The Travel Industry News - Editorial Archives

May / June, 2006

The whole idea of our PSN ( Personal Subscription Number ) was/is to have our subscribers scan all the pages to hopefully find their # and win one of our prizes, hopefully this leads to reading some items that they may otherwise pass over .. AND .. gives our advertisers another shot at catching your eye. Yes, it’s simple .. but effective .. IF YOURS TRULY REMEMBERS TO PUT THE PSN’s IN ! Thereby hangs a tail.

When I forget them (rarely of course) I get more phone calls & emails than at any other time. I hear from people who have moved to far off hideaways .. like Dennis Sumption former President of the CTO and now resident of Ocean Shores. “I thought Pat Boone bought that whole beach many moons ago Dennis.” Incidentally Dennis and Molly still operate TRAVEL CONCEPTS, but now from their Ocean residence. Another quick PSNER was Leanne Swanson Sanchez, DS now owner of Hood Canal Travel following in the footsteps of her late dad Hugh Swanson, a well respected ‘travel man’ .. who also kept an eye on TIN.

Yes, I did leave the PSNs out of the April TIN, would like to blame someone else, but afraid there is only me in this particular Publishing Empire. I’d like to say it was to keep you all on your toes, but it wasn’t.

There are three in this issue ( MUST REMEMBER THAT! ). One prize of $25, one of a $25 Gift Certificate to Seattle’s ‘British Affaire’ store and one for a roundtrip for two via Clipper Navigation to Victoria B.C. or the San Juan Islands. As usual, your PSN appears on the upper right hand corner of your address label, match that number to one of the three inside, call or email me before the next TIN deadline and you win. Simple ... if I put the PSNs in of course.

Bali .. like David .. Isn’t Perfect

Superstition and reality have met in this unique destination.

Bali isn’t perfect, but I have yet to visit the village, town or country that is. In the meantime however, Bali is a land of enchantment to the traveler who accepts that there are different ways of life, other than their own.

Modern times have touched the face of Bali. We had arrived by jet and were staying at a hotel that would qualify as deluxe even here in the United States.

Careless chickens .. crossing the road .. find it harder to cross when avoiding trucks and motor cycles than they did when water buffalo powered carts prevailed. In spite of the arrival of the Western World however, the Balinese have thus far retained their gentle manner and their relaxed pace ... with an exception or two.

One exception is in some ways unfortunate, but progress (if it is progress) rarely comes without a little sorrow. I am referring to the constant sales pressure applied by children, that tourists to Bali encounter on the beaches. No, they aren’t unpleasant, it’s just that they want you to buy that woodcarving or basket. Of course it must appear to them that you have a great deal more than they do (materially!) . If you do buy you will probably be contributing to the family income .. AND .. soft touch that I am, I found I treasured the carvings once I came back home. However, if you don’t want to buy, just be firm, they seem to sense it.

Among the obvious assets of Bali is their fertile land, warm climate and a family-oriented life that appears to give a sense of continuity and of belonging. Perhaps therein lay their reasons for their infectious smiles, with grins that spread from ear to ear.

As if these things were not enough, they are a gifted race of artists and performers. It is as if every Balinese boy carves wood with rare skill and every black eyed Balinese beauty dances with grace and poise at the temple steps.

Yes, Bali is a land where superstition plays an important role in their ever day lives, simple lives that may lack material things, but lives that seem to have their own compensation.

I have now visited Bali three times and it is one of the destinations that has left me with pleasant memories .. and I admit .. a quiet hope that continued exposure to our Western culture will not complicate their future and erase their past.

TRAVEL has positive and negative effects on the lives of many, particularly so in lands that we consider poor .. which they are monetarily. The good hopefully comes thru that ’famous’ American theory .. ’The Trickle Down’.. which can improve the standard of living, if it really does ’trickle’ and not get stuck at the top. The bad comes if we insist our ways are the only ways .. and goodness knows, that is far from the truth.

David ( Carving Collector ) Bond

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