Palamariu Family Blog

Once more India showed us how amazingly divers it can be. Going into the desert was almost like going to another country. The only characteristic that remains always constant is the hospitability of Indian people.

We started exploring the desert under Mado’s (our host) guidance. Few minutes after we arrived in Osian by bus, Mado welcomed us with the “taxi” ready to take us to his home. The wonderful “taxi” was a big docile camel, with 2 seats – one in front of the hump and other on the back. And his home was not few streets away, but 7 km in the hearth of the desert which means 2 hours of camel safari.

Just few kilometers away from Osian city, nature is changing. As we got deeper into the desert, the sand became the king of the scenery; though from time to time we could see small spots of vegetation consisting in short bushes or trees. Herds of dears, energetic squirrels, few parrots and peacocks share the leaving space with cows and goats. They seem to cohabitate in peace and harmony and since Indian people are vegetarian, none of these animals are scared for their lives.

Together with the nature, the rhythm of life changes as well, especially because there is no electricity in the desert. As consequence a normal day starts at 7am, in the same time with the sunrise and ends by 9pm, just 2 hours after the sunset. There is neither light nor electrical plug, no TV, Radio or Internet.  Even so, people entertain themselves. Visiting or receiving visits, sharing stories and jokes are mostly the fun activities for grownups while playing outside games that don’t require any object/toy make kids happy in the spear time. Villages are small – around 10 houses spread over 3 km; this is in a big contrast with the places we visited so far (New Delhi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Osian). Kids go to school at walking distance of 30 minutes up to 1h and a half over hills of sand or rock therefore they are in good shape and energy after so much exercising.

Besides having an adapted lifestyle to the desert conditions, Indian people from this side of the country are different also by the way they dress and accessorize. Men wear flower shaped golden ear rings while married women can be distinguished by the golden “tiara” tied around the head under a transparent cover made out of silk.

Going toward the inside personal world, this was a good experience!! Visiting such a simple, peaceful place offered us another perspective about living; I was able before to imagine how desert life it is like, but living it was really insightful. Was like a trip in time, before discovering electricity and I couldn’t help making a list in my mind with the advantages and disadvantages of such a lifestyle. Some of the main pluses in my perception are: more creativity in entertaining without all the technology, closer relationships with the neighbors which don’t involve discussions about 5 o’clock terrifying news. Some of the minuses: no access to information except for the few books received from school, there are not many activities one can do over there so after a while I would get bored…

Besides the cultural experience and the insights we had from it, we enjoyed very much camel safari, the delicious food Mado’s wife cooked for us and wondering around over the hills for hours without meeting any person.

As looking back on the blog posts about Bali, there are several things we didn’t cover. I guess I was too much in love with this place and as love is blind, the Bali I have described is the true paradise.

Now, that we are already in India, we took some distance from the Bali experience and I believe I can be more objective and analytic when writing about Bali.

So far you might have read in the previous posts that Balinese people live in communities and don’t complain. These 2 aspects offered us new perspectives and new insights: the massive care towards the others, how inspired you feel when people around you are not complaining.

Another outcome of the community lifestyle is that people are very much oriented towards sharing. Once you become their good friend, Balinese consider you as part of the community. This has 2 sides: they will be a good support for you in the difficult moments but also, don’t be surprised if they think it’s normal to borrow or use your belongings (slippers, socks, etc.). So this could be a bit uncomfortable and one has to set boundaries when being in this situation. The tricky part is that you can never know how the feedback is received, due to the fact that Balinese people don’t complain and are not assertive.

If one decides to move to Bali, should be aware that health centers or hospitals are rather unprofessional. Local people go to see healers for many of their medical issues and sometimes to the hospital for serious problems. Expats put their hopes in the Singaporean and Bangkok hospitals, which are only 3 hours flight away from Bali. Of course that is not reassuring for everybody

Going further with the analysis, another aspect that can be slightly bothering is the corruption. Money can solve almost any problem one can have, but that makes life fairly unjust and unequal for people living in Bali. Expats are usually charged more and also if one gets to the tribunal, the chances for an expat to win are very improbable; though by paying you can for sure win.

When I look back, I see both positive and negative sides of Bali, but still for me this remains the best place to be in.

I love the freedom of expression and creativity one can have in Bali. You don’t hear about ambitions and materialistic status, about politics or social demands: “this is good” and “that is bad”. It’s a great place to be yourself, to reinvent yourself and simply to live the life as you like. I appreciate the people for being simple and caring about the others, even with their faults. I don’t expect anybody to be perfect and I’m confident that in time any conflict can be solved.

News about Singapore and New Delhi are about to come, as well as the corresponding pictures. So stay tuned!

Until now we have been writing articles about interesting people we met in Bali. But they were mostly foreigners themselves.

Therefore, this blog post will be dedicated solely to local bred and born Balinese people.

Their culture is renowned for its hospitality, living together in communities, spirituality and openness to art; even the simplest bed design has a flower sculptured on the side.

And even more than hospitality and community life, something that deeply impressed me was the dedication with which the Balinese people take care of the people around them. May they be Balinese or even foreign. The moment you begin to have a day to day relationship with a Balinese, he is very likely to consider you as part of his family.

Great example: at Kubu Merta villa there was an unhappy incident in which Piety and her mother, two of the guests, had to be hospitalized in Denpasar because of Dengue fever. We were all worried as the disease can be fatal! The staff at the villa, Balinese people, with a huge heart, offered the two guests a lot of moral support. Apart from calling them every day to make sure their condition is getting better, they even went to visit every two days!! Even if it meant driving for 2 hours to get there and back! Plus, at each visit, they would prepare a little bit of food. From the little they have (as most of them earn 4$ a day!), they were willing to share!!

Also, they even organized special ceremonies in which they prayed for the two guests to get better!

One week later, Piety and her mother were well again!

I personally want to thank Charlie, Dayu, Suamba and Made for a great lesson of compassion, caring and good will towards others!!