Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Living and working in Bali and Lombok
Bali has a large and lively expat community, with significant numbers of foreigners choosing
to make their homes in and around Ubud, Seminyak, Canggu and Sanur in particular; on
Lombok, Senggigi and Gili Trawangan are the main centres. Visa regulations are complicated
(see kemlu.go.id ) but some expats manage to work as English-language teachers in Kuta
(Bali) and Ubud, or as dive instructors in south Bali resorts or on the Gili Islands. Others
export Indonesian fabric, clothes, jewellery, artefacts and furniture. The Living in Indonesia
website ( expat.or.id ) is a good resource on expat life, and the fortnightly free newspaper
the Bali Advertiser ( baliadvertiser.biz ) carries a “situations vacant” column.
Mail
Every town and tourist centre on Bali and Lombok has a General Post Office (GPO; kantor
pos ) where you can buy stamps ( perangko ) and aerogrammes ( surat udara ), and can post
letters ( surat ) and parcels ( paket ). Most kantor pos keep official government office hours
(Mon-Thurs 8am-2pm, Fri 8-11am, Sat 8am-1pm; closed on festival days and public hol-
idays); exceptions are detailed in the Guide. In larger towns and resorts, you can also buy
stamps and send letters and parcels from postal agents , who charge official rates but are of-
ten open longer hours than the kantor pos . Post boxes aren't widespread, so it's best to post
letters at GPOs or postal agents.
If the kantor pos doesn't offer a parcel-packing service , there will be a stall next door for
getting your stuff parcelled up; don't bother packing it yourself as the contents need to be in-
spected first. Kantor pos won't handle any parcels over 10kg or more than 1m long, but most
shops can arrange shipping . Reputable drivers will also often help organize shipping and can
be a good source of advice, or try Pal Cargo ( 0361 466999, palcargo.com ).
Maps
For Bali , the best maps are Periplus Travel Maps (1:250,000; on sale worldwide). Periplus
also produces the impressive Bali Street Atlas , which is exhaustively indexed and good for
drivers. Maps of Lombok are less easy to come by and are best bought abroad or in Bali
rather than on Lombok itself. Go for the Periplus Travel Maps sheet covering Lombok and
Sumbawa (1:200,000).
The media
Most Balinese newspaper readers buy the daily Bali Post ( balipost.co.id ) , while non-In-
donesian speakers read either its slimline counterpart, Bali Post International or the weekly
The Bali Times , published every Friday but produced daily online ( thebalitimes.com ) . For
Indonesian and inter-national coverage there's the English-language daily The Jakarta Post (
thejakartapost.com ) and, for more incisive journalism, the weekly news magazine Tempo
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