Kuta has a bad reputation and one I don’t think that it deserves.
Kuta is what it is. Yes you will get asked if you want to buy the day old newspaper from your country of origin, and you will also be offered valium and Viagra to have while you are reading said paper. It is what it is.
KUTA BEACH
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Kuta Beach in the monsoon season is filthy. What people don’t realize is that this is because of the tides and rubbish that are coming from other islands in the Indonesian archipelago. I don’t doubt looking at the sides of the roads in Bali that this is all of the winds and the currents fault. I lasted about 10 seconds in it, as I couldn’t stand the filth. At other times of the year, it is totally clean. Join or support the BALI BEACH CLEAN UP 2015 where there is a massive clean up of the beaches, and each and every morning you hear the announcements to help clean the beach. They want them to be clean; they need them to be clean … for us. I know all of the hotels that we are working with are involved in this clean-up. They need to be. This is a community, and Bali is a community that helps one another.
Go down to Kuta Beach and pick a favorite beach bar and make it your local. The beach boys and girls love this loyalty, and you will find a chair waiting for you and a Bintang or juice every day after so that you can watch the magnificent sunset. Lilic rents and works 12 hours a day at the beach bar we went to, and gets to see here family in Kintamani, near the volcano only once a year. She is a hard working and generous person who sends money back to her family. We paid $2.50 for a beer. Have a massage or one strand of hair braided, just the once, and then the ladies on the beach will be happy, and isn’t that a good thing?
Learn to surf; trust me you will learn quickly in the monsoon season, as you won’t want to be in the water. That is for a couple of months a year only.
KUTA NEEDS TOURISM
Kuta and Bali rely on tourism. We are their source of income.
When you barter with the touts in the shops, think about what you earn in comparison to what the Balinese earn, which is approx. $180 (US) a month and the fact that rain, hail, or shine they work 12 hour days. I realize that it is relative but .. a cup of coffee for us equates to a days wage for the average Balinese worker.
The new airport, Ngurah Rai International Airport and the new Bali motorway, Mandara are all aimed at making our lives easier. Notice the cars of anyone who operates in the tourism industry, and that is pretty much everyone on the island, and you will see that they all drive new and ultra clean cars. That is because the Indonesian government has made it compulsory, because we tourists are so precious, that we need to be transported in such cars.
KUTA AS A PARTY ZONE
Kuta is a party capital for young people with loud music and night clubs that go until the early morning. This is true. What did you do when you were young? Stay away from these if they don’t appeal. There are some beautiful hotels and unique lodgings, and they will easily offer you the serenity you seek, while being in the middle of the action.
I have not doubt that when schoolies is on, which is when young Australian adults celebrate finishing school, Kuta might become a bit full on. You know what? Don’t go there at that time.
People walk around drinking Bintang Beer, particularly loud Australians. Yes, they do because the beer is cold and Kuta and Bali are hot. Interestingly we found that loud as Australians may be; they were the one’s more like to say ‘no, thank you, to hawkers wanting to sell a t-shirt, offering a taxi ride, or for a massage. Some tourists from other countries were just bloody rude. If you are polite then so are they; but in reality expect to say ‘no, thank you’ every couple of steps. It is what it is.
KUTA TODAY
We also noticed that it is quieter in Kuta and in all of Bali than what it was 10 years ago when we were here. This means that we can talk to the local people because they are in fact worried about the downturn in tourism and that they might not have pleased the gods enough. They are a very spiritual and kind people.
SHOPPING IN KUTA
You can still buy, should you choose, some quite offensive and other very amusing t-shirts or you can just laugh at the humor of them as the Balinese do, or take the moral high ground about it. Why? If you want to buy a penis bottle opener, knock yourself out.
If shopping malls are more your thing, then Kuta has some brand new ones, like Discovery and Beachwalk Malls. Do some shopping; it is fun and good for you and good for the Balinese economy. Go to the movies in the middle of the day when only mad dogs and Englishmen would go out in the midday sun. This is an experience as you lounge in leather recliner seats in air-conditioned comfort, are served a meal and drinks while watching a terrible movie, and all at $10 a head.
EATING IN KUTA
If you want to eat really excellent food, and trust me the food in Kuta has improved dramatically, then stop at a warung or go to the big meeting place, the Kuta Market Brunch. In fact the diversity and quality of food here is staggering.There are more cafes than ever, most with free and very good Wi-Fi, and the standard has gone through the roof.
A MASSAGE IN KUTA
Have a massage at any one of the places that will offer you their services. Balinese are actually very good at massages, and it is relaxing.
TRANSPORT IN KUTA
Hire a motorbike and join everyone else as you get from point A to point B, or just to explore more of Kuta and Bali. Alternatively, take pride that you can cross the road without being killed. Ii is not the Balinese you need to worry about, but tourists not equipped to the conditions. Take a taxi, they are dirt cheap.
TURTLES IN KUTA
We were walking along the beach one day, and one of the beach boys, the people who sell the Bintang beer on the beach each and every day, went into the water. He came out gently carrying a dead turtle. His friends came down, and they built a grave and buried it with great respect. Balinese people. The KUTA BEACH BALI SEA TURTLE PROGRAM aims to help save the sea turtles and their habitat and again is integral to cleaning up the waters of Kuta Beach.
WATCH A MAGNIFICENT SUNSET
THE PEOPLE OF KUTA
Kuta and the rest of Bali are deeply spiritual. Not all people who work in Kuta are Balinese as many are from the rest of Indonesia so it is a cultural melting pot.The Balinese believe that it is necessary to make offerings every morning and through the day and you will see these everywhere you go ..even on the beach.
Meet local Balinese. They are seriously the most polite and friendliest people. Discover a little more about their way of life and their belief systems. It is fascinating and humbling at the same time.
I like Kuta. It is what it is. I liked it the previous 2 times that we came here, and I like it even more now, as it is developing quickly into a vibrant place with some really great initiatives going on.
I am not saying it is my favorite place in Bali, but in defense of Kuta, I am expressing my opinions.
I like all of Bali because I like their culture, and I like the people.
I haven’t been to Bali yet but have read some stories about Kuta. Great to hear the improvements they’re making and there are some good sides. It’s nice to know that the Balinese are lovely and friendly people. Sometimes, no matter the condition of a place, it the people who make a place worth returning to.
Mary, we have been traveling and working all around the island for a while now and the one constant is how very lovely the people are, and how very spiritual they are. Their religion, a form of Hinduism, dominates absolutely everything that they do.
i love Kuta, myself, husband and two kids have stayed in Kuta numerous times, we have also stayed in Legian, Ubud, Tuban and I would have to say the best holidays we have had were in Kuta. We stay in Poppies lane 1 which has everything, restaurants, shopping etc and its within walking distance to almost everything else. Have released turtles on Kuta beach, have walked Kuta beach everyday of our holiday. Kuta is no way as busy as when I was there in 1988 for my 21 st birthday. Although some sellers seem to have lost their patience with tourists I still love the people. We stayed in Ubud recently and loved it but it was a different holiday.
Thanks Mandie and I agree. Each place in Bali has there own personality and that is what is so unique. A small island that is very diverse. The people are what make the island so special
A really interesting article. I didn’t make it to Kuta on my recent (first) visit to Bali but I loved the Balinese people, the culture and their way of life – much more so than I ever would have imagined. But you’re right about the bad reputation Kuta has and I must admit, it’s not common to see articles in its favour so I found this a very interesting read and a lot of what you say makes perfect sense and it’s great to hear about things like the beach clean up project. I’m not brave enough to try out a fish pedicure myself!
Thank you. Kuta has an undeserved reputation particularly if you take it for what it is. I also am surprised by how much the Baliese continue to captivate me.
I used to defend Kuta until our trip there last month. It was so filthy, overpriced and quite honestly, disgusting, that I have no intention of ever going back to that part of Bali. It was also packed full of people – far more than I saw on my previous trips in 2007 and 2009, although we did go at a peak time this time. I find it hard to believe things are going that bad for the people there in comparison to our last trip. Everything was so much more expensive than the the rest of the island. I also felt discouraged as a family by the amount of ridiculous fees added to hotel bills for having a 4 year old and 2 year old in our room – not something I experienced elsewhere. I imagine they would only be doing that if they could get away with it.
I know you were here just before us Sharon, but is is so quiet that it is almost freaky. We were here in early January when it was school holidays in Australia and it was quiet and we returned late January when school is back and it is quitter. Yes, Kuta is more expensive than what it was 6 years ago when you visited as is Legian and Seminyak because they are popular; but then so are tourist areas in Australia. Other parts of the island are cheaper but that is a global phenomena – the more tourists, the high the prices. Did you try bargaining with the hotels? People have been saying to us that some hotels have been giving considerable leeways to visitors. At least you enjoyed Ubud.
It is strange we found it so different as we were there Jan 7-10 and it was packed full of people. I couldn’t believe how many people were still sitting around on the beach drinking even though it was covered in trash. You put the point I was trying to make much more eloquently – the more tourists, the higher the prices. I just find it hard to believe they are going so bad when the prices are so high.Part of the reason we won’t go back is because we could spend half the money somewhere else on the island for quadruple the experience.
Yes, it seems odd that with so little tourism that the prices really aren’t reflecting this.