As 2022 comes to an end, we want to look back at some of the most read Coconuts Bali stories of the year. It has been an eventful year in Bali, indeed — the international reopening of Ngurah Rai Airport definitely had something to do with it, which was one of the most popular topics for our readers in 2022.
From celebrity sightings to money changer scams to new visa rules to sex tapes, it has been immense fun to deliver the island’s essential and weirdest stories for your pleasure (no pun intended).
Without further ado, here are the most popular Coconuts Bali stories in 2022, in ascending order:
Kicking off our list is this sad story about a Russian woman and her toddler who were deported by Bali authorities on April 10 for overstaying their visas. While foreigners overstaying in Indonesia (or anywhere, really) is not that uncommon, the circumstances the mother and her daughter found themselves in were quite heartbreaking. It was reported that the husband vanished on them after convincing them multiple times that he would take care of their visas (narrator’s voice: he didn’t). Based on the reactions, our readers seemed to empathize with the pair and wished them good luck (while chastising the man, obviously). Here’s hoping they are in a better place now!
Sex sells? In general, the Indonesian police are quick when it comes to handling cases involving sex tapes going viral. This particular car sex video was particularly juicy for our readers because A) the couple were donning traditional Balinese clothes in the clip, and B) they were amused by the idea that people getting it on is such a big deal in this country. The answer is simple: Indonesia’s draconian anti-pornography law. And not to mention notions of cultural faux pas due to their traditional outfits — although based on Coconuts Jakarta‘s recent reporting about sex tapes, it seems that it is a new kink (see their kebaya story).
Look, we all hate queuing (no judgement if you don’t, we all have our perversions). Sebastian Powell, a contributing writer for Loyalty Lobby, experienced backlash after writing about immigration queues at the Bali airport. Perhaps it was down to his choice of words in the article (he used the terms “a total hellhole” and “a nightmare”), which prompted the Ministry of Law and Human Rights Affairs to speak up and refute Powell’s claims.
Welcome to Bali! It’s been waiting for you! (any Swiftie out there?). Naturally, we were all relieved to see more and more travelers arrive on the island and spark new life after the two-year pandemic lull. While tourism-related challenges resurfaced, it has been nice to witness Bali’s revival from the devastating impact COVID-19 had on the local economy. The Singapore Airlines story was just one of the examples of how the relaunch of overseas flights to Ngurah Rai airport was met with huge fanfare — and a great interest among our readers.
Life is all about solving problems, and Bali’s tourism revival brought with it the new and the old. While money changer scams are nothing new (many articles have been written on this topic), this particular story gained a lot of clicks because it happened mere months after the island reopened to international travelers. We, of course, hope that law enforcers would truly crack down on all sorts of financial fraud in Bali because the last thing the island needs is bad publicity especially with tourism businesses up and running again.
Celebrity sightings on the Island of Gods are not uncommon. This year alone, we saw Andrew Garfield AKA Peter #3 and former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher in Bali (the latter was recognized by an immigration officer who happened to be a huge fan). When Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire were spotted in March, it was to our knowledge the first time such globally recognized names graced Bali since the onset of the pandemic. The fact they ordered coconuts seemed… fitting?
There you have our most popular stories of 2022. We cannot wait to bring you more next year! Here’s hoping that 2023 will be even more exciting than this year.
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