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Dennis and Chantal 🙏🏻

Last time we were in Ubud, he took us to this restaurant by rice fields. I do not remember the name. We also had the little girl (Olin) we sponsor with Compassion. It was great!🤠

That would be awesome! Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with Dewa. He deserves it. The perfect guide/driver is an ambassador of a country and Dewa is an excellent one! The Canadians!😎

Hello Ruth, Nice to hear from you my CruiseCritic friend! I am so glad you have found memories of Bali & Dewa. Thank you for the great photos. I hope you are doing good… I wish you an awesome 2023 with lots of amazing trips. The Canadians!😎

Fantastic! Can you tell us what you visited? We are still at home (cold with lots of snow) for another month before going to Uganda and Tanzania so you will us dream… Thank you for sharing. The Canadians😎

Imalori, I just realized I never replied to your post as we were cruising in Alaska. I am so sorry I can not help you with cost as I was not able to hire Kostas. He was already hired that day but because of his kindness, we became friends! Please, just email him. The Canadians!😎

I must be picky but I can no say the beaches blew me away. However, we did not spend much time on the beach. Again, I am not helpful!

Sorry I can’t help you with this one. Ask Dewa, he will know much better than me. 🍚 Dewa told me “A meal without rice is not a meal!”. Am not so sure about that.😜

No worries for the $$. Dewa can pay for you and you just reimburse him. Plus, the pricing I have on this list are old (6 year old) so not accurate... Have fun! The Canadians!😎

Hello from hot Saskatoon (33C), We are not complaining as we had a dreadful winter... I had to google Lintlaw as I am originally from Quebec. My husband is originally from Humboldt (140 km west of Lintlaw). When we stayed over night while cruising on HAL, I organized a group of 8 and had Dewa toured us (he was the guide and another man was driving a bigger van). We slept in Ubud (I strongly recommend it to you) not to lose time. Plus, sleeping in Ubud is magical. You could splurge and sleep VERY close to the rice field or just do like us, sleep right in Ubud. Because you never have been there, I would recommend splurging. Have Dewa drive you around until 4-5 o'clock and drop you off in Ubud. Experience Ubud and have him pick you up later (by calling him or arranging a set time) to go to your magical hotel overlooking the rice field. There is many things to do and you will have to be selective.. I will try to post some later. I know I posted the options in the past... Let me know if you need more help. The Canadians!😎 P.S. Dewa was really busy helping his cousin with his wedding... See photo below.

Hello Dianne, We are from Saskatoon. We met Dewa already 7 years ago. Time flies. Have a wonderful time in Bali. Are you stopping in Bali while cruising or are you spending a week or two in Bali? Lots to do. The rice terraces are so beautiful… we biked through them on a bicycle tour. I have found memories. Plus, we had a drink in the middle of a rice field… You will love the culture. They are beautiful people. Please, update this post after your return. This helps him tremendously. The Canadians!😎 P.S. We have 12-hour difference. He will email you soon.

I emailed him and his phone number never changed: +6285238493089 His email address is still the same. I hope this helps. Have a wonderful trip in Bali. They need tourism! The Canadians!😎

Hello, What is the last name on the email? If it is Dewa Purwadinata He might have changed his phone since I first posted… Send me a private message with your name and I will make sure he got the right person. We should then update his phone number Thank you for your question. The Canadians!😎

Excellent response!

If I remember currently, it is not far. If you have mobility issues, please tell Dewa and he will give you more info about it. I hope you can meet him and enjoy his nice personality! We last spent 2 weeks with him (on and off) for my 50th birthday in 2019. We miss him! The Canadians!😎

For you who are thinking of hiring someone in Heraklion. Here is a portion of Kosta’s last email to me. This was his reply about my comment about his passion for his.work and his courage to have changed work … “I was teaching English. The problem was that I had stopped enjoying what I was doing, mostly because of parents’ excessive interference. Once the desire to keep doing what I was doing went away, it was time for me to move on. I read your lines about security and pension and I can see what the majority around me keep talking about all the time. I was lucky enough not to care about such concepts. I was never brave. It was never bravery that drove me. It was just an understanding from an early age that what I wanted was having a smile on my face just before I fell asleep. No compromises, no buts or ifs. Something messes up that rule and that is the end of it. Negativity is not for me. My body cannot tolerate or digest it.”

While planning our Mediterranean cruise, I contacted Stagakis Gran Prestige (SGP) Travel Services. Kostas informed me he was already booked but he also graciously offered to help me in any way. Usually, it should have been the end to a story like this one but not in this case. The next day, I asked Kostas a general question about public transportation to a winery. He answered back right away and during the next few days, several emails were sent back and forth. Kostas even took his time making detailed maps so we could enjoy downtown Heraklion after visiting the Palace and the wine tasting. Through him, I found 2 drivers to drive us during our limited time in Heraklion. Finally, Kostas instructed me to stop at a shop where a ‘gift’ would be waiting for me. In April 2022, our cruise ship finally docked in Heraklion. We met our driver and I asked if Kostas was around so I could meet him. I was in luck and briefly thanked him for his generosity of time 😇 and unselfishness. Our driver knew he had to briefly stop at a specific store for me to pick up my 'gift’. I was expecting a small token of friendship but was mortified when the clerk presented me with 3 boxes of delicatessen of Crete. I was so ashamed of myself as I had not brought a gift! I can tell you Kostas is a special man. A beautiful man, inside and out! In this world of darkness, he is a shining star. It is so great to meet human beings like him. He made our day and our cruise…. We sampled all goodies with our friends and they were VERY good. I hope we can come back to Crete and us having a surprise for him. Time will tell… The Canadians!😎 P.S. I had posted the maps on our roll call so many cruisers were using "Kostas maps"!

Hello there, First of all, I just want to point out that this post is in relation to a 2015, 2017 AND 2019 trip to Asia. This is a beautiful story but quite long. In March 2015, after a 28-night cruise, we flew to Bali. We had the driver of our hotel (Ubud) picked us up from the airport. His name was Dewa. He was very professional, spoke great english and was very knowledgable about everything: life, history, customs... He had dealt with different personalities over the last 3 years (2012-2015) working for the hotel and he is very patient and knows how to "deliver". We loved him so much that we booked an 8-hour tour. Well, it was better than I could have imagined. I don't want to write too much details but we travel like "Rick Steves" and love the off-the-beaten-track experiences. His bubbly personality contributed a lot to our experience. We booked him for 3 more days... He then drive us to Seminyak where we were supposed to spend 10 days then fly back home (Canada). Unfortunately, my husband got very sick (read: almost died) and ended up 2 weeks at the hospital. Twice, Dewa drove 45 min from Ubud to visit with my husband at the hospital! By this point, we were like family. After our return from Canada, we pounder on what had happened and decided to sponsor Dewa’s daughter (Ayu) to English school to better her schooling. Feb 8-9, 2017 Our cruise ship stayed overnight in Bali. Dewa was there to greet us. Our reunion was very touching as the last time we had seen him was just before DH was released from a Bali's hospital. Dewa had rented a nice van and a driver as we had 3 other couples who wanted to join us on our 2-day adventure in Bali. As we are sponsoring Dewa's daughter, Ayu, to go to English school, we feel she is a grand daughter to us. Her birthday is on Feb 10 so we had asked Dewa to organize a birthday party for Ayu at our expense. Each year, Ayu is asked what she wants for her birthday: go to Mc Donalds or a party with 2-3 of her friends. She always choose McDonalds.... So this year, it was her first ever birthday party... We started by touring around Ubud until 5pm. Then, it was party time. We drove to Dewa's house and the birthday girl was already celebrating with 30 other children from her class and relatives. It was so exciting to see big smiles on their faces. A clown had been hired to entertain the kids. He did an awesome job. DH and I met Dewa's family: mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, cousins, nieces....... The compound was filled with people. It is an evening DH and I will never forget. Later on, Dewa drove us to a small Balinese hotel (in Ubud) where the 4 couples slept. The next morning, Dewa picked us up at 9 and we toured around until it was time to get back to the cruise ship. We have only one regret: not enough time with Dewa, his wife and his 2 children. Over the past 4 years, we have been in contact with Dewa on a weekly basis. This is very special as many of us do not hear often from our own sons and/or daughters... Dewa does not know it but he is giving us so much. It's hard to explain in words, I think we see in him the beauty of human beings. We keep telling him he gave us so much when we were in Bali: he did not give us materials but he gave us his time without making us feel rushed. His dedication in leading us exploring Bali to the fullest was out of this world (remember, he has seen the rice fields, the waterfalls, the temples... a thousand times). But we could see the fire in his eyes/his passion as he explained Bali to us...it was truly beautiful. We have a tremendous respect for Dewa. We consider him like our son. This is why I decided I wanted to celebrate my 50th birthday in Bali (Sept 2019). It might be our last time in Bali and I want to spend time with Dewa who showed us what love is all about by giving us everything he had in 2015: precious time. Dewa is truly a special person and I would like the whole world to find out about him. We love him and are so blessed to have him in our lives. Hopefully, you can find out first hand for yourself. If you know of anyone travelling to Bali, please let them know about Dewa. Thank you so much everyone, Dewa Purwadinata Email: dgrock1140 at yahoo dot com Phone: 085238493089 This is is new blog: https://dewadriverinbali.blogspot.com The Canadians!😎 Update We are back from Bali! We had an amazing time with Dewa and his family. We brought friends with us and they loved Dewa as much as we do. Also, Dewa was our translator when we met Olin, the 6 y.o. girl we are sponsoring through Compassion Canada. A week later, we met with her parents and visited the project in Denpasar. These 2 days were without stress due to Dewa taking care of everything…. If you have hired Dewa in the past, please post here. If you have any questions, please post as well. 2 photos are attached: 1-) Dewa and Ayu (his wife) giving me a gift on my birthday 2-) Dewa, his family and The Canadians! having supper on our last night in Bali.