On The Road

We had an appointment with Mr Made (pronounced Mar-day) to take us around but he was preoccupied somewhere else so he hitched us up with his brother, Mr Gede. (pronounced Gir-day) His charges were $600,000 rupiah for a day's work. The average monthly salary for most Balinese is $1.2 Million Rupiah so this is a nation of millionaires. Mr Gede told us he will not accept any employment which pays him anything less than $5 Million Rupiah per month.

Now there are many Gedes and Mades in Bali. These are civil salutation used in Bali society. The Gedes are the first-born while the Mades are the second-born. Their real names would be something else, something a lot less palatable. One would compare that with the salutation in Malay society where the eldest is addressed as Pak/Kak Long (from sulong) and the youngest as Pak/Kak Su. (from bongsu)

I asked Gede where I could buy the famous Balinese kek lapis. He looked blank. He'd never heard of it. He told me that other region of Indonesia may be known for their kek lapis but not Bali.

The signboard in the picture on the right pointed towards a villa put up for rental. These villas are mainly owned by foreigners.

Land leases in Bali averaging 70 to 80 years are granted to enterprising foreigners to set up businesses on the island. Many built private villas on said leasehold and had them rented out to holiday makers. Unfortunately this caused property prices to escalate to a point where it is no longer affordable to the locals. Most, like Gede could only afford to buy inland properties.

The pictures below are taken from the inside of a moving van driven by Gede. We were on our way to Tanah Lot.