Bali
Is bali the island of gods ?
Part two
Bali, Indonesia 2019
IT APPEARS everyone wants to go there.
This thought came to me while I was waiting for hours at the passport control in Bali.
Everyone wants to be individual and special ... .. and then we do what everyone else does. In Hong Kong, I shared an apartment with someone who had just come from Bali. His stories and pictures made me go to this paradise, which was not originally on my travel plan. His stories sounded as tempting as in the beginning of the film "The Island". Here people live in a utopian residential unit, which is actually a prison, and hope to be able to travel to THE island one day: Supposedly it is the last oasis on earth where the world would still be intact …
The first impression
is anything but heavenly.
On the surface, the island looks more like an exotic amusement park. There is something for everyone here. Crowds and photographer flash orgies not only in the temples, just everywhere. Armed with umbrellas, influencers pose half-naked on holy sites. They post whatever pleases and attracts attention and gets likes. The rest is left out. The government's bikini ban, on the other hand, just like the behavior of some island visitors, looks like a bad joke to me.
I respect every culture, including its holy places, cultural places and monuments. Here I only take photos in a thoughtful and respectful way. And I can only invite everyone to do so as well.
They exist
… the idyllic places where time seems stand still.
With its artfully laid out rice terraces, mystical volcanoes, colorful processions and strange gamelan sounds, Bali is one of the most mysterious travel destinations in the world. From a swing we don't encounter the real heart of Bali: the inhabitants and their culture.
Those who really want to enjoy the Balinese culture and the true hospitality will find happiness beyond the fairgrounds. A few kilometers outside the tourist centers, a far more authentic and cordial picture opens up than all tropical image sections on social media could show.
Bali Indonesia 2019
World Heritage
Rice has been grown in Bali for 2000 years.
Cultivation has become a handicraft and the rice fields are viewed as works of art. The Balinese rice cultivation in the hilly central country has an effective and widely distributed irrigation system for the rice terraces. It runs through the fields like lifelines.
The irrigation and cultivation technology is efficient and is considered unsurpassed. The farmers are able to harvest up to three times a year. Sounds like a lot, but in-house production is not enough. Due to the increasing population and, above all, tourist numbers, more expensive rice has to be imported.
The water in which the farmers stand knee-deep to plant the sensitive seedlings is also a scarce resource. Although Bali is a tropical island, the water table is dropping dramatically because of the many tourists. The tourism industry in Bali uses 65% of the water available on the island, according to Tourism Watch. The local residents, the farmers and their agriculture suffer as a result.
Bali Indonesia 2019
The whole picture
The other side of the deceptive dream backdrop is not always appealing.
The infrastructure cannot keep up with the tourist boom. In contrast to Delhi, where the traffic is always flowing despite the countless taxis and mopeds, here the masses are often stuck in traffic jams. Bali benefits financially from tourism, but Indonesia is still one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia. Apparently only those who are directly involved with tourism benefit.
What trusting 100% income from tourism means in a country without a social system, however, becomes apparent in times of the corona pandemic. No tourism means: no money to support the family. There are no longer any alternative sources of income for the locals who have sold their land.
It should feel like it did at Nyepi - the day on which Bali stands still and everything is closed. The deeper meaning of Nyepi is a new beginning in the greatest possible purity. Through the silence, the ghosts and demons passing by should also believe that Bali is deserted and not a worthwhile destination. The island and its inhabitants should thus be protected from bad influence.
Perhaps this prolonged standstill will one day give them a less dependent new start…
Images and Text © Sascha van der Werf
