Upwards of 2,000 Australians chose to hunker down in Bali rather than return to Australia to weather the coronavirus storm. Some, who call the island nation home, simply believe there is no point uprooting their lives because of the deadly respiratory infection, while others were hoping to avoid the two-week mandatory quarantine on arrival. For Australian travel …

Hundreds of drivers in Gianyar Regency and Bangli Regency were happy to receive the first of three payments of Rp 600k to help get them through the pandemic.  In Gianyar there were 123 drivers who received the financial help and in Bangli 184 people also received the cash payment.  The funding for the payments was …

Head of the Bali provincial tourism office Mr Putu Astawa, says that Chinese tourists will be returning to Bali as early as June 15th.  Minister of Tourism,  Wishnutama Kusubandio held a video conference on Saturday where tourism leaders discussed future dates for reopening their regions.  Indonesian President Joko Widodo, also has been optimistic about seeing …

A mining worker who decided to travel to Bali for a holiday has been slammed as ‘selfish’ after he brought coronavirus back to Australia.  The Rio Tinto employee tested positive for COVID-19 after a company-wide screening of 1600 employees in Western Australia this week. WA Premier Mark McGowan slammed the worker by for taking a holiday during …

As the Coronavirus economic meltdown continues, last Monday (13/4) there were zero international passenger flights to and from Denpasar International Airport. Communications and Legal Manager at Angkasa Pura I, Andanina Dyah Permata Megasari, explained that in the past week there had been a significant decrease in both aircraft and passenger movements. “In fact, on Monday …

The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy distributed basic need packages to former tourism workers in Bali affected by the Covid-19 pandemic yesterday in Nusa Dua. The food packages were handed over by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Rizki Handayani Mustafa to the Chairperson of the Bali Indonesian Tourism Industry, Ida Bagus Agung …

A tourist from Lithuania was apprehended by local officials after using his motorcyle and rope to pull down a security fence to enter Pererenan beach.  Bratsun Maxim was apprehended on Thursday after CCTV footage showed him damaging the fence and then jumping over it to gain access to the beach.  “The action was discovered after …

Nine months after he was locked up in a Bali jail cell on drugs charges, Melbourne nightclub promoter David Van Iersel will next week be freed. The 39-year-old’s nine-month sentence, on a charge of personal use of cocaine, is due to expire on Monday and jail authorities say he will be freed and immediately deported …

Four cruise ships will be docking in Bali to drop off hundreds of migrant workers returning home.  The first ship will drop off 232 crew of which 117 reside in Bali. The rest are from other regions in Indonesia.  “The commitment that we have agreed with the central government is that the ship is allowed …

The Bali government’s approach to COVID-19 is one of education rather than discipline. So far with only 92 cases and 2 deaths, Bali seems to be doing something right.  Bali hospitals are not overwhelmed at this point in the pandemic and locals are getting the message. Other than a couple isolated events, the people of …

Two Melbourne men at the centre of a Bali cocaine scandal have dodged Indonesia’s harsh drug penalties and will walk free in just months. Despite facing a maximum penalty of 12 years imprisonment, Will Cabantog was sentenced today to just one year behind bars and with time already served, he will leave the notorious Kerobokan jail …

According to the latest data, Bali ranks second is Indonesia for the highest rates of HIV/AIDS rates in all of Indonesia.  The number of people living with HIV / AIDS in Bali is estimated at 22,034 people (1987-November 2019). That translates roughly to 1 in 200 people on the island being infected.  The only region …