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I truly believe that after the more than two months that I’ve lived in Denpasar, Bali Indonesia, that there is really no way to completely convey to you the feeling that you get from immersing yourself and becoming a member of this wonderful and very different society than what we are used to in the western world, but with this blog and video, I hope to give you enough information and a few visuals that will give you at least a small sample of what you will be in for, should you decide to come and stay here for awhile. There is so much to be said and so many little stories than branch off from other stories, but I will do the best I can to sum it up for this particular writing, to give you the most information, as efficiently as I can.
Our walk as we were filming this vlog, began heading through the narrow streets of our neighborhood, and ended up at the main artery street that is located to the north of us. The neighborhood is by far, the most friendly and tightly knit community that I’ve ever been so fortunate as to be a part of. Before I even came to Bali, I was told that the Balinese people are very protective of there local communities and often work together as a community to keep daily life running smoothly. This turned out to be entirely true, and the wonderful feeling that it gives me to have become a part of this, is something that I will always treasure (and someday miss, very much) from my time living here. Being as how I am so obviously white, or a “bule” as the Indonesian people would say among themselves, I very quickly became recognizable to all of the people that make up our community here, and so it wasn’t more than a week or two after I had arrived until I already felt as though I was well known. Most people are extremely friendly, and I can freely say “hi” to any of them, and almost always get a positive response and a smile in return. This becomes even more true and evident when it comes to the kids of the community. For whatever reason, the kids here all seem to love me. So much so, that I honestly feel like a celebrity many days. Most places that I stop, regardless if I am walking or riding the Honda Beat Scooter, if there are kids nearby, they will gather in a group and all come to greet me with smiles on their faces, and for literally minutes, they will be hollering “hello, hello,” and waiving, over and over again, trying to retain my attention for as long as they can, and then when I continuously respond to them, it’s as though they all celebrate that response, and sometimes that’ll even bring a couple more kids who may have been a bit more shy, and hiding somewhere near, to also run out and join the rest of the them in greeting me. I am flattered and left with a big smile from these encounters. If the kids happen to be playing ball, I will try to jump in their game for a moment as I’m passing by. If I see a more shy, often a young toddler across the road looking at me and smiling, usually in the arms of their mother, I will often try to run over and greet them, which always puts an even bigger smile on the child’s face. The reaction I get from the neighborhood kids is absolutely fascinating, and something I will never forget about Bali Indonesia.
That’s not to leave out everyone else, of course, as I’ve gotten a powerful sense of, not only how well the community works together as a unit, but how non-confrontational that the Balinese (and likely all Indonesian) people are. This is extremely refreshing, being someone who grew up and lived most of my life in and around Oakland California in The San Francisco Bay Area, and who has also spent time working as security guard and a process server, also assisting in private investigations. Most of the people here are poor, especially by western standards, and so they have mastered the art of making the most of what they have to work with, and building the tiny businesses that they often run out of the front of their living space, to make a living and survive. This requires the cooperation of the fellow members of the community, and they have learned this very well, thus creating the very safe and well functioning communities that they have created. An example, albeit a tiny one at that, is how often that I’ve purchased food or supplies from one of their businesses or mobile food carts, and they needed to make change, so they run quickly over to the closest business who will gladly help them out to change a bill, every time. These people, while living in what many spoiled people in the western world would consider to be substandard conditions, actually have become far more efficient through peace and cooperation than we in the western world will ever be. I admire this immensely, and I feel very fortunate to be a part of their way of life during my time living here.
Another observation that I’ve made, and I believe also a story that needs to be told, is about the animals that roam the neighborhood. If you’re an animal lover, then I caution you about reading the rest of this paragraph ahead of time, but I will also say that I’ve also come to realize that it’s not quite so bad as I originally had the impression of when I first got here. There are many animals that roam free, through the narrow, crowded and busy streets here in Denpasar, and all over Bali. As you are walking around even just our neighborhood, it’s very common to see chickens or cows roaming the streets. It’s even more common to see very many cats and dogs that have no home. Unlike the western world, Indonesia does not have a system of animal control, and thus cats and dogs live free as strays, constantly reproducing and growing their population. I am somewhat of a cat lover, and so every time I see a cat, I try to be friendly to it and make contact, but these cats are very sensitive to humans, so they most often won’t come near me, or if they do, they will likely feel the need to bite (although it doesn’t really hurt) to defend themselves. I’ve even gone as far as to try to keep these little snack sausages (basically mini hot dogs, individually wrapped in plastic, usually sold as a snack for the kids, much like a beef stick back home,) so that I can give these cats a treat when I see them, and also use that snack sausage to lure them closer to me so that I can pet them. I must honestly say that one of the very few things that I have noticed about the Indonesian people is that they seem to care little or not at all about any of these stray cats and dogs, and most of them will frown on me for even trying to pet one, as though they feel them to be just an annoyance. With the Indonesian people being so great in so many ways, that is one way in which it hurts me to point out that they willfully neglect stray animals altogether. It seems also as though only the wealthy families have an adopted pet that they actually love and take care of, but even they neglect and seem to have little or no care at all for the strays. There is a positive observation to point out though, and that is that, for the most part, the stray cats and dogs seem to do very well here on their own. Indonesians aren’t big believers in garbage cans, and they are constantly dumping their garbage in just about any nearby, unused land space that they can find. The animals that roam the streets thrive on this for a regular food source. All in all, many of these animals appear completely content with their freedom and also seem to survive quite easily here. This a an intriguing yet somewhat hard to cope with observation I’ve made during my time living here so far, and I won’t surprise myself if I end up adopting a cat that will otherwise end up on the street, before I ever leave Bali. If I can somehow fit it’s food and supplies into my very tight budget, then it’s pretty well a certainty.
There is another aspect of the condition of the animals here in Indonesia that needs to be spoken of, and this is regarding the many “bird markets” that can be found. This is a topic that I’m still investigating, but as I gain more definitive information and experiences at these types of markets, then I will save that topic for a blog (and maybe even a video) of it’s own.
After making it through our neighborhood, we reach the main street that is to the north of us, as you can see in the accompanying video to this blog. The main artery streets are almost always full of traffic, usually dominated by scooters and motorcycles, but also a fair share of cars, narrowly making their way along side all of those motorbikes. To just sit on the sidewalk and observe just how intense and seemingly crazy the traffic situation is here in Bali, is a fascinating thing to observe, and to actually ride in it on our Honda Beat Scooter is even more intense. This is another huge difference from The United States that I can point out. The traffic laws here are either nonexistent, or more like just simply guidelines to be very loosely followed. The do have the occasional intersection, complete with a red and green light, but as far as I can tell, there exist no stop signs at all here in Denpasar, making every intersection on the smaller, neighborhood streets, a bit dangerous if you do not pay very close attention, each and every time. The basic principle of traffic here in Indonesia seems to be like this. Just fill in every possible space that you can on the road, much like the game of Tetris, packing cars and motorbikes together at that rare red light as dense as you possibly can, very literally close enough to bump knees, or perhaps just shake hands with the rider or driver next to you. What is really amazing about this, is that Indonesians are absolute professionals when it comes to driving cars and especially riding scooters and motorcycles, in this very harsh and hardly organized driving environment. In fact, in the more than two months that I’ve been living here in Denpasar, I have not even seen a single accident, nor have I had any close calls happen to me or Mama, at all. By comparison, when I lived and spent most of my life, from birth, in The San Francisco Bay Area of California, I would see, on average, five or more accidents per week. This is another way in which I’ve observed that the Indonesian people are extremely efficient in how they work together, as it is a trait that is quite evident, even in their driving. One other example and a great observation about this that I want to point out here, is that Indonesians are constantly using their horn while on the road, but not in a way similar at all to the western world. They use their horns are a courtesy to other drivers and riders, so “road rage” as we know it back home is virtually nonexistent here. We all know when someone uses the horn back home in the states, it generally means, “learn how to fuckin’ drive, asshole!” Well, not here!
Even though we now have the Honda Beat Scooter to get around in, it is still not uncommon at all that I will get out of the apartment and just take a walk around the neighborhood. Hell, sometimes I even just hope that there is something that I need to pick up from the market, or some stop that I need to make, just to give me an excuse to take that walk. I feel as though each and every day here in Bali, I gain just a little bit more wisdom about this amazing part of the world. As with any place, anywhere, there are it’s share of bad, or undesirable aspects, but for the most part, I absolutely love it here, and I wish that many of the traits that the many great people of Bali Indonesia live and portray each and everyday, were traits that I could bring back to the western world with me and spread around like wild fire. These wonderful people are definitely doing something very right, and dollar for dollar, they are more efficient and subsequently prosperous with happiness in their lives than we are.
I hope that you enjoyed some of the tales I was able to share with you of what I learned while walking (and riding) the streets of Denpasar, Bali Indonesia, both in this writing, and the visuals that I have provided in the accompanying video. If you have, please consider giving this blog a up vote, and of course, your comments are always welcome. Thank you, as always, for being a part of this journey to find life with me.