Travelling as an American in Bali

Many people in the US have the impression that Indonesia is a dangerous place, and that coming here represents a serious risk. You can make your own mind up about that, but in my opinion, you have just as much chance of being shot in your own town, as being killed in a terrorist incident in Bali. Mass media always points to the headline grabbing, sensationalist news, never to the good things, and can create an image that doesn’t fit with reality.

Visas: Americans can apply for a whole range of visas, ranging from Tourist, to Business, to KITAS, to Retirement. American are also entitled to VOA (Visa On Arrival), which means handing over $25 and getting 30 days, when you land. For a regular tourist, VOA works fine.

Arrival: Make sure you have some blank pages in your passport, and that it is valid for at least 6 months. If either of these aren’t as they should be, you can be denied entry, or more likely, charged an on the spot fine. Denpasar airport is small and easy to navigate. During busy times (12pm-4pm) plan on it taking you an hour to get out of the airport. Airport staff all speak English, as do the money changers and taxi staff.

Guide books: It is a good idea to get a guide book to Bali. I’m not saying you need to follow it all the time, but it will give you an overview of the island and how to go about exploring it. The 3 best guides books to Bali, in English, are: Rough Guide, Lonely Planet, The Natural Guide To Bali. These range in price from $18-$25 depending where you buy them. These guide books can be bought in Bali. You can check the top floor of Matahari Department store in Kuta Square, Periplus in Made’s Warung Seminyak, the bookshop a few doors down form Stadium Cafe in Tuban, Bintang Supermarket in Seminyak.

Money: The US dollar is the World’s favorite currency, and a $100 bill will be universally accepted. In moneychangers you will receive a higher rate of exchange for larger bills. As with all foreign money, the notes have to be clean, without tears, too many folds, ink stains, holes. In 1996 there was counterfeiting of US currency. All the moneychangers and banks are aware of this, and most will not accept bills from 1996, or the years before. Also there are now certain batches of US $100 bills that have been counterfeited since then. This means bills with certain batch identifiers will no be accepted either. ATM machines accept cards from the US, including debit cards.

Attire: Every nationality has its preferences regarding dress. Yanks are no different. Ways I can spot an American are, cross trainers and white socks, American college / sports gear & baseball caps, Jansport day packs, convertible pants, Teva sandals, REI-type travel shirts.

I wear some of this myself, so no worries, but if you want to blend in a bit more, these are things to avoid. Don’t go out and buy Bintang t-shirts, or any of the stuff you see in Kuta. That just tells everyone you are on holiday, and you don’t know what things are worth.

Nationality / safety / pretending to be Canadian: In Bali / Indonesia, people are generally friendly and will be interested to meet an American. Most people are not as politically opinionated as they are in the west. They will be more interested to hear about your family, and what car you drive, than how you feel about Iraq. Despite what the State Department website says, Indonesia / Bali, is not overly dangerous for Americans to visit. The number of real terrorist is small and if you are just traveling and interacting, there will be no problems. Bringing photos of your family is a great way to show people who you are. In Indonesia, when you ask a local to tell you about themselves, they will say the name of their village / town, then tell you about their family, marital status / kids. No one will go on an extended speech about their personal achievements. If you take a similar approach, it will make more sense to the listener.

Yank hangouts: Apart from stereotypical Hard Rock Cafe / McDonalds / Pizza Hut, Starbucks, places where you might find other Americans include, the Poppies Lane area guest houses, for the budget tourists / surfers, Ubud for your new-age American female / culturally conscious young man. Cafe Seminyak is another popular place as any popular cafe in Ubud (Bali Buddha etc).

American food: Many places in Bali try to do a version of American food, including pizza, burgers, club sandwiches. Most of the pizza is crap, and is really a giant cracker with tomato paste and cheese chucked on. Places that stand out as having good pizza, are MAX (formerly Good Luck) on Jl. Benesari and Papa’s Cafe (probably the best in Bali) on Jl. Pantai Kuta.

Burgers can be found at Hard Rock Cafe and they are good, despite being expensive. Here in Bali we get an international mix of people. The poor old Balinese, who have never visited these countries, have to try to recreate
dishes. They’ll do German, Italian, American, French, Chinese, you name it. Do not expect your pizza, or whatever, to be a good as back home, because the person who is making it, has never had it, like back home.

American breakfast is listed on many hotel and restaurant menu’s. In order to make some sense of all the varying national preferences, the Balinese have come up with the idea that the American Breakast should be the biggest. Other breakfast options might be a Continental breakfast, Indonesian breakfast, Trekking breakfast, Australian breakast etc. The American breakfast will contain eggs, bacon / sausage / tomato, toast, butter, jam, fruit plate, fruit juice, coffee / tea. You can find bargain versions of this, for example at Warung 96 for 9,000rp!

The only challenger to the American breakfast, for size, would be the breakfast served at Alley Cats, located on the small gang next to Made’s Warung in Kuta. Its 30,000rp and loaded with everything including beans (their mixed grill has enough meat to feed a rugby team).

Tipping: Americans have a tipping culture, where 15% of the bill should be given to the waitstaff. In Bali you don’t have to tip, but a little is appreciated.

American beer: You won’t find American beer in Bali.

American Consulate: The American Consulate is located in Renon, Denpasar, on Jl. Hayam Wuruk. Its a good idea to write down the telephone number in case of emergency.

U.S. Consular Agency
Jl. Hayam Wuruk 188, Denpasar 80235,
Bali, Indonesia
Phone: (62-361) 233-605, Fax: (62-361) 222-426

Joshua Finch, Consular Agent
e-mail: amcobali@indosat.net.id

Hours of Operation:
Monday through Friday, 08:00 a.m. – 04:30 p.m.

Fourth of July / Thanksgiving: These holidays are not part of Balinese / Indonesia culture. Resorts such as the Conrad Benoa and restaurants / nightclubs such as Hard Rock Hotel / Hard Rock Cafe, might have something special.

Superbowl / World Series / NBA: Many bars and restaurants now have large projector screens, with access to ESPN and Star Sports. For a live sporting event, you can ask them in advance to check the programming in their cable guide. Best places to watch the Superbowl / College football final, are Double D in Legian, Stadium Cafe on Jl. Kartika Plaza in Tuban, Arena Cafe in Sanur (check to see if they are open), Sin City in Seminyak, plus many others.

Visiting Bali for Americans can be a very enjoyable experience. You are dealing with a totally different culture, in an environment where there are not many other Americans. Most people speak some English and you have a wonderful selection of creature comforts.