The great weather in Bali continues with hot temps and sunny skies.
Only the other day on my trip to Ubud did I feel a few spots of rain.
This morning in Internet Outpost I had to wait to get a computer! That’s great business for them and the new faster service makes it worthwhile.
One development locally is the work on the storm drains which will aleviate the flooding that occurs after every major storm. The extensive construction left Jl. Benesari in a real mess with mud and rocks covering the street. Good news is here though because there is a paving project underway that will give the street the same surface as Jl Mataram and many of the small gangs that line Jl. Legian. Male and female workers are out there in the hot sun hauling bricks and leveling the soil for a nice flat finish.
I saw a recent article that offers hope for people concerned about the processing time for the Visa On Arrival (VOA). The Directorate General of Immigration is requesting a simplified process which I’m sure we’d all welcome. I can suggested an even more simple solution…how about an automatic 6 month for free and a welcome drink (preferably strong) on arrival.
Latest on the lamp hunting is I bought 2 nice large octagonal Moroccan lamps for 100,000rp apiece. I’ve hung them from a couple of palm trees either side of my front door using 6 inch nails. They use candles and add a cozy glow to that part of the garden, not really enough for real illumination but great for atmposhere. I want to pick up 3 or 4 more smaller ones to hang from other trees around the garden. I’m sure my cleaner Putu thinks I’m crazy.
Today I am visiting Padangbai and am getting some extra typing done on my Alpaha Smart.
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G’Day Nick,
Jl Benesari sure is a mess. I presume access to Warung 96 is okay.
I’m not too sure about all this new paving that’s going on. The place is becoming too cosmopolitan and will in some ways take the charm out of Kuta/Legian. It was bad enough destroying half the old art market to make way for Kuta Square!.
Call me sentimental but Bali without the dirty side streets, the charming odours floating up from the drains, and the dogs…yeah, there aren’t many dogs like they used to be…well, it just wouldn’t be the same.
Any agreements or disagreements folks?. Let’s hear from ya!
Yep Barrie, totally agree - even those muts that always tend to snap at ME! I love Bali the way it is today. Just wish I was old enough to have seen Kuta area in the early 80’s.
Barrie,
I used to love watching the dogs do their business.
My favorite was Donna, the red and white dog that lived at Warung 96. I don’t know if she is still alive or not, but I guarantee she’s got about 500-1,000 offspring running amok on Jl. Benesari.
She was perpetually pregnant and had the most beautiful puppies in the world (and every few months to boot!)
Jason
Waikiki, HI
Hi Jason,
Haven’t seen Donna but there is a Corgi type mutt that relieved me of a nice Satay Ayam one day. It just sat there staring (as dogs do!) until I felt so guilty eating!. Didn’t like the chips at Warung 96 though!!
Hi Dani,
Yeah they were snappy weren’t they!. I remeber this one dog in the 80’s in Poppies Lane 1 which sat just on the dirt track a few metres past Poppies Restoran. Depending on his mood,or, what you were wearing that day, if or not he would let you past!.
The dogs of Bali were an institution, a part of the charm that is the paradise isle.
You are all mad.
Australians, as far as Bali is concerned, fall into three groups. People who never go to Bali, People who go to Bali once and people who can’t stop thinking of the place and return as much as possible.
The people who go once often come home with stories of the sickly looking dogs that tried to bite them or scared their children onto the road. They also tell friends with children how hard it was to get around Kuta due to the flooding, uneven roads and footpaths and smashed pit covers over the drains. These problems turn them into “one timers” and their friends into “never goes”. You all wish tourism would pick up after the bombing but want these other negatives to remain.
As a “can’t get the place out of my mind return as much as possible” kind of guy I would gladly accept change if it increased tourist numbers which in turn helped my many Balinese friends.
Forgot to add, only 14 more sleeps.
Hi Rob,
Interesting perspective. How long will you be in Bali for?
Hi Rob,
Interesting perspective. How long will you be in Bali for?
Hi
What is an Alpaha Smart?
I was using Psion but seems it is no longer made. Looking for replacement handheld.
http://www.alphasmart.com/products/as3000_overview.html
How do you like your AlphaSmart nick? Do you have the 3000 or the Dana?
Less than 2 weeks until I start to use my full time! YIPPIE!
Hi Jonathan,
Yeah I have a Psion that is practically brand new. I’m getting rid of it and not because they aren’t good, it’s just sitting in the cupboard talking to itself!.
I just love the old Bali, too much change can change what we still have in our hearts!!! The dogs, the streets, the rotten smells, the heat, everything, I love it all…
Because it is different to what I have at home…
That is my reason for return time & time again & love for Bali & it’s people!
Ok, so I am mad….!? Don’t really care!?
Must Bali resist change because of what we want and remember?
Look at the photos on the walls in the bars next time you go. Most of them were taken in the 80s and early 90s when Bali was in it’s prime. Tourism has been declining ever since.
I have sat in Warung 96 and watched the shop keepers across the road twiddle there thumbs because their potential customers would not wade through the lake that appears outside their shop every time it rains.
Looking at Kuta as “a nice place to visit but I would not like to live there” is not very considerate to the locals who live there only to help us enjoy our all too short visits.
I’m sure they would rather be somewhere else and would be if they did not need the tourist dollar.
Bravo Tracey, bravo!.
Too many times we have seen throughout the world where little gems of places that possess an abundance of character lose all of it for the sake of dragging in the dollar.
Don’t get me wrong, tourism is great for a place like Bali, but, to take away its character and charm with the imposition of western influence will only take it away from that category of ‘a special place’…
Rob, I have lived there & plan to again.. My family are from Tuban & so I know the hardships in Kuta area too.
I am not saying I want people to miss any potential customers & I am not saying they should or should not change for me, it’s entirely their choice their country, village, laneway etc to do with what they want! Maybe tourists should not be so pedantic as to not entering a shop etc for a puddle? I am not saying nice place to visit but…. As I am planning to return to live with my husband & daughter…
I loved Bali from the first time I went & will continue to do so many changes & years from now!!
I don’t travel to USA, London, or other places as I travel to do, learn & see how others live & experience other things, that is why I love bali you something strange, weird & new each & everytime you are out & about, no matter how long you have lived there!
I love bali as it was, as it is & no doubt as it will become!
Rob, I have lived there & plan to again.. My family are from Tuban & so I know the hardships in Kuta area too.
I am not saying I want people to miss any potential customers & I am not saying they should or should not change for me, it’s entirely their choice their country, village, laneway etc to do with what they want! Maybe tourists should not be so pedantic as to not entering a shop etc for a puddle? I am not saying nice place to visit but…. As I am planning to return to live with my husband & daughter…
I loved Bali from the first time I went & will continue to do so many changes & years from now!!
I don’t travel to USA, London, or other places as I travel to do, learn & see how others live & experience other things, that is why I love bali you something strange, weird & new each & everytime you are out & about, no matter how long you have lived there!
I love bali as it was, as it is & no doubt as it will become!
Barrie… This is for you & any other interested..
http://www.nusantara.com.au/
I agree, tourism, is good, but who says having anything more Western is better! Not I, we are the least perfect of people in the world!
I love in Bali the funny things that happen because Bali is Bali! Hard to get around etc, add to it’s raw character, I miss most when I am in Aus… All the smiles & stopping to acknowledge others! Should life revolve around the almighty $$$?
I asay no & who says easier acess is gonna help anyone?
These are my opinions take em, or leave!?
Hi Tracey,
Loved your comments and thanks for the URL. I’ll check it out later. Cheers.
I’ll pass on your comments to my friends who work in the tourism sector in Bali. I’m sure they wont mind continuing to only work every second week so that Kuta can stay how it is at the moment.In Bali the “almighty dollar” is spent on neccessities. With out it there is no rice, no power and no fuel for the stove.
Hi All/
Interesting comments Barrie,Tracey and Rob. I have to say i agree more with Rob. I know where you are coming from(Barrie and Tracey) but for all they might start paving the muddy lanes and shooting those ghastly rabic muts it has to be seen as a move in the right direction surely. I know its nice to think back about the old days but surely for a busy hub like Kuta the improvemnts can only be appreciated. I mean come on Barrie surely when the rains come and the lanes are full of 2ft plus of muddy water and you end up having to paddle up the streets with damp soggy feet it would be a hell of a lot better to step out on to the lanes on to a nicely paved walkway. Dont forget there will be plent of flooded lanes in other parts of Bali if you want to reminisce on the good old (damp smelly soggy) days. I am sure the improvements will do more good for tourism and the infrastructure than bad. Jobs are created for the locals….and boy do thay need them at the moment folks…more investors are tempted to come to Bali without worrying about there exppenseive stock being soaked every time the rains fall….Yes folks think about it…Better for health and also for wealth. But dont fret thee of old Bali there will forever be parts of Bali where you can find timeless features and ways.
Interesting topic nevertheless folks..
Smiling
you haven’t lived until you’ve walked through a muddy puddly Bali lane, drenched and filthy and laughing yourself silly along with the locals. I am sure all of those tourists who want nice paved walkways a quite happy in their palm studded Nusa Dua enclaves.
Hi Angie,
Couldn’t have put it better myself!. Brilliant!
Angie,
Are you sure the locals were laughing “with” you?
I’m sure the novelty wore off for them about 20 years ago.
Nick,
Donna looked much like a Corgi. Maybe it’s her.
Perhaps you could take a snapshot of the Corgi mutt one day and post it?
I loved that dog and fed it satay ayam almost every day and that would be so cool if she were still alive.
Jason
Waikiki, HI
Hi Jason,
Funny enough I do have a pic of the Corgi!. It’s not a digital foto though. Will send it to you if you let me know your home address. Send me an email.
The reason the locals were laughing when they had to trudge thrugh muddy puddles on a wet Monday night in Kuta was Angie beacuse they had no choice……either walk through them because if you didnt you were stuck there and if you didnt laugh you would bloody cry……yes Rob i think i agree with you the Locals would much prefer the nice walkways. Those that dont like the paved walkways can always walk alongside in the muddy bits soaking there feet and think of days gone by……SQUELCHY SQUELCHY SQUELCHY….NOT FOR MOIS
I guess the consensus is that long time lovers of Bali are happy & enjoy the way it is, was & will become….?
Others like to have their clean safe, soft, surroundings of home with them when they travel?
Maybe the old story again Barrie…. Tourist or traveller???
Enough already!!!!!
Hi Tracey,
Agreed!. Enough, and it is great to see everbody’s input. Thanks folks for that.
Oh Tracey, Tourist V Traveller… remember what happened last time!.
Hi Tracey,
Agreed!. Enough, and it is great to see everbody’s input. Thanks folks for that.
Oh Tracey, Tourist V Traveller… remember what happened last time!.
Hi Nick,
please let me know where you got the lamps from, (would luv to see a photo) l`m coming over May 22 and would luv to get a couple for my garden Don`t forget you are going to take me to the place where l can organise to ship back to Melb a couple of garden statues, see you soon .