A three-part series of TikTok videos uploaded by user @joellegabriella_ last month have gone viral on the platform, with the second video in the series having been viewed more than 3.2 million times at the time of publication. The video has recently taken life on other platforms such as Twitter since, as seen in the tweet below: 

NOT LOCALS PITYING ON BEGPACKERS ??? pic.twitter.com/t1LqNiod6a

— Avisena Mill (@altlevtist) December 20, 2020

In the videos, Joelle said that she met the unidentified tourist in Amed, an area comprising beachside fishing villages on the northeastern coast of Bali, which is about three hours away from Kuta. Joelle was having lunch with her friend, who’s Russian, when the tourist approached them and asked where they are from, later revealing that he too, was Russian. 

Joelle said that her friend and the tourist started conversing in their native tongue, and the latter shared how he and his friends have been stranded in Bali since March trying to survive, including by selling tea to foreigners and locals on the island. 

According to Joelle, the tourist was not walking barefoot and appeared to be disheveled. During their interaction, he borrowed a phone charger from the girls as his phone had allegedly been out of power for some time. 

“He can’t go home because he was initially planning on going to several other countries,” Joelle said in one of the videos, explaining that the pandemic had abruptly put that plan to a stop and that he’s unable to go home. 

“I can’t imagine being in his position, stranded in someone else’s country. His feelings must be all over the place, but I can see that he’s a fighter. Let’s pray for him together guys,” she added. 

The story has been met with varied reactions online, with some pointing out that the tourist might be a begpacker. 

“It seems like the government’s tourism policy must change. A minimum of IDR50 million (US$3,505) balance in their account before they holiday in Indonesia, so there will be no poor tourists loitering around.”

“Why would you pity a begpacker? This is what happens when there’s no change in the visa issuance requirement for foreigners, poor foreigners come to Indonesia recklessly, when we have to have our savings account checked to visit their country so we don’t become vagrants. Indonesians are still glorifying white people.” 

“There’s such a thing as an embassy to help deport him back to his country. This person isn’t trying to return to his country.” 

We probably won’t know the Russian tourist’s full story, but this isn’t the first time we’re hearing of tourists getting stranded in Bali during the pandemic. With global travel grounded to a halt, foreign tourists are faced with limited flights or arduous journeys to return to their home countries. However, some embassies did arrange for chartered flights at the onset of the global coronavirus outbreak. 

It’s also worth mentioning that Indonesia has seen its fair share of disruptive tourists over the years, including a Russian couple who was seen busking with their baby at a market in Lombok earlier this year in April, and was subsequently deported.

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