...AND THE BEAT GOES ON

OUR NEW PUG PUPPY--MILO

The newest addition to our family is an 8 week old pug, whom we named Milo.  He is a handful, and housebreaking him is a lot of work, especially right now, for me, as Barbara is visiting kids and grandson in Denver for 2 weeks.  We had to give him vaccination and worm shots, so we called the local vet.  He came to the house, checked Milo out, gave him the shots and charged us $25--not a bad deal.

KITCHEN COUNTER ISLAND WITH SINK

Meanwhile the work goes on at the house, with a lot of noise as the guys are cutting granite tile, sanding (electric sander) and using an electric planer.  The workers are great--we don't communicate much as only a few of them speak any English at all and my Indonesian is very limited , to say the least.  They are almost all from Java and eating and sleeping on the property.  They all do very exacting work--especially visible now as we are into the finishing bits.  The only problem is we can only get them to work 7 days a week!

LANDSCAPING ALONG BACK WALL

There are decisions to be made every day and also changes all the time as we visit other peoples homes and get ideas.  All these changes cost, so we must be very careful what we ask for.  We have made a few mistakes, but nothing we can't live with.  One mistake was of omission--we neglected to install a toilet for the staff.  So we have to build a small structure (like an outhouse, but made of cement) with electricity and plumbing.  It will go right next to the laundry/storage house and should be just perfect.  This had to be done because all of our house toilets are open and that would not be acceptable to the staff.  Our staff--we hired a woman who will be our house manager, help with rental guests and run the place when we're not there, and will also be the pembantu (the person who comes in every day to clean, cook, do laundry any all household chores).  

BUNGALOW OUTDOOR SHOWER

We also hired the wife of the landowner to come in for a few hours each day to help.  We were obligated to hire her as it is just the right thing to do in this culture.  Sometimes people are hired to do minimal work because us, as Westerners, must keep good relations with the locals.  We plan to keep them both busy, as we hope to rent the bungalow out as much as possible, and also the main house when we are not here.  We will also need a gardener 3 times a week to keep the garden and grounds looking good, green and colorful.

2nd FLOOR WITH RAILING

So much is happening right now--the air conditioners have been installed; ceiling fans are going in; light fixtures and outlets; plumbing fixtures; painting and varnishing; and more every day.  The terrazzo work is almost finished and it is an interesting process--day after day of laying down layers of cement with with colors, sanding and polishing.  The bathtub and 2 bathroom counters are terrazzo and they look just great.

Our guest bungalow will be finished by the end of this week so we can receive furniture and appliances and lock them up. 

I must mention one of my favorite meals here--ayam talliwang.  It is a dish that originated in the neighboring island of Lombok and it is simply delicious.  There are only a handful of restaurants that serve it here and that is all they serve--the only one near us is a half hour drive.  You sit down and food is just brought to you--a whole, but small chicken, not as meaty as in the States, but grilled perfectly.  The special part is the bowl of sauce that accompanies it--I wish I could tell what it consists of, but I can't, I only know it is slightly spicy and great.  You also get rice and a plate of vegetables.  And the cost? $3.50!  Can't wait for my next Ayam Talliwang!


I know most of the States and Europe is having a rough, cold, snowy winter, but here in Bali it has been hot and sunny.  We are in the middle of the rainy season and it has been a mild one with not much rain.  The evenings have been pleasantly cool here in Ubud but I wear only shorts and t-shirts day and night.


A few people including Barbara and I are starting a serious film club (altho we will watch comedies) to meet once a week, see a movie and discuss it.  One of the people has a giant flat screen TV and with the current availability of movies to download free the possibilities are unlimited.  We also go to Trivia Night once a week at one of our favorite restaurants and have joined a friendly group of old farts. It's very popular with older ex-pats like ourselves and a fun way to pass an evening.

fast

Shop Till You Drop...And Then Some!

Never thought it would happen….but, we’ve been completely and totally shopped out. After spending 2 months choosing toilets, tiles, lighting fixtures, etc…we have now begun the task of buying everything else that we’ll need to complete our home. Since things take an average of anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months to hand make…we decided that we needed to get on the ball…and order everything prior to my visit to the States.

So….with that in mind,  we have spent almost every waking moment of the last 3 weeks shopping, shopping, shopping…and eventually; buying, buying, buying. Everything had to be bargained for to some extent. Now we just ask them for their ‘best price’ and decide if we want it or not.

First there were the necessary items; such as a fridge, oven, stove top, air conditioners and water heaters. Then came the beds, night tables, mosquito nets, console tables, outside chairs, inside chairs, loungers, umbrellas, sofa, cabinets, day beds etc, etc and so forth.

So now, that’s done and we have everything except for lamps and a coffee table….which we will get soon.

But folks, it’s not over yet…because just prior to the construction being completed, we will need to start shopping again! For garden statuary, fountains, plants, trees, vines, flowers, paving stones etc. It’s a thankless job…but, someone’s got to do it!

Here are some of the photos that we’ve taken during our buying trips…and the total cost of furnishings???? A little over $10,000!

 

Progress and Our Kids' Visit

Upper Right--Last Roof Going Up

We have been busy with 3 of our kids visiting and having a great time.  New Year's Eve was spent at a fabulous estate and a Michael Franti concert who was a perfect accompaniment to the rain and mud surrounding us.  We did a whitewater rafting trip that we all loved--very exciting; danced at the Jazz Cafe and took Salsa lessons at Cafe Havana;  and rented motorbikes which resulted in a minor accident.  The kids took a boat out to the Gilli Islands for snorkeling and a taste of magic mushroom shakes and went surfing off the Kuta Beach.  All that plus many memorable meals, and lots of laughs, as always.

Master Bedroom with Bathroom in Back

Both Bedrooms--Upper & Lower

Bungalow--with laying of Floor Tiles

Swimming Pool

Outdoor Shower--Behind Master Bedroom

The kids are gone and things are quiet again.  We spent much time supervising the house building and construction is moving along quite rapidly.  Today, for example, we had a crew finishing up the last or our 3 roofs; 4 men whitewashing the rafters and trim; a team laying tile in the bungalow; and a group plastering concrete on the outside wall.  

We seem to be ahead of schedule and have tentatively scheduled a move-in date of April 15.  We'll see, but we are getting tired of this little place in which we presently live.

We have met a few other ex-pats here and are doing a few things to keep busy.  Barbara has found a Scrabble partner and we starting a bi-weekly movie club.  I have been downloading a lot of films and there seems to be quite a few film fans (dare I say buffs?) here.  There are other groups to join and as time goes by we'll meet more people.  This area, Ubud, attracts a more thinking, creative ex-pat than the south which has large, modern villas and a more of a money crowd.  The ex-pat crowd all over the island is made up of  older and retired people from America, Canada, Australia and Europe. 

One thing we are looking forward to doing when we move into the house is cooking.  We eat breakfast and lunch at home and eat dinner out, and although we don't spend a lot on dinners, it will be fun to cook in our new kitchen.  We have a good TV and watch movies and read a lot--we both love our Kindles!

On Left--Main Living Room

Since a picture (as they say) is worth a lot of words, here are a few taken yesterday.

Raise High the Roofbeams Carpenters?????

There has been a lot of progress on our house in the last couple of weeks….but, not as much as we had hoped for, due to the bi-annual occurrence of Galungan, a family holiday in which the preparation and festivities go on for about 2-3 weeks.



Although most of our crew is from Java, they too have stopped working in observance of this holiday (at least for a day). But, the roof is being worked on, and we are dependent on the Balinese to do this specialized form of craftsmanship. So, while the tiles sit on our building site, they are no closer to being raised to the roof then they were a couple of weeks ago

       

A small frustration, but the swimming pool continues to fill with rain water, and the timbers continue to warp with the humidity. We are anxious for the workers to begin the indoor work before the big rains start. Ah well, at this point we have little control over the process.



We now have about 8 men on the site. One of them left mysteriously last week, and we still can’t figure out why. His name is Nano and he was from Java. He was college educated, and could speak some English. When Henry saw him packing up to go, he was told that Nano’s wife was sick and he had to return home. When he asked the building supervisor, he was told that he wasn’t a good worker and was asked to leave. When we asked the architect, we were told to ask the building supervisor. We never feel like we get a straight answer here, and are always told either what they think we want to hear, or something that is pleasant. They never confront, and as New Yorkers, we are somewhat uncomfortable with that.

But, the stairs are now up and we can see the views from all directions. The plastering is being done inside and outside on both houses. We continue to window shop till we drop for toilets, sinks, plumbing supplies etc. Haven’t ordered anything yet, but at least we have an idea of the cost of everything, and the products that we want.

We also visited a Mask and Puppet collection the other day in a neighboring town that was extraordinary. It put our small collection to shame.

                      

The weather here has been pleasant. Usually rains at least once a day which helps to clear the air of excess humidity. Then the sun comes out and dries up all the rain. So much for Life in the fast lane…..



UBUD--YOGA & NEW AGE CENTER

The Yoga Barn, in central Ubud  was started in 1992 and is owned by an American woman. She has built a mini-empire consisting of a two-level yoga studio with classes all day, a shop selling yoga clothes, a restaurant that is one of our favorites (Kafe--a true natural food/organic spot) and offerings of healing sessions and related events. Besides the Yoga Barn there are Yoga classes offered in many hotels and Yoga studios.  We go to Yoga sessions at a small studio just a five minute walk down the path from our house.  It is owned and run by a French-Canadian woman, Linda, with one or two classes a day and most taught by Linda. She is a wonderful teacher and her two hour classes are a generous mix of yoga and meditation.

Ubud is a small town--no traffic lights and only 3 main streets but filled with touristy shops, spas, yoga studios, hotels, (nothing is taller than 3 stories) and restaurants. (Speaking of restaurants, there are so many good to excellent eateries plus many local places that serve good, wholesome food and all at ridiculously low prices compared to the cost of food in the states. We also find a lot of organic produce and grains and even the locals are getting with it.  We eat out almost every night because the restaurant food is better and cheaper than what we can cook at home--altho we do make breakfast and lunch at home.) Ubud has become, over the last 10-15 years, a true yoga/healing/new-age center.  One cannot walk very far without passing offerings of Tibetan sound massage (you must try this!), healing sessions by local healers as well as healers from all over the world, yoga classes, chakra healing, meditation workshops and every kind of new-age treatment and event.  All of these things are frequented by tourists of all ages and nationalities, ex-patriots from all over the globe and even some locals. [Yoga is a tradition among the Balinese as their religion is Hindu, but a Balinese form of Hinduism, with their own Gods, some animism and a few other goofy practices.]

People come from all parts of the world for Yoga workshops and teacher training in every form of yoga--hatha, vinyasa flow, ayenga, ashtenga--you name it, we've got it.  In March the Yoga Barn sponsors a week-long Yoga festival  with classes, dance, chanting and a lot of fun.  There is also a large and varied selection of healing and massages including the newly popular ayurvedic.  I should add that all of these classes and sessions are very inexpensive compared to what they cost in the states.  Of course there are the expensive, upscale hotels and spas which due charge US prices.  

So we pick and choose our medicine, love our local yoga studio--Intuitive Flow, and go with the flow!  ((Do you kids still say that?)  As a matter of fact I'm off to to a class as soon as I finish this post.

Last night there was an Indian music and dance recital right in our neighborhood and the price of about $10 included a meal beforehand--it was great!  A lot of people showed up and we all had a fabulous time.

A LOCAL CEREMONY

This past week we went to a special ceremony in our friends village celebrating a 30 year cycle.  He said it is done in order to re-charge people's interest in their religion.  

Ceremonies here are so frequent and ubiquitous that one could go to a ceremony just in our town once a week--easily.  There are thousands of temples on this dot in the ocean--family temples, village temples, community temples, public temples and then the larger temples for larger areas--and they have ceremonies often.  Every full and new moon (they call dead moon), births, weddings, deaths (no bar mitzvahs) and to celebrate events as well as Balinese holidays. Small offerings of coconut baskets filled with fruit, rice, flowers, cakes and incense are made every day and put out in front of every house and shop.  On special occasions these offering are large and may include dead animals.

At this ceremony we attended we were the only westerners and squeezed in this small and very busy temple filled with dances, a shadow puppet play, praying, chanting socializing and all going on the same time--crazy!  Here are some photos.

WAITING TO GO ONSTAGE AND DANCE

SOME OFFERINGS

ROASTING A PIG

SHADOW PUPPET MAN WITH HIS PUPPETS

MASK DANCER

PRAYER TIME

THE DANCE PERFORMANCE

THE PRIEST

ON TO THE SECOND STORY

Lifting up Buckets of Cement

This week we saw the start of the 2nd story of the main house.  That is, the ceiling was put in place, which becomes the floor of level two. Today and for many years houses in Bali have been, and still are, made of cement and cinder blocks, wood being scarce and, therefore, expensive.  Wood--teak, mahogany and others are used for door & window frames, roof beams and furniture.  So we have a great deal of cement being mixed--by hand in small troughs--with the bags of cement and rocks and sand and steel rods for the re bar carried up the 16 steps and the 7 minute walk down the narrow path to our house.  All day cinder blocks are stacked and cemented into place to form walls which will eventually be plastered over.

Me With Supervisor, Gede

Checking the Plans

We did have a two day diversion via a trip to Singapore in order to secure our Indonesian Retirement Visas which will allow us certain privileges such as opening a bank account and the ability to say here uninterrupted with only an annual government fee.  Singapore is not a very exciting city, but it is known for great shopping and world-class food.  We stayed (for the 2nd time) in Little India, which, as you can guess has a pretty good selection of Indian food.  But we opted to eat mostly Singaporean cuisine in casual open air restaurants.  Singaporean food is a rich, spicy and flavorful blend of Indian, Chinese and Malaysian ingredients and tastes--lots of seafood and vegetables, and a plethora of food courts, consisting of varieties of noodle dishes, soups, curries and much more--all wonderful!  We had dim sum one morning that was delicious!  We went to the Singapore Art Museum to see the works of two very prolific artists, both with a broad range of style and techniques--loved them both. The museum is in a beautiful, old building that has been retrofitted to house works of art and contains many exhibits, all excellently presented--even some Dale Chihouly glass!  We accomplished our mission and after two days there our visas were processed and we returned to Bali late Wednesday night--tired but relieved to have finalized this important step.

We see how important it is for us to be here, as there are revisions and changes that come up almost daily.  Luckily, our architect, engineer and site supervisor are always cooperative and do their best to keep us happy.

Who is that with our architect?

 Keep tuned for the story of Ubud and all the yoga and new age activity here.

No Fishing!

We Now Have a Wall!

Well, I can hardly believe the progress in the past week! I was in Tejakula for another relaxing yoga retreat, and by the time I returned, the house had risen up above the wall, and the wall was almost complete.

2nd Story Going Up...

There are now two teams working on construction; one for the guest house and the other for the main. The foundations are now complete and today, they started working on the second floor.

The women are still bringing up material stacked on their heads as well as giant bamboo poles used to support the second floor while the concrete dries. Some of the pieces of bamboo are about 15 ft tall and larger than my thigh around. The site is now filled with sand, bamboo, rocks and window frames, with hardly any space left to walk about.

Almost every afternoon it rains for about an hour, makes the site muddy, but then the work continues. There are now about 15 men on the site at any one time. There is only a plywood shack, and they climb down a long rickety homemade ladder to the creek below for bathing and toileting. 

Henry came down to ‘supervise’ the building early and was fortunate to attend a very large cremation in the village of Peliatan. It was the cremation of a King of the region, who was also very wealthy. He died about 4 months ago, was buried initially, and was now having the ceremony to release his spirit so that he can be reborn.

There were thousands of enthusiastic villagers carrying the 75 ft cremation tower and three huge bulls to the temple, 1 mile away. It took most of the day..probably around 6 hours. Many people waited all day by the side of the road and there was a carnival like atmosphere.  Cotton candy, plastic toys for kids and food of all sorts were being hawked by vendors walking up and down the streets.

We now have a name for our Villa and will call it Villa Semua Suka....sounds exactly like it looks. It means 'everyone likes' ....and I hope it proves to be true! 

Yesterday, we went shopping for plumbing supplies. It was so exciting, looking at toilets, sinks and shower heads!

We are really glad to be here on-site at the building. There are minor changes and sometimes mistakes that are made, and we are able to intervene before it goes too far. A window in the guest bathroom was left out, and after the doorway between the bedroom and bath was installed, we realized that it needed to be enlarged in order to open up the room and make it feel larger. There was also a small fish pond built between the two verandahs in the main house, but that was a surprise…and we’re delighted with it. We also asked to have an extra window installed there so that we’d be able to look out and see the fish. But remember…no fishing allowed!