It's not the annual rainy season or the sad tale of stranded Japanese divers that has people still talking here on this land of sandy beaches, rice fields, arts and culture, and Hindu temples still referred to by some as the "Island of the Gods."
Instead, the seasonal monsoon winds, high waves and strong currents that come every winter are now bringing wave after wave of garbage on to some of Bali's most famous beaches, and government, residents and tourists — from Japan and elsewhere — alike are quite literally talking trash.
World-famous Kuta Beach, the long-time heart of Bali's surfing culture, is increasingly littered with ocean-borne debris, and the Jakarta Post has now reported incidents of people getting infections after surfing off the island's southern beaches.