In Perth many years ago, I went to a restaurant called When In Rome. What a wonderful name, it reminded me of the saying "When in Rome, do as the Romans do".
Rome is a very unique city, you will not go away empty hearted, you will always bring something home with you.
Bali is like that. By the way, if you found this blog, more than likely you've heard of Bali or planning to go to Bali.
It's a very special place that will occupy the hearts of many, sometimes forever. Jawarhalal Nehru, upon seeing the sun rising at Sanur, against the backdrop of the mountainous range dividing the north from the south of Bali, once said: "This is the morning of the World". Bali is famous for its culture, which despite of the modernization and western cultural influx through the internet, has continued to thrive and flourish. The New Agers insists that Bali is one of the most important vortices in the world, the reason spiritual growth is conducive. Hollywood's Charlie Chaplin came to Bali in the 1930's and was so enchanted by the magic of Bali that the movie "Goona Goona" ensued.
*Goona - goona is the anglicized word for guna-guna in Balinese meaning black magic.
In 2010 Eat Pray Love was made into a movie, and the 2-month long filming of the movie brought Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem to Bali.
So what makes Bali so special?
As a long time resident of Bali, having visited countries famous for their cultures, exotic and modern such as Tibet, Nepal, New York, Rome, Paris, what I find special about Bali is that When In Bali, you can be who you are. Balinese are very permissive and accommodating when it comes to non-Balinese, while adhering to the strict norms of the Balinese culture, tradition and communal laws. It's the unique acceptance and tolerance of others, allowing others to be who they are, yet not applying the same norms to themselves. This has allowed the culture to thrive; at any given day you'll be able to find a ceremony somewhere in the island. Hence the moniker 'Island of the Gods' coined by Miguel Covarrubias, the Mexican anthropologist who stayed and did extensive research of the culture and the island in the 1930's, and helped putting Bali in the map.
This tolerance goes for religious or spiritual inclination, that unlike other parts of Indonesia, people with different religions co-habit peacefully. What you wear is another area of great tolerance, at least for Indonesia. Often I see visitors from Jakarta, Indonesia's capital coming to Bali and really wear the clothes they won't be able to wear when in Jakarta, which tends to be formal and conservative.
Those who move to Bali generally have one thing in common. They first came as tourists, then they come again, and again, and again, and decide to stay. You'll find many businesses in the island are owned by lawyer turned artist, doctors turned designers, professional turned entrepreneurs. Bali's creative environs and ambience, plus being the home to many natural artists, made it easy to be creative and create.
On the whole, it's easy to be yourself. You don't have to adhere to the shoulds and oughts of the society for the sake of conforming, but can be authentic and let your true self shine.
Thus When In Bali, be yourself, because you can.
