Bali revisited

Four weeks after our initial visit, we briefly returned to Bali because we had to catch a flight from Denpasar airport. There was some extra sightseeing on the east coast and a trip to the Bukit peninsula to watch the surfing crowd. By then I was more relaxed and could appreciate certain aspects of the island, but I still wouldn't encourage anyone to honeymoon there.

Kyoto blues

Bali, in my experience, is somewhat like Kyoto in Japan. The imperial city and the tropical retreat are both hyped beyond belief. While hype isn't necessarily a bad thing, careless development most definitely is.  The allied forces didn't bomb Kyoto during World War II because they considered it too beautiful to ruin. They left that to the Japanese, who disposed of entire traditional neighborhoods in favor of some truly hideous modern architecture. Now, despite its innumerable temples and shrines, the city lacks cohesion and character. Same story in Bali, where an influx of foreign investment washed away what all the foreigners were excited about in the first place.

Pockets of loveliness

Now, I'm not saying paradise is completely lost. The straw roofs of family temples still peek over garden walls in the smaller towns. Even on the heavily developed Bukit there are some idyllic beaches left. You might accidentally walk into a temple where a gamelan orchestra is practicing or wake up early in  your family-owned lodgings to watch the women of the house prepare the little offerings to the gods that pop up everywhere. Small pockets of loveliness persist, despite the overbearing presence of sleazy commercialism.

I hope I'm wrong about Bali. We didn't spend much time there and left much of the island unexplored. Amed, on the eastern coast, is supposed to be lovely. The magic just didn't happen for us.

Done Bali is an Australian documentary about the island's paradise image. Might be worth a looksy!