Bali Phone

Mobile Phones
For users of mobile phones, coverage is excellent in most of the major tourist areas, however service is limited in more remote areas of Bali. It is advised that anyone travelling to Bali with their mobile phone to check with their network operators for their international roaming status prior to traveling.

Cellular service in Indonesia is GSM. If you do decide to bring your mobile phone to Bali, you have the option of purchasing a prepaid calling card to make outgoing calls at a lower cost of calling on your home SIM. They are available from a number of shops displaying the service providers logos, such as IM3, Telkomsel, Satelindo and Pro XL.

My mobile provider Virgin didn't allow me to use my mobile in Bali as I'm on a prepaid plan - Virgin Mobile offers Global Roaming on monthly billed services such as the Dial High Club and Go Low. And you need to have paid your last 3 invoices on time to activate Global Roaming. Otherwise, you'll need to change to a monthly bill and pay AUD$250 upfront, which is added as a credit to your account.

I didn't want to change to a non-prepaid plan, so I decided to take my phone & buy a SIM card when I get there.

This turned out to be the best thing that I did. As I had a local sim, I didn't need to learn region codes, etc to make calls to hotels or taxi's. All the Balinese in tourist areas have mobiles, so it's extremely useful when organizing tours, drivers, or just catching up with friends. And the bonus is that it bills in 'their price' rather than international rip-you-off prices. I was able to sms other travellers that I met on the way too, as well as SMS home a few times :) And I could receive calls from that guy that I fell in love with too hehe.. I highly recommend doing it this way than going on global roaming, it will save you a fortune, and you will thank me for it.

You can also rent a mobile phone, although more expensive - see this site (US $7.50/day)

The Country Code for Bali is 62
All area code's in Bali is 0361 except North Bali (Lovina, Sawan, etc) which is 0362
Telephone company is Telkom
Phone Prices - 1 min call to Australia 8,300Rp
Phone cards, a 100 unit card should cost apx 18,000Rp
Mobile - a mobile using GSM system can be used more cheaply if you purchase a prepaid SIM card (Indosat)

Directory Assistance
Local - 108
Long Distance - 106
International - 102

Operator Assisted
Local - 100
International - 101

Emergency
Ambulance - 118
Fire Brigade - 113
Police - 110

My Bali Phone Experience:

I thought I would try and find a phone shop to pick up a Sim card, but the first shop that "caught" me, was a guy pestering me to look at his silverware which I'm not really interested in. He then pointed to his paintings and said 1dollar, only 1dollar. Got my attention as they were incredible. Although I didn't come to Bali for paintings, he took me out the back of the shop and laid them all out, he was very proud of his work (and so he should be, but it made it harder to say "no"), I chose 2 that I liked, and he gave me a price of 750,000 Rupiah ! (approx AUD$115). A bit more than $1 huh! - I cheekily brought up that fact, and he said that he was only joking about the dollar, that "they" only joke about the $1, and to name a price. I said that I didn't want to offend him with a price because I was expecting it to be $1. After a few words, I ended up offering $10 each. He put it up to $25 for the both, and we had our first sale by bargaining. So now I've spent $25 on something I didn't want in the first place. Another lesson learnt.

He seemed a nice guy after we got talking, and he decided to walk me around the town a bit to practice his English (although he spoke it very well). After assuring me it won't cost me anything for this tour, we headed into the main streets looking for a phone shop.

I bought a SIM card for 75,000 Rupiah (50,000 Rupiah credit). They set up the phone and left it in Indonesian - argh... later in the hotel, it took me ages to find the "English" setting but I found it :)