The streets are still empty in Bali. COVID is under control, but fear and superstition keep travel bans in place and tourists off the streets of normally bustling Legian.
Empty Minds and Empty Streets
Author: Indo Art House
The Age of Stupid, Irrational Fear
Why is this beach in Bali almost empty? This recent picture was taken at Legian Beach, normally crowded during the peak of the tourist season.
Is it because COVID is such a danger in Indonesia? No, a relatively tiny number of people have died of COVID in Indonesia, far fewer than die in car accidents, from heart disease, cancer, or any number of causes.
Is it because the Indonesian government is exercising reasonable prudence based on sound scientific evidence? No.
It’s because the world has gone mad, and fear overwhelms every rational thought, and every other consideration.
This time in history will not be known as the time that COVID reigned; it will be known as the time that people around the world panicked and inflicted “cures” that were far worse than the disease.
Remembering the Good Times
When so many of us are stuck at home, it’s good to remember the good times we’ve had in the past while traveling, and we’ll have again in the future.
To help you along on that journey, we’ll include one of our reader’s comments about her last year in Bali:
“The last year was that good because of all the beauty that I witnessed, diving at night in Amed for hours being mesmerized by bioluminescence, surfing in the most beautiful places by the rocks, so many times, so many sunsets, so many times going in the ocean during the first light, under the moon, watching the sky full of starts endless times, meeting so many truly incredible human beings, so much salt on the skin, so much time spent on the sand laughing and smiling, so many adventures, it’s that “unbearable lightness of being”, not to mention love, of course. But here even just driving from the hill down to your favorite cafe to have coffee feels like a dream in the endless summer.”
The beach may be empty right now, but it’s full of memories. And plans for your future.
Musical Instruments
When a culture just becomes a series of dusty museums and temples with picture-taking tourists, it dies. It lives when the older people pass on the skills to the young, such as when these boys learn traditional musical instruments in Bangkok, an otherwise very modern city.
waka hotels
The central part of Bali is overcrowded. But just an hour away you’ll find really nice resorts where you can still live the Bali dream, like
@wakahotels. Unspoiled beach, quiet, and the restaurant view is just like this picture portrays it; look right onto the crashing waves.
Nell Blaine
the idea of novelty above all…has struck in the craw of many serious artists who may go their own way quietly.
MOMA Bangkok
This huge, and wildly complex, painting can be found along with two other very tall paintings on the top floor of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Bangkok. This beautiful museum is a bit hard to find but features some of the best contemporary work in Asia.
Howard Aiken
Don’t worry about people stealing your ideas. If your ideas are any good you’ll have to ram them down people’s throats.
Wat Umong Mahathera Chan
Minimalism never quite took hold in Thailand, which you’ll notice in particular in Buddhist temples, like Wat Umong Mahathera Chan, a 700-year-old temple in Chiang Mai.
Chinatown Bangkok
Attention; Hotel and commercial real estate developers.
You don’t have to spend a fortune to do something really unique and cool. This hotel in the Chinese section of #Bangkok has a reflecting pool on the ground level, just a few inches deep but a visual treat. #chinatown