If you would like to read our opinions and suggested
methods to find what is very good in Bali, please read
Bali The Paradise.
Responsible Tourism For Bali (Or rather,
why you need to be a responsible tourist when you come
to Bali).
Please, responsible tourism actually means something,
it is not some overused meaningless phrase used by liberals
with nothing better to do with their time. It
is about you, and the effect you have on the
lives of others, especially the Balinese.
If you take the time and trouble to read the pages
of this web site, you will hopefully realize;
1) If you visit Bali. Where you go and what you do
affects the conditions and risks for your own family,
fellow travellers, and the people of Bali themselves.
If you make a selfish decision to either support or
ignore the problem makers of Bali, you may well be partly
responsible for the suffering of others, and your own.
2) This web site is actually operated by people that
love Bali, or at least the good in Bali. There is just,
unfortunately, so much bad that we and you need to do
something about it.
You may well visit other, maybe many web sites that
belittle or even berate Fugly Bali. Chat sites, frequented
often by people who will argue with irrelevant logic,
based on their need not to be wrong, as to why we should
be ignored. People with selfish or commercial interests
in Bali. Or people who do not like the idea of having
to find another holiday destination from the one they
have used for years. But remember, people with a selfish
agenda shout the loudest and mostly without any words
of true wisdom. And believe it or not, we at Fugly Bali
have significant interests in Bali. It is just that
we feel the need to report the truth in order to make
it better. Not put our heads in the sand and hope the
problems get better or even go away; they won't.
Please take a stand against those that abuse the system
and the Balinese. If you claim to love the Balinese
or want to go to Bali for their culture, then show it.
Do something that rewards the businessmen / hoteliers
who bring prosperity to Bali without abusing its land
or people. Don't let the corrupt police officer that
stops your driver get away with extorting money from
him (and therefore take food from the plates of your
driver's children, or rob them of pencils for school),
just because they can. Don't allow the family of Suharto,
who killed thousands of Balinese and other Indonesians
during his reign of terror benefit today from this blood
money.
If you stay in a hotel owned (in part or full) by the
Suharto family or one that has been built on "stolen"
land / too close to a temple. Of you watch as the police
extort money from locals and tourists alike (while police
sanctioned vigilantes commit murder) instead of hunting
down terrorists and stopping illegal effluence dumping
(that cause serious health risks such as typhoid). And
if you reward crooked businesses by actually allowing
them to get away with it (instead of taking your business
to an honest trader). What do you think will happen
to Bali?
And it is not just about what happens to Bali, it is
about what happens to the Balinese, you, your family
and your countrymen. It is worth pointing out that Amrozi,
the master Bali bomber, used to be a tour guide on Bali.
While his terrorist mastermind boss Hambali used to
openly declare his love for America and his hope that
he would one day live there. Now ask yourself what went
wrong? Whether you are so blind or selfish as to dismiss
the role each and everyone of us plays on the people
we meet. Think about it. When you act irresponsibly,
what will the effect be?
Do the right thing. Choose / act carefully in Bali.
Read Bali Paradise (yes,
it exists).
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