Wayan Bantok is a GREAT Bali driver. I met him through my wife, after she and another woman friend traveled around the island with him on day trips for about a week, and she went on and on about him. I trust him with my wife, and I trust him with my son.

He charges from RP150,000 to Rp350,000, depending on how many days you use him, how many people, places, hours, how far, etc. It is best to just ask him the price in the morning before you go, or by phone, before you go. He is always happy to give you a price, so you will KNOW how much it will cost.

His car is MUCH nicer than most (He's very proud of how it looks), it's a 2 or 3 year old Kijang w A/C and can carry up to seven. Since he has a wife n kid he's pretty much only a day trip kinda guy, and goes home at night. If you hit it off, see if you can wangle a visit to his house, It's a stunner. He is about in the middle price wise, but paying less means getting a driver with poor language skills, or a poor car, or who is indebted to the shops he takes you to.

He is a real decent family guy, a devout Balinese Hindu, he isn't interested in helping you find girls, or marrying tourists. His family has lived in Batuan for many generations, and he takes pride in explaining his culture to people who want to know, but knows when to keep to himself and let you think. He's been all over the island and knows everything; from where and what to eat (don't buy him lunch, he's got stomach problems n doesn't want to be impolite if you offer), to temples and history, to beaches and stunning views, to people who make instruments, paint, carve, dance, all of it. If you want he'll take you to where they make the crafts not just to shops that sell them. His English is remarkable, if only for his extensive vocabulary, and his use of syntax is pretty good, considering most word order is reversed in Bahasa Bali, or Bahasa Indonesia, from English. I'm not sure what other languages he speaks, but he has Japanese and French and German speaking customers.

He started out literally working in the rice fields, but has been driving for 22 years and now has his own car. Many people like to use him for more than one day, because everything takes forever here, but he'll take you right to what you'd like to see. While his wife Nyoman has a stall at the Sukawati Art Market (a MUST for shoppers, she, Nyoman, is a riot, a born saleswoman, and the tourist shops buy from HER), his first love is driving. He's disarmingly warm and genuinely likes people. I have been doing business in Bali for 10-12 years now, and Wayan not only has become my friend, but has disbursed money to people who make things for me and shipped the stuff to my office in the US. He has had many thousands of dollars pass through his hands and has always treated my money like he treats his car, meticulously.

All in all, an insightful day's introduction to Balinese life and culture, for less than the cost of dinner in the US. Email him at Wayanbantok at yahoo dot com He looks almost every day, or call him, hand phone 081 835 8458 (from the US 011 6281 835 8458), or at home, 299707 (from the US 01162 361 299707) or fax 297840.