Having read a recent posting on the use of 'tap' water in Bali, and having asked and participated in a number of discussions about, should you have 'shots' or not, or should you go white water rafting, or the likelihood of being attacked by sharks, or what do I take for B/B, I am aware that the poor 'First Timer' is bombarded with a lot of information.
Unfortunately for FT's it's inevitable that there will be strong arguments for and against, mostly based on the experiences of the contributor, and often there is no right or wrong, nor a definitive answer, but mostly up to the individual to make up their own mind as to what advice they use.
Many of us that work in the Mining Industry are well aware of the principle of 'Risk Management', as described in simple terms it is 'The process to identify, control, and minimize the impact of uncertain events.'
So what does that mean to our FT's, 'identify the impact of uncertain events', which is 'will I get sick from drinking Bali tap water?'
Read up what people say on the BTF, then ask yourself how do I 'control and minimize the impact?'
Then decide on how you will 'manage' the risk, it's simple really, but you must set your own acceptable level of risk.
As for me, I have a low threshold level of risk, I even use Gin to brush my teeth, and the only 'rafting' I do is on a floaty in the pool, but hay I'm a woos! {;o)