Kuta Town

Bali - Kuta Kuta has a weird mix of tourist stuff and local tradition. There is a Hindu temple on Legion street between the shops where gambolin music and chants can be heard in the evenings. On some holidays the streets will be closed while a ceremony takes place. Offerings are everywhere on the sidewalks. If you accidentally kick one over, no worries. They believe that a spirit was passing through. Dogs and chickens help themselves as well. Some things are downright corny and others are pretty swank. People that love to shop can find all kinds of name brand outlets to load up with more junk. There are expensive resorts that pamper their customers with fancy spa treatments. Sanur, Jimbaran and Seminyak have some resorts that are real plush too. There are many good restaurants and pubs, some along Legion St.  I like the atmosphere at the Sendok Legian with the cute friendly waitresses. The Mini Pub on the other side of the street is kind of a trip. You can meet a lot of characters there and the Surabayah nite butterflys start hanging around there around 8pm. It can be a rough lot but the girls have some interesting tales. It is more of a hangout for the old crew and misc punters. Next door there is a live band that can be ok but they believe that lack of talent can be overcome by volume, so it can get pretty loud in there. Peanuts and Hard Rock Cafe are other hangouts. Kuta has nightlife but doesn't have the edge of places like Bankok, Manila, and Jakarta. It is a more mellow scene. Fast food places are common and you can eat at little warungs (food stalls) on the beach and there are some local fried rice kitchens in the alleys where you can get a good meal for 5000 rupiah. KFC, McDonalds, Starbucks, Pizza Hut, Hagan Daz, Circle K  make westerners feel at home. You can do some serious bouncing around at Buddy Hackets bungee jumping tower. In the midst of all the traffic there are horse rides where you can get pulled around in a cart but even the horses must find this to be ridiculous. There is even a dive shop right in the middle of Kuta on Legion St. It makes no sense whatsoever to book dives in Kuta. All the dive sites are a long ways from Kuta. This shop does look pretty well organized but is is hard to understand why anyone would elect to dive from this location. Keep in mind that you can to most places in Bali using the Perama shuttle also based on Legion St. If you want to dive in Padang Bai you can take the bus and get a place to stay there for 40,000 to 50,000 rupiah right on the water. There is a wide selection of dive shops there. Kuta beach is long and clean. You can see the planes arrive at the far left end where the runway juts out into the sea. Some people give surfing a go. Boards can be rented right on the beach. A few get the hang of it.  The cowboys on the beach are happy to assist, especially the young cuties. Kuta can be ok but some folks can't stand it. It is easy enough to get away form, but almost all travelers arrive by plane at the airport just at the edge of town. If you get in late you will most likely spend a nite there so why not have a nice nite out on the town. Bali - Kuta 2006    www.dutchpickle.com

 

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