Talking with Ida Bagus Puspa Arthawa in Legian Bali

Part of my job is doing hotel reviews, so that people can make a better choice for themselves when coming to Bali on holiday.

Back in 2004, I interviewed Ida Bagus Puspa Arthawa, the manager of the Puri Raja Hotel in Legian and we got slightly off-topic talking about Bali. He was an interesting man, and it was insprinig to talk to someone with something to say. I think he he understood many of the problems facing Bali and the Balinese.

Baliblog: You yourself are from Java?
Arthawa: No no. I’m Balinese.

Baliblog: I thought because I saw the name ‘IB Puspa Arthawa’ and I have a friend from Java called Puspasari.
Arthawa: Ya. ‘IB’ , what we mean is ‘Ida Bagus’, is Balinese.

Baliblog: So how long have you worked here?
Arthawa: Ah, too long. Have been here too long really (laughing). Ya but you have been to Bali already, and I think you knew the job opportunities in Bali are very little. I have been at this job for a long, and am waiting for what the time will say to me.

Baliblog: You know I’ve often thought that Balinese people must feel a lot of stress and strain, because of economic pressures. They have to pay a lot for ceremonies, cremations and they see tourists with nice cameras, motorbikes etc. and they think ‘I want one.’ The kids same thing which makes me think when you compare this time to 50 years ago its must be a lot harder now.
Arthawa: Oh ya ya. Men’s lives are very much influenced by environment. Fifty years ago the number of tourists coming over to Bali was very little and even now village life I think has been influenced by the tourists. Television also has given a great change to the Balinese life. We have to recognize that it would be back to very personal, the person to ask themselves what really that are looking for in this life. Otherwise so they don’t know where to go and they don’t know the goals of their life I think.

Nowadays Bali people say ‘Oh that’s modern’, and then they want to get success to compare with the modern life.

Baliblog: Its funny because when I look around most of the Balinese people seem very relaxed and a lot of the ‘bules‘ seem very stressed, particularly like me, the ones who live here. We’re always very busy, start work at 8am and finish at midnight, you know that’s us. Often times I look at Balinese people and think ‘I wish I could be like that’.
Arthawa: Mmm, er I think there needs to be time to make a change mentally in the people. You are coming from a culture that is used to being very busy, otherwise you get sick I think. Bali people we are coming from the family or the society of agriculturalists and now we’re just taking part in different kinds of businesses. Well then it is a transition between the agriculturalists and business, or to the trade where time is really valuable.

I don’t know whether Balinese will maintain themselves, and want to be real Balinese. They change their minds, and I think that happens everywhere in the world.

Baliblog: I think so unfortunately. When I see people putting out the ‘canangs‘ in the morning and afternoons and I see young people going to the ceremonies I think that’s great, because they all seems very interested in it. I went to Pura Besakih ( the Mother Temple) with enam orang Balinese (6 Balinese people). Driving in the car everybody was very excited and I thought ‘how interesting’. In America or England we would be going to a rock concert or a football match and if someone said ‘hey you want to go to church?’ most people would say ‘No no’. These young people were very excited, because they were going to Pura Besakih and I’m wondering in 20 or 30 years time, will you see the same level of excitement?
Arthawa: Change is always there. We cannot predict whether it will be slow or quick. Men change because mostly of what is going on in one’s mind. I think the more the intellect develops, I think the more they are going to change themselves. The change is in your head. If you are becoming fully intellectual, they will be bright and that will make change.

Baliblog: Have you ever seen any Balinese kids or teenagers that have said ‘I don’t want to go to ceremonies anymore�’
Arthawa: Well you have to see that there is a village organization. We don’t know exactly whether they really intend to join the ceremony and social activities, if its coming from their heart or not. But from the culture, the social culture of the villages they have to say ‘yes’. Again I cannot say if it is coming from their heart, or if it is because they have to join because special reason, or a personal reason. That we cannot say for sure. There is a ceremony, maybe they are interested in it, or maybe they just want to kill the time.

Anyway life will change, no one can stop it, only that it will be slow or quick. Now people start enjoying French fries, burgers rather than nasi campur.

Baliblog: I eat masakan Indonesia dua kali satu hari (2 times, 1 day ).
Arthawa: Oh ya! Well for sure most of the people need change. Are you from UK?

Baliblog: Yes
Arthawa: Okay. UK used to be like that too. I hope what happened in Bali, has met with your intentions for coming over. You have settled down in Bali?

Baliblog: Yes. I’ve been here satu setengah tahun ( 1 and a half years).
Arthawa: Do you plan to settle down here?

Baliblog: I’d like to depending on how it goes. Maybe if there’s no more terrorism.
Arthawa: Ya ya that’s it. Ya that’s very hard to predict, but anyway if the change would be the movement a little bit slow, because as I said village organizations, where the culture is, where the religion is, where the temple is mentally binds all people in that village. Otherwise we don’t know, but people start becoming more individualistic than communal anymore. Before ‘it’ belonged to us, now ‘its’ mine ‘its’ yours.

Baliblog: I hope Bali can develop in a positive way, that helps the people remain connected with their culture, and allow them to move ahead in modern life.
Arthawa: What as a foreign person living now in Bali from a different culture, different way of life, do you have any expectations of what Bali would be in these few years time, or something?

Baliblog: I think the ‘bules’ like me come to Bali because we have the dream of Bali, and when we think of Bali, we probably have the image of 100 or 50 years ago, where its like beautiful mountains and villages. Then we come here, and of course we want the modern things too, and sometimes we have this dream-like image of how the locals will be like. People will be walking down the street, carrying offerings over their heads, everyone wearing sarongs and udengs etc. and then we see air pollution and pollution on the streets and construction. For example I’ll be out in Karangasem looking at the beautiful mountains and sawah ( rice paddy) and some guy’s gone and built a big concrete wall, or a big house or a garage and I’m thinking ‘people come 8,000 miles to see these beautiful things, and they are not going to be beautiful for ever unfortunately’. So what I’d like to see is the government making stricter building regulations.
Arthawa: I agree with you. That’s a way to protect it. Personally I think everyone is dreaming of becoming rich and they’ve got land. They might sell the land for the immediate purpose to buy a car, to get a house and then nothing else, it’s all gone. Even though they’ve got money they don’t know how to spend the money.

Baliblog: So if I buy land I have to be very careful.
Arthawa: Ha, ha (laughing).

Baliblog: I think maybe no good for me.
Arthawa: Ya ya ya.

Baliblog: I would like to see the government introduce a 3-stage zoning plan. Take somewhere like Denpasar and say ‘if you want to a new building go ahead because it’s already ruined’. Then you have an area in between Denpasar and the mountains, and you say ‘you can build some things, but they have to be in local style, and not above 2 levels. You have to paint the outside it can’t be just grey concrete blocks. Then you have areas Gunung Agung for instance and close to temples where you can’t build at all.
Arthawa: Ya I agree with you as a spectator. In a normal was the spectator is always in a position to criticize the spectacle right? If you see the football etc. easy to criticize. I hope the government will listen.

Baliblog: But they won’t, that’s the problem it’s all about this (money).
Arthawa: Sometimes that happens, because we don’t see that Bali will be a heritage for the next generation.

Baliblog: My friend said to me ‘look what they’ve done to Candi Dasa, they’ve built al those hotels, they’ve ruined the beach, it used to be a beautiful beach with no hotels but now there�s no beach with all these ugly hotels’, and you can never put the forest back.
Arthawa: That’s it ya. When the nature is gone it’s hard to put it back. Anyway if you have real intentions it is an honor, really if you have the time to talk with the government, at least it is a warning to them.

Life in Bali now has a very high competition for the wealth, for the worldly wealth, not spiritual wealth anymore. That’s the difference. If one lives in the center of Bali and is talking about the spiritual I think he will preserve it for a longer time but the number of those type of people is decreasing. If only a few people are talking about the spiritual and most people talk about the material then Bali would be really in big trouble.

Baliblog: Well thank you for talking it has been very interesting listening to you. Can I take your photo?
Arthawa: Of me? Oh no no!

Baliblog: Yes, because you are such an impressive man.
Arthawa: Go ahead and photograph the hotel, but not me because I’m really nothing.