Tourist’s Bali video shows ugly reality of picture-perfect balcony views
A tourist’s Bali video reveals the picture-perfect view from her balcony can only be captured from a very specific angle.
A Dutch tourist has been shocked to discover the view from her beautiful Bali accommodation is only aesthetically pleasing if she looks in one particular direction.
Luna de Fauw shared a video on TikTok with the caption, “Bali Insta vs real life.”
The video was taken from the balcony of a room at Kos One Hostel in Canggu, which costs about $40 a night and has four people per room.
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Photos on the hostel’s website and Instagram show an extremely “Instagrammable” hostel surrounded by greenery.
In her video, she shows the gorgeous view of the pool area below – before panning across to show the hostel is actually surrounded by muddy vacant land and buildings under construction.
“It’s all about the angle,” one user pointed out in a comment on the video, which has been viewed 1.5 million times within about two weeks.
“You must be new,” said another with laughing emojis.
“Yep. It’s an illusion,” added a third.
Others in the comments debated whether Bali was completely “overrated” or in fact “a vibe”.
In November, Victoria Goulbourne, a former flight attendant and contestant on the UK’s latest season of The Apprentice, posted a similar video of her accommodation in Canggu, Bali.
She filmed sunlounges on a deck by a pool and then panned across to show they were actually positioned to look out at a small muddy river.
“Don’t be fooled by Insta,” she wrote. The video has been viewed 68 million times.
Bali lovers accused her of going during the wrong season or filming during a low tide.
But there were plenty of people willing to join the criticism of the popular holiday destination.
“Bali is only beautiful in photos,” one person said.
“Reasons why I’m glad TikTok started,” someone else wrote.
“I love how lounge chairs are forcing you to face reality,” joked another.
Several viral “expectation vs reality” videos from Bali have not stopped travellers flocking there.
Those who touched down on Christmas Day found themselves stuck at the airport for hours due to huge queues to get through immigration and customs.
Pictures and videos showed a sea of people clogging up Ngurah Rai International Airport waiting to get into Bali to start their summer holiday.
One woman on social media said it took her 3.5 hours to get out of the airport after arriving from Australia at about 9.30pm.
Bali is well aware of how frustrating travellers find the long the queues to get through the immigration and customs checkpoints during busy periods at the international airport.
There are companies travellers can pay to provide a VIP service and fast-track entry into the Indonesian island.
A designated person will meet the traveller at their gate upon arrival and escort them through the airport, which includes skipping the queues.
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