Having spent two months in a land that so thoroughly captured my heart, I cannot honestly say whether paradise was waiting to be captured - or if perhaps I was at a point in my life when I needed to find a majical new land. Upon returning to America I felt imprisoned.
The weather felt cold at night and hot during the day. Every 1-800 telephone call I listed to recorded voices tick off endless choices - somehow my choice always left me on hold for 15 minutes. Everything is big and complicated in America. I wanted to change my telephone service and tried calling the local telephone company. After seemingly endless time on hold, I discovered the phone company is neither "local" or "telephone". It is a massive corporation with whom you speak to a faceless voice speaking from some distant location.
In fact, everything in America is a huge corporation. Where does that corporate grocery store get its meat and vegetables? And how long have they been dead? Maybe two weeks? On Lombok everything is fresh the day you eat it! I bought a toy hand phone for a gift from a huge corporate multi-purpose store. Discovering it was made in Malasia (ie, Indonesia's neighbor country) held a real irony for me. What a long journey that toy phone made to find its way to Lombok.
Needless to say, I was anxious to get back to a land where technology, industry and global corporations have not yet invaded the lifestyle. Join me now on my continuing journey. You will see that although life is simple, it is absolutely fascinating.
A Day in the Life of Kuta |
A glimplse into the legendary life in the South Sea Islands | |
A House is Born |
Ask not if the house is strong, but ask does it leak? |
You're missing Chapter 8, Hobo. Another "senior moment?" SHUT UP!