Kite Day

I seem to have a sort of second sense about when it is kite flying day at Mertasari Beach. I just happen to show up on that day. If I had been aware in advance that it was kite flying day, I probably would have chosen a different beach to walk on, because I'm generally inclined to avoid crowds--and a crowd is most certainly what shows up at Mertasari on kite flying day, for this is a favorite pastime among Indonesians. Nonetheless, having shown up, however unintentionally, I generally enjoy the experience. 

If there is a wind anywhere at all, it will be on Mertasari. It is the last beach as you pass through Sanur and the land juts out a bit seaward just before melting into the mangrove forest beyond. These are huge kites that folks are flying, requiring a band of people to arrange them on the beach and then launch them. While people watch the kites, they also visit the many little food stands selling barbecued corn and fried rice and so on. Many folks also choose this time for a swim.

Mertasari is a "local" beach, a common gathering place for the natives of the island. And this is something that I always find jarring. I mean, here you have a beautiful island and the people of the island clinging to a final, unspoiled bit of seafront. As you walk down the oceanfront away from Mertasari, you will soon come upon a great wall of hotels and restaurants, and in these hotels and restaurants are white people, and on the beaches blocked out by the hotels and restaurants are white people, and the only Indonesians you will see are the ones working in the hotels and restaurants. It seems inappropriate, somehow; and yet, this is business, this is how the island thrives economically. It is a tourist industry.