A holiday on the Island of the Gods is a firm favourite of mine. Bali is a picturesque Indonesian island steeped in culture and ceremonies, dances and temples, mountains and beaches, and a mere two-hour flight away, so it is an easy pick for the husband and I. We imbibe in some culture and we spend hours doing nothing but lie in a bale by the beach or the mountains.
Prior to the tragic Bali Bombings of 2002 and 2005, Bali was seen as a party place where the bir bintangs are cheerfully cheap. Australians who make up a fair number of the tourists that flock to Bali, suffered the most casualties in the tragedies. Since then the number of Aussie tourists have dropped. In an effort to coax them back, a group of tour operators in Bali have come up with a spoof of Australia's rather unique advert 'Where The Bloody Hell Are You?' made in support of the Australian tourism industry.
The spoof called 'Where The Bali Hell Are You?' features the familiar sight in the Balinese hotel industry of a local man in a white top and a sarong telling the Aussies that the, "Dutch are wearing your bloody thongs, the Germans are surfing in your bloody waves, the Italians are drinking your bloody beer...so where the Bali hell are you?" According to the article in The Jakarta Post Online by Australian born architect Michael White (who shows his love for the island by taking on the Balinese name of Made Wijaya), the spoof was co-produced by a local tour operator Ketut Swarmadyasa and Australian Brett Morgan and New Zealander Martin Hubbeling and the actors were made up of Australian surfers and local tour guides. Excellently done with tongue-in-cheek good intention and humour set in a boy's holiday, the Balinese and Australians show just how friendly they can be.
I'm there man, I'm there.
Comments