Workers create encampment
I was a bit surprised to learn that there will be twelve workers camping out on the property during the construction phase. I thought it would be more like a maximum of eight workers. And perhaps because it was their…
Week #02 – Some boundary wall foundations nearly completed
Even with some rain this week the crew accomplished a significant amount of work building foundations for the boundary walls. There’s a total of twelve workers that work seven days a week. I wish I could speak to them more…
Here’s mud in your eye (and everywhere else)
The crew has been busy digging, hauling rocks and building the boundary walls. The weather has been quite nice, that is until yesterday, when the sky opened up and buckets of rain fell. Of course the concrete will harden regardless…
Local kite festival at Pererenan Beach, Bali
Our beach is very popular with the locals on Sundays. But today it was extra delightful as it filled with teams of kite flyers from the surrounding villages. I was fortunate to catch teams as they were arriving, as well…
Week #01 – Digging ditches
We are off and running! A small team is on the job, digging out the path for the boundary walls. Some of the crew is involved in the Ramadan monthly fast in honor of the first revelation of the Quran…
In memory of Anthony Bourdain
“There are two ways of traveling, which are really two ways of looking at the world. You can see another country as simply an experience to consume, a place to collect trophies. Or you can look at it as an…
As close to a blank slate as possible
There are two times during the building process when you are faced with a world with infinite possibilities: one is during the first meeting with your architect, when you share your vision; and secondly, when the land has been cleared…
Property boundary pins in the ground (finally!)
Thanks to: – two realtors – two Indonesian nominees – two notaries – a government land survey department – the BPN office – Badan Pertanahan National (Ministry of Agrarian And Spatial / National Land Agency) – a road building crew…
Want an authentic Indonesian experience? Try Go-Jek
Although it may sound like it, Go-Jek is not a strange type of tropical fruit. In fact, it’s a full-blown, born in Indonesia unicorn that made it to Fortune’s 2017 list of 50 Companies that Changed the World. In 2010…
Legitimately bending the truth
Let’s be realistic for a moment: to lie is to be human. From our earliest days of playing in the sand, we tell stories with partial or metaphorical truths. In the case of building a house, we need to tell…
The excitement of boundary pins
You might be saying to yourself, “Yes! Please tell me all about the time when the government surveyors came to mark your land for boundary pins! Please!!!” Ok ok, I know it’s thrilling. The drama of getting four red marks…
Stepping forward & sideways
With any building project, or during the process of any lasting endeavor, there will always be a variety of bumps in the road. In our minds we’d like things to progress smoothly. We make predictions based on an internalized _flow_…