04-OCT - Fri - The good, the bad and the ugly

The good: The beaches here are tropical paradise. The sand is “fairy-tale” white, the water as blue as only Hollywood could imagine it, and the mountains frame the hole setting majestically. The hinterland a different world altogether again, with its various crops, all farmed by manual labour with no machinery in sight, the villages unchanged in centuries, the locals going about their daily life, opening an unimaginable window for us city lads of the 20th century. The food is bolder, the flavours more intense than in Bali, maybe fresher and truer to their origins, how Indonesian food should be. We once again followed Rick Stein’s lead and purchased fish from a group of women, smoking it right there on the beach on burning coconut husks, as the husbands brought it in on their colourful fishing boats, the catch as fresh as it could ever be, out from the cobalt blue ocean we just swam in. It tasted truly spectacular, as we picked away at it with our hands, with the sun tickling our skin. The bad: The dogs are a constant companion, be it in the rural setting, on the beach or in town. They walk the streets, alone or in small groups. They sleep by the road, under a tree, under a table or under your daybed. They are not the lovely pet we are used to. Albeit being extremely human friendly, they most certainly are not to each other. They forage for food from villagers, along roads or from a kind tourist. They do not share food between themselves and will aggressively bark, scratch and bite any other canine challenging their find. They sniff food a mile away and will spot you in matter of seconds. They will sit and wait and look at you, till they either fooled you to pity them or you finished your meal and your leftovers are for them to conquer. Their constant presence makes these two lads uncomfortable, as most do not look healthy and might be carrying lice, ticks or worst, have rabies. Avoid them, we shall! The ugly: The sight of discarded plastic is omnipresent. We encounter plastic by the side of roads, behind homes, outside mosques, in bushes, in the fields, on the sand, in the crystal clear water. Mostly small pieces, of course the usual culprit Mr Plasticbag, sometimes a flip-flop, worst if it cumulates into bigger clumps. We are amazed at seeing locals just throwing it out. It is truly a most saddening sight, leaving a dark shadow over this magnificent landscape. They burn it, from time to time, causing the most sickening smoke. The only logical conclusion these two lads came to, is that in the olden days, the discarded broken bamboo wall, thatched roof, unwanted wooden furniture, consumed coconut, worn out straw hat were truly burnable or would decompose over time. Plastic does not! We guess once again, the influx of the Western world is starting to leave its mark, all our produce made mostly out of plastic, but the final link of rubbish collection, disposal and recycling not a link the money hungry businessman cares about… yet! Till the plastic’s negative impact so bad, that ignore, they shall not!