Before I had travelled to Bali, I played in an Balinese gamelan (traditional ensemble) in Canberra. Friends there often expressed a sense of regret or sadness about the current state of Bali. “It used to be a beautiful, natural island,” they would say, “but now it has become overrun with resorts and tourists”. They would recount times of visiting inland cities in Bali, where most people used a bicycle to get around, life was quiet and peaceful.

Of course, now, Bali is not like that. Having never been before, I had not realised the extent of it. Even so, I was under the impression that Ubud, which was always described to me as a “small village”, would be somewhat less touristy than the hotspots of Kuta, Seminyak, and Canggu. I was under the impression that most Australians went to Bali to party, not for the rich culture that I was hoping to study when I was there. While that may be true for Australians, I had forgotten about American and European tourists, of which I saw many in Ubud.

Ubud did not feel like a small village. In fact, I think it is hard to describe somewhere as a “small village” when there is a Starbucks on the main street (although, no McDonalds… yet). Walking down the main street of Ubud reminded me of walking down the main streets of Noosa or Surfer’s Paradise in Queensland, Australia (only further from the beach). The buildings were modern and fancy, and prices were triple or quadruple (in extreme cases even higher than) what you could find in a local eatery. Every night featured a production of gamelan music and dance, with a rotating schedule between four or five different locations. The shows are marketed towards tourists in ways which eschew any traditional meaning; the legong dance, for instance, depicts scenes from the Hindu holy book the Ramayana and this is marketed as a “Ramayana ballet”.

All of this has the feeling of inauthenticity, that maybe life in Ubud is actually not this small village life but rather the projection of what a tourist may feel a Balinese small village is supposed to look like. I equate this as being similar to a Disneyland resort experience, like the Polynesian Resort at Walt Disney World: something that has been designed to give the appearance of what staying in Polynesia might feel like, with activities that complement this, but ultimately staying at the Polynesian Resort at Walt Disney World is not the same as staying in Polynesia. It makes sense to me now why my Indonesian teachers say that “going to Bali doesn’t count” when they ask the class if anyone has been to Indonesia. Going out to eat (which you do for every meal when travelling around Indonesia) is a mixed bag in Ubud, where you never know if a given restaurant is going to give you a reasonable price or the inflated price aimed at foreigners. When walking around you are constantly hounded by offers for taxis, massages, knick knacks, and other various merchandise. I recognise this is life in this part of the world; at the same time, I’m now in Kuala Lumpur and here the sellers seem to ask everyone walking past whether they want something, not singling out people who look like tourists.

Of course, this is not to say that I didn’t enjoy Ubud. There were parts of it I really enjoyed, and it was the best lesson for extended fieldwork that I could have (as towards the end of my month long stay I began to receive offers to go to events that were more “hidden” from tourists). Having a diverse mix of foreigners meant that I met lots of interesting people, and undoubtedly it is still the arts centre of Bali, so I got a lot of great gamelan lessons there. Staying at Eka’s Homestay added to the experience as I began to learn more about each member of the family that was around me and interact with them on a daily basis. There is a lot to like about Ubud, but I felt like I had to dig pretty deep to find it beyond the surface level of tourist shows and tourist eateries that exist there.

I’m now in Kuala Lumpur which I am finding very refreshing and I am looking forward to going to other parts of Indonesia in the weeks ahead. If you’ve got any suggestions for me (west of Bali), please let me know in the comments below!