Bound for Bali

Bali - The tropical paradise of Indonesia and only 2 1/2 hrs away from Singapore. When it comes to tropical gateways. Bali (sometimes called Island of the Gods) is definitely a prime destination. This place is briming with thousands of temples, sparkling beaches and endless shopping experiences. The SQ flight to Bali was crowded mostly Caucasian tourists- only a handful of Singaporeans on board the flight. This will be my 2nd trip to Bali (May 1996), my first was organizing a company sales conference and was held on Sheraton Laguna Resort on Nuasa Dua. Upon arrival, many tourist were queuing up at the VISA-on-arrival. Indonesia has a Visa-on-arrival for quite a number of countries, whereby VISAs are issued when you can arrive in Bali. Singapore passport holders and ASEAN members do not need a VISA to enter Indonesia. I zipped through immigration and was out of the departure hall in just under 30 minutes - this was also a surprise to the driver that was waiting to pick me up. He said that his average waiting time is 1-1/2 hrs. My hotel stay is Hard Rock Cafe Hotel in Kuta, it takes about 20 minutes to reach the Hotel but today the roads was crowded leading up to Kuta because of the 1st Asian Sea Games held around Bali beaches. The stretch of road along Kuta was jammed with people and cars. It was so crowded. I have heard so much rave reviews about Hard Rock Hotel and it is all true. The greetings from the front desk were sincere and welcoming. It was a very different atmosphere and once in your life experience to stay in a Hard Rock Hotel. The hotel compound is large and it took me a while to orientate myself. The room number does not correspond to the floor - room 4008 is on the ground floor - strange! Shopping is all around Kuta and a short distance walk from Hard Rock Hotel. I walked to Kuta Square and Kartika Discovery Mall (the largest Shopping Mall in Bali).