Kuta Beach 2025

I did comment that you can’t recreate the past, but you can catch up wth it.

A turn of events after ruminating in the depths of Kuta decay led me to accept an invitation to a beautiful occasion, the BIASA Fashion collection trunk show, held at their flagship store in Seminyak. Dressed in white linen I stepped into a world of elegance, charm and surprises. 

One of the first of those was meeting an ex-student, now a global modelling sensation living in New York, and her mother a talented photographer living here in Bali. Old friends, familiar faces and that special element that creates comfort, welcoming ambience and connection, how ever light or brief. 


Later, in the evening Edward and I headed over to the newly refurbished The Orchard , that used to be a pub with live music that supported local musicians to perform original music to a well mixed crowd. It’s bigger, it’s air conditioned and people smoke inside. This makes your clothes smell. The Hydrant were playing their Elvis tribute , original rockabilly show much as they have done for must be 20 years. That takes stamina and whiskey. There was dancing but unlike previous times I’ve seen this show there was no sight of the dedicated local rockabilly scene executing sharp moves, the people who were dancing were definitely enjoying themselves though. 

It’s the enjoyment factor that has really made an impression during this Kuta located stay. While I might, with my history and dismay, feel sad or shocked at what I see, the majority of people (tourists)  on the street are smiling, happy in their spot, happy with their choice of bar and spa, happy at the sight and sound of the waves crashing on the dirty sand, and they are contributing. Contributing to the lives of those who find themselves dependent on the tourism industry for a living. 

It’s obvious what would happen if the industry failed as it did during covid, people would go hungry and become homeless. So what’s the problem? Is it the destruction of the environment, extreme poverty or over development, over population and the impact of a government that supports a tourism industry that has “paved paradise and put up parking lot” ? 

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