There is a lot going on in Bali, culturally, politically, environmentally this place is oozing with intrigue. However one thing I've noticed while reading magazines, newspapers and forums on Indonesia is there are a lot of disgruntled expats charging around the island on very high horses.
One forum, balipod.com is especially interesting for those moving to Bali who are curious about finding a place to stay, buying land, the cost of living and potential problems one might encounter in Bali. The forum has a lot of interesting questions, however some (and i mean a large percent of) responses are unnecessary and hostile.
There is a lot of tension between conceptions of what the island once was. what it is for locals. what it is for ex-pats. what it is for tourists. what it is for developers. and what the island should be.
One thread (Bali has become a fabricated paradise) seemed to illustrate this tension particularly well.
The resort island of Bali has become a "fabricated" paradise, where the tourism industry has implanted numerous non-indigenous elements into the local culture for the sake of enhancing the island's attractiveness and luring more visitors.
"We are now living not in a paradise created, but in a paradise fabricated," anthropologist Jean Couteau said, referring to Bali: A Paradise Created, a critical book on the formation of images about Bali, written by Adrian Vickers, professor of Southeast Asian studies at the University of Sydney.
"An increasing number of tourists now come to Bali to watch elephant attractions. Historically-speaking, the elephant has never been an endemic species of this island. However, for the sake of tourism, elephants were shipped into Bali, and the island's image has been readjusted to fit into the Southeast Asian image as a region of elephants."
Another example is the "Indianization" of the local architecture."When we enter the hotels in Ubud, what we see is not Balinese culture. We see a lot of Buddha statues and Indian ornaments. This is the process of Indianization, in which the island is being readjusted to suit the hopes and aspirations of the fans of yoga, who are the prospective patrons for those hotels," he stressed during a cultural discussion in Sanur.
One balipod regular who seems particularly insightful and informed replies:
"So what does everyone want? Should Bali now be like some museum display that portrays Balinese culture as it was at some point in the past? If one or two villages like Tenganan do this - that's fine, but you hardly want the whole tourist industry of the island working that way.
I admire the adaptability of the Balinese as they cater to tourist whims. European tourists think beach locations should have sun-lounges and beach umbrellas. Hardly a Balinese tradition, but no problem - local workshops create sun lounges of many styles and then they can create fixed umbrellas with alang-alang roofing materials. So then the visitors can bake themselves Euro Bakar??)"
I think this is a good response to the cultural notion that certain places can adapt and others must unnaturally maintain. No one goes to Paris and says wait we can't have women in pants they must be dressed as they were in the belle epoch because things were so much more beautiful and authentic then. No one goes to Detroit and says wait where are the 50s cars and Motown singers? Sure often change is sad and things don't always become more beautiful, but we can not dictate some cultures refuse globalization and evolution. The best we can do is support local artists, pay to see museums and natural parks, try to live in a sustainable way and live with respect and interest for other cultures. We can not however demand they live in an artificially fixed state for our enjoyment.
