Asking for & Receiving Help to Write This Book in Bali

About nine months after my ten week stay in hospital, with my fractured knee, knee replacement and fractured femur saga, I was feeling frustrated at what felt like slow progress in writing my book, because the distractions at home were winning the battle for my attention. I haven’t found any part of writing this book easy, so it’s been an effort to get myself to sit down in front of the laptop and persevere with digging into important past events, often feeling uncomfortable as I wrestle with remembering details and finding authentic words.

I could see that getting away and being able to give my writing a greater focus would help me make more progress. I remembered the last time I was in Bali a few years previously, when  I was staying my favourite homestay at Candidasa (at the quieter east end of Bali), my friend Nyoman said to me, after seeing I was more fragile, even before the latest misadventures, ‘Please don’t think you can’t come and stay here if you are not so strong, please keep coming and we’ll take care of you’.

Can I Do It?

Then I remembered a vision I have had many times while there, of me staying at Candidasa for a longer time and writing on my verandah, even though I had no idea what I would be writing at that time. I was musing on all of this and then a light went on, ‘hang on a minute, here I am writing a book, needing to get stuck into it, perhaps it’s time to live out that vision with the help of my Balinese friends’. If I kept things simple, based myself at the homestay and not try to venture too far I figured I could probably manage. With airfares to Bali half the price than when I last went, I decided to take the jump and I booked a ticket five months in advance, giving myself plenty more time to build up my physical strength and capacity.

I was feeling quite nervous and vulnerable leading up to the trip, moving away from my comfort zone where I felt safe, into some unknowns. I just had to trust that my Balinese friends would be enough support, and if it didn’t work out I could always go home early. My physical strength had improved from all the swimming and hydrotherapy, and I had graduated from two crutches to only Teman my walking stick. Thankfully a friend came for week so I had support to start with and good company for the trip.

Focussing On Writing

So here I am sitting with my laptop on my verandah, with million dollar sweeping views of the ocean ten metres away, a soft cooling ocean breeze wafting over me, living very cheaply in a rundown bungalow in which I am nevertheless quite comfortable. I am being helped and supported by sisters Nyoman and Wayan and their young niece Ketut, with love, generosity and great care. I’ve living a simple life. Not to mention Nyoman’s amazing cooking, eating authentic, delicious Indonesian food, the likes of which are not found in most restaurants.

I’m relishing having the space to dive deep into memories, with dreams often illuminating them, living in a bubble of words and stories.

I’ve surprised myself how well I’m going physically, how far I am able to walk, even to the supermarket about six hundred metres up the road. I’m also managing the walk and getting in and out of the pool at nearby bungalows, so can keep up my swimming. And it isn’t just my Balinese family who is helping, anytime I go out and encounter steps, there is always a willing friendly hand to assist; and as for crossing the busy road, none of the Balinese who happen to be nearby will let me do it on my own. I’m relishing finally being able to give my writing the focus and level of reflection it deserves and I have been able to more or less finish my first draft. It’s been good for my body too, resting much more than at home, and a good deep massage every third day, which is not something I can afford in Australia, and my body feels much more comfortable.

Win Win

And in asking for and receiving help, the benefits are not all one way. Things had got quite depressing for my two friends, because the family who owns the homestay has let it fall into neglect, and very few guests now come here. There are piles of old building material everywhere, uneven, broken paths with poor lighting at night, and half dead gardens. This is despite the best efforts of Nyoman and Wayan to tell their nephew Made (pronounced ‘Marday’), son of the elderly owner and the boss, he needs to make the bungalows nice for the guests. 

Wayan and Nyoman are the heart and soul of this place, and are the reason I (and many others over the years) have kept returning since 1988, but Made has been ill and their views have been ignored. Having us staying has cheered up Nyoman and Wayan, and of course the money I am giving them for my meals, laundry and running errands is of great help with their very low incomes, but they love having us here, and genuinely love being of service, to give, to help.

I become part of the everyday lives of the larger Balinese family, invited to any ceremonies, they share their concerns and happy news, bring their children to play while we catch up. And something else wonderful came from my time at the homestay. It has become a vicious circle that as the bungalows have deteriorated, so fewer people stay here, and many who used to come regularly have stopped because they want better quality accommodation. But with fewer people, and less income, the family has been unable to afford to make improvements, and so less people are staying and so it goes on. 

From that stalemate they are now offering most of the prime land at the beachfront for lease by Westerners, who would like to build their own small house. I have been mourning the loss of a wonderful cheap place to stay with warm and beautiful people. This may be the last time I can stay here. While I would have liked better standard accommodation, I would not have been able to afford to stay here for two months at higher prices, so it has suited me to have it so cheap, even though I grow tired of the night time visits by rats and flying insects and the depressing bathroom.

Win Win Win

But it is a comfortable bed, and I spend most of my time on my verandah, enjoying the ocean views while I write, and the company of my Bali family and visiting friends. But meanwhile no one is rushing to lease the land and Made’s wife Iluh has realized they could be making more money on an ongoing basis with better bungalows rather than the once off payment for a contract for land. So with the money they are getting from me staying here for two months, they are reinvesting it into restoring a bungalow, starting to slowly fix things one bungalow at a time. So one bungalow will be of better standard, which should bring in more income, which will enable them to improve the next bungalow and so on. Talk about win, win, win on all sides.

A Year Later

The mutual benefits from giving and receiving continued the following year when I returned to do further work on my book. I contacted Made saying "I would like to return to Segara Wangi Beachfront Bungalows, but only if I can stay in an upgraded bungalow with new tiles in the bathroom.” I had no appetite for more rats or grotty bathrooms. Made said “Oh that is good news that you are coming back to Bali Nyoman (my Balinese name for third born). No problem! I will have a bungalow ready in time for your visit.”

It turned out my visit acted as a huge catalyst for Made to finally move on the potential of Segara Wangi to still have some bungalows as well as permanent residents. To my surprise rather than upgrade they demolished an old bungalow and by the time I arrived, the first brand new, luxury bungalow was a week away from completion.

I had seven days in the last old bungalow with mouldy bathroom (but thankfully no rats) but before I could move in, there had to be the blessing ceremony. The priest in white chanted, burnt incense, rang a bell repeatedly, and scattered water drops over the many beautiful offerings of fruit, rice and exquisitely made leaf creations with different coloured flowers, placed on the verandah. Then it was time for the celebration feast, with all the workers, who worked hard to get it finished in such a short time, and family and friends eating suckling pig and satay chicken.

A BEAUTIFUL NEW BUNGALOW

Next day I moved in and oh the joys of living and writing in such salubrious surrounds knew no end. I felt like a queen moving into her palace and so I was called “Ratu Prempuan” meaning ‘queen’ in Bahasa Indonesian, and we laughed as they bowed and I gave an imperial wave. I have earned the eternal gratitude of Made’s wife and the aunties, in fact the whole extended family, and a discount whenever I stay. 

Our bond, built since 1988, has deepened.  Made’s wife Iluh came to visit me on my verandah saying “Nyoman, you are God. For years now I worry about our future, I keep saying to Made there is so much needing to be done, and still he does nothing, and there is only so much I can do with three young children and the art shop to take care of, and so I worry, worry. And now you bring us a miracle, we have a beautiful new bungalow, we have a better life for our family, I am so happy, thank you, thank you!”

While I was there Made started building the next two bungalows, so on it goes. I can keep coming back to my favourite place in Bali for a long while yet, and stay in a beautiful room with spectacular ocean views. This time the money I paid the aunties went to upgrading their family temple and on a big ceremony for all the village and family to bless the temple, at which I was honoured guest. Once again, win, win, win.