A House in Bali

I must interrupt our regularly scheduled program for an important update: I moved into a wonderful house in Bali today and feel compelled to write about it.

It is owned or rather rented from a Balinese family by an Australian woman named Joanne. I met her through one of the darling boys who works at Ubud Aura. She was going back to Australia for several months and Made said she may want to rent it out while she’s gone. He took me to meet with her before I left for India and we hit it off right away. She’s a wonderful woman in her mid fifties. She is very artistic and has spent the last year fixing up her place. After we talked for a few hours she said she would love to have me stay in her home while she’s gone and I was honored to accept. As I sit here tonight, my first night in my new home I cannot believe how fortunate I am that my life has led me here.

I walk up 4 steep stone stairs into a traditional Balinese home entrance. It has two stone pillars to mark the entry way and then there is always a wall directly in front of you to deflect any bad energy that may enter. I can go around this wall to the right or left. I choose to go to the left in a clockwise motion.

This is not a typical Balinese house, though. The whole front of the house is glass, and there is a view to the rice fields across the road.

When I enter the house, it is into a great open room with a high ceiling made of wood and bamboo. Beautiful cushions lie on the ground, dozens of pillows in blues, browns, reds and orange colors.  Waist high silver vases with aqua blue fabric draped around them stand in the corner. Custom made wood cabinets hold books, many small musical instruments, some movies and music.

At the other end of the room is a day bed with red mosquito netting hanging from the ceiling around the bed. Next to it sits a beautiful carved wooden couch with more colorful pillows. A low, large coffee table sits in front of the couch. Wooden bowls hold many porcelain eggs filled with some kind of beads so they make a wonderful shaking sound. Across the room, there is another, higher wooden table and three chairs. A perfect place to sit for breakfast.

The house is an L shape and is totally open to the inside. Along this open wall, there are brown and aqua colored curtains tied together at the four posts that hold up the roof. There is a beautiful garden in the center with a delightful pond. In the middle of the pond is a statue of a beautiful, shapely woman. There is water trickling out from her head and down into the pond.

Joanne’s friend Rose has just painted two murals on the wall behind the daybed. One is a woman in a red, sleeveless dress. She looks like an ancient princess. She has black hair and haunting, yet beautiful eyes. She is looking for something that she doesn’t have. She has a pink veil on top of her head and some wonderful sparkles have been added to it.  

Next to her is a warrior man. He has long black hair and a kerchief on his head, Balinese style. He has a very strong face and handsome lips. He wears a cloth on the lower half of his body while the upper half is bare. He has a quiver strapped across his chest, hanging to one side. His eyes are huge and beautiful and he is looking back slightly behind him, where the woman is.

Some of you may be getting the idea that this place is like the crazy mystery mansion where I lived in Corte Madera. And it is, but this time with a beautiful, clean energy. I feel like a got do-over.

Ahead and to the left is my bedroom. One wall is painted the same aqua blue color and  blue curtains hang over the glass door entrance. It feels like I am in the ocean in that room. There is a wine colored satin cover on the carved wooden bed and white mosquito netting surrounding it.  The bathroom is through the bedroom and Joanne was working on this project when she left. The paint is a wild red and silver color. She says she was experimenting and will change it when she comes back.

Next to the bedroom is a small kitchen. It is big enough to prepare a meal in, but nothing else. There is a two-burner countertop stove that is hooked to a gas tank below. I am looking forward to being able to cook for myself again after so long. The counters are covered in dark grey and black river stones. Much like the ones in my Mill Valley house. The floor is also made of small bits of stone and there is a yin yang symbol in the middle of the floor. On the counter, a small sign reads “This is Spirit. This is Grace. This is my peaceful Bali place”.

A small refrigerator is outside of the kitchen in a custom built cabinet that matches the others. It has glass cabinets on top and some drawers on the side. Next to that is a second bedroom that is done in light red colors. It has a single bed with a beautiful satin cover, red twinkle lights and a small table on the side. At the back of this bedroom there is a door that opens up into a huge, third bedroom and also a bathroom there. This room has been closed off though, and is not used due to some water and mold damage that the landlord promises to fix in the coming weeks.

The fountain is softly trickling, the yard lights are illuminating the pond and the luscious green plants and trees. I can hear Balinese singing coming from a temple not far away. I thought about turning on the stereo, but this is much better.  I wonder if I will wake up tomorrow and this will all have been a dream. It certainly feels like one. A really, really good one.