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Once again one of my dreams come true last Sunday when I and other 20 persons become the first batch that was sent to the Balicamp at Pacung, Bali.

It was not all sweet experience here though, chilling nights, ice water morning bath, great amount of hidden charges, and isolation far on top of the mountain are just some of the miseries we all experience here.

But when the time we went to Kuta beach, all of series of unfortunate events above are all forgotten.

This article is written to describe about the condition that we feel so far (three days far to be exact.. ;D) about our new work environment at the famous Balicamp. I try to be as objective as possible, though some subjectivities may still present.

Food

Bali is quite famous for its pork eating tradition, so you can easily find many small stores selling pork barbeque around.

Fortunately, for Moslems and Seventh-Day Adventist like me who don’t eat pork, finding the halal food seller is still pretty much easy.

Clothing

What type of clothing should you bring to Pacung? Well, for this month of July when the temperature here is at its lowest, you may want to bring a few jackets and thick blanket.

I’m not sure what is the temperature here, but I’m sure it can make most of the people to shiver during the night.

But you may want to bring some beach outfit as well since it’s Bali ya know!! Beautiful beaches are everywhere so a sunglasses, swimming suit, and beach sandals are surely in the must bring list.

Housing

Now this is one of the most shocking part for me. People at Jakarta always said that the housing cost here in Pacung will be surely a lot cheaper than the cost in Jakarta.

Well, that is partly true because most of us rent rooms for Rp350,000 a month. Looks cheaper right? Wait till you see the hidden charges.

Unlike in Jakarta, the room rental cost here does not include “wash and iron” so you are left on your own to solve the problem. If you don’t have the time, which very likely for all who work at Balicamp, then you may want to have the local to wash your clothes for Rp120,000 a month.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that even for that truly significant amount, you still need to provide the detergent and softener.

What else? How about an empty room for a start.
Most of the rented rooms here do not have any drawer or cabinet to store your clothes. So you will surely need to buy one for around another Rp 120,000.

Well, the list can go on and on..

Transportation

There is only one main road going to Denpasar and there is only one public transportation going there also. People says that the fare is about Rp15,000 one way, though I haven’t prove it myself.

Having motorcycle will help to get you around and to the nearest town though maybe not to Denpasar.

Renting a car with several friends maybe the best way to go to Denpasar and other cities. The rent cost is about Rp250,000 a day (24 hour) with no driver nor gas included.

Entertainment

This is really a subjective issue because different people like different kind of entertainment. The only entertainment facilities in Balicamp compound when this post is written is internet access, and… hmm, is there anything else fellas?

If you think sport as entertainment then probably you will get entertained in the swimming pool, and fitness center (which look like real fitness center if only there are anything more than three bare benches).

The nearest cinema is about 20 kms away, though you may change your mind once you get there.

If you want to experience Bali, then going to Denpasar and other major tourist spots are really the answers.

Closing Words

The Balicamp compound is indeed magnificently beautiful. It doesn’t look like an office even a bit, it’s more like a recreation cottage. So I believe you will get awe when you get into the famous Balicamp at Pacung.

However, what really surprised me is really the total cost of living here. It is not cheap at all, and in fact, it might get more expensive compared to living in BSD.

Although it is really not the responsibility of company to provide all the necessities of all employees, the company may help the employees to get better deals since most of the employees are new to the location.

In the end, working at Balicamp Pacung may not be perfect and has its own advantages and disadvantages as has been discussed above. There are a lot of homeworks for Balicamp to improve, and employees also should not expect too much from company.

So just enjoy the peacefulness and tranquility of Pacung on workdays, and travel around the Paradise Island on weekends… Yeah baby!!!