I'm missing Bali terribly at the moment...it's been 4 years since my last visit, and given I was going yearly for various stretches of time, it's hurting not being able to get there.
As Google showed me my snapshots of 8 years ago this morning, I disappeared into the time machine in my mind...back to Sidemen, one my most faviourite places on the island. Sidemen is where I held my writing retreats. It's quiet, it's real, there's no retail shopping, it's just a place to BE and soak up the real, raw, laidback energy of the area.
In Sidemen you can walk down the main narrow road and not get run over. You will have dogs lift their head from slumber and bark at you as you walk past their gateway. You'll see women carrying 20kg sacks of freshly threshed rice on their heads. You'll see acres of red hot chilli growing. You'll see farmers ploughing their fields with oxen, the traditional wooden yoke around their neck, and their owner up to his knees in mud. You'll see children dressed in school uniform walking to school. You'll see the the sacred Agung River flowing through the valley.
At night you'll see the lights of the village on the other side of the valley twinkling in the darkness, and hear the odd motorbike in the stillness as someone heads home to their family. You'll taste simple traditional Balinese food that leaves your taste buds wanting more...
Life is simple in Sidemen. It's traditional. It's hard work. But it's real. The people are real and they take you into their hearts, happy to chat with you as you pass by or sit in their warung for a meal.
I smell the incense. I smell the earth. I smell the warmth. In my mind's time machine I am there...
#villagelifeBali #SidemenBali
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