Progress of sorts

This is a view down a gang (alley), very close to home. In fact, that’s our house on the right of the picture, with the dark grey wall. We never see most of this unless we go looking, because with houses in Bali generally everything faces in one direction. So this is just a high (for security) back wall, no windows, no access.

 

But when we got to Bali, this part looked quite different. All the of the land you can see in the photo was sawah (rice fields).

 

The owners let the fields dry out last year, and then built the paving on the left, creating a new gang. And then, for a long time, nothing. After a while I was sure I could hear some odd noises through the wall of my office, and that turned out to be these cows.

 

And then, over Christmas, while we were away, construction was started. I’d heard (again) noises before we left, but didn’t realise what was happening. By the time we returned, we could see the top of this construction from our kitchen.

 

It’s a villa, like ours, but two floors, and further down the gang they have a parking area and a small pool. Or at least they will eventually. It’s likely a rental property, and the first of maybe four or five that would snake their way back up to the street eventually.

 

Construction is concrete block which is eventually plastered over outside and in, which is what’s happening at the top of the wall just now. Scaffolding is bamboo, construction is very hands-on. Safety standards are… well, I’m not sure there are any.

 

The place will likely look very nice once they finish, though it might be hard to tell at this point.

Done