Australian writer Clare McAlaney’s time in Bali allowed her to see it not just as a holiday destination but as a community with a distinct soul, which she captures in her book ‘Bali Soul Journals.’ Photos courtesy of Clare McAlaney
In 1988, Australian national Clare McAlaney traveled to Bali for the first time together with a friend, witnessing a much different island than it is today: as Kuta was just beginning to become the bustling nightlife center that it is today, McAlaney stayed in sleepy Sanur at the time and hopped on a bemo each day to Kuta, explored Uluwatu — which seemed so remote that she thought she might never get home if her transportation broke down — and experienced a much quieter and tranquil Bali.
Her second trip to Bali followed in 1997, and McAlaney visited the island more than 50 times in the years that followed, before eventually moving there for good in 2011.
With a background in marketing, McAlaney, who said that she didn’t fit the corporate mold, founded her own company, Creatavision, in 2005. But despite a successful career, she always had a yearning to write a book. In 2013, she e-published a general guide on Bali titled “Things You Need to Know About Bali,” before following up with “Bali Soul Journals” last month.
Different from your typical travel guide, “Bali Soul Journals” includes interviews with inspirational Balinese, as well as McAlaney’s observations on tradition and culture, capturing the essence and soul of the island and its people, complete with stunning photographs, taken by McAlaney herself and by her high school friend Trish McNeill.
McAlaney spoke with the Jakarta Globe about the inspiration behind the book, how Bali has changed over the years, and her favorite places on the island.
When did you come up with the idea for “Bali Soul Journals”?
In May 2013 I spent a week with Jack Canfield [author of “Chicken Soup for the Soul”] in Bali. I was there with the hope to learn how to catapult my e-book to success, but by the last day I realized a book for tourists wasn’t enough. It needed to have soul and be of service to others, even if only in a small way. Jack candidly said, “If you were to include vignettes of the lives of everyday Balinese, I would buy it in a heartbeat.”
It was at this point that I knew that my first book was missing something — heart, soul, a piece of Bali. There were enough books that explained things about Bali, but there were few that actually captured its essence through the eyes and words of others.
I returned home and began writing a brand plan. Well, it wrote itself, it just flowed. I didn’t know it at the time, but by visualizing the essence of a finished book — without the detail of design — I was actually bringing it into existence. There was an idea that was clear in my head, to me, and the only way I could explain it was to create it.
Jack also mentioned a term I had not heard of before: Conscious Travel. I researched it and found Anna Pollock online, who had created the term. A distinguished travel consultant and advocate for thoughtful and aware travel, I sent her a copy of the book the month before it was finished and asked if she would endorse it. She not only endorsed it, but wrote the foreword. I realized that there was a gap in material for the conscious traveler, and that “Bali Soul Journals” would help fill it.
So would you say that the main target group of readers for your book are “conscious travelers”?
“Conscious travelers” is a growing group of people. Many don’t realize they are conscious travelers, or have not thought about it in a way that sees them as guests, with a host. We hoped to reach out to this group as well, as with awareness, slowly, things could change. As I say several times in the book on my own journey, the doors of awareness were opening as I began to see Bali as not a tropical holiday destination, but became witness to its soul, and the soul I saw was that of their community.
I may not comprehend the meaning behind every Balinese ritual and dance. But I am grateful for the people of Bali, who teach through their connection with each other that without community, we have nothing. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. talked about the importance of community, and I feel Bali and Indonesia have a lot to teach the Western world, if only we would listen.
There is a lot to learn, and every day I find something else that I don’t know or understand. Bali is a complex tapestry and to lose one part of it could see their culture falling down. Daily rituals and spirituality bring balance to the physical and non-physical worlds, but community is the library where every aspect of their culture resides.
You worked together with Trish McNeill for the book; how did the collaboration come about?
I was talking to Trish – a high-school friend — about my week with Jack, enthused about my plans for a book about the soul of Bali.
She explained that she had long wanted to write a book that captured interviews with inspirational people. Trish had been doing photography for a few years and well, we put both goals together and suddenly, “Bali Soul Journals” had two parents!
She jumped on a plane the next month and off we went. We knew it would be an organic process, and trusted we would be led to the right people and places.
Why did you decide to write the book in this rather unique format?
It wasn’t a conscious decision. Like the brand plan, it “created itself.” I know that might sound like a cliche, but as I sat laying out pages, creating its design, I was writing the journals directly into the InDesign file. I would just add pages if I had more to write. If I needed a photograph to explain something, I would walk into my gang [alley] and go and shoot one.
The photography also helped. Trish took around 55 percent of the images, but her style of photography blended well with mine. As it was being created, the photos were laid in. It was easy to see if one would or wouldn’t work. And like art, it provided a canvas for the book to grow upon.
Do you think that at some point Bali will lose its magical appeal?
I don’t think it will lose its magical appeal — their culture is deep within them and it’s there, if you look for it. Even yesterday I saw young boys in a gamelan, parading a Barong through Canggu.
In saying that, the Balinese once had tourism as their servant and now in many regards, it has become their master. Education is vital in communities for so many reasons, but when combined with a lucrative tourism trade, it gets tricky. If ceremonies are at the heart of Balinese culture as they try to bring balance to the physical and non-physical worlds, they need time for this.
Ibu Murni [owner of Murni’s Warung in Ubud] told me that the ceremonies there are not there for the tourists. They keep the community together. But they are expensive, which means they have to work harder. Money is now very important in Bali, which was once a community that was self-supporting. Modern life and tourism, like everywhere in the world, are placing what some might call distractions, others, natural development, in front of the new generation.
The more people go to small places like Bali, the greater the need for staff and resources. There is no simple answer, it’s a global issue and one for the tourism industry, and their hosts, to consider.
Will Bali lose its appeal? Not if they keep placing stories in their cultural library, and never forget the unique and special people they are.
What is your favorite place in Bali?
The caldera of lakes up at Bedugul through to the hills of Lovina; it is a beautiful and largely untouched district. Lake Tamblingan is a traditional fishing village, with many of the locals also working as coffee farmers. The temple is very important in Tabanan district, even though rice is not grown due to the cool conditions. It’s an old temple but magical. The lake has many legends, and in the next book I’ll be covering some of these — I need to spend a lot more time there!
When I walked under the canopy of trees that winds down to the lake, I was taken back in time. Villagers are friendly, even though many only speak Balinese.
I would hate for it to become a tourist destination like the temple in Bedugul packed with throngs of people. Lake Tamblingan is a great example of how travelers can visit, observe, and quietly leave, taking a little bit of the essence of Bali’s magic with them.
