Thursday, October 27, 2011

A brief update

Bali  has a new bus system. It appears to be working in spite of  its many problems. A  critique can be found here. Despite the pessimism a working bus system is inevitable if the Island is to avoid choking on its own success.

Property prices in Bali are going up up up. Its unbelievable what people are willing to pay for a chunk of swamp without sewage, electricity or water. 300 million rupiah /are now seems to be the going rate in some parts of semminyak. Some very average villas here are now going for 15 million rupiah/month. At these prices its tempting to move and rent out my house but the next question would be to move where?

The beachfront in Kuta is finally resembling something other than a collection of abandoned buildings. There are a lot of new shiny hotels all across the street from the beach. Access to Kuta is still hopelessly snarled amidst the narrow convoluted streets, the surfeit of taxis and the  interminable "proyek galian" (excavations) tearing up the roadways.

The massive developments in south Bali (and they are massive) are serviced by a tiny 2-lane road from Jimbaran to Bukit. Traffic along here can only get worse as these developments fill in. As it is now you are totally screwed going uphill at 4:30 pm and downhill at 7:00 PM (tour buses to Uluwatu).

I'm not sure of the reasoning but the developers in Pecatu placed a large water park in the middle of a luxury housing development and golf course. Perhaps they should have sold the houses first but I find it difficult to imagine some wealthy pensioner buying a house with 100 decibel bass pumping out some techno beat at 10:00  AM overdubbed with some idiot presenter screaming into a microphone. Just what I like with my morning coffee and porridge.

The little golf driving range in Tuban is gone - victim to the ever expanding Ngurah Rai Airport. I think that it has been gone for some time but I'm only now getting around to mentioning it. Pity. It was the cheapest and best kept secret in Bali.

Finally I have to say that I lost one dog while I was away and a new one seems to be hanging around in its place. The lost one was a bit touched from the day we found him so I'm not totally surprised. The new dog is a friendly type with an unfortunate habit of digging up the lawn. Not sure how to cure him of that.

Having a heck of a time organising my next work trip abroad. More on that later.

18 comments:

colson said...

Exploding prices, blaring loudspeakers, architectural ugliness, stuck traffic - you are living in hell :).

PS: have a good & successful trip!

pj said...

In spite of all my bitching its still a nice little island.

Unknown said...

Glad to know that you are updating your blog again.

I haven't gone to Bali for 5 years and surprised at how things have changed there.

My friend told me about the Bvlgari Resort in Uluwatu with tariff starting from USD 1,000 per night and nasi goreng : Rp 400.000,-

pj said...

We need to try that nasi goreng. Maybe instead of nasi goreng ayam its nasi goreng (insert rare species here)spesial.

Aprianti said...

We have the same problem here in Bandung with the never ending proyek galian. After digging up the road and putting whatever they want to put in the holes, they shamelessly just “leave it as it is”.

And that’s probably where your new dog learns from.

pj said...

Hi Aprianti

Yup its amazing isn't it? The worrisome thing to me is that there is yet to be any proyek galian on my street. Even so houses are mushrooming up left and right. We will eventually (in some distant future) get our sewers but it would make more sense to put them in before the houses go up. I suppose I shouldn't complain. We did after all get three power poles just last year.

That would explain why he has been digging down to the foundations..If you could train dogs to dig in a straight line you could solve the excavation problem and the roving dog problem in one go.

Pakaian said...

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PT. USAHA SAUDARA MANDIRI said...

nice sharing...
my college friend live in bali...

pj said...

pakain & pt usaha

Thanks for dropping in!

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wisata indonesia said...

oke, brother. sure, indonesia need another turism center, not only bali. And the bali destination isn't just South. Sumbawa and Maluku are the best i think.


greeting from indonesia :)

wisata indonesia said...

oke, brother. sure, indonesia need another turism center, not only bali. And the bali destination isn't just South. Sumbawa and Maluku are the best i think.


greeting from indonesia :)

Ria Tumimomor said...

people busy digging and building and rising prices :(

brian said...

transportation problem need to be solve, Bali need mass transportation system and must act fast before all empty land become building.

Unknown said...

North Sulawesi has all kinds of tourist potential...

How ya doing, PJ? Happy New Year!

pagun-view.blogspot.com

pj said...

@dpg. Thanks for dropping in and leaving a comment.

@wisata indonesia. You are quite right about the need for an alternative travel destination. I've never travelled to ambon or sumbawa tho.

@ria - its really turning into a boom economy with all the accompanying side effects.

@brian traffic is one of those inevitable side effects.

@pagun - hi and happy anticipated new year. Its a small world becaue the tong hand on the rig is from manado. He agrees with you. I've a mind to visit manado one of these days but after reading of your experience I'll take a 737 thank you very much.

Unknown said...

Happy New Year to you and you loved ones PJ.

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