Bali: The Last Paradise on Earth
She said of course it was. So soon after, we set off for Indonesia. It was 1992, shortly after China and Indonesia reestablished diplomatic relations. In Jakarta, we signed up for a tour group heading to Bali. The group consisted entirely of ethnic Chinese Indonesians. Compared to the dark skin of Indonesian men, even though I’m considered tan among Chinese, to locals I was a prince charming—Andy Lau level. So I was very popular with the ladies. One after another wanted to take photos with me, others wanted to learn Chinese. I was so captivated I almost forgot to go home—until my girlfriend’s brother came to remind me: 'My sister is still waiting for you.' Bali is indeed wonderful, a place with mountains, water, and culture. Compared to other Southeast Asian resort islands that only have beaches, Bali also has virgin forests and its unique Hindu culture. All of Indonesia is Islamic except Bali. Bali has three treasures: temples, dances, and wood carvings. Of course, Bali is also a man's paradise, but not like Thailand. Here men don't need to work; all they have to do is enjoy cockfighting every day. Whereas back home we say women hold up half the sky, in Bali women have long been holding up the entire sky. They would farm half-naked, often carry fruit stacked half a meter high on their heads while transporting, and come home to cook and serve their husbands. At that time, a saying was popular in Bali: 'Indonesia was Islamized, but we were not. Indonesia was colonized by the Dutch, but we were not. Indonesia was industrialized, but we were not. We have always remained in an agricultural state.' But they never imagined that a decade or two later, they would be colonized by tourism, especially with the influx of Chinese tourists. Twenty years later, I revisited Bali. My girlfriend from back then had long disappeared. Though I felt like the lines from the poem: 'Last year today, within this very door, her face and the peach blossoms reflected each other; her face has gone, but the peach blossoms still smile in the spring breeze.' Yet Bali remained as beautiful as ever.
