nomad4ever

It’s been a while. We are meanwhile settled in Bali, having found both accomodation and transport to get around here. The first 2 weeks we stayed at Jalan Legian in the Jimbaroo Inn, a simple, clean place for long-term stay, you can check-in here for Rp 700.000/month (about USD 78!). You can use a shared kitchen and a pool with Jacuzzi.

The first impressions:

– it’s hot!

– the (tourist) crowds are younger (and prettier)

– the sea is (way!) colder than Phuket this time around. In Phuket I could play/swim 2-3 hours in a row in the water, while in Bali (at least the southern west coast), it’s maybe 20-30 minutes before hands and feet show signs of ‘frog wrinkles’ and you start to freeze

– despite a shortfall of tourist arrivals – traffic is chaotic (and polluted) as ever, on top of that there is continous construction on Jalan Legian, which causes heavy traffic jams all-day round

– everybody is either surfing or kiting

– gasoline/bensin is cheaper than in Thailand (despite last year’s price hikes in Indonesia, to slash governmental subsidies on fuel)

– there are no Honda WAVE or DREAM Scooters, instead they are called Honda SUPRA (Fit, X, Z, …) here. While in Thailand most Scooters have a basket in front to carry stuff around, almost none has in Bali

– Traffic Police (‘Patroli’) is trying to extort money from you (no difference to Thailand here), whenever they have a chance

– it’s really hot!

– Internet is slow and expensive

After finding our more permanent stay in the Kerobokan/Marlboro Barat area, one of the main concerns is of course reliable Internet Access. While there is ‘something like’ broadband (offered by Blueline, GlobalXtreme or others), it’s definitely expensive. Somewhat around Rp 1,2-1,5 Mio/month for a merely 128 kbps.

Right now I’m using dial-up via the normal telephone line. Telkom is offering a 56K service for modems for Rp 150/minute, you just have to dial 0809/89999 and off you go. It’s pretty decent, sloooooooooowww as hell and as the current available option one of the main reasons I didn’t blog more and earlier.

Will look into other alternatives (aka Telkomsel ADSL/Speedy) to get back on track soon…

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written by Chris