by Barrie | May 25th, 2011 Tweet 
Bali has an infectious way of completely blowing away your senses and especially for first-timers. The whole impact upon one’s senses can be overwhelming when you first arrive on the island. A good idea, once you have cleared customs and immigration at the airport and arrived at your hotel, is to take some time-out to acquaint yourself with the surroundings.
I would endeavour to say that a good majority of travellers to Bali, once they have obtained their hotel room and chucked their bags on the floor, straight away head out onto the streets for a bit of shopping. Take that time-out.
Investigate your hotel, walk around and check out the amenities available and where everything is. After all, this will be the place where you will spend some of your time on your holiday. Your hotel will be the place on your lay-days when you are not out on the road sightseeing up country.
When you eventually do venture out, and no doubt that will be within a few hours, then don’t go buying the first thing you come across. Whatever product you are wishing to purchase it is always best to check out several places and the different prices. Nine times out of ten you will find the products much cheaper in one of the many markets in Kuta/Legain/Seminyak.
Find yourself a good moneychanger and make sure they are registered. You will definitely know this as their exchange rate will be the same as most of the other moneychangers. Any one that has an exorbitantly high rate is guaranteed to rip you off.
Check out the places to eat around the area you are staying. Just about every warung and restaurant has their menu on a board out the front. You will find many places that are just too expensive but you will eventually settle into a few where you will go several times. Definitely try the local cuisine and some of the warungs that specialise in this food.
One other thing to remember is when you are shopping; bargain! It’s a part of the culture and you will eventually find yourself enjoying the magic of bargaining.
When you first travel to Bali and meet the friendly Balinese people it can be very confusing in some respects and mainly concerning their names. It will seem that every second person has the same name! There are a tremendous amount of Wayans and Mades in Bali. Unlike in western countries where individual names are commonplace, the people of Bali stick to a protocol for naming their children.