
Passing the Bali torch to a new generation
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.

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"Lemmy and Ozzy were brothers in arms who enjoyed many adventures together, and his loss is seismic. RIP Ozzy, we will always love and celebrate you ...", they wrote. AC/DC posted that Osbourne's death was a "great loss to all that loved him", with Metallica members calling him an "icon" and "mentor" while sharing photos from rock photographers Ross Halfin and Noah Abrams. "He taught us how to play in the big leagues while at the same time being warm, welcoming, engaging, and all around brilliant," they wrote on Instagram. Among the other stars paying tributes were David Beckham, Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, Queen guitarist Brian May and US movie star Adam Sandler, who said he felt "so happy" that he was able to meet Osbourne. May said Osbourne's final concert this month "was a glorious way to say goodbye". Aston Villa, Osbourne's home town football club, said it was "saddened" to learn of the star's passing. 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Black Sabbath co-founder Tony Iommi said it was "brilliant" to reunite with the band just weeks before Osbourne died, saying the singer "really wanted" to perform together again and "felt at home". He told BBC Radio 4: "It is really a shock. It's really hit me today to be honest, but yeah, a terrible shock." On their reunion concert, Iommi said: "It was good for all of us, and lovely to be able to get together for a final thing. I mean, we didn't realise it was going to be this final. We didn't expect him to... but he hasn't looked well for a while." Wood joined Osbourne at Black Sabbath's last gig at Villa Park, Birmingham, earlier this month. He posted on X: "I am so very sad to hear of the death of Ozzy Osbourne. "What a lovely goodbye concert he had at Back To The Beginning in Birmingham." Singer Yungblud, who sang Black Sabbath's Changes at the Back To The Beginning farewell concert on July 5, said he was "heartbroken" by the news and called Osbourne "the greatest of all time". 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Among the other stars paying tributes were David Beckham, Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, Queen guitarist Brian May and US movie star Adam Sandler, who said he felt "so happy" that he was able to meet Osbourne. May said Osbourne's final concert this month "was a glorious way to say goodbye". Aston Villa, Osbourne's home town football club, said it was "saddened" to learn of the star's passing. "Growing up in Aston, not far from Villa Park, Ozzy always held a special connection to the club and the community he came from," the club said. "The thoughts of everyone at Aston Villa are with his wife Sharon, his family, friends, and countless fans at this extremely difficult time."