Bali Local Travel Agency “PT. HIRO-CHAN” is for Your Trip!
“More useful information for our guests!”
We updated all the information including sightseeing and public security. Check them out to have a safe and enjoyable trip in Bali!!! Also, advices by our Japanese residents of Bali are available!
- Check Here First!Basic Information of Bali
- Country
- Republic of Indonesia Bali State
- Area
- 5633ｋ㎡
- State
- Denpersar (Den = North / pasar = market)
- Population
- About 390,000,000
- Nation
- Balinese (90%), Javanese, Chinese etc.
- Religion
- Hindu (90%), Muslim, Christian, etc.
- TD
- 1 hour behind from Japan.
- Official Language
- Balinese often use their own language. English is available at sightseeing areas.
Currency unit is Rupiah (Rp.). Rp.10000≒84Yen (January, 2012)
If you are confused like, “There are too many numbers!!!!”, take 2 zeros off. Then it will be about same as Japanese price. (Rp. 50,000→ ￥500) There are 7 types of the paper money and 6 types of the coins. Local stores take only Rupiah, but you can usually use Dollar and Yen at souvenir shops and sightseeing spots. However, we recommend having currencies each places set. If you use other currencies, they might charge extra fees, so please be careful!
Old dollar bills are NOT available!! 
You cannot use old dollar bills in Bali, so please use new dollar bills.
【None-Available Paper Money】
１．Printed CB before name of the era
２．Issued before 2001
３．Dirty Ones
４． With any marks of writing, stamp or stapler
You can exchange Yen into Rupiah at Japanese bank, the airport in Denparsar, hotels, banks and exchange counters. The rate is better by following order: the airport and banks in Japan, hotels in Bali, the airport in Bali, banks and exchange counters in Bali. If you exchange money in Japan, do a minimum amount. There are exchange counters which open until late-night in Bali, so we recommend to exchange on the way to the hotel from the airport on your arrival day.
Safety is my first priority, so I don’t use exchange counter in the town. Even if their rates are good, it could be a trap to charge extra commissions, so I usually use Bank Central Kuta. All the staffs are very nice and offer a great rate. There are branches in Kuta and Nusa Dur areas which open until 9:00 pm.
The prices in Bali are about one to ten third. It depends on items, but s much cheaper than in Japan. However, the quality is not that great and if you look for ones with good quality, the price will be more expensive. The prices have been getting higher every year, but still much reasonable than in Japan.
- ○ T-shirts Rp.30,000～
○ 1 Hour Massage Rp.100,000～
○ Mineral Water 500ml Rp.3,000
Visa on arrival will be issued by paying for it at the airport on your arrival. It has been amended since January and it is now the price is an across $25. It will be really crowded to exchange money from yen to dollar, so recommended to do it in Japan. Due to the amendment, it is available to expend the visa once which allows you to stay for the maximum 60 days. You cannot extend it more than twice, so in that case, it is necessary to go to a third country such as Singapore to get new visa on arrival.
■ Check out our service for extending Visa on Arrival
The official language is Indonesian, but English is available in the sightseeing areas. Most restaurants has English menus, there are relatively staffs who can speak Japanese. If you have problems with communication, we recommend using our chartering cars with a guide who can speak Japanese or sightseeing tours.
It is better to have guides possibly Japanese or your national language spoken ones. I’m sure you will have questions “What do Balinese believe in?” or “What god is this stone statue?” Then, they can answer all the questions you have! They can also tell you recommended spots and good orders to visit sightseeing spots , so you can use your time effectively.
No trains are available in Bali, so you can use shuttle busses of the Perama. However, the buses don’t go all the way to the island such as to Candidasa and Lovina, so it is not a general transportation, so we recommend renting a car with a driver or using a taxi. Most taxies have a meter, but there are some drivers to take an advantage of the tourists not to switch on it and charge more than it should be, so don’t forget to check they use the meter before you take a taxi. The starting fare is Rp. 25,000 and if you pick it up on the street, it is Rp. 5,000. We strongly recommend bringing addresses and phone numbers you want to go with you.
■ HIRO-CHAN Car Rental with Driver ￥4,000 (8 hours) ～
The numbers of population and cars have been increasing. Due to the situations, heavy traffic jams happens on some roads. Also, they have ceremonies at some temples everyday, so roads will be closed without notice, so don’t make too many plans for a day!
Areas with Heavy Traffic Jam!
■ From Nusa Dur to Kuta on Jl Ngurah Rai
■ Jl Legian, Jl Kartika, Jl Pantai Kuta, Jl Oberoi
■ Jl Monkey Forest in Ubud, Jl Hanuman, etc.
In Bali, they use the Christian era (the solar calendar) and the 210-day Wuku and the 12-month Caka Lunar calendars. Ceremonies at the temples are according to the Wuku and the Caka calendars and the biggest ceremony in Bali, Galungan which is like an opening Bon ceremony in Japan is celebrated every 210 days all over Bali that gods and spirits of the ancestors are coming down to the ground, and 10 days later Galungan, they have Kuningan which is like a Japanese closing Bon ceremony. Also, a new year’s day of the Caka, Nyepi is called as “Day of Silence”. All the people in Bali including tourists are not allowed to go out. People who go out carelessly get caught by police.
There are other ceremonies such as “Oladan” which is each temple’s anniversary of the founding and ceremonies for iron, studies, water and so on. Oladan is often held on a day of the full and new moon and you will see people with the offerings on their head going to the temples. You should expect there will be heavy traffic jams and closed to traffic.
Here is Balinese Holiday Calendar. You might see ceremonies at temples and people with the offerings on their heads!
| 2012 Calendar | |
|---|---|
| 1/1 | International New Year’s Day |
| 1/23 | Chinese New Year |
| 2/5 | Mouloud (Birth of the Prophet) |
| 3/23 | Nyepi (Balinese Lunar New Year “Day of Silence”) |
| 4/6 | Good Friday(The Friday Before Easter Monday) |
| 5/6 | Vesak Day (Buddha’s Birthday) |
| 5/17 | Ascension Day |
| 6/17 | Ascension of the Prophet |
| 8/17 | Independence Day of Republic Indonesia |
| 8/19 | Eid ul-Fitr (End of Ramadan) |
| 8/20 | Eid ul-Fitr (End of Ramadan) |
| 10/26 | Feast of the Sacrifice / Kurban (Eid al-Adha) |
| 11/15 | Al-Hijra Islamic New Year |
| 12/25 | Christmas Day |
The climate in Bali has the dry season (May - October) and the rainy season (November - April). During the dry season, there will be no rain and it is not humid. One the other hand, it often rains during the rainy season, but it will not rain all day like in Japan. It rains heavy and stops after few minutes or hours. However, the precipitation is high, so it floods on the roads after a sudden shower. In addition, both the temperature and the humidity is high, so it get hot and stuffy for many days, and there will be many mosquitoes.
Tap-water in Bali is hard water, so do not drink it and buy mineral water at super markets or convenience stores. “AQUA” is the most popular, so you can just say Aqua to order mineral water. Some restaurants use unsterilized ice in the mineral water, so if your stomach is sensitive, we recommend ordering juice or a bottle of mineral water.
People in Bali drink boiled tap water, but I have never tried it, but I use tap water when I brush my teeth and cook pastas. I don’t really recommend anyone whose stomach is sensitive to have fresh juice and uncooked sea food at local restaurants.
The voltage is 220v and the frequency is 50Hz. A plug, type C with 2 legs is mostly common. It is necessary to use a transformer, if you want to use electrical items such as a hair drier, a camera or a charger of Japanese or which is different type from the type.
There are many Japanese electrical items with 220v, so please check the descriptions. You can also buy plugs of the type C which is around few hundred yens at Japanese electrical stores.
Bali doesn’t have a tipping customs but a tip is welcomed to show your appreciation when you get a good service. You can decide how much you want to tip, but average amounts of the tips are Rp.5,000 for a porter at hotel, Rp. 10,000 - 20,000 for a massage therapist and Rp. 50,000 for a tour guide and a driver. Some restaurants charge extra 11% as a service charge. It is not necessary to tip a taxi driver, but common not to expect the change of the 100 units. For example, if the price of taking a taxi was Rp. 49,500, they usually give no change.
In my case, I tip massage therapists about Rp. 10,000 when a 2 hours course was great. If there is no a Rp. 10,000 bill, I usually give them small bills I had in my wallet. It is not necessary to tip all the time, so don’t tip if you are not happy about the service. Tipping a waiter or waitress is a secret way to reserve a good table at restaurants. Tip effectively!
You will see Western style toilets with toilet papers which are automatic flashing at many restaurants, spas and shopping centers of the intermediate rank. Indonesian style toilets are common at local restaurants. We recommend using a toilet frequently before you go out or at the restaurants.
Indonesian Style Toilet...
It is similar with Japanese style toilet. You squat down and drain by pouring water from the water tank. They use a right hand is for draining and a right hand is instead of using a toilet paper. There are no toilet papers and you cannot flash them, so bring tissues with you and throw away into a trash can.
Post office in Indonesian is “Kantor Pos”. Each area such as Nusa Dur, Jimbaran and Kuta has at least one or two of them. A post card is around Rp. 3,000 - 5,000 and it costs Rp. 7,000 per card, Rp. 10,000 per letter (less than 50 kg) and $17 per EMS (less than 1kg). The post office is open from 10:00 to 15:00 on weekdays. You can also ask staffs at a front desk of the hotel for postal service.
You can make am International call from a hotel room, a mobile phone and a public phone. If you make the call from a hotel room, press their outside telephone line (usually 9) before you press the numbers you want to call.
They sell a body of the mobile phone, a phone number and a charge for a telephone call separately. A body of the phone starts from ￥2,000. iPhone and Blackberry are popular. Cheaper phones only have services to make a call and send short mails (SMS) and expensive ones has a high-speed Internet plan, a camera and a music download plan. A phone number costs around ￥100 with a small a small amount of the credit. A charge for a call is a prepaid style and you buy a prepaid cad called “Pulsa” to add it into a body of the phone. They have 5 prices for Pulsa: Rp.5,000, Rp.10,000, Rp.20,000, Rp.50,000 and Rp.100,000.
You can buy a mobile phone in Denpasar which has many mobile phone shops and Discovery Mall and Carrefour. There are some companies which offer phone numbers and Pulsa and each of them has different qualities of the cellular radio wave, and the charge for a call.
■ HIRO-CHAN Free Mobile Phone Rental
Illness and injures are something all the travelers are worried about during their trip. It is very helpful if hospitals have staffs who can understand your first language. Bali has some hospitals with communication assistance. Please ask hospitals and companies of the insurance and credit card about the management of the insurance and credit cards.
■Japanese Staffs Available
・ BIMC Hospital TEL：0361-761263
Location: Kuta (50m away from Simpang Siue to Sanur)
・ Takenoko Medical Center TEL：0361-7808094 / 0361-7808095
Location： Kuta (along the Sunset Street)
・ Kyoai Health Care TEL：0361-766591 / 0361-766593
Location： Kuta (200m from Simpang Siue to Sanur)
■Japanese Language Available
・ International SOS TEL：0361-710505 / 0361-720100
Location： Kuta (500m from Simpang Siue to Sanur)