The Indonesian island of Bali has been one of the most-visited places in the world, and their tourism industry has only shown more expansion and become a more valuable part of their economy as time goes on. But, as anybody who has lived near a popular tourist destination can tell you, all that activity can take a toll on an area. You can help ensure that Bali will continue to welcome visitors by following a few tips:
Be patient and respectful with the locals.
Balinese culture, being relatively isolated, is far different from any other region. It has a heavy spiritual influence, and that spiritualism is usually Hindu, which has its own morals and values. At the same time, the pace may be more hectic because of the cultural attitude of “rame”, which basically means “everybody act like bees in a beehive”. At the same time, the pace can seem slower, because everybody seems more interested in socializing than getting any work done. And then there’s the street vendors and touts, who can be annoyingly persistent. The thing to do is to not take any of this personally, and just try to adjust to the pace around you. You’ll never get anywhere by acting like a bossy Westerner and trying to push people around.
