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Funny Aliens: Land for Sale, Invest in your Future in Lombok
2008-06-05 10:13:00
Just coming back from a few days driving around Lombok. What an adventure! The detailed trip report will follow shortly. The picture to the left was taken near the Gangga Waterfall in the North of Lombok, about 2 hours away from Senggigi. The sign says the following: “Land for Sale - Come and invest for your ...
More About: Funny , For Sale , Aliens , Future

3 oddities in Bali, which would raise some brows - anywhere else
2008-05-28 16:13:00
When reading the last issue of The Bali Times, I had a few good laughs. This weekly newspaper is actually known for portraying the Bali Life from an Expat point of view. Mainly you can read about foreigners arrested on Drug Charges (amazingly still plenty of tourists think they can get away doing drugs in Bali), ...
More About: Oddities

Cost of Living Chart - Philippines (in Peso, Dollar and Euro)
2008-05-21 11:28:00
The Philippines is a country in South East Asia with breath-taking natural features and scenery on over 7.000 islands. You will find pristine beaches, volcanoes, rice terraces, hot springs and waterfalls aplenty in a very pleasant tropical climate. People are genuinely friendly and most of the Pinoys can speak English, so easy communication is guaranteed. Despite ...
More About: Living , Euro , Dollar , Cost

Cutting Subsidies - Indonesia?s Government will raise Fuel Prices by app. 3
2008-05-12 09:10:00
Fuel prices in Indonesia are fixed by the government and don’t float according to market conditions. This leads to unbelievably cheap costs of fuel of Rp 4.500 per liter (app. USD 0.50). While that was basically great for the population and led to an increased use of fuel - making oil-rich Indonesia basically an Oil Importer ...
More About: Government , Fuel , Prices , Cutting

Karaoke - dirty little secret or Asia?s favorite pastime?
2008-05-05 12:32:00
For Westerners it is sometimes difficult to understand Asia ’s obsession with Karaoke . What’s so exciting about embarrassing yourself in front of your friends or even strangers with your non-existing singing skills? Fortunately - Karaoke is more than that, it can be a favorite pastime or your dirty little secret. Once you take your time to get the ...
More About: Dirty , Secret , Favorite

GPS Tracking Devices for RTW Travelers - useful Gadgets or Waste of Money?
2008-04-25 10:20:00
Many RTW (Round the World) Travelers have the problem of keeping track of their journeys around the planet. Of course you will keep a notebook, write a blog, shoot thousands of photos or mark your tracks on a small world map you carry around with you. That’s usually okay, but what if you have a hangover, get ...
More About: Money , Gadgets , Devices , Tracking , Waste

Long Plea about Corruption, Freedom of Speech and Indonesia?s road towards
2008-04-14 19:44:00
Freedom of Speech and Expression are cornerstones and the lifeblood of any democracy. For a free people in mature societies to govern themselves - they must be free to express themselves - openly, publicly, and repeatedly; in speech and in writing. How else can one put the finger in the wound and take part in discussions ...
More About: Freedom , Indonesia , Corruption , Freedom of Speech , Long

A Bali Waterfall and Hot Spring no Travel Guide will tell you about
2008-04-07 12:16:00
The best spots in Bali are in regions away from the touristy areas. The island is rich in beautiful nature spots. For instance the cascading waterfall at Git Git in the northern part of the island is very popular with tourists and locals alike. The Banjar Hot Spring s near Lovina are another famous spot, with 3 ...
More About: Travel , Guide , Waterfall

African-style Robinsonade in Java?s Baluran National Park
2008-03-29 11:06:00
Yup - in case you were wondering why nothing happened at this site for the last couple of days - we just came back from an Outback trip with the bare essentials. The location was Baluran National Park in Eastern Java . It’s a mystic explosion of nature and wild life. African -style Savannahs, just without Elephants or ...
More About: Style

Adam Air Indonesia grounded!
2008-03-19 04:27:00
While some of Indonesia ’s famed airlines obviously try their best to get their acts together - this can’t be said about the most notorious suspect - Adam Air. Over the last 2 years, there were various rumors that Adam Air’s license might be revoked, if they didn’t clean up their mess and come up with concepts ...

Cost of Living Chart - Bali (in Rupiah, Dollar and Euro)
2008-03-17 07:02:00
In general, Bali is a beautiful place on our planet, where you can survive pretty well on a very small budget. The Cost of Living here is dramatically lower than in the US, old Euro pe, Australia or even some other parts in Asia. I was asked many times by readers how much I spend here and ...
More About: Dollar

A Word about Malaysian Politics and the surprising Election Results
2008-03-10 14:00:00
Malaysia is a great country! Unspoiled beaches, excellent diving spots, mountains surrounded by misty fog, exotic fauna and flora and a healthy, vast rain forest are attracting plenty of visitors. Islands like Pulau Langkawi, Tioman, Penang, the Perhentians or locations like Genting Highlands have a legendary reputation with travelers. The country embraced tourism already many years ...
More About: Politics , Malaysian , Word , Results , Election

It?s Ogoh-Ogoh time again! The Hindu New Year (Nyepi) Celebrations in Bali
2008-03-06 14:20:00
I wrote last year about the colorful creations called Ogoh-Ogoh, which are paraded just before the begin of the Hindu New Year in Bali . This year was even more crazy. I’ve never seen so many quality monsters in one place. The rainy season is almost over and for the Hindus, the New Year is about to ...
More About: Celebrations , Time

Nomad?s Snippets - Credit Card Secrets, Political Compass and new Poll
2008-03-01 13:39:00
Wanted to share with you quickly some interesting web sites I found recently: “The Secret History of the Credit Card ” is an outstanding documentary and interesting piece of investigative journalism. The critically acclaimed and award-winning show is now available online as a 5-part Video Streaming Series. It’s an in-depth look into a secretive yet very successful ...
More About: Political , Poll , Secrets

8 Tips to Fool Keyloggers in Public Internet Cafes
2008-02-21 14:30:00
If you are traveling without your own laptop for an extended period of time - chances are you will use Computers in public Internet Cafes to stay in touch with loved ones and friends around the world. Using a computer in any Internet Cafe in Shanghai, Vientiane or Fiji sounds like a comfortable form of getting ...
More About: Tips , Public , Keyloggers , Fool

Checklist for going RTW - your Round the World Trip
2008-02-10 11:07:00
Many people dream of doing a ‘Round the World ’ Trip (RTW) at least once in their life. There are many excuses why they don’t do it in the end. The fact is: more and more of travelers ARE able to fulfill this dream - and they DO it. They plan a route, give up their rented ...
More About: The World

9 Surefire Strategies NOT to Retire Early
2008-02-01 16:47:00
A while ago we established a concept, that it doesn’t take you necessarily heaps of money to retire early in your lifetime. If you don’t have high demands, are happy to live a simple but fulfilled life in a low-cost-of-living country, plan ahead and have some savings which will provide you with passive income in ...
More About: Strategies , Early , Surefire , Retire , Tire

Need Alternative to Kuta Beach during Wet Season? Read this…
2008-01-23 17:45:00
It’s currently rainy season in Bali. That doesn’t mean that you have rain all day. It’s still mostly sunny all-day-around, warm temperature and a mild breeze with clouds building up during the day. You may experience some showers in the afternoon, but the main load from the clouds comes down only at night. That’s good for holiday makers and locals alike, as the crops on the paddies are seeing some water, but it doesn’t affect your holiday that much. Unfortunately the wet season comes with some other disadvantages for beach combers who lounge around the main beaches at the west coast: The most popular beaches in Bali are Kuta Beach , with its southern extensions Jimbaran and Dreamland below the airport. In the other direction from Kuta Beach you have Legian and Seminyak beaches in the north - all the way up to Dhyana Pura, KuDeTa and even further to Tanah Lot. All these beaches are currently affected by changing currents, underwater rips and generally rou...
More About: Alternative , Season , Read

How-to Guide to Store, Access and Sync your Data safely while Traveling the
2008-01-16 12:03:00
Traveling the world, most people take plenty of pictures, need access to their business or private contacts, want to make mid or long-term appointments, have to write letters to Visa or Immigration authorities or simply want to stay in touch with their loved ones. While bringing a laptop or notebook computer is an option for many ...
More About: Data , Store , Guide , Access , Sync

What is Your Favorite Country in South East Asia? Poll?s up!
2008-01-11 12:58:00
South East Asia is a vast region with gorgeous landscapes and everlasting impressions. Wandering her many cities and countries - looking for adventure, pleasure, luck, love, business or plain relaxation - you can see travelers from all over the world flocking to our favorite region. Of course, somehow we all have our favorite countries here to ...
More About: Country , Poll , South

Want to escape sticky-hot Jakarta? Try Puncak Highlands!
2008-01-06 12:42:00
Jakarta - the capital of Indonesia - is a huge bustling Moloch of 23 million people, almost as many cars, motorbikes, exotic smells, street dogs and clouds of pollution. Currently you can add flooded streets and houses, which increase the usual chaos even more. Still it’s an amazing city, a mix of many cultures and ...
More About: Jakarta , Highlands , Escape

Cloudless Sky ahead for Lion Air?
2008-01-02 08:31:00
Going to Bogor and Puncak over the festive days, we were taking Lion Air to get to Jakarta from Bali and back. Apart from being competitively priced (around Rp. 350.000 one way/person), I was positively surprised about the Lion Air flights. The plane used was a spanking-new Boeing 737-900ER, one of the newest mid-range/single-aisle planes of ...
More About: Ahead

The Best of Nomad4ever in 2007
2007-12-27 07:44:00
The year is almost over and thanks to your continuous support - it was an exciting and successful year, which saw phenomenal growth for nomad4ever.com. Checking over at problogger.com, I noticed an interesting list of his best articles in 2007, copyblogger.com has a similar one. I liked the idea and simply ‘copyblogged’ it, so much about this ...

Thailand 1st Post-Coup Election - the Return of Thaksin?
2007-12-23 14:51:00
As the election booths were closed earlier today following the first election after the Coup of the Thai Military - the smoke is slowly starting to clear up. It looks now like the Allies of then deposed former PM Thaksin Shinawatra are headed for a victory. This would come as a double blow to the Military ...
More About: Thailand , Post , Election , Return

Javanese Food - a simple and healthy cuisine extraordinaire
2007-12-16 14:36:00
As mentioned earlier - people around the world love and crave Asian food. I’m not talking about your standard Chinese Restaurant. There is more to experience and taste out there. Let’s start to introduce some of the many delicious dishes you can find around this vast region. Where to begin? As I’m currently residing in Bali, Indonesia ...
More About: Food , Cuisine , Simple , Healthy , Sine

US feels the Heat at Bali Climate Conference - horrifying numbers!
2007-12-10 09:36:00
Currently the 12th UN Climate Change Conference in Bali , a follow-up meeting of world leaders to decide on a successor agenda for the Kyoto Protocol (which was ratified by 172 countries but expires in 2012), is receiving a lot of media coverage. Kyoto was the first international treaty to pledge to legally-binding commitments to reduce emissions ...
More About: Heat , Numbers

Anthony Bourdain about his passion for Asian food
2007-12-04 14:26:00
Our friend Anthony Bourdain is surely a unique character. He is an honest and down-to earth guy - fully respectful of other cultures or traditions - yet he speaks out his mind if something is horrible or brackish. They don’t call him “Rogue Chef” for nothing. And he is practically a living Nomad. He enjoys to travel ...
More About: Food , Passion , Asian , Asian food

55 Nations - Stereotypes that will Ruin or Make your Day
2007-11-26 12:53:00
Inspired by an idea of Mon earlier on this post, I searched the net far and wide to find the most common stereotypes about Nationalities. Generalizations about cultures or nationalities can be a source of pride, anger or simply bad jokes. Some people say that in all stereotype there is some basis in reality, as they ...
More About: Stereotypes , Nations , Make , Ruin , Stere

Psychic predicts devastating Sumatra Earthquake for 23/12/2007
2007-11-23 08:29:00
As it wasn’t enough that Sumatra was horribly affected by the Tsunami of Christmas 2004 - with more than 150.000 people perished around Aceh alone - things could get bad again. While the reconstruction of the region from the devastating effects just recently came close to completion, even the separatist rebels in Aceh made their peace ...
More About: Earthquake , Psychic , Vasta

Mixed Relationships in Asia - a Status Quo
2007-11-19 16:32:00
Asia is a melting pot of different cultures, religions and values. Ever since Marco Polo made his way to this part of the world, people had their own ideas, misconceptions or prejudices without even knowing some basic facts first hand. Some of those prevail even today, especially about mixed relationships. With this I mean relationships between Asian ...
More About: Relationships , Asia , Status , Mixed , Status Quo