Yea, maybe that was a bit inaccurate. Maybe world famous would be better. Or just beaches.
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Feels like some people donāt know the difference between carefully framed/carefully photographed beaches and beaches that are actually worth visiting. There are beaches in Malaysia and Thailand that are way better than what I encountered in Bali.
If the people posting the photographs above have ACTUALLY BEEN to those places thatās fine. Maybe your taste in beaches is just different from mine.
But yeah, world famous is fair.
I took the first 2 photos. Virgin Beach is our family favorite. Great grilled fish and nice waves.
The third is a grab from the internet.
Most beaches here in Bali are crap either because of garbage or people hustling you to buy stuff.
Beaches in Kuta were covered in garbage.
Human or plastic?
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Plastic, looks like it washes down from the streams and drains. Some sections a lot more than others but was a bit shocking for such a ātourist paradiseā.
Have been to the Philippines and Vietnam and generally it was a lot cleaner there. But of course plastic is a problem everywhere.
Human or plastic?
Giving me flashbacks from Pattaya. 
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Bali is not very similar to Pattaya in guessing (never been to Pattayal). Iāve only been to Kuta,
itās not very nice. Iām sure the rest of the island is much nicer. But I believe kutas beaches were the big initial draw for the surf crowd.
Only indonesians want to go to jakarta more than once.
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In terms of tourist hellholes most of Bali is incredibly similar to Pattaya. In terms of culture and other things, no.
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I understand that surfers prefer the northern coast (of Bali). Kuta Beach is for drinking and partying, Ubud is the cultural center (lots of couples), Denpasar the boring government and business center that tourists mostly avoid, and Nusa Dua has the expensive hotels (although there are also cheaper ones slightly inland / across the street). I thought the beach at Nusa Dua was very pretty and photogenic, but itās certainly not secluded or anything, and there are all the usual commercial activities going on (restaurants, para-sailing, etc.).
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I have travelled to over twenty countries, and only once have I ever been close to missing my flight. I was in Jakarta, supposed to be flying back to Taipei. I planned to arrive at the airport three hours before my flight, but because of the crazy traffic I only just managed to board the plane before they closed the doors. Itās the only time Iāve ever heard my name announced in the airport. Jakarta is cheap, but I didnāt enjoy the food and there isnāt that much to do. I wouldnāt go there again.
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Yeah, Iāve heard similar stories from a lot of people, both Taiwanese and foreign. I mostly wanted to go there before it sinks beneath the waves/is abandoned by the government there. Iād heard they had plans to relocated the capital, but not sure if thatās still in the works.
I had a big enough taste of Bali traffic to imagine what Jakarta traffic is like. Canāt be good.
I believe thatās what is happening.
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Fuuuuuuuuuck!
I need to go back and enjoy Kuching again before that happens. Oh wait. China Virusā¦Fuuuuuuuuuck!!!
LAME but makes sense.
yah capital is being moved to some random ass place on the east coast of borneo. jakarta itself is sinking or something so thatās the stated reason for moving. ive been there and bali and both are pretty meh. jakartaās CBD is actually really quite impressive though so thereās that - definitely more tower-ey than any other SEA city (including singapore, bkk, and kl). def worth visiting once to see what itās like though! then no reason to ever come back.
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There are not many good reasons to visit Jakarta other than that it is there.
Thatās a good enough reason.
I think Jakarta is underrated personally. Not because it has something that beckons tourists, but because it doesnāt.
Before the virus, way too many cities were overrun with tourists and expats, and locals trying to give them whatever they thought they were looking for. Jakarta has many problems but that isnāt one of them, and if you keep an open mind, itās an interesting place to spend a little time.
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That is true. It is not a tourist attraction on its own by a long shot. But that doesnāt mean it canāt be enjoyable to visit. I have always largely enjoyed my visits to Jakarta.