Bali is known for many things, and internationally, it has many nicknames. Among the many, many would agree that it's the "Island of the Gods."
Due to the local's thick Hindu culture, Balinese people are also known to hold fast to their ancestors’ teachings and are loyal to guarding local cultural wisdom. Besides that, Bali is also a province of the archipelago Indonesia, where its tropical nature is breathtakingly beautiful, just like a piece of heaven that fell to Earth.
Because many people abroad wish to visit Bali to see and experience these, this makes Bali a world-famous tourist destination.
But not everyone who visits Bali follows the modesty and decency the locals are expecting from them.
And among those who misbehaved, is Darja Tuschinski, a 29-year-old woman from Germany, who gatecrashed a Bali temple ceremony after stripping naked.
It all began one day, on May 22, 2023, when Darja was reportedly denied a ticket to a show at the Saraswati Ubud Temple.
The woman is then said to have pushed herself past the security, and entered the performance.
But the backpacker didn't show up on stage before removing all of her clothes.
In a video that is widely circulated online and has since gone viral, the woman is seen walking past a group of dancers on stage, who had all remained professionally focused on their dance moves, climbed a flight of stairs, before forcefully opened a large set of gilded doors.
After being confronted by a local man, Darja is seen walking back down the stairs, walked past the dancers again, appearing to mimic the performers' movements, to then kneel next to a shrine as if in a prayer.
After kneeling for a few moment, she stood up again, and attempted to return to the stage, and also to the temple, before the security finally intervened.
While some people at the audience certainly kept quiet and not seemed to be "that" distracted, others are certainly bemused by this, if not shocked.
Not only that the woman didn't wear any clothes, and that her breasts, and her cleanly shaved mons pubis and labia were fully on display, but the slight 'intermezzo' happened during a public ceremony at a sacred temple, in front of dozens of attendances, that can include children.
It didn't take long until the security detained the woman for disrupting the performance and handed her over to the police in the Ubud district.
After being taken to the police station for questioning, Darja Tuschinski was then taken to a hospital for physical and psychological assessments.
The police have also conducted drug and alcohol tests on her.
Initially, Darja should have faced a maximum two years and eight months in prison if found guilty of breaking the country’s public indecency laws.
When the results came out, it's suggested that Darja was actually "depressed."
Ubud District Chief Wayan Widana claimed that Darja suffers from mental health issues, and had become stressed about money during her extended trip in Indonesia because she could barely afford to stay in Bali for any longer.
In fact, Darja is already on continuous anti-depressant medications.
Because of this, she was admitted to the Bali Provincial Mental Hospital, where she demanded a VIP treatment.
This happened after she refused to board a flight home.
The authorities also believe Darja who had been struggling with her finances, became stressed when she could not get hold of a ticket for the show.
Bali Police spokesman Stefanus Satake Bayu Setianto added that this isn't the first report he received about Darja being without clothes in public.
"She lives alone. During her stay at Ubud Bungalow, she was often seen naked while walking around the villa area," he said.
But at that time, the Indonesian police said that the guests at the resort she stayed didn't press charges against her.
Darja was also out of money, that she frequently switched places to stay while in Bali, and not pay her rent.
With Darja in custody, the authorities contacted her family and in return, Darja's expenses are then covered by her family. it's later said that Darja would leave Indonesia after she's discharged from the hospital.
During her stay at the hospital, Darja showed progress, and that she became a lot more mentally stable.
Later, after becoming sober and realized what she did, Darja Tuschinski apologized, and to said sorry to those who got offended by her naked rampage.
"Yes, I also did some crazy acts. I want to apologize for that. I don't want to offend anyone. However, I can't change what happened. So please forgive my actions," she said.
Her family member picked her up in Bali, following the authorities' decision to deport Darja back to Germany.
Before Darja left, she said that she was extremely happy being in Bali, and wishes that she can revisit it, if everything goes well.
"And I'm happy to be here and (hope) to be back here in two and three years," she said.
In her apologetic moment, she introduced herself as a Germany national, who has been in Bali for three times.
"I came in May 2023 (to Bali) and this is my third visit to Bali. I love this island, this culture, this country," she said.
Darja left Bali for Dubai, United Arab Emirates, by boarding Emirates Airlines EK 399, on June 1, 2023. From there, she would then continue her flight to Düsseldorf, Germany.
"Now that he has returned to her country of origin, we hope that the public will not make this kind of video viral anymore, because the person concerned is indeed a person who is experiencing a mental disorder," said Tedy Riyandi, head of the Immigration Office at Denpasar, in statement.
Darja's case happened as the island is introducing stringent regulations for visitors, who are found acting inappropriately.
At this time, the Southeast Asian nation has noticed an upsurge in foreign tourists being deported for acting or making gestures that the authorities claim hurt the "religious sensibilities" of Balinese Hindus.
Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardana Sukawati, known as "Cok Ace," Vice Governor of Bali, said that he deeply regrets the incident.
"Especially since it occurred in Ubud, where culture and tradition run deep," he said, adding how the island has seen certain types of lamented tourists.
"It’s not just a Bali issue. There are countries at war, countries in economic turmoil, [and their people] see Bali as having this extraordinary pull," he said.
"Everything is cheap [in Bali], the people are kind, so [foreigners] come to Bali. Not just the good ones; the stressed ones, too."
As for the staff at the temple, they also apologized to visitors, and performed a special ritual to remove the "bad energy" from the area as a result of the naked rampage.
Just before this, a Danish tourist flashed her genital to onlooker while riding a motorcycle, and was caught in a video that also went viral.