Vertical Construction

 

So time flies and it has been 2 months since I last posted. In the mean time I spent mid July thru mid August in Dallas and California. The unusual high amount of rain continued until mid August, so it was bright and sunny when I returned to Bali. We still get rain her but it usually just an afternoon shower which is un-noticeable 20 minutes later. During my rip to the states they began working on the building permit.  To my surprise the builder had not gotten one. While I was initially shocked as it turn out they have 2 kinds of building permits here, one for rebuild and the other for once you are 90% complete. I  think there are 2 reasons for this, lack of enforcement, heritage land and you cannot change "anything" from the plan of an already issued permit, you have to start again and pay again. It can be tricky to perhaps impossible, when you have to clear a bamboo forest to precisely know the lay of the land, as was out case. The builder just assumed we would go with the 90% finished permit.  That said it cost twice as much as the pre-build.  Oh they are so tricky ! so now the "agent" is determining if we can get a  considering pre or post build considering what we have already built. The discussion is that we have not actually built a house yet, does the foundation count, etc. So far, it depends on who you ask and costs vary wildly. Fortunately we have many long time local connections that are quite protective of us and are willing and wanting to network with all of their contacts, often incestuous, to make the right thing happen. While they manage that, Shinta and I are continuing with landscaping of the back yard, as we call it, they call it garden. actually they call it a Taman which is garden but not a vegetable garden, which is called a Kebun We also had a wedding event for what I call my Bali-niece. My long time friend of 35 years here, his daughter got married. She is Bella's age and the 2 of them were running buddies whenever Bella visited Bali. So the wedding was the traditional Balinese which is an elaborate ceremony and dress for the bride and groom and as all ceremonies, a food fest. I actually am not a fan of the traditional Balinese wedding as the bride and groom and their parents, after the 1-2 long rituals with the priest and parents, are relegated to sit on the stage in throne chairs for the next 2 hours watching everyone eat. During this time people will go to the stage to take various photos, and everyone is required to traverse the stage before leaving offering their congratulations, like a reception line but when you are leaving. Once most of the people have gone the wedding couple and their parents leave the stage and sit and eat. All this with the bride wearing a 20" tall gold crown.  Here is the bride Gita (we all call her Echa form her youth) I have know her since birth. Her parents are next to her and the grooms mom on the end. 

So we flew to Jakarta, a sprawling city with more skyscrapers than you would imagine and a population of over 11 million compared to Dallas at 1.3 million. here's a video, look deep into the video to see how far the skyscrapers continue.

Twelve of my Bali family members were there and we all stayed at he same hotel where Echa works in marketing. In fact here she is on the elevator door ad. Such a star she is !  She truly is a beautiful woman inside and out. 

The wedding reception. There's the priest in white and the funny character preceding the bride and groom is a Balinese Hindu character. He's there to protect the wedding couple. There were around 1000 people in attendance milling through about 30 food stalls.

We spent 2 nights in Jakarta and left the morning after the wedding for Bandung about 100 miles east of Jakarta. This is Shinta's hometown and it has been on our bucket list to visit for years. From Jakarta we took Indonesia high speed train to Bandung. This is Indonesia first and for now only high sped rail and it runs only between Jakarta and Bandung with 2 stops along the way. The terminal in Jakarta was quite impressive.

The high speed train is called the "Whoosh", an appropriate name as the trip is 2 1/2 - 3 hours by car or 39 minutes by Whoosh. It was my first high speed train and it was incredibly smooth and quiet. I would compare it to an elevator.  The train station in Bandung was equally impressive to Jakarta's.

From there we were off to our accommodations which we don't have a categorical name for.  In the US we would say, we rented a cabin. Bandung is in a huge basin surrounded by a mountain range much like Salt Lake City and has a population of 2.5 million. Our stay was in the foothills 30 minutes outside the city center, which was perfect. It was also a bit rustic in style which is our preference. 

Bandung has an interesting history as it became an oasis for people from Jakarta to escape the heat in the early 1900's. Jakarta is sea level while Bandung is 2650 ft. Bandung was transformed into a city in 1810 primarily by the Dutch.  The city center is still spotted with grand Dutch buildings. In the1920's there was a surge of building in Bandung and being the 20's the style was Art Deco so there is an equal portion of Art Deco blended in with the earlier Dutch Colonial style. As for the city itself,  it's inner city suffers like so many I see around the world not unlike the West End and Deep Ellum in Dallas before they were turned into entertainment districts. The same is true in Bandung with Braga Street taking that role. It is not dangerous at all but it is old construction that are more occupied than restored. There was a street I'll call Ghost Alley as it was filled with photo ops with plenty of characters, Bats, Ghouls and Witches in elaborate costume and makeup.  This, not so elaborate character, insisted that I was the father of this baby.

Art Deco

Earlier Dutch Colonial

We spent 3 nights in Bandung before taking the train back to Jakarta and the flight back to Bali. It was good to meet Shinta's niece, nephew and his family, and to see Shinta's home town.