Goodbye Bali - "The Good & The Bad" - Hello San Francisco

My Departure With "Bali Belly"

left me with plenty of time to reflect on changes,

that were both Good and Bad.



I said  goodbye to a beautiful Bali.



And I said hello to a lot of time for reflection.

I said  my last goodbyes to Bali, departed from the Denpasar airport

back to San Francisco  with a significant case of “Bali Belly”.

(It does not mean I am pregnant!)  "Bali Belly" means the same as

Montezuma’s Revenge or Turkey Trots, as in travelers' diarrhea

caused by contaminated food or water.

The nasty offender must have originated from the “ice” in my last ice
latte at Starbucks.  I guess I was feeling overly confident after not
having any problems for the entire two months and eating whatever I
wanted, sipping on ice drinks and occasional salads at the new
organic restaurants.

Given that it was at least a 22 hour travel day, it meant  that I didn’t
eat any of that tasty microwaved warmed up airplane food and I
stuck firmly to my prescription of a liquid diet. Unfortunately, the
Bali bug lingered for almost a week after my return home, which
meant breaking into my emergency supply box for canned chicken
soup.  Yeah…. lots of soup.

I hated having to spend my first week home feeling crappy!  But it
did give me plenty of time to reflect.

Looking back: 2 Months in Bali - The Good and Bad.

Spending time in Bali gave me a chance to evaluate what had
changed during the last ten years.  My observations are what
I'm going to call it the Good News and the Bad News. 
Which one should I start with first....the Good News?

The Good News:

Bali is still incredibly gorgeous, especially when you take the
back roads by foot or bicycle or even a motorbike. ​The difference
now  is that along the pathway, there are restaurants where you
can rest and enjoy the view, reward yourself with  an organic
smoothie and then when refreshed, get back on the path.

The fact that Bali is a Hindu island in the middle of a Muslin
country,  makes it unusually fascinating to me. The Balinese form
of Hinduism is one of a kind in the world, a swirling mix of
animism (nature worship),  Hinduism and Buddhism.   You will
observe  rituals and remnants of Hindu prayers everywhere and
constantly.

Ubud, in itself, has special features you won’t see anywhere else
in the world.  For one, there is an  exotic, large Monkey Forest
jungle right in the central part of the city.  Plus, there are cute
boutique shops intermingled with old Balinese artisan shops with
fabulous food options, both ethnic and organic. 

You will be amazed by the Balinese architecture and stone
carvings,  small trays of flower offerings at every buildings entry,
complete with prayers and incense. Every house has a visible
outdoor temple as well as every village having their own 3
temples.  The Balinese are  artisans and royalty from their very
birth, originally from Java.   The Ubud royal family supports the
community financially, offers their property for dance shows and
is completely open to wandering tourists. All of these features
make Ubud a unique high vibrational place in the world and that's
part of why the secret is out!

Just a few years ago, it was a quiet relaxing haven, attracting
backpacking hippy types with block after block of Balinese
crafts and trinket shops. Now there are daily buses unloading
groups of Chinese and Japanese tourists, for bargain shopping
at boutique, clothing and jewelry shops,

Many say that Eat Pray Love is responsible for the peaked
tourism at it's current,outrageously high levels.  The increase in
tourism gives Bali great pride and is changing their focus to be
more about business and money.  (One of  the reasons,  I liked
Bali in the first place, was so that I could leave that focus of
money at home and spend time relaxing!) The Balinese still
have their beautiful temperaments, but now there is a tiny dollar
sign pasted on their foreheads.

Old traditional craft shops are giving way to sparkling, modern
shops, while carved wood  buildings are  giving way to hard
cold concrete.  Family owned homestays are giving way to
fancy boutique  hotels, while rice paddies are giving way to
newly built, expatriate homes. It's happening rapidly, with
bulldozers and new construction on nearly every block.

Ubud continues to be a healing paradise, as well as a shopping

paradise, which makes it any woman's dream come true.

On each block, there remains  several venues for inexpensive

massage, foot reflexology, chakra readings, yoga and medication
lessons and beautiful  shops, mostly aimed at women. 

 Did I happen to mention that Bali loves to market their  young,

buff men to the tourist women? The "Kuta Cowboys" or gigilos
are definitely in Ubud and Lovina, although they are somewhat
discreet.  However, my sharp eyes see them flaunting themselves
around.  Most “drivers” double as lovers, whether they be single
or married and their wives who are very aware,  are powerless.

The Bad News:

Some things I have had to deal with here in Bali is the poor

air quality, due to congested street traffic.  I developed a

cough during the very first week in Ubud and resorted to

trying to wear a face mask.   But I didn’t like breathing in

my own hot air, on an already hot day, causing my face to

sweat.  And let’s not go into my claustrophobic issues with

anything over my face.

Anyway, it’s not  possible to enjoy a coffee or bite to eat in
the coffee shops of Ubud without inhaling fumes.

With the unbridled development, there are now  teams of

poverty stricken, migrant workers flooding into Bali from

Java and Lombok, causing an increasingly higher crime rate. 

This is probably more concerning to the expatriates who live

there, than to the tourists. 

Bali's goals are to increase tourism to higher levels each and

every year.  They have succeeded!  Cruise boats have started

to dock at the Benoa Port at the south of Bali with thousands

of tourists. There is much money and focus on extending the

dock so as  to allow 2 cruise boats at one time in 2015.

Basically, it means there will be increasingly huge flocks of

tourists each year and Bali will soon will be a different world.

Cruise ships at Benoa Port

With all of the above mentioned, I continue to hear first time
tourists raving about how much they love Bali and how they
find their experience to be nothing less than  magical.

They feel drawn to returning and spending more time in Bali
and those that have the time and money, simply change their
tickets and extend their visa.

That same magnetic pull and magical experience, is one that I
too experienced 20 years ago and at that time,  I knew that I
would return.  Bali has it's way of warming the heart and
opening the soul in ways that one wants to re-experience again
and again.  How amazing that some things are simply timeless,
refusing  to change and that is true for the intoxicating allure of
Bali.

A Few Tips Before Traveling To Bali.

My experience was that the stress level is higher now than
previously, in a way that builds up on you a little more everyday,
until it becomes just a little too much for comfort.  

I can only suggest that it is wise to start using the very inexpensive spas and
massages as often as you can, focus on enjoying all of the
wonderful sights and experiences that  Ubud has to offer.

If you are hoping for beautiful beaches, I would recommend going elsewhere. If you are hoping for a unique cultural experience you have the right place.   Since so many modern changes have taken place in Bali it is more difficult to have the experiences that I have had historically.  You will have to announce to your hotel and everyone you meet that you are interested in authentic Balinese events and ceremonies.   Be open to meeting the right people to give you information.

Include road trips to the country or perhaps a couple of days to the hot beach area of Amed on the east coast or a couple of days at the nearby Gili islands via speed boat.
Don't even bother to go to the Kuta, Legian area, unless you are either
a party person or a surfer.

You can still have a wonderfully magical  time in Bali, enjoying
an intact, vibrant culture, incredibly beautiful country roads
through rice paddies, the music and arts, and spas galore.

Will I return 10 years from now?…….I can’t say for sure what it will look like and then I will have to see if I still feel the vibrational pull.

Yet, I am incredibly grateful for having known Bali, the magical
experiences and caring, spiritual  people that I have met along
the way. For me, it has been a true gem in the world, a piece of
heaven that I will never forget. I will always remember Bali
with love and peace in my heart and doubt I will ever find a
location and culture so beautiful. 

And now, I am adapting to the cooler weather and culture shock
of being back in San Francisco.

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om

(Peace, Peace, Perfect Peace)