Browsing "Older Posts"

Astana Nightlife: Best Bars, Clubs, Saunas

By Tibs →
Astana seems like an unlikely destination for partying. Yet, as the capital of Kazakhstan and the country's second largest city after Almaty , it has a decent nightlife with at least 3 popular nightclubs and dozens of bars. This review will be quite short as I only stayed in Astana on transit for 2 days. Still, you should find here all the basic information you need for a great night out.  If you have a comment to add, please do so at the end of the article. Update March 2019: Astana has changed its name to become Noursoultan.

What is the "Tax and Service Charge" in Indonesia?

By Tibs →
You have probably noticed that the prices in Indonesia in restaurant and bars are often accompanied of a "++" sign. For instance: "Sunday Brunch Rp350,000++" . The plus plus sign means that you will have to pay an additional charge for tax and service .  The tax  is a regional tax called PB1 or PHR (Hotel and Restaurant Tax) of 10%. It is collected by a Kabupaten (Regency) or a City, like Jakarta DKI. Technically, it is not a Value Added Tax (VAT) but it looks like it from a client's perspective. A regency like Badung in Bali, where Nusa Dua, Jimbaran, Kuta, Legian, Seminyak, Canggu and Uluwatu are located is extremely wealthy. In this area, they have 2000 hotels currently listed on Agoda and even more restaurants. Each of them give 10% of their revenue to the regency. A quick calculation: 30,000 room nights at 70$ on average X 70% occupancy X 365 days X 10% = 53,655,000 USD per year for the hotel tax only for this small regency. It makes me

10 Basic Indonesian Grammar Rules You Should Know

By Tibs →
This article about the 10 most important grammar rules in Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian) is a complement to my guide: How I learned Bahasa Indonesia in 1 Month . By learning these rules, you should improve your conversational skills significantly without putting in too much effort. I'm not a native Indonesian speaker so if you think I wrote something wrong, please don't hesitate to leave a comment. Placing words in the right order in Indonesian Most of the time, you can place words in the same order as you would in English: Subject + Verbs + Object. There are a few exceptions though: Personal pronouns: They are placed after the noun. For instance: "Your cat" = "Kucing kamu" (literally "Cat you") Adjectives: They are also placed after the noun. For instance: "New car" = "Mobil baru" (literally "Car new").

250 Essential Indonesian Words You Should Learn

By Tibs →
I wrote this list of 250 most useful Indonesian words to complement my article How I Learned to Speak Indonesian in 1 Month . I recommend you to memorize all them by heart. It's a boring process, yet it won't take so much time. Spend 10 minutes on the list every day and you'll know all of them in two weeks. Once you're done, I guarantee you will be able to get by in 90% of daily life situation. A smart and fun way to learn more words is to use the website IndonesianPod101 . They have hundreds of exercises and games (flashcards for instance) with the Indonesian pronunciation. Have a look, a large part of the website is free to use. If you choose a paid plan, use this link  IndonesianPod101 - 20 Free Videos  to get an extra 20 videos for free!

Taiwan Nightlife: 15 Best Nightclubs in Taipei

By Tibs →
Taipei nightlife is considered by many expats as one of the best in all Asia. It is a combination of the best things the region has to offer: Modern venues, reasonable prices, friendly people and approachable girls. The number of nightclubs is limited though. Many are only open 3 nights a week on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Wednesdays are actually getting more and quieter, even with lower entrance fees. SeekingArrangement is the #1 Sugar Baby Website in the World - You Can Join Free There are surprisingly few Westerners in Taipei and as a result, you will get more attention from normal girls compared to  Singapore  or even  Bangkok  (not to the level of Jakarta though). Note: This review was last updated on January 8th, 2019.  Where to Party in Taipei + Hotels A particularity of Taipei's nightlife is that almost all the interesting bars and nightclubs are located in the central area,  near the Taipei 101 Tower . Two nearby complexes have several clubs, bars

12 Sexiest and Most Beautiful Asian Ladyboys

By Tibs →
Asian ladyboys are often considered the sexiest and most beautiful in the world. They tend to have very feminine features, slender bodies, and they also benefit from cheap access to cosmetic surgery. In some countries, in particular in Thailand, in Cambodia, or in the Philippines, being transgender is relatively well-accepted. As a result, it is not uncommon, even for a teenager, to have support from their parents to do hormone therapy at an early age. This will help them develop feminine traits instead of masculine ones. When meeting the most gorgeous Asian ladyboys in real life, it is virtually impossible to guess what their actual biological sex is. On the contrary, they look sexier than most women and, for that reason, they are often working as models, actresses, singers, entertainers, or influencers. If you are staying in Asia or planning a trip there, it is relatively easy to meet one, especially if you are in cities like Bangkok, Pattaya, or Manila. To make things eas