In Bali, for the seventh time – 03/27/2024 – Zeca Camargo

Right off the bat, I ask you to discard any judgment. The number of times I visited Bali, printed in today’s title, is not a vanity score. You follow me here, I travel, and Bali is an obvious destination for those of us who share this passion.

Having said that, I declare that this seventh visit there brought me many surprises. I basically went to places I already knew, in the eternal hope of renewal: of air, of values, of desires. And she came unexpectedly.

I also went to tourist attractions that I didn’t know about, such as the Gates of Heaven, at the Lempuyang temple, where I took the iconic photo with the sculptures that draw a frame on the horizon. You know which one it is.

A simple Google search and you already know what you’ll find: someone jumping or praying in that infinite landscape of the enchanted island.

What’s more, almost all of these images will come mirrored, “reflected” in a placid lake that multiplies the beauty and serenity of the place. It’s so beautiful, and I couldn’t resist taking this photo myself. But she’s not real.

I don’t want to destroy any illusions: Lempuyang is one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen in the world. But the duplicate image is a fake, the result of a small mirror that temple employees place on the cell phone lenses of those who waited in line for up to an hour to get that click.

The shock of having discovered this trick shook me. It’s not new that I notice that many trips today are more opportunities for selfies than experiences to be had. And I’m at peace with that.

I’m not one of those grumpy travelers who complain that mass tourism is destroying our experience. On the contrary, I argue that the more people travel, the more people will have the chance to transcend through cultural exchanges.

If there are those who prefer this exchange to be shallow, that’s not my problem. But when I realized that I was, there in Lempuyang, in a trap that I myself tend to criticize, I stopped to reflect.

What was I doing in Bali for the seventh time? Visiting the places I like, yes. But also trying to discover something new.

But, suddenly, in the middle of that monotonous repetition of photos, I realized that I would have to rethink my entire trip. It couldn’t be “just” the seventh visit to the same place.

Bali, for many, is a dream destination. And it was mine too. But when this dream is repeated so many times, how can you make it something new?

I left the heights of Lempuyang with this in mind. He was tormented by this question. And when I arrived at my hotel in Ubud, I opened the windows that faced the forest and just contemplated.

The water temple, Pura Tirta, was in front of us. The monkey forest, right there in Ubud. A Balinese dance performance. A sunset in Uluwatu. Things I had already experienced.

But I wanted something new. So I looked for new selfie angles. In some places, I didn’t take any. I walked in silence, oblivious to the hordes of tourists who, in Pura Tirta for example, screamed under the heavy rain that fell into the water spouts where they were going to purify themselves.

I walked around Bali like a zen totem, thinking about the future, about my travels, about the things I didn’t want to share with anyone. And little by little that discomfort of being in already explored lands simply disappeared.

I started to feel less like an explorer than an owner of all that beauty. And if the people around me didn’t understand exactly that, I couldn’t do anything.

Because each trip, after all, only holds one passenger. And it’s alone that I’m going to Bali for the eighth time.

LINK PRESENT: Did you like this text? Subscribers can access five free accesses from any link per day. Just click the blue F below.