OFFICE HOURS IN BALI

Government offices (except those in Jakarta which run on a five-day work week) are officially open Monday to Thursday, 8 am to 3 pm, Friday until 11 am and Saturdays until 1 pm, but if you want to get anything done, be there by 11 am. In large cities most private businesses are open 9 am to 5 pm. Shops from 9 am to 9 pm. In smaller towns shops close for a siesta at 1 pm and re-open at 6 pm.

COMMUNICATIONS

Mail
Indonesia's postal service is reliable, if not terribly fast. Kilat (express) service is only slightly more expensive and much faster. Kilat khusus (domestic special delivery) will get there overnight. International express mail gets postcards and letters to North America or Europe in about 7 days from most cities.

Kantor pos (post offices) are found in every little village in Bali, open 8 am-2 pm every day except Sunday. The main post office in Denpasar (JI. Raya Puputan, Renon) remains open until 8 pm. Most close from noon to 1 pm for lunch.

Post offices are often busy and it can be a tedious process to line up at one window for weighing, another window for stamps, etc. Hotels will normally sell stamps and post letters for you, or you can use private postal agents to avoid hassles. Look for the orange Agen Kantor Pos (postal agency) signs.

Poste Restante service is usually reliable, but it is advisable to choose more important towns such as Kuta or Ubud. Some post offices ask for ID and may also charge a fee before handing over your letters.

Telephone and Fax
Long distance phone calls, both within Indonesia and international, are handled by satellite. Domestic long distance calls can be dialed from most phones. To dial your own international calls, find an IDD (International Direct Dial) phone and dial "001" or "008, " otherwise you must go via the operator, which is far more expensive.

A magnetic debit (kartu telpon) phone card can be purchased at hotels, post offices and many other outlets. This is used on card phones, which are increasing in popularity, eliminating the need for small change.

If your hotel has no IDD link you have to go to the main telephone office (kantor telepon), use a silver card phone (kartu telpon) and pay an uninflected rate or use a private postal and telephone service: Wartel (warung telekommunikasi) warpostel / warparpostel. These small "telkom shops" are all over Indonesia and the most convenient way to call international (you avoid hotel price hikes). They are often run by well-trained, efficient staff and offer fast IDD services at near standard rates. Open daily 8 am -10 pm or 11 pm; some open 24 hours. Rates per minute are about $2.30 to the Americas and $3.10 to most European countries. Night rates are slightly lower.

International calls via MCI, Sprint, ATF, and the like can be made from IDD phones using the access code for your calling card company. Recently, special telephones have been installed in some airports with pre-programmed buttons to connect you via these companies to various countries.

Faxes can be sent and received at wartel offices and most main post offices.