Before anyone can answer this question they must have seen Bali over a number of years and have spent a lot of time there. I qualify on both counts as I first visited Bali in 1985, been there at least 65 times and lived there for two years. In addition I am a qualified surveyor and builder and spent 23 years in Planning and Building in a large local authority in Australia.
Recently I just returned after six lovely weeks in Bali and it got me thinking, is Bali heading in the right direction?????????
The short answer is no but having said that please share my thoughts with you.
Lets deal with a few positives first. Years ago there was this gastric complaint commonly known as 'Bali Belly'. I am pleased to say it does not exist today mainly because they improved the water purification and generally there are better food handling hygiene practices in place.Of course there are a few isolated cases but you can get that in any country. I never use bottle water to clean my teeth and have never contacted the curse so on balance you would have to admit it is a much better situation today than it was some years ago.
Money Changers. I think today there are far more places to change money with relative safety than there was before. The more creditable ones usually have airconditioned offices, give you a typed receipt and the money is given in fifty or one hundred thousand rupiah notes. I am not saying it does not happen because it does. Only greedy or uninformed people use the shady places who advertise a much higher rate. My general rule is never use places where the rates are written in texta pen as opposed to individual numbers placed on a board. My favorite changer is in Legian Street near the Padma Steet intersection called Marazavalas, it is easy to remember because it has five 'a's in the name.
Roads and Footpaths. Clearly the roads are much better today because of ongoing upgrading and maintenance. Of particular note is the relatively new underpass in Kuta near the large statue and Galleria shopping centre
This piece of engineering is magnificent because there are no delays in any direction.Also of note is the Toll Road which really saves a lot of time and is very cheap. I am still bewildered by the fact that no sooner is a new section of road constructed and it is dug up again to put some cables in or new drainage pipes. Still it is much better than the past. Today there still exists the odd manhole in the footpath that has caved in or had the cover broken by vehicles mounting the curb.There seems to be less of them compared to before. In Legian and Seminyak they have started using substantial paving bricks as opposed to what appears to be ordinary house tiles. These tiles are clearly not working as so many have been cracked, broken and missing mainly due to vehicles mounting the curb. They must withstand the weight of fully loaded trucks or full tourist coaches.
In Kuta Beach Road running along the foreshore they have installed the usual manholes at about ten metres apart but the metal surrounds and metal removal handles have not been treated for rust and they will fall to pieces when they are needed to be removed.Blind Freddy can tell you steel near the ocean must be treated for corrosion.With this subject I could go on forever.
New Airport. The authorities are to be congratulated for producing this new terminal, much better than the old one but still there are many shortfalls already. I will put it down to teething problems as most can be improved or solved. The main complaint from arriving passengers is the amount of time spent waiting to get through customs. I have heard cases where people have taken three and a half hours to get through. Why can't they put the customs officers closer together and put more staff on. Sometimes many planes arrive roughly at the same time and there can be over a thousand people waiting. Being a regular visitor I know the price of a taxi from the airport to Kuta, Legian or Seminyak. On this last trip a taxi driver approached me and wanted Rp 250,000 to go to Legian. I said I wanted to pay at the taxi office first but he said they were all from the same company and it did not matter so pay when you get there. Naturally I baulked and went back to the taxi office but a new arrival to Bali may think it is ok. Why can't this blatant highway robbery be stopped, very easy to do.
Traffic. Most people will agree that the number of vehicles on the roads are causing huge delays and traffic jams. Part of the reason is simple, too many high rise hotels and apartments going up, more people therefore more vehicles needed. They used to have a rule that no building could be higher than the highest coconut tree and it was a good one because it worked. There have been cases where a complete floor has been added to a building without approval. The authorities are aware of the problem yet still approve large buildings. I heard that quite a few well known restaurants and shops will be knocked down in Melasti Street for yet another monster to go up.It is abundantly clear that something must be done quickly or the place will be ruined.
Hospitals are much better than the past mainly due to better trained staff and facilities. I stayed in a Kasih Ibu hotel in Denpasar for a few nights and it was very well run and I got operated on within half an hour of arrival without notice.
In conclusion there are many other aspects about Bali that have been improved when compared to the past but I have gone on longer than intended and will submit the opposing view that it is heading in the wrong direction if readers think this post is worthy of their time to read it.
Many Thanks, I invite feedback.