KUTA
AND LEGIAN 3
'Beach
Blanket Babylon' of the East
Check
out the accommodations
in this Area
Kuta's
reincarnation
Many
changes, good and bad, have come to Kuta over the past several
years. These range from traffic jams and pollution to excellent
food, great shopping and a vibrant nightlife. Australians
once dominated the scene, but today Kuta is truly international
the spectrum of visitors ranging from macho Brazilian surfers
to prim Japanese secretaries. Tourism, however, is the common
denominator for everything that happens here.
There
has been an equally rapid rise in domestic tourism, with
western tourists and their curious ways becoming an attraction
for Indonesian visitors from the neighboring island of Java.
Large numbers of out-islander have also settled here, opening
businesses or simply hanging out in this Indonesian version
of a gold-rush boom town. At times, one has the impression
that the local Balinesee have become a minority in their
own community.
For many,
this litany of change reads as an indictment of yet another
paradise lost Certainly for those of us who knew Kuta in
an earlier, more innocent state, the new Kuta is often difficult
to accept. But what of the local Balinese what do they think
of all this? The most common answer is that despite the
changes, the Balinese community remains strong, if wary.
The traditional ceremonies are still being held, so there
is as yet no need to worry, they feel. One need only witness
the powerful calonarang dance in Kuta beneath a full moon
to understand this. While we despair the loss of Kuta's
village past, we cannot condemn all that is new. Infect,
goods and services have improved and Kuta enjoys a standard
of living higher than almost anywhere else in Indonesia.
Above
all, though, Kuta/Legian beach has become a major cross-cultural
international meeting spot with few peers. Love it or leave
it, only one thing is sure - the old Kuta has passed away
and nobody knows what the future may bring.
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