was the least pricey hotel I stayed in on Bali,
but it was my favourite by far.
Alila Manggis is right beside the ocean but
the sandy shoreline is deserted. I only had
a few local fishermen for company when I
walked along the beach. Over breakfast, I got
talking to an Australian called Peter. He was
here with his wife and children. He’d been
before. I asked him why he liked coming
here. ‘It’s the people, mate,’ he said. ‘They’re
so hospitable. They never get riled. Being a
policeman in Bali must be the easiest job in
the world.’
After breakfast I went for a hike with Wayan,
my local guide. We strode through a sea of
palm trees and up onto a bare hillside, where
he used to farm peanuts with his father. The
rainforest lay below us, the ocean beyond. I’d
never seen such a view. Today Wayan’s dad
works in a hotel, like Wayan. These peanut
fields are overgrown. I said it sounded like a
sad story, but Wayan didn’t agree. Farming
peanuts was hard, and there was no money
in it. Wayan often went hungry. ‘Now I eat
two times a day, sometimes three,’ he said.
‘Now it’s easy to find food.’
Bali is all about tourism nowadays, and
there’s no point trying to fight it. In Kuta,
it feels out of control. In Ubud, it feels
contained. I guess Candidasa is probably just
as artificial. But during my short time here, I
could see what made my friends fall in love
with Bali. It’s partly about the landscape
- but, like Peter said, it’s mainly about the
people. See for yourself, before it’s too late.
“BALI IS THE MOST MAGICAL PLACE I HAVE BEEN
TO. AND OF COURSE, THE PEOPLE ARE MAGICAL
PEOPLE — JUST SO TALENTED AND BEAUTIFUL
AND FRIENDLY AND CHARMING AND LOVELY.”
SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH
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58 //
