Padang Bai

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(Sorry guys, having problems uploading photos for this, so unfortnately no piccies this time - sorry)

As we mentioned in our last blog we have travelled from Singapore to the Indonesia island of Bali, after a short flight which I am thankful to say was very calm and actually went well for a change, we arrived in Denpasar Airport in Bali. Once we had gone through immigration, got our visa’s and picked up our ever increasingly heavy backpacks, we decided that we were going to head for the gorgeous crystal clear blue waters of the Gili islands. The way to get to the Gili islands is via the Balinese port of Padang Bai. We arrived in Padang Bai after a 2 hour journey and started to look around for a decent priced room for a few days while we plan our assault on the gorgeous Gili’s. We managed to get a local rice barn style bungalow (lumbung) for the extortionate price of £5.33 a night! How good is that?!? The main problem that we had experienced in Bali so far is that there is a distinct lack of Cashpoints apart from the tourist trap which is Kuta beach, after asking around we found out that there was some in a near by town, so off we went on a Bemo (local transport) to the near by town of Candidasa. When we eventually reached the “ATM” in Candidasa we were frustrated to find that it only accepted local bank cards and Mastercard and Visa were not accepted which was annoying to say the least as the so called “bible of travelling” that is the Lonely planet informed us that there was plenty of ATM’s which would accept our cards! Oh well never mind, so off we went back to Padang Bai to try and figure out how to withdraw the money which we needed for the Gili Islands as there is no way of withdrawing on any of the islands other than cash advances from a card which all charge huge commissions and for very poor rates! Anyway we were still in the predicament of not being able to find a cash point, so after asking around we found out we would have to go to yet another near by town to get some money so off we went and eventually managed to find a cash point that would accept our business, and then the planning of the next step of our journey could continue!

Padang Bai is a small fishing village that is only busy as it is the port that services the Gili Islands and Lombok, it is a little run down and very quiet but is ok for a night or two whilst sorting out the transfer. The only real downside of the place is the constant harassment by street sellers trying to get you to buy goods from their small stalls which consist of no more than a few bits of wood and a place for the seller to sit. After eventually sorting out our ferry for the next morning to the Gili Islands we went for dinner and then went to get an early night.
The next morning we were up early to catch our ferry, so we got up, had our breakfast of fruit salad and toast and then went to brush our teeth when to our complete bemusement Lucy’s toothbrush was nowhere to be found!! After closer inspection we found a bead necklace that we had been given by a local goods seller that was made of some sort of seeds had been chewed up and the remaining pieces of it had rat teeth mark on them! The only conclusion that we could come too was that the rat had liked the smell of Lucy’s toothbrush and wandered off with it during the night! Unbelievable! After finishing off our packing and Lucy muttering that a rat only has a few teeth so how dare it take her tooth brush, we wandered to the ferry terminal to catch our ferry to the “Jewels of Lombok” more commonly known as the Gili Islands!

More about the Gili Islands in our next blog! Hope all is well the UK!

Take care all

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

P.s - To all those reading this that are considering a trip to the Gili Islands via Padang Bai, make sure you have an ample amount of cash before leaving for Padang Bai and the best places we found to stay and that are reasonably priced are; Padang Bai Billabong and Padang Bai Beach Inn Bungalows, both include breakfast and tax in the price and are clean and have mosquito nets and fans.
Also don’t expect a large amount of nightlife or travellers vibe as around 10 o’clock the place turns pretty much into a ghost town.

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Comments

[Britt]

Billabong Bali??
Hi. We are going to Padang Bai, where er had a lovely time with the kids 8 years ago. I'm trying to find the place we stayed. I think it is now the Billabong. Have tried to call the available number, but it is not working. Do you have a phone number og e mail adress for billabong?? Kind regards Britt

[Wet Footprints]

hi Britt, Unfortunately we didnt get hold pf any contact info from the hotel, sorry for the disappointment and the late response of this message!!