Dewa's Home


It was quite a relief to descend from the gloomy and overcast slopes of Mt.Batur into the sunny and lush lowlands of Bali, and our mood cheered up dramatically. On the way back to Ubud, Dewa asked us if we'd like to visit his home in Bayad village in Tegallang and meet his family. We were delighted! Dewa and his family live behind a small shop, where his charming wife sells carved wooden items that she buys unfinished and paints herself.



In the back of the shop is a small living / sleeping room, a bathroom and a kitchen. Dewa's daughter is out the back playing the Balinese version of hopscotch.


The place is surrounded by gorgeous rice fields - the name of the shop, "Apit Yeh" means "Between the Waters" or "Surrounded by Water".


Dewa's wife offers us some tea, and Julia shows his daughter the American form of hopscotch. We buy a couple of Santa Claus figures from Dewa's wife (only 7,000 Rupiah each, about $2.50 - Balinese price), so we can remember Bali at Christmas. His wife makes these in large quantities - hundreds at a time - to sell to the stores in Ubud.


Here is Julia together with Dewa's daughter in front of their store. Dewa's wife sells all kinds of figures - cats, frogs, suns, moons, Balinese mythical figures, mirrors and wallhangings.



It was really touching, and also quite fascinating, to be allowed a glimpse into Dewa's home life.

Driving back to Ubud, it seems that everyone in Tegallang has a shop where they make or finish artwork and sell it. It's a lovely little place. The countryside here is gorgeous too, with breathtaking rice field views everywhere you look. This area would be a wonderful place to live, close to Ubud but in the country - Dewa evidently commutes into Ubud every day for driving jobs.

It's amazing what you can fit into one day in Bali - it was hard to believe it was only this morning that we were in Pejeng and visiting Gunung Agung. But the day wasn't over yet. In the evening we take in our final performance in Bali - the legong dance at Ubud Palace. The show is way oversold and even though we arrive early, the place is packed, with standing-room or restricted views only. We have been here for so long now that we feel claustrophobic with all these tourists. Many of them are in Ubud for one day, and this is the one performance they see. By now we have been in Ubud for so long that the locals greet us on the streets and in the stores, and call out our names as we walk by. It seems strange to us to be surrounded now by so many well-dressed foreigners. But the legong show us a good one with high-quality dancers and a great gamelan - not a bad choice if you only get to see one performance in Bali.








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Photos: Astrid, Martin and Julia Randall
All content copyright (c) 2002, Astrid, Martin and Julia Randall