For surfers, it’s all still here. Despite all the expat and visitors’ doomsday talk of the final stages of over development and the final surrender of Bali to the almighty tourist invasion, and the destruction of the Uluwatu cliffs and on and on…it’s all still here for us. The waves, the fun, the romance, the famous dream. And it’s all thanks to the indomitable Balinese culture.
Yes, the Canggu madness is very real and the traffic is very bad and the overpopulation is scary and very depressing to the veteran visitor or expat, but on the other hand, the Balinese Hindu culture is thriving and surviving completely intact and undiminished amidst all of it. Everywhere on the island. As is its perennial way. Adapting and benefiting from all the changes throughout its history ever since it was ‘discovered’ by the outside world. After all, it is the Balinese people’s island, not ours and they can do with it as they wish. That’s nothing new either. And the Balinese people are reaping benefits untold in better education and health and wealth. Now there is a dream come true right there. It just isn’t yours. And all the talk of now that Canggu is played out that the Bukit Peninsula is in the bullseye and will soon succumb to traffic gridlock and greed and overcrowding and all the rest of it, is just that. Talk.
Because the development of Bali as an island paradise has been going on for over a hundred years. Of course this island is going to be overdeveloped. All discovered paradises are. Look at the Gold Coast. But the difference with this place, unlike locations like say, Waikiki, or the Goldie, is that the indigenous culture here is not diluted or disappeared or overwhelmed or made fun of or diminished. First of all, the Balinese still own everything and hold all the cards. Including their own dignity and power and faith. And second of all, their belief system is ever present in anyone’s daily life here, local or visitor, and has never wavered in the face of empirical invasions like tourism and never will. That’s a fact.
So all the fears and lamenting of paradise lost isn’t anything new. It’s evolution. And lest we forget, it’s all the tourism that causes it all anyway. So to all haters out there of the modern Bali and its land rush future, to all the lamentators and grumpy influencers, remember that you caused it by coming here in the first place. All through history. It is the desire for a paradise that is not yours that makes it what it is today. So take some responsibility for it and stop whinging. And figure out a way to keep loving this island. Because it is belief in love, a love of an ancient culture and way of life, that has allowed Bali to survive throughout the changes.
Forget about changing the modern Bali. Because it never has changed, really. Not in your lifetime. It has just evolved as a global paradise and continues to do so. And, despite the crowds you would also find in Waikiki or the Goldie, the waves are still here, and they always will be. So to all the doomsayers, do this: stop moaning and start loving Bali and its people and its culture again, the way it is and the way it will become. Because what’s really happening here is that it’s not time to change Bali back to “what it was”, what’s happening here is that it’s time to change yourself.
