Foreigners in Bali find themselves in hot water with Hindus over offensive social media posts
ABCIt's known as the Island of the Gods, but that's lost on some Western influencers who like its picturesque temples and landscapes for risque social media content. Having one's naked body against a holy tree was thus considered "sacrilege" by Balinese Hindus, who revere large trees as embodying "a divine ogre named Banaspati Raja ", Mr Kuckreja said. Mr Kuckreja said that dancing naked at Mt Batur was considered even worse than posing naked on the tree, because the volcano was "exceptionally sacred" for Balinese Hindus. "Balinese culture, Balinese ancestral beliefs, and Hinduism, are one in everyday life in Bali," said AA Ngurah Adi Ardhana, a local MP and deputy head of the Indonesian Association of Hotels and Restaurants in Bali. Indonesia's Tourism Minister, Sandiaga Uno, said recently that he was keen to promote traditional culture via "tourism villages" to international visitors in Bali for the G20 conference in November.
History of this topic
Bali locals furious after tourist meditates naked in temple
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Travel: Myth and modernity in Bali
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Russian woman who posed nude in front of sacred tree deported from Bali
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Officials deport Russian tourist for posting half-naked photo on sacred peak in Bali
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With Indonesia’s rising Islamism and extramarital sex ban, are places like Bali safe for tourists?
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Russian influencer faces up to six years in jail after posing naked with 700-year-old tree in Bali
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