Seems like a win for Muslim extremism in Indonesia
First this next full bore sharia law like in Banda aceh
Married to Indonesian but I find the food very strange tasting to my palate in general
Frankly some weird tastes
With a few exceptions
In general I donāt like Thai food or indo or Vietnamese food all that much
Will eat if In front of me most of it but not hankering for it
I lived a sheltered life I guess
Say what? 
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SAY WHAT?! 
Guy
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Vietnamese food tasted like a Chinese food trying to be a proper South East Asian food by adding salty soy sauce. Weird on my taste bud.
No matter what, Sharia law wonāt go in several area of Indonesia.
Tapanuli (Northwest Sumatra)
Western islands of Sumatra
Bali
East Nusa Tenggara
West Kalimantan
Central Kalimantan
North Sulawesi and surrounding islands
(Southern) Moluccas
All provinces in Papua island.
All have non-Muslim majority (Christian/Roman Catholic, Bali=Hindu)
More likely Denmark goes sharia than Bali goes sharia.
If you quoting Aceh, Aceh probably has stricter sharia law compare to Qatar. They have their own special arrangement tailored by Finnish president Ahtisarii so they would stop the rebellion.
Blame Finnish on that one.
Other parts of Indonesia, either sharia-wannabe (maybe only West/Central Sumatra, Riau islands) or have mild religious interpretation of the faith.
That being said, Jakarta probably has the best nightlife compare to the likes of Singapore, Hong Kong or Tokyo.
How? I thought Russian banks were effectively cut off from the global economy.
I would guess those that are here long term have their own online streams of income, probably paid to sources outside of Russia.
For others, I have read in the news media here about Russians that are severely indebted to local accomodation owners as they are unable to access their funds.
I have seen myself people having their cards declined at grocery stores etc. I asked one girl at an ATM if her card worked. She said some days yes, some days, no and that there were certain banks that didnāt work at all.
I donāt know how the banking system can be so arbitrary.
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Their own fault for invading Ukraine.
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Random Indonesian food shots from the āmarketplaceā WA group in my housing complex. Order by WhatsApp and the lady drops the food to your place. IDR12,000 = Ā±NTD25
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My wife would be salivating
But we is here in SF though and that be not in SF no?
Looks delicious, but also (in Taiwan parlance) super heaty, with all that fried stuff. I feel Iām getting pimples just looking at it. 
Guy
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Ah Bali i have never been but my wifeās fav place
I was in Bali Lombok and Lembongan in September October for 3 weeks. Was fun to use Indonesian language again. The food in Lombok was truly fantastic and so cheap. In fact my friends and I stayed in a resort called Silver Ferns run by a Kiwi couple. I think we paid US$125 for 5 nights. Local warung food was scrumptious.
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Was in Bali again recently for work function, not overly enamoured by what tourism has done to the place. Traffic jams are terrible (who wants to spend their vacation in traffic jamsā¦evidently lots of people). Plastic pollution is much worse than Taiwan. Many of Taiwanās natural spots including itās beaches are mich cleaner and far less crowded. They do have amazing beach clubs and of course very decent western grub. Iām a fan of their architecture. People quite nice overall but some desperate people there too pulling out of me as I walked around 
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Would have to tour around the island a bit more to make a fuller judgement. Seems to attract a fair few rough around the edges Aussies and scammy Russians.
Itās actually quite awkward to get to from Taiwan (5hr 20 min flights only from Taoyuan ) and flights can be pricey during peak season.
Yes many people recommended me to check out lombok and other places as itās obvious Bali is over developed. Yes I was only in Kuta general area but yeahā¦I have to say I just despise tourists generally bumbling around like fuckheads everywhere .
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I think I need a chance to travel around more because the Kuta area and extending out from there is obviously just the complete opposite of that.
Their famous temples are as bad or in fact much worse tourist traps than any of the famous spots in Taiwan. The monkeys in particular rob hats and glasses and then you have to pay the monkey master to negotiate with them to get them back.
Got a paradise lost kind of vibe from the place.
Plastic pollution is a big issue there, was bad last time I was there and I think itās the same or worse now.
Their traditional cultural sense of architecture and living with nature though is truly astounding up there with the Japanese or beyond even, not that you see much of it in the ācapitalā.
Last I was there I did a liveaboard dive trip to Komodo Island. The voyage and diving were stellar. The island itself was a hot rock with a long stretch of tourist crap made of coconut husks and other shit.
Bali, if you donāt surf and donāt want to do a long yoga retreat? Meh. 
Yes traffic is what happens when people have money.
I was in Bali for 8 days came back last week. I went to Padang Bai and Tulamben for diving. Thing is most roads are single lane each way so itās better when there are dual lanes.
Kuta is not the place to be in Bali everyone knows that so just avoid the place.
Awkward to get to on a direct cheap flight that costs NT$12K on China Airlines ok lol So many empty rows people can have 4 seats to themselves.
Flight is leave 9:15 am arrive 2:45pm. I got through immigration and customs and gone from the airport in 35 mins.
Lembongan and Lombok are of course less tourist especially Lombok. I do some diving in South Lombok and itās a rush.
So you were one of those tourists bumbling around Kuta like fuckheads everywhere? The best parts of Bali are not in Kuta. You should get up to the north visit Mt Agung and Singaraja.
Komodo island not even close to Baliā¦ Might as well talk about Raja Ampat as well. lol
Bali does have great vacation spots away from Kuta. Also quite cheap compared to other countries. I paid NT$8600 for 8 nights in a nice resort with several pools and good room. Includes a basic breakfast with Bali Coffee which is good as donāt need to eat to much before morning dives lol.
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Went to Bali back in 2009 and Kuta was disgusting back then and full of drunk Aussies. Sounds like it hasnāt changed much. You had to go up north to find beaches that werenāt full of trash.
I also got attacked by a monkey at Uluwatu that tried to take my hat. Ended up scratching me in the head and I had to get a hospital committee back in Taiwan to approve a rabies shot back before rabies was a thing here. The whole thing is a scam. Monkeys attack you, take your shit, then a guy comes along with peanuts to get it back and wants a tip.
Not to mention everything else being a scam. My Taiwanese friends complained because they bought a newspaper from Taiwan and the first page was todayās date while every other page was a month ago. Just constant haggling over stupid shit. Once was enough for me.
I travel to Jakarta and the rest of Java frequently for work but Indo is not on top of my vacation list.
If you want endless tropical islands and beaches, friendly people, then Iād pick any island in the Philippines over Bali.
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Agreed bout the Philippines but the food can be ā¦uhā¦challenging in places.