BOMBAY BEACH
I don’t quite know how to find the words to describe the intense fascination I have for Bombay Beach and the Salton Sea. Highly likely that it crosses my mind daily.
The Salton Sea itself just makes absolutely no fucking sense to me, and its downfall from a premiere vacation destination from long ago into a toxic wasteland is so beautifully tragic I can’t stop thinking about it.
Bombay Beach is its own mostly abandoned trailer community below sea level. The claim to fame is officially that it is the lowest elevation inhabited town in the country. Some of these trailers have been turned into art communities, but most just lay vacant.
I’ll never forget my first trip to Bombay Beach where I only encountered one other couple out for the thrill. Only they weren’t there for photos and an end times fantasy, they were there to find a stove to bring home. They lamented to me that “all the good stoves” had been taken already because “everybody comes to Bombay Beach for stoves”. Of course they stated this like it’s a known fact and I was some absolute fucking idiot to not know that was the move, but I’ve thought about that for years.
The fringe lifestyle is often romanticized (mostly by me) but it’s also genuinely where I find comfort and feel the most at peace.
PLZ IGNORE MY MOM STANCE IN THE MIRROR JFC
In an odd twist, Bombay Beach was one of the last normal days I had before the COVID lockdowns on 2020. Things were already getting a bit dicey, and once I got home from Bombay Beach that night in March, the only traveling I did was to the grocery store. Interestingly enough, following the bulk of COVID era restrictions, I found myself once again in Bombay Beach for the Biennale. Among the chaos of this arts & music fest, I had a realization while watching a musician that this was my first live music event in two years. It was an odd full circle in a way that only makes sense for Bombay Beach.
Back in 2020, my last maskless restaurant meal was at the Ski Inn, a local dive bar and restaurant that is and always will be one of my favorite experiences on this planet. I’d recommend it to anyone to just sit and have a drink and soak it all in.
