Take-Aways

At last! A holiday within the holiday! Bali. The mood is of dolce far niente and the itinerary confined to Lovina beach in the north, one volcano and its lake in the North East, Ubud for a small cultural and luxury immersion inland and Kuta, otherwise known as Asian surfer’s paradise in the South. It’s beautiful, truly beautiful and “resorty”. The quintessential summer tropical paradise. I cannot find fault with it and I enjoy it immensely but I cannot fall in love with it either. Throughout Indonesia I have felt this. It has all been unique, breathtaking and impressive but I have not warmed to it. Is it the people? Is it the fact that you are constantly harassed about something? Buying transport, food, or souvenirs? This happens in other places too and cannot fully explain the antipathy. And no matter what you always meet people that are nice enough. Is it the feeling that you know for a fact that you are constantly being screwed out of something? Again that is not quite “it”. Somehow there is a funny vibe that keeps me removed from the place. And yet there are loads of things I truly like. The Balinese are very strongly Hindu but their Hinduism is mixed with their ancestral traditions and beliefs which makes their culture and the manifestation of it very delicate and unique. All day, every day, they make little offerings out of woven leaves and flowers, fruit and incense that you trip over on every sidewalk in the street, outside homes and in stores. Anything to ward off the evil spirits and invite the good ones in. They look like little baskets of delights that the fairies just dropped there to prove that they exist. I loved the dolphins in Lovina even as I hated the hoards of boats laden with tourists that chased the dolphins around to feed our cameras. I enjoyed the name of Lovina’s central town. How can something called Kalibukbuk not bring a smile to your face? I dare you to say it out loud and tell me that it doesn’t. The view of the volcano with the water filled crater from the top also took my breath away despite the many other volcanoes we had already seen in Java. Ubud, charming, upmarket, steeped in rice fields and full of cheeky monkeys that you could spend days observing. The shops and restaurants were marvels of style and the town offers everything from health food to spas, yoga to meditation classes. Finally there is Kuta and its surfing classes, overdeveloped, busy and full of souvenir shops but with one of the most amazing beaches I have ever seen, White sand that stretches as far as the eye can see and glorious, imposing waves that never stop. And I most certainly recommend surfing! Could it be that the Bali bombings left an indelible trace on the island’s soul? In the most popular street in Kuta, there is a gaudy monument to those who died there. It is hard to believe that in this ordinary street, full of bars and restaurants, up and down which we went every day, something as dreadful could ever have happened. Yes, I liked Bali but I do not know if I will ever go back there again. Truth be told, I could not wait to be kicked out of that paradise. Australia beckons and I suspect I have a weakness for that place.