We arrived in Bali, Indonesia without much of a plan.

We hoped to find a nice (cheap) place with workable wifi where we could settle in for a week and continue to make progress on the kids’ schoolwork.  Which is the short version of how we found ourselves at the Swastika Bungalows in Sanur.

No, we had not wandered in to a Neo-Nazi cell in Indonesia.

Turns out, the swastika has existed as an ornament and symbol since the Neolithic period.  It remains widely used in eastern religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

In Sanskrit, swastika refers to 1) any lucky or auspicious object, and 2) a mark made on a person or things to denote good luck.

Regardless of the original meaning, in Western societies the rise of Hitler and World War II forever stigmatized and effectively ended the use of the symbol.

So it was a bit disconcerting checking into the Swastika Bungalows, regardless of how comfortable and affordable they were.  Particularly with snatches of German and other Eastern European languages being spoken around the pool.

[Read more →]