Tirtaganga (AKA Water of the Gangis)

Privacy, Light fixtures, & tiny sketches
(My first full day in Tirtaganga)

Forget about solitude and private time in Bali. There is no such thing. Besides Balinese being a naturally social and curious bunch, they think it their duty to make sure that no one feels lonely. This strikes me as sweet, but at times irritating. To make matters worse, most Balinese feel free to drop in unannounced, will ask questions that most westerners would consider highly invasive, and love to settle in and ramble on despite whatever activity the person they're visiting was engaged in (reading a book, painting, napping, still dripping and scantily clad from a shower, etc.) If your door is open, they will poke their heads in. If there's a crack in the curtain, they will peek in to see if you're around and awake. If the door is closed, they will announce themselves and wait for you to open it. One Chinese/Balinese local explained her frustration about living with only a curtain shielding the doorway to her and her husband's bedroom. Her Balinese husband insisted that a door would make him feel trapped, and takes it in stride when family and friends walk in nonplussed during inopportune or intimate moments.

After 3 intense weeks in Ubud attending countless ceremonies and social events, and living in a family compound with overly helpful hosts that coached me regularly about Balines culture and worried when I was out after dark... well... I was ready to chill someplace without a bra, and hoped to at least get through a newspaper article uninterrupted and unquestioned. No such luck. It seems that in my new accommodation in Tirtaganga, that even providing me with a mosquito coil is turned into a nightly ceremony and leads to yet another cryptic conversation with someone who wants to put a flower behind my ear and give me a spontaneous language lesson. Much different from the Western method of just handing someone a week's worth of mosquito coils and a book of matches!


The closest concept to "privacy" that Balinese seem to relate to is the need for "concentration". This word must be part of their rudimentary English lessons, because it seems everyone knows it... like the word "program" is a common if odd stand in for "plans". So if you're in Bali and an unwanted visitor starts to settle in despite the usual polite western style hints that they should leave, thank them for their visit and in the kindest but clearest way apologize that you don't have time to visit because you need to be "alone", so you can "concentrate" or prepare for your "program". Also, if one starts to light up a cigarette, you can tell them that you don't like someone to smoke around you because you're from California. It seems everyone around the world assumes Californians hates smoke and so won't take it personally... eventually, nicotine hankerings will lure them away.


My gosh... after 6 weeks in SE Asia, I finally just now saw my first gecko in Bali! It's a big dark brute of a mofo, and he just scampered along the wall and behind my headboard. It's unmistakably different from the petite beige translucent versions I muse over nightly as they hunt for bugs on the ceiling and defiantly undulate and shimmy their tails during territorial disputes. They have a distinct and high pitched kechak-kechak call. I'd come to think of these delicate gravity defying creatures as geckos. I stand corrected!

Back to the subject of annoyances in Bali... bare bulbs regularly affront the eye. Even otherwise aesthetic places with hand carved decor and lovely landscaping, give little thought to glare. The rare covered bulb is usually placed too high or too low to take advantage of it's covering. Besides aesthetics and retina protection, light fixtures can serve the wonderful purpose of catching all those bugs that burn to death when drawn too close! And in the tropics, if your bed is anywhere near a bare bulb... well, it's not a pretty picture. Thankfully, my current abode's white tiled floor showcases the wide spread death toll between my bed and the bathroom. This allows me to more easily navigate a path through the carnage, important when barefoot and in a hurry.


Well, perhaps my visiting gecko will play clean up crew with the fallen bugs. One can always hope...

Oh... despite my complaints, I had an enjoyable and productive day that resulted in a slew of fabulous rice field harvest photos, and 10 tiny preliminary sketches that I'm actually happy with! Miracle of miracles! It seems I'm back on the painting track. I'm so thrilled at the helpfulness of this digital camera's display and convenient browser. I sketch directly from it. The highest resolution settings allow me to zoom in on details in photos that I couldn't see with the naked eye. This combined with my view of the valley allows for lots of convenient and candid long distance shots of rice field workers. All without having to trek long distances on private property in the hot sun. Lovely! Plus, my sore feet are thankful.
Well, better head off to bed. I'm sure my being awake at 1:30am will become a topic of conversation, and I don't want anyone to catch onto the fact that I have a laptop. My driver admitted that he was a bit worried about me being in alone in this economically depressed village, and warned me to avoid flashing my money and carry only a little bit at a time. violent crime is relatively unheard of in Bali, though there are occasionally pickpockets. There's always people around who are excited to help tourists part with their dollars... and charge in proportion to their perception of that person's wealth.