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| Sunset reddened clouds reflecting in our pool. |
“Sightings on the Beach in Bali”
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| Many passers-by carry the required supplies along the beach. |
The idea of packing for this four-night, five-day trip to Lovina is a little disconcerting. It’s not like I can walk around in my closet and pull out the favorite warm clothes from the hangers. There are not more than eight items carefully stacked in my wardrobe. The rest of my limited wardrobe is still in my suitcase awaiting our departure in 35 days when we leave the villa to catch the plane to Sydney.
Wearing swimsuits, all day, we hardly ever wear street clothes. When we do go out, it’s shorts and in-good-condition tee shirts. We wear the same outfits over and over again. After showering in the late afternoon, we still don’t dress in street clothes. Once again, we don a dry swimsuit, with a sarong for me, while Tom wears swim trunks and tee-shirt for dining.
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| Gede explained that these plastic coverings are to protect watermelon from the hot sun. |
As a result of this limited use of clothing, we only end up with one load of laundry each week, which the two Ketut handle for us for a nominal charge. It usually takes two days to dry outdoors (there’s no clothes dryer) due to the high rate of humidity and frequent rain. They hang everything on a clothes rack bringing it indoors at night and then, haul the rack outside again in the morning.
We’ve exercised this same process over most of these past years since we’ve only had a clothes dryer while in Hawaii (eight months, four islands, all had dryers) and at Trinity Beach, Australia. We’ve discovered that most countries (except the US) hang their clothing on racks, indoors or outdoors depending on the weather and situation.
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| A typical small business building found in a village. |
Even while spending two weeks in an upscale high rise building in Dubai in 2013, there was no clothes dryer or large enough veranda to hang clothing outdoors. The clothes took no less than two full days to dry.
In my old life, I’d have packed for days for a four night tropical trip. Now, with limited options from which to choose, most likely I’ll be able to pack in 10 minutes. I no longer own a single dress, a handbag or a dressier type top to go with shorts.
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| Rice is a huge staple in the Balinese people’s diet and is exported to many parts of the world. |
I own a few pairs of long pants, which I wear in the evenings in air conditioned comfort on a ship. But, the majority of dining establishments in Bali will be outdoors, much too warm for long pants or jeans. I guess it will be tee shirts and shorts when we dine. There aren’t any other options in our limited wardrobes.
Taking special care in selecting outfits in our old life, I had many options from which to choose; matchy-matchy tops, pants, shoes, handbags and jewelry. Those options are now a thing of the past.
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| Crossing a bridge over a river. |
Over time, I have said “goodbye” to my previous vanity to be put-together in general, observing a certain degree of fashion and decorum. Those days are long gone. Although I still care that my hair, nails, toes and makeup looks presentable (that’s always been my thing), I lost all the vanity that centered around clothing and accessories.
As Tom would say, “It’s a good thing,” when we have so little “fluff” in our luggage. Only the basics deserve a spot in those now worn bags which must be replaced when we arrive in the US. Hope they last that long.
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| A Muslim holiday celebrated at the beach. |
Do I miss that “stuff”? Surprisingly not. But, getting to this point was a work in progress which didn’t fully manifest until the past three years when I finally got over it. Traveling light became more important to me than variety in my wardrobe.
Tom, on the other hand, never had much interest in clothes, although he does take special care each day to be fresh, clean and wearing equally decent looking attire in reasonably good condition.
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| Minutes before the sun descended from view. Before dark, the security guy visits our villa turning on outdoor lights, returning at sunrise to turn them off. |
We don’t wear, worn and holey clothing, even around the house when we’re staying in. If I can’t sew a hole in an item of clothing it goes into the trash. We have sewing needles and a tiny sewing kit with ample colors of thread to suit our needs.
Today, we plan to walk on the beach to visit our new friends, Pia and Thomas at their home. Once we’ve uploaded today’s post, we’ll be on our way.
We hope you have a pleasant day as well.
Photo from one year ago today, September 24, 2015:
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| One year ago we posted photos of the upcoming booking for a vacation home in Penguin Beach, Tasmania, beginning on December 3, 2016 (in a little over two months). We’ll spend Christmas in this property, leaving the middle of January on a four hour drive to another vacation home in Anchorage (40 minutes from Hobart). For more photos of this lovely property, please click here. |