The Descent of the Eople People

What to do. An Island paradise, with an exotic gorgeous local culture and something like the 4^th or 5^th most corrupt government in the world. Expats, and reinvented personalities have apparently been moving here, living here, harmoniously for decades, and now, again, a huge, huge building boom. From the ex-pats that have lived here 17, 18, 20 years, I hear a sad roar of discontent.

The other day I drove to Balangan Beach near the southern tip of Bali, a beautiful usually secluded beach, on the way, every new establishment we would pass, my new friends Stevie and Johnny would scream, “Fuck, what is that?!!”. Stevie’s a DJ from DC who’s been here for four years, Johnny a journalist, who’s lived here for eight, and May, a yoga teacher, designer for three. Stevie and Johnny are both fluent in Indonesian, and Johnny (originally from the UK) actually says things like “Blimey.” Overnight they are watching new villas, hotels, and signs that literally promise “Prada Rich” resorts popping up all over the rolling green rice field terraced countryside. Interestingly you can’t own the land here in Bali, but the farmers will sell you a long-term lease for the money, and there are no controls on the building. Well, there is, but everything has a price. My other friend/student Martine has lived here over 20 years. She just moved to a beautiful little villa, but building started directly next-door, with a generator that keeps her up at night. Beach views are becoming obfuscated with Daytona Beach style villas. The sound of construction is not uncommon.

“The Eople People are coming.” Eople People is the phrase May’s brother, Jason has given to the Eat Pray Love set. I hear that a few years ago it was almost embarrassing, by the pool at Desa Seni, every sarong wearing 30 something chic would be reading her own copy of Eat, Pray, Love. Howard, one of the owners of Desa Seni looks me dead in the eye, “Embarrassing” he said.

Of course I read the book, which is why I had great resistance when anyone would say to me, “You’re going to Bali? Like Eat Pray Love…” For the record, that has nothing to do with why I came to Bali, but also for the record, had my friend Chloe not helped me pack and not insisted that I throw out every cliché Bali outfit I would have looked like I was auditioning for the Elizabeth Gilbert part. “Obvious,” Chloe said as she threw my see-through Thai pants aside, “Cliché,” as the Balinese sarong was elected out of the suitcase. I thank her in my heart for weeding out the eople people wardrobe I almost brought.

“Crikey, it’s going to suck when that movie comes out…” Johnny says. Referring to the fact that Eat Pray Love, which just wrapped filming in Bali will probably come out next summer. And if the best selling book didn’t do enough to bring the Eople People here, everyone’s sure the movie will put it over the top. Julia Roberts stars, (the great rumor here is that she fired all extras under 40 off her set.) And if you haven’t read the book, just know that the young, divorced, soul searching writer finds love, finally in Bali- along with a local mentor and a healer- all of which, apparently, are already making mad bank off their new found success. Even her taxi driver from the book advertizes, “The taxi driver from Eat Pray Love. “

I spent the next part of the evening trying to help brainstorm with Stevie, May, and Johnny.

“Well if the Eople People are coming, you might as well make some bank off of them. What do they need? Ayurvedic centers, Spas, self help coaches, Brazilian man dating service…”

It’s not that I think it won’t suck. I just think it’s coming. And resistance seems futile. Hopefully someone will write the next soul searching book, maybe about finding love in Detroit, or Mississippi, or…