Palamariu Family Blog

As looking back on the blog posts about Bali, there are several things we didn’t cover. I guess I was too much in love with this place and as love is blind, the Bali I have described is the true paradise.

Now, that we are already in India, we took some distance from the Bali experience and I believe I can be more objective and analytic when writing about Bali.

So far you might have read in the previous posts that Balinese people live in communities and don’t complain. These 2 aspects offered us new perspectives and new insights: the massive care towards the others, how inspired you feel when people around you are not complaining.

Another outcome of the community lifestyle is that people are very much oriented towards sharing. Once you become their good friend, Balinese consider you as part of the community. This has 2 sides: they will be a good support for you in the difficult moments but also, don’t be surprised if they think it’s normal to borrow or use your belongings (slippers, socks, etc.). So this could be a bit uncomfortable and one has to set boundaries when being in this situation. The tricky part is that you can never know how the feedback is received, due to the fact that Balinese people don’t complain and are not assertive.

If one decides to move to Bali, should be aware that health centers or hospitals are rather unprofessional. Local people go to see healers for many of their medical issues and sometimes to the hospital for serious problems. Expats put their hopes in the Singaporean and Bangkok hospitals, which are only 3 hours flight away from Bali. Of course that is not reassuring for everybody

Going further with the analysis, another aspect that can be slightly bothering is the corruption. Money can solve almost any problem one can have, but that makes life fairly unjust and unequal for people living in Bali. Expats are usually charged more and also if one gets to the tribunal, the chances for an expat to win are very improbable; though by paying you can for sure win.

When I look back, I see both positive and negative sides of Bali, but still for me this remains the best place to be in.

I love the freedom of expression and creativity one can have in Bali. You don’t hear about ambitions and materialistic status, about politics or social demands: “this is good” and “that is bad”. It’s a great place to be yourself, to reinvent yourself and simply to live the life as you like. I appreciate the people for being simple and caring about the others, even with their faults. I don’t expect anybody to be perfect and I’m confident that in time any conflict can be solved.

News about Singapore and New Delhi are about to come, as well as the corresponding pictures. So stay tuned!