Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
action you're likely to find is the latest from
the world Formula One. You also can tuck
into Australian pub fare.
Joulla's
(
Street Life
(
beachy and cottony clothes. Many of the items
here are Bali-made. Across the street, an outlet
store
(
JL PADMA
Bottle Shop
(
noon-
midnight)
A fun, lively open-air bar popular with
expats on a budget.
Zappaz
0183-3820 9567; Jl Oberoi 61;
%
h
733963; Jl Kunti 6A;
11am-midnight;
%
h
)
'Shut up and drink' is the slogan at this
simple place that opens up to the street.
There's a small menu and free wi-fi. Settle
in, have a cheap cold one and ponder your
next move.
733011; Jl Raya Seminyak 16C)
has hot deals
on cool clothes.
Divine Diva
(
i
%
10am-
11pm)
This relaxed open-air café-bar has a Ger-
man accent and free wi-fi. Surf the web with a
weissbier
at the tables on the small terrace.
Kwin
732971; Jl Dhyana Pura 6XX;
11am-midnight)
Brit Norman Findlay tickles the ivories nightly
at this popular piano bar. The most enjoyable
part of this performance is his enthusiastic
patter with the crowd.
SHOPPING
Seminyak shops could occupy days of your
holiday. Designer boutiques (Bali has a thriv-
ing little fashion industry), funky stores, slick
galleries, wholesale emporiums and family-
run workshops are just some of the choices.
The action picks up in the south from Kuta
and Legian (p113) and heads north along
Jl Legian and Jl Raya Seminyak (there's no
exact demarcation between the two and
some people call parts of the latter Jl Raya
Basangkasa - yikes!). The retail strip branches
off onto Jl Oberoi (lots of designer places)
while continuing north on Jl Raya Kerobokan
into Kerobokan itself (p125).
Jl Mertanadi is a quiet street of family-run
places selling and making mostly housewares.
If you need help navigating this retail para-
dise, check out the Retail Therapy column in
the
Bali Advertiser
(www.baliadvertiser.biz).
It's written by the singularly named Marilyn
(retailtherapym@yahoo.com.au) who brings
a veteran retailer's keen eye to the local scene.
For advanced studies, she's available for
consultations.
(
7425534; Jl Oberoi;
%
h
%
h
731903; Jl Oberoi 1A)
It's like a
Dove soap commercial for real women in
this shop, filled with Bali-made breezy styles
for larger figures.
ET Club
(
%
8pm-3am)
With a more mixed crowd than Q-Bar, the
upper level is a good place to cool off and
engage in running commentary on the club-
bers passing by below.
Q-Bar
(
(
762374; Jl Dhyana Pura 9;
%
h
730902; Jl Raya Seminyak 14A)
Out of
this world prices on designer knock-offs and
bohemian bags, belts, shoes and clothes.
Joe Joe
(
JL OBEROI
Hu'u (p121) and some of the other stylish
open-air places north of Jl Oberoi along
Jl Petitenget morph into clubs late in the
evening.
Aina Bar
(
%
732678; Jl Raya Seminyak 43)
Bling bling!
Sequin-encrusted bags and purses glitter in
the lights here. Styles range from vintage to
far-out.
Lily Jean
(
%
8pm-3am)
This
bright and always popular bar caters to gay
clubbers. The music of choice is house. There
are good views of the action - inside and out -
from the upper floor.
762361; Jl Dhyana Pura;
%
h
6pm-2am)
Mellow
rock is the music of choice at this intimate lit-
tle open-fronted bar. Pull up a stool and chat
up the bartender.
730182; Jl Oberoi;
%
h
734864; Jl Oberoi 102X)
Saucy knick-
ers underpin flouncy, sexy and gauzy women's
ware; most is Bali-made.
Morena
(
%
745 3531; Jl Oberoi 69)
Puerto Rican-
born Wilma sells her line of sexy, floaty and
colourful women's clothes here. Go ahead,
prance on the beach.
Paul Ropp
(
%
SO YOU WANT TO LIVE IN BALI?
Numbers are fuzzy, but it's estimated that some 7000 people from other countries live more
or less full-time on Bali. They come for the same reasons as many visitors (sun, surf, sex) or for
more tangible reasons (culture, love, job) or just because it's really cheap ('A gardener, maid and
driver for US$200 a month? Where's my ticket?!?').
You see them all over the south and Ubud and even scattered about the east, the north and
the west; deeply tanned expats going - or not going - about their business every day. There's
simply no way to generalise what they do, although the image of the Westerner idling away
afternoons with US$1 Bintangs is common.
'You work?!?' That's the number 1 reaction Nicoline Dolman gets when she meets people and
tells them she not only lives on Bali but also works there (as marketing manager for the Sofitel
Seminyak Bali resort). 'People think I must be lounging by the pool all the time,' says Dolman,
who came to Bali on a tourism internship, fell in love with the place and never left.
'I get paid in local wages, so you bet I work.'
Life in Bali has allowed her to grow in ways she wouldn't have at home. 'I've had to learn
patience and I've come to prefer the Asian sense of respect for one another.'
Ashley Bickerton, the renowned American artist, has discovered rare qualities in Bali. 'There
are places on this planet that have kinetic electricity and there are those that don't. Bali has it in
spades. Like the great oceanic washes of opposing currents and upswellings that create nutrient-
rich banks, Bali is ablaze with conflicting currents; edge is everywhere.'
And despite vowing that Bali wouldn't affect his work, Bickerton found that impossible.
'When I moved here from New York, I was adamant about not becoming one of those wispy
fantasists that insist on portraying conventional island charm in dollops of pastel kitsch.
'Well, fast-forward 14 years and despite the protestations, I find the palette has dramatically
shifted from primary colours and silvers to muted greeny, browny greys. It can only be the influ-
ence of the Batuan School. I never planned it!'
However, if Bali has shaped Bickerton and Dolman in ways they wouldn't have guessed, other
expats want to shape Bali in more predictable ways.
'The rampant greed and short-sightedness running amok in Bali today threatens to strangle
the very things that drew people here in the first place,' says Bickerton, while Dolman says she
gets tired of idlers with attitudes out of tune with the local vibe. 'You meet someone and they
say with a smirk, “I'm a fashion designer, you?”'
734208; www.paulropp.com; Jl Oberoi)
Elegant main store for one of Bali's premier
high-end fashion designers. Most goods are
made just a few kilometres away. And what
goods they are - rich silks and cottons, vivid
to the point of gaudy, with hints of the tie-
dyed 60s.
Sunbek
(
%
732715; Jl Raya Seminyak 6)
Rather than
the usual tourist junk, this shop sells exquisite
ikat clothes, bags and housewares.
Tunas Maju Abadi
(
%
730010; Jl Oberoi 117)
A small
workshop that makes custom leather and
suede clothes. Make a splash with your own
Nemo-brand custom-made wetsuit (a shorty
goes for US$95).
%
Accessories
Rama
(
730115; Jl Raya Basangkasa 88)
Amidst scores
of so-so bead stores, this is one of the best.
Antique and modern beads in a plethora of
colours and styles.
%
Galleries
Biasa Art Space
(
744 2902; Jl Raya Seminyak 34)
This
stunning gallery is owned by Biasa designer
Susanna Perini. Changing exhibits highlight
bold works.
Kemarin Hari Ini
(
%
Beachwear
Blue Glue
(
844 5956; Jl Raya Seminyak)
Has a col-
lection of Bali-made bathing suits from teensy
to trendy.
%
735262; Jl Raya Basangkasa)
Glass objects created with laminated Japanese
paper sparkle in the light at this airy gallery.
It also has the bold acrylic works of painter
Ngurah Atmaja.
Poon Studio
(
%
Clothing
Biasa
(
730308; www.biasabali.com; Jl Raya Seminyak 36)
This is Bali-based designer Susanna Perini's
premier store. Her line of tropical ware for
men and women combines cottons, silks and
%
0817352754; Jl Oberoi 21)
Above-
average local talent display their works here.
Think edgy and tangy.
%
