There's no such thing as a free lunch...Or is there?

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It's official. The next president of Indonesia is former army general Prabowo Subianto. Quite how the next five years will pan out is anyone's guess but hopefully the foreign pundits who always bring up his dodgy human rights record will be proven wrong. Nonetheless, on policy making, Prabowo's popularist move to literally offer the poor 'a free lunch' every day of the week does not augur well for the future. Such a policy - if it ever came to fruition - would cost a phenomenal amount of money and likely lead to huge inefficiencies (food waste) and poor incentives (make people lazy). Another concern is Prabowo's strong nationalist bent. Thus, in the possible event that he finds himself with his back against the proverbial wall in the face of stern economic challenges, there is a big chance that he will simply scapegoat foreigners. But he will have to be careful. Construction of the new capital city, Nusantara, for example, is highly dependent on foreign in
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Jimbaran Beach, Bali: a great place to wait for your plane!

~ All good things must come to an end.

It’s your last day in Bali and you’ve got to check out of your hotel by 12 noon. But your flight isn’t until 8.00pm. So what to do?

Well, in the old days tourists would pretty much just hang out wherever they happened to be – Kuta, Ubud, Sanur etc – but now - with the ever increasing traffic in Bali - that isn’t such a good idea anymore.

Sundays are particularly bad and I’ll never forget the time I suffered a nerve wracking two hours chewing my fingernails down to the bone after being caught up in one of Kuta’s seemingly interminable Sunday afternoon traffic jams (it took 2 hours to get out of the madness and onto the main road to the airport).

So what to do?

Well, why not wait at Jimbaran?

Cos from the airport, Jimbaran is really close and will only take 10-15 minutes by car or taxi.

Formerly a real backwater, Jimbaran has developed over the years – but still retains its “sleepy fishing village” charm.

Jimbaran beach, Bali (2)

The sandy beach is much cleaner than Kuta’s and is also safe for swimming.

Jimbaran beach, Bali

In recent years Jimbaran has become famous for its outdoor seafood restaurants which serve, er grilled seafood (best washed down with copious quantities of ice cold Bintang of course).

The prices are pretty good by European standards – although pricey by Indonesian standards – so make sure you know how much the seafood costs before you order.

If you’re here in the early evening and the weather is right, Jimbaran is also a fine place to witness a spectacular sunset.

Jimbaran is certainly a great way to end your holiday in Bali.

Jimbaran, Bali: a great place to wait for your plane!
But don’t enjoy it too much – or you might miss your taxi!

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