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West Australian
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- West Australian
Adrian Barich: Bali is a different place for my daughter than when I visited in my 20s but some truths remain
There was a time — and yes, I'll admit I'm going back a bit — when I could walk down Poppies Lane with a Bintang in my hand, sunburn on my shoulders, and a sense that I was almost bulletproof. Remember your 20s? That feeling of being almost invincible; untouchable, even. Twenty-somethings are supposed to make mistakes, aren't they? And I may have made a few in WA's favourite island hideaway of Bali. Nobody likes you when you're 23 anyway, as Blink-182 once said. That time was 1984 and onwards for me, and Bali was different then. There were no beach clubs serving cocktails, no infinity pools on Instagram, and the only influencer was a bloke called Joey from Cannington, a cashed-up bogan who could barter a fake Rolex Oyster down to five bucks. I've been to Bali more than 20 times over the years. I've seen it grow up, glam up, and be GPS-ed into submission. And now, my daughter goes with her friends, while I stay home checking the Find My iPhone app every 15 minutes and trying not to imagine her on the back of a scooter sans helmet with some bloke nicknamed 'Big Dog'. The circle of life isn't always lions and Elton John songs. Sometimes, it's your daughter posting from a pool party in Seminyak, while you're at your kitchen bench in Perth muttering things like 'I know what goes on over there . . .'. When I first went to Bali, you didn't 'curate content'. You lost your thongs, your traveller's cheques, and occasionally your mates and your dignity. There were nights in Kuta that defied the laws of physics. There were mornings that began with you wandering out of someone else's hotel desperate to make the breakfast buffet at your own accommodation. Some of my wild mates even got tattoos in Legian at 2am. From 'Dr Needlez' no less: the fella's moniker is surely a warning that getting 'inked' was a bad idea. Maybe it was the free shot of arak as anaesthetic that sucked in the boys. Needless to say that tattoo, which was supposed to be a dragon but looked more like a sock puppet, is long gone from the arm of this well-known Perth stockbroker, courtesy of laser removal. And now, all these years later, my daughter is making her own pilgrimage, drawn by the same magnet that pulled us there: cheap everything, tropical sunsets, and that glorious illusion of being just a little bit cooler than we actually were. The Balinese people were another attraction: in my opinion, some of the nicest hosts in the world. As for my daughter? Well, I trust her implicitly. She's smart, capable, and she knows how to say no. But still, Bali is seductive. It's a tropical cocktail of fun, freedom and foolishness . . . and there's always chaos. I gave her warnings she didn't need. I told her to be careful about scooters, about dodgy drinks, about monkey forests (they will steal your sunnies), about currency exchange scams and emotional entanglements with guys who wear beads and call themselves 'soul travellers'. Barra's tips for beating 'Bali belly' were also given a run: no ice cubes in drinks, avoid salads and if you accidentally swallow some water in the shower or when brushing your teeth? Well, spend three days praying to the porcelain gods. Pack light. Laugh hard. Respect the locals. And never trust a drink that glows in the dark. She smiles and says, 'Dad, I'll be fine'. She posts pics from Uluwatu that look like a Vogue spread; I once took a disposable camera into a nightclub and waited a couple of days for some very ordinary photos to be developed. And that, my friends, is what Bali teaches you. It laughs with you, not at you. It breaks you down, builds you back up, and sends you home with stories, scars and the eternal wisdom of never trusting street cart food after midnight. 'Eat. Pray. Imodium.' Long may Bali humble us all. And guess what? My daughter is back now and she's fine, because while Bali still holds its wild heart, today's generation travels smarter. I'm not sure she used the same accent I adopted when talking to the locals, or discovered that most Balinese men have one of four first names: Wayan, Made, Nyoman or Ketut. But I still gave her the benefit of my wisdom. And now, I sit back and watch her make her own memories. She danced where I once danced, ate at places I still can't pronounce, and laughed under the same stars we used to stare at, lying on beanbags on the beach (although I don't think she ventured near the runway at Denpasar Airport to watch jumbos land). There's something about sipping cocktails at Potato Head Beach Club that makes you realise you deserve better. Yes, my generation once felt like the kings of Bali. And now we're just dads who foot the bill and wait for a text that says, 'Landed safe x'. And you know what? That's OK. Because kings don't last forever. But worried dads? We reign for life.
Perth Now
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Passing the Bali torch to a new generation
There was a time — and yes, I'll admit I'm going back a bit — when I could walk down Poppies Lane with a Bintang in my hand, sunburn on my shoulders, and a sense that I was almost bulletproof. Remember your 20s? That feeling of being almost invincible; untouchable, even. Twenty-somethings are supposed to make mistakes, aren't they? And I may have made a few in WA's favourite island hideaway of Bali. Nobody likes you when you're 23 anyway, as Blink-182 once said. That time was 1984 and onwards for me, and Bali was different then. There were no beach clubs serving cocktails, no infinity pools on Instagram, and the only influencer was a bloke called Joey from Cannington, a cashed-up bogan who could barter a fake Rolex Oyster down to five bucks. I've been to Bali more than 20 times over the years. I've seen it grow up, glam up, and be GPS-ed into submission. And now, my daughter goes with her friends, while I stay home checking the Find My iPhone app every 15 minutes and trying not to imagine her on the back of a scooter sans helmet with some bloke nicknamed 'Big Dog'. The circle of life isn't always lions and Elton John songs. Sometimes, it's your daughter posting from a pool party in Seminyak, while you're at your kitchen bench in Perth muttering things like 'I know what goes on over there . . .'. When I first went to Bali, you didn't 'curate content'. You lost your thongs, your traveller's cheques, and occasionally your mates and your dignity. There were nights in Kuta that defied the laws of physics. There were mornings that began with you wandering out of someone else's hotel desperate to make the breakfast buffet at your own accommodation. Some of my wild mates even got tattoos in Legian at 2am. From 'Dr Needlez' no less: the fella's moniker is surely a warning that getting 'inked' was a bad idea. Maybe it was the free shot of arak as anaesthetic that sucked in the boys. Needless to say that tattoo, which was supposed to be a dragon but looked more like a sock puppet, is long gone from the arm of this well-known Perth stockbroker, courtesy of laser removal. And now, all these years later, my daughter is making her own pilgrimage, drawn by the same magnet that pulled us there: cheap everything, tropical sunsets, and that glorious illusion of being just a little bit cooler than we actually were. The Balinese people were another attraction: in my opinion, some of the nicest hosts in the world. As for my daughter? Well, I trust her implicitly. She's smart, capable, and she knows how to say no. But still, Bali is seductive. It's a tropical cocktail of fun, freedom and foolishness . . . and there's always chaos. I gave her warnings she didn't need. I told her to be careful about scooters, about dodgy drinks, about monkey forests (they will steal your sunnies), about currency exchange scams and emotional entanglements with guys who wear beads and call themselves 'soul travellers'. Barra's tips for beating 'Bali belly' were also given a run: no ice cubes in drinks, avoid salads and if you accidentally swallow some water in the shower or when brushing your teeth? Well, spend three days praying to the porcelain gods. Pack light. Laugh hard. Respect the locals. And never trust a drink that glows in the dark. She smiles and says, 'Dad, I'll be fine'. She posts pics from Uluwatu that look like a Vogue spread; I once took a disposable camera into a nightclub and waited a couple of days for some very ordinary photos to be developed. And that, my friends, is what Bali teaches you. It laughs with you, not at you. It breaks you down, builds you back up, and sends you home with stories, scars and the eternal wisdom of never trusting street cart food after midnight. 'Eat. Pray. Imodium.' Long may Bali humble us all. And guess what? My daughter is back now and she's fine, because while Bali still holds its wild heart, today's generation travels smarter. I'm not sure she used the same accent I adopted when talking to the locals, or discovered that most Balinese men have one of four first names: Wayan, Made, Nyoman or Ketut. But I still gave her the benefit of my wisdom. And now, I sit back and watch her make her own memories. She danced where I once danced, ate at places I still can't pronounce, and laughed under the same stars we used to stare at, lying on beanbags on the beach (although I don't think she ventured near the runway at Denpasar Airport to watch jumbos land). There's something about sipping cocktails at Potato Head Beach Club that makes you realise you deserve better. Yes, my generation once felt like the kings of Bali. And now we're just dads who foot the bill and wait for a text that says, 'Landed safe x'. And you know what? That's OK. Because kings don't last forever. But worried dads? We reign for life.
The Star
20-06-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Saifuddin Nasution leads Sabah's TYT's birthday honour list
KOTA KINABALU: Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail leads the list of 1,015 recipients of state awards in conjunction with the 74th birthday of Tuan Yang DiPertua Negeri for Sabah, Tun Musa Aman, on Saturday (June 21). In the list made available to the media on Friday (June 20), Saifuddin is among the four recipients of the Seri Panglima Darjah Kinabalu (SPDK), Sabah's highest honour, which carries the title "Datuk Seri Panglima". The other three SPDK recipients are Sabah Rural Development Minister Datuk Jahid Jahim (pic), a member of the Policy Advisory Committee to the Prime Minister member Datuk Ahmad Fuad Md Ali and businessman Lim Yu Ming. A total of 78 people have been awarded the state's second-highest award, the Panglima Gemilang Darjah Kinabalu (PGDK), which carries the title "Datuk". Deputy Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan and Deputy Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Senator Dr Fuziah Salleh, Sabah Parks and Sabah Health Department directors, Maklarin Lakim and Dr Maria Suleiman, respectively, SMJ Energy and Sabah Electricity chief executive officers, Dr Dionysia Kibat and Mohd Yaakob Jaafar, respectively. Among others conferred the PGDK title are Labuan MP Suhaili Abdul Rahman, Kapayan assemblyman Jannie Lasimbang, Sabah Amanah chief Lahirul Latigu, Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) vice president Chong Pit Fah and Parti Bersatu Sabah youth chief Christoperf Mandut, as well as former Sabah chief minister's press secretary Afeiza Khan. Veteran senior reporter Emin Madi led the media list being conferred the Datuk title, followed by Ahli Setia Darjah Kinabalu (ASDK) for See Hua chief reporter Yong Ted Phen; Ahli Darjah Kinabalu (ADK) - Borneo Post chief reporter Nancy Lai, Malay Mail and The Vibe senior correspondents Julia Chan and Jason Santos, respectively; Sabah Bernama bureau chief Fadzli Ramli. The Star's senior reporter Stephanie Lee (pic) and six others were conferred the Bintang Setia Kinabalu (BSK), namely Sabah Information Department Media and Corporate eCommunications Division assistant director Dr Diana Dominic, Sabah Bernama senior photographer Zamain Singkui, Daily Express' Sherell Ann Jumin Jeffrey and Larry Ralon, Sabah RTM Salmariwaya Sali, Borneo Post's Jenne John Lajiun, Sabah Media's Normimie Diun. Ten people were named as the recipients of the Justice of Peace including Finance Ministry permanent secretary Datuk Mohd Sofian Alfian Nair, Sabah Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission director Datuk Karunanithy Subbiah and Sabah Mineral Management Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Natasha Sim Nuo, as well as Alexander Hugio Malakun, Dominic Ghani @ Osmond Matbee Ghani, Hafez Shabuddin, Prof Dr Imbarine Bujang, Izharudin Jalaludin and Josephine Wan-Wen Hadikusumo. A total of 100 people would be conferred the Ahli Setia Darjah Kinabalu (ASDK), 181 would receive the Ahli Darjah Kinabalu (ADK), 248 would get the BSK, 285 would receive the Bintang Kinabalu while 109 would receive the Certificate of Honour.
Daily Express
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Express
Jahid leads Sabah honours list
Published on: Friday, June 20, 2025 Published on: Fri, Jun 20, 2025 Text Size: KOTA KINABALU: Rural Development Minister Datuk Jahid Jahim ( pic ) tops the list of State award recipients in conjunction with the 74th official birthday of Head of State Tun Musa Aman, on Saturday. Jahid is among four recipients of the state's highest honour, the Seri Panglima Darjah Kinabalu (SPDK), which carries the title Datuk Seri Panglima. Advertisement Other SPDK recipients include Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, Finance Minister's Special Advisory Body member Datuk Ahmad Fuad Md Ali, and businessman Datuk Lim Yu Ming. Kapayan Assemblywoman Jannie Lasimbang, Deputy Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan, and Deputy Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Dr Fuziah Salleh are among those awarded the Panglima Gemilang Darjah Kinabalu (PGDK), which confers the title Datuk. A total of 78 individuals are receiving the PGDK in this year's state awards ceremony. Another 100 are conferred the Ahli Setia Darjah Kinabalu (ASDK), followed by 181 receiving the Ahli Darjah Kinabalu (ADK). Advertisement The list also includes 248 recipients of the Bintang Setia Kinabalu (BSK), 285 of the Bintang Kinabalu (BK), 109 recipients of the Sijil Kehormat, and 10 appointed as Justices of the Peace. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
