A Two Week Holiday -- Paradise #1 versus Paradise #2

I am back in Bogor now after almost two weeks spent in the tropical paradises of Lombok and Bali. Because I had to pay to get online these last two weeks I figured I would wait until I got back to the office to post again. So here goes;

Paradise #1

I flew straight from Jakarta to the capital of Lombok, Mataram, and then hopped a taxi to the ferry that would take me to the Gili Islands. I heard about these islands from Melanie, the CUSO volunteer, before she left and she was right when she guessed that I would like the place. The three islands (Gili Trawangdan, Gili Meno and Gili Ayar) are three small islands off the northwest coast of Lombok. There is essentially nothing going on here except tourism. The islands are covered in restaurants/bars and home stay/hotel/bungalows. Every few days they have a huge party that lasts all night and into the early morning at one of the larger bars. During the day it’s all about snorkeling and diving and lying in the sun.

When I first got to Gili Trawangdan I was totally blown away at finding one of these backpacker’s retreats where everything is directed towards pleasing budget travelers who like to have a good time. I spent the first night sitting on a raised platform with a thatched roof and a small table surrounded by pillows for sitting. I sat there for a good while just watching people stroll by and felt like I had found a hidden paradise where all your wishes would come true. But then I noticed people excusing themselves from their dinner guests to talk to their office on their cell phone at the table next to me and I realized that I was in a place that wasn’t quite perfect.

I spent a lot of time in the bamboo bungalow I rented on the quieter northwest coast of Gili Trawangdan, a couple of days I never even left the grounds of the resort but just sat on my porch watching the surf and then eventually the sunset. I spent another day walking around the island twice, once around only took a couple of hours and I had all day to kill so I went around again. When I finally had enough of relaxing by the beach I took a snorkeling trip to three sites around the three islands. First was Trawangdan where we saw coral and fish, then Meno where we swam with sea turtles and then Ayar to see giant clams. After lunch on Gili Ayar we headed back to Trawangdan. I got a wicked sunburn on the whole back side of my body while snorkeling and had to invest in some Aloe Vera gel, which is expensive in touristy spots like this. (Not really expensive by North American standards though)

I guess I have been spoiled by low prices in Bogor because it turned out I hadn’t brought enough money to stay in Lombok as long as I wanted to. The only ATM was back in Mataram and I didn’t want to start running in circles with the limited amount of time I had. So once I had changed all the American money I had brought into rupiah, and then duly spent those rupiah, I was off to Bali where the tourist industry is a little more developed and there are ATMs all over the place.

Paradise #2

I had bought a ticket that would get me from the Gili Islands all the way to Ubud in Bali. From about 8:00am until 7:00pm I traveled by boat, then bus, then ferry, then bus again to get to Ubud. The sudden shift in culture was a bit of a shock, but in a pleasant way. From the ferry landing to Ubud you could see the profound difference in a Hindu culture than other parts of Indonesia. There were temples and little altars everywhere, with the accompanying offerings. There were also a lot of dogs around for some reason, or maybe it just seemed like a lot since there are so few in Java (on an unrelated note dog is a delicacy in parts of Java).

In Ubud I got a nice room in a home stay and then went walking. Just about all I did in Ubud for the three days I was there was walk around and check out the amazing, traditional stonework and brick-style architecture. I also went to see a Gechak dance (or fire dance for the tourists) and was totally enthralled. The dance incorporated themes and characters from the traditional Hindu legend of the Ramayana, including Hanuman the monkey god (the only one I remember). Some Japanese tourists sitting next to me were nodding their heads in time with the rhythmic chanting of the male singers and when the show was over the applause went on for a long time. A man announced that the show as over and it was easy to understand why they had to make an announcement since few people left their seats as though they wanted to see more.

I also went to the Monkey Temple Forest which is a sacred place as well as a monkey reserve. There were fat monkeys everywhere eating bananas that the tourists gave them. I got a little freaked out when a few monkeys were chasing me down some steps screaming their little monkey heads off, but I caught up with a larger group of tourists and they left me alone.

Next was Kuta, which could be best described as saying that the “Hello Meester” I am usually greeted with was replaced by a “Hey mate.” If you haven’t guessed already I’m saying that there are a lot of Australians there. Bali has been described as Australia’s playground/backyard and Kuta is at the centre of it all. It was all shops, bars and beach from what I saw while I was there. Kuta is another one of those places where for the right price you can do whatever you want, legal or illegal. I found this out quickly when I was getting a ride to the hotel and the driver offered me a 17-year-old Indonesian girl for sex. He didn’t get the hint that I wasn’t interested and he kept trying to sell me on this girl. Thankfully we got to the hotel soon and I never have to see that guy again. But it wasn’t the end of the propositions. Whenever I was alone in the bar, it wouldn’t be long until an Indonesian girl sat down with me and started chatting. I didn’t mind the company, but when they quickly brought the subject of conversation around to my marital status, it was clear what they were getting at. When I said that I didn’t have a girlfriend their response was always “Maybe you will find a girlfriend in Kuta.” I didn’t want to judge too harshly, but it can be frustrating when the only people that want to talk to you are prostitutes. I understand that they see all the money that tourists are throwing around and sometimes they’ll see other Indonesian girls married to a foreigner which equals an instant upgrade in quality of life and citizenship in a developed nation, so it’s hard to blame them for wanting something better for themselves.

The people I really feel for are the vendors that work the beach. All day long they walk up and down the beach, under the hot sun, saying “Excuse me,” then telling you what they are selling and how good the price is. When I would lay on the beach watching the surf and soaking up some rays it would be “Excuse me, you want mango,” “Excuse me, blowgun, very cheap, five dollars,” “Temporary tattoo, last two weeks,” “Excuse me, you want massage,” “Ice cream, ice cream, ice cream” all freaking day. The part that makes me feel bad is that they are saying the same thing over and over, thousands of times a day, and most of the time people say no. Something like that would get me so depressed, but I guess the lure of foreign dollars can make you do anything.

I understand now what a resort island is, it’s a place where everything is for the tourists. Your labour, your dignity, everything is sacrificed to please the foreign tourists and to entice them to spend more money. After living so deeply in a culture it was hard for me to not be disgusted by the behaviour of some of the tourists in Bali. To me it seemed very disrespectful and arrogant to order Indonesians around and to do things that would be considered to be very offensive in Indonesian custom. I guess that’s why I enjoyed chatting with Indonesian vendors and prostitutes more often than other tourists.

After getting a more thorough and balanced sunburn it was time to head back to Bogor, where I was welcomed by a steady downpour (Bogor is after all the “Rainy City”). In two days I’ll be back on a plane on my way to Canada.