Breaking Bread in Bali
How a tiny Indonesian man, in a 1992 Astro Van, gave me some perspective.
In the summer of 2007, some of my family went to the island of Bali, in Indonesia, and, three weeks prior to the vacation, my very first passport came in the mail. This would be my first International trip — the one that started this never-ending fascination of mine. As you can see, from the photo above, I was still a young, ignorant pup from a small town in the Midwest; the burnt legs and face, after spending too much time out in the Indian Ocean, still screams “tourist” to this day.
**DISCLAIMER** — this was before smartphones and before anyone knew how to take in-focus photos, so bear with me.
My sister and I were coming from St. Louis, which is a small airport, so we had to fly from St. Louis —> Los Angeles —> Taipei, Taiwan —> Bali. Back in the day, there were not a lot of long-haul flights, especially compared to the offerings now, and flying halfway around the world is no easy feat. This is, by far, the single worst flight experience I have ever had, to date. The total flight time, including layovers, was about 21-22 hours. Being from the Midwest, the layover in Taipei was an insane experience; we were flying coach, and I’m 6’2; my sister was feeling nauseous for the last 10 hours of the flight; and, on the final 5-6 hour leg of the journey, there were a lot of Asian men on our flight who did NOT wear deodorant and, instead, covered their stench with what seemed like, to us, an entire bottle of cologne.
I digress.
After landing, an entire day later, we were excited but exhausted to finally start our new journey. I remember two things about our first day/night: after taking a shower, I felt like a new man and I was also falling asleep at the dinner table, around 7pm, because I was experiencing my first bout of jet-lag. Needless to say, the journey really started on Day 2.
There are two main areas to stay, when in Bali, and both have their advantages and disadvantages; you can stay on the beach, against the Indian Ocean, or you can stay up the mountains, in the middle of the rainforest; for this trip, we were lucky enough to experience both parts of the island.
You can stay North, off the Bali Sea, but most people stay South, against the Indian Ocean, or they stay in the uplands of Bali so they can be in the heart of the rainforest. The latter, has a very special place in my heart. Besides…who doesn’t want to stay in the middle of a rainforest?!
UBUD
The town of Ubud, in the uplands of Bali, is known as a center for traditional crafts and dance. The surrounding Ubud District’s rainforest and terraced rice paddies, dotted with Hindu temples and shrines, are among Bali’s most famous landscapes. There are many activities in Ubud, some of which include: hiking through the rainforest, exploring the rice terraces (or rice paddies), zip lining, touring the many ancient Hindu temples, hiking to waterfalls, shopping at any of the street markets, bracing yourself for the Sacred Monkey Forest (more on this later), and going to any of the yoga/meditation retreats that exist in the mountains (thanks Eat, Pray, Love).
For me, Ubud was like nothing I had ever seen before. On one hand, you’re surrounded by some of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen; on another hand, the villagers, or any of the locals, are some of the poorest people I have ever been around. We stayed in a magical, 5-star, rainforest bungalow, but then, at the same time, the vast majority of the villagers didn’t even have four walls on their “houses”; to say it was an eye-opening experience would be quite an understatement.
In the past two decades, the gap between the richest and the rest in Indonesia has grown faster than in any other country in South-East Asia. It is now the sixth country of greatest wealth inequality in the world. Today, the four richest men in Indonesia have more wealth than the combined total of the poorest 100 million people.
Growing inequality is undermining the fight against poverty, putting a brake on economic growth and threatening social cohesion.
What does this mean for ordinary people? The poorest citizens – particularly women – receive low wages and face insecurity at work. Access to infrastructures such as electricity or decent roads is unequal with rural areas less provided for than urban ones. The vast majority of the land is owned by big corporations and rich people who get all the benefits. Likewise, the education system is underfunded and there are barriers to equal access, which means many Indonesian workers cannot access higher-skilled and higher-paid jobs.1
I was speechless when I saw this chart, because I couldn’t understand why a country with a GDP of that size still has that many citizens living in poverty. Obviously, there are other countries on the list that have it just as bad, if not worse, but, at the time of this vacation, I had only been to wealthy areas of the United States; I was swiftly smacked in the face with a heavy dose of American privilege.
Speaking of privilege…a very good friend of mine gave me another swift smack in the face, this time in the form of enlightenment, when he told me that “when it comes to privilege, you can debate race, gender, age, etc. all you want…but, at the end of the day, being born American is the most privilege one could ever enjoy, above all else. Being born American is almost like winning the lottery when it comes to the overall hierarchy and order of individuals in the world.”
That last statement really got me good…it really puts some nuance into the entire conversation of “privilege” that fills up our news feeds, screens, and social media walls today. I’ve seen what poor looks like in America, and I’ve seen what poor looks like in countries like Indonesia and Mexico—I promise you, I’d rather be the former every day of the week and twice on Sunday, if I have a say in the matter.
Although the government officially recognizes only six religions: Islam, Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and indigenous religions, for administrative purpose, religious freedom is guaranteed in the country's constitution. With 231 million adherents (86.7%) in 2018, Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, with Sunnis being the majority (99%). Bali, on the other hand, is the only Hindu-majority province in Indonesia, with 86.9% of the population adhering to Balinese Hinduism.
Achintya is the supreme God of Balinese Hinduism. All gods, goddesses, and existence are believed to be the manifestation of the Achintya in Balinese Hinduism. The temples, shrines, and decorations dedicated to Achintya are a sight to be seen. Every which way you look there is another place of worship decorated in a most opulent fashion.
Temples on Bali are located along the kaja-kelod sacred axis, which runs North to South, from the mountain to the sea, and symbolizes the transition between the spiritual and the earthly worlds. All of Bali's temples are sacred sites, although some are more revered than others.
Please note, when visiting any of the temples, you must wear a sarong, and it’s best to wear sandals because you must take them off when entering Holy areas. Additionally, there are many stands and markets nearby that sell sarongs for very little so why not get one for a souvenir?
Prior to visiting Bali, I couldn’t tell you a single thing about Hinduism, but after learning from some of the guides and locals you realize that Hinduism and Buddhism are very similar; the easiest examples are the shared beliefs in karma and reincarnation. Needless to say, on the surface, with every face to face interaction we had, each and every one of the people we met seemed present, patient, and happy.
The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary is one of the…most entertaining…tourist traps I have ever been to. The Sanctuary is a nature reserve and temple complex, in Ubud, Bali, that’s home to over 1,260 long-tailed macaques, aka an Old World Monkey, which have a long face and big, chubby cheeks to hold a sizable amount of food.
Upon entering, you are hounded by a ridiculous amount of street hawkers who want you to buy…you guessed it…bananas for the monkeys. Naturally, as the dumb Americans we were, we bought three large bags on bananas. When you first enter the sanctuary you see some monkeys, from afar, who look like they’re minding their own business, but the deeper you go in the less comfortable you feel. Is this Attack of the Planet of the Apes? Maybe…just maybe…
You want to see the little devil/shit-disturber? Fine…
They may look small, but these little fuckers are not to be messed with. What you should do is quickly go in, take your photos, throw your bananas, and then get the hell out of there…but, that’s not what you’re going to do…because it’s a monkey…and we love monkeys.
At first, these vile creatures seem friendly, because they’re used to human beings coming in at the hoards and they also know you have the pot of gold (aka bananas) securely in your hands. Some of them will slowly approach you, maybe jump on your back or shoulders, walk along with you, but it’s all a ruse; it’s all part of their masterplan; it’s all a strategic setup. After a few moments of monkey bliss, one…or two, or three…dart out of nowhere and start climbing on your arm or your bag of bananas. Once you shoo one or two of them away, another will then come up, jump on the bag, and start biting little holes into your bag until it breaks; the bananas spill everywhere, monkeys swarm, and you best get the hell out of the way if they’re ready to eat.
We were there for about an hour and this was LONG ENOUGH. I’m not trying to tell you to avoid the Sanctuary—on the contrary, I think you should go—but you should be prepared for the ridiculousness of the entire situation. Just remember: cute monkey = crazy monkey, in a matter of seconds. Lessons learned.
TANAH LOT
After our magical stay in the rainforest, we headed down to the beach, outside of Denpasar, on the Southern coast of Bali. This part of Bali is very different than the uplands; there is a lot of relaxing around a pool, going to the spa, laying out on the beach, and doing a whole lot of nothing. Some people enjoy this type of vacation—a reprieve, of sorts—but I get bored after 36 hours or so; however, one thing I absolutely enjoyed was heading to the coast to see TANAH LOT.
Tanah Lot means “Land of the Sea” in Balinese language. It is a rock formation, just off the shores of Bali, and is home to an ancient Pilgrimage Holy temple. It is a very popular tourist destination—for locals AND foreigners—so be prepared to see a lot of people taking photos from all angles; it is quite beautiful, but I couldn’t imagine what it would be like now with selfie-sticks and influencers.
There are many different viewing areas along the rocky cliffs to experience the waves crashing against this beautiful temple. We found a perch that wasn’t too crowded and started taking a few photos of our own until, out of the corner of my eye, I see a group of Indonesian women running towards us. I notify my Sister and my Aunt, and we all brace for what looks like an attack. As they get closer, they all start to smile, and many of them quickly put their arms around us and start taking many photos of their own. After a moment, their guide breaks through and starts apologizing to us, profusely. We realize these ladies are harmless, but it is very strange what is happening and we are completely confused as to why they want to take photos with us. The guide starts to explain to us that they are all from one of the smaller islands of Indonesia, and this is the very first time that any of these women have seen blonde-haired, blue-eyed Americans, and we are three of them for the taking. She asks where we are from and I say, “well, I just moved to California” and the guide translates that to the group and they all perk up and many of them start to say “ohhh, Arnold Schwarzenegger!” We all have a good laugh, because you can be half-way around the world and some things, like the Governator, still translate between languages.
LUNCH WITH THE LITTLE MAN IN THE VAN
It should be stated that, when in Bali, your money goes a long way. As of now, $1 USD = 15,968.70 Indonesian Rupiah. As I mentioned before, there are a lot of people who do not have a lot of money, so their version of “nice” things can and will be different than your version of “nice” things. For example, my Uncle hired a driver, 3 of the days, to take us in and out of the different villages. For one, driving is absurd, and two, as mentioned, it’s cheap as hell; I believe a private driver, for the entire day, was about $50. Anyway, during our stay, we were very fortunate to have the same driver all three days. I am ashamed that I do not remember the driver’s name, but I will never forget his face nor will I ever forget his personality.
Each and every day, this little man in a van would pick us up and chauffeur us around town. His English was quite good, and he was VERY pleased to be driving us around in his “new”, luxurious, top-of-the-line vehicle — a 1992 Astro Van. The man gave us a history of everywhere we went, and every time we had a personal question about his life he would then follow up with a personal question about our lives. This man may have been quite small—the average height of Indonesian men is 5 foot 4 inches—but he had the most remarkable smile that was a mile wide. Every day, the little man in the van would greet us with that big ole smile, and, more often than not, he turned out to be the highlight of our day; his presence was intoxicating. We ribbed the man about his “luxurious” vehicle, and he spun it around on us in a way I would have never imagined: the man said, “I bought this van last year when my first son was born. It’s tradition, in Balinese culture, to reward your child with his or her birth. So, I bought this van for him, and when he gets old enough, this will be his van, too.” Let’s remember, this was 2007, this van was a 1992 Astro Van, and he wanted to give this van to his one-year old son, sometime around the year 2020, I imagine, when he is of appropriate age. The man went on, “a child is the most important thing that one could be blessed with, so it is important to show your appreciation for your newborn baby.”
On the final day, my Uncle invited the man to have lunch with us at a local cafe. The man, as he does, smiled wide, thanked us graciously, but informed us that it’s against protocol to fraternize with your clients. My Uncle, deciding to one-up the man, told him that, where we’re from, it would be a sign of disrespect to refuse an offer as gracious as a shared meal. For the first time on the trip, I saw the man’s smile go away; he was legitimately confused and didn’t know what to do. My Uncle continued to nudge him until, finally, he said, “please, let’s have a meal together, shall we?” After a while, the little man in the van finally agreed, and we all went to lunch together. I watched as the man sat with us, and you could tell something internally was going on with him. We ordered more food than any of us could eat, we made sure to try all of the local delicacies, and we made sure the little man in the van was rewarded for all of his kindness. After a little while, the man stopped eating his food. We all kind of looked at one another, confused, and my Uncle finally said, “is everything okay?” The man looked up at all of us and then he burst into tears. At first, we thought we offended him, so much so that my Uncle asked him if that’s, indeed, what we did. The man shook his head “no”, and then, after some more tears and many sniffles, said “I have never been invited to sit-down with clients or foreigners before. I have never been asked to break bread with anyone. It is a true honor of respect, and I will never forget this act of kindness.” It should be said that this meal was probably, in total, for the five of us, less than $30; however, it should be said, that you can’t put a price on kindness and generosity—it’s the little things in life that can go a long way, and you never know whose life can be changed with a simple act of kindness.
The little man in a van, with a great big smile, is the photo I never took; yet, it’s the image that burns brightest in all my memories of Bali.
Monkeys, temples, rainforests, oceans, festivals…none of these came close to the experience I had with the little man in a van who always showed up with a pocketful of happiness.
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. — Mark Twain