Recent life in Bali

Living in Seminyak Bali, I get to meet a whole range of interesting people. Its the kind of place that attracts them.

Yesterday afternoon I bumped into the good-vibes guy from Oregon. I think I mentioned him before, in his 50’s, psuedo hippie clothing, flowing white hair, healthy smile. As soon as I saw him the first time, I said ‘Eugene Oregon’ to myself. After chatting, Peter turned out to be from Corvallis, an hour away!. Can I spot them or what! The thing about these ‘healthy-earthy’ folks, is they kind of stand out, because they value interaction. Anyway, I was jamming to finish my stuff and get into the shower.

Still mighty hot here and I’ll wet just sitting reading a book. Around 7.30pm I zipped out to Batubelig in Kerobokan, and took the back way to Canggu, passing the impressive Canggu Club. That place has a smart location. Its Canggu, but not really, Its more like ‘outer Kerobokan’, which means residents of Semiyak can access it. Riding last night through a dust storm, created by a SUV, on the rutted, dirt road, I couldn’t help thinking how different the area will look in a few years. The back way to Canggu will be Jl. Legian a decade from now.

My reason for going out to Canggu, was to visit the new place of a friend who recently moved out there. Canggu Permai is the little collection of locals streets, that look like an Asian ghetto. In the immediate area however, are some okay places to eat include The Beach House. We had a dinner at a small restaurant, along with a couple from Hawaii. My friend is renting a 2 bedroom, local style place, with clean, tiled rooms, Asian bathroom, kitchen etc. for 5m rp per year. Just shows you, that if you don’t mind being out in the sticks, you can go cheap.

On the way out, I got stuck behind a long Balinese procession, which didn’t bother me at all. In fact I feel fortunate to live in a place, where people take the time to create such wonderful moments.

Back in Seminyak, friday night was taking a while getting going. The owners of Galaxy, on Jl. Dhyana Pura, Jeff from Melbourne and his wife Annie, invited me to join them for a drink or two. That turned into several, and I must say Jeff is great host, creating havoc by inviting all kinds of people to meet each other. For the record, Jeff is upbeat a bout Christmas and New Years. He runs a hotel, which is connected to the bar, and told me things are looking good. Let’s hope everyone on the street enjoys great prosperity.

Saturday and I have 3 invites to meet people. The one I’ll definitely keep is Brian Moore from Perth, who I’ll meet down in Kuta. Brian is a great spirit, who plans to move to Gili Trawangan!