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WELL WHAT CAN WE SAY?.....................
After many trips to the Travel Agents & emptying their brochure shelves, we finally decided on BALI for our October / November 2008 Holiday!!!!
After searching online for more information about BALI, we came across Trip Advisor, where people we're advising it would be better to get a Driver for our trips came very highly recommended.
We contacted Dean via e-mail & he was available for 1 day of our holiday & said we would have WAYAN LIA for the rest of our trips.
Through e-mails we pieced together an itinerary, we told Wayan about places that we would like to visit & he came back with some suggestions of places that may be of interest to us that we could visit in the same day, these included places that can not be found in any guide books. Wayan Lia told us that if we ever wanted to make any changes to the itinerary before or during our holiday that this would be ok, he was very flexible & he just wanted us to get the most out of our time in BALI.
When we met WAYAN LIA, we were greeted with the biggest smiling face we had ever seen. He spoke excellent English, was extremely polite & a very safe driver. The conversation was constantly flowing, we realised Wayan had a great sense of humour & was such an honest person. My husband was very interested in learning about the history & culture of BALI. Wayan is very knowledgeable in all aspects of this & none of our questions were too much trouble for him to answer. Wayan realised that my Husband is a bit of a photo fanatic & would often pull over at the side of the road to let him take pictures of the views & scenery of BALI. He never rushed us or made us feel hurried, everyday was taken at “our” pace.
Wayan would talk about his family & his jobs before being a “Driver we found out that he had been a chef. He invited us to his home for lunch to sample some of his own cooking & Bali’s traditional dishes. We had the pleasure of meeting his wonderful, lovely family who were just as smiley & friendly as he was.
At the end of our holiday we took Wayan out for lunch & what a perfect end to a perfect holiday
By the end of our 3 weeks in BALI & our time spent with WAYAN LIA he was not just DRIVER he had become one of our “VERY BEST FRIENDS”. We are returning in October this year to see our BALI friends & to have the pleasure of WAYAN’S company on more of his mystery tours.
Our whole BALI experience was well worth the long flights from England
Wayan you are the best, love to you & your family always
Carol & Dave (Manchester)
xxxx
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Thanks to Sven and Wendy Lee -- Belgium--
Bali trip October 2013
Hi Wayan Lia,
Thank you very much for your services during our honeymoon trip in August up to Oct 2013.
We
especially appreciated your suggestions for the itinerary. It was a
good idea to see the Munduk waterfall instead of the touristic Gitgit
waterfall. We didn't plan to see the temple Taman Ayun but we were glad
you brought us there. And you made our last day stress free with a
lovely seafood dinner on the Jimbaran beach watching sunset, before
heading to the airport.
If we go back to Bali, we will definitely contact you back!
Sven en Wendy - Belgium
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Thank you to Mr/s Reinsalu (Toronto, Canada)
Bali trip September 2013
Hi Wayan Lia :
Thank
you so much for sharing the real Bali with us. We thoroughly enjoyed
travelling throughout your beautiful island visiting the many temples,
villages and other natural sights.
Your patience and perseverance during the many hours of driving was much
appreciated.
We
would gladly recommend your services for anyone that would like to
visit Bali and when we revisit Bali at some future date we will surely
contact you again.
All the best to
you and your family.
Desiree and Valdur Reinsalu
Toronto, Canada
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Thank you to Mr. Sim and Family (Malaysia)
for the second trip February 2013
Yes, Bali!! The Sim’s
Family is back again for more ¡¡.. and this round of trip we bring along one
more Sim’s family member with us, Ms Joyce Sim to experience the beauty and
warmth of Bali.
And most of all we get to meet with our old friend, Mr.
Wayan Lia, one of the best tour guide and driver in Bali.
For nine months we planned this trip and couldn’t wait to
set our foot once more to this exotic island of Bali. Although we have visited Bali back in the year
2004, we are still mesmerized by its beautiful beaches, breath taking scenery,
unique temples, beautifull handicraft and painting and not to forget the
delicious Balinese food. The crispy Babi
Guling, the tender Satay Chicken with its sauce, the Bebek Panggang served with
¡°kerupuk¡± and ¡°sambal¡±, and also not forgetting my father in-law¡¯s
favourite dessert, the Goreng Pisang. Yummy, yummy, yummy¡¡¡¡¡. Wow, without realizing it, we¡¯ve ordered
more than we can take. But it¡¯s worth
it.
Besides visiting good eatery spot, we also visited many
spectacular places in Bali.
Do include
these must visit places in your itinerary when you visit Bali - Tanah Lot
Temple (temple by the seaside) , Besakih Temple (the mother temple of Bali),
Taman Ayun Temple (the royal temple), Uluwatu Temple (the cliff temple),
Beratan Temple (the lake temple), Kintamani , Tirta Gangga Park and Gitgit
Waterfall.
When it comes to lunch time, we either have ala carte or
buffet lunch overlooking beautiful beach scenery, volcanic view beside the lake
or beautiful panorama of rice terrace and green coconut trees scenery. Our most unforgettable meal experience is
our seafood dinner at the Jimbaran Beach overlooking the beautiful sunset. Wow, so romantic like having my honeymoon! The
hotels that we checked into are terrific and unique too.
We celebrated Valentine’s Day on our last night in Bali over
a candle light dinner indulging ourselves with a mixture of Balinese, Western
and Eastern cuisine.
Walla! What more
can we ask.
We feel like we are in
paradise!
Before we know it, it is the end of our 7D/6N Bali
trip. All of us felt heavy hearted to
bid farewell to Bali. Again, Mr. Wayan
Lia has given us an unforgettable and memorable Bali tour. To the Sim¡¯s family, Wayan is not just a
tour guide and driver but our dear friend.
Bali and Wayan Lia, we¡’ll be back again and keep in touch!!
>From Sim Family (Malaysia)
Dated Feb 2013
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Thanks to Jim and Karen
Hi Wayan Lia,
Thank you for providing such a wonderful service for us during our trip to Bali in February 2011.
The suggestions you gave us for our itinerary were perfect and we really enjoyed seeing the beauty of Bali with you as our guide.
Your sense of humour, (particularly when the children started to get cranky and the older boys were hung over from a night out in Kuta ), was much appreciated, and being able to ask you questions about Bali culture was helpful.
Having our 18mth old safely secured in a baby seat gave us peace of mind and your comfortable and roomy vehicle was perfect for travel, and for fitting in all the paraphenalia you need to take when you have children,such as a pram.
We would highly recommend Wayan Lia as a driver/tour guide in Bali and hope to see him again on our return to Bali later this year.
Jim and Karen Williams
Melbourne, Australia
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Thanks to Eva and Zoltan - Seattle - America
Dear Wayan Lia ,
I'm sorry for this late e-mail .
Thank you so much for you New Year wishes e-mail.
We want you to wish you and you family a very happy and successful 2011! I want you to know that we had a fanta
stic time with you in Bali. Thank you again for your help, your kindness. We can't stop thinking about Bali.
We traveled so many different places from Europe to Africa to Asia but for sure Bali is our favorit place. Our long time goal is to move there one day. I'm sending you a few pictures from our trip. I have a friend who is planning his vacation to Bali.
I gave him your contact information I'm sure you will hear from him. His name is Steve and I think he wants to go around september -october.
All the best !
Eva & Zoltan
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Thank you to Maggie & Nathaniel (Denver, Colorado, USA)
My husband and I toured Bali with Wayan Lia over a 10 day period in late May of 2010. We had debated about getting our own car versus hiring a driver and definitely made the right decision with Drivers with Distinction. Avoiding the often harrowing traffic, left-sided driving, and just getting to enjoy the scenery ahead was well worth it. We are in our late 20's and our travel style is to enjoy learning as much as possible about a culture when we travel, find the best vegetarian food, and to spend a lot of time outdoors enjoying nature. That means we spend very little time shopping or in museums and always choose to walk or hike or climb if the opportunity arises. When we first contacted Wayan Lia I expressed these sentiments and we could not have hoped for a better response. He responded to my emails promptly and thoughtfully. He helped me to tailor our itinerary, before and after our arrival, to match our interests and he was always supportive of any extra side trip (no matter how out of the way) we wanted to take. He offered an opinion when asked, but otherwise always tried to let us make our vacation the way we wanted.
Wayan Lia was an endless source of information about Balinese people, culture, food, etc… He didn't mind our many questions, often out of the blue, about anything in Bali we'd seen or wondered about. His English is excellent. Since he is not just a driver, but a registered tour guide there is no one else that you need to fully take advantage of every place you go. In fact, his mere presence deters others from bothering you about their services. His car is new and comfortable and he doesn't smoke! Unlike others we saw, that means you are never left on your own while your guide takes a smoking break.
During our trip he always went the extra mile for us. When I thought a park tour guide was too expensive, he took the initiative to ask around in a different area to find a guide that was cheaper. When we got to a town where we didn't have a hotel reservation not only was he patient as I went into a number of places to check them out, but he accompanied me in pouring rain to make sure I was able to communicate what I wanted. He always arrived on time or early for a pick-up. And he knew just where to stop to catch the best views and photos.
We felt so lucky to meet Wayan Lia, truly a and someone we quickly came to consider our friend. We give him our highest recommendation to other travelers. Also, if you have a special interest, such as biking around Bali, he is able to organize unique tours for you as well. We can only hope Wayan Lia will be free to guide us next time we are in Bali!
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Thanks to Terry and Cynthia Gough
'We booked Wayan Lia as our driver and guide through his email address, several months before we left England for Bali. We really had no idea what to expect. As soon as we met, he made us feel welcome. We found him to be totally reliable and always on time (or even early), as we set off each day to explore a different part of Bali. He was always friendly, helpful andinformative. He is a careful and considerate driver, with an extensive knowledge of both main and the lesser roads. This enabled us
to exploremore isolated and beautiful places. We thoroughly recommend
Wayan Lia if you should ever visit Bali.
Terry and Cynthia Gough (England)'
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Thanks to Terry and Marianne (USA)
Oceania Cruise Line (nautica)
My wife and I toured with
Wayan Lia for a day in February 2010, and we highly recommend him to other travelers wanting a great tour of the island. We initially found Wayan Lia on TripAdvisor and had great confidence in choosing him after reading all the great reviews. We are extremely happy to have chosen him, and we could not have had a better guide for the day.
Wayan Lia met us promptly at the pickup point after we disembarked from our cruise ship for the day. He had already mapped out a great itinerary for us based on the emails we had exchanged before the trip indicating the kind of things we wanted to see and do. We had a full day of site-seeing, including many temples, the royal palace, and Bali's spectacular scenery.
Among the other highlights of the tour were a fantastic lunch in a restaurant overlook
ing some beautiful rice paddies, and a stop at a "hidden" coffee plantation where we enjoyed "Kofi Luwak".
Wayan Lia surpassed our expectations and if (or when) we go back to Bali, he would be our choice again for a tour guide. We recommend Wayan Lia to anyone who wants a great and very likable guide in Bali.
Terry and MarianneFebruary 2010
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Thank you to Paul, Tammie, Isabelle and Mason - Australia
Dear Wayan Lia ,
We had a wonderful family holiday in Bali and enjoyed meeting and getting to know you.
You have a gentle caring nature and our children talk about you like your one of the family now (Isabelle has even named one of her Balinese dolls Wayan). One of my favorite parts of the holiday was the
wonderful conversations we had just driving along, your knowledge of Balinese culture, traditions and even farming opened up our eyes to things we have missed before on our other trips to Bali.
I will pass on your email and telephone details to any friends that are planning to come to Bali and look forward to seeing you again the next time we are in Bali.
Take Care
Paul, Tammie, Isabelle and Mason
Bali Trip New Year 2010
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Thanks To Allen and Myra
After many hours spent on searching for the best way to see Bali and seeing the raves given by previous travelers, my husband and I decided to place our bets on Wayan-Lia, one of the driver in
We couldn't have had a better guide around Bali! From the planning to the actual trip, he helped us discover the wonders of Bali and the Balinese culture and people.
He went beyond the call of duty, catering to our wishes and giving us much more than we expected. If we went back to Bali, he would be the first person we would call.
Hopefully, he would have cooking lessons coupled with a trip to the local market by then!
We recommend Wayan-Lia to anyone who wants a friendly, competent, honest and fun guide to Bali!
Thanks, Wayan-Lia!
Allen and Myra
Bali Trip Jan 2010
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Thanks to Patricia Bobroff and friends - USA.
Dear Wayan Lia
I had hoped to write to you earlier to let you know what a wonderful time we had in Bali with you showing us around. Not always the easiest thing to do when there is such little time but you took care of us like a friend.
We loved experiencing your culture, from our time spent at Tirta Empul to just enjoying ourselves going around Ubud and having a great lunch of crispy duck.
Wish there had been more time. We hope to see you again when we return to Bali - which I hope is soon. Thanks again for making our time in Bali so special!!
Patricia Bobroff and friends
Oceania Cruise Lines (Nautica)
Bali trip, Christmas 2009,
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Thanks to Julie-Rene Ogg and family
Hi Wayan Lia
Its been a while since we met.. and as promised.. here is a blogspot and some pics for your blog.. as you where just soo great!!
Blogspot:
Wayan comes highly recommended from our entire travel party..
As an ex-tourism industry employee.. I highly recom
mend Wayan as five-star in service, vehicle, knowledge, helpfulness & professionalism.
Wayan used his local knowledge to help us make the perfect decision everytime.
We will see you again next year Wayan.
Thank you :]
Jules
"There is nothing more powerful.. than an Idea, whose time has come."
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(Thanks Andy and Jr)
I ‘d like to recommend an excellent guide/driver for Bali.
Last week I returned from my second trip to Bali, and used the services of
is Wayan Lia, (
wayan-lia@dps.centrin.net.id) an extremely knowledgeable guide, a safe and efficient driver and an altogether great guy. See his site
http://wayanlia.blogspot.com/
Wayan Lia drove a friend and me around this beautiful island for 2 days, and within the first 2 hours, I learned more, and saw more of the real Balinese culture, than I did on my 1st., weeklong trip 9 months ago.
Bali is beautiful and fascinating, no matter where you go. Having said that, Wayan Lia showed us a layer of Balinese culture that is so personal and “real” that it usually takes a very long time to penetrate the life that most tourists see. We emailed a few times, setting up a general itinerary. I told Wayan the main sites we wanted to visit, and the objectives of this trip. (a little shopping, a lot of visiting sacred Temple sites, seeing the rural villages and rice fields, etc.) He responded and proposed an intelligent plan, taking into account the distances between these areas. Bali is not large, but there aren’t always direct routes between places.
The 2 days we spent with him made this trip to Bali one of the 2 most memorable trips of my travel life. I’ve been fortunate to have seen much of the world, and have met many guides. Wayan is, hands down, the absolute BEST travel guide I have ever had the pleasure to meet. He is smart, kind, speaks great English, as well as Japanese (maybe other languages, I didn’t ask) and most important for me, has the skills to tailor an itinerary to the clients desires and personality. I really felt as if we made a friend in him, and am planning my next trip to Bali for March 2010.
The only advice I have is book well in advance. He is a rare find, and people reserve his services 6-9 months in advance. He’s available for any sort of activity – sightseeing, shopping, airport transfers, furniture buying and shipping assistance, etc.
Sincerely,
Andy and JR
Santa Monica, California, USA
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Thank you Steve and Bev ---- England
We chose
Wayan Lia from a recommendation on Trip Advisor as I was looking for a driver to take us from one hotel to another during our 3 week stay in Bali.
From first contact by email it was clear that
Wayan Lia could offer much more than to simply drive us to the next hotel and he replied with a great sight seeing itinerary. Enco
uraged by this I booked him for two other hotel transfers and those three days became highlights of our trip.
He met us on the first day at the hotel reception in his new car as planned as was always punctual and reliable. He talked to us about the things that we might want to see and was very flexible so that we could make the best of our time in Bali. We saw things that we would never have done if we were on our own or in a group party.
We are so glad we met Wayan Lia and would recommend him to anyone without hesitation. Thanks for everything Wayan Lia -
Regards.
Steve & Bev
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Thank you Moira and Robin (England)
“Wayan Lia” was our driver on our honeymoon in Bali. He is a careful driver with a very comfortable car, who took us where we wanted to go and made no attempt to take us to “tourist traps”.
He is a delightful man, with huge experience of the island and its culture. He was always on hand to help and give us advice, and knows when to engage in conversation and when his clients prefer to be quiet.
He was entirely trustworthy and we whole heartedly recommend him to anyone who wants safety, security, knowledge, and good humor for their Bali experience.
Moira and Robin, May 2009.”
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Thank you to Anita and Partner (England)
My partner and I have just returned from a wonderful holiday in Bali.
I was lucky enough to find Wayan Li's details before we went and booked him for a 2 day trip around the island.
I would not hesitate in recommending
Wayan Lia We are looking forward to returning to Bali and seeing our new found friends again.
Regards
Anita and Partner
27 Juni 2009 10:20
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Thank you to Mr. Sim Yu Hock and Family
Think of paradise, think of Bali. And when it comes to Bali, you mustn't miss the chance of getting Mr. Wayan Lia service. He is an excellent and considerate tour guide as well as driver. When we made our plan to come to Bali in 2008, we met up with several travel agents in Kuching and all of them gave us a similar itinery which was not much to look forward to. We thought it would be a boring 6D/5N trip. However, Wayan change our thinking perception. He made everyday trips special and memorable. All of us enjoy every moment of our holiday in Bali. Wayan like any other Balinese, gave us a very warm welcome and 1st class services. For the 1st time of our many holidays abroad, we never get such kind of treatment. Before our Bali holiday finish, we have already making plan to come back for more.
Wayan took us to uniques temples, breath taking beaches, sourvenior markets, handicraft shops and not to forget excellent dining places too. The artwork and carving in Bali is beyond word description. You have to see it to believe it. We enjoy the Babi Guling, Ayam Betutu and the Bebek Bengil. It's really one of a kind just like Wayan services.
So if anyone interested to come to Bali, don't miss the opportunity to engage Wayan Lia services . Your Bali tour wouldn't be complete without having him showing you around with his Balinese welcome, courtesy and hospitality. He makes our holiday a unique and memorable one. See you again Bali!
Sim Yu Hock and Family
Malaysia
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