Samui or Bali which is better? Prices for air tickets Samui – Denpasar Bali by month. Insurance price comparison

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At the risk of incurring the wrath of Thailand lovers, I nevertheless offer my view of life on the island of Koh Samui. It should be noted that the author has visited many places before and can compare. The island of Bali, Indonesia, was chosen as an alternative. When we decided where to go next time, we played the map between these islands. I had to go to Bali again. I will give the main differences between the two islands at the end of the story, so as not to interfere with the soup and compote.

We flew from Moscow on an Ethihad Airways flight. Two transfers, in Abu Dhabi and Bangkok. Only 20 hours on the road. No matter how much Arab airlines are praised, Singapore Airways is still better. The Arabs' cabin was dirtier, the plane was somewhat rickety. But, in general, we arrived. By the way, the food was quite edible, the movie was also in Russian.

In Bangkok we switched to local airlines and flew to Samui on a small turboprop plane-bus. There were countless islands below us. Why the people of the world have focused their attention on Samui is not clear. They all look the same.

I must say right away that after reading scary stories before the trip, that there were no available hotels on site or that they cost twice as much, we booked everything from Moscow. Since we didn’t need super service, and we weren’t going to sit in the room, we chose the price-quality ratio. Therefore, we didn’t really look for hotels on the first line. Walking for five minutes a day won't hurt. Important information for those traveling as a group of three: it is very difficult to find hotels with triple rooms. Or will it cost like two separate rooms or the child sleeps in the same bed with his parents. You can find options, but I’ll say right away that there are few of them.

As elsewhere, it is very important to choose the right vacation spot, although the island is very small, 57 km. along the ring road, but the places there are radically different. The most popular beaches are Chaweng and Lamai. Since we were traveling with our teenage daughter, who was too early to go to nightlife, we chose Lamai as a more relaxed and family-friendly resort. As it turned out later, they were right. Although, in order to get the most complete picture of life on the island, we divided our vacation like this: a week in Lamai, three days in Chaweng, and then we didn’t book anything, we decided to see if there might be somewhere else we’d like to live. Our vacation was three weeks.

We went there in early June, during the low season, when there are few people and the prices are reasonable.

A taxi shuttle from the airport to Lamai cost 150 baht, read rubles per person. We checked into the Hathai House Hotel, 400 meters from the shore. The hotel is run by a family and they live there themselves. The elderly aunty owner spoke English well, so there were no problems with communication. A room for three without breakfast cost 1000 rubles per day. The room is large, clean, with air conditioning, refrigerator, TV. Towels were changed every day. Three bottles of free water were placed in the refrigerator. For breakfast, we ate fruits bought the night before at the night market right in the room, or later on the beach. I somehow didn’t feel like eating sausages, omelettes, or buns. The hotel had a swimming pool, we never used it, we swam in the sea. In total, when we checked in, only two of the hotel's 16 rooms were occupied. When we left at the end of June, the hotel was packed to capacity, and, as the hostess said, with regular guests who come to them year after year. Later, while walking around Lamai, we went to many hotels and discovered that for the same money we could rent a place no worse, but a hundred meters closer to the sea. I didn’t want to move because of such trifles.

Lamai Beach itself is a wide strip of sand about 6 kilometers long. The most the best place, it's in the middle. The north is deserted, there are shallows, and a stinking river flows into the sea. The south is also sparsely populated, far from everything, but there are beautiful rocks. A vacation there is suitable for those who want to retire. In the center of the beach there are more people and affordable restaurants right on the shore and the entrance to the water is the most convenient.

There is no white, flour-fine sand that can be seen in photoshopped photographs from other parts of the world on Koh Samui. Sand of varying degrees of yellowness and grains of sand of different fractions. There are places where it is small, like dust, and there are places where it is large, like cereal. The entrance to the water is gentle, after 10-15 meters it is already up to your neck. The water is very warm, but not disgustingly cloying, but just right. 23-25 degrees. Sometimes very transparent. When there are waves, it becomes cloudy. Quite salty, holds well. In general, it is believed that on Samui, except in autumn and winter, there are no waves, almost complete calm. That's how it was when we arrived. It feels like you are on the shore of a small lake. But then, when the weather changed, the waves appeared, and for a couple of days they were quite large.

On the beach coastal hotels and restaurants offer their sunbeds and umbrellas for 100-150 rubles, or, if you are their client, then for free. No one particularly used this service. We, like many, preferred to sit in the shade of palm trees and trees right on the sand. You need to be careful with palm trees so that the coconut doesn’t fall on you.

The sun beats down there mercilessly. Creams with a high degree of protection are required. When walking in the middle of the day, it is better to wear a T-shirt and a cap. Local merchants who carry crafts - ice cream - corn along the beach are completely covered, only their hands are exposed. The atmosphere in Lamai is calm, conducive to leisurely relaxation. There are scooter rentals there, but rarely anyone used them, mostly in the late afternoon. This pleasure costs 1500-2000 rubles for 20 minutes, depending on the novelty and power of the scooter itself. Many people leading a healthy lifestyle run along the water's edge. Despite the fact that everywhere here great amount dogs, they behave very friendly, they do not try to grab runners by the heels. At the beginning, their presence bothered us a little, but then we got used to it and stopped paying attention to them. The merchants are also not very intrusive; like it or not, they ask and move on. Many people immediately recognize Russians by their speech. They treat Russians friendly, fortunately during our season it becomes immeasurable here.

The town of Lamai itself, like many settlements throughout Southeast Asia, this big village. Just recently there were dirt roads here, and chickens ran around the streets. Now, of course, tourism and trade are thriving. Although, there are big doubts about this. There are a lot of empty retail outlets. There are also many “for rent and for sale” advertisements. During the season, business may be good, but we noticed that in the evening there are not a single customer in countless bars, although the girls are spinning around the poles and the music is playing, and beer costs almost the same as in the store. In some places there is active construction of housing, but I still couldn’t imagine why anyone would need it there. There is frankly nothing to do there, because you won’t grow coconuts. And living there, even for a couple of months a year and doing nothing, is truly melancholy. Quite often you come across farang-thai couples. But they both look rather disappointed. She is disappointed that this pot-bellied man with a red face turned out to be not such a prince on a white horse. He is disappointed that this Thai princess girl quickly turned into a wrinkled frog, not at all as slender as at the beginning of their acquaintance. And this farang sits all day in bars, chatting with visiting fellow countrymen, while his Thai wife tends chickens and children at home. Prose of life.

After living in Lamai for a week, we moved to Chaweng to see with our own eyes the most popular corner of the island. This place is much noisier and more crowded.

In terms of shopping - the most the best option all over the island. Hotels here are more expensive, but there are youth hostels for a pittance, although the rooms are mostly for two only.

But the main thing is the sea. But here it is much worse than in Lamai. Small fry! You walk 40-50 meters and everything is knee-deep. No surf at all. Attention! In the northern part of the beach, right behind the famous Arkbar bar, a generally disastrous place begins. By the way, most of the hotels that promote sites like Agoda are located there. There is no water there at all.

Just a swamp, the bottom of which is overgrown with algae and strewn with fragments of coral.

Moreover, walk 300-500 meters to normal water in any direction. Each time you will have to walk along the shore closer to the center of the beach. If you are offered a hotel on Chaweng, be sure to look at the satellite view on Google, it will immediately be clear where the shallows are.

After living on Chaweng for three days, we still didn’t understand what draws people here. Night life, of course, more active than on Lamai, but nothing more. In addition, on the last evening we had food poisoning at the expensive Japanese restaurant Fuji, and our impressions of Chaweng completely spoiled. In general, without any reservation we are going back to Lamai to the same Hathai House hotel. They welcomed us there and gave us a price even lower than the special offer.

After the unsuccessful experience with Chaweng, we no longer wanted to move to other beaches like Bophut or Big Buddha, and, as it later turned out during a circular trip around the island, it was the right decision. Since the situation with the sea, or rather with its absence, was approximately the same. There are shallows all around, protruding corals, algae and melancholy.

By the way, about moving around the island. Of course, many people rent bikes. Rental costs 100-150 rubles per day, gasoline costs 40 rubles per liter. There were three of us adults, you couldn’t fit on one bike, and you didn’t need two. In general, we walked, a maximum of 10 minutes in one direction. Sometimes we used a Tuk-Tuk, 40-50 rubles per person inside the city. We rented a car for one day to drive around all the sights of the island. A Toyota automatic costs 1,500 rubles for a day; a passport is taken as collateral. As I already said, the length of the ring road is only 57 km. We left not too early, went to a show at a crocodile farm, visited the Big Buddha complex, visited the jungle in the south of the island in national park, where we rode elephants, stopped at the Tesco-Lotus supermarket and returned home at 6 pm. In short, 7 hours were enough for the entire excursion, covering all the sights. Usually tourists are taken to the “Grandmother and Grandfather” stones, which look like the corresponding genitals, but we already went there on foot, because... they are located just at the southern end of Lamai beach. As we drove around the island, we paid attention to the beaches. And it turned out that, at least at this time of year, almost all the beaches in the south and north of the island are without water. We have not been to the western shores, but I have already written about eastern Lamai and Chaweng. Among the excursions we also went fishing. They paid 1,700 rubles for each. Everything was organized well, transfer, bananas, tea, coffee. The boat is quite comfortable, fifteen fishermen did not interfere with each other. They took them to the north of the island, swam not too far from the shore and began to fish. Of course, there was a fish, but only some small crucian carp. And that's very rare. During the whole day we caught about thirty of them all. There were no such trophies as shown in their advertising brochures. They come across probably once every hundred years. But from the shore, at night, in front of us, one fisherman pulled out a rather large barracuda. People still went to neighboring island Koh Tao has good snorkeling. But we, after the tiring and stupid fishing, no longer wanted to swim anywhere. Yes, by the way, on Samui itself there is no snorkeling, much less diving, at least near the shore. In the sea there are only translucent rare fish of one or two species.

Now about the most important thing. What you liked and what you didn’t. And, at the same time, let’s compare it with Bali.

People. Both are quite friendly. We have never had a bad attitude towards us, even from the sellers on the beach, whom we politely rejected. Only in Bali, in Kuta they are much more persistent and intrusive. I haven't seen a single beautiful Thai girl. The drag queens were much nicer. Indonesians are somehow nicer overall. On Samui there are problems with English, few people know it, so they often explained things on their fingers.

Prices. About the same. Although, in general, a holiday in Bali is cheaper. For example, on Samui a car costs 1,500 rubles per day, and in Bali the same per day, but with a driver-guide. Tuk-tuk for 50 rubles per person. And in Bali, a metered taxi costs an average of 50 rubles for a trip around the city, for three or four. Branded items are expensive all over the world, give or take, and in South-East Asia, where all the fakes are riveted, the prices are local, but the quality is appropriate.

Food. Thai cuisine is considered to be one of the best in the world. That's probably true. When we first arrived, the abundance of smells from all sides made us think about food all the time. And the Thais cook and eat all day long. In cafes, in houses, on trays and strollers (makashnitsa). All food is prepared very quickly. And it smells very appetizing. But as Kurt Vonnegut wrote, “...their food is good, but such that you don’t even want to remember.” In short, I got tired of it in one week. Moreover, we were so tired that we could no longer tolerate even these ubiquitous smells. We tried to take something simple: rice, chicken without sauce, eggs, fried or boiled potatoes. When we first arrived, we wondered why so many foreigners sat in restaurants serving European, Mexican, and Australian cuisine. Moreover, many devoured simple hamburgers. Haven't you had enough of all this in your homeland? After all, local food is inexpensive, varied and tasty. But then we joined their ranks. They also began asking the Thais to fry an omelette or cook pasta. And the child for the last few days has only eaten pizza and potatoes baked in foil. And when walking through the streets, I had to plug my noses to escape the odors that had previously seemed so fragrant. We weren’t the only ones who were so picky, many of the Russians we met on the island also tried not to eat local food. By the way, there is a night market in Lamai, right opposite McDonald's, where there is a huge variety of food and any dish costs 50 rubles. In the afternoon we ate at the Bambu restaurant, right on the beach. Both there and there already knew what we wanted and prepared adapted dishes for us. In Bali, the food was somewhat similar, but not as persistent and intrusive, as if it were simpler, and therefore more digestible. There are more fruits in Thailand than in Bali.

Sea. This is what everyone travels to distant countries for. On Koh Samui it is warm, calm and also boring. No waves. In Bali, in Kuta, there is a constant wave. This is a Mecca for surfers all over the world. Even if you are not a surfer, you can try to learn how to stand on a board, it is very interesting. Even just swimming in the waves is much more interesting than “taking a bath” on Koh Samui. In the evening in Kuta, the real fun begins on the beach - like Tverskaya Street on City Day. Crowds of people, football, volleyball, surfing again.

The island itself. Compared to Koh Samui, Bali is huge. Just driving around the island takes several days. There are enough attractions there for a month daily excursions. Moreover, this will not just be a “failure” for tourists, like Ilf and Petrov, but real cultural and natural treasures.

There’s a lot I haven’t written about yet, so you can’t remember everything. In addition, about food, nightclubs, shopping, prices, etc. You can find a lot of information in other stories.

Generally. Samui – green melancholy. There is nothing to do there, I got tired of everything after a week. Bali is not for everyone. If you want to move actively and not lie like a vegetable on the warm sand, then it’s better to come here. Well, of course, this is just a personal opinion. Maybe someone will find their heaven on earth on Koh Samui. And I was in Thailand for the first time and, it seems, the last. Although, who knows, never say never!

Regardless of the country of residence, it has similar features. These are stunningly beautiful beaches, clean (almost everywhere) sea, exotic nature, many monuments of history, religion and culture. And yet there is a difference, which is why sometimes the question arises of what to choose - or.

The first island belongs to Thailand, a power with which no one can compare in this part of the planet in terms of tourism. Bali is the largest of the islands, the first in the country in many tourist positions, the more interesting the comparison process is.

Koh Samui or Bali – where are the beaches more beautiful?

Koh Samui offers various options for beach areas. Chaweng is considered the best, located on east coast. Fine sand, clear sea, picturesque bays surrounded by greenery. Many hotels are built simply on the shore, which allows you to enjoy the sun and sea without going far from your place of residence. The second most popular beach in Lamai, the sand here is slightly coarser and there are rocky areas, but hotels offer beauty treatments and spa massages.

The dream of tourists coming to the island of Bali is to find a paradise beach. There are such places all over the island, but in some places strong winds blow, so it’s good to go sailing there and not sunbathe. In other parts of the island, strong ebbs and flows interfere with comfortable swimming. The best beach is considered to be Pang Padang, which became the location for the filming of the famous American film “Eat, Pray, Love.”

Entertainment

Among the popular activities on Koh Samui are hiking and road trips. beautiful places islands, on the list natural monuments: rocks Khin-Ta (“Grandfather”) and Khin-Yai (“Grandmother”); beautiful waterfall with the name Namtok; turtle island Koh Tao. You can have fun at the local aquarium, where the most famous tropical fish are presented. The Tiger Zoo offers to get acquainted with the more formidable inhabitants of these territories - Bengal tigers and leopards. Other entertainment activities include visiting a transvestite show, a crocodile farm, and a butterfly park.

The most popular entertainment in Bali is different kinds sports and sea activities. Divers from all over the world come to this island because they know about the most beautiful underwater landscapes and the richness of the animal world. There are opportunities for a one-time dive and organizing multi-day dive safaris, daytime and mysterious night encounters with the depths of the sea.

Second popular view The sport is surfing, this is due to the strong winds that blow in a certain part of the island throughout the year. Beginners in this business go to the resort of Kuta, experienced surfers meet in, where long, constant waves await them.

Sights and monuments

You can find many temple complexes and traditional Buddha statues on Koh Samui. They are located throughout the island, in cities and outside urban areas. Tourists also love to visit Ha Thon, main city islands where you can walk along the streets and watch the life of ships in the port.

Interestingly, Uluwatu, one of the resorts in Bali, is famous not only for its waves and big amount fans of surfing, but also temple complexes. They also attract curious tourists from different parts of the island. They come not only to see the temple, but also to appreciate the amazing music and dance show, in which up to 150 participants can appear on stage at the same time.

The main attractions of Bali are: places of worship, thanks to which this corner of the planet received the name “Islands of a Thousand Temples”. It is interesting to look at them from the point of view of history, culture, architecture. Particularly impressive is the “mother of temples” - the Pura Besaki complex, which includes more than 20 religious buildings and structures.

Another stunning sight awaits guests at the Tana Loch temple; during high tide, all approaches to it are covered with water. The second feature of this structure is that it is a “link” in a chain of temples built in such a way that only when you approach one, you begin to see the next one.

A comparison of the Indonesian and Thai islands, well known in the tourism world, showed that they have a lot in common. And yet, holidays on both islands are different from each other. Therefore, Samui will be chosen by tourists who:

want to relax on heavenly beaches;
love to have fun and exercise sports types;
love traveling around the country in search of attractions;
ready to explore the depths of the sea.

Travelers who:

know that nice beach need to search;
are going to join the world of surfing and sink to the bottom of the sea;
are fans of Buddhism and ancient Buddhist culture.

How to get there

The airport on the island of Bali is Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar, from where you can take a taxi to anywhere on the island. Its only drawback is that when departing from the airport you need to pay a fee - $20 per person, which does not apply to children under two years old.

Airport on Penang island. You can get there by regular bus and taxi (taxi to Georgetown costs approximately $10-15). A big plus is that AirAsia flies here; you can find Kuala Lumpur-Penang tickets for $10 and the flight takes 40 minutes.

Samui Airport is private, you can get out of it on foot (!), by minibus, taxi, or rent a motorbike/car. AirAsia does not fly here, but you can take combined tours of this airline, for example to Surat Thani and then an hour by ferry. There is one nice nuance! You can fly from Penang to Samui by the Malayan company FireFly (fireflyz.com.my), convenient for those who obtain a visa in Malaysia, are traveling from here with a child, etc. Because the flight Samui-Penang or Penang-Samui is on sale for $55.

Housing on long term

It all really depends on the place, the village, the beach!

Houses on Koh Samui for every taste and color. In general, finding a house is not a problem, either on the shore, near the sea, or in the depths of the island. Moreover, the proximity of the sea will not always be a decisive factor in the price; the age and contents of the house also matter. Pleases good offer mid-price homes for $300-$500 per month. However, the most important point here, exactly when you plan to rent a house. Because if there is still a choice in September-October, then the closer to the new year, the fewer and fewer vacant houses there are.

On Bali Same a good choice housing, we actually only have experience in finding a house in Ubud in the month of February. And there we were faced with the fact that there was almost no available housing at prices acceptable to us ($350-400). Either villas with prices starting from $800 per month, or something with a nice price of 200-300 dollars, but completely unsuitable options like a separate shared kitchen, an abundance of stairs and (or) neighbors. My personal opinion is that in Ubud (and judging by the photographs of rental housing in thematic communities) in Bali, housing is often more beautiful and visually interesting, but during the season it is very, very difficult to find a suitable house, especially inexpensive. Our home in Bali -

In Penang Renting a house for a few months is very problematic, but renting a house for a year is very possible. It may be more convenient to focus on condos/apartments, since they are in abundance in the north of the island, overlooking the sea and next to the bridge, overlooking the mainland. The prices are very different, but judging by the advertisements on thematic websites, you can look for pleasant ones - from $300-350 per month for a 2-3 bedroom apartment in some complex.

For children

If you look at the islands from the point of view of the question “Wintering with children”, then approximately this:

You can get along well with children on each of the islands; everywhere there are local and English-language schools/kindergartens, both on an ongoing basis and one-time classes. There is a Montessori kindergarten school on Samui, Bali International, Green School on Bali, and Uplands on Penang. The only and most noticeable disadvantage of international schools is the high cost of education.

Everywhere there are swimming pools and the sea, places for walks. The pool in Bali, or more precisely in Ubud, simply saved us, since you don’t get to the sea from Ubud every day

But at the same time, it is important to take into account seasonality, because during the day in the heat you won’t be able to go out much either on your own or with your child.

In any case, children’s leisure time is very dependent on their parents, and in principle, on each of the islands it is very good leisure time can be arranged. On Samui we mostly had the sea, but in Bali it turned out to be larger and brighter than anything else, you can read in the article -

Geographic data (note: weather information is always approximate)

Bali is the largest of the islands under consideration - 5,780 km², about 150 by 80 km in length/width, the climate in Bali is equatorial-monsoon, the rainiest months are November-January, the hottest are November-December, March.

Penang - 285 km², humid equatorial climate, rains October-December, April, the hottest months are May-July. There are four seasons in Pinang – wet, hot, hotter and the hottest (according to the guide).

Samui - 228.7 km², you can easily travel around on a bike in a day or even faster :) the rainiest months are October-November, March. The hottest months are May-July. The best time to go on holiday to Koh Samui is in January-February.

In the center of all the islands there are jungle mountains, and in Bali, closer to the north, there are volcanoes, and there are mild earthquakes. In general, I like to look at the weather by region on this resource - pogoda.turtella.ru, everything is very well laid out there by month.

Water, sea-ocean

The Samui Sea is the Gulf of Thailand, there is great beaches for swimming and contemplation, the ebb and flow of the tides are well felt. At low tides, children have plenty of freedom (depending on the beach). The weather and sea are generally good, but not very predictable; if it is windy, the water will be opaque. But in general, with a child on Samui (in November-December) it turned out to be very comfortable, sea/sand are the main entertainments (1.5-2 years), we were on the beach until 11:00 and after 16:00, there was shade under a palm tree very comfortable.

Bali - washed Indian Ocean and the Bali Sea. Beach holidays in Bali are available and very beautiful beaches, but renting a house for a long time right next to the sea is almost impossible, there are none, unlike Samui and Penang. The water here is more powerful, still an ocean, than in Koh Samui and Penang, where sometimes you swim as if in a giant calm pool. This also happens in Bali, but much less often in other places there are always waves that are not suitable for a child to swim. In general, in Bali (we really lived in and the sea from there you can’t run over on a bike) somehow beach holiday passed us by, and we walked around the pools more and more.

Penang is washed by the waters of the Strait of Malacca, there is a beach holiday here, and you can also live literally on the beach, only it will be an apartment/apartment in a huge high-rise building with a developed area around it, with the obligatory swimming pool. Of course, the sea is not as clean as on Koh Samui, for example, but if you wish, you can swim at Batu Farringi, and swim by boat (or walk along a rather long path) to the beaches in the national park. The only thing that might be in the sea is jellyfish; it is advisable to have vinegar with you to wipe the burn area with it in case something happens.

Transport

Samui

On Koh Samui, songthaews (tuk-tuks) go in both directions along the ring road; the cost depends on the distance and during the day it is approximately $1.5-$2.5. After 18:00 you need to agree on the cost and direction. There are taxis. But the most convenient way is to rent a bike or car, although there are very mountain roads. Rent a bike on average - $100 per month, or $5-15 per day, car - from $400 per month.

Bali

There are a lot of different types of transport in Bali, but at the same time there is no clear system. Local travel agencies have information about minibuses and buses in different tourist destinations, you can rent a bike/car with a driver (for a day, half a day) or for any period without him. The estimated cost for a bike per month is $50, for a car – from $200. In addition, they recently launched minibuses with a specific schedule and route,

Penang

Penang has a very developed system public transport(buses with air conditioning), the fare depends on the distance of the trip and is paid on the bus (to the driver in a special box, the driver does not give change). The only negative is that the buses travel quite slowly and wind around a lot. And in Georgetown there is a special tourist bus, to the main attractions of the city - free! And of course, taxi by meter or negotiated in advance. You can rent a bike/bicycle, bikes from $10 per day.

Infrastructure (shops, hospitals)

Each of the islands has international Airport, large stores and various hospitals. The only thing, of course, is that these shops and hospitals are concentrated in the most popular places among tourists.

Penang has many large shops and various hospitals, and it also depends very much on the area.

There are three large stores on Samui - Tesco, Big C and Makro, the first two have a children's playground, and Makro is a wholesale store.

Household items (washing, water, massage)

On Samui you have a choice, you can take your clothes to the self-service laundry yourself - on average $1 baht per load and then dry it yourself, or hand over everything to local aunties and get everything fresh, then the average price per stack we got was $4, I think 1 kg – $1.5. In Thailand, we haven’t rented things out to the locals for a long time, because they go too far with the rinse aids and the result is a complete synthetic stench, plus they can wash something with something colored, and then only apologize that it’s stained :) Massage on average $10 per hour session. Water in large bottles (20 liters) costs less than a dollar, but it was unpleasant for me to drink it raw, so for drinking I bought all kinds of pop like Nestle - almost $2 for 5 liters.

There are no self-service laundries in Bali, but you can always and everywhere wash everything and the price is not based on weight, but on the number and name of things, such as a T-shirt, so much, pants, so much, our small stack averaged $2. I liked that everything was ironed and only slightly scented. It’s true that something might get lost, I gradually didn’t get a couple of things back, I didn’t check and noticed it too late, maybe it would be possible to find it. Water in large bottles (19 l) costs approximately $2, delicious. Massage is a little cheaper than in Thailand, from $7 per hour session on average!

But we didn’t live in Penang for so long that I could write something about these points. We bought water in 1.5 liter bottles - it’s delicious, hotels/guesthouses have londri, we didn’t go for a massage, it’s not on every corner here.

Food, nutrition, cafe

Everything about food is completely subjective. Read more about food at Koh Samui and in Ubud in Bali, I wrote in notes of the same name - and The cheapest and most varied food in cafes was on the island of Penang, although food in stores seemed more expensive to us than in stores on Samui. But the most expensive things were in cafes in Bali and at the same time the least tasty. Everything on Samui is very good, varied both in terms of taste and price.

Sights, leisure

The most varied leisure activities on the island of Bali, yet it is larger in size than Samui and Penang. In Ubud alone, far from the sea, you can do a lot of different things - read the article - , shopping. And outside of Ubud there is the sea, trekking, hot springs, surfing, caves, parks, etc. And by the way, yoga in Bali is popular, especially in Ubud. And besides, Bali has a rich culture - there are dances and, in general, various ceremonies are frequent.

Attractions on Penang Island are many and varied. See our article There and national park and the sea, and and amusement parks, fruit farm, butterflies. There really are a lot of interesting things.

Penang, view from above

next to the Grandmother and Grandfather stones, Koh Samui

Locals

In Penang, it seemed to me that the attitude towards visitors was the most even and calm. Well, they don’t give up a seat on the bus to a mother with a small child in her arms, even if they sit in specially designated seats at the beginning of the bus. You can say anything politely :)

Internet

We had the best and fastest internet in Penang, it was the default where we lived. Literally flew.

The Internet in Koh Samui (Ban Tai village and beach) is also of high quality. We have Wi-Fi/LAN, which was immediately included in the price of renting a house, but in bad weather there were slight freezes and the speed changed depending on the time of day.

The weakest Internet was in Ubud, Bali, but for additional money we can more or less solve this issue.

We always try to make do with the available Internet, since we are trying to travel as cheaply as possible and, in general, either we were lucky, or we can live in housing in the $350-450 price category with the available Internet.

Subjective opinion about prices

Of course, it all depends on each person, preferences, needs. We don't eat meat, don't drink alcohol, but we eat kilograms of fruit. We rent a bike, not a car, and actively wander around the sights (after all, sometimes it’s “biting” paid entrance:) and we try to cook at home. We make do with the available internet, don’t buy clothes, only small children’s items/books. Sometimes we allow ourselves to go for a massage and, or if it’s really tempting, then to some kind. We find ourselves in various unplanned situations - like a broken lens or If you travel for a long time, then you don’t have to be afraid of unseasonal weather - after all, this is a good saving.

In general, life on Samui (and in Thailand in general) turned out to be a little more expensive for us than in Bali or Ubud. Although in Bali we led a more interesting and eventful life, there was less comfort. The accommodation was simpler, without air conditioning, but it was beautiful and had its own mini-garden, and it was cheaper to rent a bike. We lived in Penang for a short time, and in principle, in terms of prices, in my opinion, they are very comparable to Samui.

A little summary

The most comfortable, simple, safe wintering with or without children is, in my opinion, wintering in Thailand, on Samui, or somewhere else. Specifically on Koh Samui there are also quiet quiet places, and partying. It’s convenient that, if you wish, you can move and live on other islands - Koh Phangan, Tao - get on a boat and voila, explore new spaces! If this is your first wintering, then our article may be useful - and

Cultural and very varied holiday in Bali, but it doesn’t feel as safe as on Koh Samui. That is, wintering in Bali is very possible and good, but there are some nuances. However, here you can learn something new - surfing or yoga :) It’s far from the mainland, sometimes the power goes out, small earthquakes happen, a volcano is nearby, the Javanese builders can be inadequate. We lived in Ubud and practical advice can be found in the article -

Penang Island has more of a cultural and urban lifestyle/lifestyle. It’s convenient that the mainland is at hand and there is a national park, and in general there are a lot of different interesting things.

In general, now it seems to me that the choice of where to go to Koh Samui or Bali, Koh Samui or Penang is quite possible :)

The cost of a flight always depends on the time of travel. The chart will allow you to compare prices for air tickets from Samui to Denpasar Bali, track the dynamics of changes in their cost and find the best offer.

Statistics will help determine the season of low prices. For example, in April prices reach an average of 49,343 rubles, and in May the cost of tickets drops to an average of 32,738 rubles. Plan your trip now!

We analyze this information and create charts to make it easier for you to plan your trips.

What is more profitable – to buy air tickets in advance, avoiding the general rush, or to take advantage of a “hot” offer closer to the departure date? The chart will help you determine best time to purchase air tickets.

See how the price of air tickets from Koh Samui to Denpasar Bali changed depending on the time of purchase. Since the start of sales, their value has changed by an average of 22%. The minimum price for a flight from Samui to Denpasar Bali is 20 days before departure, approximately 32,738 rubles. The maximum price for a flight from Samui to Denpasar Bali is 13 days before departure, approximately 49,343 rubles. In most cases early booking helps you save money, take advantage of it!

Airfare from Koh Samui to Denpasar Bali does not represent a fixed and constant amount. It depends on many factors, including the day of departure. The dynamics of changes are visible on the graph.

According to statistics, the most affordable option for flights from Samui to Denpasar Bali is on Wednesdays, their average cost is 32,738 rubles. The most expensive flights are on Sundays, their average cost is 49,343 rubles. It is worth considering that flights to pre-holiday days, as a rule, more expensive. We hope this information will help you plan your travels more effectively.

The cost of air tickets depends not only on the date, but also on the time of departure. An airline can operate several flights on one day, and they will differ in price category.

The graph shows the cost of departure depending on the time of day. For example, the average cost of a ticket from Samui to Denpasar Bali in the morning is 38,161 rubles. Evaluate all conditions and choose the best offer.

The graph shows comparative prices for air tickets from Koh Samui to Denpasar Bali on the most popular airlines. Based on this information, you can plan your trip and buy air tickets from Koh Samui to Denpasar Bali from the carrier that suits you.

Statistics will help you choose a flight based on your financial capabilities, as well as your wishes in terms of comfort and flight conditions. Most low prices for flights from Koh Samui to Denpasar Bali are offered by Singapore Airlines, the most high prices– Singapore Airlines.

We have been asked more than once how life is different in Thailand and Bali, and where is better. In this post I will try to answer these questions. I will compare life on three islands - Phuket, Bali and Koh Samui. We lived in Phuket for a month, in Bali for two months, and we’ve been living in Samui for the fourth month.

Since the three of us are traveling with a small son (he was one and a half years old at the time of the trip), our choice of place, accommodation and everything else is focused, first of all, on comfortable and safe living with a small child. Walking distance to the sea and the beach and the opportunity for a relaxing swim with the baby also mean a lot to us. Well, another important aspect, on which everything else often depends, is the cost of living (house rental, food, transportation, entertainment). The available budget has to be optimized taking into account the fact that we do not know how long our trip will last, and we do not have any stable large income. Therefore, you have to save money.

Flights

We chose the first point of our journey Phuket, because we found cheap tickets Moscow → Phuket with one change in Novosibirsk company S7. The flight Moscow → Novosibirsk lasted 4.5 hours, Novosibirsk → Phuket - 7 hours. We specifically looked for night flight so that my son can sleep on the plane. By the way, Tyoma survived the flight quite well. He actually slept the entire flight in his mother's arms.

To fly from Russia to Samui, there are several options. You can fly directly to Koh Samui (with one or two transfers), or fly to Surat Thani (cheap AirAsia flies there), and from there take a ferry to Koh Samui.

The cheapest option is to fly to Bangkok (you can take a direct flight from Moscow), from there fly to Surat Thani and then take a ferry to Samui. But you need to be prepared that the move will take a day, or even more. And yet, the time of arrival in Surat Thani should be no later than five o’clock in the evening, because the last ferry leaves at seven in the evening, and it still takes an hour to get there by bus.

Visas

Both Thailand and Indonesia allow you to stay in the country for 30 days upon arrival.

IN Indonesia Until recently, you were required to buy a “Visa on Arrival”, which cost $35. The visa on arrival could be extended for 30 days (total period of stay - 60 days), which costs approximately $27.

Since June 2015, citizens of the Russian Federation can enter without a visa (using a stamp in the passport, which is placed at the border). This option is not suitable for long-term stays, because... This visa cannot be extended.

If you go to live in Bali for a long time, it is better to do the so-called. social visa. To do this, you need an Indonesian citizen who acts as a guarantor. There are many agencies and individuals in Bali who will help with this visa for money. A social visa allows you to stay in the country for 6 months. It must be done while outside the country. True, it must be renewed every month during immigration.

IN Thailand Your stay with a stamp can be extended for another 7 days. It costs 1900 THB (approximately $57-58).

If you get a tourist visa, you can stay in Thailand for 90 days without leaving the country - 60 days on the visa, plus 30 days by extending it. Then, in any case, you will have to leave. Thai tourist visas come in single, double and triple entry. A double and triple entry visa allows you to enter the country two and three times respectively (you can do a border run). The Thai tourist double-entry visa we received in Bali cost 1,120,000 IDR (approximately $87). One-time, of course, is half the price (560,000 IDR).

Visa extension for Bali- he's still a hemorrhoid. You will have to go to the immigration office at least three times: the first is to submit an application, the second is to pay, take a photo and take fingerprints, and the third is to receive it. And every time you have to stand in line. One family member can apply and receive passports with a visa, but everyone will have to be photographed and fingerprinted. We were especially lucky - on the day when we arrived as a whole group, something broke down at the Denpasar immigration office. We waited for about an hour, but as a result, we had to come again.

On Samui The visa extension took us about half an hour. We arrived, wrote applications, handed over passports with money and photographs, and 15 minutes later received them back with stamps. Extending a tourist visa for a month costs 1900 THB.

Unfortunately, obtaining a residence permit in both countries is quite difficult. Therefore, most of the people I met here travel back and forth, or open a work visa (the right to stay for a year and other goodies), but for this you either need to pay money, or pay money and bother with registering a business.

Choosing a location and renting housing

During our journey, we developed a certain pattern of searching for a place to live. Even before the trip, we try to study as much information and reviews on the Internet as possible about the place, beaches, infrastructure and roughly estimate where we would like to stay. Then, via the Internet (Booking, AirBnb or Agoda), we rent inexpensive housing for 5-7 days without any special complaints, not far from the intended future home. Again, we rent a car via the Internet for these 5-7 days. Upon arrival, we go to see the selected beach and, if we like it, we drive around the area in search of suitable accommodation.

A trip around the area will definitely give you more good and cheap accommodation options than you can find online. Local landlords are not friendly with the Internet (both in Bali and Thailand).

In all cases, except for the hotels where we stayed for the first few days, we rented directly from the hosts, which allowed us to cut down on the commission costs that Internet search engines usually charge.

The criteria by which we choose housing:

proximity to the sea (so you can walk with a stroller);
good internet (we work on it);
availability of a kitchen, stove and refrigerator (we prefer to cook at home);
general cleanliness and comfort;
an area near the house where our son could walk on his own and we wouldn’t worry about him;
the presence of mosquito nets on windows and doors (mosquitoes in Asia can be carriers of Dengue);
our budget.

On Phuket The choice of accommodation is quite large and finding what you need is quite easy. But circumstances were against us - Artem ended up in the hospital on the second day after his arrival and spent most time allocated for searching for housing and moving. And we are with him, accordingly. So we looked for habitat for the next three weeks, one might say, under extreme conditions of lack of time. First we stayed near Kata Beach in a small bungalow for $20/day (found through AirBnb). This housing was so-so, a C grade. It was also a bit far from the beach, and we had to walk past a shitty river. We didn't like it. And when Artyom was discharged, we went to see Nai Harn beach. This beautiful beach, clean, beautiful, one might say, the most best beach Phuket. But also the most expensive. We had only one day to look for accommodation, and with great adventure we ended up at the Nai Harn Relife condotel. We rented a nice one-room apartment with a small kitchenette, which had a stove and refrigerator (for us must have), almost daily cleaning and a communal pool. The beach is a 20 minute walk past a pleasant lake. There was also a wonderful roof there, which I went to work on in the mornings. Wonderful, but a little expensive for us - 1000 THB per day.

On Bali We immediately decided to live in Sanur, because... there is the most suitable beach for swimming babies (in most other places - big waves), and not as expensive as Nusa Dua. For the first five days we stayed at the small hotel Dewi Dewi Villas with a swimming pool and free breakfast for $20/day. It was written that the room had a kitchen, but it turned out that there was no stove in this kitchen - only a refrigerator and a kettle. So we went to the common kitchen to prepare Tyoma’s morning porridge. For a short stay - a great place.

Once again we found ourselves in BIMC with insurance from Alfa Insurance.
BIMC- a major hospital for expats, but the doctors behaved more like Balinese. They didn’t do any tests (in other hospitals they immediately took blood and prescribed the rest), they only gave me a jar for feces, which had to be brought when it was ready :). The only medications prescribed were lactobacilli. It’s good that the situation wasn’t so serious that time.
Alpha Insurance, unlike Liberty, did an excellent job and paid for everything quickly.

Registering with BIMC

Comparison of insurance prices:

Thailand Travel Shield - 5200 THB for three for 30 days (THB/RUB exchange rate is now about 1.8)
Liberty Insurance - RUB 5,500. for three for 30 days
Alpha Insurance - RUB 3,048. for one for 30 days

Summary: Thai medicine is better developed, including in terms of customer focus. Another confirmation of this is the number of pharmacies. In Thailand you come across them as often as in Russia - at every step.

Not so in Bali. There is a network of branded pharmacies (the whole island is good if there are 10 branches), and there are small private ones where the choice is limited.

In general, in Bali, as we were told, medicine is the preserve of the rich, because... Any medical care, even emergency care, costs money. And if suddenly something happens to a poor Indonesian, no one will just dial “03.”

In any case, good insurance rules.

Food

Honestly speaking, on Bali The food didn't excite us much. An abundance of fried and spicy food is the main characteristic of Balinese cuisine. The main dishes are Nasi Goreng (fried rice with egg, seasoned with kechap manis (sweet soy sauce)) and Mie Goreng (fried noodles).

Nasi Goren - fried rice is hidden under the omelette, on the left - krupuk - rice chips

Very popular among the Balinese population is Satay - small skewers of chicken or pork served with peanut sauce. There is also Ikan Bakan/Goreng - fish fried over charcoal or in oil in a frying pan, usually quite dry, and Ayam Bakan/Goreng - skinny chicken cooked in the same way. On the streets you can often find carts selling Bakso, a soup made from noodles and meat balls.

Ayam Goreng & Nasi

IN Thailand the food is more tasty and varied, such as the famous Tom Yam and Tom Kha soups, Som Tam papaya salad, and various types of curries. By the way, Khao Pad fried rice and fried noodles, the famous Pad Thai are also found in Thailand. But they are more tasty and aromatic here.

Tom Kha with chicken
Papaya salad Som Tam

Since we cook more at home, in Everyday life We eat about the same dishes. In the morning it’s usually oatmeal, muesli, scrambled eggs, yoghurt. For lunch - chicken or fish soup with vegetables and various dressings, and for dinner - rice, chicken/fish and vegetable salad. During breaks, unlimited amounts of fruit. :)

If you don't go to restaurants, three of you can eat on $10 a day. At the same time, the diet will be varied - with fruits and vegetables, which are seasonal in both Thailand and Bali. What is growing and ripe right now is sold cheaply. What is brought from somewhere is expensive. For example, apples in Thailand cost 15-20 THB per piece ($0.5), and papaya - 40 THB per kg.

Longan, tamarind, herring, papaya - evening market in Karon (Phuket)

While we lived in Bali, there were several fruits that were in season, including papaya, avocado and durian. They could be bought very cheaply. And when the season ended, prices began to creep up.

But in Thailand, avocados don’t grow at all, but there are delicious pineapples and mangoes. During the mango season, you could buy a kilo for 20 THB.

Guava, durian, mangosteens, tangerines, pitahaya, passion fruit - roadside fruit stand in Bali

Sometimes we eat potatoes instead of rice. In Tesco on Samui it is now sold at 28-30 THB per kg. It was more expensive in Bali. Also everywhere there are the usual vegetables - onions, carrots, cabbage (white, cauliflower and broccoli), tomatoes, cucumbers and eggplants.

In general, both in Thailand and Bali you can eat cheaply and variedly, but foods that are not included in the diet local population and are produced or purchased exclusively for foreigners, they are quite expensive. For example, butter in Thailand costs 90 THB for a 220 g pack, and cheese starts from 300 THB and reaches a couple of thousand per kilogram. They don't produce cheese here. In Bali, cheeses are also expensive. Bread in both Bali and Thailand is also not cheap, especially those baked by different bakeries (private bakeries). A loaf of grain bread with seeds in Samui Tesco costs 72 THB.

Internet

IN Thailand, unlike the rest of Southeast Asia, everything is fine with the Internet. In all the places where we lived, we did not have any special problems with communication. The Internet speed was quite sufficient to watch YouTube and download movies from torrents. If necessary, you can connect telephone Internet. Any small store (Family, 7/11) sells SIM cards different operators. For example, dtac, which we use, offers various packages - for one day (49 THB - 150 MB), week (199 THB - 1 GB), month (650 THB - 6 GB or 799 THB - 12 GB).

On Bali With the Internet it’s noticeably worse.

Hotels usually have free WiFi. In some cafes too. It is possible to install cable Internet in houses if there is a highway nearby, but this is not possible everywhere. In the house where we lived, the “master’s” Internet was distributed via WiFi from a CDMA modem and was of disgusting quality. So we had to use 3G mobile Internet, for which we bought prepaid SIM cards. Most cheap option cost 45,000 IDR (~$4) for 3 GB, but before we found it, 3 GB cost us quite a lot - 300,000 IDR from Telkomsel.

Some parts Bali covered with a network mobile internet 4G from Telkomsel which provides excellent speeds but costs comparable to their 3G internet.

Activities

Bali — big Island, and there's plenty to do and see. Ancients Hindu temples, volcanoes, ocean, rice terraces, forest with monkeys (be careful, they sometimes behave like gopniks, taking away glasses, cameras and everything they can reach; they tore the Crocs off Tyomych’s leg), thermal springs, great places for surfing, yoga, snorkeling, diving, hiking, biking and anything else you can think of. There is even a palace and a park with fountains. All this is located in different parts of the island, but everything is quite accessible.

Gate to Pura Tanah Lot Temple

Ulun Danu Beratan Temple

Monkey Forest

On Phuket There are also enough activities. You can go up to giant statue Big Buddha and visit numerous varied temple complexes. You can snorkel, there are diving centers, you can find where to ride a kite (but will there be wind?). There are adventure parks and off-road rides on quad bikes and elephants. You can go for a walk in Old city— Phuket Town and a walk in the jungle to the waterfalls.

Phuket town
Chinese temple Jui Tui

Samui in this respect the poorest island. Small area, almost nothing to see. There is also a statue of Big Buddha, various temple complexes (Wat Plai Laem with the eighteen-armed Guan Yin, Wat Khunaram with the mummy of a monk) and several stupas and one pagoda (Laem Sor Pagoda). There are also several waterfalls. Not so much, but now we have enough, our main activity is Tyoma. :)

Hin Lad waterfall

On Bali They charge money to visit anything more or less interesting. Sometimes a lot of money. Even if you have already paid for the ticket, be prepared for someone to force you Additional services local guides, guides and vendors. We were once not allowed into the territory of the Pura Besakih temple because we refused to pay for the guide’s service (the ticket we purchased did not work). Buying a ticket is not a problem, but selling it is on the verge of extortion. There really are enough services.

In Thailand, temples are free. In many tourist places The fee is collected using a donation box where you can throw in a few coins. No one stands over your soul. The only things that are a little expensive ($10-20) are all sorts of water parks, safari parks, Paradise and others that are made solely for the entertainment of tourists.

Shopping

Go specifically for shopping Bali It’s not worth it, but there is a lot of variety of souvenirs here. Non-trivial wood carving and painting are very developed - both traditional Balinese and modern (at the airport of Denpasar - the capital of Bali - all the gates along the perimeter are hung with paintings created in different styles. A couple of dozen gates with 20-30 paintings in each. You can also buy interesting jewelry (there is even a village of jewelers in Ubud), pearl jewelry, batik clothes, colorful sarongs.

Painting at the Ubud Art Market (Traditional Art Market)

From Thailand It is worth bringing natural hygiene and skin and hair care products (soaps, shampoos, creams, toothpastes), famous Thai balms, pastes, sauces and spices for preparing Thai dishes, herbal teas. You can also buy inexpensive, high-quality clothes and shoes here.

Toothpastes, creams, coconut oil - evening fair in Maenam

People

Thailand called the Land of Smiles. And this is a very accurate name - everyone is smiling here. Just. And you get so used to it that you also start smiling at everyone. The locals are mostly welcoming and friendly. We have never encountered any negative human manifestations here.

The Thais are perfectly characterized by the following incident. As we stood in line at passport control at Phuket airport, a little girl was crying in the next line, tired from the long flight. One of the officers who was checking passports came out and escorted her and her grandparents out of turn. The queue, by the way, was quite long - about 30 people.

When we arrived at Bali, the first thing that caught my eye was that no one was smiling. But this is not so, the Balinese also smile, but less. In addition, many visitors from other parts of Indonesia live and work in Bali. They are different from the Balinese - after all, they are here for the money.

The only people who smile constantly in Bali are the street barkers and sellers, but they only want money from you. In some places it gets really annoying. So, in the 15 minutes we walked to the beach from our house, we first brushed off the annoying taxi drivers, who every time they saw us shouted to us: “Yes, taxi!” A month later, they finally more or less remembered us and stopped jumping up when we appeared. Then from saleswomen from a small market near the beach (these invited us to their store every day for two months. :) As soon as we walked along the beach along the promenade, hostesses from restaurants and cafes sat down on our ears. In this regard, Thailand is wonderful; no one imposes their goods and services.

Both Thais and Balinese have a positive and attentive attitude towards children. And not only women, but also men. Once on Samui, Temych was running along the beach and fell. This was observed by a group of young Thais swimming in the sea. One of them first started shouting to him something like “come on, get up,” and then went ashore, picked Artyom up and put him on his feet.

In Bali, attention can sometimes be too much - almost every time we walked with our son, someone was constantly touching him, patting him, hugging him, or simply smiling and shouting “Hello, baby!” Where's his mom?" Many took pictures of him or tried to take pictures together. This is boring. In Thailand, too, it happens that someone will hug him, touch him or take him in their arms, but less often, without fanaticism.

When we find ourselves in a big store, Tyoma likes to run around and grab something from the shelves. In Bali, he usually attracted a crowd of saleswomen who ran after him, groaning and squealing and happily chirping with him.

In Thailand, I’m not afraid to let him run around the store alone - if something happens, they will definitely help him, lift him up and console him. And if he suddenly decides to go somewhere on his own, he will definitely be stopped by local aunties from nearby massage parlors and laundry until Lyuba or I come running for him.

The Balinese take their religious and cultural values very seriously, and if you ignore them, you can actually end up with lula. Numerous gods and guardians with large clubs (some tear off their heads), who stand at every temple, or even just like that, as if they were saying that the people here are harsh, if anything :)

Local life and customs

We didn't have much contact with the Balinese and Thais outside of " tourist world”(here on Koh Samui - a little more), so my ideas are probably distorted.

Life Balinese densely filled with Hinduism. Almost everyone regularly (at least three times a day) makes offerings to the gods and demons. For this purpose, every home has a small temple or at least an altar where these offerings are placed. Also, offerings are placed on the threshold of the house, on the roads, and brought to the sea (after all, gods and demons live everywhere). Then they float along with algae and debris. Offerings must be made in national clothes (sarong, blouse with a belt), and, having put it on in the morning, many Balinese wear it all day.

There are a huge number of temples in Bali, all of which are active to one degree or another. Gates and altars are usually guarded by sullen stone monsters. In general, the temples in Bali look quite gloomy and intimidating.

The altar is guarded by severe demons
In Bali, temples are found at every turn

Visits to temples are subject to strict rules; clothing is required (closed top and bottom). Naturally, near the temples visited by tourists, there are markets where every second person will grab your hand with the exclamation “Sarong, sarong!”

Typical Balinese temple
And if you go inside, it will be like this

Thailand- a Buddhist country, but here they are tolerant of all religions. There are more temples on Phuket, but fewer on Samui (though Samui itself is smaller:). There are Thai Buddhist temples with red tiled roofs decorated with golden horns on which bells hang, and there are Chinese Taoist temples with rich, bright paintings and the inevitable dragons. You can walk around in them for a long time and look at every detail.

Bells hang near Buddhist temples and stupas
Buddha at Wat Plai Laem
The shutters in the temple are decorated with wooden paintings

Near Thai temples there are also signs prohibiting visiting the temple in shorts and T-shirts, but if you have already arrived in this form, no one will kick you out. Before entering the temple, you must take off your shoes.

When you walk down the streets in the area where we lived in Bali, you get the feeling that you are either in a workshop or in a cemetery - stone carved gates and facades are everywhere. Each house is surrounded by a high fence. There are broken glass and barbed wire on top of the fences.

Every house in Bali has a carved stone gate and a high fence
Sometimes the gates are decorated with intricate wood carvings

In Thailand, if there are fences, they are very symbolic, low, often in the form of green spaces. Fences the size of a man are rare and, as a rule, fence off some wild territory (to prevent animals from interfering?). In Phuket, I also saw tall fences around some villa-cottage community, but this was rather an exception.

Both in Bali and Thailand, many people make money by trading, there are many small businesses and shops. People don’t do business “just for fun”; here it’s a way to feed themselves and their families.

There is a pancake shop on the street near our house in Koh Samui where Mister Pancake works. He eats pancakes to the limit of his capacity every evening recent years ten. He is famous and people line up to see him. He earns well (turnover, I think, is up to 1000-1500 THB per hour), but he is not even close to the “business youth” we are used to. He is about 55 years old, wearing old jeans and a shirt. I think he will work like this as long as his health allows. Other people around live in much the same way - measuredly and without envy of other people's successes, everyone does their own thing and will do it for ten years or twenty. Happy and with a smile on your face.

Bali is a more “moving” place in major cities, but in the villages (of which there are many) everything flows very slowly. I think that life here has not changed for the last 500 years. However, in the cities, not everything is so fast either. For example, extending a visa takes several days (in Thailand - within a couple of hours). Fixing something around the house also takes a long time (but the result is not guaranteed :).

General feelings

Indonesia is a rather poor country, and you can feel it. The Balinese are more closed than the Thais, so to speak, “in their own minds”. For them, foreigners are walking wallets from which they need to squeeze as much money as possible. In Bali, you feel something wild, something primitive, especially if you go to remote places away from tourist areas, where visitors are extremely rare.

On the streets and beaches, unless there is a pretentious hotel near the beach that monitors cleanliness, it is quite dirty. Remnants of offerings, plastic bags and bottles, and various household garbage are littered not only on the shore, but also floating in the ocean. One evening we arrived at Jimbaran beach. While we were swimming, plastic bags constantly clung to our feet. It was very unpleasant.

The beaches of Bali are not particularly clean

Thailand is a civilized country, with enforced laws and order. All government services that we encountered here, be it the post office or the immigration office, work clearly and without any special bureaucratic hassles. The beaches are relatively clean, the locals don’t make a big fuss, tourists behave worse - they leave cigarette butts behind. Unfortunately, dirt is also found on the streets. Also in the evening you can see bags of garbage on the roadsides. But garbage trucks drive every day and clean everything regularly.

In Thailand I feel very simple. Everything around is simple, and inside everything is simple.

Everything is very complicated in Bali. Completely different sensations. When at six in the morning at sunrise you are sitting on the balcony and trying to fix a broken WordPress, and then in the temple nearby they turn on the morning mantra, which is chanted by a brahman against the backdrop of a traditional Balinese xylophone chime, suddenly everything inside comes together and the chaotic complexity of the sounds coming is intertwined with the smell of incense, which neighbors have already taken them out onto the street as offerings. This doesn't help the work at all.

Thailand is straight, like a line graph. Bali is like a fractal. This is manifested in architecture (imagine a Vologda carved garden in 3D and made of stone), and in conversations with people (you look into their eyes and see... no, not a double bottom, but something very cleverly woven), and in handling bureaucratic system, and in road traffic.

I feel better in Thailand. Here you can breathe out and relax. This didn’t work out for me in Bali.