Indonesia. What a contrast!

[spidermike007]

19 hours ago, losworld said:

It really depends who you roll with... if you are in the isaan rice farmer's daughter/bargirl brigade you will be hard pressed for any intellectual stimulation outside of sick buffalo, candy crush, sang som and selfies.  I dated a couple thai doctors and and these girls were absolutely marvelous with interesting conversation, curiosity and lovely friends.  Maybe I got lucky or maybe there is a connection.  Sure there are diamonds in the rough but there are also a lot of rough diamonds:)

I think school completely knocks the curiosity out of most Thais. University is different. The teachers are not afraid to be questioned, and curiosity is again encouraged, so the ones fortunate enough to go to University, especially ones out of the country, become living, breathing humans again, with the desire to know about life and the outside world. FB does not become their God. They are able to establish a life. 

[elgenon]

I liked Bali a lot.  The aggressive beggars in Kuta were bad and the available honeys were not good. The waiter in a restaurant really wanted to learn about my story though.  

Ubud had a lot of artists and I had a very good time there.

I might get rock fever and also the coconut telegraph might be a pain if i lived there.

[BritManToo]

47 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I think school completely knocks the curiosity out of most Thais. University is different. The teachers are not afraid to be questioned, and curiosity is again encouraged, so the ones fortunate enough to go to University, especially ones out of the country, become living, breathing humans again, with the desire to know about life and the outside world. FB does not become their God. They are able to establish a life. 

My gf and my daughter both went to University, FB and their mobile phones are glued to their hands 24/7.

When I go to bed at night I have to order my son to turn Youtube off, and then order the gf to turn her phone off.

The 7 year old argues less than the girlfriend about it.

[Fairynuff]

On 5/9/2019 at 7:57 AM, VocalNeal said:

I don't understand the OP he claims to live in Indonesia but lives in Bali. They are like chalk and cheese. 

 

Indonesia is overwhelmingly Muslim whilst Bali is overwhelmingly Hindu based. They might as well be different countries having very different attitudes to a whole range of lifestyles. Bali is a great holiday place but I’d go nuts living there. It’s either too crowded or too isolated. 

[Fairynuff]

On 5/9/2019 at 10:25 AM, Bournville said:

What? Seriously? Bali is an island. An island in Indonesia! Stay in Thailand. You might get lost.

Sent from my SM-T815Y using Tapatalk
 

You totally missed his point

[Bournville]

For those of you who asked about cost of living.. Numbeo compares country to country like this...
https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_countries_result.jsp?country1=Indonesia&country2=Thailand

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

[madmen]

18 hours ago, Bournville said:

Plus finding a comfortable seat is easy! Cheap food in Bali can be had sitting in an upholstered wicker chair.. the same cheap food in Thailand was ALWAYS eaten while sitting on a plastic or metal stool at a rickety card table!

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 

People may think thats a petty complaint but I agree with you 100% Im 6ft 3" with a dodgy knee and sitting on those 12 inch high plastic stools with my knees around my ears is a no go

[metempsychotic]

Citing Indonesia a positve in contrast to thailandand then making Bali your example is rather misleading

[metempsychotic]

18 hours ago, Bournville said:

Rubbish.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 

Certainly the case with 3 of my freinds in Jakarta. 

[metempsychotic]

18 minutes ago, Bournville said:

For those of you who asked about cost of living.. Numbeo compares country to country like this...
https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_countries_result.jsp?country1=Indonesia&country2=Thailand

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 

Some of those numbers are questionable

[CH1961]

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

My gf and my daughter both went to University. 

The 7 year old argues less than the girlfriend about it.

<deleted>, with 7 years to the University ????

[zaZa9]

Be very careful changing money in Bali .

The money changers offering the best rates are scam artists !

[tutsiwarrior]

14 hours ago, vinniekintana said:

The marriage visa for Indo required a staggering 19 different forms/steps last time I checked.

$hitloads of signatures too from various potentates

That's a lot of bribes

I don't remember  duration or renewal requirements once you get it.

 

 

 

 

on a project in Jakarta in early 90s it took about 6 mos to get our work permits and etc to get sorted and then our dedicated PRO staff immediately went to work to get the next 6mos sorted, it was never ending...big malay smiles all around, corruption/bribery is institutionalized in Indonesia...

 

was at Kuta with my 1 y.o. son on one arm and a bag of shopping in the other and a thug got between me and a taxi I was trying to enter and snarled at the driver, seems like he didn't pay the local mafia and was barred from the area...very unpleasant...

 

Ubud was very nice then...but a lot has changed...

 

 

[DingDongLing]

Are the locals stupider or smarter?

[taiwanatoa]

i spend 4 months in Ubud every year and just love it.  the restaurants are better than what i find here in CM.  seafood in Bali is fantastic.  great surfing, diving.  woman friendly and engaging and not as xenophobic. not a lot of red tape in getting a long term visa. and more important clean air.

Can you tell me what is this " long term visa"?
Also, do they have clean,decent rooms for rent with private bathrooms for 5,500 baht like in Bangkok?


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[DaRoadrunner]

Anyone know more about the income tax situation in Bali?

 

https://www.expat.or.id/info/individualincometaxes.html

 

Doesn't look good.

 

Or is this a case, where like so many things, the reality on the ground is different. For example, does someone on a retirement visa even have to register for tax?

 

Can someone who has lived there answer this? Thanks.

[Don Chance]

What about Lombok, too isolated?

 

Is Bali a tourist trap like Koh Samui?

[ThaiBunny]

Just now, Don Chance said:

Is Bali a tourist trap like Koh Samui?

Perish the thought

[phycokiller]

On 5/9/2019 at 12:07 PM, CH1961 said:

Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world, with approximately 225 million Muslim. 

 

The OP like it ... I prefer Thailand ????

in thailand I had a couple muslin gfs. far less superstitious then the thais, far less drama and they even helped out around the house. in fact I wouldn't even have known they were muslim if I hadnt been to their family homes

[marcusarelus]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7310301/Eleven-people-caned-public-hooded-Sharia-officer-Indonesia.html

 

Many forms on entertainment in Indonesia that are not available in Thailand.

 

[Sandy Freckle]

On 7/21/2019 at 10:20 AM, Don Chance said:

Is Bali a tourist trap like Koh Samui?

Yes but X10. Especially Bali's south side(dark side)..., it's just another exotic s###hole location who sold their soul to Santa !

[Terminator]

On 5/9/2019 at 9:19 AM, Mangkhut said:

Indonesia is great me thinks too. Bali - not so much, at least the lower southeastern part of it as someone mentioned earlier in this thread, pollution and superugly shopping malls full of McDonalds, Starbucks and other cholestrol doublers are not in my definition of great or nice or attractive.

 

I have travelled extensively in Indonesia, Sumatra, Java, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, West Timor, Sulawesi and some smaller islands too as for example the Comodo islands, Siberut island. And I have to say its fantastic! The nature, scenery, the cultural and gastronomic diversity, the friendliness of the people etc etc. 

Even the local cops who I was warned about were beyond friendly, I was somewhat lost on my motorbike travel in northern Sulawesi and contacted some local police to ask for help and directions - and they took me to their bbq party and feed me well, then followed me to a hotel which I didnt have to pay for. Such a thing wont never happen in Thailand.

 

But in all fairness - there are negative things about Indonesia as well. The road standards are lightyears behind Thailand. For example the trans-Sumatran highway road is a very narrow twolane road, were each lane is so narrow that a bus or a truck have to drive with their outer wheelpair in the opposite lane for long distances as its simply not any space for the whole vehicle in one lane.

Also the road standards in general are often horrible, potholed and rutted roads as main roads. Not to mention the traffic, just on Java it lives twice as much people as in Thailand on 1/4 of the landsize of Thailand. I remember a couple of years ago media reported about a huge traffic jam in the outskirts of Jakarta - and that traffic jam lasted 3 whole days. Several people died in that traffic jam as they were completely stuck - no chance to get out of it, no water, no medicines and no chance of an ambulance to reach them in the middle of the jam! If you call traffic jams in BKK or even CM bad you should think about that. 

Not to mention all the suicide drivers - I can assure you its faaar worse than in Thailand and I have tens of thousands of kms on a motorbike both in Indonesia and in Thailand as well - so I know what Im talking about.

 

Prices - well as the thai baht is getting stronger and stronger Indonesia certainly has an advantage. In general I found Indonesia to be a bit cheaper for most things, depending of what things or services you compare.

 

English skills - well they might be good in the tourist area of Bali, but you dont have to go far from that area to find that english is almost non -exisiting! 

Indonesian language is however as mentioned earlier on probably easier to learn than thai. Its written with western letters and its non tonal. 

But remember that only around 10 % of indonesians speak bahasa indonesia as their main language. 90 % do speak it as their second language though.

 

Visas - yes you can get a 60 day visa that can be extensioned up to 4 times of 30 day each. But you need an indonesian national to be your sponsor and you will need to go to the immigration office 4 times each for one extension. You will easily be relatively locked up for 1-2 weeks in this process. 

And from my understanding - even if you are married to an indonesian citizen you still cant stay in Indonesia more than 6 months pr year. 

 

Food - in Bali the food is fantastic and cheap. And in other main areas of tourism as well. But out in the remote parts of Indonesia your food choices often come down to noodles or rice, some places even without any meat to add. Maybe eggs if youre lucky. For that thing I would prefere remote Thailand to remote Indonesia. 

 

All in all - I still like Indonesia a lot and would love to travel more there and spend more time there, but move there - nah Im not so sure about that.

And from my understanding - even if you are married to an indonesian citizen you still cant stay in Indonesia more than 6 months pr year.  Not so true, you can get Kitap, Kitas and stay as long as you like...

[Terminator]

On 5/9/2019 at 1:56 PM, madmen said:

The other elephant is you will need to convert to islam before marriage...no thanks !

That's bullocks, this entirely up to you. Also many Christian's and other religions as well...

[ThaiRebound]

Does anyone know how complicated it is in Indonesia in a second tier city to keep extending the tourist visa to get the 6 month maximum stay? Could you then leave and apply for a new one and repeat the 6 months again?

[moe666]

Good for him one less to stand in line for the extension

[White Christmas13]

On 7/21/2019 at 10:20 AM, Don Chance said:

What about Lombok, too isolated?

 

Is Bali a tourist trap like Koh Samui?

yes

[White Christmas13]

On 9/8/2019 at 12:48 PM, Terminator said:

That's bullocks, this entirely up to you. Also many Christian's and other religions as well...

yes nonsense, the main religion of Bali is Hinduism not Buddhist 

[Pravda]

On 5/8/2019 at 1:32 AM, Lacessit said:

The OP is in for a bit of a shock if he wants to stay in Bali long-term. Most rental contracts require the tenant to pay a year's rent in advance. That's standard Indonesian practice.

The other aspect to Bali is many beaches are badly polluted. In the Suharto era, his cronies went on an orgy of beachfront hotel building, without too much regard for sewerage infrastructure. Most of Denpasar is floating on a sea of raw sewage.

Every apparent paradise has its flaws.

 

I don't know if I can take this post seriously. 

 

All the beaches I have been in Bali were clear. I'm sure there are some like that but surely not even close enough comparing to the dirtiest beach on the planet - Hua Hin?