Kuta , kuta, kuta. They say it’s popular for it’s night life and epic surfing, but what they don’t tell you is the shore is full of trash, the locals are pushy, and there are so many tourist traps that will try to rip you off. Sure it’s beautiful but be smart and do your research before hand this will help you in the long run.
If you come to Bali be sure to only use BNI or BMC for ATM, and if your exchanging money be sure to look up the official exchange rate because you will find places that say anywhere from 13,050 to 13,900 rupiah and they are all trying to rip you off. The official exchange rate as of January 2018 for the American dollar is 13,150 anything else you are being played. As far as walking around anywhere goes you can’t walk 5 feet without being asked “ taxi, transport please” especially if you are white. We have noticed it a lot, locals won’t say anything to people of color but once they see you are white they assume you are rich and are on your a**.
There are about four means of transportation in Bali. You can use Grab which we prefer but they can’t take you everywhere because the local “taxi” is like a mafia and has been known to hunt these drivers down for “ stealing” their money/customers. Uber is available here in Bali but we haven’t used it. If you decide to use Blue Bird Taksi make sure it is the official blue bird. They should have the word “Blue Bird Taksi” in the front and back window if they don’t it’s not an official taxi. Also be sure to always ask for meter running. Some drivers will take you out of the way to destination making your ride more expensive than it has to be. If you are ballsy enough to rent a scooter make sure you where a helmet. Local police will pull over tourists without one and basically ask for a bribe in return to be let go. Trust me it is only the tourists, hardly any locals where helmets not even the small children.
When shopping the streets of Kuta beware all name brand items such as Nike, Adidas, and Hurley are all counterfeit. If this doesn’t bother you have at it and buy as much as you want. I noticed booths will have Kylie Lip kits which can only be found on Kylie’s website, and a lot of head phones like Beats by Dre which are all fake. Be prepared to constantly be asked to look in shops, get hair braided, massage, and transport. If you are trying to enjoy a relaxing getaway I suggest Ubud, Seminyak, or Denpasar.
The food here is delicious but take your time to look around at menu prices. They range from 10,000 to 70,000 rupiah all over and you could save yourself some
money by walking another couple of feet. Local beer like Bintang should cost about 25,000 rupiah anything more is a rip off especially when it taste like PBR and won’t get u drunk. We have been drinking Heineken which is slightly higher alcohol content and taste better for the same price as a Bintang.
Airbnb is the way to go, download the app and there are plenty of places to stay. This makes your experience more authentic and is half the price as a hotel. Be sure to avoid the Buddha Guest house we had a horrible incident there and had to report it to Airbnb. We have spent the week here at the Kuta-Eco Stay and it’s been lovely with very friendly staff.
The thing that bothered me the most about Kuta was the beach. I have never in my life seen so much garbage in and around the ocean. People were letting their kids play in the sand and build castles out of plastic bottles, while surfers enjoyed the waves full of plastic bags. My boyfriend and I spent 2 days gathering a good 100 pounds of garbage along the beach and it barely put a dent in it. I was happy to see a tractor and a group of people each morning scrapping up mounds of garbage but even this doesn’t do much because there is sooo much garbage! Most garbage floats in from East Java and is from locals and hotels that just don’t care. In my time here I’ve seen one too many local children and adults throwing trash on the ground because there isn’t a near by garbage. This is so sad for the marine life and even the people who are just trying to enjoy the beach. If you come to Kuta I encourage you to go to the local mini mart, buy garbage bags for 27,000 rupiah ($2.02 American) and help save our oceans. Sure you’re on vacation but the ocean is our planets lungs. Ask yourself “ do you like breathing?”
I’m not saying Kuta is the worst place in the world but it definitely is not what I thought it would be. We met a few people from Germany, France, and Australia here and when I asked them what they thought of Kuta they all replied “ I hate it”. The one girl we met from Germany relocated to Seminyak the next day because she was only here for three and wanted to actually enjoy her time in Bali. The guy from France was here on a layover and said he only left his hotel to eat. The Australian was heading to Gili Islands ASAP and as for myself and my boyfriend we watched all three Oceans movies with George Clooney, Bad Moms Christmas, Downsizing, caught up on sleep and cleaned the beach. Now that I know all of this my next time here I will stick more north and avoid the tourist trap of Kuta. I hope this was somewhat helpful if traveling to Bali and I hope some of you will help save our oceans!!!
Thank you for reading ~ Camberlynn
