Changes

When I first came to Bali, in 2010, internet access was a rare luxury. It was available only in a few establishments, and, often enough, one had to pay for the pleasure (or necessity) of online time. There was no 'hovering internet', like 3G or 4G. One would take his laptop to a spot that had access, and there he would stay for as long as he wanted to surf or work online. Now, internet is available almost everywhere, either through 3G or 4G, in the home through a modem, or in most any establishment via wifi. One merely needs to sign in with that establishment's passcode. 

Much has changed, and quite swiftly. Modern new malls have sprung up, chain establishments such as McDonald's and Starbucks and JCO and Burger King and Dairy Queen and Ace Hardware and so on and so forth.  The warungs begin to fade away, the little local shops. The elements of life become both more convenient and more banal, more generic, less exotic. 

It all reminds me of watching the same thing happen in Portland, Oregon when I was just a young boy. Corner drug stores disappeared, chain establishments taking their place. The big supermarkets replaced the local grocery. Small dining establishments vanished, giving way to the regional chains.

Progress--more than 50 years ago, and more than 50 years later. Deja Vu. Nostalgia lives anew.