A holidaymaker has criticized trendy travel hotspot Bali for its horrendous traffic and has taken aim at influencers encouraging everyone to go there.
Richard Monckton uploaded a series of TikToks in which he alternated between calling the entire island ‘f***ing poo’ and praising locals for their hospitality.
What prompted Monckton’s first tirade on Wednesday was Kuta’s notoriously chaotic traffic, saying it was “stressing” him out and adding that he had a drastic bias towards Thailand.
The next day, he explained that the Indonesian people were “nice” and apologized for the offenses he committed in his first video.
On Saturday, however, Mr Monckton began to hate the island again, insisting that – unlike other influencers – he was telling “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth”.
Richard Monckton made a three-video tirade against the Indonesian island of Bali in a series of TikToks uploaded during his three-week holiday there
Mr Monckton said that while some areas are beautiful, traffic in Bali was too chaotic and Kuta and Ubud felt like ‘poo’ compared to his favorite destination: Thailand
Mr Monckton’s main concern was that he had three weeks left in Bali, but the chaotic traffic prevented him from ‘chilling out’.
“I just came to Kuta and let me show you what it’s about because let me tell you right now it’s an absolute massacre,” he said in the first video.
‘I don’t like traffic so I’m in the worst location in the world and honestly Ubud was the same.
‘Everyone’s experience may be different, but for me Bali is absolute shit…Thailand is absolutely shit everywhere.’
Reactions to the video were mixed, but many people agreed that the traffic in Bali was terrible and that Thailand was by far the better option.
However, locals took the opportunity to recommend other places on the island that Mr Monckton might prefer, in addition to the metropolitan center of Kuta.
In his second video on the subject, Mr Monckton apologized for his harsh tone, emphasizing that the people of Indonesia were hospitable and that he did not mean to offend them.
In response to the kind words from locals, he uploaded another video explaining that he never meant to offend anyone and that Bali also had some positive aspects.
“I just want to do an update on my previous video where I complain about the traffic in Bali, I offend a lot of locals and that’s the last thing I want to do,” he began.
‘You are beautiful, kind (and) caring people… AWhat I was trying to say was that it’s so busy here that it stresses me out because I hate traffic.
‘I love and respect your country, but it’s just damn hectic because I come here to relax.
“I know this is my decision and that I made the wrong decision by coming to Kuta, so I apologize.”
Reactions to Mr Monckton’s sequel were universally positive; many accepted his apology and some primarily agreed that he was right.
“Apology accepted,” one local resident wrote.
“I’m from the area, you’re a cool guy, I hate the traffic too,” another added.
“You were just telling the truth,” said a third.
However, the retroactive acceptance of Mr Monckton’s complaints may have had the opposite effect that commentators were aiming for, as he quickly jumped back online and became enthusiastic again to explain what really annoyed him about the holiday hotspot.
Mr Monckton’s third and final video on the subject grew out of his original stance that Bali was ‘shit’, that Thailand was better and that influencers were lying about Kuta being nice.
In his latest update, captioned ‘Why is telling the truth such a problem now’, Mr Monckton launched into a tirade to ‘tell you the truth about Bali, about it being shit and about the traffic ‘.
“The places I went were rubbish, okay,” he began.
“So to all you influencers who are scaring people by lying to them, you should be ashamed of yourselves.
‘Lying is a mortal sin, the worst sin.’
Mr Monckton’s ‘truth’ was that Thailand is great and Bali was ‘shitty’ again.
He continued that although Thailand is also notorious for heavy traffic, ‘they have a better road network so it moves’.
The reactions to his final words mirrored the mixed bag of his first video, but this time many commenters had the same message: “calm down.”
“Please calm down,” one local wrote.
“Bali doesn’t love your country bro… YOUR COUNTRY MORE THAN POOP,” another added.
‘We Indonesians tried to warn tourists about Bali. They just don’t listen,” said a third.
‘Why are you so angry? Calm down,” a fourth suggested.
“No way, that’s called passion,” Mr. Monckton replied.
Traffic in Bali, especially around Kuta (pictured), is notoriously busy