How does Bali compare to Pattaya or Phuket

[paddyfield7]

19 hours ago, bignok said:

Thats why I wouldnt go. Muslim nation. Not proper law enforcement after. Some got only a few years jail.

Indonesia is a Muslim nation, but Bali is an exception as they are Hindus. This of course does not exclude the possibility of Muslim attacks. It is more dirty and much more expensive than any place in Thailand, and I doubty it's a good location for long stayers. I have been there several times, but for holiday purposes only, as the beaches and the sunsets are beautyful.

[Woke to Sounds of Horking]

Stayed at Jimbaran Beach area, south of the airport, in 2016.  Top shelf hotel. It was nice.  Then I went to the beach at Jimbaran Bay.  Couldnt enjoy the waves because the water was like a plastic soup, so much plastic pollution.  My legs kept getting tied up by plastic bags and tarpaulins. The development in the area was insanely over the top. Too much traffic, nowhere to walk safely. Imagine the area south of Jimbaran is well and truly overdeveloped by now.  No desire to go back, but perhaps other parts of the island are more sedate... and cleaner?

[sikishrory]

I hated it.

My impression was..

Similar to Thailand in some ways except that I don't understand the language at all or how to get around from A to B without looking at a map every 5 minutes.

The people seemed more peaceful and less unstable. Not like they're gonna lose it any second or have some underlying hatred or thoughts in their head.

Less interested in violence. Sick as fighting chickens or boxing or weapons everywhere.

Less drugs maybe? Not sure but the laws are harsh.

Awkward traffic. It's busy and flow seemed not as good and open as Thailand. They toot more than any country I've been too. Honestly it seemed like they toot at nothing or toot at you because you're a westerner walking.

Chicks not as pretty.

Not as much choice as a consumer for quality goods like food. Particularly pork and premium products.

Importing stuff is harder than Thailand with more tax and more corruption.

In my experience the type of foreign expat there is more annoying.

Either drunk bogan Aussies or vegan yogi types that like to sip artisan almond lattes and talk about wellness and their last enema.

The cafe scene is a bit more advanced.

Seemed to be more litter.

Different scams. I never saw the drop money while changing it scam in Thailand.

Beaches not as nice (that I saw).

Incredibly windy at times. So rough seas.

Good surfing if you're into it.

I think much of the reason I didn't like it was simply because I felt out of my comfort zone and didn't know anything.

Where in Thailand I know exactly what is happening around me and how to function as a member of society.

If I had visited Bali first instead of Thailand all those years ago things could quite easily be opposite and I might have fallen in love with Bali instead of Thailand. As many people do.

 

[scubascuba3]

2 hours ago, Old Croc said:

if the girlie thing is a must for you it does exist in the clubs. I was once having a quiet beer with others at the small bar in my accommodation hotel, before heading out for the night, when a guy went around the bar taking orders for ladies from the drinkers. 

Yeah my limited experience of that was taxi bikes could arrange it

[JensenZ]

21 hours ago, bignok said:

Why do people want to be surrounded by millions of tourists?

It's better than sitting on a farm in Nakonsonowhere pretending to be content. Perhaps 1000s is ok. Millions might be a bit much LOL.

 

If there are lots of tourists and other expats around, the available services (rentals), food, and shopping are better. Also, it is not usually necessary to learn the local language. You don't become a focused target as you are when you're isolated from other foreigners. I've lived in tourist areas all my life and I like it. I have no complaints about Pattaya. I've also lived in places (in the Philippines) where there are very few other foreigners around, where I stand out from the rest - and I don't like that.

 

There you go, some reasons for you. Each to their own.

Edited November 27, 2023 by JensenZ

[JulesMad]

23 hours ago, bignok said:

Bali sounds like Phuket but 4 times bigger

....and a million times better...

[georgegeorgia]

29 minutes ago, JulesMad said:

....and a million times better...

You love Bali 😉 

[newnative]

     Spouse and I might visit Bali sometime but I can't imagine living there.  We still like Pattaya, and hve since 2010.  We just moved into a new pool villa near Lake Mabprachan.  3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, on 105 sq. wah of land for 6.6 MB, including everything.  Nice project of about 25 homes.  Great location--we can be at Terminal 21 or Index/Home Pro in 15 minutes or less.  Ditto for Bangkok Pattaya Hospital.  About 5 minutes to the Motorway and we are on our way to Bangkok.  We like the size of the Pattaya area and the services, entertainment, restaurants, and shopping on offer.  Nice expat community.

[georgegeorgia]

4 minutes ago, newnative said:

     Spouse and I might visit Bali sometime but I can't imagine living there.  We still like Pattaya, and hve since 2010.  We just moved into a new pool villa near Lake Mabprachan.  3 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, on 105 sq. wah of land for 6.6 MB, including everything.  Nice project of about 25 homes.  Great location--we can be at Terminal 21 or Index/Home Pro in 15 minutes or less.  Ditto for Bangkok Pattaya Hospital.  About 5 minutes to the Motorway and we are on our way to Bangkok.  We like the size of the Pattaya area and the services, entertainment, restaurants, and shopping on offer.  Nice expat community.

Don't want to go off topic in my own thread but can I ask why you chose to buy a 3 bedroom house ?

 

[ChipButty]

42 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

Don't want to go off topic in my own thread but can I ask why you chose to buy a 3 bedroom house ?

 

Maybe he likes the space, 

[newnative]

9 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

Don't want to go off topic in my own thread but can I ask why you chose to buy a 3 bedroom house ?

 

        First rented then owned condos all my adult life in the US.  Could never even consider a single-family home--way out of my price range.  Even townhouses were too expensive.  Just buying a 1 bedroom condo was a stretch on my small salary--but buying paid off and was the only way I made any money to save.  Went the condo route via a number of different condos with my spouse in Thailand, as well, from 2010 to 2020--we did like our ocean views.  Then, we decided to change things up and take advantage of real estate being topsy-turvy here.

       By topsy-turvy, I mean that small condos are often more expensive than large,single-family homes here.  That would rarely be the case where I was living in the US.  For example, the last condo we sold was a 1-bedroom condo at a good Pattaya project for 9MB.  Nice condo, nice seaview, but only 79 sqm.  And, just that 1 bedroom and 1 rather small bath.  For considerably less, just 6.6 MB total for everything, we have a new, spacious home, 2-car garage, and a private 3 x 9 meter pool, which we love. 

      As another example, I recently saw an even smaller 45 sqm condo advertised for sale at Copacabana for 6 million something--about what we paid for our new house.  For us, the house was just far more value.  One last example.  Arom, a new condo project in Wong Amat, has 2 bedroom condos for 16 MB.  About 82 sqm--not much bigger than the 1 bedroom we sold.  I can tell you that 16 MB will get you into some very nice single-family homes.

      The two extra bedrooms we have set up as guest bedrooms, for when family visit.  Having 3 bedrooms, all with en suite baths, adds value should we ever sell, which we have been wont to do.  Should we end up staying, one of the extra bedrooms could be used, down the road, for a live-in care giver.  We gave up our oceanview but gained a lot more living space.  This is actually our third house here, having done two other ones and sold them.  

[Old Croc]

On 11/26/2023 at 1:57 PM, KhunBENQ said:

I have the news in mind of about 200 Australian and other tourists bombed to death by Muslim extremists.

Of course, there's no bombings in Thailand or UK or US, etc.

Scary history is a good reason to never leave mummy's basement.

[Old Croc]

If the OP is actually considering retirement in Bali there are heaps of YouTube posts about the place that will provide a more accurate version of life there than a bunch of AN posters with whinges about nearly everything.

 

If you hang out in Kutu you will come across Aussie bogans having a drunken good time. It's very cheap to get there from Oz. Alternatively, you could go to Amsterdam or Spain where the UK "Chavs" are much more refined, particularly during soccer matches on the Continent.

Edited November 27, 2023 by Old Croc

[MangoKorat]

So good to see you're all being so nice and polite to each other on this thread. The usual culprits getting away with it as usual!

[HighPriority]

9 hours ago, champers said:

Good to know.

Pattaya wasn’t previously on my visit list either…

[arithai12]

On 11/26/2023 at 2:20 PM, bignok said:

Thats why I wouldnt go. Muslim nation. Not proper law enforcement after. Some got only a few years jail.

Bali is part of Indonesia. Indonesia is not a Muslim nation (unlike e.g. Malaysia) though it's true that Islam is predominant and in many ways oppressive. However, Bali is predominantly Hindu. Regardless, Indonesia is not exactly attractive for westerners as a retirement option unless they have personal specific reasons.

 

[Fairynuff]

On 11/26/2023 at 1:54 PM, bignok said:

Looks crap to me. Never been though.

Helpful. I must remember to ask you next time I’m planning a trip somewhere.

[bignok]

2 hours ago, Fairynuff said:

Helpful. I must remember to ask you next time I’m planning a trip somewhere.

Look at youtube

 

[bignok]

21 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Don't want to go off topic in my own thread but can I ask why you chose to buy a 3 bedroom house ?

 

Need room for 3 gfs

[scorecard]

On 11/27/2023 at 5:03 AM, scubascuba3 said:

I've surfed, certainly not too fat, too fit maybe. It's just the mindset of those bogan surfer dudes, if you know you know

 You're being very judgemental all Aussies / Aussie surfers.

 

Bogans exist in every country / culture.  

[bignok]

24 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 You're being very judgemental all Aussies / Aussie surfers.

 

Bogans exist in every country / culture.  

Surfers are mostly <deleted> though.

[scubascuba3]

38 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 You're being very judgemental all Aussies / Aussie surfers.

 

Bogans exist in every country / culture.  

Bogan is an aussie term, and Kuta is full of them, you don't get chavs there

[bignok]

30 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Bogan is an aussie term, and Kuta is full of them, you don't get chavs there

Are bogans worse than chavs?

[Fairynuff]

2 hours ago, bignok said:

Look at youtube

 

Why?

[bignok]

4 minutes ago, Fairynuff said:

Why?

Oh dear

[scubascuba3]

35 minutes ago, bignok said:

Are bogans worse than chavs?

neds are worse than bogans and chavs

[bignok]

1 minute ago, scubascuba3 said:

neds are worse than bogans and chavs

Nevee heard of neds

[scubascuba3]

33 minutes ago, bignok said:

Nevee heard of neds

A Scottish thing

[thaibeachlovers]

On 11/27/2023 at 10:35 PM, Old Croc said:

If you hang out in Kutu you will come across Aussie bogans having a drunken good time. It's very cheap to get there from Oz.

That's lucky for Thailand then.

 

I once took my Thai girlfriend on a trip to Kanchanaburi and on the return private bus trip a couple of Oz matrons were so chilly towards me that the bus didn't need the AC turned on. I used to love flaunting my young and beautiful Thai girlfriend in front of middle aged western women.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 11/27/2023 at 8:32 PM, georgegeorgia said:

Don't want to go off topic in my own thread but can I ask why you chose to buy a 3 bedroom house ?

 

Even being single I'd buy a 3 bedroom house if able. One for a bedroom, one for a guest room and one for a study. Which is exactly what my ( single now ) sister has.