Skift Take
With it's combination of idyllic location, pop-culture phenomenon, budget airline destination, and local and regional political conflicts, Bali tells the story of modern tourism in miniature.
he morning sun turned pools of water in the rice paddies into mirrors. A farmer swung a load of coconuts onto his shoulder. Somewhere, a cow was lowing.
The scene should have been perfect, but something was off.
After four years, I was back in Bali to relive a memory of a walk through the rice fields near the town of Ubud. My disappointment may have started with the bizarre signposts, on a dirt path in the rice paddies, advertising Italian restaurants and French rotisserie chicken. Or maybe it was the villas sprouting up in the green fields, boasting of infinity pools and yoga workout rooms.
With Bali developing so fast, my husband and I realized we would have to look harder this time to rediscover the Indonesian island's serenity and beauty.
[caption id="attachment_18442" align="alignright" width="420"] Aa Balinese man offering food to local god in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia. Photo by AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati.[/caption]
We regrouped, got advice from locals, and found our travel pleasures in places we hadn't known to look for — in a simple meal of fried rice and coconut juice at a deserted beach, and in the treasure bins of an out-of-the-way antiques row.
Obviously, nobody heading to Bali expects to find an undiscovered paradise. It
