A TRADERS' MONTH IN BALI🇮🇩
Sambal, Storms and Scooters
Over the next 12 months I’ll be slow-travelling around the world with my family while working and trading. I’m very grateful that our ‘job’ gives many of us the opportunity to do this, so I thought it would be interesting to note down some thoughts along the way, which may hold some nuggets for other traders. As always, reach out if you’ve got any questions, or you can unsubscribe here.
LOCAL EXCHANGE:
Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX).
833 Listed Companies. Average Return: 7.24%
The top three companies by market capitalization on the IDX are:
Bank Central Asia (BBCA.JK) - With a market cap of $77.17 billion, Bank Central Asia stands as the largest company in Indonesia, reflecting its significant role in the financial sector .
Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BBRI.JK) - Following closely, Bank Rakyat Indonesia has a market cap of $58.85 billion, underscoring its impact as another major player in the banking industry .
Bank Mandiri (BMRI.JK) - Bank Mandiri, with a market cap of $41.77 billion, ranks third, highlighting the dominance of financial institutions in the Indonesian market.
TIMEZONE:
GMT + 8 – CENTRAL INDONESIAN TIME
3 HOURS BEHIND AEDT, 2 HOURS BEHIND AEST.
Again, the timezone excellent if you’re a super early riser.
~6:00am wake up to catch the start of the Aussie session (a bit earlier for me in order to filter the data and to write the Substack), which closes around lunchtime. Europe opens mid afternoon, and then able to catch the US open before bed, around 10:30pm. For me missing the US open is the main drawback for the Australian timezone imo, so was interesting to watch it play out. You miss the US close, so need to set conditional orders if you want to close overnight positions out on Wall St close.
CONNECTIVITY:
I found connectivity a bit of an issue in Bali (in saying that, is fine 95% of the time). Island-wide drop-outs in WIFI happened about 3 times while I was there, and the Wifi & 4G network was not as fast as I’m used to. It’s probably the only country I’ve been to where the internet is slower than Australia.
Basically the usual lesson - make sure you have your conditions (Stop / Take Profit) set when you place your trades in case of network failure. I was also there during ‘Nyepi’, whereby most communication services are shut down across the Island. But again, connectivity is fine the majority of the time.
Note that the SIM cards available for purchase are Data-only, so can’t phone or send / receive messages. This becomes an issue if you’re an idiot like me and didn’t turn on ‘roaming’ on your Aus number before you leave the home country. 2 factor authentication becomes a real bitch.
BROKER AVAILABILITY:
Issues with City Index using webpage, even with VPN on. The iPad app is just a copy of the iphone app, so functionality is pretty average. no issues with other brokers.
SAFETY:
Am sure petty crimes are present in Kuta, but in Ubud, crime is non-existent from what i saw. Biggest threat is from the hectic traffic, particularly scooter drivers. Legitimately nearly lost my life at one point.
FOOD:
Not the variety of dishes as Thailand or other cuisines, but godamn, I loved the food here. My favourite local staples were Sate Lilet Kambing (Goat Sate), Ayam Goreng (Fried Chicken), Babi Guling (Suckling Pig - served with loin, crackle, blood sausage, Urutan sausage, rice and sambal), Ayam Bakso (Chicken Ball Soup), Makan Padang (Buffet-style indonestion dishes).
There is literally no reason I can think of to cook yourself. Groceries are stupidly expensive ($34 for a tub of margarine anyone?), and our usual cost for local food delivered for a family of 4 was ~$5-$10. Most local foods are between $1-3 per meal, and top quality western fare is $8-15 (the best steak tartare i’ve had - $7).
Favourite Restaurant: We ate local food 90% of the time, but the best formal restaurants we ate at were Nick’s Place (Crispy Pig’s Head & Ribs), and Portofino (Steak Tartare, Italian Pizza).
DRINK:
You can have any beer you like, as long as it’s Bintang.
Bintang small, or Bintang Large. ~$3.80 / tallie.
COST OF LIVING:
Of course depending on where you go, accommodation can be expensive (Uluawatu, Canggu) or relatively cheap (Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembonga, Ubud). We paid ~$2300 AUD for a month in an amazing villa in Ubud with everything included, plus 2 guys living next door for daily cleans and on the ready to sort any issues we had (including sorting out a midnight snake visit for the wife while I was in Phuket).
In my opinion, difficult to find anywhere else in the world with lower food costs and quality of food, both local and western. Nasi Goreng / Mie Goreng &, Bakso (Chicken Ball Soup)~50c, 20x Sate, and Babi Gali (Suckling Pig) can all be bought for less than $3 for a generous sized feed.High quality western foods like Pizza, Sandwiches, Pasta can all be found for between $7-13.
Scooters can be caught anywhere within a 20 minute radius for ~80c. Cars for ~$5.
VISAS
Indonesia doing its best to stem the flow of nomads / make money on the side. We completely mucked up our $50, 30 day Visas (1 expired when we initially entered Indonesian waters on the cruise, 1 expired when I left the country for Thailand, and we also overstayed by 2 days, resulting in a $200 per person fine). Make sure you’re across this before you arrive. They also put in place various other measures, such as requiring you to pay 30% of the value of your phone, to continue using, after you’ve been there for a certain time period.
MUST-HAVE APP:
Google Translate, GRAB, Gojek.
QUICK FIRE CLOSING COMMENTS:
DO - Try the local cuisine. Amazing.
DO - Go to Kuta if you’re a fan of Patong, and swimming in waste bins.
DO - Embrace the local, Hindu culture. I actually ‘get’ why Bali is special for so many people after speaking to the people and living there for a while. Overall, the genuinely nicest people I’ve met. A focus on Karma, Gratitude, Universal Energy, Architecture, and Balance. Given 95% of Bali is Hindu, while 95% of Indonesia is Muslim, a very apt national symbol created post-independence which translates to ‘Unity in Diversity’. Lots to be learned for Australia.
DO - check out the mega clubs like Creyta, Titi Batu and other, if only to laugh at 100’s of Insta-wannabe wankers.
DO - live a little and get on the back of a highly dangerous scooter.
DO - try some Kopi Luwak, or p’oop-coffee’ while there. $5 / cup vs $35 in Australia.
DO NOT - go if you are worried about creepy crawlies. At various times in our house we had; Mice, Snakes, Frogs, Birds, Cats, Dogs, Wasps, on top of all the usual insects.
DO NOT - go if you struggle with the humidity. It’s hot, but afternoon thunderstorms was a welcome change.
DO NOT - try and outsmart the Visa process. The rules are strict and cost us a lot of Rupiah. $100 / day per person fine for overstay.
DO NOT - stay glued to Kuta. Regional Bali is the best.
Cheers
Marto
