BALI – the early days of tourism

Het Land der Duizend Tempels (The Land of the Thousand Temples) A Guidebook and Souvenir of BALI. I picked the book up in an antiquarian bookshop in Amsterdam. Year of publishing is not stated but should be around 1929/30 as some of the statistics given in the book refer to the year 1928.

It's a tourist guide, but unlike the present day versions the first nine chapters of this booklet describe the island's geographical location and geology of coast and interior; its people and settlements; the caste system;  the temples and a list of the most interesting ones; cremations; customs and traditions; public entertainment and games—including dancing and cockfights. And starting on page 90 only—two-thirds into the book—appear the tips for tourists which provide information on how to get there at what price, a list of hotels and government guesthouses, and a programme for a 3-day and a 6-day trip. The various attractions are listed alphabetically and described briefly.

Kuta in the early days

Kuta (Koeta), a dilapidated fisher village on the south coast of Bali, is easily reached from Denpasar. One can enjoy its delightful beach and safely swim as there are no sharks. There is a small government cottage with changing rooms. Swimsuits, towels, soap, and in case one wants to pick-nick, food and drinks, will need to be brought, as locally nothing is available. For a small fee one can make a sailing trip in a prahu.

The rest of the section on Kuta is dedicated to the Dane Mads Lange who in the 19^th century founded a trading station in Kuta, which was then an important commercial harbour.

The Kuta that in BALI, Lonely Planet is depicted as … teeming, mad, crazy, nutty, wild and loud … the original tourist centre of Bali … with its narrow alleys (gangs), hawkers, tawdry bars, cheap hotels and open-air cafes peddling cheap Bintang and nonthreatening nasi goreng. Every third person you see carries a surf board, every fourth sports a fresh tattoo.

Lonely Planet's slant on Kuta is a perfect illustration of the Balinese interpretation of the needs and desires of tourists. The Balinese have a sharp eye for profit-potential, and if tourists want cheap accommodation, cold beer and tattoos, that is what will be on offer in large quantities.



Woodcarvings

 Interestingly,  the writer of The Land of the Thousand Temples, G.H. von Faber, did spot the same trend. He writes that Bali now has electricity, cinemas, hotels, large ugly billboards, telegraph and telephone and … tourists. Unsurprisingly this has made its influence felt on the Balinese way of life and character. Von Faber includes one example as a warning: the handicraft is deteriorating, he writes. A large part of the products are made for the tourist market. The woodcarvers have taken account of the western tastes, and during my recent visit I did not find any delicately carved figures of the reddish sawu wood. The sellers assured me that those do not sell and are therefore no longer made. And according to the writer weaving and silverware suffer the same fate.

Fine, but look at it from the Balinese perspective. Tourism provides an income not only to hotels and restaurants, but also to the providers of services and goods. And why spend more time and energy on the production of artefacts if the tourist-milch cow is satisfied with the lesser quality!