Sunday 17 July 2005

Same, Same....but different

In the way of things there were many memorable captions in the over the top abundance of the omnipresent T-shirt on the idyllic isle of Bali. My favourite worn by a Chinese companion at breakfast one day.....on the front Same, Same and on the back ...but different!
It appealed to my quirkisms any way.
It spoke something of our experience in Bali (home today and a 20 degree drop in temperature). A very relaxed & friendly culture, people of different ethnicity living relatively harmoniously. Is it "cultural tourism" mainly not...unless the culture is tourism.
Amidst our many fears before we left, I kept saying to people that it was more dangerous in London than in Denpasar...a prophecy that proved sadly true!
Never once did I have I have public officials demanding money so that I wouldn't end up in jail. Never once did my three daughters feel treated disrespectfully, though my sensitivities were sometime higher than that.
Never once did we suffer food poisoning from poor hygeine, nor did we lack medical attention when three of us at different times had tonsilitis or bronchitis (which we brought from Oz with us).
More pleasing yet, the kids saw some of the awful disparities that we....a family of pretty modest income...could afford this great holiday in a way that will not be possible for most Balinese in the forseeable future.
Would I go again...certainly! Would I encourage others to go...certainly! Will we be able to afford to...not for quite some time!

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