Clearing into Bali

Monday morning we did the paperwork dance and officially cleared into Indonesia. What a very, very pleasant surprise! This clearance process was so simple and easy and pleasant. Glad we did not let the agent or the rumors deter us from handling this clearance ourselves. Also, very glad we cleared in at Bali and not at Kupang. Friends went to Kupang and found it is indeed impossible to clear in there by yourself. Absolutely must use the services of the local agent and pay him $250 so he can bribe the Kupang harbormaster. The harbormaster threatens you with a large bond unless the agent clears you in. We assume the harbourmaster wants to accept his bribes from a partner-in-crime rather than the hundreds of individuals that clear into Kupang annually. What a racket these guys have got going over there.

We had the first taxi drop us at the Bali Marina in Benoa so we could collect our CAIT (cruising permit). We had applied for the CAIT back in June while we were in Mackay, Australia. Had to wire the money for the agent's fee via Western Union and total cost after all the fees was $240 USD. Then we were able to obtain our 60-day visas at the Indonesian Consulate in Darwin (without a sponsor letter -- which the agent insisted was required and would cost an additional $140 USD plus Western Union fees, so the total would have been closer to $190 USD and we still would have had to pay the actual visa cost at the Consulate). The visas cost us $60 AUD each. By this time we were fed up with the Indonautical.net agent at Bali Marina. The agent insisted that we could not get the visas without paying him for that sponsor letter, and also insisted that we could only clear in and out at Benoa unless we paid him $600 to avoid the boat import fee. He insisted that unless we paid him the $600 that we would not be allowed to stay in Indonesia longer than 20 days and that we could not clear out at Nongsa near Singapore. What a crock!!

We arrived at Bali Marina and told the agent that we wanted our CAIT and we would handle clearance by ourselves. As he handed us the CAIT he was still insisting there there were "big difficulties for import fee on boat" and that we needed to pay him the additional $600 in order to avoid these "big difficulties." Bill told him to just hand over the CAIT and we would deal with whatever difficulties arose. We had already printed 6 copies of the CAIT that the agent had emailed to us, but we wanted the original CAIT to show to the various officials.

As we walked out of Bali Marina there were several taxis and drivers milling about. One of them told us we could walk to the Harbormaster, that we did not need a taxi because it was nearby. I asked him to take us anyway because he knew where it was and we didn't. So we piled into his very nice air-conditioned little van and within minutes were at the Harbormaster's office. There were 13 people, all in nice clean uniforms, and all doing absolutely nothing. There were half-dozen Indonesian locals waiting in the outer office, but our taxi driver took us right through to the inner offices and told them we had just arrived and wanted to clear in. A man handed us a form with 5 carbon copies, which we filled-in and submitted to him along with copies of our boat documentation, clearance from Darwin, the CAIT, and our crew list. Bill had printed 6 copies of each of these items because we knew each office would want a copy. The Harbormaster was most impressed with our crew list because we had a color photo of our boat printed in the upper corner of the crew list, as well as the normal basic boat details. This crew list with the color photo proved to be very popular in each office we visited. Everyone was all smiles and handshakes and no one asked for any fees or even hinted for any bribes or gifts. They gave us the completed and stamped form along with the 5 copies to take to the other offices required for clearance. One office finished in less than 10 minutes.

Next was the Immigration official, which was just a short taxi drive away. Glad we didn't try to do this walking because it was hot and we had no idea where the various offices were located. We were in and out of Immigration in less than 5 minutes. Again, he loved our crew list with the color photo of the boat. Having the visa from the Consulate in Darwin stamped in our passports sent us immediately on our way. Second office finished.

Next was Quarantine; again just a short taxi drive. In and out in 10 minutes. Again, both officials there loved the crew list with the color photo of the boat. Did not even ask us a single question about what items were onboard. Third office finished.

Next was Customs; very close by. They also loved the crew list with the color photo of the boat. They stamped our form, kept a copy of everything (each office requires a copy of everything), and told us goodbye with smiles. No request for any fees and no hint of wanting a bribe or gift. They were very cordial and professional and we were out in minutes. Fourth office finished.

Last was Navy; a bit longer drive but still nearby. All of these offices are situated relatively close to one another but the buildings are not well marked and having a taxi driver makes it all so much easier. The Navy guy was also impressed with the color photo of the boat on our crew list. Think we may have started something that other cruisers might want to emulate. And, again, no request for fees and no hint of wanting a bribe or gift. Fifth office finished. We had our clearance in -- properly signed and stamped by all 5 government offices.

We were done!! Totally cleared into Indonesia. No hassle (except what we experienced at Bali Marina, above). No fees. No bribes. Not one mention by any official about the supposed temporary import fee of 25% of the value of your boat. Not one mention by any official about a "bond" by an agent instead of paying the temporary import fee. No problem with clearing in at Benoa, Bali and then clearing out at Nongsa, Batam near Singapore. No problem staying 60 days in Indonesia because we had obtained the visa at the Consulate in Darwin. This entire process was so simple and pleasant. I have decided that Indonautical.net and/or Bali Marina is a total rip-off. Bali Marina charged $50 USD more for the CAIT than friends paid to another agent. And Bali Marina wanted twice the fee for the supposed required sponsor letter for a Visa than our friends paid the other agent. And that $600 fee to obtain a bond in lieu of the temporary import fee is plain bullshit. Stay clear of the bandit at Bali Marina and clear yourself in, folks. It is easy and free. Just have all your paperwork in order and arrive with a friendly attitude and smiles on your faces and the officials respond likewise. Just make certain you have the CAIT and the visa prior to arriving in Indonesia. Avoid Kupang unless you are willing to pay the $250 bribe to the agent there. And by all means use a different agent than Bali Marina or Indonautical.net to obtain the CAIT.

After finishing this clearance process we had the taxi drop us at Makro for shopping. For all his services we paid the taxi driver 100,000 rupiah -- roughly $10 USD. After loading up on fresh produce and some of the very limited breads (they don't eat western-style breads in Asia so there isn't a huge choice), we hailed another taxi back to Serangan where our boat is moored. The odd thing was that all 3 taxi drivers that day were named Wayan. That struck us as odd, but if you read our posting on Bali Culture you will understand why Wayan is such a common name.

Tuesday our friends Michael and Linda on S/V B'Sheret arrived. We had transited the Panama Canal with B'Sheret rafted on our port side, and had last seen them in Darwin. They had already cleared in at Kupang so were free to do as they pleased on their first day in Bali. The 4 of us hailed a taxi and went to the Bali Marina restaurant for a great lunch. That restaurant and bar is the one nice thing at Bali Marina and we would recommend it. Then we went to Carrefour center in Kuta. Carrefour is a huge supermarket, usually found in French islands. The Carrefour center in Kuta is 4 stories tall. The supermarket is on the top level, and the first 3 levels are filled with various shops. We spent the afternoon shopping and found Crisco!!!!! In fact, it is butter-flavored Crisco which is exactly what I have been searching for. It was on the cookie shelf between chocolate and vanilla. Guess they don't have a clue what Crisco is. There is a picture of cookies on the Crisco label, so we guess they thought it was a can of cookies. I have been looking for Crisco or some sort of shortening that does not require refrigeration since we arrived in New Zealand last November and was down to the last 1/2 cup of our last small can. So I bought 10 small cans of Crisco. That should last a long while regardless of how much baking I do. Bill thought I was over-buying but since shortening hasn't been sold in the last 8 countries I wasn't taking any chances on finding it in the next 8 countries. After all, butter does not make a decent pie crust. Nothing beats Crisco for flakey pastries. So I bought all the little cans that were on that supermarket shelf.

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Tsunami and earthquakes did not affect us

Since we have received several frantic email inquiries into our well-being after the recent tsunami and the 2 earthquakes, we thought it wise to post here that all is well aboard S/V BeBe.

The tsunami went the other direction -- no where near where we are in Bali, Indonesia. The earthquake in Samoa was much too far away to affect us here -- about 4300 miles east of us.

The more recent and more severe earthquake at Padang on the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra was relatively close to Bali but on the Indian Ocean side -- about 1100 miles away. We assume that any ocean effects were felt in the western direction. We experienced nothing unusual here on the eastern coast of the island of Bali.

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Culture of Bali

Every stage of Balinese life, from conception to cremation, is marked by a series of ceremonies and rituals. The first ceremony takes place when women reach the third month of pregnancy, with offerings to ensure the wellbeing of the baby. Shortly after birth, the placenta is buried with appropriate offerings. Twelve days later women are “purified” through another ceremony. After 42 days, offerings are made for the baby’s future.

On our first day in Bali we used 3 taxis for various trips. All 3 men had the first given name of Wayan. This struck us as odd, but we figured it was just a very common name here. Then I did a bit of reading and learned the real reason for this coincidence. Choosing a name for your baby is easy in Bali. Given names are the same for both sexes, and the names are determined by birth order. This represents the Balinese Hindu belief of the cyclic nature of things. The first child is called Wayan, Putu or Gede. Those are your only 3 choices for naming your firstborn son or daughter. The second child is named Made, Kadek or Nengah; the third is Nyoman or Komang; and the fourth is Ketut. The options of names gets smaller as you have more children. The fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth children re-use the same set of names (Wayan, Made, Nyoman, Ketut). None of that creative naming that has become popular over the past few decades with the African-Americans at home.

A child goes through 13 celebrations or manusa yadnya. Here are a few of them: At 105 days, the baby is welcomed to the family and its feet are allowed to touch the ground for the first time. Ground or earth is impure so babies are held until then. At 210 days (considered to be the first Balinese year) the baby is spiritually blessed in the ancestral temple and there is a huge feast for the family and community. Another important ceremony is the tooth-filing ceremony, when a priest symbolically files a teenager’s upper front teeth to produce a pleasing line. This is normally done around age 16 to 18 years. Crooked teeth are one of the chief distinguishing marks of evil spirits; so it is important for Balinese to have straight teeth with uniform biting edges.

Additional important ceremonies during one’s life are performed at marriage, death and cremation Balinese marry at a young age. Usually marriages are not arranged, although there are strict rules that apply between the castes. The respectable way to marry involves the family of the man visiting the family of the woman and politely proposing. However, the Balinese like their fun and often prefer eloping. The young man spirits away his bride-to-be. The couple goes into hiding and somehow the girl’s parents, no matter how hard they search, can never manage to find her. Eventually the couple re-emerges and the marriage is officially recognized and everybody has enjoyed a lot of fun and games.

The last ceremony is the cremation or pitra yadna. The cremation ceremony is supposed to be an amazing, spectacular, colorful, noisy event. It can take years to organize so the body will have been temporarily buried. An auspicious day is chosen and many people join in, sending their dead on their way at the same time. However, high priests called Brahmanas must be cremated immediately.

During a cremation ceremony, the body is carried in a high, artistic multi-tiered tower made of bamboo, paper, tinsel, silk, cloth, mirrors, flowers and anything else colorful that is fancied. The tower is carried on the shoulders of a group of men. The size of the tower depends on the importance of the deceased. The funeral of a rajah or high priest may require hundreds of men to carry the tower. Along the way to the cremation, the group confuses the deceased’s spirit so it cannot find its way back home. They shake the tower, run it around in circles, throw water at it and generally make the trip anything but a stately crawling procession. Meanwhile, the priest is halfway up the tower and hanging on, doing his best to soak the participants with holy water. A gamelan (orchestra) walks behind, providing musical accompaniment to this circus atmosphere. At the cremation ground, the body is transferred to a funeral sarcophagus which corresponds to their caste – a black bull for a Bramana, white bull for priests, winged lion for a Kstriyasa, and elephant-fish for a Sudra. Finally, it all goes up in flames – funeral tower, sarcophagus and body -- sending the soul to a heaven that is just like Bali itself.

Most Balinese belong to the common sudra caste. The rest belong to the triwangsa (three people) caste which is divided into Brahmana or high priests, Ksatriyasa or merchants, and Wesia or nobility. Caste differences in language is overcome by the use of polite forms of Balinese or the national Indonesian language of Bahasa. Caste is becoming less important and status now comes more from education, economic success and community influence. If a traditional village, however, caste is still a central part of life and absolutely essential to all religious practices.

Literacy on Bali is higher than the Indonesian average. Education begins with 6 years of primary school, and almost all children on Bali complete primary school. Then comes 3 years of junior high and 3 years of senior high school, which leads to university. There are universities in 3 locations on the island of Bali.

Life is concentrated in the villages. In the center of a village is an open meeting space. Each village will also have a town market, temples, a kulkul tower (a hollow tree-trunk drum used to sound a warning or to call meetings), and very likely a special large old banyan tree. The banjar is the local division of a village consisting of all the married adult males. The banjar continues the strong community spirit or organizing village festivals, marriage ceremonies, cremations and the local gamelan (traditional Balinese orchestra). Their headquarters or communal meeting place is an open-sided structure called the bale banjar. In the bale banjar you might see a gamelan practice, a meeting of the villagers, food being prepared for a feast, or men preening their roosters for the next round of cockfights. Cockfighting is a big deal on Bali. Cockfights are a regular feature of temple ceremonies. They consider it a combination of sacrifice, sport and gambling. Wonder why PETA isn’t over here raising Cain over that?

Drug use is growing among the youth, especially meth brought over from Java. Local attitudes about sexuality differ from Western conceptions. In rural areas people still bathe naked by the side of the road. It is not a show of exhibitionism, but a tradition. While bathing, they consider themselves invisible. There are strict family, village and social taboos against premarital sex by the Balinese. Unmarried sexual relations are rare for Balinese women – only 2% to 3%. Tourists can find willing companions and sex workers of both sexes in the common tourist areas, but those people usually are from another island, usually Java.

Like many of the other places we have visited, there are special clothing taboos. It gets hard to keep these straight as we travel around the globe as the traditions and idiosyncrasies change with locality. In Bali is it considered improper to expose knees or shoulders and armpits. So no tank tops and shorts. Skirts are not required; pants are okay for women; and it is okay to wear sandals. It is considered extremely rude to beckon someone toward you using the Western gestures. Instead, you are supposed to hold your hand extended and use a downward waving motion when you wish to motion for someone to come closer to you. Talking to someone while holding your hands on your hips is considered to be a sign of contempt or anger or aggression. You should pass or hand something to another person with your right hand, never your left. Or, to show respect, it is best to pass something with both hands. And an important taboo is that you should never touch someone on the head. The head is regarded as the dwelling of the soul is therefore sacred. That shouldn’t be a problem. We don’t normally go around tapping people on their heads.

Every building we have visited or seen has had a small basket filled with flower petals and other things sitting on the floor just outside the door or on the steps. This small basket is called a sampian. A fresh sampian is placed outside daily at the very minimum. Most people place several sampians each day to show respect and gratitude to gods, ancestors and spirits; or as bribes to evil spirits or demons. The basic sampian is arranged on a palm leaf. It holds betel and flowers and is crowned with a palm leaf decoration. Sometimes a tiny offering of rice crackers might be placed on top. Once a sampian is presented to the gods, it cannot be used again, so new offerings are made again and again each day. When visiting a temple a family always brings a large and colorful offering in a procession. The betel on top of every offering symbolizes the Hindu Trinity. Three basic color are used in the offering – red for Brahma, black or green for Wisnu, and white for Siwa. Conical shapes placed in the temple offerings are models of mountains and rice cookies represent plants, animals, people or buildings.

Looking forward to touring some of the temples.

History of Bali

(This posting didn't make it to the blog for some unknown reason, so I am posting it again. Should have posted when we were in Bali last month.)

It is certain that the island of Bali was inhabited in very early prehistoric times. Fossilized humanoid remains from western neighboring island Java date to as early as 250,000 years ago. The earliest human artifacts found on Bali are stone tools and earthenware vessels estimated to be 3000 years old. Some bones have been found that are estimated at 4000 years but have not yet been carbon dated. Artifacts indicate that the Bronze Age began on Bali before 300 B.C.

Indian traders brought Hinduism to the Indonesian archipelago and it was embraced on Bali by the 7th century. Balinese practice an unusual form of Hinduism that allows the eating of beef; Bali is the only place in the world where this form of Hinduism is practiced. Most of Indonesia is staunchly Muslim but Bali is the exception. Balinese are fearful of having the island government overtaken by practicing Muslims and this continues to be in issue at every election. Those on Bali who do practice Islam do not insist on women wearing veils or covering themselves head-to-toe. They observe a more relaxed version of Islam that allows each woman to decide for herself the degree of modesty she wishes to observe with her clothing. We have seen dozens of women wearing the head-coverings but no one wearing the complete head-to-toe coverings. The next island eastward is Lombok, where the vast majority of the population is Muslim. Lombok also has its own special form of Islam that allows the eating of pork. They are not concerned with dietary restrictions that were imposed before refrigeration.
They believe that all things made by Allah are good; therefore, pork is good.

The population of the island of Bali is approximately 3.3 million. Population of neighboring Lombok is approximately 3.1 million. Indonesia is an extremely heavily populated country consisting of hundreds of islands, probably thousands of islands if one counts the tiny ones. Total population is comparable to that of the United States, somewhere between 270,000,000 and 310,000,000. It isn’t like they take a true census on a regular basis so exact figures are not possible. In Bali there is now a population control program promoting having only 2 children rather than the customary 7 to 9 children. Indonesia spreads east-to-northwest for about 3600 miles, and north-to-south for about 1000 miles at its widest point. The island of Bali is sort of in the middle on the southern edge of the Indonesian archipelago. Bali appears quite prosperous but there are many areas of extreme poverty throughout Indonesia. Bill was kidding around with a taxi driver and commented that every family in Bali must own 4 motor-scooters. The taxi driver laughed and said: “No, that would be a very, very poor family. Every family on Bali owns at least 6 motor-scooters.” He might be right because these little scooters are everywhere and skirt amongst the cars and trucks in traffic with impunity. They don’t obey normal traffic laws but somehow manage to get where they are going without accidents. One-way streets don’t seem to mean a thing. The traffic signals and signs appear to be merely suggestions that one follows if one chooses. I would not want to drive a vehicle in a city here.

The earliest written records on Bali are inscriptions on a stone pillar near the village of Sanur which date to the 9th century A.D. By that time Bali was much as it is seen today outside the cities. Rice was grown on terraced hillsides with the help of a complex irrigation system. And the rich cultural and artistic traditions of Bali were already strongly in place – stone carvings, wood carvings, intricate working of gold and silver, paintings, special fabric weavings and the very distinctive Balinese forms of music and dancing. The Balinese are very proud of their continued artistic abilities.

The first Europeans to arrive in Bali were Dutch seamen in 1597. They fell in love with the island and when the captain prepared to set sail to depart, several of his crew refused to leave. At that time Bali was so prosperous and the artistic beauty so unique that it was hard not to fall in love with the island. The king had 200 wives and a chariot pulled by 2 white buffaloes. He also had a retinue of 50 dwarfs whose bodies had been bent to resemble the handle of a kris (traditional dagger). Poor little guys!! Very quickly, by the early 1600s, the Dutch had established trade treaties with the Javanese princes and controlled much of the incredibly profitable spice trade. But they were interested in profit, not culture, and so the Dutch barely gave Bali a second glance. By 1710 the Dutch were finally beginning to move in on Bali, using the old strategy of divide and conquer to overthrow the Balinese princes. In 1846 the Dutch used Balinese salvage claims over shipwrecks as a pretext to land military forces in northern Bali. Their cause was aided by various Balinese princes who had gained ruling interests in Lombok. In 1894 the Dutch, the Balinese and the people of Lombok collided in battles that set the course of history. These battles resulted in enormous losses of men and arms for the Dutch. It finally culminated in street-to-street fighting against Balinese and the Balinese crown prince was killed. The Balinese retreated to Cakranegara, which was eventually attacked by an overwhelming force of Dutch. Rather than surrender, the Balinese men, women and children opted for the suicidal puputan (a fight to the death). They burned their homes and set out for suicidal war. They didn’t last long.

The north of Bali had long been under Dutch control and the successful conquest of Lombok meant that the rest of Bali would soon fall to the Dutch. As during the past 200 years, it was the ransacking of wrecked ships that brought the differences to a head and gave the Dutch a reason to move in and take over all of Bali. In 1904 a Chinese ship was wrecked off the village of Sanur on Bali and the Dutch demanded that the rajah (prince) pay 3000 silver dollars because of this Chinese shipwreck. The Balinese rajah refused to pay the Dutch for the Chinese shipwreck, and in 1906 Dutch warships appeared at Sanur. The Dutch landed and marched to the outskirts of Denpasar (the current capital of Bali). They mounted a naval bombardment on Denpasar and then began their final assault. The 3 rajah realized that defeat was inevitable; but, like their counterparts on Lombok had done in 1710, they opted for the suicidal puputan (fight to the death). First the princes burned their palaces. Then, dressed in their finest jewelry and waving ceremonial gold kris daggers, the rajah led the royalty and priests out to their deaths facing the Dutch. The Dutch implored the Balinese to surrender rather than make their hopeless last stand, but the Balinese nobility marched forward into the Dutch guns. Nearly 4000 Balinese died. They would rather die than be subjects to another government. The Dutch now had control of all Bali.

In 1942 during WWII the Japanese invaded Bali at Sanur. The Balinese could offer no resistance. When the Japanese left in August 1945 Bali was suffering extreme poverty. But the occupation had fostered several paramilitary, nationalist and anti-colonial organizations that were ready to fight the returning Dutch. After almost 350 years the Balinese had had enough of Dutch rule. Just days after the Japanese surrender, in August 1945 the Indonesian leader proclaimed the nation’s independence. But it took 4 years to convince the Dutch that they were not going to get their colony back.

The next invasion of Bali was by tourists! And they continue today in even stronger numbers. Beginning in 1920 the Dutch government realized that Bali’s unique culture could be marketed internationally to the growing tourism industry. They devised rigid 3-day itineraries that featured canned cultural shows at a government-run tourist hotel in Denpasar. Then some western artists discovered Bali and the tourism increased slightly. In 1936 an American unmarried couple (Robert Koke and Louise Garret) arrived in Bali after having worked in Hollywood. Horrified at the stuffy strictures imposed by the Dutch tourism authorities, the couple built a couple of bungalows out of palm leaves and other local materials on a deserted beach at Kuta. A few guests dribbled in. The couple introduced the local boys to surfing. Word spread and the bungalows soon were booked solid. Guests came for a few days and ended up staying for weeks. The Dutch had at first totally dismissed Koke’s Kuta Beach Hotel as “dirty native huts” but they soon realized that the increasing numbers of tourists were good for everyone. WWII wiped out tourism, of course. But once people began traveling again after the war Bali’s appeal made its popularity a foregone conclusion. Bali was destined to be a tourist haven.

There was a coup in 1965 involving the communist party, which was eventually outlawed. But this coup crystallized existing differences between traditionalists and radicals. After the failed coup, religious traditionalists on Bali led a witch-hunt for the “godless communists.” Eventually the military stepped in to control the anti-communist purge; but no-one on Bali was untouched by the killings, estimated at between 50,000 and 100,000 out of a population of about 2,000,000 at that time. After the failed coup, General Mohamed Soeharto established himself as president of Indonesia and took control of the government. He copied the West in foreign policy and goals of balancing budgets and controlling inflation and attracting foreign investment. But being military, he banned political parties. Regular elections maintained the appearance of a national democracy, but until 1999 the Golkar party established by Gen. Soeharto won every election.

In 1999 Indonesia’s parliament elected a new president. The majority of the votes were cast for a woman named Megawati Sukarnoputri. She was enormously popular because of her family connections on Bali and partly because her party was essentially secular. The mostly Hindu Balinese were at that time and still are very concerned about any growth in Muslim fundamentalism. However, Soeharto’s Golkar party was still in force. In a surprising development, Abdurrahman Wahid, the head of Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, emerged as president. So much for fair and transparent elections. Outraged supporters of Megawati took to the streets of Java and Bali. There was a tense stand-off and then a surprising compromise. Wahid took the office of president and Megawati assumed the office of vice-president (even though she had received the most votes and really should have served as president). Wahid was an uncharismatic leader who made minor progress on issues like the economy and was less-than-successful in tackling the ethnic, religious and regional conflicts that have plagued Indonesia. In July 2001, after a tense stand-off, parliament finally gave the presidency to Megawati.

The October 2002 Bali bombings in Kuta by terrorists were a tragedy that severely affected the tourism industry. The bombings fueled the ever-present suspicions of the Hindu Balinese that the predominately Muslim Indonesians (especially Javanese) are trying to muscle in on the profitable Bali scene. This shattered the myth of isolation enjoyed by many Balinese locals. Fortunately, the elections of 2004 were remarkably peaceful. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (popularly known as SBY) beat incumbent Megawati by garnering 60% of the vote. He is a former general and government minister and is known as an intellectual and an economist. SBY managed to garner strong support even on Bali, a former Megawati stronghold, by his promises of strong and enlightened leadership. We wish him luck in his endeavors. Rampant corruption, uncertain legal processes, widespread ecological destruction, poverty and a sputtering economy are his most urgent concerns.

History of Bali

It is certain that the island of Bali was inhabited in very early prehistoric times. Fossilized humanoid remains from western neighboring island Java date to as early as 250,000 years ago. The earliest human artifacts found on Bali are stone tools and earthenware vessels estimated to be 3000 years old. Some bones have been found that are estimated at 4000 years but have not yet been carbon dated. Artifacts indicate that the Bronze Age began on Bali before 300 B.C.

Indian traders brought Hinduism to the Indonesian archipelago and it was embraced on Bali by the 7th century. Balinese practice an unusual form of Hinduism that allows the eating of beef; Bali is the only place in the world where this form of Hinduism is practiced. Most of Indonesia is staunchly Muslim but Bali is the exception. Balinese are fearful of having the island government overtaken by practicing Muslims and this continues to be in issue at every election. Those on Bali who do practice Islam do not insist on women wearing veils or covering themselves head-to-toe. They observe a more relaxed version of Islam that allows each woman to decide for herself the degree of modesty she wishes to observe with her clothing. We have seen dozens of women wearing the head-coverings but no one wearing the complete head-to-toe coverings. The next island eastward is Lombok, where the vast majority of the population is Muslim. Lombok also has its own special form of Islam that allows the eating of pork. They are not concerned with dietary restrictions that were imposed before refrigeration.
They believe that all things made by Allah are good; therefore, pork is good.

The population of the island of Bali is approximately 3.3 million. Population of neighboring Lombok is approximately 3.1 million. Indonesia is an extremely heavily populated country consisting of hundreds of islands, probably thousands of islands if one counts the tiny ones. Total population is comparable to that of the United States, somewhere between 270,000,000 and 310,000,000. It isn’t like they take a true census on a regular basis so exact figures are not possible. In Bali there is now a population control program promoting having only 2 children rather than the customary 7 to 9 children. Indonesia spreads east-to-northwest for about 3600 miles, and north-to-south for about 1000 miles at its widest point. The island of Bali is sort of in the middle on the southern edge of the Indonesian archipelago. Bali appears quite prosperous but there are many areas of extreme poverty throughout Indonesia. Bill was kidding around with a taxi driver and commented that every family in Bali must own 4 motor-scooters. The taxi driver laughed and said: “No, that would be a very, very poor family. Every family on Bali owns at least 6 motor-scooters.” He might be right because these little scooters are everywhere and skirt amongst the cars and trucks in traffic with impunity. They don’t obey normal traffic laws but somehow manage to get where they are going without accidents. One-way streets don’t seem to mean a thing. The traffic signals and signs appear to be merely suggestions that one follows if one chooses. I would not want to drive a vehicle in a city here.

The earliest written records on Bali are inscriptions on a stone pillar near the village of Sanur which date to the 9th century A.D. By that time Bali was much as it is seen today outside the cities. Rice was grown on terraced hillsides with the help of a complex irrigation system. And the rich cultural and artistic traditions of Bali were already strongly in place – stone carvings, wood carvings, intricate working of gold and silver, paintings, special fabric weavings and the very distinctive Balinese forms of music and dancing. The Balinese are very proud of their continued artistic abilities.

The first Europeans to arrive in Bali were Dutch seamen in 1597. They fell in love with the island and when the captain prepared to set sail to depart, several of his crew refused to leave. At that time Bali was so prosperous and the artistic beauty so unique that it was hard not to fall in love with the island. The king had 200 wives and a chariot pulled by 2 white buffaloes. He also had a retinue of 50 dwarfs whose bodies had been bent to resemble the handle of a kris (traditional dagger). Poor little guys!! Very quickly, by the early 1600s, the Dutch had established trade treaties with the Javanese princes and controlled much of the incredibly profitable spice trade. But they were interested in profit, not culture, and so the Dutch barely gave Bali a second glance. By 1710 the Dutch were finally beginning to move in on Bali, using the old strategy of divide and conquer to overthrow the Balinese princes. In 1846 the Dutch used Balinese salvage claims over shipwrecks as a pretext to land military forces in northern Bali. Their cause was aided by various Balinese princes who had gained ruling interests in Lombok. In 1894 the Dutch, the Balinese and the people of Lombok collided in battles that set the course of history. These battles resulted in enormous losses of men and arms for the Dutch. It finally culminated in street-to-street fighting against Balinese and the Balinese crown prince was killed. The Balinese retreated to Cakranegara, which was eventually attacked by an overwhelming force of Dutch. Rather than surrender, the Balinese men, women and children opted for the suicidal puputan (a fight to the death). They burned their homes and set out for suicidal war. They didn’t last long.

The north of Bali had long been under Dutch control and the successful conquest of Lombok meant that the rest of Bali would soon fall to the Dutch. As during the past 200 years, it was the ransacking of wrecked ships that brought the differences to a head and gave the Dutch a reason to move in and take over all of Bali. In 1904 a Chinese ship was wrecked off the village of Sanur on Bali and the Dutch demanded that the rajah (prince) pay 3000 silver dollars because of this Chinese shipwreck. The Balinese rajah refused to pay the Dutch for the Chinese shipwreck, and in 1906 Dutch warships appeared at Sanur. The Dutch landed and marched to the outskirts of Denpasar (the current capital of Bali). They mounted a naval bombardment on Denpasar and then began their final assault. The 3 rajah realized that defeat was inevitable; but, like their counterparts on Lombok had done in 1710, they opted for the suicidal puputan (fight to the death). First the princes burned their palaces. Then, dressed in their finest jewelry and waving ceremonial gold kris daggers, the rajah led the royalty and priests out to their deaths facing the Dutch. The Dutch implored the Balinese to surrender rather than make their hopeless last stand, but the Balinese nobility marched forward into the Dutch guns. Nearly 4000 Balinese died. They would rather die than be subjects to another government. The Dutch now had control of all Bali.

In 1942 during WWII the Japanese invaded Bali at Sanur. The Balinese could offer no resistance. When the Japanese left in August 1945 Bali was suffering extreme poverty. But the occupation had fostered several paramilitary, nationalist and anti-colonial organizations that were ready to fight the returning Dutch. After almost 350 years the Balinese had had enough of Dutch rule. Just days after the Japanese surrender, in August 1945 the Indonesian leader proclaimed the nation’s independence. But it took 4 years to convince the Dutch that they were not going to get their colony back.

The next invasion of Bali was by tourists! And they continue today in even stronger numbers. Beginning in 1920 the Dutch government realized that Bali’s unique culture could be marketed internationally to the growing tourism industry. They devised rigid 3-day itineraries that featured canned cultural shows at a government-run tourist hotel in Denpasar. Then some western artists discovered Bali and the tourism increased slightly. In 1936 an American unmarried couple (Robert Koke and Louise Garret) arrived in Bali after having worked in Hollywood. Horrified at the stuffy strictures imposed by the Dutch tourism authorities, the couple built a couple of bungalows out of palm leaves and other local materials on a deserted beach at Kuta. A few guests dribbled in. The couple introduced the local boys to surfing. Word spread and the bungalows soon were booked solid. Guests came for a few days and ended up staying for weeks. The Dutch had at first totally dismissed Koke’s Kuta Beach Hotel as “dirty native huts” but they soon realized that the increasing numbers of tourists were good for everyone. WWII wiped out tourism, of course. But once people began traveling again after the war Bali’s appeal made its popularity a foregone conclusion. Bali was destined to be a tourist haven.

There was a coup in 1965 involving the communist party, which was eventually outlawed. But this coup crystallized existing differences between traditionalists and radicals. After the failed coup, religious traditionalists on Bali led a witch-hunt for the “godless communists.” Eventually the military stepped in to control the anti-communist purge; but no-one on Bali was untouched by the killings, estimated at between 50,000 and 100,000 out of a population of about 2,000,000 at that time. After the failed coup, General Mohamed Soeharto established himself as president of Indonesia and took control of the government. He copied the West in foreign policy and goals of balancing budgets and controlling inflation and attracting foreign investment. But being military, he banned political parties. Regular elections maintained the appearance of a national democracy, but until 1999 the Golkar party established by Gen. Soeharto won every election.

In 1999 Indonesia’s parliament elected a new president. The majority of the votes were cast for a woman named Megawati Sukarnoputri. She was enormously popular because of her family connections on Bali and partly because her party was essentially secular. The mostly Hindu Balinese were at that time and still are very concerned about any growth in Muslim fundamentalism. However, Soeharto’s Golkar party was still in force. In a surprising development, Abdurrahman Wahid, the head of Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, emerged as president. So much for fair and transparent elections. Outraged supporters of Megawati took to the streets of Java and Bali. There was a tense stand-off and then a surprising compromise. Wahid took the office of president and Megawati assumed the office of vice-president (even though she had received the most votes and really should have served as president). Wahid was an uncharismatic leader who made minor progress on issues like the economy and was less-than-successful in tackling the ethnic, religious and regional conflicts that have plagued Indonesia. In July 2001, after a tense stand-off, parliament finally gave the presidency to Megawati.

The October 2002 Bali bombings in Kuta by terrorists were a tragedy that severely affected the tourism industry. The bombings fueled the ever-present suspicions of the Hindu Balinese that the predominately Muslim Indonesians (especially Javanese) are trying to muscle in on the profitable Bali scene. This shattered the myth of isolation enjoyed by many Balinese locals. Fortunately, the elections of 2004 were remarkably peaceful. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (popularly known as SBY) beat incumbent Megawati by garnering 60% of the vote. He is a former general and government minister and is known as an intellectual and an economist. SBY managed to garner strong support even on Bali, a former Megawati stronghold, by his promises of strong and enlightened leadership. We wish him luck in his endeavors. Rampant corruption, uncertain legal processes, widespread ecological destruction, poverty and a sputtering economy are his most urgent concerns.