Mahler's Prodigal Son is about to depart Bali.
The image of Bali is that of terraced rice-paddies, great food, a hippy and arty element in Ubud and swimming and surfing on Bali's many beaches. In other words, a kind of laid-back lotus-land.
All to sadly in a place like Ubud, the 21 century has arrived with a bang. Clogged roads and bumper-to-bumper traffic, bus-loads of day-visitors tramping the streets and now even a Starbucks cafe in the main street. Of course all the usual US influences such as KFC and McDonalds have been evident for years in places like Kuta or Denpasar. The innocence which was Bali, especially in Ubud, is evaporating. The local people are as charming, gentle and smiling as ever.
The prospects of things becoming "better" are not evident. With the release of the movie Eat, Sleep, Pray, starring Julie Roberts, there are already signs of tourists, principally American women, headed for Ubud in droves, to try and "capture" whatever the Julia Roberts character did in Ubud. All rather sad.........
The image of Bali is that of terraced rice-paddies, great food, a hippy and arty element in Ubud and swimming and surfing on Bali's many beaches. In other words, a kind of laid-back lotus-land.
All to sadly in a place like Ubud, the 21 century has arrived with a bang. Clogged roads and bumper-to-bumper traffic, bus-loads of day-visitors tramping the streets and now even a Starbucks cafe in the main street. Of course all the usual US influences such as KFC and McDonalds have been evident for years in places like Kuta or Denpasar. The innocence which was Bali, especially in Ubud, is evaporating. The local people are as charming, gentle and smiling as ever.
The prospects of things becoming "better" are not evident. With the release of the movie Eat, Sleep, Pray, starring Julie Roberts, there are already signs of tourists, principally American women, headed for Ubud in droves, to try and "capture" whatever the Julia Roberts character did in Ubud. All rather sad.........
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