Is Bali still the “Morning of The World”?
This was the question I was asked to address at the 2018 Ubud Writers and Readers Festival which took place in October. The UWRF is an amazing event which brought together 180 writers, some very famous, others just “emerging”, and thousands of readers from all over the world. In the esteemed company of Balinese intellectual
How the IMF-World Bank Conference Was Good for Bali
The Annual Meeting of the IMF-WB was really good for Bali and Indonesia. Despite the inevitable disruptions to the island’s traffic and airport access, the meetings meant that Rp3 trillion was invested in improving the infrastructure in Bali, especially the new airport-Nusa Dua underpass. It is claimed they also increased job opportunities by 1.26% across
Do You Know What an Authentic Experience Is?
Hello and welcome to Bali. I’m sorry about the technical question above but it will become relevant to you as you explore this marvellous island. There is a fascination – no, an obsession – of governments around the world to drive increasing numbers of tourists to their best destinations to increase their economic benefit and
Kids, and Making New Discoveries in Bali
“Little children should be seen and not heard” was an arrogant and misguided belief held in the Victorian era in UK and probably across the Western world. I don’t think it was much better in China or India where discipline for children was considered essential and freedom of expression strictly controlled. “Speak only when spoken
Living in Harmony
Welcome to Bali where Mother Nature continues to breathe her blessings from the caldera of the active Mount Agung. The threat of disruption from volcanic ash (and of course there is a possibility of actual danger to aircraft if they are not 100% careful) caused great havoc with the tourism industry early in the year
The Importance of Space : Overdevelopment on the Island
In this Personal Perspective, Publisher Alistair Speirs discusses space and how the overdevelopment in Bali is making it more and more difficult to enjoy what space there is: When the voice of Captain James T Kirk of the Starship Enterprise said, “Space, The Final Frontier”, so many years ago, he was of course referring to
“Package Tours” and the Growing Threat of Bali’s Waste
There was a time when we all went on package tours. They were great! You got the hotel, airline tickets, meals, tours, museums and visits all “packaged” together for less than you could buy the airline tickets for. It was amazing value, and many people still use these travel agent created holidays to this day.
The Magic of Bali: A Real Bali Traffic Jam
The traffic stops, you look around, there’s nothing in sight, just a line of cars and motorbikes stretching into the distance. The line grows longer, the engines get turned off and people start getting out of their cars for a cigarette, a stretch and a chat. No-one seems very upset. You walk forward to find
The Circle of Life
Just a generation ago Bali was a rural farming community where the seasons dictated life, where the connection with nature – and God – was direct. People lived simple lives, understood their community, their religion, their role, and were relaxed and happy. Then came the opportunity to make money, to jump on the bandwagon and
The Bitter Lessons Experience Teaches Us
The recent (gentle) eruptions of Mount Agung have taught Bali quite a few lessons, which I hope everyone has learned. The first is so obvious, and so often repeated: ‘don’t put all your eggs in one basket’. Bali is very, very dependent on tourism, and when the tourists stopped coming, there was universal pain around
Uniquely Bali: Creating a Balinese Business
There are so many things “right” about Bali, even in its current state of “perpetual preparedness” for the expected big bang from Mount Agung, but I do just want to reflect a little on not the encroachment of “western culture” and values on Bali but the attitude which so many of these bringing it to
There is a Reason for Everything
The last few months have been a very bad time for Bali. The eruption of sacred Mount Agung while not actually endangering any major part of the island’s tourism industry, still reduced it to a devastating trickle, threatening businesses and more importantly jobs as cash flows reduced to unsustainable levels. Introduce the word “sustainable” here
New Years Resolutions: Getting Better All the Time?
What have you achieved this year? Have you become more environmentally friendly? Have you become fitter, faster or better at something? Have you done something you are really proud of? Helped poor people? People in difficulty, people in crisis, people in hospital? Have you been a good father? Mother? Sister? Brother? Son? Daughter? Are you
