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Bali Update


rickinoc
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Made a recent trip to Bali and the escorts/masseurs there really made my trip memorable.

 

Having traveled there after 10 years I noted that the area has really grown and is amazing..Food is cheap, accomodations a plenty and all in all a very welcoming place . I made reservations on Agoda after browsing the gay Asia forums

 

Lots of gay spas in Seminyak and Kuta Beach. The two that I would highly recommend are 1) Banana Spa - Tel +62-813-3893-9220 ; and 2) Teman Spa - Tel +62-878-6185-6196. Had wonderful experiences in both places - I would especially recommend Nino from the Banana Club.

 

Other areas like Sanur Beach or Ubud tend to be hit or miss - these are more faamily oriented and non-gay areas. In these areas most of the spas have male therapists - you get great body scrubs and Balinese massages - but nothing extra.

 

The best way in Kuta or Seminyak (more gay friendly) is to call the spa - dont be surprised that a female answers - and she will message you whos available on Whatsapp. Hire a private taxi if you are not in Seminayak or Kuta - really inexpensive and reliable - for a RT trip from where you are staying.

 

Bali is safe and you will not get ripped off!! Its really Paradise

 

Rick

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  • 2 years later...
  • 4 weeks later...

yes not opening in 2020 .

 

covid rates are very high

Hi WesternSyd, good to see you're still active on the forum!

I'm gonna guess you're in Sydney now. As you may recall, I live in Bali - and cannot agree with what you wrote. Unfortunately, there is a lot of negative press in Oz about COVID in Bali - and has been since the start of the pandemic. Rates here are not "very high". They're not even close to being "high", in comparison with so many places in the world. There are less than 10,000 COVID cases in Bali, and the island has over 4 million people. Now, within Indonesia, the COVID rates have been and continue to be high in Jakarta (about 85,000 cases) - but that is 1200km from Bali. Cheers -

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Hi WesternSyd, good to see you're still active on the forum!

I'm gonna guess you're in Sydney now. As you may recall, I live in Bali - and cannot agree with what you wrote. Unfortunately, there is a lot of negative press in Oz about COVID in Bali - and has been since the start of the pandemic. Rates here are not "very high". They're not even close to being "high", in comparison with so many places in the world. There are less than 10,000 COVID cases in Bali, and the island has over 4 million people. Now, within Indonesia, the COVID rates have been and continue to be high in Jakarta (about 85,000 cases) - but that is 1200km from Bali. Cheers -

 

Hi there, Thanks for updating us. So is Bali open for foreign travelers at the moment?

I haven't been yet so I'm curious if there's any web site with reliable and current gay travel information for Bali and Asia?

 

Thanks!

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Hi WesternSyd, good to see you're still active on the forum!

I'm gonna guess you're in Sydney now. As you may recall, I live in Bali - and cannot agree with what you wrote. Unfortunately, there is a lot of negative press in Oz about COVID in Bali - and has been since the start of the pandemic. Rates here are not "very high". They're not even close to being "high", in comparison with so many places in the world. There are less than 10,000 COVID cases in Bali, and the island has over 4 million people. Now, within Indonesia, the COVID rates have been and continue to be high in Jakarta (about 85,000 cases) - but that is 1200km from Bali. Cheers -

 

 

Yes still in sydney, I do remember that you live in Bali. This week I have just cancelled my second trip to Bali for this year.

 

I am in daily contact with Balinese - so it is interesting what the truth really is.

 

I am confident to travel to Bali during this situation, but as I cannot get an entry visa, nor an exit permit from Australia, there is not chance of that.

 

I do see the videos of empty streets, and am helping Balinese families out with some rupiah.

 

The sooner we get to travel again the better

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  • 4 weeks later...

I understand how hard it is to get to truth. And understandably, many Balinese don't really know the details of foreigners getting in, as immigration is not something they directly work with...

 

Here are the facts. The reason I can state them with certainty, is that my all-male naked sailing company Everything To Sea is working directly with this stuff:

 

Australia's borders are closed. So yes, it is very hard for people from Oz to get out - anywhere. Although I think there are plans - and not sure yet if implemented - for a travel bubble between NZ and AUS.

 

Bali (and all of Indonesia) is open for tourism. Domestic tourism, yes - and actively encouraged. International tourism, not directly - although international visitors can come to the country on a sponsored visa. It costs a couple hundred dollars (not free, like in pre-covid days), but the traveler can be in the country for 60 days - and it's relatively cheap and easy to extend it, up to 6 months. We have already brought guys in with this visa, for our trips running this past September and October, and now November too.

 

I hope that helps. WesternSyd, I'm sorry you've had to cancel your plans twice. You can reach out to me directly when Oz opens up - maybe there's some way I can help you get back into the Island of the Gods...

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That’s interesting Dave, and I appreciate your offer.

 

Currently there is 1 flight a week between Sydney and Jakarta, nothing at all direct to Denpasar.

 

Once I got a visa to enter Indonesia, I need to get a exit permit from Australia, and only 30% of the applicants are being approved. Some folks are not getting them even for compassionate grounds.

 

I certainly would not get one for a holiday.

 

Then coming back, there are only 4000 people allowed to enter Sydney Airport each week, then I have to do 14 days quarantine in a hotel at a user pays cost of $4000. No choice of hotel, and by all reports the food is disgusting.

 

assuming that all of the above was possible, I know the resort where we own our condo is closed, the staff are on half pay, and being helped by donations from the many owners around the world.

 

Yes there is talk of a Bubble between Australia and NZ - currently NZ can come to NSW but we cannot go to NZ.

 

As my employer insists on us taking a minimum of 4 weeks leave every year, 2 of those weeks must be consecutive, while they were generous in moving my May leave to November, I had to take 4 weeks leave so we are currently road tripping on the NSW North Coast, as being residents in Greater Sydney we cannot enter Queensland.

 

I have booked and paid for 4 holidays this year, and this is the first one we can go on.

 

My Bali holiday from May which got rebooked to November is now being refunded in part. Garuda will refund me our business class airfares, $1899AUD less $150USD each, as that was the fare rule, regardless of the fact that the flight did not go, after being cancelled by Garuda, they did offer a credit which would have been valid until dec 31 2022, (generous), but in light of the fact i had already paid for a months travel insurance for May and had to pay another $170 to extend the cover for November, Covermore agreed to refund the $750 in full, so it was the best option.

 

My travel agent tells me that Covermore take about 8 weeks to refund, and Garuda say they take 12 weeks to refund but the agent says they normally take 20 weeks, so i expect a refund about April 2021, for a fare that was booked and paid for in full in November 2019.

 

I understand that the pandemic has hit the travel industry very hard, but as frequent flyers on Garuda since 2002 I would have expected better, Loyalty is a interesting concept, this loyal customer feels that its time to transfer my loyalty to Singapore Airlines even if it means a longer trip to Bali.

 

Meanwhile the 4 weeks accomodation i had in Bali is on credit, so of the $6.7K i paid for that holiday, still have $2K in credit to use whenever we can.

 

Yet the accomodation provider in Queensland when we cancelled had the money back on my credit card in 5 hours.

 

I hope that the situation world wide sorts it self out sooner or later, your fellow Americans have been badly lead by its President about wearing of masks and social distancing.

 

Here in Australia we have almost got rid of Covid by strict rules, social distancing, the wearing of masks, and lockdown in certain areas.

 

We went out to dinner last night at a leagues club (poker machine venues with food and entertainment) with a relative, we had to make a reservation and once in the venue after signing in, and leaving our contact details for contact tracing if needed, we had our temperatures checks, we then had to sit at our allocated table, and we are not allowed to stand and mingle. If someone comes to your table to chat, the staff move them away. The venue has spaced out tables and chairs to maintain social distance, and when you go to order your food or a drink, there are stickers on the floor you have to stand on, that are spaced 1.5 meters apart to maintain distance.

 

Every venue you go into, cafe, supermarket, shop has a QR code or a handwritten list of people who enter, you leave your name and phone number, the time of your visit, if someone tests positive who has been in that venue, all other people at that time get contacted and sent off to test, and then to self isolate for 14 days, and they get police visits to ensure they are complying.

 

I can see that working in the USA for Trump supporters, it would violate their constitutional rights, which they consider far more important, that catching the virus or spreading it around to vulnerable people to die.

 

Life will never return to what we knew pre Covid, but once we eradicate Covid - 19 we will be healthier and safer as we all maintain a greater awareness of personal hygiene

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