This was published 1 year ago
Opinion
No need for the Viagra: Rekindling our love affair with Bali
Brendan Foster
ContributorWestern Australians have endured a tumultuous relationship with Bali, but the love affair with the island paradise has remained loyal and faithful.
Yeah, there were the meaningless, flings “down south” and the odd booty call to Rotto after Indonesia slammed shut its doors for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic. But there is one unavoidable, undeniable fact: West Aussies are simply enraptured with Bali.
Brendan Foster and family join the other Bali devotees flocking to WA’s favourite overseas holiday destination. Credit: Brendan Foster
Like all relationships, you have to tolerate all kinds of irritating tendencies. The bogan who never leaves the poolside bar for seven days and the annoying yoga hipsters in their sweatless, active wear.
But that part of the marriage is never banal or unpleasant. We just discreetly avoid them.
So when Bali opened its borders again earlier this year, we were going to embrace our favourite holiday playground with all the gusto and vigour of a FIFO family on a beer cycle tour.
The last time I was in Bali was in late 2019. That same year, more than 1.3 million Australians visited Indonesia before it closed its borders to the world in early 2020.
Pre-pandemic, around 7500 West Aussies would fly to Bali each week.
So what’s Bali like post-COVID?
The pandemic has left the Indonesian island battered and bruised. Few places on the globe have been spared COVID’s fury, but the scars of the virus seem more exposed in a place like Bali, which relies heavily on tourism.
It would be like Western Australia suddenly turning off the iron ore tap.
More than 400,000 Balinese lost their jobs after the tourists stop coming. Several shops, cafes, restaurants and hotels have since shut up shop. Denpasar’s Ngurah Rai International Airport was empty when we arrived and our hotel in Nusa Dua was eerily quiet.
Not there yet: things are picking up, but Bali still lacks the old hustle and bustle.Credit: Brendan Foster
There are signs of recovery, but Kuta was lacking its usual chaotic turbulence. You sense it’s going to take years before Indonesia’s top destination once again becomes a bustling tourist mecca.
Just above the hectic urgency of scooters you can hear the endless cackle of Aussie accents. Nothing says I’m an Australian in Bali more than some sozzled, shirtless guy riding a scooter on the footpath with a freshly tattooed arm or leg wrapped in glad wrap.
I’d rather go running with the bulls in Spain, blindfolded and wearing nothing more than a red cape, than ride a scooter in Kuta.
As I fumbled my way past dozens of street-side hustlers in downtown Kuta a Balinese hawker whispered would I like any cocaine, marijuana or Viagra. He clearly mistook my look of awe and puzzlement as excitement because he pulled out four boxes of Viagra.
But here was an unsettling desperation to the peddler’s pitch. Kuta hawkers are usually virulent combatants when it comes to bartering, but the wry humour and gentle ribbing have all but vanished. I was mildly insulted that none of them pointed out my resemblance to American “safe saxophonist” Kenny G.
Many of the drivers I spoke to said it had been a tough couple of years without the usual influx of tourists. Some retreated to their villages to simply wait it out.
One driver told me his family had very little to live off during the pandemic. When I mentioned to him that unemployed Australians were paid $750 a fortnight by the government during the peak of COVID he just smiled and showed us pictures of his dachshund pups.
The Balinese have always had a wonderful way of putting things into perspective.
Despite the ongoing threat of foot-and-mouth disease and COVID nothing was going to stop Sandgropers from heading back to Bali.
Instant calm: the tropical lushness of Ubud is still a draw for Western Australians seeking to reboot body and soul.
Perth resident Janine Freeman, who was in Bali for the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival, said the island was a magical place.
“The lushness of the tropical green brings an instant calm,” she said. “Add the warmth and the lovely welcome from the residents on the island, and you feel instantly on holiday.
“Over the last ten years or so I have gone to Bali to do yoga retreats with my teachers from Australia, or specialist teachers from other countries. In more recent years I went a few times with good friends as well, which included attending the 2019 Readers and Writers Festival in Ubud.”
Ms Freeman said she’d noticed a few places had closed since her last visit in 2019.
“My favourite massage place was closed down, but there were a few new places open from last time and some great new galleries it seemed,” she said.
“The drivers to and from the airport told us they were happy to have the tourists back and one of the presenters at the festival commented that during COVID there were monkeys walking down the main roads”.
Ubud seemed somewhat inoculated against the ravages of COVID. This was probably due to the thousands of ex-pats who live in the region and the herd of influencers who refused to leave.
Ubud also has more yoga studios per square metre than any place on the planet, so the influencers looked and dressed like well-groomed, homeless people.
Everywhere you walked you ran the risk of getting pushed down a sharp ravine by some Nordic-looking God in yoga pants trying to take a selfie on one leg.
Former Perth local Neil Woodgate, who runs Cafe Vespa in Ubud with his wife Miho, said many Balinese businesses were impacted by COVID.
“Especially in the tourist areas”, he said. “Thankfully we managed to get through without closing once. We were one of the businesses that survived during the pandemic.”
Mr Woodgate said any Australians that had reservations about heading back to Bali, should pack up their Bintang t-shirts and check it out for themselves.
“It’s back to where it was pre-pandemic,” he said. “Life is good here. Nothing has changed and don’t be reluctant to come here as it’s still as good as it ever was. There is always the beach, the sunshine and the yoga studios.”
Bali’s economic recovery will be slow. Given Western Australia’s ongoing crush on Bali it will play a key role in rebooting the country’s tourism sector.
Just keep an eye out for any hemp-wearing influencers balancing on one leg around the steep, lush slopes of Ubud.
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