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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Michael Neilson in Jakarta

Rice paddies to mega resorts: declassified spy satellite images reveal Bali’s transformation

Composite split image featuring satellite image of Kuta beach, Bali from 1965 and 2024
Composite split image featuring satellite image of Kuta beach, Bali from 1965 and 2024, first published in Nusantara Atlas Composite: Nusantara Atlas

“I wonder what Bali used to be like?” is a common refrain heard on Indonesia’s best-known holiday island.

Famous for its lush green rice paddies and stunning beaches, the “island of the Gods” has undergone rapid change over the past half-century with locals and tourists complaining about the traffic, pollution and badly behaved foreigners that have come with the hotels and resorts that now swamp the island.

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