Bali Info

For your trip to Bali, Bali Breizh Divers informs you about the customs and formalities that are interesting to know before you leave.

Living in Bali

Seasons : Bali is an island rich in vegetation. Since it is always hot, the temperature fluctuates between 24° C and 30 ° C throughout the year. We are in tropical climates; thus, Bali has 2 seasons, the dry season from April to October with a slight drop in temperature at night, which is the best season for traveling to Bali, and the wet season from November to March, meaning that you will encounter some rain, but the temperature stays warm.

Currency :Bali is an island in Indonesia; the local currency is the Rupiah (rupee). It is a currency that is not used in other countries. Most currencies including euro, dollar, pound sterling, yen, Australian dollar can be exchanged in money changer. Each money changer applies exchange rate that is slightly different from its real rate.

The exchange rate varies daily; however, the currencies are fairly stable:

1 EURO = 12 000 RP
1 DOLLAR = 9 000 RP
1 LIVRE STERLING = 16 000 RP
1 YEN = 107 RP
1 DOLLAR AUSTRALIEN = 8 000 RP

Traffic : Traffic is on the left with a very few traffic signals, and there is only a few priority. Forget your driving habits; you will encounter a lot of scooters because the local residents are poor, so they only have a scooter for the whole family of 2 adults and 2-3 children. They carry all by that means of transportation, be it the fruit and vegetable sellers, clothes sellers, food vendors, carpenters, toy retailers, or ice seller with his music.

In Bali everything is possible. You can rent a scooter, a car or a car with driver, or simply take a taxi for your trip.

Here are the rates charged more or less :
- Scooter : 45 000 RP / day
- Car : 200 000 RP/ day
- A car with driver : 400 000 RP/ day

The taxi is cheap. Use it for your little trips.

Bemos are local transportation in each city with the rate of 3,000 to 5,000 RP. However, they do not have the fare-meter so they can make you pay a high price.

Nasi Campur bali breizh divers bali ceremony bali breizh divers

Local life :

The food is based on the rice which sometimes is added with chillis, vegetables, and some meat. You can taste nasi goreng (fried rice) and mie goreng (fried noodle),nasi campur (mixed food), bakso (meatballs), and various soups. They are accompanied by krupuk (local chips) and sambal (chilli sauce). The residents drink lots of hot or cold tea, Balinese coffee, and Bali cappuccino which is popular, and the local Bintang beer.

Local people are very cheerful and very friendly, very polite and pleasant to be questions. The general questions asked are where do you come from, what's your name, or where do you want to go. They are very sensitive to people in trouble for their help (breakdown car or scooter, getting lost), but they are also very curious.

Rizière Bali Breizh Divers

One of their favorite pastime is playing kite mainly between June and July. They call it the month of the winds. The sky is filled with kites.

Part of everyday life is that you find in your room cicak (house lizard) and their cousins the geckos (small lizards crawling on the walls and feeding on insects). You'll recognize them from the sound they produce. The sound of cicak resembles the clicking of the tongue (ck, ck, ck) and the sound of geckos is slightly louder.

You will also see many animals walk around (dogs, cats, chickens, cows ,...).

Specialties : Indonesians are very gifted with their hands. They shape, sculpt, weave.

You'll find sculptures of stone and wood, furniture made of wood or bamboo, and fabric from banana leaves. You also can find traditional skirts and sarongs (traditional dress).

Religions : Indonesia is a Muslim country. However, Bali has retained its culture and Hindu religion, on the model of India. They are deeply religious and devote much time to their religion and their ceremony. It is the priority of every Balinese family. Avoid touching children's heads with your hands and your right hand is more polite than your left hand.

The names are given according to their arrival in the family, with 2 or 3 choices each time of birth. Therefore, many Balinese have the same name.

Being the richest island of Indonesia with tourism, many Indonesians have fled their island to work in Bali. Therefore, Bali is an island which combines Hindu, Muslim and Christians.

Packed your suitcases for your travel to Bali

To facilitate your trip, we suggest you bring with you:

Your passport with a validity exceeding 6 months,
$ 25 or € 20 per person for entry tourist visa when entering this territory,
Your international license if you want to rent a car or a scooter,
Your repatriation assistance number,
High protection sunscreen and "biafine or after sun balm, sunglasses and hat,
Anti-mosquito lotion (you can also find on site in all stores),
Comfortable shoes for walking if you want to go for a walk,
Masks, fins and snorkels for diving,
Light clothing and backpacks,
Some long sleeves and trousers for evenings and for excursions to mountains,
Prepare 150,000RP for an exit visa.

SOME WORDS OF INDONESIAN

- Good morning : Selamat Pagi
- Good evening : Selamat Sore
- Good night : Selamat Malam
- How are you? : Apa kabar?
- Fine : Kabar baik
- Where do you come from ? : Dari mana?
- Excuse me : Permisi
- Please : Tolong
- Thank you : Terima kasih
- Good bye : Selamat tinggal
- Have a nice trip : Selamat jalan
- see you later : Sampai jumpa
- It's hot : Cuaca panas
- It's delicious : Itu enak
- Eat : Makan
- Drink : Minum
- How many? : Berapa?
- How much? : Berapa harganya ?
- It's expensive : Itu mahal
- I'd like to : Saya mau
- No, I don't want it : Saya tidak mau
- It's spicy : Pedas
- It's cold : dingin