Jimbo wroteWell just a day to go and back on the silver budgie to the UK. Had a trip round the island and somewhat disappointed. Obviously not the Bali I knew from 34 years ago but it just seems to deteriorate every year. I can understand the local economy trying to make a buck but it just seems to be restaurants, massage parlors and shops all selling the same thing. Even Ubud is taken over by tourists and those supposedly catering for them. I do not understand how the thousands of artists make any money as the competition must be fierce
The beaches are dirty and not accessible to the disable and full of hustlers etc.. The people are still great which is a good thing but unless things change overall I see a big down turn in tourists in the future.
If I do come back I shall try the west of the island to which I have never been. Take care you guys
Hello Jimbo, you are right, is so sad to see Bali tourist areas terrible built up and focus only in tourist, the thousand artists you are talking about these days doesn't really make money, they are working now like room boys, pool boys and in constructions projects making villas and swimming pool all over the rice fields.
And Ubud is not only taken by tourists, mass tourists but as well by foreigners or by people from outside of Bali, more and more business belongs to people from outside of Bali. Beside in each corner of the island there is a indomaret, infomaret, coco mart, delta mart, pepito..............total consumerism
I haven't been to the south of Bali for a few years and I was so surprise how built it is, buildings every where, the traffic was terrible and the beaches packed with a lot people, you have to pay in all the parking places, they charged money to enter to Padang Padang, the parking of Uluwatu temple was full packed by many buses and many cars and thousand people trying to see the sunset, about this place it is funny because many people talk about to go to the Uluwatu Temple and in fact people don't see the temple at all, only one meru I think, but "they" still selling like go to uluwatu temple when in fact you don;t see the temple at all, only the sea and the rocks.
