Singaraja pros and cons.

[harryopal1]

Just drove from Jimbaran to Singaraja arriving late afternoon to check the place out as a possible place to live. Apart from it being a bugger of a place to get to with serious traffic jams in places along the way and then trucks grinding along slowly up the hills it seems that this northern,coastal part of Bali is not overwhelmed with traffic as it is around Jimbaran, Kuta , Denpasar. And advertised rentals offer more house for the dollar up this way.
The internet connection at the bungalow in which we are staying is not too bad.
I would be most interested to hear from others about the pros and cons of the area as an alternative to southern Bali and particularly interested in the views of anyone who has chosen to live up this way.

 

[Daniel50]

Just drove from Jimbaran to Singaraja arriving late afternoon to check the place out as a possible place to live. Apart from it being a bugger of a place to get to with serious traffic jams in places along the way and then trucks grinding along slowly up the hills it seems that this northern,coastal part of Bali is not overwhelmed with traffic as it is around Jimbaran, Kuta , Denpasar. And advertised rentals offer more house for the dollar up this way.
The internet connection at the bungalow in which we are staying is not too bad.
I would be most interested to hear from others about the pros and cons of the area as an alternative to southern Bali and particularly interested in the views of anyone who has chosen to live up this way.

Harry maybe you can report on your experiences. How is the traffic, services etc..

 

[harryopal1]

Good morning Daniel,

The traffic around Singaraja itself is not half bad. Compared to Denpasar, Kuta, Jimbaran it is a breeze. No problems parking. Prices in Indomart actually a little cheaper. The only services I can refer to are at the bungalows where I am staying and meals at a couple of warungs and that has been fine. Generally speaking the place is a bit more relaxed.
But the roads in between ..... as referrred to above.... not a lot of fun.

 

[jstar]

I wrote a whole epistel and decided against posting last minute....

Some keywords were: Access by plane - Proximity to Java - relatively larger Muslim presence with Mosques - Religious clashes and possible unrest - Pecalang presence....

Guess you can fill in the blanks.

 

[scouser59]

I dont live in singaraga but have been there a number of times , Ya its quieter than the south , economically there is not much going on, most of the people come to the south to work.
Facilities are limited ie shopping etc , medical services im not sure ,infrastructure ,from what I know of this country, if the area is not economically important the government does not give a sh1t .

 

[john madden]

I wrote a whole epistel and decided against posting last minute....

Some keywords were: Access by plane - Proximity to Java - relatively larger Muslim presence with Mosques - Religious clashes and possible unrest - Pecalang presence....

Guess you can fill in the blanks.

jstar - I for one would really appreciate it if you would expand on this esp religious clashes - past or potential? and Pecelang presence - different to elsewhere in Bali?

 

[jstar]

@john madden : Well, especially in the north and west of Bali, Buleleng and Jembrana, the Muslim communities are historically larger than on the rest of the island. (Besides Denpasar but you could consider that newer import.)

Proximity to Java but also 'deals' between kingdoms and ancient conquering and trading, made that the Islamic population has been up to 10% of the total.

Don't get me wrong, in se there is nothing wrong with that and I condone pluralism. But having been here, and seeing the unability of diverse (religious) groups to peacefully live together (as in many other parts of the world), I wonder if monism isn't a better situation for us foreigners.

What the future wil bring, nobody knows of course. But something else what is on my mind, is the role groups as the FPI see themselves play in those areas. They try every two years or so to form a stronger base in the north. You can see that at major clashes in 2011, planned anti miss world demonstrations in 2013, etc. etc. There is even a lawyer who is positioned as human rights activist, named Munarman, whose sole purpose in life seems to be to establish a stronger Islamic presence on the island.

Talking about human rights, of course the Pecalang is not really your typical neighborhood watch. It is definitely not (only) a civil guard organisation which makes sure the streets stay clean. They will use excessive force if they feel the Balines 'identity' is jeopardized.

So there I see a possible source of conflict. And there is no "see how peaceful the Balinese society is and how the Hindu and Muslim live in harmony" message that can change that. Which was rooted in propaganda to fight against a ruler who had to be the common enemy btw.

 

[fastpitch17]

Jstar, you mentioned the lawyer but in relation, what about the judiciary? One of the muslim judges from the Ahok trial was promoted to a prominent position on a Bali court. I see that if the judiciary become heavy in muslim judges, this could cause some problems for the Balinese and favors for the muslims. It's still Indonesia and we are all quite aware of the influences that affect the courts. I don't think the Balinese are paying close enough attention to the changes that may be taking place in an area that could dramatically change things there.

 

[harryopal1]

One other impediment to development of Singaraja is simply that of access and the horrendous traffic if you go via Tabanan or Denpasar. Going and returning there were traffic spots that took an hour to move about 2 ks. As population and traffic increases this will get worse not better.
Talking of traffic there is a requirement for every motor bike or car owner to go to Samsat. It is one thing that it can take some hours of waiting to process the renewal but this means that .... (How many cars and motorbikes are there in Bali?) there are a million or more cars and motorbikes cluttering up the roads just to get there. If Indonesia can move on line for so many of these compulsory procedures the improvement in traffic flow would be considerable.

 

[dafluff]

There is also some talks about a highway connecting Denpasar and Singaraja. Supposed to break ground this year. However, from experience, the more realistic timeline for actual start is between 2-5 years to never.

https://www.merdeka.com/uang/rencana-pembangunan-tol-belah-bukit-di-bali-jadi-rebutan-investor.html

 

[jstar]

I wonder what will happen now with the aspiring plans for the 2[sup]nd[/sup] international airport? Where people have been mussitating about for more than a decade?

They proudly presented it would be a reclamation and an airport in the sea at Buleleng for a cost of 50 trillion. But there's not too much news on that, after some tremendously ambitious plans. As usual.

And wouldn't the Singaraja fishermen be supported in their objections, as before in the Jakarta Bay?