In case you get bored with the autumn weather in Europe and decide to travel & work to one of the most favourite places among digital nomads, here are some tips how to make it work:
- Get a local 4G SIM card. Internet suggests ‚simpati‘ from Telekomsel, which should in theory have best coverage on the island. From my experience it works pretty well in Kuta/Denpasar area and usually the internet is faster than wifi connection. Card itself costs something between 10k – 50k rupiah (depends where you buy it and how do you bargain) and comes with 10k credit to spend. For another 150k you’d get 4GB of data package, good for a month. You can buy other packages as well, totally up to you. Ask the guy to top up and set up the package and download their app to see how much you’ve got left.
- Uber around – the prices are really cheap and it’s way more convenient than haggling for prices every time you want to take taxi or scooter. Uber starts rides at 15k (2016), download ‚Grab‘ app – another similar service, a bit cheaper and seems to have more cars around (cheapest fare is 10k). Most of the drivers will call you after you make a booking to ask where are you – using street name and some point of interest usually works. You can pay driver in cash (app will display how much) or add your card into the app and it will work same way as Uber then. Third one is ‚Go-JEK‘ app which allows you to book anything from scooter ride, taxi, massage or food delivery.
- Shop around for reliable internet access – most of hotels and villas have internet but the speed and reliability varies. Usually it’s ok for Skype audio calls but if you need to do video as well, it’s better to find a place and check the connection speed there. Here are few tips for places to work from:
- Lineup Hub – convenient coworking place at Sunset Road, great wifi – free water and some drinks to buy are available. Day access is 200k (if you register online for day trial, it would be just 50k) and they have couple more monthly packages. Check the website: http://lineuphub.co/
- Sara Residence – it’s hotel and has a large lobby with a coffee place. Really convenient, fast internet, printing available and you can get anything from the coffee shop for reasonable prices (water and one coffee is free). Starts at 100k for day. http://coworkinglegian.com/
- Starbucks – having tried the one at Sunset Road, quite large and cosy space. Some of the tables have plugs to charge your laptop/phone and internet is good. There’re couple more Starbucks around Kuta area as well – haven’t tried those yet.
- Hubud – one of the most famous coworking places on Bali. Located in Ubud, has a good internet and views of rice fields.
- more to come 🙂
£1 = 17k rupiah (IDR)
€1 = 14.5k
IDR100 CZK = 53k IDR
