Kuta... a ghost town.

PERtoDPS

Mrs went to Sanur last Saturday, from the photos looked the same. She was looking for a dentist to go to in Sanur, or Denpasar we used to have quite a range all closed. I noticed in the pics many shops with shutters down too. Very sad. Obviously stuck in Perth any communications like this or media I can get are very interesting. On the other hand, it was getting ridiculous in Bali with the tourism and this island wasn't going to last especially in these areas. Don't get me wrong here, I'm a fan of cities, life and crowds. But it made me think twice what was there before and what will be there after.

mugwump

Am presently in Canggu at a homestay which is half full of tourists! We came here to get a break from the self imposed quarantine in Jembrana and buy groceries. It is far different from Seminyak and Kuta for although they are barren of life this place still has a remarkable number of tourists apparently. When you see bules of only 25-35 years of age in Bali, the assumption would be that they aren't expats in retirement. Just maybe these folks would far rather be here than in their respective homelands where the coronavirus is raging. Thank God for mommy and daddy sending funds to Bali!

harryopal

mugwump wrote ....... Thank God for mommy and daddy sending funds to Bali!

And for the Australian government still giving me a pension.

JackStraw

Yeah welcome to the new normal. Probably won't ever see Bali recover to pre-covid tourism levels for another 3-5 years. If I was the Indonesian government, I'd start heavily investing into Bali to try to diversify its economy.

harryopal

Internet trading aside, It would seem any proposed new, bricks and mortar business plan would only be viable if based on local demand. Any later tourist input would be a bonus. For some years any development reliant upon tourism looks like being a way of burning money.

Tezza71

harryopal wrote And for the Australian government still giving me a pension.

G'day mate, I'm hoping to retire to Bali later this year if I can get out of Australia. How do you go with your Aussie pension. Do you have iy paid into an account in Aust. or and account in Bali.

PERtoDPS

I must say I’m a bit jealous of you guys getting an Australian pension in Bali. I’m still 20+ years away from being anywhere near that option and I wonder if there will be a pension by then. If you can deal with the slower pace of life that would buy you what working does here. I’d love it! On a serious note Tezza if you are serious about a 1 way exit it’s possible Garuda still flies out of Perth to Denpasar once a month or so, scoot to Singapore a bit more , it’s more pricy than before, but if you plan to return think twice that isn’t easy

Markit

For all of you downgrading Indonesia/Bali take a look at the prognosis for number 5 world's largest economy in the next 4 years! And as an aside Unhear is a very good source of what we used to call news. https://unherd.com/thepost/indonesia-the-worlds-most-under-reported-country/

harryopal

JohnnyCool wrote Anybody know where I can rent a turbo-charged fast moving Russian tractor for a day? I’ve got vodka, and now arak is legal in Bali. WOW. :confused:

These days I have an evening shot of the locally made Vodka with manggo juice. 18,000 IDr 700 mls. Perhaps your educated palate and more elastic wallet can tell me how the local product compares in taste and cost with Russian or other vodkas?

Markit

JohnnyCool wrote Interesting. The UnHear site. (Never heard of it before – no pun) You wrote: [I][B]...And as an aside Unhear is a very good source of what we used to call news.[/B][/I] I wonder where [I][B]they[/B][/I] get “[I]what we used to call news” [/I]from?

I never accept responsibility for "spellcheck" deviation, my own, occasionally.

harryopal

My wife and I made a visit to Kuta today. First time since the Cornona virus took hold. Looking for a couple of shirts and new bathers so thought we would try the Matahari Department store at Kuta square where there are also a number of sporting goods shops. Matahari was shut as were almost every other shop in the whole area. We then went on down to the Beachwalk Shopping Centre to use the car park. Most of the big expensive shops there were open if rather quiet so went up Jalan Poppys 11. I had expected to find some closures but it is now a veritable ghost town. Hundreds of those little shops and larger shops all shut up. Perhaps one struggling shop every 200 metres. Sad to think of all the lost jobs. A sorry and disturbing sight. We were please to find Warung Indonesia in Gang Ronta was open where you can get a great feed for about $3. It used to be the place would be packed at lunch time. There was just one customer and another couple ate while we were there. When we left, the place was empty.

harryopal

G'day mate, I'm hoping to retire to Bali later this year if I can get out of Australia. How do you go with your Aussie pension. Do you have iy paid into an account in Aust. or and account in Bali.

Your pension rate will be adjusted should you relocate. You lose about $100 a fortnight being located overseas. Also remember that once having moved overseas you have six weeks within which you must report that you are living overseas. If you fail to do this your pension will be stopped. An automatic link with Immigration will show that you are overseas. Given the extra pressures on Centrelink with all the extra claims for support, having your pension entitlement reset may presumably involve delays so better to make sure you comply with the requirements. Useful to have an Australian address contact lodged with Centrelink, Medicare etc for mail. If you haven't already opened an account with My Gov then doing so will be an advantage for future communications. You can do so by using this link. https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/topics/setting-online-accounts-centrelink/45531 This link will show your entitlements overseas. https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/age-pension/how-manage-your-payment/travel-outside-australia I have my pension paid directly into my Australian account. After opening an Indonesian account you can then transfer to the Indonesian bank. I strongly recommend you use Transferwise to make transfers. I found that the exchange rates when transferring using my Australian bank were terrible and the Aus bank took hundreds of dollars for transfers before being tipped off by Davita, a late member of this website. If you click on this link Transferwise.com you can see exactly how much a transfer for say $1000 would cost you and compare it with a bank transfer for a similar amount. The transfer using Polri (within the Transferwise system) will see your funds arrive within 10 minutes. You do not have to register with Transferwise to check as suggested above. If you don't already have one. ask your Australian bank for the small device that will provide a code to be used when making a transfer.

Tezza71

PERtoDPS wrote I must say I’m a bit jealous of you guys getting an Australian pension in Bali. I’m still 20+ years away from being anywhere near that option and I wonder if there will be a pension by then. If you can deal with the slower pace of life that would buy you what working does here. I’d love it! On a serious note Tezza if you are serious about a 1 way exit it’s possible Garuda still flies out of Perth to Denpasar once a month or so, scoot to Singapore a bit more , it’s more pricy than before, but if you plan to return think twice that isn’t easy

Biggest issue with getting out of Australia is that you have to apply to leave the country and have a very good reason for wanting to. Needless to say I have a real issue with being told I can't leave if I want to. Ok if I choose to do so and then want to come back I have to serve quarantine at my expense. That I can accept but to be told I can't leave in the first place really pees me off.

JohnnyCool

For all of you downgrading Indonesia/Bali take a look at the prognosis for number 5 world's largest economy in the next 4 years! And as an aside Unhear is a very good source of what we used to call news. https://unherd.com/thepost/indonesia-the-worlds-most-under-reported-country/

Interesting. The UnHear site. (Never heard of it before – no pun) You wrote: ...And as an aside Unhear is a very good source of what we used to call news. I wonder where they get “what we used to call news” from? “Briton’s couldn’t point to Indonesia on a map?” Reality check. Believe it or not, there are Americans (in the USA), who don’t know where the Pacific Ocean is. Some believe Iraq is somewhere in Europe (on a map), but it was OK to attack it (and Afghanistan of course). What’s the capital of California? (Sacramento, not LA/San Francisco. Definitley not in Canada, Alaska, Greenland ?) Some Australians think Bali is a country in its own right and don't know where "Indonesia" is. Indonesia might and maybe become an economical financial “giant, eagle, dove on fire” in Southeast Asia, when an if it can shake off its endemic corruption, fumbling with “democracy”. (Not alone there. Look at USA’s dumb, stupid, idiot child president). And not become SE Asia’s pandemic epicentre. That’s my rave for now. I consider myself as an optimistic pessimist (or vice versa). Right now Sanur isn’t quite a “ghost town”. Still lots of confusion about closing times. Normal/New Normal”? Arak steam cleaning spa’s (?). It’s still more or less OK with some “limitations”. Social distancing, wearing masks, handwashing properly, temperature testing, are all over the shop. Anybody know where I can rent a turbo-charged fast moving Russian tractor for a day? I’ve got vodka, and now arak is legal in Bali. WOW. :confused:

JohnnyCool

harryopal wrote These days I have an evening shot of the locally made Vodka with manggo juice. 18,000 IDr 700 mls. Perhaps your educated palate and more elastic wallet can tell me how the local product compares in taste and cost with Russian or other vodkas?

I'll give you [B]two[/B] recent examples I bought and tried. [LIST="1"] [*][B][I]Captain Morgan Gold Spiced Original Rum[/I][/B]. 750ml (Made in Tabanan). Passable for some people. [*][B][I]Ombach Scottish Whisky. ([/I][/B]Rp 250,000/750 ml), Again "passable"[B] [I]if[/I] [/B]you're [I]really[/I] desperate. [I]Nothing[/I] like [I]any[/I] decent Scottish whisky. Made in Tabanan. Nice bottle. [/LIST] Taste? Forget it. Nice bottle. Your "locally made vodka with mango juice"? Possibly from Tabanan. Enjoy it if you like it. Count me out. So far [B][I]none[/I][/B] of the "locally made" versions of whatever they're trying to flog taste anything like the real stuff. Take your pick (apart from the two I mentioned above). Mansion House?| Robinson? Taste like [I]some[/I] kind of alcohol with flavoring added. You can't always get what you want to drink here on the cheap. Want the [I]real[/I] beverage?, pay accordingly. And hope it's not fake, re-bottled bullshit. [I][B]Empty bottles [/B]of genuine booze[/I] are a commodity. Some places might have your old empty bottle to look good. They might even refill it with something else but charge you for what you believe it's supposed to be. Get the idea? :D

mugwump

JohnnyCool wrote Interesting. The UnHear site. (Never heard of it before – no pun) You wrote: [I][B]...And as an aside Unhear is a very good source of what we used to call news.[/B][/I] I wonder where [I][B]they[/B][/I] get “[I]what we used to call news” [/I]from? “Briton’s couldn’t point to Indonesia on a map?” [I] Reality check. [/I]Believe it or not, there are Americans (in the USA), who don’t know where the Pacific Ocean is. Some believe Iraq is somewhere in Europe (on a map), but it was OK to attack it (and Afghanistan of course). What’s the capital of California? (Sacramento, [I][B]not[/B][/I] LA/San Francisco. Definitley [I][B]not[/B][/I] in Canada, Alaska, Greenland ?) Some Australians think Bali is a country in its own right and don't know where "Indonesia" is. Indonesia might and maybe become an economical financial “giant, eagle, dove on fire” in Southeast Asia, when an if it can shake off its endemic corruption, fumbling with “democracy”. (Not alone there. Look at USA’s dumb, stupid, idiot child president). And [I][B]not[/B][/I] become SE Asia’s pandemic epicentre. That’s my rave for now. I consider myself as an optimistic pessimist (or vice versa). Right now Sanur isn’t quite a “ghost town”. Still lots of confusion about closing times. Normal/New Normal”? Arak steam cleaning spa’s (?). It’s still more or less OK with [I]some[/I] “limitations”. Social distancing, wearing masks, handwashing [I]properly[/I], temperature testing, are all over the shop. Anybody know where I can rent a turbo-charged fast moving Russian tractor for a day? I’ve got vodka, and now arak is legal in Bali. WOW. :confused:

How in creation do you know anything about the US? When were you there? Where were you there? Where do you derive all these gems of wisdom? How extensively have you traveled? If you are going to profess some accurate knowledge of the US (really), just how was it obtained? It is certainly fair to question when you express such profound statements.

Zimbo

harryopal wrote These days I have an evening shot of the locally made Vodka with manggo juice. 18,000 IDr 700 mls. Perhaps your educated palate and more elastic wallet can tell me how the local product compares in taste and cost with Russian or other vodkas?

It compares very well to gasoline. If you buy it, filter it 4 times through activated charcoal. I normally drink Uzbek Vodka - 'Slower Pulse' or 'Uzbekistan Gold' - Fantastically smooth!