Bombs,Tax,Sushi

[Bert Vierstra]

Took Winda, my friend from Java to Kuta 2 days ago. She was bored, and I had to go anyway to send a package to the US. I have to relax driving the bike, its getting dangerous. Singaraja -> Bedegul 29 minutes. We went to see the bombing site, it now looks like a normal building site, except for the flowers and some curious tourists. The next day we saw about 20 (!) busses there with Asian tourists. In the night I spend a lot of money eating in a Japanese restaurant, the sushi was great. Winda tried, but spittied it out. We slept in a hotel 300 meters from the site, it didn't do anything to me, seeing the bomb site. But..., there was an American flag pinned to the wall around the site, what is the meaning of this?. When I got home (DPS Airport -> Kalibukbuk, Lovina 1:20 hrs) I learned that the other shipment from lantana had come and I have to pay import taxes for the DVD's, worth 27 illegal copied DVD's you can buy anywhere here, for the Wagner opera's..... Yesterday swimming to the sampan again, and I wondered how this part of Bali will look like if there is an oiltanker there spitting out its 7000 tons of oil every week, if the sea is warmed up here by this powerplant, how it smells here with this powerplant. Or how this part, and the rest of Bali will look like if one of this tankers takes a wrong turn somewhere and runs on the coral. This will have the same effect as 100 bombs in Kuta.


An offer on the bombing site:

The American flag pinned on a wall around the site:

 

[Lothar]

Oh well Bert

I sit here and remember places where I have lived - long time ago - and started searching the net for pictures of NOW. What streams had clear water are now brown and muddy, what once was green has now condominiums built on it in need of repainting, and what once was in pristine condition are now spread garbage dumps. It;s sad how fast the world has changed to the ugly in such a short time as 30 years.

I remember Kuta Surf in 1998, every wave spilled loads of plastic garbage onto the beach. I presume that has not changed for the better either.

 

[shar]

I remember Bali from 1970's

I recall kuta when jalan legian was a cinder path - not bitchumen just that white ground rock that you sometimes still see there before the bitchumen is laid. The cinder path went from Bemo corner and ended at Poppies lane 2.

I recall Seminyak, Kerobokan and Legian as small villiages with dirt tracks between them. I was 12 years old and even Sanur was more "built up" than Kuta. I would even suggest it was "less developed" (what does this mean?? ) than Lovina is now. There was no plastic on Bali then, in fact getting frozen ice cream was a treat - with paper wrap. its not even like that was a whole lifetime ago. I am 35 now and wonder what 'development' the future holds?