Saturday 22 September 2012

Bali & Lombok (Regional Travel Guide)

 Book Description

“The mere mention of ‘Bali’ evokes thoughts of a paradise. It’s more than a place; it’s a mood, an aspiration, a tropical state of mind.” – Ryan Ver Berkmoes, Lonely Planet Writer

Inside This Book…
11 weeks research
2 expert authors
62 maps
308 Bintang beers consumed
Inspirational photos
Clear, easy-to-use maps
Comprehensive planning tools
In-depth background
Easy-to-read layout
At-a-glance practical info


Reviews:

By G. Means
Format:Paperback
We spent three weeks in Bali using this book as a guide. For overviews of different parts of the island, we found it very helpful, and we relied on the maps to sort of get our bearings. However, I suspect we could have gotten those things from any travel guide. The Lonely Planet book in specific was recommended to us by our travel agent, and because of the witty and intelligent writing, we thought it would be well-researched and trustworthy.

Not so! We were very disappointed with a lot of places reviewed well by the authors of this book. We stayed in the hotel marked "our pick" in Seminyak and it was much more expensive, we couldn't get hot water, and we got eaten alive by mosquitos. It recommends an "art market" in Ubud that is probably worse for rabid hawkers than Jalan Legian in Kuta. It hugely understates the presence and tenacity of hawkers and touts. The authors seem unaware of Bali Belly, traveler's sickness, Montezuma's Revenge, whatever you want to call it, and there's no advice on avoiding that. It neglects to mention anything that I could find about women being barred from temples during "that time of the month" or where sarongs and sashes are required and how they're supposed to be worn.

I don't think this book works as a stand alone guide. It paints a picture of Bali as the nicest place on earth, full of charming this and breathtaking that. We followed its advice and found a version of the island overrun by tourists, rife with scam artists, with culture and history pushed aside by Bintang t-shirts and anything else that could generate a quick buck. We also found amazing places and wonderful people, but only once when we put down this misleading book and started trusting our instincts.

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