy at the shop had to cut it into shape. [/QUOTE]I personally have always found i phones hard to smoke without cutting them up first.I think it is the batteries that cause harm to your lungs.
davee
I personally have always found i phones hard to smoke without cutting them up first.I think it is the batteries that cause harm to your lungs.[/QUOTE]haha yeah i dont know about smoking phones......
redwards26
Hi Dave, If you have the iPhone 4 you can download the app Viber. I use this whenever I'm in Bali, as long as you have access to wifi (pretty much everywhere in Bali) your calls are free and it's always worked well for me.Enjoy your trip, Renee (also from Melbourne :)
Markit
Must have precious.... Nasty Baginseees has precious....Does anybody else find this phonoerotic preoccupation with a telephone strangely worrying?Guys it's not an Ipussy it's just a fecking telephone.Oh, and "having access to wifi pretty much everywhere in Bali" is also completely fecking wrong. Zero for 1 on you first post here...
gilbert de jong
some people like phones, some people like cheese...,feel free to change the word 'like' into 'fetish'..or is it 'feta', hahaha ;)
Lovegrove
I would just love having access to wifi "everywhere" also, bring it on hmmm - can u arrange Markit, know you can master your magic? Hehehe
redwards26
Must have precious.... Nasty Baginseees has precious....Does anybody else find this phonoerotic preoccupation with a telephone strangely worrying?Guys it's not an Ipussy it's just a fecking telephone.Oh, and "having access to wifi pretty much everywhere in Bali" is also completely fecking wrong. Zero for 1 on you first post here...[/QUOTE]Hey thanks guys for being completely demoralizing for my first post in 2 years, have always been an avid fan of this site and generally found helpful and interesting. Well done you for your encouraging comments!!Firstly no one has this fascination as you may think with phones, it was merely brought up by Dave who posted a thread relating to their use.Secondly, you're right I should have been more specific when I said you can access Wifi 'everywhere'. Next time I will exclude in the depths of the forests, whilst bungi jumping and snorkeling...Perhaps your 'everywhere' and mine differ because you a local, but when asking from a tourist point of view if you want to find wifi you can...meaning I could and did find it 'everywhere'.I'm sure some of you will respond to this with some negative and perhaps hurtful comments which would be a real shame because I would like to continue gaining valuable information from here and maybe even post a third comment here one day.
Lovegrove
I think the point with regards to wifi being available "everywhere" is a generalisation - we don't actually hang from trees here, but it is a known fact that Internet can at times be intermittent, whilst I love the concept of wifi hotspots, it's ok if you are prepared to sit in one place for a while, but whilst on the move, it's a right pain in the ass - how many passwords can u acquire in one day? Of course it depends where your location is, but maybe we are not all in the one place ie tourist areas most of the time....No, not hurtful, just a reality of travelling on the move - with regards to chopping SIM cards, sure, go to cellular world & they have a nifty little machine that can cut them, if not, put up with scissors & it still works?Of course we are happy to share info :icon_e_biggrin: I guess the forum is not designed for tourists alone & we are all interested in issues that we face on a long term basis...I am sure there was no malice intended, just a bit of fun really :indecisiveness:
spicyayam
I had a good laugh at this:[video=youtube_share;HeEWtNaW6KE]http://youtu.be/HeEWtNaW6KE[/video]
no.idea
- we don't actually hang from trees here, [/QUOTE]I can only assume that you have never actually met Markit. The only way I can get him down from the coconut palms is to offer a generous supply of Brie!Of course this is always accompanied by a burst of " down boy! down boy! Come to daddy. Your cheese awaits."Actually to be serious, sorry Mark I am off to Thailand for a while. Will not be back to mid April. (no cheese until then)Redwards, Telkomsel is actually installing a big number of free wifi points throughout Bali. We have to apply for this service.As Lovegrove has mentioned, it is all a bit of fun, no malice intended by most folk on this site.
JohnnyCool
Hi, [B]davee[/B]I will [I]try[/I] to answer your primary questions as succintly as I can.But before I do that, let's have a quick look at a few things you mentioned....i am going to ubud, to get out of the more touristy spots.[/QUOTE]Are you serious? If you want to get away from tourists, go somewhere where there aren't any!The baggage "extortion" racket has been going on for years. It's a miracle that this is the first time you've encountered it. It's never a good idea to let anybody grab your bags without agreeing on a price first. Same goes for taxis, etc. That's kind of like Bali 101 stuff, for the rest of SE Asia as well....i would like to know is that smoking ban in place? went last year had no problems but didnt hear of this til i got back that they were gonna ban tourists from lighting up. surely there are far worse things like the shrooms ans metho drinks. i love kreteks, something you dont get in aus. are they still 10k Rp a pack?[/QUOTE]The anti-smoking ban is [I]supposed[/I] to be for [B]everybody[/B] in Bali, not just "tourists". I can't see how, when or if the "bans" will be enforced. For example: smoking is "banned" in, around or in close proximity to a temple. Yeah - right. Balinese (and other Indonesians) are big smokers. Who is going to stop them? Gudang Garam Filters (12 pack) cost about Rp 10,000 where I live.You're not [I]supposed[/I] to smoke in supermarkets, restaurants, etc. Apart from the bigger ones, (which [I]might[/I] have special "smoking areas"), most people ignore the "law". Most people don't know that there is a "law" which stipulates that the maximum number of passengers on a motorbike is one. That's right. [B]One[/B]. The fine is [I]supposed[/I] to be Rp250,000 and/or one month in jail. I see hundreds of motorbikes every day carrying three, four, five "passengers". Not to mention young children (I call them "Baby Bikers"), as young as 8 riding around dangerously with complete impunity. The "law" states that one must be at least 17 to get a "licence"....also i had trouble with my phone last year the iphone 4 has a smaller sim and the guy at the shop had to cut it into shape. do they have the smaller sims now?[/QUOTE]Mate, it seems you're from Melbourne. No excuse (or you can't help bad luck - lay off the [I]lattes[/I]). The only reasons to cut down sim cards are the following:(1) To damage your phone so you need to repair it(2) To make the sim card closer in size to your brainHope this helps.
Markit
Hey thanks guys for being completely demoralizing for my first post in 2 years, have always been an avid fan of this site and generally found helpful and interesting. Well done you for your encouraging comments!![/QUOTE]You are completely right what this forum really needs is some more SENSITIVITY. You fucking great girls blouse!! Oh, didums someone spoke harshly to didums in his/her/its first post in 2 whole years ohhhhh didums. I hope you know I now feel officially terrible. I think I'll just push the beautiful brown girl off my huge member and throw myself into the artfully lit swimming pool - oh, after downing the last of my ice-cold beer and scarfing the remaining crumbs of my well aged Gouda. Goodby cruel world - splash!
Markit
Johnny - welcome back. Spicy - what a great vid!!! I knew all of that shit - how do the Ozzies get it? It's all Pommy stuff. Ron what the hell are you doing in Thighland? There aint enough hooking persons in Sanur for you and the HIV pin-up boys? See you in April.
Larnes
When I got my last iphone sim at Telkomsel office in Denpasar, the very efficient and lovely salesman duly cut it down with scissors. She also accessed my preeecioouus with an unfolded paperclip instead of the genuine Apple tool, what is the world coming to?? I think they might call it utilitarianism?The cut down version works fine, just look away ;) I have not had anyone grab my bags and make off with them, perhaps they are too heavy! I just say no thank you when they ask, luckily haven't encountered any aggressive porters in our trips yet. The porters can be useful for getting you through the line quickly, particularly if you have over quota alcohol on board ;)Enjoy your next trip, but stay away from Ubud if you don't like tourists!
Larnes
Perhaps Markit could be in charge of a new sensitive section of the forum?? This might be his true calling...
davee
perhaps i should have rephrased that sentence, i am staying in ubud but not in the center im in the sticks away from traffic, tourists and possibly any other means of civilisation. resort looks really good but ill find out next week when i go.i dont particularly need my phone, just convenience. i bought a galaxy tab last week so plenty of time on that.
