Discovering My New Home: Bali
[MAY 19th, 2021]
Since I was little, my family and I have visited Bali very frequently. It’s a perfect place for an escape whenever we feel too overwhelmed by the busy life in Jakarta. Towards the end of last year, we decided to build a new home for us there. Now that it's completely furnished and beautifully decorated, we immediately bought a one-way ticket, flew to our new house, and let our guts tell us when to go back. I'm looking forward to making more memories in the place where I now can call my new home!
[MAY 25th, 2021]
Nothing beats the view from our house in Bali, especially when the sky is clear and the paddy fields are ready to be harvested. The past few days, I've been spending a lot of time on my front porch, sipping on my afternoon tea while enjoying the breathtaking scenery that mother nature has offered us. The warm colours of yellow and blue blend ideally in my eyes, creating a sense of peace and tranquillity. I've just now realised why my mother decided to build the house in the middle of a village.
[MAY 30th, 2021]
As I was travelling around the small streets of Bali, I noticed that there were a lot of shops that sell antique arts and handicrafts. I didn't understand what they really meant until I bumped into a 48-year-old man named Pak Kadek, an owner of one of the stores I ended up visiting. His store didn't look very appealing from the outside; it looked messy and dirty. Old paintings, sculptures, wood carvings, and stoneworks filled every corner of the store. He called Bali "the island of the arts" and believed that each item he collected was uniquely handcrafted.
"Bali has been and will always be a religious island, and these antiques were originally made for the deities. That should explain why you see these kinds of stuff everywhere you go," he stated.
[JUNE 3rd, 2021]
Walking on the beach while waiting for the sun to set has become a new habit of mine. This picture was taken yesterday when I found myself strolling around the beach with my little sister. The apparent horizon line where the sky met the sea and its reflection on the sand left us in pure adoration as we took pictures of the scene. They turned out beautiful, but one caught my eye. I was too drawn to the views; I didn't realise that three little puppies were playing with each other, chasing one another. They looked like they were having so much fun on the beach, drenching their paws in the salty water. It was a good day for me, and the same certainly goes for the cute little puppies.
[JUNE 4th, 2021]
This turquoise green window is the first thing I wake up to every morning. From the picture I took above, you might be wondering why the window looked different from the standard windows you usually see. Here's why: my mother wanted to implement traditional aspects into our modern-styled home, and she chose the traditional Javanese windows to be the centre of attention. These types of windows were found in Indonesian households back in the olden days. Attached to the window were usually the double doors made with teak wood, painted in bright green or blue shades. The placement of the windows was also generally higher than usual. My mother certainly did an excellent job replicating them because every time I enter the house, it suddenly feels like I'm in a different era in Indonesia.
[JUNE 7th, 2021]
One thing that my mother and I have in common: we both appreciate art very much. Lately, she's been collecting a lot of Chinoiseries: white and blue porcelains with Chinese inspired patterns and motifs. She has collected nearly 100 different forms of Chinoiseries. Vases, flower pots, candleholders, you name it. She even dedicated a room in our new house for her whole collection! These white and blue patterns aren't something new, I admit. You can find it everywhere. I've come across people who view it as boring and overused, but personally, I find them aesthetically pleasing.
[JUNE 10th, 2021]
Rice is the main staple food of Indonesians. In fact, all of us grew up being told that a meal isn't considered a meal if it doesn't contain rice. In the village where I currently live, hectares of paddy fields dominate the area. My neighbours are mostly farmers, working from early morning until late evening in the muddy waters. As I was watching them working under the sultry weather of Bali, I came to an epiphany. I've never really thought about the hard work and dedication they've put into keeping us fed and alive. One day, perhaps tomorrow, I'd like to show my appreciation and thank the farmers for every grain of rice served on our plates.
[JUNE 12th, 2021]
The majority of Bali's population practices Hinduism, in which they rely on the spirits that speak through nature's forces. Today, my Balinese cousins introduced me to one of the religious practices they perform regularly. Upon my curiosity, I was brought to the Tirta Empul temple to see them performing a purification ritual. I watched as they slowly entered the pool, prayed in front of the 13 fountains in turns, and rinsed their heads and faces with the holy water. It was a new and life-changing experience for me, and it has certainly increased my respect for them and the values they hold.
"We were taught that this temple is dedicated to our God of Water, Vishnu. Here in this holy temple, we are praying so that He cleanses the body."
[ JUNE 14th, 2021 ]
I've always been drawn to street art, and Bali has surprisingly shown me quite the amount of intriguing murals around the island. From alleyways to abandoned buildings to cafes, street art decorates and brings colours to the island. It is, in fact, a very impactful form of art. Not only that it can share a message with the rest of the world, but it also sparks a conversation. Not only that it motivates them, but it also inspires them. It can even cheer people up when they're having a bad day. If I had the talent and creativity, I'd paint every single wall around the town.
[ JUNE 15th, 2021 ]
This is the road back to my house. Though it's narrow and winding, the view beyond the frame is always something worth looking forward to. Every time we pass down this road, I always roll down the window. In the daytime, I let the sun beam on my face and accentuates the warm summer colours of the earth's landscape, indicating that it's going to be a great day. And when evening falls, I like to gaze at the stars while enjoying the night breeze and call it a day. It has just dawned that I've spent almost a month now in our new home, and we're not even planning to go back just yet. I just want to continue living in the moment and losing track of time. That is, the beauty of a one-way ticket.
