Greenstump has a website dedicated to keeping the planet green. He asks the question ‘what is Indonesia’s most liveable province/city/town/village?’ We already know the answer to the first part of the question, Bali. What if we applied the rest of the question to Bali.
These are the criteria Greenstump used:
1. Tolerant and FPI (and assorted other nutters) free;
2. Progressive Schooling;
3. Unpolluted;
4. Adherence to basic rule of law;
5. Beach/Mountain vistas;
6. Access – roads, rail, airports;
7. Infrastructure;
8. Traditional as opposed to imported culture;
9. Friendly, open society;
Here’s my assessment of a few places in Bali with a points score for each place, out of 10 (10 being the best).
•Kuta / Seminyak
1. Tolerant and FPI (and assorted other nutters) free;
Very tolerant of western debaucherous behaviour, plenty of oddballs / free spirits passing through. 9/10
2. Progressive Schooling;
The Kuta area (Seminyak / Kerobokan) has modern western schools such as the Australian school. 7/10
3. Unpolluted;
Kuta beach is still generally okay, but garbage and water quality suffer in the wet season. Air quality in Kuta is not so good. 6/10
4. Adherence to basic rule of law;
General safety is good. You have to do something stupid to end up in jail, which will be the start of your problems. 6/10
5. Beach/Mountain vistas;
Kuta beach is still a scenic place with good sunsets, etc. 7/10
6. Access – roads, rail, airports;
Close access to the Sunset Rd, Bypass, airport. 10/10
7. Infrastructure;
Plenty of hotels, shops, restaurants, swimming pools, nightlife venues, clinics. Plenty of taxis but public transport not so good.8/10
8. Traditional as opposed to imported culture;
The village of Kuta continues with it’s traditional religious observance, even though the daily way of making a living has changed. Many first time visitors are put off by the ‘in-your-face’ commercialism. 5/10
9. Friendly, open society;
Kuta people are generally friendly. Once you get beyond the commercial aspect, they are normal Balinese people who are ready to smile and chat. Many people speak English.7/10
Ubud
1. Tolerant and FPI (and assorted other nutters) free;
Ubud does have an expat population and is a tourist destination. Locals have been tolerant of eccentric westerners for many years, Ubud though is more traditional than Kuta. 8/10
2. Progressive Schooling;
Ubud has some western schooling. 4/10
3. Unpolluted;
Air quality is better than Kuta, though Jl. Raya Ubud gets swamped by those awful tour buses, belching diesel. The surrounding areas are rice fields and villages. 8/10
4. Adherence to basic rule of law;
A safe place to be, but the occasional break-in makes the news. 8/10
5. Beach/Mountain vistas;
Lovely views of sawah and villages in the surrounding area. 8/10
6. Access – roads, rail, airports;
Though only 12 miles from Kuta as the crow flies, it will take over an hour to get there. Same for the airport. 4/10
7. Infrastructure;
Good hotels and restaurants. The other infrastructure is of a low standard. 6/10
8. Traditional as opposed to imported culture;
Though very touristy, Ubud remains the benchmark for how Balinese ceremonies should appear. Very strong adherence to cultural traditions. 10/10
9. Friendly, open society;
Ubud local seem friendly, more laid back than in Kuta, possibly because many have the arts as part of their lifestyle. Many people speak English. 7/10
Amed
1. Tolerant and FPI (and assorted other nutters) free;
Amed hasn’t had the time to develop in the same way other tourist location in Bali have. Being a coastal fishing community people are familiar with seeing people in a state of undress. 8/10
2. Progressive Schooling;
Zilch. Not sure exactly where the locals go to school. What often happens is they head to the nearest big town. 1/10
3. Unpolluted;
Amed has no industry apart from fishing and diving, so remains a clean area. 10/10
4. Adherence to basic rule of law;
Amed is very quiet, pitch dark at night between the villages. Personal safety isn’t a problem and locals seem okay. 8/10
5. Beach/Mountain vistas;
Beautiful sweeping bays, without the mass tourism of Kuta. 10/10
6. Access – roads, rail, airports;
Amed is on the remote SE corner of Bali, about 3+ hours from Kuta / airport. Local roads are surfaced, but are narrow and curving. 4/10
7. Infrastructure;
Hotels and dive shops are about the only infrastructure in Amed, apart from th local fishing fleet. 3/10
8. Traditional as opposed to imported culture;
Locals have their traditions and most people who are not directly employed by the tourist industry carry on regardless. Amed is not a heavily populated area, so may seem quiet compared to even Ubud. 7/10
9. Friendly, open society;
Many locals are quiet and reserved. Some can speak English. Traditional social gatherings, such as fishermen sitting to enjoy fish, chili’s and arak / tuak, is something you’ll see. Locals will often invite an outsider to join. 7/10
Kintamani
1. Tolerant and FPI (and assorted other nutters) free;
Locals are only used to outsiders as day tourists. Not the friendliest part of Bali. 1/10
2. Progressive Schooling;
Local school only. 1/10
3. Unpolluted;
Kintamani itself is a dirty little hill town, but several minutes north east around the crater is beautiful forest. 6/10
4. Adherence to basic rule of law;
Probably a safe place to live. The locals who organize the hiking and other activities inside the Batur crater have little regard for the rule of law. 2/10
5. Beach/Mountain vistas;
Lovely panoramas around the bend from Kintamani, also the NW part of the Batur crater has lava fields and orange groves. Mt. Batur and Lake Batur are other local attractions. 8/10
6. Access – roads, rail, airports;
It takes 2.5 hours to get to Kuta via a selection of north-south roads passing through Mengwi, Ubud, Tegallalang, Bangli etc. Local banjar have a roadblock for tourists, charging each car as soon as it hits Penelokan. 5/10
7. Infrastructure;
Kintamani itself has nothing worthwhile mentioning apart form a couple of hotels and warungs. Inside Batur crater you will find guest houses and warungs. 3/10
8. Traditional as opposed to imported culture;
Local Bali Aga culture is interesting to read about, not particularly impressive or accessible up close. 3/10
9. Friendly, open society;
Kintamani locals seem either not to want interaction with outsiders, or aggressively go after their tourist dollars. 1/10
Here are the result of my very subjective survey.
Kuta / Seminyak 65
Ubud 63
Amed 58
Kintamani 30
Surprised me that the Kuta area beat Ubud, but when you get down to it, the average westerner values creature comforts over scenery and culture. Still Bali has many great places to choose from and luckily we’re not all the same.
