Anyone who has been to Bali appreciates its unique charm and attractions, and many return on vacation or to invest in a villa property development as a holiday home, rental or a place for their future retirement.

Investing in property overseas can be risky without proper research and due diligence, and Indonesia is no exception. Knowing all the ins and outs of local regulations, taxes, residence status, legal rights and potential costs involved in a property purchase are essential for a successful and potentially lucrative investment. The key is to deal only with an established and reputable developer. For those that may be concerned, this has nothing to do with vacation timeshare.

There are many real estate developments going on in Bali, a place where property prices are rising rapidly as the infrastructure improves. The recently-completed eastern coastal highway links the north of the island all the way to the capital and airport at Denpasar to the southern tip. This has made new and relatively undeveloped areas far more accessible from popular places like Sanur, Kuta and Ubud.

One of these new locations is Ketewel (a well-known surfing spot, with views of Mt Agung volcano to the north) and this is where Prof. Michael Doliveck and wife Marayam of Balifornian Tours and Villas have chosen to build the Purnama Residence, an exclusive compound of five luxurious villas, ideal for retirement living or as a part or full time vacation rental – at surprisingly reasonable prices.

Importantly, they do provide full details of the development, building and site plan of the property and ALL the ancillary costs, plus investment return projections, and are more than willing to answer any questions a potential investor might have before they visit Bali – or from those who would just like to vacation in luxury.

Visit the Balifornian Villas website or if you are already in Bali, call manager Yani on 0818 0540 6768 and arrange a meeting with her.  For a personal response from Michael Doliveck, please submit the form.

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“How to Retire in Bali – and Live in Paradise” is Mike Henry’s second Bali guide for expats. A fairly longtime Bali resident himself, the latest book, published in late 2011, is aimed at anyone thinking of spending extended time or retiring in Bali.

How to Retire in Bali contains much more useful information than its title indicates. It is packed with the same no-nonsense comprehensive research and attention to detail as his previously reviewed “How to Start a Business in Bali“.

Planning and preparing for your move, banking, financial and property rental and ownership issues, cost of living, medical facilities, bureaucracy (immigration, taxes, licensing), the social life and entertainment are all covered.

This guide is relevant not only for potential Bali residents; there are comparisons to expat life in other Southeast Asian or Central American countries. There’s relevant information and aspects of foreign country living that should be digested by anyone thinking of moving overseas for retirement.

While Bali is not exactly the “tropical island paradise” it’s often described as, for some it comes pretty close. Whichever country you live in, you need to take the good with the bad and Bali is no exception. Having spent a couple of years there myself about six years ago now, I read that some of the less attractive aspects remain, but others have improved and the island has not lost its unique appeal. It suits a lot of expats and tourists very well.

Whether you have been to Bali before or not, after finishing the 110 easy-to-read pages of How to Retire in Bali, with its many invaluable references, recommendations and tips, you will have a better idea of whether this might the next place for you. An excellent read, highly recommended; under-priced at $25.

There are several books in print on teaching English in different countries where you don’t speak a word of the main local language, but the recently updated edition of “How to Teach English Overseas” by Matthew Kepnes is one that’s definitely worth downloading and reading on your mobile phone, tablet or laptop.

Expanded to nearly 200 pages, it explains everything you could possibly need to know about this popular activity for early retirees as well as the ‘travel brigade’. It’s also worth a lot more than the paltry $9.99 price.

This is a comprehensive guide that eases the way from knowing what preparation is needed, to actually finding a suitable teaching job in another country. It teaches you what to expect before you start.

The pages include not only the author’s considerable personal teaching experience, but also that of others. Chapters include  an introduction to teaching English, TEFL Certificates, Teacher Requirements and Suitability, Different Types of Teaching Jobs, Benefits and Salaries, Country-specific facts (and local contact links) for Thailand, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Central & South America, Western & Eastern Europe, Russia, the Gulf States – even Ghana in Africa. Most importantly there are in-depth Q&A interviews with 14 teachers who have taught English in those countries. Nothing matches real life experiences.

I would have appreciated being able to get my hands on this book before venturing into unknown territory myself some years ago. Buying “How to Teach English Overseas” would have been an instant decision – and at $9.99, a ‘no-brainer’ – but Matt kindly sent me a review copy!

More on on the R-A Teaching English pages.

While higher speeds and lower ping times will be achieved from relatively nearby Vientiane, Bangkok or Hanoi servers, what happens in the real world upstream (between Vientiane and servers in say London or New York) is another story and of course download speeds will be affected by many different factors.

Using the well-known SpeedTest.net, I was quite surprised with some of the results. I used the 21 Mbps USB modem from Beeline, a 7.2 Mbps dongle from Unitel and Planet’s 4G WiMax Indoor CPE modem. While having seen increased speeds from local servers, I certainly wasn’t expecting to see over 5 Mbps download speeds and very low latency from many thousands of miles or kilometers away from Southeast Asia. Here are the results:

Unitel Lao (Star Telecom) HSPA – London, UK server

Unitel Lao HSPA – New York City, USA server

Planet Online Laos WiMax – London, UK server

Planet Online Laos WiMax – New York City, USA server

Beeline Lao HSPA+ (ex Tigo Millicom) – London, UK server

Beeline Lao HSPA+ (ex Tigo Millicom) – New York City, USA server

This was by no means a definitive test which, in fairness, ought to be made at different times of the day, night and week, using different local and overseas locations and servers.

Currently, Beeline’s new HSPA+ service using a high speed USB modem such as the ZTE MF 668A wins hands down. Both the ping times and download speeds were impressive and unexpected. Let’s hope as the subscriber base expands that performance doesn’t deteriorate too rapidly as it has with Unitel.

Here’s a more recent Beeline test using a Los Angeles, CA (US West Coast) server, done at 6.30 pm Wednesday 18th.

Beeline is part of VimpelCom, a huge Russian-owned mobile provider. I found even less latency to Moscow – 48ms.

Strangely, I have since received much higher ping rates using Pingtest.net from these and other locations. I am looking further into why there should be such discrepancy.

See the Lao Communications page on our website for details of phone and internet services in the Lao PDR.

Depending on user location and traffic, Beeline 3G service is faster than the others if using a high-speed capable phone or USB modem. With a typical 3.6 Mbps phone or up to 7.2 Mbps modem will produce similar results to the 1-2 Mbps download speeds from LaoTel or ETL; sometimes higher than that with Unitel.

A fast 3G phone can produce at least 4.5 Mbps in Vientiane city as one reader has already reported and I have now downloaded at over 7 Mbps using their 21 Mbps modem late in the evening and several km from the city centre. With a fast 3G modem, Beeline is performing much better for me than Unitel.

Beeline sells a badged locked ZTE MF 656A (14.4 Mbps) and MF 668A (21 Mbps) USB dongle for 300,000 and 350,000 kips respectively. Data plans are suited to mobile phones with low daily, weekly or monthly internet requirements; plan prices are comparable with the others. See more below.

A Tigo or Beeline SIM (with phone number, so not data only) should automatically switch to 3G on a capable phone or device where service is available, so there’s no need to upgrade or change any settings. APNs are tigolaonet, tigolaowap or beelinenet.

For 4G, Beeline is developing an LTE network for Laos – not WiMax as employed by Lao Telecom and Planet. This is still in development and service is not yet available. LTE requires compatible phones and modems such as used for LTE systems deployed in the USA, Korea and Singapore.

Get more Lao mobile and internet information on the R-A Lao communications and Lao data plans pages.

There are quite a few types on the market from manufacturers such as Kingston and SanDisk, and they come in different capacities; several gigabytes are common on today’s new phones and tablets. For many, this extra memory functions as part of the system, without needing setting; they may not even be aware of the card or its features. But problems can arise when the card is nearly full and files need deleting, transferring to other storage, or replacing the current SD card with a higher capacity one.

Having had issues myself, I created a Micro SD page on the R-A website several years ago. Since then it has been consistently one of the most popular, receiving hundreds of hits every day – over 85,000 by 2010 and over 180,000 by 2012. There’s no doubt that many have problems and card failures; there are numerous forums where people post, including phone and card manufacturer support sites.

Two common problems:  microSD file transfer & Nokia phones with password-locked cards

1.  If a microSD cannot be recognised by a computer (read, write, format etc), it may not be the card itself but a microSD to SD adapter typically needed for it to fit in a standard size card reader slot. The adapter usually comes with it. This is the first thing to check for a fault. Try using a different adapter (Kingston seem to have dud ones); better still, get  a USB reader with a Micro SD slot for $3.50; in the UK for £1.40.

2.  Nokia phones with locked microSD cards that need a password for access (happens suddenly without user intervention). Retrieving or removing the password depends upon the model. Some Nokias have an “MMC store” folder; copy this to a computer and open with Notepad to find the password. Reformatting the card (losing all content) allows a new password e.g. 1234 to be set if needed.

Ways to copy/move files between SD cards or transfer to and from a computer

There are different options for working with files. One is with the USB cable supplied with the phone and used in conjunction with a software program also supplied by the manufacturer. e.g. Nokia Data Suite. Another is Bluetooth – a wireless link between the two, as also is WiFi. If you have a built in or USB card reader, removing the microSD card from the phone and connecting directly to a computer is easiest.

Some card readers now accept a micro SD card directly (see above); previously it needed a micro to standard size SD adapter often but not always supplied with a micro SD purchased separately and often the cause of problems, one of which is the write protect switch (on the adapter – the micro SD does not have this).

Whichever way you connect the card to a computer,  a file manager such as Windows Explorer should see an extra external hard drive . The drive letter (G in the image) depends on how many drives are already in the computer, including the CD or DVD drive.

The card’s folders and files (not always all of them) will be visible too and can be copied or moved by dragging and dropping them to a folder on another hard drive or perhaps burning a CD for archiving purposes.

Sometimes they are hidden or copyright-protected by the manufacturer and other means are needed to move or copy them. See our main MicroSD page for how to copy all SD card content to another location.

Due to the sheer scope of this topic, and the different problems that users experience, the web page  is long and rambling – even more so than this post – especially for someone looking for a ‘quick fix’. When I find the time, I will sort the information into categories and incorporate a summary on this blog, where issues will be easier to identify. Readers can also comment below and see answers which hopefully help others with similar problems.

NOTE: Before posting a problem with your SD card, PLEASE visit the MicroSD page at Retire-Asia.com. There are a lot of things you can try and tools you can download and use; most are free.

If you cannot find a solution there, (or you have found one and want to help others) you are welcome to post a comment. BUT you must provide the make and model of the phone, camera or other device, the card type (SD microSD, SDHC, SDXC etc), brand name and capacity (Gb) of the card. Describe the nature of the failure and the procedures you have already tried to fix it with the tools offered here or elsewhere.

Don’t comment “My card doesn’t work, I’ve tried everything; what can I do?” and expect an answer, but if you don’t see your problem listed here, below in comments, or on the R-A MicroSD page, then I am probably going to suggest you replace the card under warranty if possible, go to a phone service centre or ‘byte the bullet’ and just get a new SD card! They are pretty cheap now.

The only problem is, a lot of them can’t afford to retire fully yet as they still need to earn money. Many will think they can simply move and open or buy some sort of business: a shop, restaurant, bar, guest house, even hotel. However, there’s quite a bit more to it than that. I know from my own experience!

“How to Start a Business in Bali” is a well- researched and written business guide by Bali entrepreneur Mike Henry. It’s 100 pages of fact without any attempt to disguise the truth. The reality is not all ‘doom and gloom’, however, as Mike has included in-depth interviews with several other successful Bali expat business owners, each from a different field of endeavour. This gives added invaluable insight into the topic. He also provides a list of resources essential for anyone planning on living and working in Bali.

Having lived on the exotic Indonesian island myself, about five years ago now, and trying to do just this, I also know the potential pitfalls. I wish I had had a  guide to work from at the time, as not a lot has changed regarding bureaucracy – something SE Asia has a wealth of, especially when foreigners try to start a business in Bali or, for that matter, somewhere else.

Quite simply, you need to know the local rules and follow them. It’s not only about starting and running a business, it’s interacting with the resident population, even if your customers are likely to be other expats and tourists.

And speaking of other expats in Bali, this is quite a strange community. Other foreigners living in the same place as you are not necessarily going to become friends. In fact it can be the opposite. There’s a lot of competition in some types of business, and you need to be careful not to tread on the wrong toes.

I would say this is the de facto (if not the only!) guide to opening a foreign-owned business in Bali or other location in Indonesia. This inexpensive pdf ebook is a ‘no-brainer’ for anyone thinking of going into business anywhere in Southeast Asia.

Learn more about “How to Start a Business in Bali“. Buy and download it for just US$25.00 by PayPal or credit card. Well worth it in my opinion, as it could help save you from financial ruin!

You can find all the information you need about Asia, part or full time retirement and how to earn extra income on the many pages of Retire-Asia.com.

We also have a compact R-A Mobile version as well as the associated RetireAsia App for Android which were launched in late December. There is limited content at the moment, but new pages are being added regularly and the App shows new topics immediately they are published on the website.

May we wish all our Retire Asia visitors and followers – young, mature, old or new – a happy and successful 2012!

Cruising Around Asia

Have you ever thought of taking a luxury mini voyage between Asian ports or visiting Asian cities by sea as part of a longer or even world cruise? Or perhaps you’re already living or retired in Southeast Asia, maybe inland and a long way from the sea, and want a break. A short cruise could be just what you need. Meet a different group of people, be wined, dined and entertained, then spend a few nights in a comfortable cabin with a balcony and view of the sea, stars, sunsets, coastlines and cities as you approach the port.

You can fly to your first Asian port destination then take a short cruise to other exotic places as part of your vacation plans before flying home again. It would certainly make a welcome change from the stress, discomfort and fatigue after numerous flights with indifferent (or no) food, airport delays, security checks and more that are unfortunately typical of air travel today for most of us. Cruise liners are renowned for the entertainment, comfort and cuisine included in the price. Most cruise ships offer internet via WiFi, but it can be expensive. If you need to stay connected while away from port, check pricing and plans available with the cruise ship company.

Asian cruise countries include Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, China, Korea and Japan. Imagine the excitement of the approach by sea then disembarking in Phuket, Singapore, Hong Kong or Shanghai.

Now try to compare it to landing at just another monstrous airport, retrieving your baggage, queuing for immigration and customs, then finding transport and eventually arriving at your hotel miles away in the city itself. Then going through it all again before taking off for your next destination. Wouldn’t you like a change from all that sometimes?

These 3 to 5 day sea voyages don’t cost as much as you might think; you can pay less than $400 for a cabin with its own balcony that lets you enjoy wonderful views of cities – views that you can only get from offshore. And it will give you an introduction to cruising before you consider taking a longer voyage in the future.

Learn more about inexpensive ocean cruises, including Asian mini cruises.
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Read reviews on our website or at Amazon – Retire to Southeast Asia! is on their US and UK sites.

Kindle publications can be also be read on computers, tablets and smartphones – but you knew that, didn’t you?

More Kindle Books on Asia