
Cover by Alec Favale. There’s no mistaking being in Kuta. Hordes of mopeds fill the congested streets with smoke that burns my nose; the endless…

I was thinking about the word “lad” the other day, because that’s the kind of thing I like to do in my spare time. In…

You step out from Denpasar airport into the throbbing tourist masses of Kuta, this fresh new hell on earth. Tropical paradise transmogrified into a festering…

We smiled and thrashed around in the pool because they told us to. We yelled out “Schoolies!” with our drinks in the air because they…

Everyone knows Kuta sucks. Tourism has swept through the city like a cancer, transforming all the healthy old cells into toxic clubs, hotels with swimming…

As a high-school English teacher, my plan to participate in schoolies as a “toolie” (Australian slang for opportunistic sex-predator far too old to be celebrating…

Coming from the Gold Coast and having just moved to Bali – two places infamous for their tackiness – I have become well aware of…

Lads on Tour are easily identifiable. You walk into a hostel, bar or party and they’re grouped together, grabbing at each other’s scrotums, downing a…

“Bali?!” I spat, cynical with visions of unfiltered humanity. “Well yes, Bali. But also Indonesia!” my travel partner enthused. I hadn’t seen Indonesia in eight…

It’s nearly midnight and Bali Manik seems to be the cheapest and best option. No hot shower, no air con, no TV, no TP, just…

Get There: Poppies 2, Kuta Cost: Your sexual health, self-respect, liver etc. Open: 9:30 – midnight Bali is renowned for its amazing surf, perfect sunsets,…