This post is a bit of History. I found a small book/notepad, that is 22 years old, today while I was cleaning out the garage. It’s quite fitting that we leave for Bali again in 10 days to do some work and planning on our new project ….. Tusk Villas. It’s happening in the same area of Bali that I have written about in this entry.
Bali : A Bit Of History from January 1998
I stayed in Sayan, which is near Ubud in central Bali 3 times in 1998. In January I was with Allissa, in March I was with Georgie and finally in September I was with Paul. This is the view that graced us. Gaze into the Sungai Ayung Valley from the grounds of Taman Bebek (Duck House). This was the home of composer and musicologist Colin McPhee (in the 1930s), who wrote the classic memoir A House in Bali.
It was also my “home” for 8 weeks, split over 3 trips, 22 years ago. We even took our bicycles across and I left them there so we could ride around the roads which were pretty safe back then.
I constantly wrote about my experiences, sometimes in a Diary, sometimes in a book that later got put to one side and sometimes simply on a piece of paper.
I just found a book with a few pages I wrote in January 1998 when I was in Bali with Allissa.
The first page shows our expenses. It looks like the Australian dollar was valued at about 8,000 rupiah back then which is interesting as it’s now about 9,000.
So here’s what I wrote.
16/1/1998
“I’ve finally found what I was looking for three trips ago in 1996. I looked on a map and saw a village called Sayan, then I read about it in my Lonely Planet Guide Book. Something about the name and what I read appealed to me but I didn’t have my bearings and never really investigated. Last year I found it and discovered the deep gorge of the swift flowing Ayung River. I also came across Taman Bebek and thought to myself that I’d really like to stay there, perched a bit back from the road on the hillside overlooking one of the most beautiful views I had ever seen. The Balinese have respect for the natural beauty and have built their rice paddies harmoniously with the natural surroundings and have added their own creativity. Instead of destrying what is here they have enhanced it.”
“It sits just to the west of Penestanan where we stayed at Kori Agung for the past 2 years.”
(In 2020 Kori Agung has morphed into the very popular Yellow Flower Cafe.)
“So here I am now sitting in my small dining room surrounded by a cacaphony of sounds
frogs and insects, creating a percussive symphony which will soon accompany me throughout the night.
Allissa and I will spend two nights at Taman Bebek.”
(That’s our little living room below)
“Ubud sits in the hills 22 kim north of Denpasar. It is the heart of cultural tourism in Bali. Even though Ubud is the name of a Desa (village) the whole area surrounding it is generralized as “UBUD”, this encompasses many Desa.
As you enter on the main road from Denpasar you pass through Peliatan, then nestled off to the west is padang Tegel, which is where the Monkey Forest is situated. The road goes straight ahead to Telallalang, a centre of wood carving but to get to Ubud you turn left and travel westward through to the centre of Ubud.
Down at the bottom of the road is a bridge, just after Murni’s Warong. This marks the confluence of two rivers – Wos and Cerikj, sitting at this point is a temple, Pura Camphuhan.”
“The main road then turns north up past Museum neka, by the way, it’s uphill from here,up at the top of this hill is Desa Kedewatan., the road turns westward again. An optional route is to turn left after Camphuan bridge and go up a very steep hill which will eventually take you to Penestanan, which is the centre of the Young Artist Movement. This road will eventually get you to Sayan.”
January 1998.
Ironically, this is where we are now doing our villa ….. in the village of Penestanan ….. on the road to Sayan.
