my bungalow by the sea

For a few years I have been sharing with god everyday that I would like to live in a bungalow by the sea…I know that that is all I have to do, and if it is supposed to happen, it will appear somehow someway somewhere, and if not, then the desire will be lifted and I will no longer want it…

The floor plan is one in which I stayed at when I was in Thailand some 5 years ago…as soon as I saw the bungalow there I knew it fitted my needs perfectly and was my ideal little house….and ever since then I have been looking for it, but alas, the time has not yet come…

And the day before yesterday while I was minding my own business on the beach, a young man with baby goes passing by like some other neighbors that live near by, and said hello. I don't know whether it was a line he uses always, or if he really thought so, but he said, " I know you, you were here a few years ago, no?" and I answered that yes, last march, and he did indeed look familiar, but go know…I had been at so many ceremonies and got to feel as if I knew all the villagers even though only by sight…so I assumed he was one of them…

He asked me how I like bali and my usual answer is: I love it, I want to live here.

A few hours later he came by again with an invitation to take me around to see villas on the seaside that are for sale, that he knows about and maybe I can start to get an idea of how much things cost, what they look like, and speak with people from Australia and Canada that are his friends and that live there and are selling etc…wow…what a nice idea…so we made plans to go two days later, with a handshake.

This time I decided to check out with the security of the resort if this is a trustworthy person, since I have been "burnt" a couple of times already, always trusting that everyone has my best interests in mind…and then realizing that everyone has their own interests in mind, including me, and I have to take care of myself! I was reassured that he is honest and safe.

So today we left at 2 to see 3 options….i have no intention of buying a house here at this stage of my life…maybe in the near future, but who knows…and for the time being I am find just coming here for the winter for 3 months and that’s that….but I must admit I do peek on the web sometimes to see what is around…and know that it is possible to get a retirement visa and live here quite reasonably…so it is in the back of my mind as a "nice dream"...

Off we drove, a half hour to the west on the motorbike and arrived at a lovely villa on the sea, that a very nice Balinese man speaking excellent English kindly explained everything about land, building, architecture, etc. he owns some land right next to the villa that I visited and wants to sell it, right on the beach, a small piece of land, altogether, with brand new small house of my choice, $80,000….i looked at the property and couldn't believe that I actually may one day have my small bungalow by the sea!! Oh my god…

Madeh, the man that took me there, suggested I think it over and meanwhile will take me to see another place…so off we drove past the poor poor fishermen and tiny dirty beach where we were, to an area still 20 minutes further west…and suddenly we were riding through magnificent quiet pastoral countryside, with old temples in the middle of the rice fields, and a clean empty tree lined beach and I was crying inside me….how did god bring me to this paradise? Who could ask for more….and as we drove along the dirt road we arrived at a magnificent villa. I thought I was in fairy land….

This is the house of his Australian friend and he is interested in maybe selling it so he is showing it to me….maybe I like it??

Maybe I like it?! A large piece of land with a small villa set against the forest in the back part of the lot, with a lovely long water lily pond with big goldfish swimming around, a gazebo with a gamelon chime sitting on it at the end of the deck overlooking the pond, servants quarters on the right side, and straight ahead a small one bedroom tiny kitchen/living room with the entire wall that faces the sea and pond, made of tinted sliding windows so that no one can see in but you can see out….and a huge shaded beautiful pool nourished from a spring that flows non stop into it….plus luscious gardens surrounding it all….

Only the security man ( a simple gentle honest looking middle aged Balinese man) was there, and said the Australian owner and Balinese wife were in the city of denpassar and may return later…I suggested to him, that maybe we switch roles…I get to guard this place while they are away, and he can stay in my resort! I kept asking myself if this is what god intended for me??!! Because the house is teeny tiny perfect, and so was everything else…but I had imagined until now a simple little straw and wood bungalow…by the sea…and here was this magnificent place….

We left…and drove, in the pouring rain, to the third place, another 30 minutes east….to another friend of his, and drove down a narrow paved road filled with kids playing and Balinese neighbors mingling and shops open, all the way to the end at the sea….a nice neighborhood….and then walked through a big gate that looked like the entrance to a hotel, and there in the empty swimming pool was his friend who greeted us…

This was another villa, built by a german family 15 years ago and they want to sell and move to the mountains and build there instead….the young man (30?) living there is the owner of the land and the security and maintenance man for the place and the germans come for 4 months a year….i offered him the same offer…how about if I do maintenance here, and he can go live wherever he wants! Again a chuckle…

We sat here for quite a long time, speaking about building licenses in bali, and horror stories of anglos that waited 2 years to get hooked up to electricity, and corruption but if you have money it is the "right'way" and all will go well, and also about meditation and the magic of bali, the sea, the mountains, ceremonies, Balinese, religion, money, buying a ready made house, or building one yourself, etc….it was very informative, and after an hour or more of sitting in the covered outdoor pavilion on its raised foundation, overlooking the sea while it rained, they started to tell me that I need to know that not all Balinese are trustworthy and I need madeh to be in charge of finding trustworthy workmen and materials, or property etc…and again, all the doubts began, who can I trust…these two??! Who knows…and they wanted to know what my budget is….which I kept avoiding to say, since I didn't want that to be a "card in their hand" but in the end when I asked how much he is selling the house for and he said $200,000.00 I told him that that is not in my budget….

When we left, madeh gave me a quick lecture about he is unemployed and has a small baby that is hungry and that if I have any small jobs that he can do for me he will be happy to help….so here we go round the mulberry bush! Just like last time with Jack….taking me on a sightseeing trip in the area, his initiative and then me trying to help the poor unemployed guy out with maybe import/export with Israel. And later finding out that he too was just a lazy bum , trying to get some easy money from a tourist that loves bali….so in the end when he dropped me off I gave him $5 for his time and gas and said goodbye…

I am not cluttering my mind with any more thoughts about this all…at least not intentionally…it is maybe for the distant future….i am grateful that I got a chance to at least see some places and start realizing the complications and repercussions it involves.

And the funniest part of it all, that when we left on the motorbike at the start of the trip, I put on a helmet from the resort and he said that he needs to pick his up from his house….so first we need to stop at the village where he lives…and in we go into the neighboring village that I have gotten to know well, and are driving down a well known street, and suddenly he stops the bike next door to jacks house…the fellow from last march that ripped me off….and he starts walking into the next entrance…and I started laughing…and said: Now I know how we know each other! Last march you had a baby celebration and you had the shadow puppet play here in the courtyard and jack told me I could come see it and you hosted me and we sat and spoke for an hour with your wife and neighbors and I was treated as the honored guest by you, and even took all those family photos for you! I just laughed how god plays around with me….what a joke!