REPORTER: David Brill
This is the world famous Kuta Beach, in Bali. But these days, when you think of Bali, you're more likely to be talking of terrorism, bombs or drug busts. It's this new understanding of paradise which is keeping the tourists away in droves. And if you think it's bad here, on the other side of the island, it's catastrophic.
BEACH SELLER: The thing is very hard, right now. Especially by the bombing by political, that is why Bali, there are no tourists.
REPORTER: Are you selling anything? Are there any tourists coming at all?
BEACH SELLER: Yeah, I am selling something here, but sometimes, for months, I don't get any business here.
REPORTER: For months? No business at all?
BEACH SELLER: At all.
I've come to the northern Bali resort area of Lovina to meet the Australian social worker, Gloria Goodwin.
GLORIA GOODWIN, SOCIAL WORKER: It's really gone downhill, badly.
REPORTER: This has got to do with the bombings?
GLORIA GOODWIN: Well yes, I think so. It is a lot to do with many things, of course. The bombing, of course, that made a huge difference to all of Bali but particularly in the north, because these people have suffered enough and now they can't even buy rice.
It took three years for these beach sellers to get back on their feet after the first Bali bomb - then came the second bomb, Schapelle Corby and the arrest of the Bali Nine.
REPORTER: Have you sold something in the last week or so?
BEACH SELLER: Nothing.
REPORTER: Have you sold anything today, or in the last week?
BEACH SELLER: Nothing. No, not for a long time.
Now, the hotels are empty.
BEACH SELLER: The hotel here, empty almost one month. No tourists. Three Homestay empty, Agun Hotel empty, Simon Hotel empty. A lot of hotels that are empty, that's why, like us, I am a seller, I try to look around somewhere with my motorbike, I couldn't see any tourists at the moment, what can I do?
I was the only guest at my hotel, normally it is 60% full at this time of the year. So far the manager has been able to keep all his staff, in the vain hope that the tourists will return.
Sitting here, having my breakfast of bacon and eggs and beautiful Balinese coffee, for the sake of the hotel, I was hoping some more customers would arrive but none did.
Out on the streets, it's even worse. Gloria took me to the main street in Lovina.
GLORIA GOODWIN: This street is usually a very busy street it bustling with tourists wanting to buy something and people wanting to sell something. Normally you can't stand in the middle of this road because there are so many people and lots of traffic. And, as you can see behind me, this is virtually a ghost town. It is eerie, it is really just eerie right now. I've never seen anything like this before.
This is the aftermath of a bomb, this is the aftermath, this is what bombs do, this is what terrorists do. This is not just one initial bomb, two initial bombs this is the domino effect, the aftermath of terrorism.
Things are so bad a crisis meeting has been called.
GLORIA GOODWIN: There's been a lot of reports which has been quite negative for Bali, reports about drug trafficking, and things of that nature. And so, people are very worried to get on a plane, if they have an aspirin in their bag, they are very scared to come to the airport. So, there's another reason why tourists are not coming.
The Balinese hotel owners confirm the worst.
HOTEL OWNER, (Translation): We are very concerned with the present situation, people are saying it is difficult and there are plans to shut things down.
RICHARD HOOD, RAMBUTAN BEACH COTTAGE RESORT: We used to get so many backpackers people travelling through Indonesia, who were allowed to come on a 60-day visa.
Richard Hood, from Perth, owns the Rambutan Beach Cottage Resort.
RICHARD HOOD: The British changed their travel warnings, to not travel warnings any more, they only give out a warning when they have specific information, and it lasts for a specific amount of time, The way Australia does it, they will always have a warning out for Indonesia for kingdom come. It's unfair, the way they make travel warnings.
In the past, Gloria's clinic was funded almost exclusively by the tourist dollar. Now that source of funds has dried up and it's in danger of closing.
What's worse, travellers brought in medicines but, after Schapelle Corby and the Bali Nine, that has stopped too.
REPORTER: Gloria you built this clinic over the last 10 years to where it is the only medical facility here, or a free one...
GLORIA GOODWIN: Yes, it is the only free one, yes. ..
REPORTER: and it could go?
GLORIA GOODWIN: Well the lease is expiring in May and the rent, of course, will go up again, because everything else has gone up, also the building is in a state of disrepair now, so I don't think we can re-lease it again, I think we have to just let it go.
And I would rather put what money we can raise into a new clinic, rather than wasting money on rent.
Where will you get the money from?
GLORIA GOODWIN: Well I am just hoping and praying. There's probably a bit of overwork and a bit of, not enough sleep.
All this stress is getting to Gloria.
REPORTER: What do you suggest she does?
NURSE: She must rest.
But given the crisis, Gloria can't rest and she's particularly concerned about a young boy with polio. Today, by pure luck, she's been given US$100.
GLORIA GOODWIN: This morning we got US$100 donation, from a lovely American couple in a hotel, I just happened to bump into. I told them about the child with polio and I showed them the photos and they've given me $100 to buy him a television set.
After an hour by car, Gloria gets on a motorbike for the last exhausting part of the journey to the disabled boy's home. The TV is carried along a forest path and arrives later.
Ketut, severely effected by polio, is stunned.
GLORIA GOODWIN: He can just use his hand, no, it's OK.
The next day Gloria reports back - mission accomplished and here's the tourist who donated the $100.
REPORTER: You heard Gloria talking about this boy did you?
KRISTINE TENNYSON, TOURIST: Yes, what had happened was, actually it was really fortuitous because I had read about Gloria in a book, a travel book I had read, and I wanted to see her while I was here, Glen and Gloria were talking right behind me at breakfast, and I thought "boy, that sounds a lot like the person I want to meet" and my ears were perking up, and I was kind of listening to them converse. So I walked over there and I said, "I heard about you" and she started showing me these pictures of this boy and it was just like it was meant to be.
GLORIA GOODWIN: It was just wonderful.
REPORTER: So Gloria, what are you going to do with these clothes?
GLORIA GOODWIN: I am going to give them to the local people here, they will be so pleased.
There's an air of desperation as the village women grab the shoes and clothes.
If the tourists come back, this beach of black volcanic sand should be covered with bikini-clad swimmers and sunbakers. But there's a new potential threat to Bali's reputation as a tourist paradise.
In far-away Jakarta, politicians are discussing a pornography bill which would prevent anybody from going to the beach scantily dressed. Muslim extremists are behind the bill and it sends a shiver through this mainly Hindu island. While this law is yet to pass, in Bali, amongst the street vendors, it's already in force.
MAN: Pornography.
REPORTER: Why?
MAN: I don't know. The people say that nobody can lie down on the beach with a bikini, this is impossible. That is why the tourist dont come to Bali.
It is the government saying this, is it?
MAN: Yeah, right.
REPORTER: Has it made it hard for you too?
MAN: Of course.
REPORTER: So, people showing their stomachs and things is not allowed any more?
MAN: Yeah, this is the problem in Bali.
Hotel Owner Richard Hood is watching developments closely.
RICHARD HOOD: Yeah, well hopefully it doesn't get passed, but if it did get passed, in the form that it is at the moment, it could kill tourism totally. A woman is not even allowed to show her belly button, so she can't wear bikinis. But I am sure it won't get passed.
REPORTER: Why are you so sure?
RICHARD HOOD: Well, just what I read today, that they said they were going to make exceptions for Bali. Exactly that - bikinis would be allowed to be worn, you know.
Meanwhile, the village craftsmen continue to make products for the tourists, who no longer come to visit.
This is the world famous Kuta Beach, in Bali. But these days, when you think of Bali, you're more likely to be talking of terrorism, bombs or drug busts. It's this new understanding of paradise which is keeping the tourists away in droves. And if you think it's bad here, on the other side of the island, it's catastrophic.
BEACH SELLER: The thing is very hard, right now. Especially by the bombing by political, that is why Bali, there are no tourists.
REPORTER: Are you selling anything? Are there any tourists coming at all?
BEACH SELLER: Yeah, I am selling something here, but sometimes, for months, I don't get any business here.
REPORTER: For months? No business at all?
BEACH SELLER: At all.
I've come to the northern Bali resort area of Lovina to meet the Australian social worker, Gloria Goodwin.
GLORIA GOODWIN, SOCIAL WORKER: It's really gone downhill, badly.
REPORTER: This has got to do with the bombings?
GLORIA GOODWIN: Well yes, I think so. It is a lot to do with many things, of course. The bombing, of course, that made a huge difference to all of Bali but particularly in the north, because these people have suffered enough and now they can't even buy rice.
It took three years for these beach sellers to get back on their feet after the first Bali bomb - then came the second bomb, Schapelle Corby and the arrest of the Bali Nine.
REPORTER: Have you sold something in the last week or so?
BEACH SELLER: Nothing.
REPORTER: Have you sold anything today, or in the last week?
BEACH SELLER: Nothing. No, not for a long time.
Now, the hotels are empty.
BEACH SELLER: The hotel here, empty almost one month. No tourists. Three Homestay empty, Agun Hotel empty, Simon Hotel empty. A lot of hotels that are empty, that's why, like us, I am a seller, I try to look around somewhere with my motorbike, I couldn't see any tourists at the moment, what can I do?
I was the only guest at my hotel, normally it is 60% full at this time of the year. So far the manager has been able to keep all his staff, in the vain hope that the tourists will return.
Sitting here, having my breakfast of bacon and eggs and beautiful Balinese coffee, for the sake of the hotel, I was hoping some more customers would arrive but none did.
Out on the streets, it's even worse. Gloria took me to the main street in Lovina.
GLORIA GOODWIN: This street is usually a very busy street it bustling with tourists wanting to buy something and people wanting to sell something. Normally you can't stand in the middle of this road because there are so many people and lots of traffic. And, as you can see behind me, this is virtually a ghost town. It is eerie, it is really just eerie right now. I've never seen anything like this before.
This is the aftermath of a bomb, this is the aftermath, this is what bombs do, this is what terrorists do. This is not just one initial bomb, two initial bombs this is the domino effect, the aftermath of terrorism.
Things are so bad a crisis meeting has been called.
GLORIA GOODWIN: There's been a lot of reports which has been quite negative for Bali, reports about drug trafficking, and things of that nature. And so, people are very worried to get on a plane, if they have an aspirin in their bag, they are very scared to come to the airport. So, there's another reason why tourists are not coming.
The Balinese hotel owners confirm the worst.
HOTEL OWNER, (Translation): We are very concerned with the present situation, people are saying it is difficult and there are plans to shut things down.
RICHARD HOOD, RAMBUTAN BEACH COTTAGE RESORT: We used to get so many backpackers people travelling through Indonesia, who were allowed to come on a 60-day visa.
Richard Hood, from Perth, owns the Rambutan Beach Cottage Resort.
RICHARD HOOD: The British changed their travel warnings, to not travel warnings any more, they only give out a warning when they have specific information, and it lasts for a specific amount of time, The way Australia does it, they will always have a warning out for Indonesia for kingdom come. It's unfair, the way they make travel warnings.
In the past, Gloria's clinic was funded almost exclusively by the tourist dollar. Now that source of funds has dried up and it's in danger of closing.
What's worse, travellers brought in medicines but, after Schapelle Corby and the Bali Nine, that has stopped too.
REPORTER: Gloria you built this clinic over the last 10 years to where it is the only medical facility here, or a free one...
GLORIA GOODWIN: Yes, it is the only free one, yes. ..
REPORTER: and it could go?
GLORIA GOODWIN: Well the lease is expiring in May and the rent, of course, will go up again, because everything else has gone up, also the building is in a state of disrepair now, so I don't think we can re-lease it again, I think we have to just let it go.
And I would rather put what money we can raise into a new clinic, rather than wasting money on rent.
Where will you get the money from?
GLORIA GOODWIN: Well I am just hoping and praying. There's probably a bit of overwork and a bit of, not enough sleep.
All this stress is getting to Gloria.
REPORTER: What do you suggest she does?
NURSE: She must rest.
But given the crisis, Gloria can't rest and she's particularly concerned about a young boy with polio. Today, by pure luck, she's been given US$100.
GLORIA GOODWIN: This morning we got US$100 donation, from a lovely American couple in a hotel, I just happened to bump into. I told them about the child with polio and I showed them the photos and they've given me $100 to buy him a television set.
After an hour by car, Gloria gets on a motorbike for the last exhausting part of the journey to the disabled boy's home. The TV is carried along a forest path and arrives later.
Ketut, severely effected by polio, is stunned.
GLORIA GOODWIN: He can just use his hand, no, it's OK.
The next day Gloria reports back - mission accomplished and here's the tourist who donated the $100.
REPORTER: You heard Gloria talking about this boy did you?
KRISTINE TENNYSON, TOURIST: Yes, what had happened was, actually it was really fortuitous because I had read about Gloria in a book, a travel book I had read, and I wanted to see her while I was here, Glen and Gloria were talking right behind me at breakfast, and I thought "boy, that sounds a lot like the person I want to meet" and my ears were perking up, and I was kind of listening to them converse. So I walked over there and I said, "I heard about you" and she started showing me these pictures of this boy and it was just like it was meant to be.
GLORIA GOODWIN: It was just wonderful.
REPORTER: So Gloria, what are you going to do with these clothes?
GLORIA GOODWIN: I am going to give them to the local people here, they will be so pleased.
There's an air of desperation as the village women grab the shoes and clothes.
If the tourists come back, this beach of black volcanic sand should be covered with bikini-clad swimmers and sunbakers. But there's a new potential threat to Bali's reputation as a tourist paradise.
In far-away Jakarta, politicians are discussing a pornography bill which would prevent anybody from going to the beach scantily dressed. Muslim extremists are behind the bill and it sends a shiver through this mainly Hindu island. While this law is yet to pass, in Bali, amongst the street vendors, it's already in force.
MAN: Pornography.
REPORTER: Why?
MAN: I don't know. The people say that nobody can lie down on the beach with a bikini, this is impossible. That is why the tourist dont come to Bali.
It is the government saying this, is it?
MAN: Yeah, right.
REPORTER: Has it made it hard for you too?
MAN: Of course.
REPORTER: So, people showing their stomachs and things is not allowed any more?
MAN: Yeah, this is the problem in Bali.
Hotel Owner Richard Hood is watching developments closely.
RICHARD HOOD: Yeah, well hopefully it doesn't get passed, but if it did get passed, in the form that it is at the moment, it could kill tourism totally. A woman is not even allowed to show her belly button, so she can't wear bikinis. But I am sure it won't get passed.
REPORTER: Why are you so sure?
RICHARD HOOD: Well, just what I read today, that they said they were going to make exceptions for Bali. Exactly that - bikinis would be allowed to be worn, you know.
Meanwhile, the village craftsmen continue to make products for the tourists, who no longer come to visit.