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Why the Kuta scene in Bali
is special
 Some say Kuta is Bali's fun vacation spot, others go out of their way to avoid it.
If you're young
or young at heart and love being where the action
is, you'll agree with the
first assessment.
If you're older and more sedate,
it is probably not the place to stay. The town is commercialized and is neither attractive nor romantic. Its main arteries are traffic clogged. Still,
it warrants at least a brief visit. It gives those staying in quieter places a change of pace. It has interesting shopping and dining.
Kuta nightlife
The most exciting time for a "check it out" visit to Kuta is after the sun goes down. Its streets, sidewalks, bars and
clubs teem with energy. While the nightlife in the rest of Bali generally snoozes by 9 p.m.,
it pulses into the wee hours.
Kuta dining
It's usually easier to find foreign food (Chinese, Thai, pizza, etc.) than local
cuisine. Two good bets for Balinese and Indonesian food are Kepupat and Made
Warung.
Kuta Beach
Kuta is blessed with a long, beautiful white sand beach along the warm Indian Ocean. Two decades ago this beach was a tranquil paradise for sun worshipers, but today it is packed with tourists and
many pushy hawkers.
Swimmers
take note that the ocean undertows and riptides
along Kuta Beach can be dangerous, particularly to
inexpert swimmers. (Click the green "Beaches" button for insights on beach safety.
Kuta surfing
Surfing is popular. You can do it on the waves near the
beach or on those that break well beyond the shoreline at Kuta Reef.
Shopping
True, most of the shops stock tacky goods. However, Kuta has most of Bali's chic
upscale designer boutiques - and prices are half those found in Paris and New York for equivalent
style and quality.
Hotel
accommodations
Lodging
range from home stays (very inexpensive) to full service hotels
(moderately expensive). You have to go elsewhere in Bali to find the island's luxury resorts.
Legian
The adjoining, overly developed beach
resort towns of Legian and Kuta have effectively (but not politically) merged into a single community. It's now
difficult to tell where one town ends and the other begins.
Though Legian is
less known and slightly quieter of the two, much of what is said in the above
paragraphs applies to both towns.
Tourism
The blasts in Kuta of October 2002 and 2005 put a
heavy burden on the local and the overall island economies, which deeply depend on
tourism money. Because the island has so much to offer travelers, I am confident that
tourism will eventually bounce back to its former level.
Click a button to
learn why the Bali
attraction is popular 
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