r/bali

I’ve got curly hair so I’m having trouble finding somewhere

4-20-26 Me 40 yo m went to Bali w my 38 yo gf. stayed in semenyak. Very walkable and loved visiting “the Hut” restaurant -made a friend there. Late at night our phones were dying and Google Maps would not take us to the address and it was hot, confusing, and we were lost and scared and getting harassed by drivers but finally found our way. At air b and b lights not working and showered in the dark.

Next day Lots of shopping and went to Bernadette’s warang. First time trying Indonesian food of any kind. Very delish.
Loved seeing all of the doggies and kites flying. Got harassed incessantly by go driver and people selling things. Had awesome massage at place above Mades Warang. Went to Cangu. Clubs are not my vibe but wandered into Finn’s and had an awesome time. Went to hole in the wall warang for bin tang and Nasi etc. Bought some grilled corn from local guy and laughed about how us Mexicans have an “elote man” as well. Next day went surfing and got harassed incessantly some more to buy things etc. Rode horses on the beach and the handlers were burnt to a crisp, smoking, mean to us and the horses.
Headed to uluwatu and got motion sickness from the smoke, crazy car ride and heat. Saw some monkeys and the fire dance. Came to Ubud and there was a frog in the closet at our place. Lots more tourist things like rice terrace. More begging and harassing. Very amazing waterfall can’t remember name -(newer rice terrace). Got a great video on my ig @juice.village. “Two Face” brunch was amaze. Fav warang was “Sun Sun”. More spa services and got a pedicure halfway through saw all of the nail files and tools were recently used by others(😓). More shopping and met an awesome driver who we used the rest of the trip. Learned all the ins and outs of Balinese culture as he was born and raised in Ubud and spent many hours with him. Felt guilty about exploited workers and tried to tip as much as possible. One girl said 11 of them live together upstairs (from other island?). Now sitting in Hong Kong about to head back to the states. Got some coffee, souvenirs and some shirts that say Nasi Goreng etc. ha!
Been all over US, Mexico, Europe, Japan, Thailand. Def would go back check out other parts of island. But have to develop thicker skin to say no to tourist traps and spend more for better air b and b. Next for me is prob Vietnam, China, friends in Canada and AUS, back to Japan and maybe Bali in 5 years or so. “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man”.

This is so random but I’m looking for a reformer Pilates studio (preferable in Canggu) with 10 reformers as that’s our group size. If anyone’s ever come across one please let me know thank you

hi! im a filipino 26F and im visiting bali for the first time and im not into the touristy stuff but i would love to explore the culture/pop culture and community driven places and some places that dont actually cost a big amount of money :)

art places/stores
thrift stores
community cafes
places that has a dj during daytime
etc all cool not touristy places
also suggest cheap good food !!

thank you !

Hi all,

I will fly to Bali with my gf and planning on proposing to her while on the trip. I am unsure about bringing the ring with me due to customs. As far as I understood you have to fill out a customs declaration. For me it seems it counts as an personal item (not needed to be addressed) and will be brought back to my home country so is there an issue?
The ring is around 1.2k €/USD.

Glad for any information and help I can get.

Thank you!!

To the long term residents and locals. What blunders do you see foreigner tourist get wrong while visiting every day?

The topic says it all?

And yes, i know its better to go through the pain and do it the traditional way.

And /or spider bites?

Had a genuinely insane experience at Bali DPS airport (Ngurah Rai) this week.

I sat in one of the chairs at Gate 2 for a very brief period while waiting to board. The chair looked completely normal and clean, there was nothing visibly wet, dirty, or suspicious about it.

Within a very short amount of time, my clothes started reacting like they had been exposed to bleach or some kind of corrosive chemical. My pants literally began shredding/disintegrating to the point that my skin became exposed in front of other passengers. I had to urgently dig through my carry-on on the aircraft to find another item of clothing to cover myself up because the fabric was continuing to tear apart in real time.

My shirt also became bleached and developed holes after coming into contact with my bag, which had been sitting on the chair next to me. The chemical somehow transferred onto and through the bag material itself and even ruined brand-new clothing packed inside.

What’s even crazier is that the second pair of pants I changed into afterward was also damaged after coming into contact with the contaminated items. Even my underwear developed bleach marks and holes.

The airport responded saying they later inspected the chairs and “they are clean,” but:

1. the chairs looked visually clean when I sat down too, and
2. their inspection happened more than 24 hours after the incident.

This honestly feels like a major passenger safety issue involving cleaning chemicals being left on public seating, not just a clothing stain.

I’ve now filed formal complaints with the airport, but they closed the report saying the chairs looked clean.

Has anyone ever experienced anything remotely like this or have advice on escalation/reimbursement?

Added some pictures: the pants and shirt are what I was wearing originally. The black leggings are what I changed into after.

https://preview.redd.it/f414mb4dj22h1.jpg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=262e19a373d9054c87ab7224a797be0da5b2a8f0

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https://preview.redd.it/m9b4sb4dj22h1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=68aee87832243ab1491c62ae5d62e0bb1c3847e3

https://preview.redd.it/hztb7c4dj22h1.jpg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f1d008651156c0a75226b4d8b7620cd88edd10f1

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Any questions about Bali?

I travelled across Bali for a month as a solo traveller and came back today, had an amazing experience. Happy to answer questions about transport, stays, costs, food, bike rentals, visas, scams, itineraries, or anything else. Ask away.

Hello all

My partner and I will hopefully be travelling to Bali in August for our honeymoon, aside from the flights being really expensive, which we've come to terms with, our main issue is trying to figure out if it's worth it to stay somewhere that has a private pool of some kind. We really like the idea behind it but would hate to get there and only use it once or twice.

Our rough plan as things stand is to stay in Ubud for 5/6 nights, then head down to Uluwatu for the remainder, probably 5/6 nights again.

We really like the aesthetic of Ubud and Uluwatu sounds ideal for the nice beaches and a good way to finish up.

So yeah.. does anyone have any advice regarding private pools and how much you get to use them? And if you could only choose to have a private pool in one location, which would it be?

Thanks

Gee whiz there lads , Flights ✈️ have doubled in price from Melbourne, only a couple of months ago you could get a direct one way flight for $208 plus baggage, now same flight $459 plus , are Jetstar playing us for mugs knowing it's Winter time and some of us want to escape the chilly Melbourne weather for a week or 3

I normally live near Canggu, but am in Uluwatu for a long weekend. I order food almost daily (and tip good), but there is something weird I noticed very negatively.

Out of 6 orders, 3 drivers called me multiple times right after I ordered and then texted me very sad "Please tip brother, this drive is very long" - please mind: Its like 20min delivery, nothing not normal.

Of course I always tip, but this is just so uncomfortable - anyone have an Idea why this is happening? Just the tourist area?

https://preview.redd.it/drrjaa7uqm1h1.jpg?width=1260&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c49474b3b199badc4dba0b080bfefff4705f2361

Just came back from my first Bali trip and honestly I understand now why people keep talking about the place like it’s some magical reset button for burnt out humans. The island has this weird mix of chaos, peace, scooters, incense, tourists with spiritual awakenings after one smoothie bowl, and genuinely beautiful culture.

Funny thing is this trip happened because I randomly met someone online months ago through an anonymous video chat site. We stayed in touch, he kept telling me “you have to visit Bali at least once,” and eventually I actually booked it. Flew through Kuala Lumpur with a connecting flight into Denpasar.

What surprised me most was how familiar parts of Bali felt culturally. I’m Hindu, so seeing temples everywhere, offerings on the streets, Ramayana/Hanuman imagery, and hearing Sanskrit-origin names made the place feel oddly comforting even though I was in another country. I went to one of the Hanuman/Kecak style performances and absolutely loved it.

Also:the temple gates everywhere look unreal in person

sunsets there genuinely deserve the hype

the green landscapes looked almost edited

people were way friendlier than I expected

the noodle dishes became my weakness by day 3

I expected Bali to feel overhyped because the internet ruins everything eventually, but somehow it still felt special. Even the airport chaos and endless scooter traffic became part of the experience

Hi, I’m almost at the end of a long UK > Bali bicycle trip. I’d like to explore Sumbawa, Flores, and Timor , but with a backpack this time because my knees are just about finished and Flores/Timor roads are insane!

I was wondering if anyone had some recommendations for safe places for somewhere in Denpasar I could store the bicycle and bags for a few weeks? Typically I’ve used hotels/hostels before with safe secured courtyards but it’s always hard to know the situation beforehand without actually seeing the place.

Thanks!

Not sure if it’s all new passports (Type PP) or just NZ - but twice now I’ve had trouble getting through the eGate - the passport just wouldn’t scan.

First time, an airport official took us and manually processed us, but the second time a lady showed us a trick to make them scan.

__

DONT try to make the bio page “flatter” on the scan surface, you have to “pinch” the passport backwards into a V shape (with the point in the air), so that the bio page is coming away from the glass at around a 20-30 degree angle.

There should be able 1-2cm gap between the edge of your passport and the front edge if the scanner

Might take a couple attempts, but you’ll get there 🫡

So I was solo traveling for the first time and chose Bali as a destination. Here’s my short overview with some thoughts I have after the trip. In 14 days I’ve been to Uluwatu, Nusa Dua and Ubud (2 locations) areas.
So first of all I want to say that I really enjoyed Bali but it wasn’t exactly what I expected.

All the main destinations and attractions were beautiful and mesmerizing but filled with crowds of tourists who came just for the picture. So coming early is a must if you want some sort of privacy. Local drivers and tour guides are more than welcoming and accommodating, I felt safe and comfortable taking private day trips as a female. It was also easy to change plans on the go when hiring driver/guide.

As someone who is not a fan of beach clubs and partying, beaches in Bali are well.. interesting. I’ve been to Dreamland, Padang-Padang, Nyang-Nyang and Nusa Dua beach. I enjoyed Dreamland beach for its waves, beautiful water and white sand, Nyang-Nyang for serenity and nature vibes. Nusa Dua beach was such a let down, plastic in the water and in the sand, and every 15 minutes beach vendors were try to sell you trinkets for 10x price. And resorts were burying trash in the sand… not staying that area again. Took a day trip to Penida, the Crystal bay beach was so much cleaner and nice in my opinion. Should have probably stayed there for a couple days instead.

And really trash is easily the worst part of this trip, it’s on the roadside, in the rivers, on the beach, EVERYWHERE. I was trying to be mindful about use of plastic but this is a much bigger issue that government needs to deal with till it’s too late.

Best part were honestly local people and the surrounding nature. Having such lush greenery and geckos around every day is really exciting. Fascinating temples everywhere around is another big part of it. Even in dense chaotic areas seeing temples always made me stop and gaze for a bit. I think Bali for me was about finding inner peace within, being patient and open for this island has to offer.

If I were to make a change I’d easily get rid of Nusa Dua and take a boat to either Nusa Penida or Gili Islands instead. Also maybe should have cut some time in Ubud to see Northern part of the island.