Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ACCOMMODATION PRICES
Unless stated otherwise, all the accommodation prices in this Guide are based on the cost
of the cheapest double room in high season, including tax; when a hotel offers both fan
and a/c rooms, the former is the cheapest option and the price that's quoted. Rates in low
season may be up to fifty percent lower and booking via online agencies at any time may
give you significant discounts. Many losmen and hotels quote their rates exclusive of gov-
ernment
tax
(ten or eleven percent); many of the more expensive hotels add an extra five
or ten percent
service charge
(in hotel-speak, these supplements are usually referred to as
“plus-plus”).
The smartest hotels quote their rates in
US dollars
, or sometimes in
euros
, and usually ac-
cept cash, travellers' cheques or credit cards, but will also convert to rupiah. In the Guide,
accommodation prices of $50 and above are quoted in US dollars; prices below this are in
rupiah.
BATHROOMS
Most losmen and hotel rooms have en-suite
bathrooms
(
kamar mandi
).
Toilets
(
wc
, pro-
nounced
way say
) are usually Western style, though flushing is sometimes done manually,
with water scooped from an adjacent pail. The same pail and scoop is used by Indonesians
to wash themselves after going to the toilet (using the left hand, never the right, which is
for eating), but most tourist bathrooms also have toilet paper.
Many Balinese and Sasak people still
bathe
in rivers, but indoor bathing is traditionally
done by means of the scoop and slosh method, or
mandi
, using water that's stored in a
huge basin. This basin is not a bath, so never get in it; all washing is done outside it and the
basin should not be contaminated by soap or shampoo. Many losmen and all hotels in the
bigger resort areas provide showers as well as
mandi
. Outside the bigger resorts, the very
cheapest rooms may not have hot water (
air panas
).
In the more stylish places, bathrooms can be delightful, particularly if they are designed
with open roofs and bedecked with plants. These “
garden bathrooms
” often have showers
and
mandi
fed by water piped through sculpted flues and floors covered in a carpet of
smooth, rounded pebbles. However, they're not to everyone's taste, especially as they can
also attract squadrons of bloodthirsty mosquitoes.
