MOVING ON

BY BUS

Bali is not just a destination but an important and convenient jumping-off point for the less spoilt islands to the east as well as Java to the west. It's easy to shop for the best deal because most bus companies are on just two streets: Jl. Hasanudin (near Jl. Sumatra) and Jl. Diponegoro.
     Most transport outfits are listed in Bali's telephone directory. A number also have offices at Ubung Station selling tickets to Java and points west. The quality of the service is similar, so just pick an agent with a convenient departure time. There are dozens of ticketing agents in Kuta, Legian, Ubud, Candidasa, Lovina, and Sanur who can sell you a ticket.
     There are plenty of buses going to Surabaya and Malang. Take note that Java is one hour behind Bali. For Surabaya, bis malam leave Ubung at 1900, 2000, and 2100 and arrive early in the morning. Start with Jawa Indah, Jl. Diponeogoro 14 (tel. 0361-227329), which charges Rp21,000 including a meal halfway through the 11-hour trip. Their full a/c bus with toilet leaves at 0600 and 1800. There are at least 10 buses per day, depending on the season. If you leave in the cool of the evening (last bus at 2100), you miss the scenery.
     If you take a Simpatik bus to Surabaya, it costs Rp15,000 (toilet, video, breakfast, water, and snacks) and arrives at 0530 Java-time at Bratang Station which is where all the night buses arrive. For Yogya/Solo, long-distance a/c buses cost Rp38,500. The Damri bus leaves around 1730 and takes 14 hours; other buses leave Ubung at 1430 or 2000 and arrive at around 1700. Two meals (nasi campur and drinks) are usually included in the fare.
     For Jakarta, take the punishing a/c express bus from Ubung at 0600 or 0730 for Rp45,000 and taking at least 35 hours. It arrives (two out of three times) at Jakarta's Pulau Gadung Station by 0930 the next day (Rp58,000). Note that you can't travel direct from Singaraja to Jakarta. You have to spend a day in Surabaya waiting for a connection.
     If you need to catch a nonchangeable, nonrefundable flight out of Singapore, book your bus seat ahead of time. If you try to do it in stages, the bus to Surabaya could be four hours late, and then you may sit at the ferry slip at Gilimanuk in western Bali for five hours before the crossing. In the evening the beast could break down several times or the main road could be closed. Allow three days to get to Jakarta.
     Another option is to get to the Gilimanuk ferry terminal, then take the ferry across to Ketapang on the Java side. Here buses will be waiting to take you to Banyuwangi's Terminal Blambangan where you can catch buses straight to Surabaya or else travel via the southern route to Malang (six hours). Or you can take a bus from Bali straight to Malang for around Rp25,000 (10 hours), leaving at 1830 or 2000. Long-distance buses now travel all the way to Sumbawa Besar on Sumbawa and Medan in northern Sumatra. Either destination takes about a week!

Bus Traveling Tips
In the busy season, it's best to buy your ticket the day before and choose the best seat—seats can get booked days in advance. In the slow season, just show up at the time of departure and you'll probably get on. Buying your ticket from a travel agent costs about five percent more than purchasing it directly from the bus company. The exception is buying through the bus company's official ticketing agent, where the price is the same.
     Look for a bus with comfortable reclining airline seats, pillows, and an inside toilet. The prime (and most hair-raising!) place to sit is beside or close to the driver. The worst is in the rear. However, the seats in the rear recline, because there's no one behind you.

BY AIR

Numerous direct flights leave the domestic terminal of Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport (tel. 0361-751011) daily for Surabaya, Yogya, and Jakarta on Java, as well as to such Outer Island cities as Mataram on Lombok and Ujung Pandang in South Sulawesi.
     You'll find ticket agents all over Kuta, Legian, and Sanur. These discounters also sell tickets to Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Darwin, Sydney, and London. Confirm your reservation at a Garuda ticket office (below) at least three days before departure. Or call the reservation/reconfirmation office at (0361) 35169/27825 (hunting system) or 751178. Office hours: Mon.-Fri. 0730-2100, Saturday, Sunday, and holidays 0900-1700.
     If you want to order an air ticket, do so from a ticket agent or hotel courtesy desk anywhere, but allow about 48 hours for your money to be sent to Denpasar and the ticket to return via shuttle bus or courier service. Reconfirming reservations usually costs Rp6000 or so if done through a local travel agency, or you can phone the air offices in Denpasar yourself for less (they speak English). If you pay for a ticket with a credit card, add three percent bank's fee.
     Don't forget that holders of an International Student Card (ISC) receive as much as a 25% discount. Garuda, Merpati, Sempati, and Bouraq all charge about the same for the Denpasar-Jakarta flight. It's cheaper and faster to fly from Bali to Ujung Pandang than it is to fly from Surabaya to Ujung Pandang. Also Bali is the best place from which to fly into Nusatenggara and the string of islands to the southeast.
     If you're heading into Nusatenggara, your flight almost always stops in Mataram on Lombok first. On the flight east, there are great views over Gunung Rinjani and Gunung Tambora if you sit on the left-hand side of the plane. On the flight to Maumere (Flores), you stop also in Bima (East Sumbawa) where they have to chase the goats off the runway in order for the plane to take off.
     Sample domestic airfares: Ambon Rp328,000, Balikpapan Rp306,000, Biak (Irian Jaya) Rp525,000, Ende (Flores) Rp223,800, Jakarta Rp222,900, Kupang (Timor) Rp227,100, Malang Rp94,000, Manado (North Sulawesi) Rp374,000, Maumere (Rp207,300), Medan Rp457,000, Palembang Rp351,400, Pontianak (Rp414,100), Semerang Rp160,000, Surabaya (East Java) Rp94,000, Solo Rp122,500, Ujung Pandang Rp157,800, Waingapu (Sumba) Rp184,200), Yogyakarta (Rp122,600).
     The Garuda flight to Los Angeles from Bali or Jakarta takes about 13 hours to Honolulu, then another five hours to Los Angeles. This plane is often about an hour late, both ways. On the way to the states, you may no longer deplane at Biak and visit the Baliem Valley because the big new combis don't need to refuel and can make it now all the way to Hawaii. Now a Garuda "Visit Indonesia Decade Pass" or "Indonesia Airpass" in which you are allowed to visit any three cities within Indonesia for an extra US$300, is the only economical way to reach Irian Jaya. Each additional stop is US$100.
     Flight information at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Tuban is tel. 751174. Note that during December and January, flights out of Bali can be booked solid with many people on standby. Due to Garuda's habit of overbooking flights, be at the airport counter at least two hours early on international departures; otherwise, your seats could be given to people on the waiting list.
     From Denpasar's Stasiun Tegal, take a bemo to the airport, Rp1000. From Kuta to the airport, minibus and bemo drivers first ask Rp25,000 for a charter. Just laugh at them—Rp3000-5000 is the going rate. Make sure they drop you at the right terminal, domestic or international, depending on your destination. Another way is to walk to Kuta's Pertamina station, near the Kentucky Fried Chicken, turn right and flag down a bemo, Rp500.
     Domestic airport tax is Rp7500; international departure tax is Rp21,000. Porters don't wait to ask whether you would like your baggage carried—they just grab it and then demand Rp500 apiece. Baggage storage is available for Rp3300 per day. The new international terminal has color TVs, gift shops, news agencies, a spacious departure hall, lounges, comfortable seating, etc. Brace yourself for high prices: Rp31,500 for Fujichrome (three times the Kuta price) and Rp2500 for water (five times the correct price). Better to just change excess rupiah back into home-country currency at the bank windows.

Garuda Visit Indonesia Decade Pass
You may have trouble with a Garuda VIDP flight if your ticket is canceled and you have to get rerouting. Most Merpati offices won't touch it, even if a rerouting would be the same price. This is because the ticket was issued abroad. In fact, any international ticket they won't reroute. So, if they make you buy a new ticket, go to the biggest Garuda/Merpati office you can find, get the reroute done, and ask for an "XO"—a single rebate on the ticket you had to buy.

"Garuda Indonesia City Check-In"
Check-in and seat assignment facilities for Garuda's international and domestic flights are available at all the off-airport offices mentioned in the chart "Garuda Offices." Passengers may check in for their flight and obtain boarding passes at any of the locations between 24 and four hours prior to scheduled flight departure time. Baggage must still be checked in at the airport, but this may be done at a special counter reserved for GICC passengers. Any international departure taxes must also be paid at the airport. For GICC passengers, the airport reporting time for international flights is 90 minutes prior to scheduled departure time and 45 minutes for domestic flights. City check-in locations are open seven days a week 0800-1700 on weekdays and 0900-1300 on weekends and holidays.

Airline Offices
The majority of foreign airlines have their offices in the Grand Bali Beach Hotel in Sanur. Their hours are generally Mon.-Fri. 0830-1630 (with an hour off for lunch) as well as Saturday mornings until around noon. (See also the chart "Garuda Offices.") Ansett, tel. (0361) 289637
Cathay Pacific, tel. (0361) 288576
China Airlines, tel. (0361) 287840 or 288511, fax 287841
Continental, tel. (0361) 287774 or 288511, fax 287775
KLM, tel. (0361) 287576 or 287577, fax 287460 or 288511
Korean Air, tel. (0361) 289402 or 288511
Lufthansa, tel. (0361) 287069 or 288511
Malaysia Airlines, tel. (0361) 288716 or 288511
Qantas, tel. (0361) 288332 or 288511
Singapore Airlines, tel. (0361) 287960
Thai, tel. (0361) 288141 or 288511
     Other foreign airlines may be found in these separate locations:
Bouraq, Jl. Jend. Sudirman 19 A (tel. 0361-223564 or 234947), in front of Udayana University offers flights at very competitive prices to Nusatenggara, Sulawesi, and Kalimantan.
Merpati Jl. Melati 57 (tel. 0361-228842), near the Garuda office or on Jl. Ngurah Rai Tuban (tel. 0361-751375).
Sempati Air (tel. 0361-288824 or 281117) an efficient up-and-coming domestic airlines is open 24 hours a day and has its main office on Jl. Airport Tuban.
UTA is at Jl. Bypass I Gusti 87 X, Ngurah Rai (tel. 0361-289225, 289226, or 289227).

BY SEA

If traveling alone to Bali's offshore islands, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida, take one of the long, motorized outrigger ferries that depart either from Kusamba, Padangbai, or Sanur. Ask for stasiun bot. Boats leave only at 0800 or 0900 (Rp15,000).
     Benoa Harbor in southern Bali is a favorite port for visiting yachties. Inquire around for a lift on a private yacht in exchange for work. There may be a lot of competition from other travelers. Also check the bulletin board at Poppies in Kuta for advertisements for crew. Another place to check for possible rides on Makassarese schooners is Bali's main deep-water harbor at Celukanbawang in Buleleng Regency.
     Pelni, Indonesia's National Shipping Company, operates 20 passenger-cargo ships, each of which does a different inter-island loop around the archipelago every two weeks. For the latest timetables and routes, which change about once every 90 days, check with the Pelni office (tel. 0361-228962) at Benoa just west of Sanur. The ships offer four classes from economy where you sleep in a huge common room to first class with inside bathroom, a/c, TV, two-to-a-cabin. It's important to book ahead.

Lombok by Boat
Take a minibus from Batubulan to Padangbai (Rp2000) on the east coast of Bali. From Padangbai, the three-and-a-half-hour ferry departs for Lembar on Lombok every two hours, except at midnight. The standard fare is Rp4000. Be warned: every day there are changes in the schedule and if you want to catch the 0800 ferry and have to take the 1000 ferry instead, you probably won't make it to the Gili Islands in one day.
     Another way to get to Lombok is by the Mabua Express a high-speed jetfoil from Benoa Harbor. The two-deck hydrofoil leaves Benoa at 0800 and 1430, arriving in Lembar Harbor (Lombok) at 1030 and 1700 respectively. Punctuality depends upon weather and sea conditions. Here you'll find a bar, TV/video screens, and reclining lounge seats. Fares are Rp50,000 Diamond Class for the upper deck, Rp32,500 Emerald Class, and Rp25,000 Economy Class. Children's rate is 50% of adult rate. Capacity is 248 passengers. For more info and to order free pick-up service, call (0361) 772521 or 261212 24 hours.
     Yet another way is to join Perama Travel's very reasonably priced "Land-Sea Adventure" which sells seven-day tours of Lombok, the Gilis, Sumbawa, Rinca, and Flores. Or just fly independently from Bali to Lombok for Rp47,000 in 25 minutes. Heading east from Bali, island hop all the way to Timor. Or charter a boat roundtrip to Komodo for Rp560,000 with your own cook and guide as a Swiss tourist who wrote me did.