Canggu ‘shortcut’ clip reveals just how much Bali has changed in 10 years

Eat, pray, get stuck in traffic? One Bali shortcut has changed a lot in just 10 years. Photo / Agunng Parameswara, Getty Images

An Instagram post has revealed just how much has changed in Bali over the last ten years, particularly when it comes to its roads.

Bali has long been an idyllic holiday destination and tourist hotspot.

However, a recent Instagram post has revealed just how much busier it has become over the years, with a once-little-known ‘shortcut’ road in Canggu being blocked by a massive traffic jam, reports Escape.

Canggu is a coastal village found on the south coast of Bali. The popular surfing spot has quicky grown in popularity over the years, attracting the likes of young life coaches, digital nomads, travel influencers and yoga instructors. Now, it is often regarded as the new Kuta - a party-centric tourist spot just a few kilometres South of Canggu - as it attracts more and more people.

As a result, the busy town has seen a once-quiet “shortcut” stretch of road become a bustling traffic jam inducer.

A travel-related Instagram creator @balilivin posted a clip showing just how out of hand the traffic had gotten on the Canggu road.

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A post shared by BALI LIVIN' (@balilivin)

The post was captioned, “Canggu shortcut today”, and showed an overwhelmingly large group of motorists trying to squeeze onto the narrow street.

Social media users were shocked by the video and the sheer number of people stuck in the traffic jam.

One person wrote: “Unreal!!!! I remember nothing there just 10 years ago.”

Another shared: “Ok so what you’re all telling me is, don’t book that trip to Bali that Iv been planning for 3 years?”

Other comments read: “So many modern clubs yet they forgot to widen the road,” “Absolutely ridiculous. Why would you want to put up with that?!” and “Eat, Pray, Stuck (in traffic). Repeat.”

“If this was a few days ago ahah I ditched my Gojek and decided to walk 2km and ended up being faster by foot than anyone on the bike,” another wrote.

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A post shared by The Canggu Pole (@thecanggupole)

The clip is a stark contrast to what the road used to look like 14 years ago, with one picture posted by @thecanggupole showing the street in 2010.

In the picture, the shortcut was quiet, empty and seemed to be just a gravel road.

Not everyone is riled up by the shortcut’s sudden popularity, with other social media users reminding people that busy roads are not unique to Bali. One person wrote: “EVERY TOURIST HOTSPOT ON THE PLANET will be the same,” as another said: “This is not regular ... I take this road almost every day.”

Another person shared: “I was in Bali for the fourth time in September and, as always, I gave Canggu a wide berth.”

One popular comment on the post was: “I’d rather be stuck in traffic on a scooter in Bali than heading to work in Australia,” and we couldn’t have said it better ourselves.