It’s estimated that as much as 80% of all tourists receipts end up outside Bali. This revenue leakage must be measured against the much-touted claims of tourism generating huge foreign exchange earnings. Not surprisingly, the estimated $200 million brought in each year by tourists has not been entirely beneficial for the Balinese economy.

Actual improvement in the standard of living is significant but not dramatic. Much of the population is poor, in many cases desperately poor. The minimum wage is about Rp30,000 per month. Lowly hotel workers earn only Rp2000 per day, receive free lodging, and if they’re lucky get one meal a day. Assistant carpenters earn about Rp5000 per day; young workers in the garment industry sew beads or sequins on clothing for as little as Rp600 per day.

The vast majority of Balinese lives in villages and does not directly benefit from foreign-exchange earnings. The advent of tourism has widened the gap between rich and poor. A UNESCO study demonstrated that those who benefit most from tourism are directly engaged in the industry-hotel and art shop owners and employees, guides, drivers, hotel workers, musicians, performers.

Tourism creates jobs, but not all of the type endorsed in the country’s development plans. Only about 15% of the workforce is employed directly or indirectly in the tourist industry. Moreover, the low season means a dramatic drop in earnings. Neither do all the jobs go to the Balinese. The larger the hotel, the greater the tendency to employ imported labor. People from Java fill a great number of the responsible positions. Only one sector consists exclusively of Balinese-tour guides. At least it’s the Balinese who interpret Bali for the tourist.

Although Bali may still seem cheap compared to the West, there’s a danger that the Balinese are driving themselves out of business by overpricing. When visitors first began arriving in Bali, the exorbitant airfare was quickly absorbed in the low cost of rooms, meals, and transport. But Bali isn’t that cheap anymore. Travel agents don’t push Bali as much as they used to - Thailand and East Malaysia are the preferred destinations these days. Packaged trips to Phuket are very attractive and represent less flying time from Europe.

The Balinese have become greedy. Shopkeepers hardly bargain anymore; even in Ubud, their eyes are filled with contempt. Most seem to have no interest in attracting repeat customers. Drivers now routinely ask for US$65 per day; some charge as much as US$100.

There’s ample evidence of overbuilding. You see lots of empty shells of buildings-white elephants-the result of bankruptcies and deals gone bad. One such example is the magnificent five-star Saba Beach Resort, as yet unfinished and now housing only the police guarding the site. Half the restaurants and shops in Candidasa are bankrupt from lack of tourists. What’s left the best things on Bali are still free: orange and gold tropical sunsets, an astoundingly rich culture, the smiles of the children, the sounds of the talcum powder beaches, the coral dive sites. You can still get into temple dances and music rehearsals free.

Violent crime is almost unknown. Bali’s dogs aren’t as frightened of Westerners as they once were and don’t even bark as much as they used to. You can still live well for US$10 a day or less.

The tourism cancer is limited to the southern one-eighth of the island. If you get away from the commercial strips of Sanur, Kuta, and Legian, you can find hundreds of villages and vast areas of terraced hillsides, which haven’t changed since the 1930s.

Many haven’t changed for millennia. Traveling off the beaten track is no problem at all. You don’t need directions, just head for the hills. On Bali you can still get as lost as you want.