On second thought

Onwards to Plan B

For those new to this newsletter I should briefly explain what is happening. The first few months of the newsletter were dedicated to contrasting the high costs of living in the USA and the UK, with Bali. Here’s the archive.

Now the task is to find land and to build a small community of financially independent people (but not necessarily rich) who would like to primarily live in Bali (post-Covid-19).

My last post was hopeful in terms of finding land, but now that particular piece of property has been removed from consideration. On closer inspection the rock quarry may cause problems with mosquitos, as some of the ponds have stagnant water. I was promised that the sawing and removal of rocks will be completed within a year, but there’s no guarantee of that. While I did like the shape of the property, the view, and the price, there’s just too much risk that a peaceful life would be compromised. It’s also a bit too far away from tourist areas.

We are currently restricting our search to within 15-20 minutes of Canggu, but still in the Tabanan Regency. This will mean that land prices will be higher, but access to restaurants and bulé (foreigner) activities will be more convenient.

In the meantime the rest of this email will provide you with a potentially interesting distraction and some architectural food for thought, as we came across an eco resort that opened in May (talk about bad timing). We had lunch and took some photos:

I’m not sure what to call this style of architecture. Perhaps bamboo eco chic? This photo is of the main building, which has 3 rooms plus an open bar.

This custom couch is perfectly situated next to the pool. As a guest I could really fall for this style, but as a builder I cringe when I think about the wear and tear from the rainy seasons. Even though the bamboo is chemically treated, my guess is that these structures may cause more headaches than they’re worth.

A perched yoga space overlooks a very small waterfall (not shown).

If yoga doesn’t chill you out enough there’s always this spa treehouse.

Interior view of the main building. I like the color striations in the rough concrete walls. Looks geologic.

The effort to make a resort with sweeping organic shapes and materials is highly commendable. I would be tempted to build a single space, perhaps an outdoor bamboo lounge next to a pool, so that its curvy structure offsets the more modern lines one gets from either concrete or steel buildings (that are more maintenance-friendly).

Thoughts?

Later,

Neill