nomad4ever

written by Chris

After shopping in HongKong, Thaksin jets off for 5- to 7-day vacation

DENPASAR – Deposed Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday arrived on the Indonesian resort island of Bali for a holiday. Mr Thaksin, who was shopping in Hong Kong with his wife on Tuesday, was whisked into a limousine at the airport and left without speaking to reporters.

The convoy headed for the luxury Sheraton resort in the tourist enclave of Nusa Dua, south of the airport.

His plans were not immediately confirmed, although his lawyer said that he was on holiday. “He will be there on vacation for about five or even seven days,” Mr Noppadol Pattama said.

written by Chris

It’s funny to watch and compare the two genders dance around each other in Thailand and Bali. While in Thailand, mainly in Bangkok, Pattaya or Phuket; most of the sex tourists are usually the old, saggy type of men in their late 50s up, it’s almost unheard of that women travel to Thailand for Sex.

Right?

The show is completely different in Bali: Here you usually see a younger crowd of men, but most of them bring ‘beer to Munich’ or ‘owls to Athens’, as they travel with girlfriend or wife. Rarely you see typical male sex tourists (in the classical sense) flock to Indonesia.

written by Chris

In Indonesia there is a widely accepted practice in stores country-wide, that instead of small change they give you candy. That means for every Rp 100 they owe you, you will get a piece of candy. Sweet or annoying? A welcomed treat for sweet tooths – annoying for some; as some Aussie smart pants tried in reversal to pay his purchases with the same coin. Read on from The Bali Times:

In Reversal, Expat Tries, Fails to Pay with Candy

written by Chris

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)

written by Chris

The fires in Sumatra and Borneo still bring over a lot of smoke and haze to Singapore and parts of Malaysia, including Kuala Lumpur.

written by Chris

After 8 months Thailand, mainly around Phuket, but with short visits to Koh Phi Phi, Bangkok and Chiang Mai, we are restless again.

Nomads have to travel, so we decided to move on -> direction Indonesia.

This sunday evening we will depart, with a 1-week stopover at our old home turf Singapore, to secure my Social Budaya Visa for Indonesia – thus avoiding having to leave the country every month.

The good thing about Bali is, besides being a (mainly) peaceful Hindu island, that it’s in the middle of Indonesia’s 17.000 islands, with Lombok, Komodo, Flores and Java in its closest proximity.

written by Chris

This interesting letter from Jacob Tan was published in Singapore’s Today Newspaper. It refers back to an article of Tham Chen Fye “Why this coup is different” (Sept 27):

While I agree with some points he raised indicating that this coup is distinctive from the other coups in Thailand’s history, I believe the dangers that this coup brings have been downplayed.

The recent coup undoes all the progress of democracy in the past 15 years. The resulting uncertainty will cause more instability – in the region as well as the country – as long as this issue remains unresolved.

written by Chris