I came to this island of the Gods on my honeymoon in 1988. The marriage did not last long, but my love for this island was instant and ran deep.
Oh, the natural beauty of this island at the time - the beautiful beaches, lakes, volcanic mountains, majestic rice terraces, combined with the slow smooth, rhythm, the friendly people and their incredibly creative, cultural and spiritual practice were all so enchanting.
I fell in love with the sounds of gamelan , was greeted at temples and ceremonies, and fascinated by the hypnotic vocals of Kecak .
We stayed in the new area of Legian hippest; the latest extension of Kuta, at that time, where we sat for hours in cafes bootleg cassettes with headphones on, and danced into the wee hours of the morning in clubs in Kuta. We bought paintings directly from the artists in the picturesque village of Ubud, had so much fun in the sand dunes and swim in the pristine beach of Sanur. I went parasailing on the sacred lakes, swimming with turtles on Turtle Island, drink in bars where bartenders did magic tricks and cocktail shaking better than Tom Cruise.
They were fun and non-stop adventure, stay for a lifetime. Bali aroused wanderlust in me. I went to a lot of traveling around the world for many years to return to my beloved Bali in 2000. And what a shock that was!
In those 12 years, tourism has exploded. I ended up staying in an area I did not remember; Kuta was slumped in the development of Tuban! Cassette cafes were now pirate DVD shops, restaurants, shops and bars rolled into one overwhelming extension.
I am a scooter to ride in more familiar territory than finding roads I did not know, and Legian had extended well beyond my memory in rice fields alternately and fortified villas in Seminyak. I got further into the vast rice fields of Canggu surf spots for adventure and a bit of peace and quiet. And then rented a car to travel the island and see how it had changed.
Next stop Sanur, but where was the missing sand? The beach was destroyed! Turtle Island was turned into a miserable, dirty tank with some sad giant tortoises and a massive concrete construction abandoned. The answer to where the sand was gone - a rich Jakartan had dredged sand and coral for his unfortunate concrete construction of a local tourist attraction that never eventuated. I literally cried myself. Other trips have revealed the extension of sand erosion went all the way to Candi Dasa!
But there were still so many beautiful places and faces to be seen and new adventures to be had. I ended up settling in Ubud, which had grown to five times the size. He had a wonderful international platform artist living in harmony with the local Balinese.
I am based in Bali since then between Seminyak and Ubud, to end up back in
Legian; now considered an area of the inner city. And I have borne witness to the rise and fall and change in Bali and it is tourism over the last 16 years with the effects of two devastating bombs, travel alerts and the global financial crisis of 2008.
I saw the walls of the villa extending, and rice fields disappear from Legian to
Seminyak Canggu Kerobokan and beyond, as the Balinese contracted their land to foreign and built their own walls.
The incessant construction of hotels, restaurants, clubs and shopping centers is growing at an alarming rate, not just in the South. Eat Pray Love created an influx of tourist yogis, spiritual seekers and hikers in Ubud.
Bali saw a huge tourism and construction boom accordingly! And with that brings a new richness to the local population, which seems to go along with greed -. More cars, more bikes, more walls
This has also caused a huge influx from neighboring islands workers to assist in the construction and services, and a larger gap between the haves and deprived of both Balinese and foreign residents, which led to a population increase and violence, robberies and purse snatches.
With the rise of the middle class and wealth in Indonesia and Asian countries and the international appeal of Bali, the number of tourists increased rapidly. We needed more state of the art airport to handle more planes and larger buses to transport them to larger hotels, and more boats with more visits and entertainment.
With limited changes to the basic infrastructure, the result is catastrophic. This relentless traffic and pollution it causes are a big concern here. Now we drive with masks on and fight against the urge to rage. We exhaust our reserves tray of water at an alarming rate to the point of five-star hotels with eggy smell showers. We endure more hot days than ever with the conduction of concrete, our sea and beaches are polluted by oil and plastic, seaweed and rice cultivation are down, and our crafting skills are disappearing in because of the youth of today prefer to work opportunities in hospitality. Production is increasingly difficult and expensive, and the standard of living has increased, as the cost -. So many ways
I try to gently move with the changing times, adapting to the tolerance that the Balinese inspired. I acknowledge that I now live in an international city on a tropical island. The Balinese seem to intensify their cultural ceremonies and practices with greater intent, and they tell me they are concerned and complain about the traffic and the rising cost of living.
There is still so much natural beauty here to enjoy and protect further and on a positive note, the damage that has been done is slowly cured with sea bunkers built on the east coast to bring the sand, beach clean ups volunteers, many groups of eco-educational and charities to help those in need and educate. Maybe we can reverse some of the damage we have done or at least become more sustainable now, for the future.
But now this gentle tolerance and slow growth in environmental awareness is not enough. We must wake up and fight for our rights. We need to build international support for this great fight to date in Bali and the world.
It's time for the Barong dance his greatest ever battle of good over evil.
Yes, I speak of the proposed site of an artificial island in our Benoa port.
Again, corruption of selfish money Jakarta plans to build a huge tourist development, that we must not, by dumping a load of sand on our mangroves they take the neighboring islands Lombok.
This will destroy environmentally so. It will lead to a catastrophic erosion of beaches and islands in a domino effect, which will then continue to affect the world because it is scientifically concluded that these natural islands of Indonesia on the equator keep the balance of the flow of the world's seas.
On a spiritual Balinese notes this will upset the balance of the protection of the temples they have strategically built and their core beliefs which in turn lead to tragedy for the world, because they feel it is the island of the gods and the world of morning; the navel of the world lies under Mount Agung and the Mother Temple.
Nine Balinese spiritual leaders said that Benoa is an important cultural and spiritual importance and must be protected. Yet, Bali's governor says his hands are tied, and the approval of the order has already been given by the outgoing president!
I'm so proud of local Balinese petitions and protests Tolak Reklamasi Benoa.
We have to stay with them, awareness worldwide of this situation. I never want to see a repeat of devastation that was caused by the construction Turtle Island.
Happy in Bali.