Sitting on the porch in Seminyak Bali

You remember that James Taylor song, ‘Up On The Roof’, where he’s getting some down time in a peaceful place? This afternoon I sat out on my porch, but for a different reason.

My small house is located at the end of a driveway, down an alley. The owner Nyoman, has 4 houses here, plus others in the neighborhood. All 4 houses in my area are around a central parking area, whcih is manintained by the owner’s staff. Needless to say, high grey cement walls mark a distinct boundary between all the houses. Next door to the parking area, another Balinese owner has decided to build a new structure, basically a simple bungalow, with a pointed roof. There is hammering going on all day, along with chatter and people working. I don’t really mind so much, except that there are people around all the time. This afternoon I came back around 3.30pm, knowing Ana had taken off. I only have 1 set of keys, so we share them. When I leave, she locks up and hides the keys in a flower bed.

Problem was today, there were guys on the roof, checking me out so I couldn’t just go for the keys. Trying to act natural, I hopped onto the outside porch area, and waited patiently on a bamboo chair. Finally the extra sets of eyes were busy, allowing me to retrieve the keys and get inside. Twenty minutes later my phone starts ringing, I’m searching my bag to no avail, fianlly realising its outside on the chair. The caller was Richard, the Australian musician who lives up at Batukaru, inviting me to meet him later. If he hadn’t of called, my phone would be long gone.

Having a little porch area outside the house, where Jevon can roll around and the air circulates, is a handy thing, that I am glad of. When building a house in Bali, a bale structure would be my first project.