I love Bali
Holy shit! I just found out about this second home visa and for me it changes a lot, although it's called a digital nomad visa, the requirements keep all the digital nomads out, which is a positive to me after experiencing the bukit awash with them, just my personal opinion. Does anyone know anything about it? Any local knowledge or anyone thinking of taking it up? Is it sketchy keeping that much money in an Indo bank and do you need to keep it in there?
I'm in South America at the moment and for most of next year but long term I'm not sure I'm going to stay here. My Latina missus is missing Australia(!) and we're both missing living in beauty, so being based in Indo is conveniently located to oz and it's beautiful. The waves here are consistent, uncrowded, varied and fucking fun but it's desert, overcast and not beautiful in the way that Indonesia is....at least if you keep your blinkers on and don't look at the rubbish! I've only been to Bali for 2 months and would be looking at Lombok or South Sumartra probably because other then Lembongan, in Bali the cons outweighed the pros and you can't (i think) surf in Lembongan in the offseason. I would want somewhere where I can surf year round.
As an aside, can anyone on the ground comment on prices going up? I checked a villa for rent and it had doubled in price since I checked it in July this year. So only one data point from one person but I had to double check the exchange rate/figures because it seemed a ridiculous increase in price.
I'm also torn with this new visa because I can see it gentrifying Indonesia even more. If people like me come, get lease holds, spend money in a way that average indos can't, I can't see it going well for them. But....let's talk! I'm excited.
@jueg , I can’t help you with any information on the new visa. I have had large amounts of money in an Indonesian bank before and never had any problems, their interest rate was way way better than what you get in oz . As you know Indonesia is a big place and if you haven’t been all the way east of Bali, it’s worth checking out as there’s still uncrowded surf to be found and very beautiful scenery. As far as villas go anything with a pool is always dearer and not cheap to run as electricity is getting expensive. Have you looked on rumah123 ? Google it and you can get in English. Plenty of houses in the 3-4 thousand a year range just not in the “ beautiful people “ area’s and not beachfront with pools . Lembongan in the wet season is very hit and miss, the odd day but way better surf to be found elsewhere. Good luck in your travels and enjoy whatever is in front of you .
Jueg you probably wont notice any difference in Digital Nomad numbers with that new Visa
I Dont think it will have any great Effect.
Also, you may not like living on Lombok, the people are very different to Bali.
Details are still pretty sparse from what I could research but it's coming into effect on Christmas eve so we'll all see how it shakes out. I think it will be like the reopening how they'll shift the goalposts several times before settling on something. Might turn out to be not feasible but we'll see.
@supafreak thanks! Your advice is always spot on! Shame about Lembongan not having offseason surf, it was a favourite of ours. It's an incredibly beautiful place.
@udo you're probably right. My missus also thought I was wrong and they'll always be there regardless.
@spidermonkey can you elaborate on the difference? The Balinese people were awesome, definately a highlight. Can you speak to the difference on the Sumatrans vs Balinese?
juegasiempre wrote:@spidermonkey can you elaborate on the difference? The Balinese people were awesome, definately a highlight. Can you speak to the difference on the Sumatrans vs Balinese?
Learn the language, respect the culture and their faith. It's a beautiful place to be.
burleigh wrote:Learn the language, respect the culture and their faith. It's a beautiful place to be.
That's good advice and I follow it. I definately wish it was more broadly adopted in some central American countries I've been to. I was wondering about the cultural differences between the islands though as I've only been to Bali.
Not just the mentawi’s that is for sale . https://coconuts.co/bali/news/sothebys-auctioning-off-rights-to-100-unin... To be clear, Sotheby’s is auctioning off development rights to the island, not ownership rights, as Indonesian law does not permit private ownership of islands. If you’re crazy rich and don’t care about the controversy, you can head to Sotheby’s website to register for the auction. But you’ll need to place a US$100,000 deposit just to make a bid.
Channel 9 - the block does Bali.
juegasiempre wrote:burleigh wrote:Learn the language, respect the culture and their faith. It's a beautiful place to be.
That's good advice and I follow it. I definately wish it was more broadly adopted in some central American countries I've been to. I was wondering about the cultural differences between the islands though as I've only been to Bali.
We found the cultural differences between Lombok and Bali to be stark. Spent a bit of time poking around Lombok in our little sailing cat, we just did not feel comfortable in many of the smaller villages unlike Bali and Islands further East. Got pretty sick of the behind the back jibes, petty theft, and general resentment. For us, it was not a great place to spend a few months especially so for my girlfriend.(Of course there was exceptions, and we met some good people) But you may have a completely different experience!
@juegasiempre "....As an aside, can anyone on the ground comment on prices going up? "
dont forget the +10% govt tax and +10% service tax ie add 20% to all purchases.
And on Real Estate Sales an Exit Tax 5%
I was there in April and May. In Bali the popular spots have prices close to Oz prices. Warungs / smaller local places are still great value and great food.
Not sure about rent (which I just realised you were asking about)
juegasiempre wrote:@spidermonkey can you elaborate on the difference? The Balinese people were awesome, definately a highlight. Can you speak to the difference on the Sumatrans vs Balinese?
Sumatrans are made up of about a dozen ethic groups that vary quite a bit in language, culture, religion and even appearance actually the difference in facial appearance and in particular bone structure is crazy especially Mentawai, Telo/Nias and Batak very different to other areas of Sumatra which look more like people of Java and Bali that generally speaking look more similar to each other.
Generally speaking i think Balinesse are the most friendly, but i think it's mostly a result of a long history of tourism, other groups are friendly but more reserved and can take more time to warm to you.
There is perhaps a religious aspect, but that said some of the most friendly people have been very strict practising Muslims
https://fb.watch/heHvMEfNde/?mibextid=qC1gEa. Geez a lot of construction went on during covid . Be interesting to see what effect this new marina at sanur has on the coastline heading north up to candidasa , they aren’t really known for their environmental impact studies . It’s an unusual spot at sanur as the south side of the groin was white ( dirty white ) sand and the north side was black sand .
Supafreak wrote:https://fb.watch/heHvMEfNde/?mibextid=qC1gEa. Geez a lot of construction went on during covid . Be interesting to see what effect this new marina at sanur has on the coastline heading north up to candidasa , they aren’t really known for their environmental impact studies . It’s an unusual spot at sanur as the south side of the groin was white ( dirty white ) sand and the north side was black sand .
Yep it's pretty big. Sussed it out when staying just up the road in September. Had one very solid swell whilst there are swell would seem just to dissipate, not back wash or anything noticeable. Time will tell. Wake from boats still biggest issue for surfing Sanur reef, apart from locals sending bule in..
Seems crazy when they have a perfect harbour with big car park already built just across from Serangan. Heard it was a Banjar/ political thing to keep boats operating out of Sanur beach...
andy-mac wrote:Supafreak wrote:https://fb.watch/heHvMEfNde/?mibextid=qC1gEa. Geez a lot of construction went on during covid . Be interesting to see what effect this new marina at sanur has on the coastline heading north up to candidasa , they aren’t really known for their environmental impact studies . It’s an unusual spot at sanur as the south side of the groin was white ( dirty white ) sand and the north side was black sand .
Yep it's pretty big. Sussed it out when staying just up the road in September. Had one very solid swell whilst there are swell would seem just to dissipate, not back wash or anything noticeable. Time will tell. Wake from boats still biggest issue for surfing Sanur reef, apart from locals sending bule in..
Seems crazy when they have a perfect harbour with big car park already built just across from Serangan. Heard it was a Banjar/ political thing to keep boats operating out of Sanur beach...
Yeah when I had a boat , if I picked up friends or dropped them off in sanur I had to pay 20,000rp per person to the harbour master . Same if I pulled into beaches further up the coast , so I could see a fight over what harbour the boats are going to go to and frow from . Nusa penida has an incredible amount of day trippers now all going for a instagram photo on the cliff overlooking a beach with a frightening staircase to the bottom. Im talking hundreds and hundreds of people daily jumping on a boat for a day trip, there’s a stream of boats with the standard 6 , 300hp engines on the back . 
Have you fished around those rocks in the photo supa?
Looks like it could be fun to have a spear fish around there
Supafreak wrote:andy-mac wrote:Supafreak wrote:https://fb.watch/heHvMEfNde/?mibextid=qC1gEa. Geez a lot of construction went on during covid . Be interesting to see what effect this new marina at sanur has on the coastline heading north up to candidasa , they aren’t really known for their environmental impact studies . It’s an unusual spot at sanur as the south side of the groin was white ( dirty white ) sand and the north side was black sand .
Yep it's pretty big. Sussed it out when staying just up the road in September. Had one very solid swell whilst there are swell would seem just to dissipate, not back wash or anything noticeable. Time will tell. Wake from boats still biggest issue for surfing Sanur reef, apart from locals sending bule in..
Seems crazy when they have a perfect harbour with big car park already built just across from Serangan. Heard it was a Banjar/ political thing to keep boats operating out of Sanur beach...Yeah when I had a boat , if I picked up friends or dropped them off in sanur I had to pay 20,000rp per person to the harbour master . Same if I pulled into beaches further up the coast , so I could see a fight over what harbour the boats are going to go to and frow from . Nusa penida has an incredible amount of day trippers now all going for a instagram photo on the cliff overlooking a beach with a frightening staircase to the bottom. Im talking hundreds and hundreds of people daily jumping on a boat for a day trip, there’s a stream of boats with the standard 6 , 300hp engines on the back .
Yep super busy when I was there. At least now boats seem to have a set timetable so they seem to leave and arrive in groups . Think they just use to go if got some guests at anytime.. heaps of warungs doing good business in from of Alit, guess these will all move down to new harbour. Was fun having a beer now there in arvo watching passing parade. Cuci mata. ;)
goofyfoot wrote:Have you fished around those rocks in the photo supa?
Looks like it could be fun to have a spear fish around there
Don't go to this beach!! ⊙﹏⊙
https://m.
goofyfoot wrote:Have you fished around those rocks in the photo supa?
Looks like it could be fun to have a spear fish around there
That whole coast line is amazing, used to troll in about 20-60 mtrs of water and occasionally spearfish, popping is good too . Sadly the amount of wahoo has diminished and yellow fin tuna extremely rare now but doggies and mahi-mahi are still around . Very big GTs which is a favourite fish head soup with the locals. The cliffs along this coast have several spots where fresh water is pouring non stop out of the base of the cliffs and locals built staircases down them to collect the water. Penida has huge underground lakes .
andy-mac wrote:goofyfoot wrote:Have you fished around those rocks in the photo supa?
Looks like it could be fun to have a spear fish around thereDon't go to this beach!! ⊙﹏⊙
https://m.
Hahaha cool story andy , I have actually experienced some really weird stuff fishing around there . Have you been to the beach temple at klotok ? It’s to keep the demons away from crossing over from penida.
Supafreak wrote:goofyfoot wrote:Have you fished around those rocks in the photo supa?
Looks like it could be fun to have a spear fish around thereThat whole coast line is amazing, used to troll in about 20-60 mtrs of water and occasionally spearfish, popping is good too . Sadly the amount of wahoo has diminished and yellow fin tuna extremely rare now but doggies and mahi-mahi are still around . Very big GTs which is a favourite fish head soup with the locals. The cliffs along this coast have several spots where fresh water is pouring non stop out of the base of the cliffs and locals built staircases down them to collect the water. Penida has huge underground lakes .
Shit yeah sounds epic
Supafreak wrote:andy-mac wrote:goofyfoot wrote:Have you fished around those rocks in the photo supa?
Looks like it could be fun to have a spear fish around thereDon't go to this beach!! ⊙﹏⊙
https://m.
Hahaha cool story andy , I have actually experienced some really weird stuff fishing around there . Have you been to the beach temple at klotok ? It’s to keep the demons away from crossing over from penida.
Yep, Klotok temple, know it.... Some of those east coast beaches have a spooky vibe and very bloody history from 65', don't need to worry about the Penida demons, enough lurking around there from Bali!! :/
Have you read bones of the dark moon ? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21750648-bones-of-the-dark-moon Fiction story based on fact of the events of that period. Old locals don’t really like to talk about those days.
Supafreak wrote:Have you read bones of the dark moon ? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21750648-bones-of-the-dark-moon Fiction story based on fact of the events of that period. Old locals don’t really like to talk about those days.
Not yet... Have met Richard a few times, nice very interesting guy. Will track it down, use to get his blog emailed.
Thanks for heads up.
This guy has some great reads all Indo related. Fiction/ fact entwined. Merdeka Square is all about Suharto gaining power and killings.
andy-mac wrote:Supafreak wrote:Have you read bones of the dark moon ? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21750648-bones-of-the-dark-moon Fiction story based on fact of the events of that period. Old locals don’t really like to talk about those days.
Not yet... Have met Richard a few times, nice very interesting guy. Will track it down, use to get his blog emailed.
Thanks for heads up.This guy has some great reads all Indo related. Fiction/ fact entwined. Merdeka Square is all about Suharto gaining power and killings.
Thanks for that, yes I believe Richard was 9 years old at the time of the massacre living in ubud, or was it klungkung ? it is a very easy reading book with comedy romance and drama plus some interesting facts about the women of those days .
https://nusasurfwear.com/pt/nusa-mag/soul-talk/richard-e-lewis-e-bones-o... if this comes up in a different language go to top of page and click on English flag
Yeah enjoyed Richards book used to also subscribe to and enjoy his blog, he has a sister here in Perth came here for shoulder surgery as well unfortunately never got to meet him.
Good story about the gardener digging a big hole in the garden.
The east coast has spooked me a bit over the years was knocked unconscious at Choo Choo out on my own luckily came to in time to swim to the surface miles from the impact zone don't remember the paddle in.
Supafreak wrote:andy-mac wrote:Supafreak wrote:Have you read bones of the dark moon ? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21750648-bones-of-the-dark-moon Fiction story based on fact of the events of that period. Old locals don’t really like to talk about those days.
Not yet... Have met Richard a few times, nice very interesting guy. Will track it down, use to get his blog emailed.
Thanks for heads up.This guy has some great reads all Indo related. Fiction/ fact entwined. Merdeka Square is all about Suharto gaining power and killings.
Thanks for that, yes I believe Richard was 9 years old at the time of the massacre living in ubud, or was it klungkung ? it is a very easy reading book with comedy romance and drama plus some interesting facts about the women of those days .
Klungkung.
You have probably seen this but has Richard and his mother talking about 65.
https://m.
Supafreak wrote:https://nusasurfwear.com/pt/nusa-mag/soul-talk/richard-e-lewis-e-bones-o... if this comes up in a different language go to top of page and click on English flag
Cheers, and will track down book. Some Xmas reading. :)
I focus wrote:Yeah enjoyed Richards book used to also subscribe to and enjoy his blog, he has a sister here in Perth came here for shoulder surgery as well unfortunately never got to meet him.
Good story about the gardener digging a big hole in the garden.
The east coast has spooked me a bit over the years was knocked unconscious at Choo Choo out on my own luckily came to in time to swim to the surface miles from the impact zone don't remember the paddle in.
Heavy.... Lucky.
Indonesia’s new law prohibiting sex outside of marriage will also apply to tourists in Bali. That will cramp people’s style a bit.
Though prosecution will only occur if the offenders are reported to the police by a spouse, parents or their children. So, if you are in a defacto relationship while visiting Bali, don’t get your kids offside.
wally wrote:Indonesia’s new law prohibiting sex outside of marriage will also apply to tourists in Bali. That will cramp people’s style a bit.
Though prosecution will only occur if the offenders are reported to the police by a spouse, parents or their children. So, if you are in a defacto relationship while visiting Bali, don’t get your kids offside.
Unlikely to be enforced on foreign tourist, expect more aimed at young Indonesian renters etc possibly Indonesian tourist , but could apply to long term expats especially if have an Indonesian partner.
It's not so much of an issue now as I have kids but we occasionally got asked for our marriage certificate when booking into hotels outside of Bali & Jakarta especially muslim owed and run hotels in places like Padang and Medan.
burleigh wrote:https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl2ay-OJTIJ/?igshid=MDM4ZDc5MmU=
Haha saw that. Classic. (•‿•)
This scum bag should be left to rot in jail.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-08/indonesian-says-bali-attack-bombm...
andy-mac wrote:This scum bag should be left to rot in jail.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-08/indonesian-says-bali-attack-bombm...
A while ago I was working on a building site with a mate of mine. A year or so earlier his wife and sister and law were killed in the Bali bombings, and so had another friend of ours. They were on a girls trip to Bali, there were six of them, and those who survived did so with deep mental scars; no marriage or relationship survived. It atomised what, to that point, had been our close circle of friends.
While having lunch on site with the radio going, news came through about the arrest of Abu Bakar Bashir, the so-called mastermind of the bombings. My hair stood on end, fist and arm muscles stiffened, adrenaline beginning to pump in a flight or fight reaction, erring towards the fight cos the news made me angry as hell. All the lives destroyed or damaged, concentric waves of carnage spreading outwards from the Sari Club across oceans and continents, across generations, kids growing up without parents, a sadness that was so distant from the ideological goal of the bombings that it was hard to make sense of it.
Me, I just got angry. I guess lots of others did too as innocent Muslims were targeted on the street, veils and hijabs removed.
However, my mate who'd lost his wife, whose son was growing up without knowing his mum, and who had more right to anger than anyone, listened to the news and his reaction dumbfounded me. There was no reaction. No anger or vengeance. He was never religious, and nor was I, but if a scholar went looking for an example of the Serenity Prayer they'd find no more powerful example of 'accepting the things that cannot be changed' than on the building site that day.
Justice and punishment are cornerstones to a civil society but his reaction taught me a profound lesson about living: Finding the strength, however hard, to let go and move forward.
Two months ago, on the 12th October, I interviewed Gerry Lopez at Bondi, and then instead of hanging around with the Patagonia crew afterwards made my way south to Cronulla. There'd been 20th anniversary speeches in the morning, but now it was mid-arvo with few people around the memorial. I laid flowers down and then walked towards the Alley to check the surf.
Standing there and I noticed a familiar figure seated in the restaurant overlooking the surf. He saw me at the same time and came straight out. Big unguarded hugs. Eyes watering. Neither of us do social media, we hadn't kept in touch with each other despite knowing each other since we were four - I've known him longer than anyone outside my family. We learnt to surf together. The last time I'd seen him was five or so years ago when he returned an old Hot Buttered I'd sold to him when we were thirteen.
He's living in Queensland now. A few biz hurdles set him off track but they'd proven to be blessings in disguise. Got a new wife, and a whole new life, surfing heaps, he's happy, and when I saw the outraged headlines this morning I thought of how he'd react, and then I did the same.
stunet wrote:andy-mac wrote:This scum bag should be left to rot in jail.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-08/indonesian-says-bali-attack-bombm...
A while ago I was working on a building site with a mate of mine. A year or so earlier his wife and sister and law were killed in the Bali bombings, and so had another friend of ours. They were on a girls trip to Bali, there were six of them, and those who survived did so with deep mental scars; no marriage or relationship survived. It atomised what, to that point, had been our close circle of friends.
While having lunch on site with the radio going, news came through about the arrest of Abu Bakar Bashir, the so-called mastermind of the bombings. My hair stood on end, fist and arm muscles stiffened, adrenaline beginning to pump in a flight or fight reaction, erring towards the fight cos the news made me angry as hell. All the lives destroyed or damaged, concentric waves of carnage spreading outwards from the Sari Club across oceans and continents, across generations, kids growing up without parents, a sadness that was so distant from the ideological goal of the bombings that it was hard to make sense of it.
Me, I just got angry. I guess lots of others did too as innocent Muslims were targeted on the street, veils and hijabs removed.
However, my mate who'd lost his wife, whose son was growing up without knowing his mum, and who had more right to anger than anyone, listened to the news and his reaction dumbfounded me. There was no reaction. No anger or vengeance. He was never religious, and nor was I, but if a scholar went looking for an example of the Serenity Prayer they'd find no more powerful example of 'accepting the things that cannot be changed' than on the building site that day.
Justice and punishment are cornerstones to a civil society but his reaction taught me a profound lesson about living: Finding the strength, however hard, to let go and move forward.
Two months ago, on the 12th October, I interviewed Gerry Lopez at Bondi, and then instead of hanging around with the Patagonia crew afterwards made my way south to Cronulla. There'd been 20th anniversary speeches in the morning, but now it was mid-arvo with few people around the memorial. I laid flowers down and then walked towards the Alley to check the surf.
Standing there and I noticed a familiar figure seated in the restaurant overlooking the surf. He saw me at the same time and came straight out. Big unguarded hugs. Eyes watering. Neither of us do social media, we hadn't kept in touch with each other despite knowing each other since we were four - I've known him longer than anyone outside my family. We learnt to surf together. The last time I'd seen him was five or so years ago when he returned an old Hot Buttered I'd sold to him when we were thirteen.
He's living in Queensland now. A few biz hurdles set him off track but they'd proven to be blessings in disguise. Got a new wife, and a whole new life, surfing heaps, he's happy, and when I saw the outraged headlines this morning I thought of how he'd react, and then I did the same.
Very nice writing there Stu and and a very valid point, and I agree, but got to admit a wave of anger went through me when I read the headline.
I luckily dodged the bomb in 2002 as I had to go to Ubud on that night for work reasons, if not for this fact which at the time I was pissed off about, I would have been at Sari Club in the front section (my sliding door moment). An English guy I was living was on his way to the Sari when the bomb went off, he luckily was unharmed but left for England on the next flight he could get and never returned abandoning his business. Another friend was in Paddy's and witnessed first bomb that went off inside the club and instead of running for the main entrance he jumped the fence and bolted towards Bemo Corner. He survived physically but has had ongoing mental health issues since then. But both survived so they were a couple of lucky ones.
Many of my local friends and acquaintances, Hindu and Moslem alike lost their livelihoods as well as loved ones to this incident.
I will never forget the faces at Sanglah hospital as the first groups of Australian families were arriving trying to identify their loved one's bodies through photos etc. I was there as many other volunteers trying to help. Got to see the best of humanity there after one of the worst examples of humanity taking place.
Anyway I agree with your sentiment, and as the Buddha said 'Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.'
Saying that, I reckon he should be in jail until he leaves this plane of existence.
udo wrote:https://thebalisun.com/ex-staff-at-donald-trumps-bali-golf-course-share-...
Apparently Tommy is waiting for new investors before serangan golf course & resort goes ahead , the pricks blocked access to the surf and kicked out all the small warungs making a living for a project that has now failed twice. . Meanwhile some good news https://coconuts.co/bali/news/widi-reversed-govt-freezes-development-rig...
Supafreak wrote:udo wrote:https://thebalisun.com/ex-staff-at-donald-trumps-bali-golf-course-share-...
Apparently Tommy is waiting for new investors before serangan golf course & resort goes ahead , the pricks blocked access to the surf and kicked out all the small warungs making a living for a project that has now failed twice. . Meanwhile some good news https://coconuts.co/bali/news/widi-reversed-govt-freezes-development-rig...
That's good news re islands. Tommy, what a horrible human he is, geez how many families made a living through Surfers at Serangan.
Expat retirees ponder leaving Bali amid uncertainty over Second Home Visa ruleshttps://coconuts.co/bali/features/expat-retirees-ponder-leaving-bali-ami...
Supafreak wrote:Expat retirees ponder leaving Bali amid uncertainty over Second Home Visa ruleshttps://coconuts.co/bali/features/expat-retirees-ponder-leaving-bali-ami...
Could they just not do the Social/Budaya or Business visa? Just need to fly out of Indo every 6 months to Singas or somewhere else close, have these visas changed? I enjoyed heading to Singapore or Thailand for change of scenery when based up there.
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.