Milestone

As a lingering cough from an earlier cold turned into a full-blown throat infection last week, I had the pleasure of visiting an SOS medical clinic for the first time while traveling. I don’t like taking antibiotics, but there was no escape this time. Three days later, after many days of operating at 60% of my usual strength, the medication I received in Jakarta started showing results. During this time, I realized that days of sickness are a challenge to pratice the “better living habits” that I have adopted over the past years.

I woked up in Bali today, and the morning lived up to the reputation of this paradise isle. Apart from the fact that my cough had abated a bit compared to the previous days, the freshness of the morning and the scenery surrounding the small hotel in Ubud were stunning. Even after only one night there, I felt refreshed in body and spirit.

Yesterday was a milestone for me as I signed a letter of intent to acquire a piece of land about 20 minutes north of Ubud, with a view to settling there after retirement. The secluded block of land includes some ancient rice terraces at the top of a hill and slopes down into a valley with a small river. My real estate agent is still negotiating for me to lease a part of the neighbor’s rice terraces as well, to use as a garden. In Bali, leasing land is common.

I also used the opportunity of my overnight weekend visit to Bali to buy several attractive books on traditional and contemporary Balinese architecture to start me off with visualizing the house I intend to build there later on. And today I met a well-known Dutch architect living in Ubud who gave me further advice on build a suitable house on the block.

Now that my strength is returning from the weeks of cold and throat infection, I am happy to live forward again.

Photographs: View of the block from the lower terrace (top), and beautiful Ubud morning (bottom).