Living at Mt. Batukaru in Tabanan Bali-part V
When I fly over Bali and look down on the mountains I often wonder what is going on in the villages late at night. What are people doing in their little houses? In this day and age radio and TV have penetrated almost everywhere and most homes have them. However the lifestyle seems very communal in some regard. You cannot maintain a watercourse, rice terraces and organize religious events without community support. Jay and Richard said they were totally into making friends with people in the village and avoiding the 'white fantasy' of being a rich boy among the poor. I have met westerners in Bali who like having a pembantu to cook and clean, and get off on the idea of street processions outside their house, but actually don't like interacting with locals.
As we left the second house the rain was still pouring and waving goodbye I stepped off the meter high, black tile porch onto the steps. Except there wasn't any steps where I stepped. Hitting the ground hard I somehow managed to stay on my feet, but my knee took a huge jolt. My knee was stiff for a couple of days and is loosening up gradually, thankfully nothing torn. Many of the paths in this region are on a 40 degree slope and slick as a slide. If you are unstable take care when hiking around. The locals are like mountain goats, but us stiff legged 'bules' are not used to having to deal with unstable footings.
Rebecca and Linda home school their kids and having them around will be a bonus for the neighborhood. A couple of weeks ago Richard told me that they had a birthday party for Rebecca and invited the village. About 40 locals showed up and they had dancing, music, food and drinks. Standing in the laundry room, with opens out onto the vegetable patch, Richard told me that this situation is exactly what he wanted, living close to nature, with close interaction with the community.
By Nick | Permalink
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I was just trying to remember this location, and realized that it is very close to the house that Bill Dalton constructed near Penebel a few years ago. Bill is now living on the east coast of U.S. with his Sulawesi wife and new baby boy, and sounds like he doesn’t intend to return Bali anytime soon, so no idea what will happen with his place.
Bruce Briscoe is back in Bali in his rented house just outside Ubud, and it looks good, but somewhat isolated and you can’t just walk into Ubud for lunch and carved ducks.