“Postingan ini saya kutip dari salah satu milis yang saya ikuti, response atas postingan ini cukup beragam, semuanya akan saya postingkan untuk Anda. Saya share ini di sini karena saya yakin Anda, khususnya pelaku pariwisata di Bali, wajib tahu apa kata mereka tentang Bali.”
Dikirim oleh: Loli - lolibelle2000[at]yahoo.com
Bali changes, but not getting better 
Dulu Bali selalu jadi pilihan liburan saya dan suami. Minimal setiap ahun kita selalu kangen pengen lihat bali lagi. Tapi sejak 2 tahun terakhir bali sudah tidak menjadi pilihan lagi, Bali sudah tidak “friendly” lagi buat turis.
Saking banyaknya kendaraan bermotor hingga trotoar, membuat pejalan kaki tidak nyaman karena sudah tidak punya tempat yang aman untuk menikmati jalan2 menikmati keindahan Bali. Sekali kita pernah sedang berdiri di trotoar (di Kuta) yang minim untuk menyeberang jalan, sebuah motor datang dari arah kanan (yang berarti motor ini melawan arus lalulintas) ngotot membunyikan klakson pengen lewat, sebel karena orang ini sangat tidak tahu sopan santun suami saya bilang “this is sidewalk!!” dan tetep tidak mau beranjak, setelah kita menyeberang dia langsung lewat sambil teriak “F*****U!”. Saya yang sebangsa malu melihat tingkah orang ini yang sangat tidak berpendidikan, sudah jelas dia berada dalam posisi yang tidak benar malah dia yang marah2, bagaimana mungkin mental orang2 seperti ini bisa membangun Bali menjadi lebih baik? Kalo hanya menemui pengendara motor yang ugal2-an seperti ini kami tidak usah jauh-jauh liburan ke Bali, tetep saja di Jakarta.
Hotel2 yang mengharuskan tamu2nya membayar untuk “Gala dinner” terutama pada saat peak season yang harganya bahkan melebihi rate kamar/hari sangat aneh dan cukup memberatkan, tidak semua orang suka melewatkan waktunya makan malam dan menyaksikan acara hotel, kok maksa yah? Beberapa kali saya liburan diluar disaaat2 peak season, tidak ada aturan aneh macam gini, special rate disaat peak season memang ada (walaupun perbedaan harganya dibanding hari biasa tidak separah di Bali), but this ridiculous gala dinner???
Belum lagi diskriminasi harga barang kalo yang beli tourist dari luar negri, dan itu tidak tanggung-tanggung bisa 2x lipat dari harga normal bahkan lebih! Apapun alasannya mereka tidak mempertimbangkan rasa antipati yang mulai muncul dikalangan tourist asing, karena mereka tentunya juga pernah liburan di negara lain dan tidak mengalami hal-hal seperti ini. Keramahan yang ditunjukan hanya karena $$$, jika tidak kasih $$$ jangan harap ada yang bersikap ramah….
Hingga akhirnya kami sudah mengubah haluan, malaysia, singapore, hongkong terasa lebih friendly buat wisatawan dibanding bangsa sendiri, dan kalo diitung2 biaya yang kami keluarkan beda tipis. Padahal alam bali jauh lebih indah dibanding negara lain, tapi tujuan kami liburan pengen relaks, tenang, nyaman, jauh dari stress.
Kadang-kadang saya masih kangen pengen ke bali, tapi suami saya sudah kapok ngga mau kesana lagi
9th sphere website design
June 10th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Response by: Juli Wirahmini – smileforbali[at]ahoo.com
Give a better Solution for a better Future
Dear every member…
Bali is an island where it is known as Pulau Dewata, the island of Devines (translated as the island of Gods? which is not true).
Since 1960 has been marketed as The place to visit in Indonesia. Bali has no choice, it has been decided and since then Bali was everywhere in the world..
Before our time: Walter Spies, Vicky Baum, Le Mayeur, Miguel Covarubias and many others expatriates were the admirers of the island. Bali was always.. open for everybody, for every eyes and for every soul and it is untill today.
Yes Bali is booming, tourists came and left- coming and going, infrastructures have been built, like international airport, hotels, streets, public buildings, etc.
Now since then, what do we see?? Bali was a victim of tragedy bomb attacks, the Balinese were confused, but they don’t give up. Yes Bali has changed. Bali what we see now is Bali in diversity, Bali has been mixed with people from every where in Indonesia and a lot of expatriates as well. However, the Balinese with its culture, tradition and religion is growing in silence within the Balinese. They aren’t complaining that the island is overloaded with many things. HOnestly to say do they need those changes for their own good, for their own culture, for their own tradition and religion?
They have been blamed as $$$$$$ minded people, unfriendly and dirty people.. Oh My dear.. have we ever asked ourself how do the Balinese feel?
Can we see the difference between the Balinese or not the Balinese there? Aren’t we all the same?
Bali has no choice to say, the island is opened for everybody. All over sudden the population grows but from where??? You find in Bali Kampung Jawa, Kampung Bugis, Kampung Flores, Kampung ini dan Kampung itu, and?? Have you ever heard that the Balinese has problem with it? We are all the same, aren’t we?
But why For God’s sake!, when one of us, find the trouble in Bali, we without thinking a little bit deeper, straight away blaming the Balinese is like that and the Balinese is like this.
Certainly the Balinese has uneasy social problems to deal with. Sampah (garbage), canalization, street children, hidden prostitutes, what else? you can answer that
Do we know if those problems are created only by the Balinese?
But please give them solutions, upport them with love so that they can deal with the problem that they have to face it. I am sure they do not want to be in such a situation like now.. it is just there.. how can they stop it? it is beyond their power. People move to Bali and leave there, try to find a better life, in many ways, or learn by time to coup when strangers “tourists” watch and then taking click here and click there with their camera on their procession, its not easy.
But they are not complaining either.. they take it with an open minded and positive thinking.
I love Bali like all of you ..
so lets give something good to the Island and the people. GIve a better solution for a better future.
Regards Juli.
June 10th, 2008 at 10:29 am
Response by: balistay[at]yahoo.com
Yes Loli
A lot of things changed in Bali especially at downtown Denpasar, Kuta and some crowded area. But not in the village, far from mix-melting international tourists and some javanese coming to Bali seeking job and try hard their fortune to grab dollar from the coming tourists.
The behaviour of some extremely terrible persons (Indonesians) I believe not a Balinese. Some people moved from other islands to Bali and unfortunetely also some people pretending as Balinese making worst the image of Bali island.
I don’ want to discuss who and from where making a bad behaviour in Bali, but as Indonesians we should preserve our (eastern) heritage wherever we are, even that place is not our birthplace.
Therefore if we found a terrible behaviour of other Indonesians please don’t do nothing. An easy example like this.
If you are in a theater and looked to someone not queing in the right place or even enter in suddenly in front of us, why don’t we ask him politely first, “Please queue up at behind first.” But if he or she looks unwelcomed, we could ask him/her a bit anger.
This is an education. We are all have to educate our people some manners or ethics in the society, especially at the place called International Tourist city such as Bali.
If we ourselves don’t do that, other people especially foreigners will regret coming to Bali and in the wider perspective, it is not about Bali but as foreigners they will tell everybody the bad things of Indonesians (not only about Bali).
Don’t make that things happen in the future, therefore we have to help to educate our own people the positive things and don’t run away from the reality.
Please……
Thank you.
June 10th, 2008 at 10:36 am
Response by: Luth – luth.voyage[at]yahoo.com
Dear all!
Terus terang email di bawah ini membuat hati miris. Bagaimanapun wisata “MUNGKIN” merupakan salah satu cara untuk meratakan income di masyarakat Indonesia. Karena dari berwisata disana akan sngat berkaitan dengan transportasi, hotel dan penginapan, pengrajin dan souvenir, pedagang makanan, dll. Jadi banyak kesempatan kerja yang tersedia di sektor pariwisata.
Tapi pariwisata hidup kalo ada pengunjung ke objek tersebut. Mungkin sudah saatnya deh kita membangun mentalitas bangsa yang menunjang pariwisata dalam arti membuat orang simpati untuk datang ke Indonesia, khususnya Bali.
Walau sebenarnya pariwisata juga didukung dengan sarana dan prasarana objek wisata tersebut. Tapi semua mungkin mengerti kalau sekrang Indonesia masih belum keluar dari krisis (kalo salah dikoreksi ok!) Kurangnya sarana dan prasarana ini mungkin bisa kita tutupi dengan sikap baik kita kepada wisatawan yang datang.
Berkaca dari pengalaman mbak Loli, sepertinya kita terbuai dengan perkataan Bangsa Indonesia adalah bangsa yang ramah. Tetapi di kenyataanya kita malah sering mendapat ketidakramahan oleh OKNUM bangsa sendiri. Moga ini tidak terjadi pada seluruh bangsa Indonesia.
Seperti kalimat saya di paragraf sebelumnya. Sudah saatnya daerah2 wisata Indonesia termasuk Bali membagun mentalitas manusianya sehingga membuat orang tertarik datang ke objek wisata itu. Bukan malah lari ke tempat lain seperti kasusnya mbak Loli.
Salam
Luth
Yang suka berwisata utk nambah wawasan
June 10th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Response by: Juli Wirahmini – smileforbali[at]ahoo.com
dear loli..
I am quite confuse with your attitude, if you went to Bali almost every year and quite regularly, and you were seeking for a tranquility why didn’t you go to an area in Bali that can fulfill your wish.
I don’t know exactly where have you been in Bali but i guess you have been in Kuta. Why? Bali is not only Kuta. Everybody knows that Kuta is the central of loud and very touristy. since you came to Bali every year, i would say you should go and see other places, where you can see rice terraces, quite beaches, villages, temples, ceremonies, and people who have other activities than selling their touristy stuff. you went exactly to the place where the tourist attractions take place.
Since you are an Indonesian too, i guess you can recommend your husband to enjoy the different sites of Bali.
Gala Dinner, loudness, business, and so on, you can see everywhere, in Rome (in the center of touristic area), Istanbul, Cairo, Barcelona, Napoli, Bangkok, Yerusalem or You name it.. all are the same, people scream to each other in their way, sellers offer their goods quite expensive in order to find a compromised price, the streets are busy and so on. What do you expect?? That is the effect of a tourism industry. (by the way you will not find any life music or other noisy activities after 23.00 in Ubud, due to the villages’ strict policy!)
Well.. let’s hope Hongkong city and other places in your favor will give you a friendly and honest package’s holiday in the future
)
Regards Juli.
June 10th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
In a way, Kuta kan memang kawasan paling padat di Bali. Jadi emang kalo pengen tenang menikmati Bali, ya mestinya emang bukan Kuta tempatnya. Bahwa banyak penduduk setempat yang ugal2an, saya kira ada dimana2. Mustinya ya polisi, polisi pariwisata, atau “polisi” adat bertindak.
Mengenai diskriminasi harga, saya sih liat dua sisi, satu penjual sering harus memberikan komisi yang kadang lebih besar dari keuntungan mereka sendiri kepada orang yang membawa turis asing itu berbelanja (biasanya guide ato sopir). Yang kedua, semua orang menilai daya beli lokal kan umumnya lebih rendah. Banyak tempat kan yang memberlakukan hal seperti ini. Pasangan saya malah pernah berpikir untuk kursus bahasa Thai biar bisa dapet harga2 lebih murah … tampang kan sudah mirip. Bagus lho ini … kasian kan kalo turis lokal dipaksa beli dengan harga dan kantong bule.
Soal hotel … itu paket kali ya?