I would like to make this forum

[marcia]

I think the type of question/answer section Lothar and Gloria suggest is a very attractive & helpful idea for expats and tourists.
Have never seen on any travel or expat forum, a section just for these type of questions. Either have to search through a heap of chatter or ask and hope like hell someone will just happen to see the question at the time, & know the answer.
This type of section doesn't turn your forum into a tourist one- although to state the obvious, all expats were once tourists- but it does make it a lot more user friendly.

[Py]

My favorite place to get away from it all in Bali is... Ya right!

[xpat2b]

Like Gloria, I tend to agree with Vincent. I think some sort of on-line manual is an excellent idea, accompanied by practical comments by folks who have "been there, done that". Vincent and I are at similar points in the process of moving to Bali, and he has been incredibly helpful with finding information from a variety of sources out there in cyberland. What we both need in addition, is the hands-on experience of those who have actually done these things. It's one thing to know what the laws and regulations actually are (difficult enough in Bali), but another entirely to know how they are actually implemented and enforced. One example is land leasing -- I'm amazed at how many different opinions there are on what the law allows re: length of a lease. Having been through the process I am an expert on how our specific process went, but I'm sure others have an entirely different take on it.

Re: lost passports. Unfortunately, Susan and I are also experts on this topic, since ours were stolen last trip and we had to replace them while in Bali. Remember, it's not only the passports that must be replaced, it's also the tourist visa (which we kept inside our passports) that must be replaced - a separate process entirely.

The on-line manual is a good idea, and people could of course always post questions regarding material they have seen in the manual, or questions regarding what they don't see in the manual. I would be a willing contributor to those topics with which I have first-hand experience.

I really wouldn't worry about competition with the BTF. This is for a different audience, even though there is certainly some overlap.

Dennis

[Lothar]

so, who starts? Which is the first topic? Where is the "Bali Tips&Tricks" Forum?

[Bert Vierstra]

so, who starts? Which is the first topic? Where is the "Bali Tips&Tricks" Forum?

Hee Hee, who said there is going to be one ?

I say, no "competition" with travel fora, If it is about tips and tricks for expats, and static, fine with me, but Gloria has the final word in this.

Static means that somebody has to compile, and it will have a permanent place on the site. People can react to it on the expat forum.

[Lothar]

it won't be a competition, because it's a very subject-specialized forum. If you place it in expat no one will find anything after a while. Just as I see it :)

[Thorsten]

Maybe helpful for some people, here are a lot of links

http://www.expat.or.id/info/links.html

[marcia]

C'mon Gloria, your final word is........?????????

[Gloria]

O.K. if I have the final say...here it is...I believe a section for hints/tips etc...would not be in competition with the Bee Tee Eff, especially if it a question and answer theme. As so many have said, this forum is not about the tourist industry but an informative forum on living in Bali, offering titbits of knowledge from those who have the necessary experience to give the answers. If we don't know we''ll find out. So, as a hint to anyone who has had the misfortune of losing ones passport...keep many photo-copies of all documents and put them separate to the originals. Most offices and police will accept a photocopy if needed, also it makes it much easier to obtain a new passport if you have a photocopy....So, thats the first hint....anymore to follow ? Fire away and have some fun....G...

[Lothar]

this looks good indeed. Let's hope it fills pretty fast as well :)