nomad4ever

…because it is run by a bunch of fraudsters and violent criminals!

Why, you might ask? Here is the whole story:

My fiancee and me had a ball of a time partying the night away with friends on New Year’s Eve in Jalan Dhyana Pura, Bali. After midnight, around 3-4am of the first day of the New Year 2007, we thought it might be a good idea to sway in some chill-out rhythms to one of Kuta’s famous in-places – the music club “MBarGo” in Jalan Legian, Kuta. We’d been there before and usually they play a nice mix of music on 2 floors.

written by Chris

I used to pay around 400-600 Euro for my Health Insurance – per month! Not that I didn’t try to reduce that or even get around it at all. Why not pay for what you use only?

But back in my home country Germany, you have no choice. You have to pay for a health insurance and you basically pay for it with an arm and a leg. That is, if you earn a good income. The service you receive, when things go wrong, can range from mediocre to great, although you have limited influence, on which doctor or hospital to chose.

written by Chris

For most people it’s a dream to live one day in their own house, which they paid off with their own hard-earned money.

Depending on where you live and how high your demands and your income are, this can actually result in you paying off a bank loan over the next 10-20 or even 30 years. After which you practically *own* the house (before it was actually owned by the bank). And after which you probably start spending again (during probably as well), as even the best build quality deteriorates over time and needs upgrades, re-invest or maintainance.

written by Chris

What an earthquake @ Asian Stock Exchanges around the region, after yesterdays announcement! The Thais suffered the most of course. I monitor a few stocks and funds over there, mainly an ABN Amro Certificate (covering the SET50 candidates), which lost about 25% yesterday, with Siam Commercial Banking, Krung Thai Bank and Bangkok Bank all around 19-30% in the red.

On average, it was a 15% crash at the SET, the Stock Exchange of Thailand and a single digit decline in its currency – the Thai Baht.

A blood bath!

written by Chris

PANAJI, India ~ The once low-budget tourist haven of Goa is facing a crisis, environmentalists say, as developers force up land prices and a tourism boom threatens the delicate coastal ecology.

Environmental groups in this former Portuguese enclave, which became part of India in 1961, have joined ranks in an effort to slow the building boom in sleepy towns and remote villages dotting the edge of Arabian Sea.

Taken aback by swelling protests against hotels and apartments sprouting across Goa, the local government has promised to retain the colonial-era character of India’s most popular holiday spot.

written by Chris

I was asked by Lizza from expatinterviews.com, if I could fill out their questionaire about people living abroad from their home country. While surfing their website, it’s really interesting to compare the different interviews of other people, who are in similar situations but have different experiences and encounters in countries around our globe.

On further thought, I felt it could be interesting for my own site as well, so here are the questions and answers I provided:

Where were you born?

I was born in Germany, in a small town which has no more than 20.000 souls and is located not far from Berlin in the eastern part of Germany.

written by Chris

If you are coming to Indonesia on a Visa-on-arrival procedure, you have no choice but to travel out and back in to Indonesia to re-new your visa. This usually after 3 days (USD 10) or maximum 30 days (USD 25), depending on how long a visa you paid your US Dollars for.

Visa on-arrival or extendable visa?

That’s something similar I used to do when still living in Phuket/Thailand. Every month you just travel to one of the surrounding countries, cross the border, the officers at the checkpoint stamp you out, you enjoy a few hours in Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia or Laos – and back you travel to Thailand. New stamp, new visa. Now it’s a bit more difficult, as Thailand recently changed their visa regulations.

written by Chris

As circling rumours mentioned earlier, it now finally happened:

Australia’s iconic carrier accepts sweetened offer in world’s biggest aviation buyout

Qantas Airways yesterday accepted a sweetened A$11.1 billion ($13.4 billion) buyout by a consortium led by Australia’s Macquarie Bank and US-based Texas Pacific Group in the world’s biggest aviation takeover.

The agreement was struck just hours after Qantas, Australia’s largest airline, rejected an A$10.9-billion initial offer, as the consortium dropped conditions allowing them to walk away or be paid a breakup fee if the deal collapsed.

The consortium, Airline Partners Australia, also increased its offer by 10 Australian cents to A$5.60 a share in cash.

written by Chris