14,300IR to the £1.00
There are two main streets of accommodation in Kuta, the first being Poppies 1 and the second being Poppies 2. We started at Poppies 2 and compared a few room prices before settling with a place called ‘Palm Gardens Taman Nyiur’. We paid 125,000IR for a large, basic fan room with a simple breakfast included. The room came with a balcony and so we each enjoyed a beer there before going to bed.
The locals constantly hassle you to look at their shop and ask you if you want a taxi or if you want to buy any drugs from them. They will also say to you, 'Where are you going?' which can get irritating as this is said relentlessly, but i did later read that this question is asked a lot by the people of Bali because that's how the locals determine which village people come from and so they like to know where you, as a tourist, come from.
Sunset from Kuta Beach
We treated ourselves to a local tenderloin steak at Poppies Restaurant where we paid 79,000IR. Although the steak was amazing and the surrounding garden area was atmospheric and pretty, my only criticism was the chips, they weren’t even hand cut. Considering I ordered a meal from a cheap restaurant elsewhere and even that came with hand cut chips I expected this ‘posh’ restaurant to do the same, pre cut, frozen chips are just lazy! Although i did order a pretty cool cocktail, see below.
On one evening we went to the Sky Garden for a ‘free drinks hour’ that Andy had told us about. The club itself was huge and has about 5 different levels with bars and dance floors. We went to the top of the club to the Sky Garden and sure enough were greeted to as many free ‘local vodka’ based drinks as we wanted, from 10pm to 11pm. There was even a free buffet offering nibbles.
We arrived here at 12am in the pouring rain and reluctantly went in search of accommodation. Luckily I had bought an umbrella with me so we didn’t get too wet looking around.
There are two main streets of accommodation in Kuta, the first being Poppies 1 and the second being Poppies 2. We started at Poppies 2 and compared a few room prices before settling with a place called ‘Palm Gardens Taman Nyiur’. We paid 125,000IR for a large, basic fan room with a simple breakfast included. The room came with a balcony and so we each enjoyed a beer there before going to bed.
Our room & bathroom
The next day we briefly met up with one of Ian’s friends called Andy, he was staying at a place opposite us called Tanjung Inn, which even had a nice swimming pool, for 150,000IR per night. Andy was leaving that day and heading to Uluwatu for some surf, so we decided to meet up again from there.
Update* We reluctantly ended up returning to Kuta during the last couple of days of our trip as we wanted to be close to the airport for our flight home. We stayed at Tanjung Inn for 150,000IR per night. Below are pictures of the room and swimming pool.
We spent a day looking around Kuta, which I can only describe as being an 'Aussie' Club 18-30 package holiday destination. The only beach there looks awful and is covered with rubbish, we left after 10 minutes.
Update* We reluctantly ended up returning to Kuta during the last couple of days of our trip as we wanted to be close to the airport for our flight home. We stayed at Tanjung Inn for 150,000IR per night. Below are pictures of the room and swimming pool.
The locals constantly hassle you to look at their shop and ask you if you want a taxi or if you want to buy any drugs from them. They will also say to you, 'Where are you going?' which can get irritating as this is said relentlessly, but i did later read that this question is asked a lot by the people of Bali because that's how the locals determine which village people come from and so they like to know where you, as a tourist, come from.
We treated ourselves to a local tenderloin steak at Poppies Restaurant where we paid 79,000IR. Although the steak was amazing and the surrounding garden area was atmospheric and pretty, my only criticism was the chips, they weren’t even hand cut. Considering I ordered a meal from a cheap restaurant elsewhere and even that came with hand cut chips I expected this ‘posh’ restaurant to do the same, pre cut, frozen chips are just lazy! Although i did order a pretty cool cocktail, see below.
We sat outside of the rooftop bar and enjoyed our drinks whilst watching the rest of Kuta party below us.
