Molly-Mae Hague's older sister, Zoe Rae, has sparked quite the debate online following her recent vlog all about her 48-hour stay in Bali which was cut short before she and her husband jetted off to Dubai instead.
Last week (13 July), the 28-year-old influencer shared a video diary from her one-year wedding anniversary travels alongside her husband, Danny, which was titled: "BALI VLOG | IT DIDN'T GO TO PLAN..."
In the video, Zoe outlined the differences between what she had seen of the country on social media versus her personal experiences of it in real life, claiming that the Indonesian island is 'nothing like influencers make out'.
Towards the end of the vlog, Zoe went into her thoughts on the short-lived stay, admitting: "Since landing in Bali, something for us has just not felt quite right.
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"We came to Bali with high expectations as we’d seen on social media - everyone having such a lovely time, such gorgeous places to go for food and lovely beaches, lovely gyms, lovely coffee shops.
"If you took a picture of the coffee shop and zoomed out, you would see what the reality was. I don’t think the reality of Bali is shown much, or at all."
She continued: "I do think it is down to a lot of influencers and people with large followings online, posting the more luxury side of things."
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Zoe explained that this particular trip wasn't her first time travelling to Asia as she had previously spent five months before joining the army exploring Thailand, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong.
"I did a lot and spent time in these countries. But there is something very different about Bali," she went on.
"We got told Uluwatu where we are now is one of the best places to go, that's why we came here. So if this is one of the better places, I'm not sure where the other places are like."
Noting that she could see the appeal of the country, Zoe shared her advice that it would be best for people backpacking rather than holidaying in one place.
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"I can really see the appeal, I can. I think if you’re backpacking and want to travel about, it’s great," she explained. "I think for a holiday, staying in one place, not so great.
"But then also, I say it’s great for people that are backpacking but a lot of people messaged me saying they backpacked all these countries and this has been their least favourite out of all of them.
"I think there are a lot of other places to go where I think you would have a better experience and a better time."
Danny then entered the shot, offering his opinion of the trip: "You either go on holiday to travel and experience culture or you want to go away to relax and not have to worry."
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Zoe noted that they decided to cut the trip early as they 'just wanted to get out', with Danny stating: "Time is precious."
"When you know you are not happy, why delay it. If you can go today, why not go today," Zoe agreed.
She eventually resolved: "We missed the mark, maybe we didn't do our own research, maybe it is our own fault. I did a lot of research though.
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"I think it is just personal preference, and our preference was that this isn't for us, and we are making the executive decision to go enjoy our anniversary somewhere we know that we love and can relax and can drink the water without worrying about being ill in bed for a week."
The couple ultimately decided to head to Dubai instead following the two-day Bali excursion to finish off their wedding anniversary holiday.
Some viewers totally understood the pair's decision, with one YouTube user commenting: "Happy anniversary to you both, you’ve done the right thing moving locations you deserve the holiday you wanted, shame you didn’t show more of your experience, hope you have an amazing time in Dubai."
"Life’s too short to spend time and money on a trip if you’re not enjoying it, especially for your anniversary, so I totally understand your decision to leave," empathised a second.
Others, however, weren't so supportive.
"It’s a real place, with real culture, real problems and real people. It’s not going to be picture perfect like Dubai and that’s because it’s not a manufactured concrete jungle made for Instagram and selfies like Dubai is," penned a third YouTube user.
"It’s a developing country and to me personally, that’s what makes it so interesting. I’d much rather less glamourous travelling with some real actual culture than a fake concrete abyss any day. Not sure what you expected."
Another wrote: "Bali is a beautiful island but if you're used to going to Dubai etc then its absolutely nothing like that. There is so much rich culture if youre prepared to look for it and enbrace it and come out of your comfort zone and they people couldn't do enough for you.
"Dubai is literally built for rich tourists and if you're not an influencer or didn't have ££ to spend/getting free stuff then you wouldn't have the same experience there either. Don't follow what other influencers do look for your own magic places."
Zoe's YouTube video's description read: "Hey guys!!
"Thanks so much for watching. Unfortunately Bali wasn't really the right fit for us with how we intended to spend our wedding anniversary! We are incredibly fortunate to be able to travel and have travelled to see such incredible countries but like Danny said, time is precious and we wanted to relax and enjoy the time together we don't always get due to Danny's job!"
Tyla has reached out to Zoe Rae's representatives for comment.
Topics: Celebrity, Social Media, Travel, World News, Holiday, True Life, Real Life
Rhiannon Ingle