The sight of Albo and other world leaders lining up in their batik print shirts at the ASEAN summit in Bali last week brought the memories of many such gatherings of politicians in silly shirts flooding back.
In particular, it brought back memories of Bali’s first big silly shirt fest on the global political stage, back in 1986 when US President Ronald Reagan was doing so badly with his Asian allies that he invited himself to the first ever ASEAN summit in Bali as part of his Wings of Freedom tour to shore up the region.
When I was in Bali a few months ago, ASEAN 22, the island’s first big event since the Covid crisis, had created a flurry of makeover activity, upgrading the airport to Nusa Dua freeway (again) and tarting up shopfronts and hotel lobbies in the upmarket hotel precinct.
But this had nothing on the preparations for Reagan’s visit back in ’86, when Bali was still in the first flush of the surfer-led tourist boom and was more or less a collection of villages connected by narrow lanes.
The airport Nusa Dua road, although only a couple of years old like the resort village it led to, wasn’t wide enough for Reagan’s bullet-proof limo and Secret Service motorcycle outriders, and had to be ripped up and made again, sacrificing rice fields on either side.
The American media reported in the leadup to the visit: “Trucks and bulldozers are making a new beach of white sand for President Reagan to lounge on when he visits the tropical island this month … A special driveway is also being built to Mr. Reagan’s $600-a-night suite, so that state guests will not have to go through the main lobby of the Nusa Dua Beach Hotel.
“The hotel is installing bullet-proof glass in the presidential suite, which includes two bedrooms, a lounge, study, dining room, kitchen, and a private swimming pool with direct access to the new beach. The entire resort village of Nusa Dua will be blocked off during Reagan’s visit to the Indonesian island, known for its coral reefs and gentle Hindu culture.”
In fact the village was blockaded almost a week before Reagan’s arrival, at the same time that nearby Denpasar, the island’s capitol, was also blocked for the royal cremation of the raja of Badung, Bali’s biggest religious event in a generation, with the extended families not just of the raja but of 600 of his followers who were to be honoured by sharing the funeral pyre. So it wasn’t just a busy week in Bali, it was complete and utter mayhem.
Adding to the chaos was the fact that President Suharto had placed a complete ban on Australian media covering the Reagan visit in retaliation for a Sydney Morning Herald article exposing corruption and cronyism in his family, which didn’t stop photographer Rob Walls and I from sneaking in as cultural tourists, there for the raja’s bonfire.
In an article for The Bulletin titled Not even Reagan can compete with a funeral in paradise, I wrote: “The royal cremation signalled the beginning of the most important week in Bali since the opening of the Ngurah Rai International Airport in 1969, when Paradise was dragged kicking and screaming into the realities of the jet age. In this week not only was Pemecutan [the raja] sent on to a better world with 600 of his followers, but just two days later the arrival of another kind of monarch from across the seas proved that this peaceful place had finally reached five-star maturity.”
Not to mention five-star mayhem. Black suits and uniforms were everywhere.
The Reagan entourage brought some 700 military, Secret Service and White House personnel to Bali. Warships stood off Nusa Dua and Kuta Beach.
With no media credentials, we couldn’t get near the action, although the off-duty Secret Service guys filling the bars were pretty talkative for the price of a beer or two.
Still, the fact that we snuck in and no one else did meant it was a cover story.
And once the eagle had taken off again, I even got a few surfs in.
But Bali was never quite the same.
Community surf awards
The Noosa World Surfing Reserve’s community surf awards presentations, held at the Boiling Pot Brewery last Friday night, were a huge success, a sellout thanks to the fabulous beats of Raw Ordio and the patronage of a growing number of Friends of the NWSR, plus some great sponsors. Special shout out to legend shaper and designer Ross Wilson who produced the incredible fin trophies. (Wish I had one!)
– Environmental Award: Amber Currie.
– Cultural Award: Noosa Heads Surf Life Saving Club Cherbourg to Noosa Program.
– Industry Innovation: Thomas Surfboards.
– Videographer: Hunter Vercoe.
– Photographer: Tracy Naughton.
– Senior Female surfer: Gia Lorentson.
– Junior Female surfer: Mia Waite.
– Senior Male surfer: Glen Gower.
– Junior Male surfer: Lennix Currie.
– Bill Wallace Respect Award: Graham Endersby.
