Bali is a beautiful place that is rich with the Hindu culture, many temples with incredibly detailed sculptures, rice terraces that are still hand planted, views from mountain vistas, areas with clear blue tropical water, and many world class surf breaks. The local people were welcoming, happy to help you, and smiled often. We particularly enjoyed Ubud, the Bukit Peninsula and the country side.
Although there is much to love in Bali, and as you can read from my “poem” and see in the photos below, we had many great moments, however, as Sybil put it, it threw a lot of rocks at us.
It’s evident that some aspects of modern/western civilization and tourism and the lack of sustainable infrastructure have left scars that will be difficult to heal. This is the root of what bothered us in some locations we visited and it was disheartening to see such a beautiful place with these sorts of problems.
It seems that over the past few decades the combination of disposable non-biodegradable items coupled with a rapidly growing visitor count has led to unsustainable growth on an island that lacks the infrastructure to manage it responsibly. In many ways we felt guilty for being there and contributing to the problem, and powerless about doing much to help. We tried to limit our plastic consumption by buying 5-liter water jugs and refilling our reusable bottles, refusing plastic bags at the market, and avoiding straws when we remembered to. We felt this made a miniscule impact on a big problem. There is a lot of waste created on the island and the disposal and recycling systems are limited. Therefore, much of it ends up in places it shouldn’t such as the forest, sides of the road, waterways, and most prominently the ocean. I remember seeing a lot of litter in the USA when I was younger, and people often throwing trash out of their car windows. Since then, with education, fines, and the development of recycling centers, it seems we are in much better shape.
I think there is hope for Bali, but it will take much work and government assistance. There are signs that steps being taken in the right direction, which is promising. Organizations like Eco-Bali are helping educate the locals about the issues with improper trash disposal, many of whom don’t know that plastic isn’t biodegradable. A new recycling center is being built by the government. Even the World Surf League, who brought one of their events back to Bali this year, is doing their part by re-naming the event from “Corona Bali Pro” to “Corona Bali Protected” to bring attention to the problem and providing educational experiences at the event regarding the sensitivity of our environment, the trash issues, ways to help, and alternatives to high impact materials. As we have left the island now, I will be writing to the minister of tourism and voicing my concern about the issue and asking that the government continue to support the solution. Maybe a tourist tax is in order to help fund the disposal problems? We would have been happy to pay more to experience a clean and protected island.
All of this is an important reminder for us to try our best to reduce our consumption, especially of non-biodegradable materials, where ever we are in the world. We would love to visit Bali again, but we’d be even more vigilant than we were this time by booking accommodations at environmentally responsible places and further limiting our consumption. If you plan to visit Bali, please keep this situation in mind and we suggest being responsible and trying to minimize your impact while there. If the 5 million tourists that visit each year used one less disposeable item a day, it would be a huge help.
Here are some pictures we took while we were there of the nice things we saw and did 😊.
Handmade morning offerings by the Hindu people. There were thousands of these laid out every day.
In Bali, Hinduism is a large part of their population, each Hindu home is treated as a temple. I loved these decorative entrances.
Fresh watermelon juice. I think we had a different fresh juice combination everyday. Especially in Ubud, there was a large emphasis on healthy eateries. Notice the heart detail in the watermelon crust, and a straw we should have avoided.
Top of Batur Volcano as the sun rose.
Andrzej getting the full treatment!
On the other side of Batur Volcano’s crater on our way down. Notice the curious monkey in the background...
One of the many waves Andrzej caught at Medewi.
Sybil made a monkey friend while strolling through the Monkey Forest in Ubud. This was luckily a nice monkey gently nibbling on her fingers. There were other monkeys that were not so nice and tried to steal things from people.
One of the many beautiful rice paddies in Bali. This one was on our way to Medewi from Canggu.
A nice long wave for Anj. (Sybil still can’t seem to catch him at the top of his turn despite the thousands of pictures she’s taken)
A monkey family.
No comment
The Hindu Water Temple
Just two dollars to walk across this “stucture” to see the “green cliffs”!
View from the bamboo “structure” above.
The Campuhan Ridge Wall in Ubud.
Cheers!
Bali - A Poem
Gentle blue waves lap against the airport reef during your final descent,
A cloud of smoke as the landing gear smashes into the runway;
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A peaceful walk along the Ubud ridge amongst rice paddies with the heady aroma of Hindu incense in the air and you enjoy the best yoga practice of your life,
Monkey tribes playing in the forest and occasionally stealing from and harassing the unsuspecting and unprepared tourist;
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An early hike to the Batur volcano summit with clear starry skies that turn into an orange sunrise as you followed by and an assortment of coffee and tea choices at the plantation afterwards,
Black soot in your sinuses from the volcanic ash that evening and a sudden infestation of red ants next to your bathroom sink;
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The largest surf swell in decades fills in and you give it a go,
The possibility of drowning crosses your mind as a large set catches you inside at an unfamiliar surf reef;
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Manageable surf and a good session the next day,
Almost immediate ear and stomach ache due to the heavily polluted and trash filled water in Canggu, the result of unsustainable overdevelopment mostly driven by tourism, unreliable rubbish disposal on this and adjacent islands, and lack of education with regards to the environmental/health impact of dumping trash in the river banks, fields, ocean etc.;
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Confidence building and many surf sessions with large, long, and playful lefthand waves at Medewi as the next slightly smaller swell arrives and you’re happy to stay here for a week,
Then the stomach bug kicks in full force and after a few days you’ve lost almost 20lbs;
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A Hindu dance is performed by a young family as you enjoy a traditional meal, and you find comfort in the pleasant local people you’ve met throughout the island,
Stomach still not feeling right;
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Finally, stomach bug relieved after 2 days of emergency antibiotics,
On the third day you break out in hives from an antibiotic allergy you didn’t know you had, Benadryl quickly dissipates it;
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A spectacular Uluwatu temple sunset while watching the Kecak Fire Dance performance
A 7.0 earthquake rumbles as you’re enjoying your dinner under a palm canopy and the patrons all run to the center open courtyard until it dissipates;
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A dreamy blue wave under the Bingin cliffs comes to you and you make the most of it,
As you paddle back to the lineup, your arms start itching and burning. You realize your arms and seemingly your whole body are cramping as hives spread over your body, and it’s a 15 minute paddle back to shore. Terror grips you. Should you embarrassingly ask another surfer to help you get in? Have you become allergic to the sun or the ocean? Will you make it to shore? Once on shore, you take few Benadryl, which you now carry with you everywhere, and you shake and chatter your teeth uncontrollably for 20 minutes while your wife comforts you and assures you that you’ll be okay, the shock subsides and your skin slowly returns to normal;
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You relax in the airport lounge as you wait for your flight,
You learn the airport experienced structural damage in yesterday’s earthquake and at least 98 people died on the neighboring island of Lombok where the quake was centered, the same island you had considered visiting a few days prior;
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Takeoff…..
Our dinner the last night in Bali, interrupted by a category 7 earthquake.