and everything “cheap cheap” of course! wow, after three weeks, if I hear someone asking me “massaaage?” again, I might run amok. bali is sooo exhausting. jimbaran, kuta, medewi, nusa lembongan, bingin… everywhere we go, the same questions. sometimes not even a “hello”, the only words we get is “motorbike?” or “transport?” or “sunglasses?” or “massage?”
I visited bali four years ago and also back then it was the same. I don’t know if it has been getting worse, but I cannot see or feel anything like calmness, spirituality or altruism on this island. there are only a handful of people left who see you as a human being – for most of them, you’re an ATM.
thank you old man in nusa lembongan for your honesty and kindness (if you need a place to stay there, go visit this lovely person at “johnnys losmen” – 100.000 rupees per night per room) and thank you beach boys near mcdonalds in kuta, partying with you was really funny and you didn’t want to fuck us like so many others. thanks to you I don’t hate bali in general…
ps: eat – pay – leave!
pps: I’m quite sure in a few years, you also have to pay for the smile…
stephsoul 
so interesting to read this! My mind had a dream for some time to go and live in Bali, but my intuition didn’t take me there. so for me it’s quite refreshing to read your honest post… :)
thank you so much! I’ve been a little bit afraid to offend too many people here. it’s a sad story actually, bali has been ruined because of too much tourism. it has surely been a fantastic place once. and also with enough money I guess it can be really nice. but we travelled on a budget and to us bali was rather mean…
Oh, nice post! I have just moved to Thailand and the whole “walking ATM” thing drives me crazy. Like…people are nice, but you know that something else is on their mind. Taxi and tuk-tuk drivers are the worst: the moment they see you they offer you a ride. And they don’t care that you riding a bicycle, they just want your money.
Although, Bangkok is much better indeed.
:D yes indeed. actually in java it was completely different: people were sooo nice, just because they were happy to see a funny looking person (white, blonde) – so, many different people took a lot of pictures with me, but it felt really good. not weird or something. they’ve just been really interested where you come from and why you ended up in their country. if we’d known it before, we would have stayed the whole 8 weeks in java, because the waves were just perfect there and uncrowded! in bali they are also perfect, but you can hardly get one because 30 people paddle on one wave :D
Oh, I know what you mean. As far as I know, good ol’ days of Bali have passed. Now it is all about money. Source: living in the hostel for 3 weeks and meeting travelers from all over.
I think that’s because it’s a popular places like Kuta which has so many foreign tourists visiting. Try a more secluded places like Padang-padang beach. I think a not-yet-popular places have less seller offering thigns to buy.
I was in Bali last week and when I walked in Kuta the same thing happened to me (‘though I’m a local).
Learning some of useful Indonesian places might help. It might make them think you are a foreigner that lives in Bali ;)
Try saying “Tidak, terima kasih.” which means “No, thank you”
I hope it can help making you enjoying more of Bali :)
I also hope you have a better experience the next time you visit Bali :)
terimah kasih, fina! we know some indonesian – we can order in a restaurant in indonesian and so on – but I’m afraid there are not many unknown places left in bali… we’ve been to medewi, which was rather quiet for bali standards, but padang padang beach??? it’s sooo damn crowded! hell! thank you anyway for your nice comment and I hope I didn’t hurt your feelings with my post…
Hey so you know some Indonesian already, that’s so cool.
Don’t worry, you didn’t hurt my feelings at all :)
I know it can be bad for foreigners sometimes. I know a British who have been living in Bali for several years and he still get to pay when he’s using some of the streets (and he’s not happy about it!)
Really, so padang-padang has become crowded as well…. I went there four yeas ago and haven’t visited it on my last trip. It seems a lot has change in four year.
My brother and his wife are going to move to Bali soon, I hope he’ll know some of new places to go before it gets crowded as well :P
I mean learning some Indonesian phrases (not ‘places’). Sorry wrong typing ;P
Traveling can be a double edge sword at times. The surfers show up and the locals make some money. Then more locals come in to get in on the action. Later comes the drugs. Then prostitution. Then crime.
Costa Rica is a good example of how some areas can go wrong. Tourism needs to be a controlled commodity.
so true!
If you are looking for calmness and spirituality, head to Ubud, Bali! Go temple visiting , visit paddy fields and sign up for yoga courses. Avoid the beach! :)
thank you! I heard that ubud should be really nice. the only thing is: we are surfers and traveling for waves – it’s a little bit hard to avoid the beaches ;D *lol*
Haha oh. But eat pray love is film in Ubud and not the beaches! And it is really beautiful!
;)