Annoying things in Bali, Indonesia

Here are some of the things I find very annoying in Bali. Some are unique to Bali while many of them are common to Indonesia.

1. You need to bargain for everything - trust me when I say that anything and everything can be bargained for ( hotel rooms included). If a person asks you for 100,000 IDR ( around 10 USD) for a product, remember that you can buy it for even 15,000 to 20,000 IDR ( around 2 USD).

2. Taxis never use their meters. They ask for absurd prices. Try to find bluebird cabs and you may be lucky to find a nice cabbie!

3. The traffic is horrendous. And all the time. If you enter Legian street or Kuta it would probably take you an hour to get out! There are just too many cars and bikes on the road. To add to these woes, you have all these Australian and American tourists who rent bikes and create mayhem on the roads!
( I am currently in the middle of a traffic jam too! )

4. There really ain't that great a beach! Or maybe I feel that way Coz I'm so used to the white sand blue water beaches of the Philippines.

5. The craziness of Legian street. Crazy parties are fun but then you need to feel safe. That feeling doesn't come at the crazy party places in Legian. Drugs are sold freely and people don't stop bothering you either to sell something to you or offer their various services. We chose to stay away from this area except when we wanted to shop.

6. You have this continuous feeling that you've been cheated or you may be cheated. Most of the locals and vendors are out to milk tourists for all they are worth. Even after you've finished bargaining you are still left with that feeling that you've paid too much!

7. The rental car guys can really becoming super annoying. You pay them to take you to where you want to go, but in reality they are taking money from you to take you to where they want you to go! You give them a list of places you want to see, they give you a fresh one and sell the idea to you saying its the best thing to do. You realize later that they want to take you to Batik stores, Silver/Gold stores, Spice gardens, Wood carving places etc ( All of whom are giving the driver money for bringing you there). Even the restaurant they took us was crappy and super expensive. By afternoon, you've realized that the drivers just taking you where he wants and you're wasting most of the day doing useless stuff!

Note: Put your foot down in the beginning. Say no to batik, spices and everything they say. Insist on eating where you want. Trust me, you will land up saving a lot of money and time. You can always buy batik or spices from the hundreds of stores in the evenings when you have more time.

8. They don't really allow you into tue actual temples. It's like they've set up tourist areas at all temples! I'm a Hindu and I wasn't allowed in too.

Well this doesn't mean that Bali's a bad place to be in! It's just that the place is so dependent on tourists that they try to suck the last penny out of you. So be on guard all the time.