Area: 1,919,440 sq km
Population: 242,905,556 people
Capital: Jakarta
Official language: Bahasa Indonesia
Government: Republic
Religion: Muslim*(87%) Christian (9%) Hindu (2%) Buddhist (2%) other (1%)
Currency: Indonesian Rupiah
Time in Jakarta: Moscow time + 3 hours
The largest archipelago in the world is fraught with unlimited opportunities for the traveler. Original color, mystical rituals, ancient traditions coexist with modern technologies, fashionable interiors and bohemian hangouts. In Indonesia, everything is unusual: there are more uninhabited islands than inhabited ones. Religions on the islands have mixed so much that there are even temples half Hindu, half Muslim. Cannibals still live on Irian Jaya, and you can still hunt whales off the coast of Flores. Each of the seventeen thousand islands is unusual and interesting in its own way. The largest islands: Borneo (Kalimantan), New Guinea (Irian Jaya), Sumatra, Sulawesi, Java. Some of these islands are larger than the large states of Europe in area: for example, Sumatra is larger than Sweden, and Java is 4 times larger than Belgium and equal to Greece. The unparalleled generosity of the nature of the Indonesian archipelago is amazing. Almost half of the known mammal species and a third of the birds live on these islands. The peculiarity of natural conditions is determined by the fact that the country is located on the equator between two continents – Eurasia and Australia, as well as the influence of two oceans – Indian and Pacific. The climate here is even, mild and humid. The average annual air temperature is +30, water +27.
You can relax at any time of the year, as there are simply no seasons at the equator.
Hotel information
How to ask the hotel to wake you up
In any hotel you can be woken up at the appointed time by a phone call to your room. To request a wake-up call, go to the reception desk at your hotel, write down on a piece of paper the room number and the time you would like to be woken up. Tell the employee: “Wake up call please” (Wake up call, please).
Check-in at the hotel
When you check into the hotel, you will be asked for a deposit for additional services (mini bar, Spa, drinks and food in restaurants, etc.). This is a mandatory rule in almost all hotels in Bali. Upon check-out from the hotel, the deposit will be returned to you minus the cost of the services that you used. If during the rest you did not use anything, the deposit will be returned to you in full. The amount of the deposit is approximately 100-300 US dollars, depending on the class of the hotel.
Check out from the hotel
Check out of the room should be before 12:00, otherwise you will have to pay extra for half a day. After you have vacated your room, you can continue to use the pools, beaches and restaurants of the hotel. Extra items can be left under the supervision of the concierge. To pay for additional hotel services, you need to go to the guest accommodation desk, name your room number and ask for a total bill for payment: “Total bill, please”. To avoid misunderstandings on the day of departure, it is recommended to pay the total debt to the hotel every three to four days during your holiday in Bali.
Airport taxes, porters
All passengers departing from Denpasar Airport pay an airport tax of Rs 150,000 per passenger when boarding international flights and Rs 30,000 per passenger when boarding domestic flights. Payment is accepted only in cash in rupees. The official rate for porters at the airport is 5,000 rupees per piece of luggage. Usually the porters are left in excess of the official rate of 10,000 rupees for tea.
Tips
Tipping in Bali is not required. In hotels, tips are already included in the bill. In other places, the tip is 5,000 – 10,000 rupees.
Tan and sun
Do not get carried away with excessive sunbathing. Bali is located close to the equator, and it is very difficult to leave the island without sunbathing. Even if you are in the shade on the beach, you still get sunbathed by the sunlight reflected from the sea and sand. Be sure to use sunscreen (with a minimum protection of 40), which can be bought at the nearest supermarket.
Medical service
The best way to call a doctor is by calling your insurance company. The telephone number of the hotline is indicated in your insurance policy. You will always be answered in Russian. This is the cheapest and most reliable way. Moreover, by calling the insurance company, you do not just call a doctor at the same time, but activate the system of a complete medical examination and monitoring. Also, the doctor can be called to the hotel room. This service is paid. The hotel staff and your guide will help you with this. It costs more than visiting a medical center. The most well-known Australian medical center is BIMC (BIA). All doctors from BIMC were trained either in Australia or in Europe. (BIMC – Bali International Medical Center – Jl. By Pass Ngurah Rai No. 100X Kuta, Bali Tel: (0361) 761263). The center operates around the clock, seven days a week.
