Weekly Snapshot: Cheap Bali Homestay with Pool!

A cheap homestay complete with pool and ricefield views, for only $20 a night? Only in Bali!

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Eating out in Bali: Top 5 Cheap & Cheerful Places in Kuta

Here's a list of five cheap and cheerful places to eat in Kuta and the surrounding area - all are within walking distance of the main tourist hotspots and should cost less than $3 for food and drink (although having a beer with your food will be more). So here goes, in no particular order, here's my list of the top 5 cheap eats in Kuta:

1. Warung Murah

Located very close to *Double 6 Beach on Jalan Arjuna in Seminyak, Warung Murah (meaning 'cheap warung') is a fantastic little spot. It's probably only a 100m from the beach and is almost opposite Caffe Marzano. 

This place certainly lives up to its name and offers very hearty meals for under $2.50. With a counter display of all the food, you simply choose which dishes you want from the various Indonesian fare and the waitresses pile it up on your plate, making it great for those with a big appetite. Another fantastic thing about this place is that it offers brown and red rice, which are surprisingly rare in a country where rice is the staple diet, and they are committed to providing MSG-free food, which is commonplace in most of Bali's other eateries.

Some of the best Indonesian foods available at Warung Murah are lodeh (vegetables with coconut milk in a curry sauce), tempeh tofu curry, bacem (a type of fried, sweet tempeh) and rendang (a slow-cooked beef in a lemongrass and coconut sauce). As you will see from the photos, although offering some meat dishes, Warung Murah offers plenty for vegetarians to choose from also.

The best way to get there from Kuta is undoubtedly by walking along the beach, which should only take 10-15 mins, compared to the same time by cab or weavingthrough traffic. If you walk through the backstreets from Kuta, it will take you much longer and is a whole lot more hassle as you will be hassled by literally hundreds of street vendors.

*NB - this is not to be confused with Warung Murah on Jalan Oberoi, which I have not visited and do not believe is any way affiliated with the restaurant in this article!

2. Sandwich Corner

This cosy little eatery is nestled in between Warung Midnight and Sunny Surf Shop and is extremely close to the main drag of Kuta - it is about a 2-minutewalk from the crossroads of Jalan Benesari. It serves up plenty of Western food with plenty of sandwiches (obviously!), baguettes, burgers and jacket potatoes to choose from, as well as some Indonesian dishes. It's all very affordable and the staff are friendly. They also have some nice desserts to pig out on as well :-) If you are staying in Kuta, find the Jalan Benesari crossroads where Roma Amore is, and head down Jalan Lebak Bene. It's about 500m from the crossroads on your right-hand side.

This is a great place if you're looking for some cheap and easy food like you get at home, or just to pig out on a massive burger as they have some gigantic sandwiches and burgers to keep you happy here. Service is usually very friendly and the food has always been great when I've been there. A guaranteed hit with fussy kids!

3. Warung Malang

Another tourist/backpacker favourite, Warung Malang has a huge menu and an open kitchen where more than 10 chefs cook up all manner of Indonesian food. Prices are also very cheap with a meal and a drink usually costing less than $4. The kitchen closes here at 10pm so it's a good bet for a late snack also. They serve beer at a very reasonable price also.

Personally, I like the nasi goreng seafood (with prawns) and the sup sehat (healthy soup) which has spinach and tofu with it. One reassuring thing about this place is that most of the stuff on the menu is shown in photos so you have an idea of what it looks like before you order.

It's located on Jalan Pattimura and is about a 5-minute walk from Jalan Legian. If you start at the crossroads mentioned in the directions for Sandwich Corner, head towards Jalan Legian and go straight across it, onto what becomes Jalan Pattimura. Keep going straight on Pattimura for about 5 minutes and you should see Warung Malang on your right, opposite the Circle K shop.

4. Raja Rasa

If you keep going past Warung Malang and take a left on the main road, Jalan Majapahit, you willsoon come to anotherbudget eatery called Warung Raja Rasa(meaning 'king flavour warung) located just opposite the billiard hall there.

Although Raja Rasa is not the nicest inside, it serves up plenty of hearty, budget Indonesian food and is popular with locals and Indonesian tourists. It's a good first step if you want to start eating at the same places as the locals as it has the cheap prices and authentic Indonesian food but is not as grubby as some of the other places where you will see lots of locals (although it's not the cleanest place either!)

I'd recommend the nasi goreng pete (or fried rice with stink bean) as it's a good local dish with a very interesting touch - although, as the name suggests, it might not be suitable for a date!

Gong Corner's menu on its bamboo walls.

5. Gong Corner

Located in the heart of the Kuta's main backpacking area, Gong Corner provides both Indonesian and Western food for very reasonable prices and is predictably popular because of this.

It's probably the best place for a cheap steak and chips dish (although don't expect Western-sized portions) and is open until quite later seven days a week. Although the waitresses here are pretty clueless, the prices mean that it shouldn't bother you too much. Expect a good-sized meal and drink for $6 or less at Gong Corner.

To get there, head down GangRonta (just off Poppies 2) and it's a short way before Kuta Town House Apartments. It's in a very narrow section of road so don't think about going there by car - on foot or motorbike are the only ways to go.

So there you have it, five cheap places to eat in Kuta, Bali with a variety of Western and Asian food on offer and even some catering for vegetarians, I hope you can find things to suit all your budget needs!

Enjoy and selamat makan!

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Bali on a Budget: How to Live on $400 a Month or Less!

Many of you will be planning to stay as long as possible in Bali, and would like to know how to live cheaply and on a budget.

Although prices are continually increasing in Bali, it is still possible to live for very little. Now, this might mean giving up a few comforts, but for the hardcore travellers or Bali enthusiasts, it should all be worth it! I will cover (i) accommodation, (ii) food & drink, (iii) transport and (iv) leisure costs in this post.

(i) So, first of all, accommodation. There is one cheap and easy solution to this: a boarding house or kos (also spelled kost). These are everywhere and you can find some within walking distance of the beach for a reasonable price. If you look around Jalan Mataram or any of the gangs off that, you will find plenty for around $50/month. I say this area because I myself have lived there and it is a short walk to Jalan Legian (Bali's main drag & nightspot area) and is in walking distance to Kuta Beach. These kos are not westernised or luxurious, but they are sufficient. Most provide a room to sleep and a bathroom - not much else! The bathroom will have cold water and a hole-in-the-ground toilet, but you get used to these pretty quick! Many kos complexes have communal kitchens but these are generally without fridges as they are outdoors (but they do have a roof!).

(ii) Next, food! One of the joys of Bali is its range of cheap eateries and varied street food. You can eat out with a drink in many of the small, local warungs for around $2. If you are committed to the budget lifestyle, you can live off these for $6 a day or around $180 a month. Even cheaper is the street food - think spicy meatball soup (bakso), everything from fried tofu to fried bananas (gorengan), roasted corn on the cob (jagung bakar), chicken with noodles (mie ayam) and the omnipresent fried rice (nasi goreng) - but it might be a while before your stomach can handle this as some of the hygiene involved is rather questionable. Rushing into a diet of street food is likely to increase your chances of getting the dreaded Bali belly! Street food could cost you around 30% less than warungs, although I wouldn't recommend it as a staple diet!


Obviously, it's hard to talk about food without mentioning drink! The main bottled water company here is Aqua (owned by Danone) and you can get a 5 gallon (19.5 litre) bottle filled for $1.30. This is way cheaper than buying 1.5 litre bottles constantly and should last you around 2 weeks if you're on your own or a week as a couple. If you want some alcohol, then Bintang beer is everywhere and costs almost the same in shops as it does in bars. The current price of Bintang beer in Bali is around $1.50 for a small and $2.50 for a large (1 litre or 40 oz.) bottle. You can get this cheaper in a supermarket, but not much - maybe a 20% reduction but many of the convenience stores/mini-marts charge the same these days. The cheapest option for alcohol is the local tipple, arak. This stuff is made in people's homes and is produced cheaply and available for as little as $1 a bottle. However, there have been some incidents of tourists dying from bad batches of this stuff so approach with caution - it is not produced legally and is Bali's moonshine - do not buy unless you are certain it is from a safe source. That said, thousands of litres of the stuff are drunk every day all over Bali - just be aware of the potential risk.

(iii) Following on, you're going to need some form of transport. As you might have guessed, by far the easiest and cheapest form of transport in Bali is the motorbike (or scooter as they are tiny!). You can rent one for as little as $40 a month and they are extremely cheap to run. At present, a full tank on a standard motorbike will cost around $1, which you should be able to get 40 miles out of - given Bali's small size (around 80 miles north to south and 100 miles east to west at its largest) this should go far. If you are not driving around constantly, a full tank could last you 3 days, so meaning slightly more $30 for fuel. Therefore, provided you find a good deal and don't drive everywhere, you can have a motorbike and ride it for around $70 a month in Bali. Note that there is a planned fuel price increase as it is currently under a government subsidy - petrol in the whole of Indonesia is set to increase by approximately 50% before the end of 2012, from 40cents per litre to around 60 cents.


(iv) Finally, let's look at leisure costs in Bali - after all, who doesn't come to here to make the most of leisure time?! It's not like people want to come here to work hard!!!

As you probably know, Bali is famed for its world-class surfing at places such as Padang-Padang, Uluwatu, Bingin, Keramas - the list goes on! If you want to surf, the best option is to buy a board cheaply in Kuta. There are 100s of shops selling them in Kuta and you can get one cheap, for as little as $120 for an older one - but this would then last you for however many months you plan to stay, so it is only a one-off payment. If you only want to dabble, consider renting a board - this is generally around $10 a day, something to think about if you plan to go often as it will eat into your budget and, for 12 days' rental, you could potentially have your own - obviously this depends on you! As with places to buy boards, there are plenty of places offering surfboard rental so you can use your bargaining skills to find a good deal.

Another popular leisure activity in Bali is getting a massage - you can find these for as little as $3 for a 20-minute massage but be warned - some may want to give you a happy ending or plus plus treatment, as it's known locally! Be sure you have judged the place appropriately before going in - heading to south Denpasar or less touristy areas could be a good idea as it means lower prices and less of the seedy spots that are rife in tourist areas. This is not to say that all massage parlours in Bali will offer this treatment, but plenty do. Use your common sense and it shouldn't be a problem.

Another cheap activity is snorkelling (best on the Bukit Peninsula or Bali's east coast - Kuta has nothing to see), for which it's best to bring your own gear with you as it's hard to find cheap snorkelling stuff here in Bali.

So there you have it, living in Bali for less than $400 a month and still doing some cool stuff like eating out, getting massages and going surfing! All you have to do is come!

Weekly Snapshot: Fish Satay Bali Street Food

A bit of fish satay, or satay ikan, very nice Bali street food, in Klungkung, east Bali.

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