Interview with Patrice from France

Bali expats come in all shapes and sizes. On this day in 2003 I interviewed a French expat named Patrice at his home in Sanur. Patrice was a unique fellow indeed, opinionated, well traveled and an oddball.

Having lived in the mountain with the Bali Aga, (the original Balinese), he told me he was trying to create some kind of spiritual retreat, where people could go and get away from the 21st century. I’d bump into Patrice at Cafe Moka quite often. All that cultural understanding, hadn’t shaken off his love of cafe latte and choclatines. The refreshing thing about him was he spoke his mind. The frustrating part about him, was he glossed over things and canned western civilization and its tools, even though he was as much a consumer as anyone else.

Patrice drifted off the map over the last year and a half, who knows where he is now. Here’s what Patrice had to say.