Bali

note

All thoughts are very subjective. I do realise we and locals live in different worlds (physically and mentally). I am a privileged white European, my lens is without doubt distorted.

Pros

• Beautiful tropical nature on this island
• Delicious tropical fruits like papaya and mango
• Sometimes still, sometimes crazy waves in the ever-warm ocean
• Powerful waterfalls
• Beautiful coral reefs. Snorkeling with Manta Rays (Nusa Penida) was amazing
• Majority of locals are doing daily offerings that look like this, this does create a lovely vibe

Cons

• Water: if you dont live near a freshwater source that you can collect and that is not contaminated - most likely drinking water will be coming out of 18 liter bottles. From what I've witnessed they are always transported in big trucks or motorcycles - problem is that it gets scorching sunlight heating and penetrating this water. Don't have to be a genious to see this is toxic.
  • Towards the end of our stay on Bali have found an excellent water source tho. Okeara! Structured AND hydrogenated water. Perfect.
• Traffic. Narrow roads and barely any traffic lights outside of main city of Denpasar
  • Some crossings are perma traffic-jammed, seldom with manual traffic officers, if driven through carefully - its all good. But overall its just crazy.. It is hard to imagine why the officials do not put traffic lights.
  • During heavy traffic, if riding a scooter, you will be inhaling LOTS of cheap petrol gas
• Lots of plastic in the ocean, especially during-after rainy season
• When air-conditioners came to these Asia it seems all ventilation holes in all buildings were plugged
  • Because of this you can't get any fresh air OR cool down the room without the A/C
  • A lot of villas are ground floor and it can be dangerous to leave the door open to get some fresh air, even if you wanted to. Flow will be weak anyway because can't make a draft
  • A lot of shops and cafes will have a super low temperature A/C setting, it feels like walking into a fridge.. very annoying
  • A lot of A/C will have plenty of mold inside, which will be added to the not-very-refreshing air blowing
  • Overall this forced way of A/C or sweat like a pig is infuriating. Wish clever drafting was implemented, especially in a place where you live
• Due to the A/C problem mentioned above - in places where humidity is high - mold spreads like crazy. We have several horrid experiences living in wooden villas.. Clothes going moldy and overall the smell is nasty. So unless the place is ventilated well (meaning not all holes are plugged) - it will definitely be moldy. We decided we don't even want to risk this anymore so stopped staying at wooden places (shame).
• Trash.. it is almost everywhere.. The government isn't helping locals, and locals dont have any desire to manage it well (some say 'they are surviving, thus can't pay for proper trash handling', but still feels like an excude and failure of the ethical system)
  • Locals are mostly disposing of trash in 3 ways:
    • Burning. Together with all the plastic
    • Throwing into the back yard
    • Throwing into the rivers... There seems to be efforts of cleaning the rivers, but I guess this will not stop until the ethical system itself evolves, individuals cannot be at fault..

Good saunas (banyas)

• Canggu: Pura8Ocho
• Uluwatu: Uluwatu Jungle Villa, Istana

Uluwatu

Out of all places Uluwatu feels the most relaxed and that summerhouse vibe, and does have some fancy places if one needs. Ocean is really close and the beaches are really

Pros

• Very green everywhere. A lot of construction like everywhere else, but for now quite green, especially Pecatu area.
• Not many pompous tourists around, as mostly its a surfer destination
• Ocean is very close, with nice caves and bright sand beaches. Pantai (beach) Suluban is a cave with unique swimming experience, semi diving with goggles is very fun. However, during low tides the ocean goes too far back. Made a mistake once trying to get to water barefeet, walking on coral... dangerous mistake, feet full of circular punctures. Coral spores in wounds can be quite dangerous.
• Overall homey feel as Pecatu area seems somewhat secluded from everything
• In Pecatu - no traffic issues

Cons

• Not as many health/organic shops to choose from. In fact impossible to find organic fruits and vegetables
• Is at the very end of the archipelago, getting to other islands destinations is painful

Canggu

Pros

• Many health/organic stores, with fruits and vegetables
• Options for authentic, Russian banya influenced, sauna experiences
• Closer to Ubud and other destinations
• Pererenan, the next village, is very quiet in places, almost like Uluwatu

Cons

• Full of pompous tourists
• Silly traffic

Ubud

Pros

• Numerous waterfalls are close. Some offer ceremonial experiences, which are very energetically potent
• More temples per square km than anywhere else
• A lot of health-conscious food places.
• Djamoekoe a unique health store
  • Amazing jungle honeys (+pollen, +royal jelly, +propolis)
  • Fresh small-batch tobacco from all over the region. Many variates. This is the best tobacco experience I've had.
  • Their branded supplements
  • Essential oils
  • They advertise that worldwide delivery is possible.. If so I shall order tobacco to Europe :D

Cons

• The centre of the city is weird.. didn't really get it. Quite touristy huge traffic issues on the main road.
• "Every second russian woman is a 'Diva' here" - cracked me up!

Kuta/Denpasar

Meh ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Issues with Bali

• In Indonesia it's extremely difficult for foreigners to easily get a job. You need a full-fledged expensive work/living visa (KITAS).
  • This is creating a very uneasy mechanic, especially on Bali, where around 80% of income is from tourism.
  • Locals are the ones who are (almost) exclusively allowed to work in all tourist places.
  • HOWEVER all the places are (almost) exclusively owned by foreigners.. so all the tourist income is really gained by the tourist ventures... and locals are paid peanuts for their hard (often 7 days a week) work.
  • It is a very deep and not-an-easy-to-explain-for-a-layman topic, but after spending some time on Bali, it is evident that there is this implicit envy or even hate by the locals who see all these luxuriously relaxing foreigners.
  • This is just a first pass of these thoughts. But this mechanic makes it very less desirable to live on Bali. The government has forced the locals to be the only ones doing these low pay jobs, so they 'serve' the rich foreigners, but its only human nature to start envying and eventually subtly hating these people (despite trying their best to smile and be friendly).
  • Maybe these impressions aren't accurate, we live in different worlds after all (meaning some thing I, as a westerner, will never be able to understand). But this is the impresson I am getting after nearly 8 months on the island.

Few Indonesian/Balinese phrases to remember

• Terima kasih: thank you. Terima - accept, Kasih - love. Can be pronounced short: makasi

Tadaa, 7 months on the island and this is about all of the useful phrases that I know .

Entry visa

Type	Period	Extension	Cost	Application	Notes
Visa On Arrival	30 days	once, 30 days	30EUR	upon arrival	Can do a visa run to Kuala Lumpur and enter by getting another one of these
B211A	60 days	twice, 60 days each	varies, 250+175+175EUR	Should be applied for through an agency, takes around a week. Cannot do it without an agency since need a sponsor and plenty of docs filled..headache	Some agencies could be scams. Had good success with these guys
KITAS	2 years	no	varies, 2-3K USD	not sure	Allows earning income

Apps

• Grab: food and transport (car, scooter)
• Gojek: food and transport (car, scooter)