30 years ago when i first went to Bali, Dreamland wasn’t born yet. my friend Ganti took me there to surf and i remember driving down a dirt road, then hiking through bushes before reaching the dreamy white sandy beach. it was the most beautiful untouched beach i’ve ever seen.
but since then, Dreamland became one of the most popular beaches in Bali. hundreds of surfers, hundreds of beach umbrellas, lots of shops, and thousands of people packed in there every day of the year. BUT…
the Pandemic changed everything. as i was driving down the former luxury row of multimillion dollar condos and hotels, i was shocked. empty buildings everywhere, nobody around, and the dream seemed to have disappeared.
i get to the once popular beach and i didn’t see a single soul. it was a ghost town! 
it’s hard to believe that there was zero concrete and nobody here 30 years ago, and now there’s tons of concrete and zero people. it was actually pretty sad seeing this.
as i was leaving, i took a photo of the last time i’ll ever go to Dreamland. it was almost too sad to think how it was, and how it is now. once the best beach in Bali is now the worst.
diving out, i looked into the empty buildings and thought this beautiful area will probably never make a comeback. is the Dream gone? i hope not…
