Disclaimer:
I am blogging on behalf of Visa’s Travel Happy campaign and receive compensation for my time, but the thoughts, words, and promotions on this page are mine, not Visa’s.

For my birthday back in 2011, Haze took me to Bali. It was a rather awesome trip and we did quite a lot in the few days we spent on the Indonesian island.

Fast forward 2014, and we decided to head there again to do and see some of the things we missed the last time around, only this time we decided to go cashless – with the help of Visa.

beautiful resorts, quirky people, great food
beautiful resorts, quirky people, great food

First of all, why Bali?

The decision is simple, the largely Hindu island has plenty to offer and remains a pretty affordable travel destination despite its popularity. On top of that, they are lots of resorts and hotels to choose from, covering the whole spectrum of budget. A simple online search reveals over 3,000 hotels and resorts on the island smaller than the state of Negeri Sembilan.

getting wet at waterbom, and marvelling the mantas at Nusa Penida
getting wet at Waterbom, and marvelling the mantas at Nusa Penida

The last time around, we did the following:

  • had a massage at one of the resorts
  • went to Waterbom, a waterpark
  • went diving and managed to see mola-mola and manta rays
  • rented a bike and rode up to the volcano
  • visited monkey forest
  • visited many art galleries
  • drank cafe luak
  • visited kuta beach
  • tried bebek begil and babi guling

For this trip, I’m keeping my options pretty free. We will certainly rent a motorcycle to get around (traffic isn’t the best), perhaps take a day trip to see/swim with dolphins, or dive the Liberty wreck. Finally going to see what Tanah Lot is all about could be in the list as well.

monkey forest, paddy field, motorbiking, chicken on bicycle, art
monkey forest, paddy field, motorbiking, chicken on bicycle, art

Secondly, why cashless?

Well, I’m always a bit wary of carrying a bunch of foreign currencies when it comes to traveling. Furthermore, it is always a bit messy when it comes to tracking your expenses when everything is based on a currency you aren’t familiar with (I track all expenses on my phone). Using the Visa card for these purposes only seemed logical.

For the time when cash is needed (such as eating street foods), withdrawal can be done at the local ATMs too.

I also found out that there’s Visa travel assistance services that provides pretty neat services such as emergency cash provision, emergency card replacement (1 business day)

Additionally, there are also offers exclusive to Visa that you can take advantage off when traveling. These include discounts and upgrades for participating hotels and car rental services, discounts on shopping, restaurants, and more. Definitely something to check out, the offers are unique to each destination.

I got my tickets booked, and can’t wait for our Bali trip 2.0!

To find out more, Click Here.

p/s: This post is brought to you by Visa.

KY travels – Heading to Bali with no Cash, 2014
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14 thoughts on “KY travels – Heading to Bali with no Cash, 2014

  • February 19, 2014 at 12:40 pm
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    Nice! Haven’t been to Bali before, hope i am able to visit the place next year 😛

    Reply
    • February 19, 2014 at 12:47 pm
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      Ken: you should, lovely place and doesn’t break the bank.

      Reply
  • February 19, 2014 at 2:24 pm
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    I have been reading your blog for a few years and enjoy your food recommendations, car ride events, friendship posting and so on. This is the first time I am posting a comment on your blog.

    I would like to express my view that I think travelling to Bali cashless and wholly relying on VISA to make cash withdrawal for street food does not make any financial nor economic sense. This is very misleading and paint the wrong picture and deliver the wrong message.

    and how does withdrawing using VISA helps you keep track of your expenses?
    what difference does it make from the ‘keeping track’ standpoint if you brought $50 cash only to Bali?

    I think you are really stretching it and I do not believe what you have posted. It may be possible in theory but I do not believe you did so because you have demonstrated yourself to be a financially prudent person.

    Your entry would have been more believable if you had said you only brought $50 to Bali for street food and tips. You took care of the rest using visa.

    Reply
    • February 19, 2014 at 3:49 pm
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      John: Thanks for the comment!

      The idea is that by withdrawing with VISA I can easily track the travel expenses by bank card statement online (debit or credit), so yes, first thing to do at airport would be withdrawing some rupiah for transactions that I can’t use Visa, with the rest of the trip taken care of by utilizing the card.

      Of course, one can always exchange some rupiah prior to the trip. This post highlights Visa and what it offers, so naturally I push it to the limit a little more.

      Cheers!

      Reply
      • March 8, 2015 at 10:59 pm
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        So hypocritical. On one hand you talked about tracking expenses on the other hand you gave the impression that withdrawing cash via Visa is totally FOC without transaction fees nor currency conversion charges.
        Come on, try harder

        Reply
        • March 9, 2015 at 10:43 am
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          alex: guess you can see it glass half full or half empty, like most things :/

          Reply
    • February 19, 2014 at 3:53 pm
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      Sean: more will come!

      Reply
  • February 20, 2014 at 7:19 pm
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    i usually head to places with no cash too. U get someone like Cumi to carry it.. see? hahaha

    Reply
    • February 21, 2014 at 12:00 am
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      ciki: hahaha that’s cheating

      Reply
  • March 30, 2015 at 3:26 pm
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    It is a very good experience, and for you who would spend a night in villa started from 70 Euro/night and to feel the Bali’s calm atmosphere, I think the good choice could start from here https://en.balijetaime.com

    Reply

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