As the sun rises above Mount Agung on Bali it sets the sky ablaze and highlights the languid progress of clouds below, which frame more distant peaks in an otherworldly mist.
Tourists climb the neighbouring volcano, Mount Batur, through the night to witness this spectacle, which for locals reveals the deities on Indonesia’s “island of the gods”.
However, the only deity many tourists appear to worship is the god of technology. The stillness of the ascent, punctuated by geckos and groaning from tourists who underestimated the hike, has been replaced by the whirring of drones. Influencers practically push each other off the crater to get a sunrise selfie, backs to the view.
Some go further. In March a Russian man was deported for stripping for a picture on Mount Agung. Bali’s residents, many of whom are Hindu with a strong belief in respecting the natural world, are frustrated by inappropriate behaviour from visitors, who include British backpackers but largely come from Australia, China, India and increasingly Russia.
The Balinese and Indonesian governments have introduced laws they claim will curb tourist misbehaviour but a lack of clarity has created confusion among the visitors on whom the Indonesian economy relies. Some question the motives behind the policies, which include a tourist tax of 150,000 rupiah (£7.60).
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Nearly 4.8 million visitors came to Bali last year. The tourist tax came into force on February 14 but exempts those with residency or student visas. Officials say that the proceeds will go towards improving infrastructure, which may relieve some congestion around the capital, Denpasar, and clean up beaches.
• How much spending money do you need in Bali? Millions!
Kate Leff, chief executive of the Revivo retreat, near the popular beaches of Nusa Dua, said guests were frustrated by the levy. She said it was introduced “on top of the already hefty e-visa [$100] … It should be part of the visa rather than [accessed via] multiple sites, logins and payments.”
Wayan Koster, then Bali’s governor, provoked complaints last summer by announcing the closure of Bali’s 22 mountains and volcanoes to tourists and locals. There was an immediate backlash from tour guides and hostels reliant on hikers.
Koster appeared unmoved. “We are neglecting this holy place … I don’t care about people who have pragmatic thoughts, which in the long term, will damage the natural order of humans and Balinese culture.”
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His hard line alarmed many travellers. Minal Jadeja, who is from India and visits Bali as a “digital nomad” to work remotely, said: “I was shocked because I have always thought Bali was the perfect place to live freely, compared to India where there is a lot of moral policing. Bali relies on tourism but I saw a lot of concern from potential visitors.”
For now, the ban does not seem to have materialised, creating further consternation.
Tourists were similarly concerned when in December 2022 the Indonesian parliament approved a law banning extramarital sex, scheduled to take effect next year. The ban was part of a new penal code designed to break from Indonesia’s past as a Dutch colony, and appealed to the more conservative among Indonesia’s population, the majority of whom are Muslim.
Maulana Yusran, the deputy chief of Indonesia’s tourism board, which is trying to promote other Indonesian islands as “new Balis”, called the code “totally counterproductive”. Alexa West, the author of Bali: The Solo Girl’s Travel Guide, said: “My emails and DMs were full of readers saying, ‘Have you seen this? Is it true?’ I had many cancel their Bali trip altogether …saying to me, ‘I’ll just go to Thailand.’”
Like the ban on climbing volcanoes, that law turned out to be unnecessarily alarming. Koster quickly announced that it would apply only to locals, and tourists’ marital status would not be checked.
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New foreign-backed city developments perhaps explain the half-hearted law enforcement. One, Hidden City, has appeared in the town of Ubud, which inspired the book and 2010 film Eat Pray Love, starring Julia Roberts.
The book and film focused on the beauty of Bali but locals say that Hidden City has razed rainforest while officials turned a blind eye. Nick Markov, the Ukrainian businessman responsible for the development, was “too busy” to comment when approached.
Jadeja suggests that headline-grabbing laws are designed merely “to persuade certain communities to vote” but are not fully enforced because officials are unwilling to dissuade foreign investors.
Veronica, an expat who runs a popular Bali Instagram guide, said: “Lawmakers have no problem allowing culturally incompatible and environmentally insensitive projects if they get enough money.”
