by Raja Arak on May 15, 2012
At some point, every long-term, foreign resident of Bali eventually has to leave for one reason or another. In my time here I’ve yet to meet anyone who has spent a substantial amount of time on the island without ever having left, although that is mostly just a visa issue. As I type this, I am sitting in a hotel room in Bangkok and have been away from Bali for 12 days, the longest period of time I have ever been away from the island since first setting foot there almost 4 years ago. With another 5 days to go until I am set to return home (I fully consider Bali to be “home” by this point), I can’t help but think about all of the differences – both positive and negative – between Bali and other popular SE Asian destinations.
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by Raja Arak on April 30, 2012
The electricity coming into your house is going to be a big part of your happiness or misery while living in Bali. When everything is working as it should then you will be able to power your fans and AC to keep you comfortable as well as your computer, internet, TV and other devices for your entertainment purposes. If you have shoddy electrical wiring or you don’t have the appropriate electrical capacity then you will spend most days cursing the powers that be for your troubles. There is nothing worse than having to make sure you shut off certain appliances just so you can use others without your power going out. Unfortunately some houses are built and set up with insufficient capacities. A hot topic has been the prepaid meters and whether they are a good idea or not. Having just moved into a house with one, I want to document my experience with them.
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by Raja Arak on April 23, 2012
Quest for the Best Babi Guling from balizumba on Vimeo.
A few weeks ago I created a post about my favorite Babi Guling in Bali and within that week so many people that I knew around Bali contacted me saying that they absolutely had to try it. After a little bit of organization (as organized as things get in Bali), I managed to get a group of 17 people out there to try the legendary 4AM Babi Guling. In that group was my good friend and expat, Trevor Chee-A-Tow who is a professional videographer and owner of Slam Jam, his self-created brand that specializes in high quality videos, many of which highlight the best and most fun parts about living in Bali. Trevor shot some videos of the place while he was there and then turned the footage into an amazing piece of film that really captures the feeling of being there yourself.
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by Raja Arak on April 9, 2012
It is something that most people never want to think about – but the harsh reality is that while safe, Bali has its share of dangers as well. Hang around long enough and you are bound to come across an expat or two that has experienced their home being broken into and robbed, sometimes in a quite horrific fashion. This is what happened to Shane McRae and her husband not too ago and she is willing to share her story with us, in hopes that it will help people to be more aware of what can happen and what security measures they can implement to prevent such an occurrence. The interview below is 100% real and I would like to thank her for being strong enough to share her story, it could not have been easy to talk about.
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by Raja Arak on April 4, 2012
Babi Guling is easily the most widely known Balinese dish and tourists have even been known to come to Bali just to sample it. The most famous place for Babi Guling would be none other than Ibu Oka in Ubud but it is it really the best? So far I have never known a Balinese person that says their favorite Babi Guling is the one from Ibu Oka and I would have to agree with them. To be fair, I don’t think the food at Ibu Oka is bad, it is a delicious selection of pork – I just think that as far as Babi Guling goes it is far from the best. Finding the best Babi Guling though takes a lot of work and perseverance however.
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