Popular Post dscrtsldnbi Posted January 25 Popular Post Share Posted January 25 After a rather long pandemic-related break, I visited Bali again in December 2023 - January 2024. Here are my findings - I'll try to keep them factual, succinct, and to the point. A. General picture of how Bali looks like now. The pandemic has had a devastating effect on them. Pretty much every single restaurant and place of business I remember from before the pandemic is not there anymore. Up-market places (e.g. Bambu, Mauri - these are restaurants if you wonder) are still going strong but they are more an exception to the rule than the rule. December and January are supposed to be high season there (well, not exactly because of the rain season, but still, this is one of the busiest periods there, normally). This year, the average occupancy in Seminyak in December was 37% only. It went up to about 75% around Christmas and New Year but went back to well below 40% immediately after. The locals are worried: they claim they'd had an amazing summer with tourist numbers being much higher than normal but from October onwards, it suddenly went all quiet yet again. To give you a practical example: normally, it takes about an hour to get to/from the airport to/from my hotel in Seminyak. This time, the drive was only 30 minutes. The absence of the usual tourists is very much palpable: the usual Australians are not there anymore and the influx of the Russians and the Chinese still cannot compensate for it. B. The scene and the entertainment sector. Apparently, Seminyak is not the centre of nightlife and entertainment anymore. For some inexplicable reason, it all has moved up to Canggu. Nobody understands why. I've never seen Potato Head and Ku De Ta half-empty - they are now. Even Finns (a beach club 'up north' from Seminyak) is going out of fashion now. I am not a party person and I strongly dislike clubs. I can only report that the good old Seminyak places are still there (MixWell, BaliJoe, etc) but they are less crowded than before. To be fair, I've NEVER been inside any of them, so I can judge only by the look from the outside. The good old 'spas' are still there as well - the Banana Spa, Elegantz, Adam's Apple etc - but they look very sad these days: I had to pass by the Banana Spa entrance several times over 3-4 weeks, and I've never seen any sign of activity at all. I wasn't tempted to sample the offers in any of the usual places (see the list above): they all have the look of abandonment and desperation. Connoisseurs of Bali (or just the readers of my earlier reviews) might remember the reports about M Spa at the heart of Seminyak, just next to Ku De Ta, The Seminyak hotel and the flea market, that was closed for good in 2019. It had been an iconic establishment there for many decades but, as I've been told this time, everything had changed when the owner of the premises Paul (some might still remember that the building M Spa was based at was called The Paul's Place) died in late 2018 - early 2019. The heirs had no interest in retaining his property business and all his properties were put on sale immediately. Sadly, M Spa couldn't secure the necessary funds to keep The Paul's Place to themselves and they had to vacate the premises. They have been refurbished and yet another faceless and completely empty (I've passed by them daily and have never seen a single pundit there) generic massage parlour is operating there now (girls offering foot massage). I don't think it will survive. C. The business. I relied solely on the apps, this time. Interestingly, the most popular app over there is still Grindr. Hornet is almost unheard of. Scruff is still reasonably popular but Growlr, which used to be used quite extensively, isn't anymore. Jack'd is a waste of space. All of the apps work perfectly well via a VPN and, bizarrely, for days in a row without any VPN whatsoever. Here is what the menu in December 2023 - January 2024 looked like. A massage (we are talking massage, not 'massage') might have cost you as little as IDR 85k and up to IDR 200k (at the time, US$1 = IDR 15k approx). As usual, there was no correlation (either direct or reverse) between the cost of the service and its quality. A massage session with extras would be IDR 400k - IDR 750k. Again, there was no correlation (either direct or reverse) between the price and the quality of the service. To be clear - we are talking outcalls here (i.e. the 'masseur' will visit you at your hotel). - service providers. Before the pandemic, almost all service providers were either Balinese or Javanese. It's not like that anymore: during my 3 and a-half week stay there, I encountered this time a much wider range of service providers: Sulawesi, West New Guinea, Borneo, Bali, Java. Many of those were employees at Adam's Apple, Elegantz, Banana Spa before but decided to go freelance. - massage. Generally, the quality has deteriorated (we are talking massage rather than 'massage' here). These days, even if you request a Swedish or a deep tissue session, it will inevitably transform into a Balinese massage session when you are massaged by an elbow and a forearm, mostly. Before the pandemic, if I asked for a deep tissue, I'd get it (not necessarily of a good quality). These days, it is Balinese only, even if you ask for something else. This was my major disappointment. Even in (expensive) hotels, you ask for a deep tissue massage and end up with 'forearm and elbow' in the end. - service quality, customer service and product stewardship. Generally, it still remains high. Unfortunately, the hard times do influence the quality though. Before the pandemic, I couldn't have imagined a conversation like that: "Sir, could you give me IDR 800k now and I promise I'll give you a free massage tomorrow?" Bali used to be one of the very few places where conversations like that had been unthinkable - sadly, not anymore. - individual reviews. = A Sulawesi guy, early 30s, former employee of Adam's Apple, Elegantz and Banana Spa. IDR 400k for the job (massage + extras). Massage was very mediocre: not enough pressure, poor technique, slipped into 'forearm and elbow' almost immediately. The endowment was small, didn't perform well, asked for IDR 800k as an advance payment for a free massage afterwards (obviously, he didn't get the money). I didn't contact him again. = A Balinese guy, mid-30s, a spa worker (a regular hotel spa, not a gay spa). IDR 750k for the job. Exceedingly good massage but did slip into 'forearm and elbow', eventually. The endowment was average but very good fucking technique, genuine passion. Met twice. = A Balinese gay, early 40s, IDR 700k for the job. Very good massage, didn't slip into 'forearm and elbow'. The endowment was huge by local standards (i.e. average European), outstanding fucking technique and genuine passion (I came hands-free). Met him 4 times. = A West New Guinea guy, late 20s. Free service (see below). Average massage, a rather small endowment but great genuine passion and very good technique. Met him 3 times. = A Javanese guy, late 30s. Free service (see below). No massage, average endowment but great genuine passion and very good technique. Met him once. = A Borneo guy, mid-40s. IDR 600k. Very good massage, didn't slip into 'forearm and elbow'. The endowment was small, but he was a very good bottom. Met him once. = A Javanese guy, early 40s. Free service (see below). No massage, very small endowment but he was an outstanding and passionate bottom. Met him once. D. Free services. I've been visiting Bali for many MANY years, and it was the first time that anyone - moreover, several people - explicitly told me they wanted a free session with me. These are mostly local professionals ('local' doesn't mean Balinese - it means someone who lives there now; 'professional' means a person of independent means who isn't a spa worker/masseur/etc) and could be as young as 25 and as old as 50. Judging by the pre- and postcoital conversations with the locals, the main reason for it is the lack of foreigners: while they are still used to the earlier abundance of choice, the choice isn't there anymore, and they are getting desperate. 10tazione, khaolakguy, eurasian and 14 others 10 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dscrtsldnbi Posted January 25 Author Share Posted January 25 P.S. If anyone has any specific practical questions, I'll do my best to answer them. Olddaddy and floridarob 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12is12 Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 And this is a"quick" report..... ? Kudos!!! dscrtsldnbi and Daddy415 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floridarob Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 On 1/25/2024 at 9:44 PM, dscrtsldnbi said: P.S. If anyone has any specific practical questions, I'll do my best to answer them. Did you go to Elegantz? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dscrtsldnbi Posted January 28 Author Share Posted January 28 21 minutes ago, floridarob said: Did you go to Elegantz? In the end, I didn't. As I have said, I didn't visit any of the spas: plenty of choice online plus what I saw when I was passing by didn't inspire anything positive. floridarob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floridarob Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 5 hours ago, dscrtsldnbi said: : plenty of choice online That's always my problem....I've never been to Elegantz, was wondering how it was...decent reviews online though. dscrtsldnbi 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dscrtsldnbi Posted January 29 Author Share Posted January 29 14 hours ago, floridarob said: That's always my problem....I've never been to Elegantz, was wondering how it was...decent reviews online though. Likewise (online offers beat any institutional arrangements fairly and squarely these days, as far as I am concerned). I've been there once many years ago. This time, I passed by only once and the place looked empty from the outside. floridarob 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dscrtsldnbi Posted February 4 Author Share Posted February 4 A quick aside about the restaurant scene. In my opinion, Bambu (https://bambubali.com/) is still the best option, as far as local fine dining is concerned. You don't have to make a reservation (I never do) though it might still be advisable in high season. A perfect 'local flavours' meal should cost you about £35/head without the cost of drinks. Drinks are reasonably priced and their wine list is both good and adequate, as far as the cost is concerned (you'll pay a standard European price for a bottle of Burgundy, for example). A dinner for one with one bottle of French wine will cost you just about US$100, a dinner for two will be circa US$150. Interestingly, 95% of their waiting staff are young males (20-35 y.o.) with surprisingly good English and, judging by the conversations I've had with several of them when dining there, they have some genuine interest in middle-aged male Westerners, which is not academic. For the record, I haven't sampled any of them (I was rather busy sampling others) but I have a strong feeling that it was an option. Marc in Calif 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc in Calif Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 7 hours ago, dscrtsldnbi said: In my opinion, Bambu (https://bambubali.com/) is still the best option, as far as local fine dining is concerned. You don't have to make a reservation (I never do) though it might still be advisable in high season. A perfect 'local flavours' meal should cost you about £35/head without the cost of drinks. I guess if you think you're actually tasting 'local flavours' for £35, then you'll probably not mind sampling 'local boys' for £35 an hour. Sing to? Makes perfect sense to me! ☺️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dscrtsldnbi Posted February 4 Author Share Posted February 4 16 minutes ago, Marc in Calif said: I guess if you think you're actually tasting 'local flavours' for £35, then you'll probably not mind sampling 'local boys' for £35 an hour. Sing to? Makes perfect sense to me! ☺️ You did not notice quotation marks around 'local flavours' in the original, did you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc in Calif Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 1 minute ago, dscrtsldnbi said: You did not notice quote marks around 'local flavours' in the original, did you? I did actually. And you still happily paid for that perfectly pretentious meal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dscrtsldnbi Posted February 4 Author Share Posted February 4 1 minute ago, Marc in Calif said: I did actually. And you still happily paid for that perfectly pretentious meal! Very much so. As much as I enjoy a regular warung, I do like fine dining. traveller123 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc in Calif Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 According to you, it's actually the smallest of those 'warung' that really need your business -- not the elite luxury places. And, again, I hope you're paying the boys much more than you used to pay -- even above what they're now asking. Devastation is devastation, and you're megawealthy compared to them. The pandemic has had a devastating effect on them. Pretty much every single restaurant and place of business I remember from before the pandemic is not there anymore. Up-market places (e.g. Bambu, Mauri - these are restaurants if you wonder) are still going strong but they are more an exception to the rule than the rule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dscrtsldnbi Posted February 4 Author Share Posted February 4 25 minutes ago, Marc in Calif said: According to you, it's actually the smallest of those 'warung' that really need your business -- not the elite luxury places. And, again, I hope you're paying the boys much more than you used to pay -- even above what they're now asking. Devastation is devastation, and you're megawealthy compared to them. The pandemic has had a devastating effect on them. Pretty much every single restaurant and place of business I remember from before the pandemic is not there anymore. Up-market places (e.g. Bambu, Mauri - these are restaurants if you wonder) are still going strong but they are more an exception to the rule than the rule. They all need my business, regardless of their size, price range or finesse of their cuisine which was the point I was trying to make: the restaurants that are not there anymore used to represent the full range o eateries - from small warungs to, say, the upmarket and expensive Salazar. A loss of business is a loss of business and I am equally sad to see a posh restaurant going under and a small eatery. Bambu doesn't deserve it. I hope it is clear now and am sorry I failed to express it in a easier digestible way earlier. Marc in Calif 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc in Calif Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 6 hours ago, dscrtsldnbi said: They all need my business, regardless of their size, price range or finesse of their cuisine... Yet you said that the "up-market places are still going strong." So they really don't "need" your business at this moment compared to places that are currently struggling. I know it's fun to splurge and treat yourself, but you have a limited amount of time on the island. Give where it's essential! 🙏 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dscrtsldnbi Posted February 5 Author Share Posted February 5 The only reason they go strong is that some "splurge" there. They need the business badly and as much as smaller/less fancier places. Discrimination won't help. Olddaddy, floridarob and Marc in Calif 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 On 2/5/2024 at 12:33 PM, Marc in Calif said: Marc in Calif 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithambrose Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 9 hours ago, spoon said: I'm on tenterhooks.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy415 Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 Did you make it up to Ubud at all? I'm wondering if the "devastation" is the same there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc in Calif Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 19 hours ago, Daddy415 said: Did you make it up to Ubud at all? I'm wondering if the "devastation" is the same there. The devastation in Ubud was pretty much complete by 1998. But now the Russian devastation has begun and is making whole areas uninhabitable and disgusting. splinter1949, TMax and dscrtsldnbi 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
