Dreamland, the half finished resort on the western Bukit that leads down to the largest white sand beach in the area, is to undergo massive changes in the next 12 months. The ‘owners’ of the land which include Tommy Suharto, are planning to develop the area and the beautiful white sand beach is part of the plan.
Originally named Cimongka, Dreamland became a popular spot for intermediate surfers, due to its beach break and casual atmosphere with many beachside warungs. These warungs are destined for the garbage heap, the new developers demanding the beach be kept pristine. A section of the dry riverbed leading to the beach has been set side for the warung owners. The Bali Times has the whole story and it will be interesting to see how things turn out.
Back in 2003 locals manned a roadblock to Dreamland, demanding a small fee to access the beach. This they said was to compensate them from the illegal theft of their land by rich Jakarta businessmen. The army replaced them for a while and now it seems the developers are back in town. One long term Bali expat said to me that economically Indonesia is a country of bottom-feeders, the people having been screwed over so many times by their own government, locally leaders, and people in power. Hard not to agree and I feel sorry for the local people who lost their land. As for the warungs, maybe it was just 1 warung too many and the beach at Dreamland will look better without them. Not sure people will take to the name New Kuta Beach, better try something easy like Sunset Beach.
