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the Dutch sailor Aernoudt Lintgens, who landed with two
others on the southern shore in 1597. In his diary he wrote of
good-hearted, friendly natives living in a bountiful land. So
beguiled were they by the island that his companions refused
to leave.
Under the Dutch colonial administration in the 1920s,
Bali was promoted as a tourist attraction. Its first visitors
came largely from the “culturally educated” set. Artists,
ethnologists, writers and musicians made their way here,
lured by stories of this exotic locale. Like the tourists of today,
they came to walk the ricefields, bask on the beaches and
soak up the Balinese lifestyle. People such as Walter Spies,
a German painter who reveled in scenes of everyday life, and
Miguel Covarrubias, a Mexican who wrote one of the earliest
Bali travelogues, showed the world the charms of this once-
hidden island paradise. From then on there was no looking
back — tourism was here to stay.
Cultural charm
This age-old industry is perhaps a good reason why Bali’s
greatest asset — its native culture — has remained vibrant.
This is evident even in the capital, Denpasar — a modern city
of 800,000, replete with the smog and urban sprawl of any
large Asian city. In these busy streets, the locals go out every
morning in traditional attire to bestow offerings to the spirits.
They light sticks of incense, then place a
canang sari
—
a
Clockwise from top
left: Get a glimpse
of local life at
the Ubud market;
Balinese women go
about their business
in traditional attire;
the rice terraces
at Tegallalang;
Balinese homes
have grand entrance
gates;
babi guling
or Balinese roast
pork; Kuta beach
is great for surfing;
canang sari given as
an offering; intricate
Balinese stone
carving
