I love Bali

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Blowin started the topic in Thursday, 19 Mar 2015 at 6:55pm

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.

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amb Friday, 11 Feb 2022 at 2:16pm

from The Bali Beat
“Changes to Kuta Beach scheduled for 2023” from Nusa Bali (Indonesian): The improvement of Kuta Beach by the Bali-Penida River Basin Center is scheduled for 2023. ....... According to Denny, most of the beach points will only be altered by sand additions and arrangement work, especially the area from in front of Kuta Art Market to the north. As for construction work, it will only occur in the coastal area to the south. "Later there will be a kind of breakwater, to reduce the impact of the waves," he said.

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udo Saturday, 5 Mar 2022 at 5:55pm

From Russia with Love...............................
A Few words from an Expat - BJ.

I have lots of contact with Russians and all those eastern block countries living around me on the island of the gods and find them very strange and weird. Must be that minus 50-wind chilled factor and that cold climate of Russia? E.G I would help them with jobs they could not do like pruning large trees and they would bark orders at you. They would never say thank you and a few years later they were knock on your door wanting you to do the job again. They are so much about themself and rule the families with an iron fist. they are bulletproof to all feelings of gratitude and would hang you for their own greed. I know there must be 1 per cent of good eastern block people who are properly good-hearted people, But I have never met any. The women are worse than the men and totally ruthless they circled around a few places like rehabs and self-help groups for one reason what they could get out of it financially. One of the main reasons I split away from the ex-pat seen and go-life, on my own, with the help of a few close friends.

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Supafreak Saturday, 5 Mar 2022 at 8:49pm

Skip to 1 minute mark

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udo Saturday, 5 Mar 2022 at 8:49pm

Quarantine scrapped - Visa on Arrival back - March 7th
https://thebalisun.com/bali-government-will-drop-quarantine-and-resume-v...

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Supafreak Saturday, 5 Mar 2022 at 8:59pm

Hows Jetstar charging more for luggage on return flight leg even though its a shorter flight time so less fuel . I think with this latest update on visa and quarantine , prices will only go up up up.

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udo Saturday, 5 Mar 2022 at 9:12pm

Pricks arent they..
Malindo or Virgin out of Brisbane Supa
No hidden fees or bullshit ...[as yet]

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Supafreak Saturday, 5 Mar 2022 at 9:40pm
udo wrote:

Pricks arent they..
Malindo or Virgin out of Brisbane Supa
No hidden fees or bullshit ...[as yet]

Are malindo starting up again ? They were good value, Garuda was my favourite when they did the new Zealand Brisbane Bali run .

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udo Saturday, 5 Mar 2022 at 10:01pm
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udo Monday, 7 Mar 2022 at 12:47pm
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mickseq Monday, 7 Mar 2022 at 6:28pm

Im heading back over in a couple of weeks Bne - Cgk, hoping the visa will default to VOA before I arrive otherwise its 3 days in quarantine. I looked at changing my flights to Denpasar but the seats are already twice the price with Singapore air, demand must be shooting up.

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udo Monday, 7 Mar 2022 at 6:40pm
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mickseq Monday, 7 Mar 2022 at 6:57pm

Brazil and Spain are not on the list, what a shame lol

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Supafreak Tuesday, 8 Mar 2022 at 11:38am
udo wrote:

https://www.malindoair.com/au/PER-Promo/Hello-Again-Bali

A mate booked with malindo yesterday online for 11 May , everything processed ok then this morning he got an email saying due to covid constictions ( whatever that means ) flight has been canceled. No other explanation , he’s tried calling their office in Malaysia and Singapore but recorded message saying office unattended and is receiving a high volume of calls . Got his bank on to it now. All a bit strange seeing how they are currently promoting it .

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udo Tuesday, 8 Mar 2022 at 5:50pm

Strange eh..he wont get a refund only a credit i think?

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donweather Tuesday, 8 Mar 2022 at 9:41pm
mickseq wrote:

Brazil and Spain are not on the list, what a shame lol

where can you find the list? Is Aus on there?

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juegasiempre Wednesday, 9 Mar 2022 at 3:28pm

Good news about the visa on arrival and quarantine being scrapped! How do you go about getting the visa extended whilst there? How much does it cost?

Thinking of doing 60 days over there this winter. Thanks!

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Supafreak Wednesday, 9 Mar 2022 at 3:44pm
juegasiempre wrote:

Good news about the visa on arrival and quarantine being scrapped! How do you go about getting the visa extended whilst there? How much does it cost?

Thinking of doing 60 days over there this winter. Thanks!

500,000rp for the VOA which can be extended once , do it yourself might be another 500,000 but prepare to go to immigration possibly 3 days in a row or get an agent and pay extra , how much that is depends on the agent. I’m hoping the consulates in Australia reintroduce the 60 day tourists visa that you get before leaving, nothing on their website yet .

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groundswell Wednesday, 9 Mar 2022 at 3:57pm

Yeah juegasiempre if they bring back the 60 day visa before arrival/applied for weeks in advance, hire a good visa agent get 180 days with one visit to immigrasi (Bali or jakarta) anytime in the middle of the trip...just make sure they send you emails often after every extension.
(i got put in jail for not having an up to date copy of my visa extensions after i got robbed and went to the police)

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udo Wednesday, 9 Mar 2022 at 4:09pm

He he
https://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1&From=RUB&To=IDR
Ruskis probably o.k. though ..Crims sitting on $U.S.

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donweather Wednesday, 9 Mar 2022 at 9:19pm
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groundswell Thursday, 10 Mar 2022 at 7:14pm
udo wrote:

https://seminyaktimes.com/gilimauk-mengwi-toll-road-ready-to-boost-touri...

That's good news for heading to medewi or g-land overland bus trip. thanks.

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Supafreak Friday, 11 Mar 2022 at 12:26pm

Just a warning to anyone booking malindo air , my mate still can’t get any communication happening with them . He looked at reviews and everyone in the same predicament as him , some have been waiting since the pandemic begun for a refund . Shonky as , put out a promotion to flights that don’t exist .

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linez Friday, 11 Mar 2022 at 3:42pm

Supa.... do you know what the go is with covid testing before/after you get there? I've read conflicting information..PCR test two days before your flight, and then when you get there, then again on day three?

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Supafreak Friday, 11 Mar 2022 at 4:03pm
linez wrote:

Supa.... do you know what the go is with covid testing before/after you get there? I've read conflicting information..PCR test two days before your flight, and then when you get there, then again on day three?

@linez , best you subscribe to smart traveler, the oz government website , as things keep changing . From my understanding you do PCR test 48 hours before departure and on arrival plus they want proof of hotel booking ( minimum 4 days ) as on 3 rd day you get PCR test again, if negative then your free to travel anywhere in Indonesia. You are not restricted to your hotel in those first 4 days, just Bali. This will all change again as the months roll on .

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linez Friday, 11 Mar 2022 at 5:50pm

Thanks mate, yeah it's changing all the time. Going in October, so hopefully by then testing will have finished, or at least be simplified. More of an inconvenience really.

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Bnkref Friday, 11 Mar 2022 at 9:54pm

I’m due to go in May. I’m holding off booking flights until fairly late in the piece. Want to see how the next couple of weeks pan out. There should be lots of flights coming online once the quarantine requirement is dropped completely.

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ssssshh Monday, 14 Mar 2022 at 10:19am

Booked a flight with Jetstuff for early June doing a month in Sumatra before the family meet me -the logistics are a fair bit to get your head around but doable - I think we will need a B211 visa which at $300-400 per person is going to cost as much as the flights.
I have made all of my flights refundable my accommodation is able to be cancelled etc.
Currently required negative PCR test in Oz - PCR on arrival - hotel for 4 days must be booked and then another PCR on third day before you can travel from the hotel
Looking like domestic flights all good if you are fully vexed no tests which I was worried about as I am flying all over the place!

Hoping it may be still relatively quiet

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udo Monday, 14 Mar 2022 at 11:06am

By the Time June comes around my bet is free Visa on arrival will be back on

Your ticket sounds very cheap...where are you flying from ??
A VOA in Bali then a day later Domestic flight elsewhere...would that work to get around B211A ?

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ssssshh Monday, 14 Mar 2022 at 11:16am
udo wrote:

By the Time June comes around my bet is free Visa on arrival will be back on

Your ticket sounds very cheap...where are you flying from ??
A VOA in Bali then a day later Domestic flight elsewhere...would that work to get around B211A ?

Flying from Adelaide and got it for $600 but because we are staying for 4 months we need to extend the visa past 60 days so at one stage was looking like over $600 per person for visas!!! The new proposed visas are even more!!
We considered flying out to KL but not overly keen done it before nightmare.
Currently if you fly into Bali you must stay in a prebooked hotel for 4 days so you can do the second pcr test.

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goofyfoot Monday, 14 Mar 2022 at 12:40pm

“ Currently if you fly into Bali you must stay in a prebooked hotel for 4 days so you can do the second pcr test.”

Hopefully that stops soon. I’m in Bali for a night then going to Java the next morning.

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ssssshh Monday, 14 Mar 2022 at 12:46pm
goofyfoot wrote:

“ Currently if you fly into Bali you must stay in a prebooked hotel for 4 days so you can do the second pcr test.”

Hopefully that stops soon. I’m in Bali for a night then going to Java the next morning.

when are you flying in?
if you tried to do that currently you will be rejected so yeah I've given myself 5 -6 days in bali before flying to sumatra to allow for hiccups

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udo Monday, 14 Mar 2022 at 12:51pm

Ah so your ticket was $600..i only queried it because you mentioned $300-400

Did you get slugged overlength handling charge [$25? ] each way for your Board

What is the new proposed visa ?
Entry rules will change real quick...they need Tourists badly.

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ssssshh Monday, 14 Mar 2022 at 1:35pm
udo wrote:

Ah so your ticket was $600..i only queried it because you mentioned $300-400

Did you get slugged overlength handling charge [$25? ] each way for your Board

What is the new proposed visa ?
Entry rules will change real quick...they need Tourists badly.

Yep sorry I worded that poorly - the B211 visas are $300 -400 then $100 each extension so over $600. There is a proposed new visa which is over $600 but is in the paperwork stage apparently called a Visit Visa- the VOA is in now but not suitable for us as we are staying too long [heading to Lombok} for a fair stint

Just a bit of a logistical nightmare but it should all work out sweet - work can go get a banana up it, as can fuel prices, war and covid just want to be back in the tropics!!

yep got stung for board bag each way - but I also paid more to make sure I could change dates cancel etc.

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udo Monday, 14 Mar 2022 at 1:37pm

Fun times on Arrival
https://www.news.com.au/travel/destinations/asia/bali/first-australian-f...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bear this mind when buying a ticket - i hate Add ons !!
https://www.jetstar.com/au/en/flights/baggage/oversized-baggage

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sypkan Monday, 14 Mar 2022 at 1:41pm

you got direct flights ssssshh?

check in on first direct melbourne flight sounded like a nightmare, heaps of crew not meeting new requirements. they're a pain in the arse, but really not that hard

some people really should just stay home a little while longer...

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goofyfoot Monday, 14 Mar 2022 at 2:00pm
ssssshh wrote:
goofyfoot wrote:

“ Currently if you fly into Bali you must stay in a prebooked hotel for 4 days so you can do the second pcr test.”

Not for a few months yet
Hopefully that stops soon. I’m in Bali for a night then going to Java the next morning.

when are you flying in?
if you tried to do that currently you will be rejected so yeah I've given myself 5 -6 days in bali before flying to sumatra to allow for hiccups

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ssssshh Monday, 14 Mar 2022 at 2:27pm
sypkan wrote:

you got direct flights ssssshh?

check in on first direct melbourne flight sounded like a nightmare, heaps of crew not meeting new requirements. they're a pain in the arse, but really not that hard

some people really should just stay home a little while longer...

Yep I have direct flights early June but I'm half expecting to have to go to Melbourne or Sydney from SA so
that's why I've given myself time for "hiccups" I have five or so nights in Bali then to a camp on Sumatra then a break the back to the Ments
Yep all the extra stuff is a slight nightmare but totally doable!

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Supafreak Monday, 14 Mar 2022 at 2:37pm

Another add on ( Ive heard this on Aussie traveler , dont know if true ) is if you have an iPhone, it costs $50 at the airport to get the authority’s to unlock it . It’s a lock out from their phone reception if you have international SIM card.

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sypkan Monday, 14 Mar 2022 at 3:06pm

yeh, i reckon it could take a while before they can justify doing direct flights adelaide ...but they'll still sell em to ya...

all phones bought outside indo are now locked, the fee is actually a percentage of the phone value you pay, rather than 50 bucks. so if you like the latest and greatest in iphones... pull out your wallet

apparently you can buy tourist sims but they only last a short period. and if you have a phone you used before in indo, before a certain date, they still work

try and pay at customs before you leave airport, as it is a reduced rate and saves a trip to customs, but tbh, that queue could be a nightmare once stuff gets rolling

all this was the case 12 months ago so may have changed and may now be only 50 bucks, but i doubt it

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Supafreak Monday, 14 Mar 2022 at 3:31pm

With all that’s happening at the airport its little wonder that it takes 4 hours to get out of there , going to be interesting when things ramp up and 4 planes arrive at the same time . The old VIP express will kick off again me thinks.

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sypkan Monday, 14 Mar 2022 at 3:56pm

yep, its gonna be a bloody nightmare if they don't drop some of the bullshit

"The old VIP express will kick off again me thinks."

not sure exactly what you're referring to, but there has been a vip service available right through the pandemic through certain agents

I fukn hate agents and all they represent, same with anything vip... but there was so much bullshit required to travel before I almost went there myself

some crew were writing of some good experiences ...but at the same time... bali is now chock full of clueless crew with too much money...

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Supafreak Monday, 14 Mar 2022 at 4:03pm
sypkan wrote:

yep, its gonna be a bloody nightmare if they don't drop some of the bullshit

"The old VIP express will kick off again me thinks."

not sure exactly what you're referring to, but there has been a vip service available right through the pandemic through certain agents

I fukn hate agents and all they represent, same with anything vip... but there was so much bullshit required to travel before I almost went there myself

some crew were writing of some good experiences ...but at the same time... bali is now chock full of clueless crew with too much money...

They stopped the VIP express before covid but for years before the free VOA you could pay extra 200,000 - 300,000 for the visa and you were walked straight through immigration, no lining up , when I was doing FIFO from port hedland I always used this service as only had carry on luggage. I used to fly out of hedland 8am Saturday and be on lembongan for lunch .

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vicbloke Tuesday, 15 Mar 2022 at 5:40pm

be great to hear from anyone who has arrived on how the community is coping, whether the cafes/bars/shops are operating and are clean? can you get a driver? have costs gone up? etc

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Supafreak Tuesday, 15 Mar 2022 at 6:16pm
udo wrote:

Gawd..
https://www.news.com.au/travel/destinations/asia/bali/bali-reopens-to-au...

Looks fun udo , I liked the musical chairs reference