Bali, 2024

I once called Bali the island of the gods, a spiritual center, and I attest to its healing properties in curing the physical and spiritual ailments of an individual. I came to Bali late last year in search of peace, wanting to trace the steps I left behind after my life-altering surgery. This time around, I’m drawn to the island for the same purpose, to re-align my intentions and get back to living a fulfilled life of meaning after having been wandering around for some time.

This time I stayed in Seminyak instead of the quieter and less populated Ubud. I found Seminyak to be worlds apart from Ubud; being the meeting point for party goers and café hoppers, it was far from the tranquil environment that I needed to comfort a tired mind. Nevertheless, I saw a side of Bali that I was not familiar with, and I wasn’t pleased with what I found.

The Bali I knew during my many visits here over the years is an island rich in green foliage, with spectacular views of tall white cliffs edging to sea, picturesque terraced paddy fields and beautiful edifices of Hindu temples scattered around. The people are charming, melting hearts with their generous hospitality and gentle manners. The Balinese culture, inherited from the lore of the Majapahit kingdom, is the reason why people like myself, who come from a city of bright lights, seek solace in its sanctuary. In my most recent visits here, I have seen that the lure of money has seduced the locals to slowly abandon their old ways and imbue the cultures that the tourists bring with them. That to me is sad.

A Balinese tour guide once told me that according to ancient customs, the Balinese are not allowed to construct any building taller than a coconut tree. With a hearty laugh he said, “What if the tree is on a roof?” The old sages must had gathered generations-old wisdom to come up with beliefs like that, and the result is a life of contentment and peace. Ask any city dweller whether they would want to trade the smog-filled concrete jungle life with a peaceful life by the sea, and looking at the throngs of young, jaded Westerners that come here, the answer is a resounding yes.

But the tourists are the bane to the present Bali. They are often enticed by a romanticized life by the beach, sipping alcohol infused with coconut water, waking up to the magnificent sunrise and doing yoga…but they also contribute to the loud and hideous side of the Balinese life, a life of all night partying and wild drinking. This life of hedonism is further fueled by their strong currency and the willingness of some Balinese to accommodate them.

Bali’s reputation as the island of the gods is now shifting to an island of Paradise in the cheap. Surely one cannot truly find peace after a night of drunken stupor and partying, and then going to bathe in the pools in the Pura the next day, for the purpose of spiritual cleansing. That really seems rather hypocritical and is a mockery what Bali is known for.

To add salt to the wound, the tourists seemingly don’t bother to show respect to the holy places in Bali by dressing modestly. Often walking around rather scantily dressed in the small towns of Seminyak and Canggu, they bring their beach-inspired attires to the holy puras. The locals oblige them by handing them a sarong to be worn during visits to their holy temples.

During the week I spent there, I heard fiery complaints from a local Balinese of a scandal known as Mafia tanah. Apparently, foreigners smitten by the beautiful island and seduced by its commercial opportunities have taken over many businesses and land owned by locals. In an impassioned plea, this Balinese lady, with tears streaming down her eyes, took to social media and begged the Indonesian government to do something about the issue. Much of the tranquility of Bali is hanging in question, and their future is uncertain with locals and foreigners embroiled in disputes to lay claim on some land and businesses of the island.

Even though unsightly conflicts may be brewing underground in the Balinese society, I am hopeful that Balinese people will eventually come to realize the wisdom and truth of their old way of life, adhering to sacred rituals, preserving modesty and abstaining from giving in to the whims of desire. The young may be tempted by the mindless fun of binge-drinking and promiscuity, but I am certain that when the new generation of Balinese people come full circle, they will return to the precious and unique way of Balinese life.