I knew it's been bad, but seemed to me it got so much worse.
The general rubbish and brown slicks in the water all over.
Used fair amount of eardrops, eyedrops and vodka drops just to clean that crap out of the system after each sesh.
Still got some ear infection.
Anyone been there recently ?

Hi dimitri, Was at North Sulawesi a few months back. A real eye opener about the pollution and weird things going on in the fish habitat.

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dmitri said..
I knew it's been bad, but seemed to me it got so much worse.
The general rubbish and brown slicks in the water all over.
Used fair amount of eardrops, eyedrops and vodka drops just to clean that crap out of the system after each sesh.
Still got some ear infection.
Anyone been there recently ?

This will never change in Asian country's, sadly. Few years back while visiting one particular place, we noticed a considerable amount of rubbish being piled into the streets over a few days. We presumed it was like a council half yearly pick up.
Far from it, when we asked. Explained to us by one person. Big rain coming, takes rubbish away. Couple of days, streets all clean, you see soon.
Sure enough, huge monsoon downpour over two days, and yep, all that rubbish was gone. Now floating out into the ocean and water ways

This thread makes me think of people who complain about the traffic while driving in it, when in truth they are traffic!

Was in bali recently and was a bit shocked at how much more rubbish was around the streets and beaches. In seminyak they were giving people free coffee if they filled a small bucket with rubbish, all I could think was "clean up your own crap".

Indonesia is known as the worlds biggest polluter of the oceans and a lot of it has been found on the beaches of north western Australia.

www.smh.com.au/world/asia/swimming-with-plastic-on-australia-s-doorstep-20180316-p4z4lw.html

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Adriano said..
This thread makes me think of people who complain about the traffic while driving in it, when in truth they are traffic!

Exactly.

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pepe47 said..
Was in bali recently and was a bit shocked at how much more rubbish was around the streets and beaches. In seminyak they were giving people free coffee if they filled a small bucket with rubbish, all I could think was "clean up your own crap".

A lot of it is our crap. Bali can only cope with a population of 1 million people. There is now a population of around 5 million and then there are the tourists and many of them don't give a toss and leave sh!t everywhere.

^^ I disagree..it it not too bad in the tourist areas. Some tourists only leave the empty bintang bottles on the curbside, but they getting picked up almost immediately, because they can be exchanged for the money.
But I agree on our own crap is part of the sewage that flows into the ocean.

over in the yacht area (forgot the name) near the airport they talk about the holding (how good the bottom is for holding the anchor) as they do in all cruising guides but there is a warning that although the holding is naturally good there is often a coating of plastic bags over the bottom which can prevent your anchor from digging in. Java is renowned for being so polluted it's hard to motor in as your intake gets clogged with all sorts of rubbish. such a paradise. lets get more people over here so we can be just like them

The typical tourist areas may be kept (relatively) clean.. But that rubbish still has to go somewhere.
300,000 Australians a year and 500,000 Chinese and that's before you consider the rest of the world. Bali's rubbish pile (their tip) is almost a tourist attraction in itself. The island just simply can't cope And we just aren't helping.
As Adriano said, it's like complaining about the traffic while you are the traffic.

I still like the place though. I go at least once sometimes twice a year. The Balinese are an awesome bunch who only want to please.
(And I am aware of the irony of this post. That I am part of the problem)

Was in Bali for first time in 10 years back in april. Was sad to see how bad its got so quickly both on land with the breakneck development and overcrowding and in the water with the pollution.

Like you dimitri and a lot of people ive spoken to since I got a bad ear infection. Took two doses of hd antibiotics and 2 weeks to clear. Next stop was the hospital and a drip apparently.

Would love to know what the water pollution counts are but if they take samples they sure arent publishing!

A couple of years back I was on a boat coming from the middle reef and there was Balinese boy surfer, checking his surfboard. He noticed the edge of tailpad started coming off and he just ripped it off and chucked into the water without any thought.

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Toph said..

Adriano said..
This thread makes me think of people who complain about the traffic while driving in it, when in truth they are traffic!

Exactly.

pepe47 said..
Was in bali recently and was a bit shocked at how much more rubbish was around the streets and beaches. In seminyak they were giving people free coffee if they filled a small bucket with rubbish, all I could think was "clean up your own crap".

A lot of it is our crap. Bali can only cope with a population of 1 million people. There is now a population of around 5 million and then there are the tourists and many of them don't give a toss and leave sh!t everywhere.

Yep, I understand your point but after a recent snorkelling trip to paneeda I saw just as many locals throwing rubbish in the street, eventually making it's way to the ocean.
I'm a bit perturbed about the behaviour of some tourists (not just Aussies) but if I had a restaurant, I wouldn't expect people to take their rubbish with them.
One of the local tour guides recognises the problem, but is (like most people there) tied by lack of funding and government support or interest.
Of course, a lot of the rubbish that washes up on the beaches comes from some of the more populated islands to the west...

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Toph said..
I still like the place though. I go at least once sometimes twice a year. The Balinese are an awesome bunch who only want your money.

Fixed that for you

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MDSXR6T said..

Toph said..
I still like the place though. I go at least once sometimes twice a year. The Balinese are an awesome bunch who only want your money.

Fixed that for you

Sure, and if you were to come to my place of work, I would aim to please too..... If not only for your money

The Asian's don't know and don't care... no education about the problem and no way to deal with it anyway... Mos third world countries don't give s ****.. bigger problems to deal with... I was in sikakap last year in the mentawais and the village morning market just threw their trash bags in the ocean when the tide changed cos they knew the ocean would take it away... I blew up at the chef for throwing his durry butts over the side, big apologies then when it was rubbish time, over the side it all went... ****in heart breaking... I even hit up the western boat owner and captain and his reply was yeah it's a problem but it's how they do it... ****ed if I'm going back.... we've got all these set ups, solar bins, take 3 from the sea, banning straws and all that bull**** but it's just fake politics and hand jobs, I reckon I've dropped less rubbish on the ground in my lifetime than most asians get through in a day....
One of my mates used to go through Jakarta 25 years ago and he reckons they were backing up trucks 50 deep to the wharf and tipping them in.... every day... how do you fight that... that's a government.... I'd like to bomb em but someone would have something to say about that...??