A year ago today, I was glad to leave Bali, Indonesia. It has taken me this long to write about the trip because it was my biggest travel disappointment. The place I expected to feel like paradise seemed, to me, like the center of a contrived Instagram world.
I came away thinking it was overrated. Silicon Bali is the hipster nickname for Bali. The “Silicon” label felt ironic to me: it brought cosmetic surgery to mind, which matched the artificial atmosphere I felt around me.
In Canggu, I saw crowds of visitors staging Instagram photos while tourism seemed to be changing the place around them. The experience helped convince me to stop using Instagram.
The areas I visited felt far too crowded. That made the traffic intense. At times, it felt worse than the traffic in Bangkok. One day, a Grab ride from Canggu to Ubud, a distance of 28 kilometers, took more than four hours. Traffic jams seemed to fill the roads throughout the day.
https://twitter.com/levelsio/status/1105359272144134144
After that, I did not want to travel farther, so this account is limited to the part of the island I saw. In this article I'm talking about Canggu, which was Nomad List's number 1 destination for a long time (currently second) and I could not understand its appeal at the time.
The best way to get around is by motor scooter, but there is an important catch. Your driving licence may not be valid in Indonesia, which makes you uninsured. Many visitors seemed to rent one anyway. A crash is possible in this traffic, and other visitors have had accidents; the costs could be serious (or worse ).
Add the road conditions and driving style shown in the video, and I was not comfortable renting a scooter.
So I didn't want to take this risk and rented a mountain bike instead. I rarely saw anyone else on a bicycle . But this was the only other option, because many streets lacked sidewalks. Walking often meant sharing the road with traffic. And there is no public transport either.
I worry that tourism is damaging what attracts people to Bali. Comparing older and newer Google Street View images shows how quickly parts of Canggu have changed. Some shots of the main roads in Canggu in 2013 and 2018:
- Jalan Raya Semat in 2013 and 2018
- Jalan Pantai Berawa in 2013 and 2018
- Jalan Pantai Batu Bolong in 2013 and 2018
New businesses aimed at Western visitors seemed to be replacing much of the character I had hoped to find.
If you decide to go, these practical notes may help:
- When you arrive at the airport, many taxi drivers may approach you with expensive offers. I walked past them and booked a Grab instead.
- Grab is an Asian ride-hailing service similar to Uber. It's legal in Bali, although some taxi drivers claimed otherwise. You'll also see signs everywhere stating it's illegal, posted as part of that dispute. There is a real taxi war going on, so I preferred getting in and out of my Grab in quieter places for my safety and the driver’s.
- To use Grab, you need mobile data. I bought a local SIM before leaving the airport.
- To get your rupiah, you will see plenty of ATMs. Some may be a card-skimming risk. I avoided ATMs that were not attached to banks. I felt safer withdrawing cash from an ATM inside a bank, so during business hours. The maximum amount you can take out is limited though, so you have to go back quite often (and pay fees each time). I also kept my card locked when I was not using it.
- If you're Dutch, you may recognize traces of Indonesia’s Dutch colonial history, as they still use several Dutch words such as gang, asbak, handdoek and pasfoto.
- The beaches I saw were very dirty, with black mud everywhere. And I did not see many people sunbathing, so don't expect this.
- It's uncomfortably hot on Bali, especially during the rainy season, because of high humidity. Prepare yourself for this and don't forget to use insect repellent all day.
- Bali is located in the Ring of Fire, a major area in the Pacific Ocean where many earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur, and has failing alarm systems. The safest option is to not stay within a few kilometers from the sea to avoid getting flooded in case of a tsunami.