IS BALI SAFE?

Nakal

Well what can I say.... I think that's just exactly what most of us are thinking and will always try to explain to the ones asking the same question. Isn't it dangerous to go to Indonesia/Bali? Just to compare and interesting for someone googling bali - dangerous - safe: does anyone have these kind of crime numbers for Bali? Nice post Daniel, always good to read these things. Cheers, Nakal.

Jimbo

I think perhaps the point is missed. What puts people off is the fact they are actively targeted as tourists by terrorists...as in the Bali Bombings. In the cities mentioned it is all home grown crime. I do not disagree about your sentiments or the safety in Bali. In fact if these crime statistics were transferred we would not want to live there. How the few spoil it for the many.

jogry blok

Is Sydney,Melbourne safe? In Melbourne they just killed an innocent man

Petenjo

The number of times I have been asked the very same question 'Is Bali safe?'. What do you tell people when you choose to live or spend a great deal of time in a place perceived by many to be high risk? I've also never felt unsafe there, but there are many people who wont contemplate going to Bali because of this sense of risk - met one just last night and yet he didn't think twice about riding a motorbike in peak hour traffic in Delhi! Personally It doesn't worry me, although I know people who won't frequent certain restaurants/clubs in Kuta on particular nights of the week. Is that valid thinking?

Jimbo

I am in Delhi from 23rd to 25th and then on to Mumbai for 3 days before going to the Phillipines.

tintin

Before 9/11, the US State Department had a mild Travel Advisory for Indonesia, but a Travel Advisory nevertheless. Following 9/11, and the subsequent attack in Bali and Jakarta, the same US State Department became hysterical regarding Indonesia travel, advising people not to travel there under any circumstances, and if at all necessary, it almost suggested to the unfortunate (and somewhat crazy) travelers to keep locked up in their hotel rooms for fear of bodily harm or worse. One of these Travel Advisories even reported the relatively trivial (trivial by western standards) example of a tourist taking a "taxi" out of Cengkareng airport and being robbed. :( This attitude is to be contrasted to its reaction to the 9/11 attack in New York, when of course, no travel advisories not to visit this city, or the USA, were ever issued. On the contrary, the New York mayor at the time, Rudolph Giuliani, told everybody to "come to New York and show the terrorists that we are not afraid, otherwise they would have won." (Presently, Giuliani is a presidential candidate, and his basic platform is fear: "vote for me and you'll be safe from terrorism."). Following these travel advisories, the number of travelers to Indonesia diminished drastically, including the flow of tourists to Bali, with its serious economical consequences to the Balinese. In particular, the number of US tourists in Bali fell sharply, and to this day, has not yet recovered: it is still about 35 – 40% of its pre-9/11 numbers. Over and over, people asked (and are still asking) on this website and others, "How safe is it in Bali?" Of course, as we all agree on the truth, we answered realistically to them that it is, at least as safe as in their home countries, if not safer. But for some reasons, most of the time, these people still do not seem convinced. An interesting statistical analysis, the Global Peace Index, has just been published by the Economist Intelligence Unit, which ranks 121 countries, based on peacefulness, both domestically and internationally. Some of the parameters used are the number of crimes, the level of domestic violence, the number of incarcerations (almost 2 millions!), the number of soldiers killed abroad, and relations with the neighboring countries. This analysis was also reported last week in the very popular US weekly, Time magazine, and it will, no doubt, be a reality check to the average US citizen. Here are some of the results; Of course, the number one safest country in the world, out of the 121 countries considered, is Norway. This will not be a surprise to anyone who has spent some time living in this beautiful country. It is followed by New Zealand (also not a surprise). The United States ranks 96th, and is ranked way behind Indonesia (78th). I am sure my Australian friends will ask about their own country: 25th. Russia is in the 118th position, followed by Israel, Sudan and finally…Iraq. I was surprised to see that the Netherlands only ranked 20th, as I would have thought, from my own experience, that it would have been one of the leaders of the pack. As a particular example regarding how safe is your own environment compared to Bali, here are some facts regarding my own town, Boston, Massachusetts, USA (I leave in one of its suburbs, 10 miles away), compiled daily by a Boston resident from the police reports of the city, and posted on the Web. The Boston population is 559,034 (approximately 17% that of Bali). The following statistics are from January 1 – June 3, 2007: Total number of crimes = 11,815 (-1,115 for the same period, in 2006: we're slipping… :cry: ) Homicides = 24 Rapes and attempted rapes = 105 Robberies or attempts = 928 Aggravated assaults = 1,597 Burglary or attempts = 1,312 Larceny or attempts = 6,367 Vehicle thefts or attempts = 1,482 And this is Boston, which is far from being the "crime capital of the USA!" Just imagine if the same crime rate was transposed to Bali: for one, it would mean 69,500 crimes/year. And somehow, I live quite well in Boston, and so do most of the other 559,034 residents, most of them thinking that it is the best and safest place in the world, certainly safer than Indonesia, and most particularly Bali ("How can you go to Bali? Isn't it dangerous?" I get asked all the time). Here you have it: the "grass is always greener on the other side of the fance," and it is also "darker." :)

Ipanema

I have just returned from Bali and at no time did I feel unsafe. This was my first time actually going out to clubs etc I usually work from 8 in the morning till 8 at night but this was a holiday and I really enjoyed myself. On a serious note I did ask a business owner - been in business for 15 years with a restuarant type establishment if he thought there would be another bombing. I don't even know why I asked I just blurted it out. He said unfortunately he did and he explained his reasons. He said there 220,000,000 people in Indonesia, no government assistance etc. When you are young and have nothing, the fanatics come in and brain wash the younger ones. What have they got to lose nothing on this earth holds much hope for them and they are promised great things when they get to heaven. Obvioulsy his answer was a lot more in depth but the above explanation was the guist (?) of it. I really don't care what happens in Bali nothing will not stop me from going there. Tina

SG

Dunno about this...I feel one hell of a lot safer in Denpasar or Seminyak late at night than I do in Auckland on a Friday evening. Did they factor in drunken brawls and incessant road rage when they looked at NZ or Australia...I guess not.

jogry blok

I fully agree SG. I can get so mad, when I hear from aussies being told do not go bali. I feel completely safe and love it here

ChadM

In all my time spent in Bali, I've never felt unsafe. I do avoid frequenting strictly Western-aimed places on busy nights. Also, both of the previous bombings in Bali occurred immediately following the end of Ramadan in those years (2002, 2005). The exact dates of Ramadan varies each year, but as most know, each of the bombings occurred in October. I don't book trips to Bali then, myself.

Tinkerbelle

I have been out in the nightlife scene in Kuta in July and last xmas /new years eve and never once felt unsafe. I went into Northbridge in Perth with my sister recently and got offered drugs on our walk back to the car which when we got there had been broken into. The police are on every corner in Northbridge sorting out hoons and fights. People get frustrated as you have to queue for an hour to get into the pubs and a 2 hour wait to catch a taxi home. The threat of another bomb blast in Bali is always at the back of my mind but it would not stop me going there because it may never happen.

froggy

Hey tink, you night owl party girl! Gee -this topic has been covered many,mmany.mmmanny times.... but hell yes I was safe in bali, where else in the world can you buy police protection for $2-$5 bucks.