Cultural Exchange [or actually] Rape in Ubud
UC Editor
2/6/20232 min read
Since the border reopening, Bali has been quite overwhelmed by the number of tourists entering the island, not to mention the Balinese themselves, who may have lost almost half of their life and don't know what to do when tourism suddenly restarts. This shock therapy has had nothing but a direct impact that shapes what Bali is seen as today with our own eyes.
Although Indonesia has been independent for 75 years, the reality seems to be that we're still being colonized in many ways, and Ubud is one of the most heavily impacted places in our sight. Ubud, as we know it, was an art and cultural hub just before the blooming trend of new-age spiritualism.
It sounds cool and legit that many westerners choose to gamble their life here to pursue this holy path (re: career). That thing alone has changed the whole scene of this town. It doesn't sound self-centered yet until we realize the impact of this. Not many foreigners nowadays in Ubud know any locals except their pembantu or driver. Yet many of them still boast about how amazing their "Bali life" is.
Nowadays, locals can't really socialize with westerners anymore, especially if you're not drinking tea, wearing mala, or doing yoga. Not many westerners are interested in traditional arts and culture, cutting off many of the opportunities in which most artists here used to live.
The fact is that now Ubud seems like it has just become a beautiful background of someone's commercial ads that don't even benefit the locals, except for another visit from new crazy tourists to their island doing Osho screaming meditation or embodiment orgy workshop in your daily rental villa, which is just... messed up, and it is not funny at all.
If the Balinese only rely on tourism, then it seems like they have no choice but to be forced to digest and adapt to this new kind of tourism, or (again) be the labor for someone who takes everything they actually have. This might be the consequence that already scares most of us as locals even to just think about.