I love Bali
udo wrote:A set just cleaned up the Ulu morning team....Dreamy conditions.. enjoy ..
That's where I'm headed. Cheers :)
andy-mac wrote:I have been back in Oz since 2015, but lived in Bali full time from 2000 to 2014, except for short stint back in Oz in 2003 due to bomb factors. I am here now, first trip since 2019 and the place in my view is still best spot on earth. Sure it's crowded at main breaks, but how many A grade waves are there, with plenty of B grade waves to be had. If swell solid unless you want to surf Padang there is plenty of options. The people are still beautiful. Still lots of cool expats to meet along with the influencer fuck wit crowd. Great food, night life if you want it. I have mates that were here in 70's, they reckon Bali was stuffed by 80's. People in 80's reckon by 90's it was all over. I look back at 90's as great period, my first trip being 1990. So for a 20 year old surfer today, I reckon Bali would still be pretty dam good.
Anyway I'm about to head to Bukit, traffic feels like 2005, but no doubt next year it will be madness again.
Finally I cannot see this visa making any difference, it was always easy to get a Business or social budaya visa here for 6 months, just had to go to agent and pay money and fly to Singas. Done....
I love Bali, love holidaying there for all the reasons you mentioned but I couldn’t live there. I like how (most) things are run in Australia.
Especially now with young kids there’s no way I’d want to raise children there.
Used to do 4 - 8 week stints in Indo almost every year during my 20’s now even at the end of a two week holiday when I’m boarding the plane to come home I look forward to being back in Oz.
Probably just getting old and boring :-(
goofyfoot wrote:I love Bali, love holidaying there for all the reasons you mentioned but I couldn’t live there. I like how (most) things are run in Australia.
Especially now with young kids there’s no way I’d want to raise children there.
Used to do 4 - 8 week stints in Indo almost every year during my 20’s now even at the end of a two week holiday when I’m boarding the plane to come home I look forward to being back in Oz.Probably just getting old and boring :-(
Yeah, in a similar boat.
Bali is a great place to be as a surfer, the waves and the set up of the island as a whole is just incredible. Love spending time there a d dislike the cliche that if you're a 'serious surfer' you should scoff at Bali.
But it's very much so in a developing country, and an island with a severe lack of services which we take for granted here in Oz and elsewhere around the world.
As much as the expats and digital nomads try to glamorise it for their own gratification, it's not really a good place to set down roots (even temporarily) if you have a choice.
@andy - mac , solid swell coming on the 22nd , pumping for a week or more , enjoy.
Evo on Route ?
Stok wrote:goofyfoot wrote:I love Bali, love holidaying there for all the reasons you mentioned but I couldn’t live there. I like how (most) things are run in Australia.
Especially now with young kids there’s no way I’d want to raise children there.
Used to do 4 - 8 week stints in Indo almost every year during my 20’s now even at the end of a two week holiday when I’m boarding the plane to come home I look forward to being back in Oz.Probably just getting old and boring :-(
Yeah, in a similar boat.
Bali is a great place to be as a surfer, the waves and the set up of the island as a whole is just incredible. Love spending time there a d dislike the cliche that if you're a 'serious surfer' you should scoff at Bali.
But it's very much so in a developing country, and an island with a severe lack of services which we take for granted here in Oz and elsewhere around the world.
As much as the expats and digital nomads try to glamorise it for their own gratification, it's not really a good place to set down roots (even temporarily) if you have a choice.
Lol. You’re kidding right?
Supafreak wrote:@andy - mac , solid swell coming on the 22nd , pumping for a week or more , enjoy.
and beyond (the 22nd) if that GFS forecast comes off
burleigh wrote:Lol. You’re kidding right?
Nah.
Stok wrote:goofyfoot wrote:I love Bali, love holidaying there for all the reasons you mentioned but I couldn’t live there. I like how (most) things are run in Australia.
Especially now with young kids there’s no way I’d want to raise children there.
Used to do 4 - 8 week stints in Indo almost every year during my 20’s now even at the end of a two week holiday when I’m boarding the plane to come home I look forward to being back in Oz.Probably just getting old and boring :-(
Yeah, in a similar boat.
Bali is a great place to be as a surfer, the waves and the set up of the island as a whole is just incredible. Love spending time there a d dislike the cliche that if you're a 'serious surfer' you should scoff at Bali.
But it's very much so in a developing country, and an island with a severe lack of services which we take for granted here in Oz and elsewhere around the world.
As much as the expats and digital nomads try to glamorise it for their own gratification, it's not really a good place to set down roots (even temporarily) if you have a choice.
Agree, I personally would not live here full time for a number of reasons, but had such a great life here when lived here, it was epic in every regard, surf, people, nightlife, name a better club than 66 in its heyday!!
Number of reasons why would not, primarily having a kid going through school here if you go private is very expensive, and I did not have that kind of income stream and am not a trustafarian.
The traffic and pollution is farked, and will only get worse.
Crowds in water, but same can be said for Australia in many places without consistency and quality.
And yep general infrastructure, but that doesn't phase me too much, I like the chaos.
Have just caught up with some mates today who have been here 20 plus years and their lives are pretty epic, good business, kids going through school becoming great Surfers. There is no way they would want to leave even though things have changed heaps. Geez they are doing surf lessons and push ins at Ulu, not today though.
Also the Bukit is a lot like Canggu now with hipsters influencers everywhere. But cuci mata is ok. ;)
Supafreak wrote:@andy - mac , solid swell coming on the 22nd , pumping for a week or more , enjoy.
Yep have seen that. Feeling pretty optimistic for some good surf's coming up. Reckon will be downgraded though, seems like there has been some highs blocking swells this year, except for one couple weeks back.... Had a wobble today and not as big as forecast, but a couple. :)
I could live in Bali but it would have to be somewhere down the coast away from traffic and tourist in some village area and i just couldn't handle the crowds of main waves, id only surf more low key spots.
When i did almost a year in Indo only things i really missed was certain friends & family, some foods, Aussie TV, more just news and current affairs or crappy TV series, and hot showers and water pressure and just that feeling of snuggling under a donna and getting comfy and even just having the freedom to drive a car and not rely on people to get around, but in Bali i could figure most of those things out now, stream Aussie TV, most western foods i miss you can get there, hot showers no issue, and could even have A/C and crank it up to snuggle, and buy a car or motorbike to have that freedom.
I also just missed doing physical work and even when in Indo on holidays, i just get the urge to create and build or garden, when I've had that ability to do this in Indo i feel very satisfied though.
Oh i forgot i miss my dog too when in Indo, so id have to have a dog.
Its all doable, when kids are older i will make it happen for least half the year but not Bali somewhere in Sumatra.
nah, melbourne's much nicer...
indo-dreaming wrote:I could live in Bali but it would have to be somewhere down the coast away from traffic and tourist in some village area and i just couldn't handle the crowds of main waves, id only surf more low key spots.
When i did almost a year in Indo only things i really missed was certain friends & family, some foods, Aussie TV, more just news and current affairs or crappy TV series, and hot showers and water pressure and just that feeling of snuggling under a donna and getting comfy and even just having the freedom to drive a car and not rely on people to get around, but in Bali i could figure most of those things out now, stream Aussie TV, most western foods i miss you can get there, hot showers no issue, and could even have A/C and crank it up to snuggle, and buy a car or motorbike to have that freedom.
I also just missed doing physical work and even when in Indo on holidays, i just get the urge to create and build or garden, when I've had that ability to do this in Indo i feel very satisfied though.
Oh i forgot i miss my dog too when in Indo, so id have to have a dog.
Its all doable, when kids are older i will make it happen for least half the year but not Bali somewhere in Sumatra.
So you missed shitloads of stuff, that list kept going hahah
Regards to Bali, I'm one and done. Awesome waves, awesome people but the burning rubbish, aquatic rubbish, land rubbish and crappy food(taste, quality and lacking quantity of meat) got to me hard by the end of my two months. I was going to return for 6 months but by the end of 2 months, I was happy to leave. As for the rest of Indonesia, I can't imagine a harder Muslim presence and more poverty (!) make for a fun place to live. Maybe I'll just getting old but the world's best waves don't make up for the myriad of cons.
Just my opinion though, I hope everyone goes there because I'm elsewhere now! Somewhere that has good waves, good food and I can smoke a joint everyday without the threat of a longstay in hotel K.
In the Pacific?
goofyfoot wrote:indo-dreaming wrote:I could live in Bali but it would have to be somewhere down the coast away from traffic and tourist in some village area and i just couldn't handle the crowds of main waves, id only surf more low key spots.
When i did almost a year in Indo only things i really missed was certain friends & family, some foods, Aussie TV, more just news and current affairs or crappy TV series, and hot showers and water pressure and just that feeling of snuggling under a donna and getting comfy and even just having the freedom to drive a car and not rely on people to get around, but in Bali i could figure most of those things out now, stream Aussie TV, most western foods i miss you can get there, hot showers no issue, and could even have A/C and crank it up to snuggle, and buy a car or motorbike to have that freedom.
I also just missed doing physical work and even when in Indo on holidays, i just get the urge to create and build or garden, when I've had that ability to do this in Indo i feel very satisfied though.
Oh i forgot i miss my dog too when in Indo, so id have to have a dog.
Its all doable, when kids are older i will make it happen for least half the year but not Bali somewhere in Sumatra.
So you missed shitloads of stuff, that list kept going hahah
Yeah but this is after having a really good think about things and being completely honest, and pretty much all those things are easily fixable.
juegasiempre wrote:As for the rest of Indonesia, I can't imagine a harder Muslim presence and more poverty (!) make for a fun place to live.
Heaps of areas with good waves in Indo are Christian dominated, Nias, Telos, Mentawais, Sumba, Savu, Rote even Papua, Flores i believe has a few sneaky waves too and Christian.
While mainland Aceh, Simeulue, South Sumatra, Java, Lombok, Sumbawa, Morotai are muslim dominated.
Solid on the Bukit this morning - Gun up Andy-Mac..
ha ha its so true classic video, you see all these people on the beach early with their dogs in Bali.
And I mentioned above, id have to have a dog too....what can i say i love dogs.
You have probably slo eaten dog before IndoD possibly without knowing it with the amunt of time you're spent there.
I also wanted to live in Bali and thought maybe i will start a business with the right visa and take newbie Bali tourists to a certain area of indo and charge$25 a day per person up to 4 people per trip and camp in front of one of several spots i found.
That is one reason i moved to WA. To do strike missions basing myself in Perth and including the cheap price of flights from Perth to Bali in my pricing. Or base myself in Kuta and meet surfer/customers there.
Made a test ad on one website and within three weeks got about 6 emails but told them it was just a test to see if i would get customers.
Thing that stopped me was, what's stopping guests from doing a camping trip themselves next time they go to indo once i showed the a few spots and how to buy food or catch it.
Anyway it was just a way i thought maybe this is how i can live in indo and survive.
Only really need $50 a week to live in most parts of indo.
$7 per day Groundy....Thats the Groundswell Grovel
If renting long term a unit is about $50- $60 a month in Bali or in nusa tengarra villages. Just security is a risk in most parts without locks on doors etc. If stuff gets stolen like boards, fishing gear and cameras travel insurance won't cover it.
Why won't they cover it GS?
I had stuff stolen in Sumbawa, about $3000 worth of fins fishing gear and cash, first thing they asked was was place locked? does it have security? i lied and said yep. Got the money and also at same time got tax return and lived life up for the rest of my trip...But if my place wasn't locked they might not cover you. Also if no security like at Desert point , banko banko type villages with basic huts as accom.
andy-mac wrote:I have been back in Oz since 2015, but lived in Bali full time from 2000 to 2014, except for short stint back in Oz in 2003 due to bomb factors. I am here now, first trip since 2019 and the place in my view is still best spot on earth. Sure it's crowded at main breaks, but how many A grade waves are there, with plenty of B grade waves to be had. If swell solid unless you want to surf Padang there is plenty of options. The people are still beautiful. Still lots of cool expats to meet along with the influencer fuck wit crowd. Great food, night life if you want it. I have mates that were here in 70's, they reckon Bali was stuffed by 80's. People in 80's reckon by 90's it was all over. I look back at 90's as great period, my first trip being 1990. So for a 20 year old surfer today, I reckon Bali would still be pretty dam good.
Anyway I'm about to head to Bukit, traffic feels like 2005, but no doubt next year it will be madness again.
Finally I cannot see this visa making any difference, it was always easy to get a Business or social budaya visa here for 6 months, just had to go to agent and pay money and fly to Singas. Done....
I did social budaya six month visa a few times, first time with an Indonesian farmer friend i met on Overgrow cannabis forum.We had traded self made seeds for years before i made it to indo.
He was my first proper social budaya visa sponsor and it was a pain in the arse for him. I paid him $1000 for his trouble since he picked me up in Jakarta took me to jalan jaksa, hooked me up with buses to lampung and looked after some of my boards i left in jakarta.
Next trip i got a 60 day visa which was easier to get and Indonesian Embassy was 10 minutes away from where i worked, so went in lunch break to apply. I then booked a flight to KL after 59 days of my flight to bali to show customs in Bali on arrival that i had a flight out.
They accepted that but i had no intention of taking the KL flight, i just went to a visa agent he became my sponsor and i only needed to visit Bali immigrasi once anytime in the middle of my trip for finger prints.They treated me like a prince, i went straight past the long queues of VOA people and they took prints within 2 minutes of being there, then went back to my place in Sumbawa and surfed perfect supersuck within the next 12 hours.
I also hitch hiked most of the way to and from Bali. One truck broke down 2 hours from Padang Bai and they left me stranded so i had to walk for three hours but i found a lift and got to visa agent just before opening time.Next time i just go to and from with either a boat trip or sumbawa to lombok via $45 bus trip and or fly to bali from lombok. Flight to bali from lombok is around $40 from memory and cuts out a lot of hassle.Eastern/padang bai, Bali to denpasar is a headfuck.
Craig wrote:
Haha so true!
That guy is pretty funny, been following him for a while.
This bloke is good for Bali scene, friend of my wife...
udo wrote:Solid on the Bukit this morning - Gun up Andy-Mac..
Better surf today at ulu. 4 ft with some bigger sets .. still had a bit of wobble through it.
Should be swell tomorrow Any mac, was 6 foot plus here but SW winds which might be giving it that wobble.I would have thought the wobble would disappear with strong trades though.
groundswell wrote:Should be swell tomorrow Any mac, was 6 foot plus here but SW winds which might be giving it that wobble.I would have thought the wobble would disappear with strong trades though.
Yeah I think maybe swell angle as well???? Some really nice waves but but few n far between. Traffic in Bukit way worse than Kuta Legian Seminyak area. Full of young beautiful influencers.... Think I just threw up in my mouth haha....
Swells been WSW here in mid north west aus. I think that equals more south west swell for indo but im not 100% on that.Pretty sure it doesn't mean a south swell anyway.
Anyway enjoy your time in Indo.
groundswell wrote:Swells been WSW here in mid north west aus. I think that equals more south west swell for indo but im not 100% on that.Pretty sure it doesn't mean a south swell anyway.
Anyway enjoy your time in Indo.
Thanks mate, great to be back on the Island of the Dogs ... Love it! ;)
udo wrote:https://thebalisun.com/batik-air-launches-new-non-stop-perth-to-bali-fli...
Hope they start flying from Brisbane! And Gold Coast. Jetstar can get fooked....
andy-mac][quote=udo wrote:https://thebalisun.com/batik-air-launches-new-non-stop-perth-to-bali-fli...
Already going from Brisbane ( old Malindo ) need them to start up from GC to give virgin some competition.
Virgin prices from Goldy are very Good.
Supafreak][quote=andy-mac wrote:udo wrote:https://thebalisun.com/batik-air-launches-new-non-stop-perth-to-bali-fli...
Already going from Brisbane ( old Malindo ) need them to start up from GC to give virgin some competition.
Ah good one. Asked at Flight Centre re Malindo and they aren't dealing with them anymore. Got good priced ticket with Virgin through them so just jumped on that. Return depart 11th September flight $700 cheaper than departing 12th for 3 of us from Brisbane...
andy-mac][quote=Supafreak wrote:andy-mac wrote:udo wrote:https://thebalisun.com/batik-air-launches-new-non-stop-perth-to-bali-fli...
Already going from Brisbane ( old Malindo ) need them to start up from GC to give virgin some competition.
Ah good one. Asked at Flight Centre re Malindo and they aren't dealing with them anymore. Got good priced ticket with Virgin through them so just jumped on that. Return depart 11th September flight $700 cheaper than departing 12th for 3 of us from Brisbane...
Malindo did a shit act as they were being bought out by batik and sold flights that didn’t exist leaving punters to fight for a refund or walk away. A mate got his money back only when westpac intervened. Since then another mate flew out of Brisbane and had no problems. Looking ahead next year some Jetstar flights from Brisbane are ridiculous during school holidays which is when I have to book. So glad I can now fly from GC.
Does anyone know if you have to download your vacination cert to the peduli app? Or can you print out the cert?
I've got a bit of a complicated situation with a family member who has had a name change ..... different name on different documents and can't download the cert to Medicare etc.
linez wrote:Does anyone know if you have to download your vacination cert to the peduli app? Or can you print out the cert?
I've got a bit of a complicated situation with a family member who has had a name change ..... different name on different documents and can't download the cert to Medicare etc.
I tried by following their steps to do so but it didn’t work, tried a few times on different weeks before and after arriving. I only ever had to show vaccination certificate once and that was on arrival. Did 4 domestic flights and never got asked . Never got asked for proof of vaccination when entering any establishments including Indonesian and Australian offices. This was in june 2022. I carried the international vaccination certificate with me though .
Thanks supa. So you carried a printed copy?
And yeah, I've heard lots of examples of the app not working
linez wrote:Thanks supa. So you carried a printed copy?
Yes , the international one .
Sweet mate, thanks
linez wrote:Sweet mate, thanks
Enjoy, hope ya get barrelled off ya nut
linez wrote:Thanks supa. So you carried a printed copy?
And yeah, I've heard lots of examples of the app not working
In Bali now, only asked to show app departing Australia. Just wanted to see icon on phone, not the information entered. Have not been asked for app or vaccination status in Bali at all.
Thanks Andy. So, only on exit not entry to Bali?
I'll do my best supa, ha!
linez wrote:Thanks Andy. So, only on exit not entry to Bali?
I'll do my best supa, ha!
Yeah we arrived late at night so maybe bit lax? Went through visa issue post, then immigration, then customs. You need to have electronic customs declaration for customs, but only one for group. There were 3 of us, wife and child. Actually was one of smoothest arrivals have had in Bali.
andy-mac wrote:Have not been asked for app or vaccination status in Bali at all.
So you didn't have to show vaccination status when going through immigration into Bali? Either at the airport or providing a copy of your vaccination certificate to the Bali airport express host before you left Australia?
Loads of crew in Bali with exemptions. It its VERY easy to get an exemption.
No jab. No worries.
I love Bali.
You wouldn't think that such a thought could be controversial . But it is.
Many people don't love Bali, in fact they proclaim to hate it. Bemoan what it has become, it's lack of purity, it's lost innocence.
Sure, I can see their point. I can't imagine anywhere on Earth that has been transformed as radically as Bali over the last thirty years. From rice paddies and coconut groves to six story discotheques . It's totally unrecognisable in the most built up areas.
But that's not what this post is about. It's about why I LOVE Bali.
I love Bali because ...
- it's still the home of an intense cluster of world class waves. Roping lefts : Uluwatu, freight train right barrels : Sanur, backlit mega tubes : Padang Padang. Rip able reefs, fun beachies. Short , slabby pits and long mellow points. River mouths and bombies. It's got the lot.
- it's still possible to get uncrowded quality waves in 2015 when it seems as though the entire planet has discovered surfing. I was trading crystal clear , rolling right walls with only two other surfers just this morning.
- it's still freaking beautiful. Watching the mist reveal Mt Agung in that unique Bali morning light from a black sand beach as the sun comes up is still special.
- the food is amazing. Walking around town building up a hunger and knowing that at any given time you are within shouting distance of fresh, exotic and delicious meals with enough variety to make your head spin is priceless.
- the Balinese are legends. Friendly, happy and always keen for a joke. Unfailingly polite and welcoming. Healthy, spiritual and decent.
- the Balinese surfers rip their waves and they still own them. A visiting Brazilian would not think twice to drop in on an Aussie local at Kirra. But you won't see the same in Bali. The Balinese surfers are treated with the respect they deserve. Because as everyone knows, if they are not treated with respect there is consequences.
- the water is so warm it's like swimming in silken angels tears.
- telling people that you are going to Bali will often elicit a response along the lines of ......"why would you go to that traffic ridden, noisy shithole ?" And then as you're kicking back with a Bintang watching the sunset over Uluwatu you can imagine them sitting at lights in their car on their way home from work in Perth. Which , for those that have never been , is a noisy , traffic ridden shithole. And this makes me laugh. Which is something I enjoy doing.
- The fruit is incredible.
- despite the millions of tourists, the fast food franchises and the Aussie over familiarity with the joint it's still exotic. The smell of clove cigarettes, the ogo ogos of Nyepi, the Buddhist offerings , monkeys , food and language are all enticingly foreign.
- there is no overreaching nanny state. You want to ride your motorbike with all four of your children and the missus on the back...whilst texting. Go for it.
- you can live like a king on a regular Aussie income. Maybe not such a great benefit for the Balinese themselves though.
- it's close to Oz. Twenty hour plane ride and a shot at developing deep vein thrombosis.....ummm no thanks. It's actually faster to fly to Bali from Perth than it is to drive to Albany. You can fly from Port Hedland in less than two hours.
- you get an opportunity to regularly witness some of the most foolhardy behaviour imaginable on a daily basis. You ever seen a man being doubled on a motorbike through traffic whilst holding a large pane of glass ? What about seeing someone hold a nail between his bare fingers while his mate tries to grind the tip off it ? It's all there folks.
- you can see people making do with not much and making it work. An exhaust system held on with a T Shirt ? An outboard motor attached to a boat with no anchoring system, just held on with a man's brute force ? Why not ? It might not work forever but it'll usually get em over the line.
- the winds can blow offshore for months at a time and when they blow onshore, well , that just makes it offshore somewhere else. It's an island !
- you haven't seen glassy oceanic conditions till you've seen Indonesian sheet glass. It's like an oil slick. And if you're ever near Benoa Harbour that could well be what it is.
- old people are accorded the respect they deserve.
- it's exciting. It's a melting pot of the world. Wide eyed villages from remote Asia, jaded techno princesses from Russia, sleek surfy chicks from Canada , your next door neighbour from Ipswich....it's a party and everyone is invited.
Including YOU. I'll see you there. You can't miss me.
I'll be the sun burnt drunk in a head to toe Bintang ensemble with hair braids and a fresh tattoo of a unicorn across my back . Don't be shy. Come and say hello.