Dealing with the wet season and my house in Seminyak Bali

Yes it’s the wet season here in Bali. That means high temperatures, a steamy climate and occasional morning and evening downpours.

I like the wet season as heavy rain is part of life in the tropics and it really gives me the feeling of being in the middle of a living eco-system where there is energy and things are bursting to grow.

That is one thing you will find out when you have a garden here. Although the trees and bushes do not shed their leaves at a certain time of year they produce a hell of al ot of leaves that continually fall and need clearing up. They also grow a rate unknown in cooler climates.

Tuesday night it poured, thunder and lighting taking turns to scare the living daylights out of all those like me who sleep on the top floor.

Ika somewhow missed it all but I definitely heard most of it. Great that the island is getting hydrated for thel ong dry season. This year we have not had much rain and I suspect that by October parts of northern and eastern Bali will be a scorched brown color.

One of my new tools I used recently is a rain poncho that Ika bought me. Like any other Balinese local I keep it in the seat of my motorbike and quickly get into it at the sign of rain. Its great, lets in plenty of air and covers my whole body (forearms excepted).

Wednesday Ika and I went to Warung Batavia on Jl. Kerobokan just past Jl. Oberoi, a favourite for domestic tourists and people from Java in general.

I tell you fellas, if you want to take your date to breakfast and she is from Java do not bother with the bakery thing. Wait an hour or two and get yourself over to Warung Batavia, it’s a sure thing. They love the coconut sauces, fish heads in spices and kangkung vegetables from the swamp. Write it in your diary.

Some people say that Batavia, the old Dutch name for Jakarta uses too much sugar, but today it was perfect. Even the amount of chili pleased a whiney old bule like me. I had fish, rice and veg, plus a fresh orange juice. Our meals and drink cost 42,000rp.

Since Ika is pretty much moved into my house I thought it a good idea to get her helping me and feel part of the team. I asked her if I could use her excellent organisational skills to keep mine in check. She went through all my paperwork, bills, receipts etc and refiled everything. Great to have some help with the boring, but necessary money stuff.

One thing that came up today was my lease, that expires on the 5th of this month. I hate looking for places to live. Its on par with looking for a new job, it sucks. Right now it is the last thing I need and ws hoping for a quick agreement with the owner Nyoman. I pay 25m rp for my 2 bedroon place which is a fair price I think. I know there are plenty of cheap junkers around, I have visited many. I also know friends who have places for 15m rp with no security, just bamboo shutters and fresh air. My place had sturdy doors and windows, good locks and is an okay place for what it is.

Calling Nyoman on the phone I was thinking she might try to up the rent. Here in Bali it’s dog eat dog so I remembered something my friend Sean told me a long time ago. In any transaction one party wants the transaction to happen more than the other, this puts them in an inherently weaker position. I wanted to show Nyoman I was not worried if I moved out or not. Having my wife lounging around talking about babies might not be the best stragegy so I asked Ika to hide upstairs. Nyoman came over and I lazily said, Yeah what the heck, I might as well renew. She was cool and the price is the same. Of course, it’s common sense for westerners to want to continue a good relationship but out in this part of the world long term relationships often get axed in the effort for a quick gain. I told Nyoman I wanted to paint some of the house again as the white exterior had some mark and fungus stains. I also said if she hired a couple of guys I would buy the paint. I like win-win relationships, not all Greedy Bastard, and Nyoman seemed to like the idea. I am going to buy a few cans of white paint tomorrow and painting will start soon!

I am super happy not to have to move out or haggle over price.