Archive for January 11th, 2007
Bali is a relatively safe place to visit, in comparison with other major destinations, such as London, Miami, Rio, Joburg and Bangkok. Still you need to be carefull, and keep aware of the possible dangers / crimes. Here’s a few tips.
•Gaps in the sidewalk. In Europe, America and Australia, we can walk down the road, looking at the sky, fairly confident we won’t fall into a hole. That’s not the case in Bali, and in places such as Ubud, you’ll find regular gaps, dropping down to a sewer / drainage canal, that could do you a lot of injury, should you fall down one. Watch out of holes in the sidewalk.
•Getting expensive belongins stolen. The average person in Kuta probably makes around 800,000rp per month, half of that in the more rural areas. Your $2,000 Nikon, gold jewelry and Toshiba laptop, look mighty good when left unattended. Don’t bring expensive gear to Bali. If you do, put it in the hotel safe.
•Stuck in a rip-tide. The more water that goes up onto a beach, the more that has to come back. Bali gets strong swell, and the power of the undertow is extremely strong. One moment you are having fun in waist deep water, next minute you are 100 meters from shore, madly trying to get back. Avoid swimming in areas marked by a solo red flag, or in areas where you can see more than 1 set of waves breaking.
•Eyes on your wallet. People sit outside a lot in Bali. When I leave my house, a dozen people notice. Similarly, when you come out of a shop, warung, money changer, many people will notice what you are carrying. When I walk along with my keys in my hand, people notice the large carabiner, because it’s shiny. Put your wallet away before you leave the hotel, warung, shop, money changer, not out on the street.
•Tip toe off of the curb. Part of my wake up routine each day, is to get almost run over by a local on a motorbike. In my alley, on small gang, on the main street. Doesn’t matter, if you step off of the curb, be sure to look both ways (including on the sidewalk!).
•Bags inside the restaurant. Many cafes / warungs in Bali have a patio area next to the street, with a row of flowers / bushes, separating the diners from the pedestrians. On occassion, a person has had their bag taken, after leaving it next to the street, unable to spot the hand coming through the bushes. Keep your bag, out of reach from anyone on the street, while sitting in a cafe.
•Slippery when wet. People arriving in Bali from cold climates, often forget to bring sandals, opting to buy a cheap local pair when they arrive. I have made this mistake twice. The fact that the local sandals will fall apart in 2 weeks or less, is good news, as they are a hazard. The light foam material, that is used in these sandals, turns them into rollerskates on a wet surface. Bring your own footwear, or pick up something decent in Matahari in Kuta Square.
•The eyes have it. My eyes are worth a lot to me. My Nike sunglasses are UV protective and are polarizing. Cheap knock offs are on sale in Bali, but if you end up with a pair that doesn’t have UV protection, you are actually damaging your eyes. The dark shades will cause your pupil to open wider, allowing the unblocked UV to burn your retina. There are good shops selling name brands (The Station in Kuta for example) and the price reflects this. Leave those $5 sunglasses with the person who is selling them, your eyes are worth spending $100.
•Who to call in an emergency. If you find yourself in a spot of bother, who do you call? You might jot down the address and phone numbers of your consulate, plus the numbers for SOS International and BIMC.
There are of course, many tips depending on what activity you plan on doing. Safe travels to Bali.
source : www.baliblog.com
January 11th, 2007
Living in Bali and not Pommy-land, I feel like the luckiest man alive. Seriously, this afternoon, strolling down my gang (alley) in Seminyak, I had to do a double-take, at how bright blue the sky was and how intensely green the trees seemed. Was it that mushroom-shake I had for lunch, or the tropical sunlight? Whichever, I was momentarily blown away by the power of the colors. Many people in the UK know one color very well…grey. That’s why the smart ones do their best to get down to the ‘Lucky Country‘, for a year’s fruit picking or pub work.
People flying down to Australia stop off in various places, including Thailand, Goa India and Bali. I like all those places, and recommend them as cool stop off points, to people about to embark on a RTW trip. Arriving in Australia, you might want to make sure you have a place to stay, particularly in times like Christmas, or during events like major sporting events. Fortunately you can do a hostel search on BootsnAll.com, and check out what going on in the Land Downunder on the Australia travel guide.
On my first night in Sydney, I couldn’t sleep, the excitement was too much. King’s Cross, guys playing guitar with no strides on, and a weird de ja vu (Sydney looks like parts of London, in winter) all conspired to create a great time, finished off with a felafel from a Turkish place. Memories!
source : www.baliblog.com
January 11th, 2007
Owning land and building your ‘dream home’ in Bali, is a dream for many people. Some people try it and have success, others find it a frustrating experience, others still don’t bother and simply rent. I’m in category ‘C’ for right now. A post on the Bali Expat Forum, asks about the legalities of your Indo wife owning property in Bali.
The question posted, asks if an Indonesian woman loses her right to own land in Bali, if she marries a foreigner. You think the Indonesian government is that stupid? This is one of the best ways to get money out of, and away from, foreigners. Friends of mine, who are married to locals from Java, put the land in their wife’s name, no problem. As I understand it, if the couple divorces at a later date, they must split their assets, 50/50.
An English guy once told me he moved to the kampung in the Philippines, and built a beautiful house. “Wonderful” I said. “No” he said, “it was the worst thing I ever did, all the relatives came to visit and never left.”
source : www.baliblog.com
January 11th, 2007
Bali is one of 30 provinces of Indonesia, and is perhaps the most unique of them all. It’s geography and culture, combine to make Bali the ideal tourist destination, something the other provinces can only dream of. One thing that bugs the Balinese, is that a lot of that hard earned tourist money, ends up going to Jakarta, even after a law was passed, promising autonomy to regional governments 5 years ago.
Here’s more from the Jakarta Post.
Five years after regional autonomy, dissatisfaction rising in resource-rich
Rita A.Widiadana and Wasti Atmodjo, The Jakarta Post, Sanur
When the government launched the regional autonomy policy in 2001, the reaction in Bali was positive and hopeful.
With many Balinese seeing their island as Jakarta’s cash cow, it was hoped that regional autonomy would stop the central government’s heavy control of the resort island’s income.
Before regional autonomy, Indonesia’s natural resources, regional strengths and decision making were all in the hands of bureaucrats in Jakarta. With the announcement of regional autonomy, many people in Bali saw it as an opportunity to enjoy the full strength of revenues from tourism, agriculture, garment and textile manufacturing and handicrafts.
But five years after the implementation of regional autonomy, the reality on the ground in Bali is far from this picture.
“Bali has faced a lot of crucial problems in implementing the regional autonomy scheme since its introduction to the province,” said Ida Ayu Mas, a member of the Regional Representatives Council at the House of Representatives, speaking at an year-end seminar in Bali in late December.
Under the current regional autonomy laws, authority in certain areas outside of the monetary, fiscal, foreign affairs, defense and security sectors, is transferred from the central government to regional governments.
Bali has a population of 3.2 million, spread through eight regencies — Gianyar, Klungklung, Bangli, Karangasem, Buleleng, Tabanan, Jembrana and the wealthy Badung — and one municipality, Denpasar. Each regent has full authority over his regency, often eliminating the role of the provincial government in enforcing regulations and policies.
“The system has led to occasional conflicts between regional and provincial administrations,” said Ida Ayu, a candidate for the 2008 Bali gubernatorial election.
Many feel that inconsistent policies and contradictory regulations imposed by provincial and regional governments have brought Bali into social, cultural and environmental catastrophes and that the focus on regional autonomy has worsened disparities among regencies and has intensified local rivalries between regional and provincial governments.
I Made Arimbawa, a member of the local legislative council and a chairman of the special autonomy task force team, told the seminar he urged the central government to grant Bali special autonomy status by 2008, when it will elect a new governor.
Bali, at only 5,632 square kilometers in size, is different to other provinces in terms of social, cultural and religious backgrounds, he said.
“Some legal instruments of regional autonomy do not fit with Bali’s situation,” Arimbawa said, citing as an example a 1999 law that allows regional governments to retain 80 percent of forestry, fishing and general mining revenue.
The law also enables regional administrations to receive 15 percent of oil revenue and 30 percent of that from natural gas, along with the reallocation of 25 percent of the central government’s budget to regional authorities.
Arimbawa said that the law clearly recognized revenue-sharing, but that such recognition was not given to the tourism and handicraft sectors, which are key to Bali’s income.
“Under the implementation of current regional autonomy policy, Bali has lost many things, while at the same time, the other nature-rich provinces have gained huge profits from it,” he said.
With more than 50 percent of Indonesia’s US$6.5 billion tourist-related revenue coming from Bali, Arimbawa said, “it is quite fair if we demand that 50 percent of the earnings be returned to Bali.”
The special autonomy proposed to the central government includes certain provincial authority in issuing regulations regarding the province’s natural resources, including land use, religious and cultural assets.
The province will also establish new institutions in line with its characteristics such as customary court that deals with local issues.
Representatives of the local tourist industry are also demanding the government be more transparent in its reporting of revenues from the visa-on-arrival policy.
“We have never been informed how much we have got from visa fees since (the policy) was enacted in 2004,” Bagus Sudibya, chairman of the Bali Tourism Board said at the meeting.
According to Bank Indonesia’s Denpasar Office, Bali received $11.9 million from arrival visas in 2006, a drop of 42.3 percent from the same period in 2005, when it amounted to $20.57 million.
Airport revenue sharing is also an issue. Ngurah Rai International Airport in Tuban Kuta receives a minimum of 1.5 million visitors every year.
“We want to be given tax revenue sharing to improve tourism infrastructure in Bali, including improvements to the airport and hotel security systems,” Sudibya said.
Wayan Supartha, professor of economics at the University of Udayana in Denpasar, identified a number of constraints faced by Bali province in enforcing regional autonomy.
The professor said that the lack of local government technical and financial resources was a major obstacle to enforcing regional autonomy policy.
“The incompetence of regional administrations in handling certain issues has led to acts of corruption, collusion and nepotism at local levels,” he said.
The professor added that the type of regional autonomy presently enforced in Bali offered no solutions to the province’s problems.
source : www.baliblog.com
January 11th, 2007
Man is Air Asia going for it in SE Asia! This relatively new airline, based in KL, is offering 1 million free seats, to over 70 routes across Asia. This promotional offer lasts from Jan 10th (today) till Jan 19th. The travel period lasts from April 1st to October 27th 2007.
Indonesia has a policy of limiting flight routes, for foreign airlines into the country. This is designed to allow Garuda Indonesia, to capitalize on the cheaper end of the market. Problem is, every time I go to book a flight out on Garuda, they are fully booked. Try getting out of here during Idul Fitri, or Christmas. What that does, is see off people in Asia, who might otherwise come here. Having a ton of tourist infrastructure, and no tourists is pretty silly, if all it does is shore up an airline. I have personally met tourists, who have come to Bali, and taken trips in and out of Bali, with Air Asia because of the cheap tickets. There you are, give people an affordable way to get here, and they’ll come.
You can always look around online, for cheap international plane tickets, but its awesome to have a budget airline that is going after the customers. The Air Asia offer operates out of the six hubs in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Johor), Thailand (Bangkok) and Indonesia (Jakarta). Booking for tickets is via Air Asia’s website and is first come, first serve.
source : www.baliblog.com
January 11th, 2007
A look through BootsnAll’s currency converter, shows the rupiah has gained against the US dollar over the few months, and that anyone with Euro’s is a happy camper. The best strategy for saving money in Bali, is to price shop for everything, and start to ‘think in rupiah’, rather than saying ‘this meal is cheap, it only cost $20 for the 2 of us’.
1 US Dollar = 9,049.77 Indonesian Rupiah
1 Australian Dollar = 7,075.02 Indonesian Rupiah
1 Brazilian Real = 4,219.15 Indonesian Rupiah
1 British Pound = 17,569.1 Indonesian Rupiah
1 Chinese Yuan Renminbi = 1,160.51 Indonesian Rupiah
1 Euro = 11,788.3 Indonesian Rupiah
1 Hong Kong Dollar = 1,160.83 Indonesian Rupiah
1 Indian Rupee = 203.764 Indonesian Rupiah
1 Japanese Yen = 76.02302 Indonesian Rupiah
1 Kazakhstan Tenge = 75.50778 Indonesian Rupiah
1 Malaysian Ringgit = 2,581.51 Indonesian Rupiah
1 New Zealand Dollar = 6,261.09 Indonesian Rupiah
1 Singapore Dollar = 5,891.70 Indonesian Rupiah
1 South-Korean Won = 9.75656 Indonesian Rupiah
1 Thai Baht = 253.042 Indonesian Rupiah
If it’s your first time in Bali, you can change money as soon as you arrive at the airport. Downtown in Kuta, Legian, Seminyak, Sanur, Ubud etc., you will find many streetside places offering money changing services. Some offer a great rate, but charge a commission, other a lower rate of exchange, but no commission. It all works out and the thing you should concentrate on, is getting the money you are due. If you see a sign offering amazing rates, with no commission, look inside the office. If its just a couple of local guys, behind a wooden desk, don’t bother with them. Look for a more professional (read - not likely to cheat you) money changer, with an office / travel agent, proper equipment, a legitimate business.
Enjoy the great exchange rates while you are in Bali, and don’t forget to pick up some travel insurance before you go.
source : www.baliblog.com
January 11th, 2007