On 9 May 2009, I attended the wedding ceremony of Pak Wayan and his partner Thomas at the city hall in one of the largest towns in South Holland. I had met Pak Wayan some years earlier when he first moved to the Netherlands, sponsored by his then partner Paul, whom he had met in Bali. The Netherlands was the first country to make marriage and adoption available to same-sex couples, doing so in 2001. The move allowed Paul and Wayan and other same-sex couples to obtain an entry visa and, later, permanent residency for Wayan on the basis of their union. I had previously heard many conversations in which Wayan and Paul compared their experiences to those of other Balinese-Dutch couples and noted their surprise at the fact that it always seemed to take significantly longer for heterosexual couples to obtain entry visas than it took for them and a number of other same-sex couples they knew. Still, almost without exception, my interlocutors stated that once an immigration officer knows you are sponsoring a Balinese person, the entire process is much easier. As Wayan said, ‘Everyone loves Bali and knows that Balinese are not troublemakers. There is a problem with the Indonesian government because it does not allow same-sex marriage because of Islam and all that, but our immigration officer was very helpful in processing our documents very quickly. Being Balinese opens many doors (Balinees zijn opent vele deuren).’ It is well known within Balinese- Dutch networks and communities that same-sex relationships in Bali are not made public (instead being carefully guarded among a small circle of friends and acquaintances), as same-sex desires are not seen in Bali as a valid reason to prevent heterosexual marriage and reproduction. Still, Wayan is convinced that Balinese people would be more open to same-sex marriage if it weren't for the repressive Indonesian state, where the majority of citizens are Muslim.

In 2009, Wayan and Paul had already been separated for some years, and Wayan was about to be married again. The wedding ceremony was to be accompanied by a Balinese dance performed by two dancers from the Balinese community. Prior to the commencement of the ceremony, having the full attention of guests and wedding ceremony officials, the dancers performed the Balinese welcome dance tari sambutan oleh, followed by a vigorous applause.