Our apartment in Bali Indonesia is rather large in comparison to the many kosts that are scattered about our neighborhood, consisting of a few different buildings, and rooms that span a range of floor plans and pricing. A kost, as I only just learned when I first came to Bali, is similar to a motel or a hostel, but with a big emphasis on monthly rates more so that nightly rates, and can be a great way to afford an extended period of time to stay here, rather than paying nightly room rate in one of the numerous tourist friendly hotels that are all around the island. Essentially, a high quality hotel located in the tourist hot spots can easily cost you the same price for just one night as it would cost you to stay an entire month in a kost.
Bear in mind however, that you do indeed get what you pay for. The first couple of nights that I spent in Bali was in a kost, and I can tell you that it was not for the feeble minded or the germaphobe. Do not even expect anything close to even a low quality motel by western world standards. I say this, not as a complaint, and I want to be clear about that, because I didn’t come to Bali to splurge and live a complete vacation during my time here. I came to Bali to live here for whatever amount of time that my little bit of savings would allow for, and also to live with and live as the local people do, as I am also here to take care of, and protect and care for Mama and her two wonderful girls.
After those first couple of nights that I spent here in Bali, I learned quickly that there was one option, and for nearly the same price, as in, just a little bit more, that was a step above a kost, albeit a small step, in the form of an apartment, or “apartemen” as they say in Indonesian. The cost of the kost (haha, say that a few times,) was two million rupiah per month, which is an absolute bargain (at about 150 United States dollars) to put a roof over your head and have a bed to sleep in and a shower to use, for that long a stretch of time, and it was a single room with the basics that I mentioned above, yet also with a sink, albeit old and very dirty, a television with a few channels (which didn’t even matter to me, as I don’t watch TV anymore, nor do I believe one single word of mainstream news,) and quite possibly the most difficult thing that I’ve ever tried to live without in a place so hot and humid as Bali, an air conditioner. Although the catch when it comes to the air conditioner, which you should be mindful of if you intend to come and stay here for extended period of time, is that you can easily run up an electric bill of up to a half million rupiah if you run it everyday. The apartment that I looked at after a couple of nights at the kost, was only a small improvement. The room was about the same size, but this one had its bed and storage closet upstairs, and mini fridge, sink and bathroom on the lower floor, with a very short and and narrow stairway to get up and down. The bathroom was a bit more clean, yet the sink was still rather old and dirty. It also had a little space out back, just big enough for Mama to hang up her washed clothes to dry and also where I set her up with a single burner, gas stove with propane tank along with her cooking supplies on a little table with a door and storage underneath for her ingredients. This apartment happen to be available on the third floor, which allows a nice view of the sun setting in the evenings that can be seen from the hallway right outside of the front door. For two and a half million rupiah, versus the two million rupiah at the kost, it was pretty well a toss up.
That is when they showed me the rooftop pool, and the free, unlimited access to it only for the residents of the apartment. I was sold at that point. It wasn’t merely the pool itself that grabbed me, which is a standard pool with nothing terribly special about it and not quite as deep as I had hoped, but it was where the pool was, in a place where you can be in (or out) of the water as you watch the beautiful Bali sky at sunset. About five out of seven days in a week, Mama, myself and the two girls, grab a towel, some 50 SPF sunblock, and our water resistant, pretty ass kickin’, little blutooth speaker, and conclude the first half of our day with a refreshing swim and a beautiful gaze at the sunset sky, with just the right mix of classic rock and a few eighties tunes to compliment the moment. Here is a short video I put together to show you the rooftop swimming pool.
After a couple of months living in Bali already, we’ve managed to make slow but meaningful improvements to the apartment, and as well to our cost related efficiency to living here in Bali. I am still in the learning process, each and everyday that I am fortunate enough to stay here, before my savings runs out and I’m forced to go back to the United States and work again, but I believe that our entire lives, no matter how intelligent we are, or how much knowledge and wisdom we’ve gained as the years pass, we are always waking up each morning with yet another opportunity to learn even more, and that hold especially true if you are fortunate to see, live in, and experience a completely different part of the world.
If your reading this blog, or any of my blogs with “Bali” in the title, then I would imagine that either you plan to come here at some point, or you’re already here and seeking out information about the experiences of others that have come here, or are still here, or maybe you’ve been here already, and are simply curious as to other people’s experiences in this part of the world. I hope that the information that I provide when I can, is helpful in some way, and so a like or an up vote on these blogs or videos would be greatly appreciated, and as always, I am always interested to hear your comments.