05 February 2024 , 15:22
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A British woman has been left horrified by a natural phenomenon in Bali, Indonesia.
TikToker Grace (@graces__adventures) warned she had witnessed the "worst thing" she’s ever laid her eyes on, in the form of what seems to be a huge nest of spiders.
Grace jokingly referred to the hundreds of arachnids she encountered hanging over the ground as "hell on Earth". "I think this is some kind of natural phenomenon and not very common – and it was not a popular location," the horrified holidaymaker said of the nest of giant orb weavers. Some of the eight legged critters appear to be about the size of a human hand.
While the spiders are likely nimble and acrobatic, the way in which they were positioned above a path on translucent webbing made it seem as if they might fall at any moment.
As terrifying as the sight may be, Grace was keen that her warning about the Indonesian island was not taken too seriously. “Don’t actually let this put you off," she added in a follow-up video. "If you've been unfortunate enough to see the spider TikTok that I just posted, which has gone kind of viral, sorry for that, first of all... apologies for the nightmares, I'm gonna have them too!"
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"If you have seen that I just want to share some more information because I really don't want to put anyone off from visiting Bali. Genuinely, it is the most beautiful place. I've been here for 11 days. I've loved every single day. That spider nest, whatever it was - I'm pretty sure that's a natural phenomenon. You're more than likely not going to come across that.
"You'd be really unlikely to come across it. It was in a tiny little town on the drive from Ubud up to Mount Batur. It’s about an hour-and-a-half into the drive, and I spotted it from the car window and I asked the guide to turn around because I just couldn't believe what I'd seen.”
The spider warning and prospect it will put people off travelling to Bali may be welcomed by officials there, who are poised to introduce a tourist tax later this month. From Valentine's Day all foreign visitors entering Bali will have to pay a 150,000 Indonesian rupiah (around £7.50) fee per person and per entry, on top of the 500,000 rupiah (around £25) charge for a 30-day visa to the country.
Officials have said the tax is designed to counter over-tourism on the island, which welcomed around 4.5million holidaymakers last year - roughly the same number as local residents.
Since reopening after the Covid lockdowns, the presence of too many, often unruly visitors has become an increasingly charged political issue. The local government has recently proposed banning visitors from renting motorbikes to curb reckless driving, CNN reported.
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