The rain was falling rather heavily. My shirt, drenched in the merciless cold weather with the wind blowing from all different directions. I was feeling lost, feeling helpless. I've been walking aimlessly in a rather empty street of an area in Bali. It was night time, and the surrounding was dark and eery, with the sounds of the howling dogs, and the mysterious cheeping of the owls heard in the distance.
I have to admit - I was lost.
I took a motorcycle ride with an "ojeg" or also known as motorcycle "taxi". I met up with one whom I then go with to explore some parts of this area in Bali. I told him to drop me off at this place, which I thought I could go and find my way back. But well, I couldn't.
When I thought that all hopes are lost. I suddenly heard a man, shouting from the distance.
(All dialogues are in Indonesian)
"Hey! Young man! Come here"
As I turned back, I saw this middle-aged man, walking briskly towards me as he tried to open an umbrella. Seeing this, I heaved a sigh of relief and ran towards him as well. Somehow somewhat, the feeling of suspicion and threats were missing, even though whom I was meeting, whom I was running towards to was a total stranger to me.
"Why are you walking in the rain? It's 9 P.M, my goodness!"
"Do you know the way back to Denpasar? Are there taxis here? Or Ojegs?" I asked, hoping for a positive answer.
"You won't be able to find Ojegs here at these times, let alone taxis"
My heart sank, to hide my disappointment, I took off my eye contact with him and looked around.
"Look, my house is nearby. I saw you walking in the rain for the past 30 minutes. And I've decided to follow you, with this umbrella"
My eyes widened, my heart, speechless.
"Listen, trust me, you'll need a place to stay for the night. And there's no hotels nearby either. This is a village area, not for tourists!"
"If you don't mind, can I stay in for tonight then?" I asked, with joy arising from my heart.
The man grabbed my arm to signal that we have to start walking. I walked with him under the umbrella on that rainy night. But I came to a realisation. A weird and wonderful realisation. How did he know that I am an Indonesian? And how kind of him to actually follow me to see where I was going. I was thinking about this as we were walking towards his home.
We walked for about 700 metres when we arrived at this house. It was a wooden house, with walls made out of weaved bamboo screens. It was stilted as well. A typical, traditional village house. I was not shocked, in fact, I am expecting this. When we entered the house, it gave me this warm and homy feeling. Despite the fact that it's made out of wood, and not bricks.
We both sat on the floor of the living room. Drinking a hot cup of sweet tea he made. It was then I learnt his name, and his occupation. His name is Mr Ketut. Even though he insisted me just to call him Udjang. It's weird to call him by that name, for it's not a typical Balinese name. I also learnt that he's a caretaker of a paddy field. That's the reason to why he's alone in this house.
We were chatting for a while and I decided to take a bath. It was nice of Udjang to boil me a kettle of hot water to mix it with some water to make it warm. Just for me. He even gave me a singlet and a pair of pants. It was his, and he lent it to me for he knew that my shirts and all are drenched, and that I have no extra left.
After the comforting bath, we continued chatting through the night. Exchanging informations, exchanging stories, introducing who we are, until my fatigue could not take it anymore. I fell asleep on that cold night, as I wore that thin singlet. But in one way or another, the warmth Mr Ketut gave me, and his hospitality, kept me warm through the night.
The morning sunshine crept on my face. Its warmth, waking me up from that deep slumber. In front of me laid two hard boiled eggs and a cup of coffee. I knew Mr Ketut made these for me. I took my breakfast, and wondered where he was. As I opened the front door of my house.
I was looking at one of the most beautiful sights I've seen in my life. The blue sky, with the golden sun painting the eastern horizon with streaks of gold and orange. A hill overlooking this wide paddy field. The chirping birds, and the loud sounds of the rooster. It was like having all my senses in paradise. The smell, the sound, the sight, the taste and the touch.
I saw Mr Ketut on the field, a few metres away from the house with a 3 other men. I've decided to help him, even though he was refusing constantly. I took a hoe and started ploughing the field. He came to me and asked me to stop. He wanted to take the hoe off me to prevent me from working. and I stopped him:
"Let me repay your kindness last night, please!"
He looked at me and smile, and then taught me the right way to plough. And he instructed me of what to do as well. It was just so rewarding to work at this field, under the blue sky, surrounded with the wonderful sceneries. Time flew quickly, it was already early afternoon. I was ploughing some of the field when Mr Ketut called me from the distance.
He was standing on an unploughed plot along with 5 more farmers. Suddenly, one of them charged at me, pushing me down the muddy plot. He turned my body, so that I was facing the mud. And shouted in victory, like as if he had won a wrestling match. Everyone around him clapped, and cheered as they looked at me, which I then looked back, feeling lost.
Mr Ketut finally explained. We were playing a wrestling game. It's also known as gulat in Indonesian. Not only we'll be having fun, but we were also helping to plough that plot of field. The objective is easy - to just pin your opponent on the ground, as long as he stopped moving - a submission as some know it.
We were all having fun wrestling with each other, taking turns to just wrestle with one another. It was funny in a sense that everyone could just charge at you and tried to pin you down. Even though I only managed to pin 2 times, and got pinned myself for more than 10 times, it was a great fun I had with them. We washed our body then, and had a great lunch in the middle of the field. I looked at the sky. And tell myself - today was such, a beautiful day.
In the late afternoon, Mr Ketut borrowed a motorcycle from one of the farmers and decided to drive me to Denpansar. I told him my hotel's address, and he sent me there. Before we left, I wanted to return him his singlet and pants. But he took it, and placed it back on my hand.
"Let this be a memoir of your holiday here in Bali" He smiled, as he pushed his singlet and pants towards me.
I couldn't help myself but to cry and hug Mr Ketut. I was just touched by his kindness, hospitality and warmth. Not forgetting the other farmers as well. I bid farewell to him as he drove off the road.
And as the sun was setting on the western horizon of the beach. I made myself a promise. That I will one day go back to Bali and meet up with Mr Ketut once more. Wearing the singlet and pants he gave to me, to relive the best holiday in Bali I've ever had.
The End
PS: The characters, names of objects, events, descriptions of places are all FICTIONAL. They are not real and are all made up by me. Well I wish I can experience such an awesome holiday though. Who knows, right?
