Bali trip “ JBR - well been back a while ................. ”

horlicks

uk

posts: 150

reviews: 2

“ JBR - well been back a while ................. ”

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g294226-i7220-k3004744-l19615141-JBR_well_been_back_a_while-Bali.html#19615141..........Sila- our driver as always was great, took us to all the normal spots, two things, we went to uluwatu for the fire dance, and we were amazed at the amount of people packed in, it was much nicer to go back here during the day , Tanah lot, was fine until a snake was spotted by my husband, he is petrifies of snakes, and so we had to amke a quick exit so he could calm down, well any excuse to stop me from shopping.
Bali, is one of my favourite places in the world, with great food adn lovely people, a place to return to. could go on for ever but dont want to bore you with our memories.

“ Ubud area day tour ” Bali

Bali day tour with Adam, Perth.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g294226-i7220-k3415469-Ubud_area_day_tour-Bali.html

...........Finally I must highly recommend, as many have done before me, our driver Sila. His English is up with the best I have heard from a local in Bali, he is friendly, comfortable to be around, obviously very smart and knowledgeable about Bali. He is an extremely nice and honest guy, Unlike many other drivers, he will not try to push you in to going to his 'friends' shop to get comission, infact, on the way back whilst driving down Jl. Legian he even pointed out the potential scams and specific people to stay away from. I was very impressed. We ended up using his services for another trip to Uluwatu and Jimbaran, and then of his co-driver for a trip North. Both very good.
Book before you go though, because he apparently is often very busy.

“Bali with Sila & Team”

Bali

onefinesunday   8 contributions

Singapore

Aug 14, 2010

My friend and I have just returned from our 8-day trip to Bali. This was my third time there and the first for my friend. Before flying into Bali, I had seek some help from TA's Recommended Driver's List to get hold of a local driver for our intended stay. So I came across Sila and he had a very good record based on the reviews. I visited his website where he had clearly listed his fees and decided to contact him via email. Btw this was pretty much a random shot in the dark as there are quite a handful of drivers suggested in TA and they all had pretty good reviews.

We exchanged emails. I shared with him my itinerary and he recommended some feedbacks based on his personal experience in the business. For this trip, we wanted to do some snorkeling at Nusa Penida (south-east of Bali), some trekking and water rafting. He helped us arranged these activities and we had no problems at all.

As he is a popular choice with tourists, he's been booked most of the days during our stay. We only managed to hire his service for our first day in Bali. But this was short enough to convince me to write this review for all to share. For the rest of the trip, he recommended Made (his team member). All the drivers in his group are family related; hence you can be sure that they all share the same passion with Sila. Made was very friendly although quite reserved at times. He's always willing to explain if you have any questions with regards to Bali and its culture. I picked up a lot of new things about the place during his service. He recommended us things to see/do; and warned us of things not to do. He helped us shape our itinerary for each day of our stay. Punctuality is not an issue at all. Last but not least, he's a very good driver so safety should not be your concern.

One thing to note is that most of the talking was done in Bahasa Indonesia as I'm born Indonesian. However, I don't think language would pose as a barrier as I've read other reviews on their English fluency.

Vehicle conditions are very good throughout. Sarong are provided in case you need one. Bottled water are supplied. Petrol and parking fees are all included in the fee so there's no need for you to fork out any money, except for entrance fees to attractions and your personal spendings. As an extra plus: You pay only at the end of your trip. Quoted from Sila "Just enjoy first!" with a smile.

Overall, we were very satisfied and we highly recommend using their friendly private tour service for your stay in Bali.

Driver Rating: 5/5 - Excellent
Trip Rating: 4/5 - If not for the cloudy skies (which seemed to stick above our heads everywhere we went), our pictures would have been waaaaay better!

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g294226-r75115874-Bali.html

"Four days Bali trip"

Dear Catherine,Karen,Nini,Azel & Mandy.

Thank you for choosing my service.
Glad that you enjoyed my service as I had a wonderful time with you.
we visited Ubud, the Spring Water temple, mount and lake Batur view, making temporary tattoo, having fun at the water sports in Tanjung benoa, watch the spectacular Uluwatu temple sunset and fire dance, enjoy the fresh seafood in Jimbaran and also bought some oleh oleh home made layer cake and cracker from Bali.

I'm looking forward for your next Bali trip...!!!!!!!!
Best regards,
SILA&TEAM

“ Our 6-Day Bali Visit with Sila (July 18th to 23rd) ”

Our family thoroughly enjoyed our 6-day visit with our driver, Sila. He comes highly recommended in Trip Advisor and he did not disappoint. We were based in Sanur and in our six days there, we visited the Bali Safari & Marine Park (which our kids loved), watched a Barong dance, drove up to Kintamani to get a view of the majestic Mount Batur (an active volcano), played on the beautiful Nusa Dua beach (great for kids), enjoyed a sunset dinner at Jimbaran beach, and visited the Ubud area and the famous Sacred Monkey Forest. While there, we also toured the temples, Pura Tirta Empul and Pura Luhr in Uluwantu. Based on Sila’s recommendation, we also visited a couple artist shops, a wood carving place where you get to see master carvers at work, and a coffee and spice plantation. If you are into shopping for artwork and wood carvings, Sila will be a great help as he will steer you away from the knock-offs and give you a general idea how much discounts you can bargain down.

There are a lot more places we wish we had time to visit, but Bali is a much bigger place than we realized, and we just couldn’t fit it in (especially with kids). Our kids’ favorites are definitely the Bali Safari & Marine Park and the Nusa Dua beach. For me, it was definitely the sunset dinner at Jimbaran beach and the Pura Luhr. For dinner at Jimbaran, make sure you get there by 5 pm to get the best spot/view and to not miss the sunset. Sitting on the beach watching the sunset and soaking in the view is something you simply need to experience for yourself.

Sila also know the better restaurants to go to in each area. Be sure to get his suggestions. The last thing I like to add is there are lots of peddlers everywhere. It is simply part of Bali and cannot be avoided. Just understand that they are very poor and they are just trying to make a living. Best thing to do is simply keep saying ‘No Thank You’ and walk away.

We had a great time and won’t hesitate to go back again (if the opportunity arises). Sila spoke great English, is a very skilled driver (almost too skillful), punctual, and best of all, very personable.

Sila's web site: http://funwithsila.blogspot.com/

Ben, Mary, and family

JBR - 29 June to 13 July 2010

Day 9 I had booked another Trip Advisor recommended driver, Sila. Sila picked me up at 9.00 am and we headed for the Tanah Lok Temple. The beauty of this temple and the surrounding ocean is amazing, it exceeded my expectations. We then headed for the spectacular rice terraces which are nothing short of exhilarating and I thoroughly recommend a visit as it will not disappoint. As we passed through villages along the way many of the villagers had their favoured world cup team’s flag flying proudly in the breeze, not something you would normally see and it too was a spectacular sight. Next we went to the Lake but it was raining so Sila suggested lunch first so we went to the Strawberry Stop which was a great idea as the rain had subsided by then and I got some great photos of the temple and the lake. Last stop on the way back to Sanur was another temple which was very picturesque too. What an amazing day out and another wonderful highlight of my trip. And, finally, what can I say about Sila other than he is exactly as described on this forum. He is great company, lots of fun and I recommend him highly too.

The rest of my stay was spent relaxing by the pool with a good book and visiting a day spa a couple of times (Mandurah in Sanur) for massages and treatments which I also recommend highly.

Overall,an unforgettable holiday and I now look forward to my next holiday in Bali, in the not too distant future. Thanks again for all the advice!

Happy to answer any questions.

Jane

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g294226-i7220-k3781844-JBR_29_June_to_13_July_2010-Bali.html

Bali Five days Trip with Soon Huei & Friends

Thanks Guys,
Hope you enjoyed your 5 days with my service!
the weather was great, explore the beauty of Ayung river with river rafting, visit fantastic view of Uluwatu temple, sunset dinner in jimbaran, clean our spirit at the spring water temple, tasting Balinese coffee and spices, beautiful volcano view, woke up early morning to watch the dolphin at lovina beach, gorgeous view of Lake Beratan, tasting the real local food and spectacular view of Tanah Lot.
Wow!!! we almost visited the whole part of Bali.

See you next time again and I'll bring you to the other side of Bali.

Bali Three days trip with Mrs. Yusnidah & Family

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Thank you very much to :Ibu Yusnidah,Bapak Arthur,Ashiqah,Farhan & Farian.
Early morning trip to watch the dolphin in Lovina ( long hours drive but succeed saw lot of dolphin jumping and swim around), Banjar hot spring,lake Beratan, Tanah Lot, Visit the volcano,Spring water temple, tasting Balinese coffee and spices and Ubud on the next day.Than visit Uluwatu and Nusa Dua on the last day.
Lets stay in touch with the facebook.

Best regards,
BaliwithSila

Uluwatu Temple with my Family

Quote for 3 days in Bali

Dear sila,

Just wanted to let you know that we were VERY pleased with Made during our stay in Bali. He was punctual and very serviceable. We loved the recommendations he provided for places to eat and we appreciate so much his flexibility. We very much enjoyed the privacy we felt. We will recommend your company to any friends we know that will visit Bali.

Regards,
Cheryl. cvdonlin@gmail.com

Bali with Herry

3. Re: bali with Herry?
Apr 21, 2010, 3:43 AM

We have just returned from Bali and use Herry as our driver. We find him to be prompt and reliable and he always uses comfortable air conditioned vehicles. He is only a young guy and has a good command of the english language. He is funny and can be quite a character. We always pick his brain about all things Balinese and have never been able to stump him with something he doesnt know be it religion or politics etc. I would happily recommend him and will definately use him again when we return next year. My teenage daughter says that Herry is the bomb.

Kate

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g294226-i7220-k3568346-l25704072-Bali_with_Herry-Bali.html#25704072

“ Ubud area day tour ” by Adam Roberts,Perth, Australia

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g294226-i7220-k3415469-l24477301-Ubud_area_day_tour-Bali.html#24477301

Feb 19, 2010, 5:17 AM

Hi all, I just thought I would share some of my recent Bali experiences.

After doing some research and finding many things to do myself and my girlfriend decided we must have a day around Ubud.

I contacted a driver, Sila Nyoman, who had come highly reccomended from my readings of this site, and it was all organised.

Sila arrived right on time at out hotel. We told him that we had a cooking class at 10am, but we would like to see something along the way so as to not arrive early.

We were taken to a traditional Balinese family compound. It was actually really interesting and completely different to how we live in Australia. Interacting with the various pigs, cocks and porcupines around the place was great fun. Sila told us all kinds of things about the compound as we walked around. This was a surprisingly enjoyable bonus activity.

Next we had a Balinese cooking class at the 'Laka leke' restaurant. This place has some amazing scenery, it is really beautiful. The class itself was fun and interactive, and we got to take some recipes home which I will be happy to be eating since the food was delicious.

Just behind the restaurant is the Monkey Forrest. This place can really be a lot of fun. Hundreds of monkeys roaming around a beautiful tropical forrest. You can feed them and watch them go about their monkey business. However, do not bear your teeth (smile), look them in the eyes, and try to give them a rock when everyone else gives them bananas, or you will be attacked and chased 200m down a path. I found this out the hard way. Great fun.

We then found Sila in the monkey forest car park and proceeded to our next destination - Ubud Markets and Palace. Sila told us that these are some of the most expensice markets, yet we were able to pick up a couple of things for a good price. Much more fruit, paintings, art, carvings etc here than at the Kuta or :egian markets. The palace accross the road provided us with some nice photo's.

Next we drove over to 'Goa Gajah' or Elephant cave. Before entering Sila quietly warned us to ignore any of the people down there who try to be nice to us and offer to show us around. This was good of him and was excellent advice, since many people did do just that. The cave itself is not extremely exciting, but the surroundings are great. There are fountains and really beautiful jungle and paths to explore. You could spend ages here.

Finally, we visited the Bali bird and reptile park. This place has a huge variety of birds both caged and out in the open. You can have birds climb on your arms, head and shoulders, which provides some nice photo opportunities. Sometimes if you get a little too close, you will be pecked. Again I found this out the hard way. The reptile park is just behind the bird park, and has everything you would expect, crocodiles, iguana's, turtles, komodo dragons. You can touch and pick some up, which again is great for photos.

That concluded a very busy and enjoyable day. Hope this helps anyone looking to go to/around Ubud.

Finally I must highly recommend, as many have done before me, our driver Sila. His English is up with the best I have heard from a local in Bali, he is friendly, comfortable to be around, obviously very smart and knowledgeable about Bali. He is an extremely nice and honest guy, Unlike many other drivers, he will not try to push you in to going to his 'friends' shop to get comission, infact, on the way back whilst driving down Jl. Legian he even pointed out the potential scams and specific people to stay away from. I was very impressed. We ended up using his services for another trip to Uluwatu and Jimbaran, and then of his co-driver for a trip North. Both very good.

Book before you go though, because he apparently is often very busy.

http://funwithsila.blogspot.com/

Isuzu Elf 14 seats

We provide the 14 seats van to make your trip more memorable and enjoyable. The 14 seats van with double super cold Air Conditioned, soft suspension, the speaker phone and excellent English speaking driver.
Please contact : baliwithsila@yahoo.com for the special deal.