Western-style nightlife is overwhelmingly concentrated in the resorts
of southern Bali where you'll find throbbing discos and bars packed wall-to-wall
with gyrating bodies. The variety of nightlife possibilities is enormous
and encompasses all musical tastes and age groups. Nightlife doesn't really
begin until very late. The revelers of Kuta, Legian, and Seminyak sleep
late, spend a leisurely day on the beach, return to their hotel rooms,
go back for the sunset at 1900, wash up, then go out to eat at 2000 or
2100. Visitors don't even begin partying until at least 2300 or midnight.
If this is what you want to get out of Bali, then you must get into this
daily rhythm.
For evening entertainment, the Balinese themselves
prefer to saunter up and down the street chatting with friends and neighbors
for evening entertainment. TV, radio programs, and movies are enormously
popular. The Balinese never attend the dance shows that are presented for
tourists. Most traditional music and dance is associated with religious
ceremonies. These are not likely to begin until well after dark, and may
go on until dawn. Troupes of traveling players also present popular entertainment
such as drama gong. For information on Balinese dance and music
performances, refer to the Introduction. For info on the nightclubs and
discos of Kuta, Legian, Seminyak, Tuban, Nusa Dua, Sanur, Denpasar, and
Ubud, refer to the "Nightlife" sections in those chapters. Also
check out the latest issue of the bimonthly Bali Echo for ads and
articles.
Karaoke Bars
Some of these bars can be quite elegant and sophisticated, others can be
divey and working class, or slightly sleazy massage parlors along the Bypass.
Some have Ladies' Nights; others boast soundproof rooms, computerized automatic
selection, competitions, Asian delicacies, or hire escorts who urge clients
to sing. Asians are their most enthusiastic patrons and on most musical
menus you'll find popular Japanese, Taiwanese, Chinese, Korean, and Indonesian
top-40 hits. Most close at 0200.
Movies
Most towns have small movie houses (bioskop), but most young people
seize movie nights as an opportunity to stand outside the theater to talk
rather than to see the movie itself. Movies are most apt to be of the swashbuckling
kung-fu epic variety from Hong Kong. For current Western movies, a great
number of restaurant/bars in Kuta, Legian, Seminyak, Ubud, Candidasa, and
Lovina show films to tourists starting at around 1900 most evenings.