Thread: If you had to do it again, what would you bring along?

Sorry freogirl, but your shoes and knives really got my attention.

As for shoes, neither my wife or I own one pair of shoes. Come to think of it, why on earth would anyone living in Bali want a pair of shoes?

As for cutlery, there are plenty of places on Bali to buy fine knives, and I find the idea of importing them rather funny...and likely to get the attention of customs if caught.

Shoes and knives as a “bring along.” Who would have ever dreamed that up?

Originally Posted by Roy

Sorry freogirl, but your shoes and knives really got my attention.

As for shoes, neither my wife or I own one pair of shoes. Come to think of it, why on earth would anyone living in Bali want a pair of shoes?

As for cutlery, there are plenty of places on Bali to buy fine knives, and I find the idea of importing them rather funny...and likely to get the attention of customs if caught.

Shoes and knives as a “bring along.” Who would have ever dreamed that up?

As for shoes, neither my wife or I own one pair of shoes. Come to think of it, why on earth would anyone living in Bali want a pair of shoes?

I only use shoes when I am hiking, I dont like to use sandals in the jungle

Shoes, Roy, can come in helpful for some of us. For instance, if I have to talk to someone from the government, I wear my teacher clothes which includes shoes; if I'm attending a wedding or funeral; special ceremonies for Hindu and Christian friends.

I used to wear shoes when i went from our house to the village on the motorbike. It's 2 hours away and it geys really cold up past pupuan and also the fact that if we were to ever have an accident i wanted some protection for my toes.

Good points about shoes for jungle trekking and long motorbike rides...neither of which I have done. :oops:

For the jungle treks I think I’d prefer steel plated boots as even within our village, those snakes always seem to find me. :D

As for knives, I’d go to any of the several restaurant supply companies in Denpasar or Ace Hardware in Kuta Galleria.

I would definitely not try to bring serious cutlery into Bali. Recently we have had to conform to new packing procedures for the antique kris that we sell and export. Now they have to be sealed in a wooden box before the airlines will take them as cargo.

For me the question would have to be what I would NOT bring...

A RETURN TICKET!!!

i'd bring:

!) much less beauty junk like creams & serums. i found that the local indonesian skin care stuff at matahari's in denpasar gave me way better results & the makeup i bought there suted balinese weather. the stuff i brought here from back home just felt sticky on my skin. even the balinese shampoos & conditoner worked better. bought my serums here, as well.

2) i would DEFINITELY bring my gold bond medicated powder. the indonesian prickly heat powder they have has a very strong smell although it worked fast on prickly heat bumps that plagued me all through out my bali trip.

3) a big 98% SPF sunblock hat. they have nothing like that in bali. i had one at home but thinking that bali probably has it, i didnt want to have carry it. turns out that i really needed it. my scalp was steaming under the noontime sun. is amazing how the natives in bali barely break out in a sweat. they look so effortless while i feel like ive ran a marathon after just a 5 minute walk.

4) carmex lip ointment. its better than gloss & hydrates ur lips without a funny taste.

5) a water bottle holder. they sold several types all over bali but i wanted the velcro kind. thank bottled god water is everywhere in bali.

Seeing as this thread got started up I just noticed your question to me Roy, so let me explain -

This is a language thing - by shoes I mean anything you put on your feet, ie footwear. Unless you go barefoot I'm sure you put something on your feet ?

I can't even get slip on sandals unless they are men's sandals/thongs/flip flops - what ever you want to call them. They are fine for most things, but if I want to go to dinner, or some social event I like to wear something other than flat plastic men's sandals on my feet. I'm no Imelda, simple is fine. Not available to me in most of Indonesia. Even in Bali I haven't ever found much in the way of nice 40+ size ladies footwear. :( So I bring em.

As to knives - I spent half a day running around the stores in Kuta, including the big American hardware store - and they had junk. Perhaps you don't cook much? Good, chef quality knives, are imporant to me. I like to cook, and I like good tools to do it with.

Most of my ex-pat female friends who cook have also resorted to bringing their good knives from home - either because they couldn't find the quality, or they didn't want to go to the expense of replacing them. (For the quality they must be imported = expensive)

I trust you are now enlightened!

Freo