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Interested in Bali - Has anyone lived there? Or comments on visiting there?


JimmyJ

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Obviously a completely different culture- hindu relegion. Corruption at its highest standard. Extremely expensive rip off hospitals. Ozzie bogans in most tourist areas. If you like chicken satai then go to bali. Food does not compare to LOS. Girls not as forthcoming as Thai ladies

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33 minutes ago, cornishcarlos said:

It's like anywhere, has it's pros and cons...

Traffic in the tourist areas and city are horrendous. Police corruption is rife..

Food nowhere near as good as Thai but better than other Asian neighbors.

Some great beaches but also some packed with bogans (Aussie chavs)..

People are lovely and there are some great out of the way places to explore.

 

Worth a visit without a doubt..

 

Plus a lot more English compared to Thailand, many people speak good to great English, easy to find. 

 

It's quite different to Thailand and to other Asian societies, gentle helpful people, food is great but different to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, China etc. 

 

Some taxis can be rip-off, always take a Blue Bird taxi, 99% chance of no rip off.

 

Many cultural things to explore, architecture for one. The vast majority of Balinese people are Hindu, not Muslim.

 

Overall well worth a look.

 

 

 

 

 

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same same. there are far too many boozed aussies there.. the ladies are scarce, nightlife not so good,beaches not so nice. worst all--too -many people from  Java trying to sell viagra/drugs.its hard to walk anywhere without being hassled by these people..they are  calling out , before we even exit hotel grounds, then wait outside restaurant..its sickening..

the restaurants are good--very cheap food.

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Just now, samsensam said:

 

if you enjoy places over run by tourists, and certainly many people do,  you'll love bali.

 

once i got to java and sumatra i started to experience and enjoy the real indonesia.

 

It's only over run along the south coast beach strip, and unfortunately those clowns are migrating to Ubud in numbers, but the bulk of Bali is not heavily touristed.

 

Those who spend their time propping up bars from Kuta to Canggu say they've been to Bali, but they've really only been to pubs in the south of Bali.

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I had visited Bali more than a dozen times from the 70s up until I discovered Phuket early this century

In the early days it was every magical thing described and depicted in movies and song. The people were Hindu and very much into their culture. The scenery breathtaking and handicrafts and festivals fascinating. 

Unfortunately, the influx of tourism - Americans, Japanese and Australians changed the place dramatically over time. For Australians, in particular, very cheap package tours and close proximity, resulted in floods of people who wouldn't normally have been able to afford overseas travel. A bit like the Brits in Spain, the dregs widened their playgrounds. Parts of Bali (Kuta) became party central with all sorts of bogans and sporting teams on end of season trips, fouling the place up.

Bali had became the richest region in Indo which resulted in many Javanese flooding in keen to get their share of the riches. They were culturally sparse and greedy for tourist dollars to the point where they became serial pests. They, and the boguns,  ruined the southern tourist areas. That's not going to change for the better anytime soon.

However, Bali is 10x the size of Thailand's largest Island and there are still many areas an expat could settle far from a Kuta (Patong, Pattaya).  Some of my fondest memories are of stays on the northern coast. Read the posts above for some excellent advice. It's cheap to live there and visas less of a hassle than in Thailand.

Many people retire there. Real health care is only a couple of hours away.

There are several Bali  expat forums similar to this one, which would be the best place to ask questions.

 

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I forgot to mention the breathtaking architecture, particularly the roof structures....from underneath.

 

So much going for the place if you get yourself away from the idiots, but I suppose that applies almost anywhere (getting away from the idiots)?

 

You don't have to pay more than about $40 for a hotel of a good standard, and the place I mentioned in my long post above, Strawberry Hill inBedugul, is only about $42.00 a night, best in town, and just fabulous.   Book direct rather than through an agency too.

 

In Kuta, and you may have to stay there a night at each end, you can't go past Poppies (same owners as Strawberry Hill), but it's becoming quite expensive.   I'm a regular at the Ohana Hotel, a stone's throw from the epicenter of Kuta, Bemo Corner (although there are no bemos there now), so very convenient.

 

If you're into shopping, Kuta has department stores, locally made designer fashions (not fake these days) at much lower prices than back home.

 

Another poster mentined corruption.   My only brush with corruption has been being pulled over by police on a motorcycle, checking licences and registration.   If you have both, there's no issue.

 

They claim to be big believers in karma, but apparently karma doesn't extend to business dealings, because they will screw you mercilessly in business, with nary a conscience.

Edited by F4UCorsair
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1 hour ago, The manic said:

It's an Islamic state where women are caned for reporting rape, gays are imprisoned, etcetc 

 

that would be Aceh which adheres to fundamentalist islam and not Bali which is hindu...two different areas in Indonesia spelled with 4 letters, the confusion is understandable...

 

'are yew gonna let that boy rape yew next time insteada comin' here an' complainin' about it???!!!' 'yessir, please don't hit me sir...'

 

but then she would be stoned to death fer bein' a wanton woman...can't win fer losin'...

 

and Indonesia was such a nice place when Suharto was around...

 

 

Edited by tutsiwarrior
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6 hours ago, The manic said:

It's an Islamic state where women are caned for reporting rape, gays are imprisoned, etcetc 

 

Bali is not an islamic state.   The predominant religion is the local brand, and holdout, of Hinduism.

 

 

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Booked hotel and flight for 10 days stay. Bought a new flight after 4 days. 

Didn't want to spoil 6 more days of my life there. 

Only good thing was the hotel and the people. 

Never again Bali or Indonesia! 

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On 4/30/2018 at 8:12 PM, Aussieroaming said:

Bali is a flea pit. Many good places in Indo to visit, with good food and people, Bali isnt one of them. 

What are the good places in Indo that you and others recommend?

 

Scorecard mentioned a few and I'll go back thru the thread and make note of any others mentioned.

Edited by JimmyJ
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On 01/05/2018 at 7:44 AM, Peterw42 said:

One good thing is the exchange rate, no wild variations or drop against your home currency. 

Although dealing with those large numbers is a bit mind-numbing. Ten thousand is a dollar Oz,

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On 5/1/2018 at 7:43 AM, DoctorG said:

As an Australian I think there are waaay too many Ozzies there. :smile:

Otherwise I quite like it.

Also an Aussie:   agree with comments.    solution  -  move down the beach a bit to the Brit Bogan section!!

 

Traffic terrible, smokers even worse, litter in the sea and on the beach beyond description.   Traffic jams at 4am!

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