Expat Life in Bali

Most expats who moved to Bali said that they were getting away from the brutal rat race back home. I can understand their feelings.

I have been thinking of moving to Bali, NZ or Thailand for the same reasons. I work for the world largest PC maker. At work, I am getting bored doing the same old craps. I have a lousy tyranical boss, who keeps reminding me that he can hire 5 guys with PhD in China for the salary he is paying me. I have survived five major heart-wrenching lay-offs. Don’t know if I can survive the next one. My wife just got laid-off last month from ibm, and she is on the dole right now. I feel like a small fish in a huge pond. The only things lower than me are the pond scum. Though, I am making good money, at the end of the month I am always broke. I don’t know where the money’s gone, but I know for sure that my debts keep on growing.

On the bright side, I have a substantial savings and stock options (mostly under the water now) that I could cash in some day. I am planning to pack up and go in five to six years and head out either to Bali, NZ, or Thailand. I have a rich brother who lives and owns a huge designer house in Ubud. But, he is tired of the immigration law in Bali and he is thinking of selling his house and moving to Thailand. I can work for him. don’t care if I make a lot less as long as I am happy.

Little things annoy you in Bali? I am sure they do. But, at least in Bali you get the respects from the locals that you don’t get in your home countries. You stop being that lousy small fish in the big pond that everyone looks down. You can be somebody down there in Bali. Right?

Tony,

I don’t know which part of the world you came from, but I bet you never worked your ass off your entire life in a western country. Because if you did, you would know what I was talking about. I am willing to bet that you are a disgruntled local brat who are lucky enough to live off your parents’ ill-gotten wealth. All you can do is to bitch about every thing.

In a globalized economy, we all have to compete with people around the world. How can you compete with people who are willing to make a fraction of what you are making? So far I have been doing well enough. I escaped 5 lay-offs because I was able to re-position my self strategically. But it is very tiring, and I don’t know if I can keep doing it forever. So, I am making a strategic shift in my life. I am going into service sector, where I can exploit my connections and knowledge that only a few would have. It does not sound like a loosing plan to me.

Any way, I am not going to exploit the locals like you are probably doing. You are whoremongering because you see an opportunity to exploit these local girls’ dire needs for your stinking money. Do you think these local girls really want to sell their bodies to you if they have enough to eat? You probably can not even get a date in a western country. I am willing to bet it is the sole reason you ended up overthere. I am may be a insecure in your eyes, but I have never had to pay for sex. You need to pay for sex, because you are very-very insecure yourself. You don’t know how to get it any other ways. Hey dude…you need to learn from those Kuta Cowboys. They not only get the sex, they get paid too, unlike you…looser.

C’mon..dude…get off your asses and do something for the locals, and not just being a parasite.

Hey Tony the shit-head,

If those short 5′3″ Kuta Cowboys with their short winnies can easily get chicks and get paid while doing it, I wonder why you can’t. I bet you are fat, dumb, short, butt-ugly and you have bad manners. Regular chicks stay away from you for good reasons. And you ended up having hard times getting laid for free.

Those “Beer-swilling, pot-bellied got nothing zeroes” ex-pats in Bali are paying for their beer, and they are not harming anyone else. So why do you hate them?

You on the other-hand are a lousy hypocrat. You bitch about us expecting respects for nothing from the local peasants, while at the same time you are exploiting their women. So stop talking about morality, dude.

I have not read anything positive about Bali coming from you. So why are you still there? Oh!, I am sorry, I forgot: you are there only for the whoring opportunity. Well, just might as well you stay there for good, because you can’t afford women anywhere else. Heck, you may turn into a serial rapist if you leave Bali.

Bali is fine until you really understand the language then lving there becomes too challenging. If you have a western wife and niether of you speak Indo then you are in with a chance. Otherwise you are doomed to being goaded and abused unless you have the tolerance of Ghandi. Long term expats seem to have one thing in common… the total hatred of Indonesian men.

Hi Scott,

You wrote: “Long term expats seem to have one thing in common… the total hatred of Indonesian men.”

Please explain what you meant by that? I assume you were just kidding, right? Is this feeling wide spread among expats?

Nick, Barrie and others, do y’all feel that way towards the indo men? Let me know. I don’t want to move into a place just to end up hating the people.

Bali is too small a place for 3 millions or so people not to get along. Wouldn’t it be suicidal for the expats minority to harbor total hatred of the indo men who are in majority? It just does not make sense to me. Obviously, you guys know something I dont.

Tom,
I certainly don’t hate Indo/Balinese men!!!!

Hi Tom,

Like anywhere in the world, there is good and bad. In Bali, the majority is GOOD. It’s a beautiful island with beautiful people and after 27 years of discovering Indonesia as a whole, I can honestly say I have only met a handful of people that are not-so-good.

http://www.planetmole.org
http://wombatwanderings.blogspot.com

Well you lads have it all covererd then.

I do agree that once you understand the language and finally the hearts and motivations of Indo’s it turns out to be just like anywhere else on the planet.

Then again, sometimes you just say to hello and have chat with a perfect stranger and they open up, heart and all.

It only takes a couple years to get a handle on Bahasa Indonesia, but it takes 5-10 years to understand the people. By then you only need a week out side of Indo and you want to come home.

take it easy grasshoppers
Expat since 88

Spanks

Tony,

“Most of them [expats] are arrgant, got nothing zeros.”

And, you are not, eh?! Just by reading your comments in this blog, most people can easily draw the conclusion that you are an arrogant SOB your self. You don’t have to be a smart shrink to figure that out.

“Guys [expats] that could never cut it back home, so took the easy way out, wasting their days in Bali.”

So what?! They are wasting their own days, not yours. Any way, most of them are probably - read my lips - on VACATION. What are they supposed to do? work?

“What’s exploiting women got to do with fat zeros expecting respect from peasants.”

Oh Gosh….You are really a dingbat. The point that your small brain failed to grasp is this: Stop preaching morality when you have none your self.

“I’m not exploiting any women by whoring it up. They do it by choice.”

Well, that is one of the most arrogant and egoistic statements I have ever heard. But then coming dim witted person like you, it is hardly surprising.

“I don’t pay much, well, you don’t pay much for meals, transport, accomodation, clothes, etc. So by your thinking, we’re both exploiting people.”

There is a big difference between paying market prices for goods/services and being a john or punter. By being a john, you are supporting a trade in human misery. Those whores are some body’s wife, mother, and daughter. You would probably object to your wife, mother or daughters going into prostitution, right? Because if you do not, then you are really an idiot. Or may be you already are.

What does this discussion has to do with “Expat life in Bali”?… Very little I would say. Tom, stop arguing, cause he’s not going to.
Now about the topic itself, I guess one always tries to find in an adoptive land what can’t be found back home. In most cases for a western I think we look for a laid back paradise, where things just run a little slower, the weather is warmer, and we can just take it easy. Of course most of us never find the right time to leave… just like me, but if one day I leave, it sure won’t be Bali my pick. I’m thinking more of Dominican Republic, at least I can speak the language and I’m pretty sure Tony won’t be there LOL. (couldn’t resist, sorry)

Hi Godinho,
I live in Carribean and I know a lot of Santo Domingan (People from Dominican Rep)here.
The people are not nice like Balinese.
They have bad attitude and God knows…so unfriendly. The women could be very friendy if you have “mucho dinero”.
I and my husband plan to retired in Bali and Yogyakarta someday.
He went to Bali once and he fell in love with it.
Some of my clients have visited Bali, they love it and they keep coming back.
We live on an island called “American Paradise”, but it is not like Bali who has beautiful beaches, nice people, arts and cultures, and don’t forget …it is much cheaper to live there.

Intan,

Yogya? Good! You can be Barrie’s neighbor.

Btw, is that where you came from originally? I have been there only once a long time ago. It was such a nice small college town. I am sure it still is.

I took a train ride from Jakarta to Yogya. Boy! that was a nice trip. Seeing the mountains, villages, rivers, and lakes along the track was something else. Also, it was a lot safer than taking bus. The indo roads were dangerous and the drivers were crazy. Though on the train, you’d need to keep watch on your posessions at all time lest they walk away. Do passengers still sit on top of the cars today?

Hi Tom:
I grew up in Jakarta but my Dad’s family is mixed Chinese-Javanese from Semarang. He went to college in Yogya.

You are absolutely right about driving in Indonesia. I never drive there. Yup, I believe the passengers still sit on top of the cars and trains.

Intan, I have been in Dominican Republic twice, once in Puerto Plata district and the other in Punta Cana district, but I pretty much covered all the country. I found the people so friendly!!! I would stop and talk to people (I speak perfect Spanish) and they would just open their houses (or something close to that). Both times I was there, I was on vacation and I know things are different when we are on vacation, but a few things happened that drive me to say that this people are generally good.
I can tell you of one time I lost a watch on the beach; I just realized it late at night, when I was heading for dinner. I went to the beach to look it up, but no luck. Then, some guys at the bar (there was a bar on the beach) asked me if I was looking for something, I said I was looking for my watch, and they said they hadn’t see it, but there was this one girl that used to clean the chairs, she might have seen something. So they told to pass by the next day and talk to her. Next day there I was, with little hope she would say she saw something, but she did, she had seen it and took it home, so she told me to come back once again the next day and she would give it to me. And on the 3rd day I got my watch back.
On the last day on the island, me and my friends got all our “Pesos” together and went to give to the girl (she was like 7 month pregnant). I don’t wear the watch anymore, but I shall always remember her smile.

Hi Godinho:
I am glad that you’ve met good people in Dominican Rep. The same thing happened to me too in Puncak, West Java (I believe Barrie or Nick know this small town). I’ve lost a small bag of gold jewelries and got them back. Not only once but twice!
I guess people who live in small town are still honest and God-fearing people.

An indo friend has a similar story.

An old women took a train ride to a small town in W. Java to visit her in-laws. On the train she fell asleep, and when she woke up all her belongings, including her flops were gone. Furious, she reported that to her in-laws. Lucky for her, one of her in-laws happened to personally know the local criminal boss. Within a week, all her stolen items were returned plus an appology note from the thief.