Bali High

The choice of villa accommodation is fairly widespread among Australian and European visitors to Bali. However, due to the availability of various competitively-priced flight-and-hotel packages offered by local travel agents, most Singaporeans frequently find themselves staying in Bali’s many quality hotel resorts.

While Bali’s hotels do not disappoint, with picturesque settings such as scenic beaches or lush rice-terraced hills and comprehensive leisure and sporting activities, it may be worthwhile prior to booking that hotel reservation to surf some of the many websites offering stays in Bali villas (try www.balinicerate.com).

For starters, you may find yourself actually saving costs. This is especially true if you are going in a medium-sized group as we were.

The factors which eventually prompted us to brave booking our accommodations online were the lovely photos on the websites of the charming Balinese resortstyle stand-alone villa at Seminyak beach, just a short drive from touristcentre Kuta and the fact that the Maharaj had 4.5 bedrooms. While the Maharaj set us back US$250 per night, the damage when shared among the eight or nine persons that the Maharaj can comfortably accommodate translates to a pleasantly affordable S$50 per person per night. Look out also for last-minute low season deals — the Maharaj was offered at a steal of US$150 per night just a week before our trip.

Secondly, villas offer a more personal touch.

Many villas advertised for rent on the various websites are holiday homes that are not utilised by their owners throughout most of the year. These owners allow agencies in Bali to manage their properties, advertise them on the internet and let them out for short-term stays.

And the good news is that some of these unseen owners painstakingly and lovingly furnish their villas. While it was comfortable enough to give me the feeling that I was staying in a spa resort, the Maharaj obviously bore evidence of having been lived-in by a family — abstract paintings bearing Chinese characters adorned the villa’s stairs, a delightful and wide selection of CDs, VCDs, books and board games were placed near the living room television and colourful children’s floats dotted the sides of the villa’s free-form swimming pool and jacuzzi.

Staying in the Maharaj really made me feel like a Rani. Roommate Vivien and I were lucky enough to occupy the spacious marble-floored master bedroom, which came with a double bed with a tasteful red canopy functioning as a mosquito net at night. The large marble bathtub which could comfortably sit four to six adults and the outdoor shower surrounded by a number of strategicallylocated tropical plants in our ensuite bathroom drew appreciative oohs and aahs from all in our travel party.

We did not require any meals to be cooked for us in the Maharaj other than the first day’s complimentary breakfast, preferring to sample as much as we could of the food at the many restaurants and warungs, or eating houses, near our villa. However, should you miss good old home-cooked food, you would be pleased to know that most villas in Bali come with a personal cook who will prepare food selected by you throughout your stay. We did, however, enjoy the services of three round-the-clock security personnel, one housekeeper, three maids and one gardener. Our house staff even arranged for masseuses to dispense badly-needed Balinese pampering to ease our sore and tired muscles in the privacy of our rooms (around S$30 for a one and three-quarter hour massage, lulur scrub and milk body mask).

Lower prices

Most Singaporeans will agree that accommodation, shopping and food are crucial elements which make or break a holiday. To my delight, I found myself paying less for silver trinkets and beachwear compared to last December. Along the stretch of little seafood restaurants along the coastline of Jimbaran beach, we feasted on barbecued fish, freshwater prawns, squid and clams for less than S$10 per person, a far cry from the S$20 or so per head which I paid last year. At the shops and restaurants, I heard (for the first time) proprietors telling me that I was being offered the ‘Balinese price’ as opposed to the other (and higher) ‘tourist price’. I can only surmise that the Balinese are probably less optimistic about the recovery of their tourism industry now than compared to a year ago.

A word of caution though, spending money in Bali can sometimes be frustrating and even a turn-off as the Balinese culture is to bargain hard before conceding a final (and fair) price. Persons with no patience for cajoling and negotiation would do well to simply walk away to try and elicit a more reasonable offer.

Conclusion

Having gung ho travel companions who were versatile enough to brave renting a van to manoeuvre Bali’s little roads completed my trip. We drove in search of off-the-beaten-track attractions such as little-known waterfalls and Balinese delicacies (I only discovered on this trip that the local specialities include babi guling, or spit-roasted stuffed pig and smoked duck).

A last word of advice — do not underestimate the devilishly mischievous monkeys if you do go to Pura Uluwatu, a temple set on Bali’s southern cliffs.

Despite the sign at the temple’s entrance warning visitors to hold on to our cameras, watches and spectacles, the little and seemingly harmless critters still managed to snatch items off members of our group, all within the space of an hour, a camera case, one hair accessory and a pair of glasses. And the worst part? The temple handler who retrieved the glasses for us demanded a reward and even uttered a vulgarity when we offered him an amount he considered not to be commensurate with his efforts.

The possibility of similar freak incidents notwithstanding, do take a break in the new year. After reading this, you may just want to take a short chill-out trip to Bali and maybe even scout around for your own Bali villa experience. Hopefully, as I did, you’ll get to see yet another side of Bali and it may leave you on a high.

Koh Sin Yee