Tourism reality check between Pantai Jerman / South Kuta to Kuta. 21st – 22nd April 2022

Pantai Jerman to Kuta
21st – 22rd April 2022

CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO SCROLL THROUGH THE GALLERY

Hello everyone and thanks again for staying tuned to the baliwaves (the original Bali surf report website since back in 1999).

Ok so I thought I would give everyone an actual firsthand account of the current and ongoing situation here in Tuban / South Kuta and Kuta. I haven’t made it up to Legian beach for a while but the last time a few weeks back it looked like the beach side open bars were starting to fill up.

With my Covid belly getting worse, from bad diet, depression and or anxiety I thought I had better stop just thinking about it and actually take some action. So, on the 21st I took my first jog and shuffle up to the Kuta beach Hard Rock Cafe. My path took me along the beach front past many of the popular hotels of Tuban. It was my first hard work out in the last couple of years so I packed light, no phone or camera.

Yesterday the 22nd I backed it up again with my wife coming along and I also tucked my old GoPro into my jacket pocket (full sweat). I wanted to shoot some images to show everyone on baliwaves. Firstly, of the empty hotels and pathway of Tuban / South Kuta, that are usually bustling with people. Both locals and international visitors. As it shows in these photos that were taken at the best possible time of the day for people watching, 5.30PM.

Every person we passed on the jogging / walk way was an Indonesia, except for one Aussie that I spotted from 25mtrs out. True to form as we passed, we looked each other in the eyes and at the same time we both said “gday”. That made me smile and eased my pain temporarily from the exercise. As we passed the cemetery at Kuta and the Kuta fishermen area you come to the shady trees that are dotted along the foreshore. Under the tree’s the locals have always had makeshift tables and chairs serving up icy cold drinks from eskies, usually to mostly thirsty happy to be in Bali Australians.

I was happy to see there were a few sun set drinkers scattered along this stretch of Kuta beach. Although they were outnumbered 8-1 by locals who were all plying their salesmanship skills to what visitors there were. I’ve seen the same thing happening down in our area at Pantai Jerman. The new arrivals to Bali are getting hammered by a brutally “hard sell” from the beach side hawkers that have had no receptible tourists on the island for such a long time. Maybe just a little too eager at the moment and maybe just a little intimidating for those that just want to enjoy a few sun set cold ones. While your average Aussie visitor usually loves the fun and the bantor with the locals.

Check out the photos I’ve loaded and you can see pretty much exactly the same picture I have painted with these words. Hopefully soon as more and more international flights arrive Bali’s local economy will kick off again. Right now, it’s still mostly Domestic tourists not splashing money around to the people that really need it.

Just for the record most people already know that area’s from Seminyak / Kerobokan pretty much all the way to Berawa and onto Canggu have been hustling and bustling full of a different kind of tourist almost right through the pandemic. Westerners that have been scraping and counting their coins trying to stay in Bali as long as their visa’s will allow. Not all but quite a lot.

Feel free to email us here at the baliwaves and we are only too happy to pass on any information we can.

Slim