Hello all, I’m Melise. 19 years old, recently transplanted from Miami to San Francisco.
If you had asked me three weeks ago what I expect to see in Bali, I would have said “Temples and rice fields!”.
Now, after ten days on the Indonesian ‘Island of the Gods,’ I’ve had to amend my answer to include roosters, fishing boats, villas, spas, beaches, monkeys, and some of the purest, friendliest, most genuine people I’ve met on my travels. I came here, purportedly, on a business trip- Bali is where my mother has been shopping and producing goods for her store in Nosara for the past five years. I’ve undertaken the task of opening our store online, and agreed to accompany her on this trip, to learn the ropes of our new “family business”.
It turned out to be so much more than that.
It has been said that when a place gains a reputation for being paradise, it quickly goes to hell. And while this is true in a general sense, Bali more than makes up for its constant construction and changing landscape with the friendliness of its people. Not only are they a deeply spiritual people, but everyone is a secret artist. Here, art is taken far and beyond our idea of a ‘hobby’- whether it’s dance, taking part in the gong orchestra, woodcarving, or staging shadow puppet shows, the Balinese take their chosen craft very seriously. Almost every art form is intricately tied to the deep spiritual roots of the island. The main religion in Bali is a form of Hinduism, called Hindu Bali, which differs from Indian Hinduism in many ways. It incorporates aspects of ancient animistic worship, with the many gods of the Hindu pantheon. There are also many buddhists, muslims, and catholics, leading to a very large number of public holidays.
One thing that struck a deep chord with me was the intense beauty of the Balinese jungle- very similar, in fact, to the Guanacaste peninsula of Costa Rica. Driving from Denpasar to the northern part of the Island, we passed through mountainous regions that could very well be on the road from Arenal to Nosara! But there is so little left of this natural beauty, all of it giving way to luxury resorts, spa hotels, and villas. Beautiful beaches are being sold to the highest bidder, and garbage clogs the once-clear rivers and lakes. In many ways, this mirrors what is happening in Costa Rica. After a three year absence, I returned to Nosara to find that a good chunk of the wilderness had been converted to even more hotels! I’ve heard from many an old hippie that Costa Rica resembles Bali twenty years ago. That should be taken as a dire warning.
Last week, we made the trip to Ubud, to pick up some treasures for the store, and go visit the famed Sacred Monkey Forest and Sanctuary. This holy site houses a temple of the dead, a burial ground, a sacred spring, and some of the most awe-inspiring Banyan trees I’ve ever seen. It is also home to Balinese Macaques, some of the cheekiest little simians on this side of the globe! In stark contrast to Costa Rica’s howlers, these sacred monkeys hang out on the temple walls and sidewalks, waiting for tourists to feed them bananas. They’re so fat and well-fed that they don’t have much energy for aggression, although every once in a while you’ll get a hiss and some fang-baring if you take too many pictures. Some would say these monkeys have a terrific life, but I was a little put off by the way they’re treated. Instead of ensuring that their sacred monkeys live a long, healthful life, the guides in the park will happily toss a half-empty coke can at a little monkey, to guzzle away at his will.
If we don’t take care of the beauty that Mother Nature has laid out before us, pretty soon we will have a whole different monkey.
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