Bali

Dearest Rachel –

As mentioned yesterday, our next stop will take us a short hop over from Lombok to Bali. Unlike today, which didn’t actually even start until early afternoon (the gangway wasn’t lowered until after 2pm), we’ll be arriving at Bali by seven in the morning. My excursion, however, being a literal day at the beach, doesn’t require me to get up and get going until almost ten. That’s fine by me, as I’m not in the best position to push myself too hard – although if I wake up too soon, I might as well make my way to the dock, as we’re to meet off the ship in any event.

As mentioned before, Bali has the distinction of remaining as a Hindu enclave in the middle of the worlds largest majority Muslim nation. Given that most Muslim nations don’t tend to be particularly big on religious freedom, for some reason, this has always struck me as unusual. Although, given its history, with a long tradition steeped in Hinduism from as many as two thousand years ago – and further added to by the encroachment of the Majapahit empire from Java, with its own Buddhist and Hindu traditions – and a fierce independent streak (consider its own colonial endeavors onto Lombok island, for instance), perhaps the majority Muslim government of modern independent Indonesia has decided to leave well enough alone.

Bali has, after all, been a cash cow, attracting tourists for the better part of a century; although anthropologists and naturalists have been impressed with the place for over a hundred and fifty years (and Portuguese and Dutch traders had been dealing with the Balinese since the fifteen hundreds), the place took off in terms of being an exotic place to visit with the release of a documentary in 1932 entitled Virgins of Bali. Since the Hays Code, as written at the time, took exception to “civilized” (read ‘white’) women being naked, but for whatever reason had no issue with “uncivilized” nudity, the filmmakers took full advantage of this loophole, and created a sensation that very nearly single-handedly turned Bali into a mecca for tourists that has yet to diminish. Indeed, Bali has hosted the Miss World competition within the past decade, as well as various political and economic fora (hey, bureaucrats need to enjoy their time, too!) as well as being renowned for its highly developed arts, including traditional and modern dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking, and music. Along such lines, the Indonesian International Film Festival is held every year there as well; clearly, Indonesia as a whole seems fine to let Bali be Bali.

Not that this has always been the case; in 2002, a bombing by militant Islamists in the tourist area of Kuta (the isthmus connecting Kecamatan in the south to Denpasar and the rest of the island) killed 202 people, mostly foreigners. This attack, and another in 2005, severely reduced tourism, producing much economic hardship on the island. Tourism has since recovered, and is the largest single industry in terms of income. As a result, Bali is one of Indonesia’s wealthiest regions. In 2003 – note that this was between the two bombings that significantly curtailed it for a time – around 80% of Bali’s economy was tourism-related. The dollar – be it American or Australian – and the yuan speak louder than the voice of the prophet here. I’d go further into that discussion – and, as with a previous sleep-deprived night, I actually wrote a few things down to such effect – but I don’t know that it would be appropriate for the moment. So I’ll save that for another day; perhaps when I’m safely home.

As it is, my excursion will take me just a short ride south from where we’re likely to be docked in Benoa, to Nusa Dua Beach on the east side of the Kecamatan peninsula. I’ll be honest, this is probably something you would enjoy more than I will, as you were always game to go swimming; however, as I haven’t always been able to guarantee there will be shuttles to get me to one downtown area or another, I’ve basically been signing up for shore excursions everywhere we go in order to get somewhere. If nothing else, tours will know where ‘the places to be’ are better than I will, and can get me there more easily than I can on foot even if I did. As with Lombok, there’s more than likely to be plenty of ‘shopportunities,’ along with time to spend swimming, sunning and the like. I’m sure a little additional vitamin D would do my current health situation some more good.

In any event, with all that being said, keep an eye on me, honey, and wish me luck. I’m likely still going to need it.