In Reply to: Locals thoughts on Australian tourists posted by CharlieBaliBear on Saturday, 7. August 2010 at 12:01 Bali Time:
...I make a very regular commute between 2 cities in my own country, and one of the stops in between is the International Airport. About 2 years ago, during the airport stop 3 very fashionably dressed, young Indonesian men got on board and asked me in very bad English if they could sit in my compartment. I agreed, of course, and they piled in with their baggage, made themselves comfortable, and proceeded with what was obviously an interrupted conversation. They never even bothered to consider (and quite rightly) that their fellow passenger could understand their (very well spoken) Bahasa Indonesia. The conversation was about Bali, and they all agreed that Bali was chiefly a magnet for Pedophiles, sex tourists, the place to be for Drunken Orgies, and a breeding ground for aids. They didn't particularly mention Aussies (or any other nationality, for that matter), and it was also very obvious to me they had never been to Bali. The culture they dismissed as a dying shadow of ancient East Javanese Hinduism, that the Balinese themselves were spoiling by catering to so many Western tourists.
I don't know how widespread such feelings are amongst other Indonesians, but these fellows came from VERY priviliged backgrounds, and possibly even were studying in the West.
One more thing...for years, in front of the Pasar in Ubud there was a large billboard warning the people about the danger of Aids; it depicted a White man offering a needle to a little brown girl.
I think it's time for many people to re-think a whole lot of things.