Let me begin by saying, that I have never been to Bali, nor Indonesia. I am pretty sure the picture to the left isn’t even on the island of Bali. And if we are in the trust tree here, I haven’t actually been to Disneyland either. But don’t let these things distract from the incredibly obvious point I am about to make. Bali is the millennial equivalent to Disneyland. The coolest of cool playgrounds for the 20 somethings to 30 somethings. A place to walk around in blissful ignorance as you devour a facade fantasy land….and its probably pretty fucking cool.
During my childhood (chickhood?) I was disgusted with my family as all the rich kids got to go experience the wonderful world of Disney in real life. They went on cool rides, met Mickey Mouse, got to do other cool shit….. like……rides, space mountain, right? Its pretty obvious I didn’t get to go to Disneyland but I just remember being bummed out that I didn’t get it go. My friends seemed to have quite-literally the best experience they would ever have in their entire lives at the age of seven. I mean when you think about it, what is there to not like? You saw characters in movies and then got to go to a magical place where these came to life. You saw your favorite characters with your own eyes or went on rides that reenacted them giving a rush unlike anything..short of what I also imagine herion kicks like. I was a poor so I just looked longingly at commercials showcasing a perfect, happy family hugging Pluto and riding water rides in the hot California sun. Fuck it, wish I went.
Fast forward 20 some odd years and boom what do we have? A magical fantasy land in some tropical location that is the jewel of everyones eye. They get to do yoga, eat healthy, hang out on beaches, and…..again haven’t been so I don’t know what else, I think I have seen that swing that makes it look like you are about to dismount into the jungle wilderness. I bet you hang with monkeys too, because fuck it, monkeys are tight. Its the modern day equivalent of a Disneyland, leave your friends behind for this alternate reality but instead of trading in spelling quizes and protractors for mickey mouse ears and roller coasters, you are trading in banker blues or your 10:30 stand up with the development team for yoga retreats and acai bowls on the beach. Oh and lest we forget photographs. A propped up family photo with Mickey Mouse sitting on the living room mantel has morphed into instagram shots featuring perfect weather, pristine beach bods, infinity pools falling off into the rainforest, and yoga postures in jungle cabins.
True, I am probably a little jealous of people chilling in paradise. I’d go if I was offered a free trip. Hell I’d go if a couple buddies said they were going and it was the Tuesday after the Superbowl (nothing sucks more than February). But I would like to establish one rule, You cannot say you have been to Indonesia. I’ve never heard someone come back and from Bali and say “Boy, Indonesia is poor”, or “Jeez, Indonesia is crowded” its “wow do I feel relaxed and refreshed”, which is quite unlike the rest of the nation which ranks around 100 in the world for GDP per capita and who has a decently violent history. It would be like a someone seeing Vegas and saying they have been to the US.
Congratulations you just won employee of the week at the series-B funded tech start up you work for….what are you going to do next….go to fucking Bali lame ass.
Culture Capital 