Indonesia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 249

DRINKING AND NIGHTLIFE
For gigs and nightlife listings see the free fortnightly
magazine The Beat ( W beatmag.com). If you're planning a
big night out in Kuta, nothing really gets going until about
midnight. Entrance is generally free unless there's a special
event or party (when it can become pretty pricey, with
some places charging up to Rp1,000,000). Check The Beat
or look out for posters on the beach for details.

LEGIAN AND SEMINYAK
Mannekeppis Jl Raya Seminyak 2 T 0361 847 5784,
W mannekepis-bistro.com. This restaurant-bar brings
together Belgian beer (around Rp86,000; Bintang from
Rp29,000), Euro-Asian cuisine, jazz and blues (live music
Thurs-Sat from 9pm), and table football. It's an appealing
combination. Sun-Thurs 10am-1am, Fri-Sat 10am-2am.
★

La Plancha A terraced beachside café with colourful
beanbags and umbrellas strewn across the sand. It gets
packed at sunset with people enjoying a beer or cocktail
(around Rp100,000) overlooking the sea. Daily 7am-1am.

KUTA
Bounty Discotheque Jl Legian T 0361 752529, W bounty
discotheque.com. Infamous hub of Australian excess,
housed in a replica of Captain Bligh's eighteenth-century
galleon. DJs play everything from house to hip-hop, and
there are eclectic events, including foam parties, drag acts,
muscle shows and karaoke. Jam jars (lethal, pint-sized
cocktails) are the signature drink. Daily 8pm-4am.
Engine Room Jl Legian. The place for some seriously ener-
getic dancing to pumping R&B, hip-hop and, occasionally,
tribal music. Beer around Rp20,000. Daily 9pm-3/4am.
Espresso Bar Jl Legian. Local cover bands make a decent
attempt at all the classics in this small but very popular
rock bar. Drinks specials include two- for-one mojitos.
Cocktails around Rp50,000. Daily 7pm-3am.
mBargo Jl Legian T 0361 756000, W mbargonightclub
.com. Thumping music from hip-hop, house and electro
DJs ensures packed dancefloors at this raucous lounge
bar and dance club. Daily 10pm-4am.
Sky Garden Lounge Jl Legian 61 W 61legian.com.
Perched on the top floors of a tall glass building, Sky
Garden is one of Kuta's most popular clubs, full of people
up for a good time and fuelled by daily drinks specials.
Daily 10pm-3/4am.
Vi Ai Pi Jl Legian 88 T 0361 752355, W viapibali.com.
Smarter and (slightly) more sedate than many of its Kuta
neighbours, this trendy restaurant-bar-club is also a bit
pricier than average. Still, the drinks and music (both DJs
and live bands) make it well worth a look. Daily 11am-3am.

DIRECTORY
Banks and exchange There are ATMs every few hundred
metres, and a Moneygram agent at Bank Danamon just
south of Poppies 2 on Jl Legian.
Bookshops There are several secondhand bookshops
on Poppies 1, Poppies 2, Jl Benesari and Jl Padma Utara.
New books are available from Periplus (daily 10am-10pm;
T 0361 769757, W periplus.com) at Discovery Shopping
Centre, Jl Kartika Plaza.
Dentist Bali Dental Clinic 911, Mal Bali Galleria, Simpang
Siur roundabout, Jl Bypass Ngurah Rai ( T 0361 766254,
W bali911dentalclinic.com).
Embassies and consulates In Denpasar (see p.246).
Festivals and events The Kuta Karnival is held in early
September and features parades, surfing and skate-
boarding competitions and gigs by local bands.
Hospitals, clinics and pharmacies The nearest hospitals
are in Denpasar (see p.246). Most expats use one of two
reputable small, private 24hr hospitals on the outskirts
of Kuta, both of which have English-speaking staff: Bali
International Medical Centre (BIMC), Jl Bypass Ngurah Rai
100X, near the Simpang Siur roundabout ( T 0361 761263,
W bimcbali.com); and nearby International SOS (Klinik
SOS Medika), Jl Bypass Ngurah Rai 505X ( T 0361 710505,
W sosindonesia.com). Consultations cost from around
Rp550,000. Smaller, less expensive clinics include La Walon
Clinic at the hotel of the same name on Poppies 1 ( T 0361
757326 or T 0361 757234, W lewalonclinic.com). There are
pharmacies on every major shopping street.
Internet There are countless internet cafes; most charge
around Rp15,000-20,000/hr.
Police The English-speaking community police, Satgas
Pantai Desa Adat Kuta, have a 24hr o ce on the beach
in front of Inna Kuta Beach Hotel ( T 0361 762871). The
government police station is at Jl Raya Kuta 141, south
Kuta ( T 0361 751598).
Post o ce Kuta's GPO and poste restante is on
unsignposted Gang Selamat, between Jl Raya Kuta and
Jl Blambangan (Mon-Sat 8am-5pm). There are numerous
small postal agents elsewhere.
Shopping Small shops selling silver, clothing, textiles and
other souvenirs are everywhere in the Kuta-Legian-Seminyak

4

TREAT YOURSELF
Potato Head Beach Club (Jl Petitenget,
Seminyak T 0361 737979, W ptthead.com)
is arguably Bali's hottest venue. The
curved exterior, designed as a modern
take on the Colosseum and clad in
eighteenth-century teak shutters, shelters
an oasis of beachside infinity pools. You
can lounge on vintage designer furniture
with a cocktail (Rp110,000-130,000)
among Seminyak's most fashionable by
day, or dance the night away to resident
DJs and guest acts (which, in 2013,
included Snoop Dogg). Daily 11am-2am.

★