Our New Home



After living-it-up for the last month in a super-villa with my parents, Martin and I have moved in, cleaned up, and are settling into our new home here in Bali (at least for the next 4 months). We've rented a traditional joglo house, which is fully furnished in the traditional style. It's small, but because it's completely open, it doesn't feel claustrophobic, and we even have a rice-paddy view!

Considering it's so close to town (Sanur), we're really lucky it's so 'country'.


The neighbourhood:





Wooden cow-bells and chirping crickets make up the background to our evenings... so peaceful. I'm loving this open-living concept. And now I'm loving it even more since we got a house-keeper to sweep up the bamboo leaves that blow in every day, and the gecko shit that drops every night!

A few pics from moving day... (you can get an idea of our indoor/outdoor living situation from these)...

Security guard


Our Bedroom


Our Bathroom


Daybed


Kitchen


Sitting Area



... ahhh, yes, and we have a washing machine... so this was laundry day!

The Lotus



During our visit to the Garuda Wisnu Cultural Centre we learned about the way the Balinese view the lotus. It gave me a new appreciation for this beautiful plant.



This description was written on a tile in the Park:

The Lotus is the foremost symbol of beauty, prosperity and fertility. Wisnu (Hindu-Balinese God of life and peace) always carries a lotus in his hand and almost all the gods of the Hindu pantheon are seated on lotuses or carry the flower. The lotus plant grows up through the water, having its root in the illys, or mud, and spreading its flower in the air above. The lotus thus typifies the life of man, and also that of the cosmos; the root of the lotus sunken in the mud represents material life, the stalk passing up through the water typifies existence in the astral world, and the flower floating on the water and opening to the sky is emblematic of spiritual being.

The BEST month EVER in BALI!

As I said, we fit a lot into the month my parents were here... not only the 'touristy' stuff, but I think we got to see and experience quite a bit of the real Bali as well. And we certainly had a lot of 'do-nothing days', which mostly entailed at least two swims in the pool and a gin & tonic, and are nothing to scoff at!

Did I mention that on only their second night here, mom was already learning to Balinese dance! She even did pretty well with the super-flex fingers!


Our first little road trip was to "The Bukit" (I always think of it as Bali's uvula - you know, the little 'jiggly bag' that hangs down at the back of the throat). We visited the Garuda Wisnu Cultural Park, and a sadly long-unfinished statue which was to be the largest in the world.



We had some fresh young coconut drinks to freshen us up (also a great cure for Bali Bali, if need-be!), and then went on to the Southern-most tip of Bali.



Ulu Watu is a special sea-side temple perched on 500m-high cliffs over the sea.







I've never had any issues with the monkeys at this temple, but today the 'guides' had them all riled up. One stole my sunglasses right off my face!



From there we wandered around the 'white' roads (the off-the-beaten track, not sure if it's a through-road, pitted and pot-holed, gateway to the real Bali, backroads) - a thing which became an objective in our road-touring for the rest of the trip.




We grabbed a quick geocache (Mom & Dad's first in Bali), then it was back to the cultural centre for an evening Barong dance performance.



It was a pretty jam-packed day-trip!

Living in the Lap of Luxury

I've been negligent at blogging lately, but with good reason: The people I primarily write my blog for (my parents) came to visit!!!! (Not to say that this isn't for all of you, of course!)



We had a fabulous month, and when I started to write about it, I was at a loss for where to begin because we fit sooo much into the month they were here!

Anyway, it seems to me now that the logical place to start is with the place from which we based all our adventures: Kampung Kecil (or, "Little Village"). It was our own private, lush, lovely haven in Sanur, and a beautiful place to call 'home' for the month! These traditional wooden houses with a modern touch are the new project of the owners of the house Martin and I have rented for the next 6 months.

A few pictures of their masterpiece: