Bali family life

I have arranged to meet up with Made (pronounced Marday), who was Catherine and Peter’s tour representative. He picks me up in his 4x4 and offers to take me to his village to meet his family and show me where he lives. This is a great opportunity to see real Bali life, away from the tourist areas. He is married with two young children – a boy of 2 ½ and a girl of 8. When we arrive at his house his wife and children aren’t there, but a gaggle of other small children including two of his nieces and various friends are playing out the front and they open the gates to his property and all follow us into the garden. They are shy and look at me and giggle and then continue playing. The oldest-looking and most confident boy says, ‘Hello, how are you?’

Local children at Made's house

Made shows me around his house. He is very proud of it and tells me it is very modern. Made designed it and his brother-in-law built it. It is one storey and built up a couple of steps. The floor is tiled throughout, including a veranda round the side. The walls inside are bare cement. There is a living room, which contains a television, but no other furniture. I ask him about the lack of furniture and he says they sit on the floor on mats to watch the television and sometimes they sleep in there and it’s an open space for the children to play. There are 3 bedrooms; one for Made and his wife, one for his daughter and one spare room. I’m guessing the little boy sleeps with the parents. The bedrooms don’t seem to have much in them other than beds and a few toys in the daughter’s room. Along the back outside wall of the house is a covered hall for storage, which leads to the toilet. It has a western-style toilet that is flushed with water from a bucket and a ladle. There doesn’t seem to be a shower or wash basin. Outside there is also a covered kitchen area and an eating area, which has a beautiful wooden table and chairs, which Made says are brand new and his dream furniture. The kitchen is very basic, with two gas burners and a gas bottle underneath, a stainless steel sink and drainer and a storage rack for plates etc. Pots and pans go on the floor under the sink.

Kitchen

I would say this family is pretty well-off, compared to other local village people. Made works about half the week as a tour guide and his wife works mornings only in a local bank. They have a car and two scooters and their own house. I ask him what he does in the afternoons and he says he spends the time with his family. He says that sometimes he thinks he could do with more money, because there are always expenses, but they have decided that they have got the balance right.

I have seen many other home compounds dominated by elaborate home temples and I haven’t seen anything like this at Made’s house. When I ask him points out a couple of palm constructions at one side of the garden, which I took to be garden sheds. These are his temporary temple and will be made more permanent as he get the money to do so. He says that Balinese people spend a great deal of time and money on their religion. For example offerings need to be made several times a day and there are many ceremonies and celebrations to make throughout the year. Originally people made the offerings themselves, which took a lot of time. Nowadays people mostly buy the offerings ready-made which is quicker, but more costly.

Made’s wife and two children arrive home on a scooter. She is quite shy and doesn’t speak any English, so we smile at each other a lot and Made translates for us. The little boy is clutching a new toy that he had bought for him today. It is a battery-operated car that plays a tune and turns into a robot. I notice that is front top milk teeth are stumps and Made says, ‘Too many sweets’. Made suggests a trip to the nearest beach and he and I get in the front of his car and 6 children and his wife get into the back seat. There is also a helium balloon that the little boy is carrying – so that makes 10 of us. The girls sit on each other’s laps and the little boy stands between the two front seats. The only seat belt is for the driver.

Back seat passengers

We arrive at the nearest beach, which has black volcanic sand. There are only local people here enjoying the evening. Some are sitting on a wall at the back of the beach; there are a couple of people cooking and selling food; some people are playing in the sea. At the back of the beach is a temple and the sand is littered with the palm leaf remains of thousands and thousands of previous offerings. This beach is just along the coast from Sanur, where I had been staying with Peter ad Catherine. I remark about the difference in the sand and made tells me that the white sand on Sanur is imported.

Black Beach

Made drops me back to Ubud. On the way I ask him what his hopes are for his children in the future. He thinks for a while and then says that he would like them to become doctors and then they can work in other countries in the world. Then he adds, ‘Either doctors, or work on the cruise ships.’It has been a lovely afternoon and privilege to catch this glimpse of his life.