pura pura pura!

retrospective posting is always a bad idea, mostly because the once vivid details are lost so im left with only fuzzy overarching themes. but pants hasnt been in much of a writing mood of late so no luck and here goes.

i felt full and weird walking along the beach from seminyak to kuta a few minutes after arriving in bali. it wasnt outright sadness but i felt on the verge of many emotions heightened by this distinct change of scenery. the beach felt like tourist central with its painfully-red westerners, fast food and other manifestations of foreigner detritus.

despite this tacky foreign consumer-driven culture that pervades a small area of bali, i also couldnt help but notice the spirituality of the place. bali is a tiny hindu enclave inside the worlds largest muslim country. signs of this are everywhere in ornate pura (temples), and the sesajen (banana leaves folded into square receptacles that might contain flowers, candy and/or incense) that are placed at the entrances to small shops and fancy hotels alike. these spiritual offerings are in addition to the larger plangkiran and banten, which are permanent shrines located in and outside structures. my chinese-javanese buddy sugiharto explained that whereas javanese often try to exorcise harmful spirits from their dwellings, balinese people prefer to make offerings as a way of compromising and coexisting with them. (sounds like a helpful philosophy in a tourist-driven economy.)

as ive more or less come to the conclusion that im a full fledged atheist (agnosticism is for wimps), this feels like a strange place to pronounce it. in the states, judeo-christianity too often seems relegated to the weekends and bigots. here in bali, the ubiquitous spiritual expressions on doorsteps, in garb and ceremony, create an integrated and peaceful contrast to a disorienting world.
more bali photos here.