In Reply to: Is Bali Changing For The Better posted by tigress on Saturday, 25. October 2014 at 15:39 Bali Time:
Most of your points are valid but after 128 trips since 1984, IMHO Bali is better than it used to be, in many respects.
You have only to look at the greater health of the people caused by better nutrition and working conditions.
Your comment that no sooner is a road finished than it's dug up again. Well the truth of this mater is that,although the contractors know what must be done ahead in the first place, if they did it all at one time it would mean just one round of bribes instead of two; this is an Indonesian reality explained to me by locals, who acknowlege the system is at work; not moral to us outsiders but logical to them whose country it is.
Heightof buildings is also a matter easily got around by building on a great mound of impored dirt and then going to coconut tree height; the height of the tree on the mound, of course.
They say 'lain ladang, lain belalang' a different field,a differant butterfly or that might be 'grass-hopper', lost my kamus!
An interestig contrast was explained to me, on my last visit to Ireland in 1977. A government department exceeded the height of a building allowed in a Heritage Precinct, thinking that as Govt' they would be allowed. The relevant authority waited until the building was completely occupied and then hit them with an order for demolition of the upper two, offending storeys. Another proverb springs to mind, 'lain desa, lain adat' meaning you can go just to the next hamlet in Bali and find a different local custom or hereditary law
I've wanderd abit from the subject but would summarise by saying that some of your assertions are logical but some are explainable by the fact that this is Bali, not Australia or wherever else. What is morally right to us is neither morally right or logical to these poeople of a different Culture from ours.
Picky Pete