Is Bali a safe destination for tourists?

Rather late in the day to ask such a question but...Having just read some interesting blogs and journals (Mark Austin for one) regarding the police and certain scams which seemingly operate, I have to ask if Bali is a safe destination for tourists? Or put another way, is it any worse than Thailand? Regards Phil.

Is Bali a safe destination for tourists?

just relax and enjoy your holiday. Yes there are a few scams. the main time police will be looking for a bribe from you is if you are driving or riding a scooter in bali. they will also pull over drivers that you hire in order to get bribe money. this little money making venture has been going on for years. basically don%26#39;t driver yourself, if you are in a car with a driver he will be the one paying the bribe not you. it may be for something as simple as a front seat passenger not wearing a seat belt. (back seat does not matter). bali is safe. trouble comes from those doing the wrong thing for example in regards to drugs etc which is not tolerated in any way.

Is Bali a safe destination for tourists?

Thanks Snooky, does this mean a phut phut is out of the question then? I%26#39;ve always hired a scooter in Thailand and carried a copy of my passport, just in case...Are the roads/traffic in Kuta/Sanur really so much worse than Samui or Phuket? Regards Phil.

I drive myself around in a rental car and never had a problem. I don%26#39;t recommend self drive until you are used to Bali - drivers are plentiful and cheap anyway.

I%26#39;ve seen Mark%26#39;s site and can only say its perverse. If you look for trouble on Bali, you will find it.

Lately I%26#39;ve come to think of Indonesia%26#39;s corruption as relatively light - which is worse, Suharto%26#39;s theft of $20 billion or Madoff%26#39;s theft of $50 billion? Is the financial crisis perhaps the largest swindle ever perpetrated in history - Investment Banking?? Read Michael Lewis in portfolio.com

Yamanote, you make a reasonable point to which it is difficult to argue against however...Corporate criminality seems somehow more palatable than direct extortion. This is my first trip to Bali and I must confess to being ever so slightly surprised at what I%26#39;ve read today regarding bribery ect. On reflection, it is likely to be no worse than that that exists in Thailand although, I for one have never been asked/pressurised to pay a bribe by a thai, this after many visits, maybe I was simply lucky! Thank you for your input, it is appreciated. Regards Phil.

Mark Austin is a very disturbed human being with some very disturbing websites under various aliases.

I would not be too easily impressed with his comments and his accusations, he has his own agendas.

Really, the chances of any law abiding visitor having any problem with the authorities is almost zero.

Agreed! Having travelled fairly extensively for a ';pom'; the only problem I have ever encountered on my travels were in Key West which, after 03:00 was completely lawless! Something they don%26#39;t tell you about in the guide books. In fact, the police would not even acknowledge an incident had occurred untill threatened with consular involvement. Ah well, we live and sometimes learn. Regards Phil.

We are well into double figures for the number of trips we have taken to Bali and not once have we ever been asked to pay a bribe.

We have, while in the car with a driver, been pulled over twice so the driver could pay a bribe. It all happens so quickly and smoothly that usless you know what is going on you could even miss the bribe being paid. It%26#39;s just the way things work there and everyone is used to and expects it, in given circumstances.

We use the same drivers everytime we go and they even make a game of it to entertain their passengers. The last time we were pulled up, there was 2 cars of our party and most had never been to Bali before. The police targeted the car I was in and the second car was behind the police. They rang Wayan, our driver, to tell him he was being asked to pull over. Wayan%26#39;s answer was '; I know, I%26#39;m just making them work a bit harder for the bribe';. He eventually pulled up anothe half KM down the road and our other car, which had been slowly following the police car all this way, shot past us with the driver Dean and all the rest of our group hanging out the windows yelling and laughing at us. When we finally all stopped for lunch and were all together again the Bali virgins were amazed and very amused by the whole process.

You will find that most drivers keep a wad of small bills in their console of their car to pay such things. If our driver gets pulled up and it costs him money, I usually slip some notes into their wad while they are paying the bribe so they aren%26#39;t out of pocket.

Yes!

Broken your fingers, Noodles? You are not usually a man of such few words.