August 21, 2007

HOME TRUTHS: Take It Home: Bali, Indonesia

In Category: Travel

A lighted pathway on the Desa Seni property.
By protecting traditional indigenous assets, the intimate Desa Seni resort offers travelers a unique experience.

WISH YOU WERE HERE Ten variously sized antique Indonesian houses form the guest quarters, which are nestled amid rice fields and meticulous floral, vegetable, and grass gardens connected by weathered railroad tie– and grinding stone–pathways. Strategically placed artifacts (among them, old mortars and pestles; troughs holding water and floating blossoms; lanterns made from chicken baskets; bits of worn plows; and maritime ornaments) are scattered throughout the grounds and hook the eye with timeworn surfaces that bear testimony to long and interesting histories.

LOVE THESE LOOKS No two of the antique houses are alike. The rare and priceless Indonesian houses that Desa Seni comprises were dismantled, shipped to the site, and reassembled on stilts after owners Tom Talucci and Howard Klein mapped out their locations. Afterwards, the stilts were camouflaged by crafty stonework. Only minor modifications were made—to permit the insertion of glass windows and doors.
Inside, Indonesian furnishings from different eras—some clearly reflecting the influence of the Dutch colonists who once ruled this country—combine with the repurposed artifacts to flesh out the decor. Brightly colored accent walls; batik fabric wall panels and lively wallpapers; touches of vivid contemporary upholstery fabric; framed children's art; and the light-toned woods and worn paint layers of the main pieces keep the aged environments from looking dark or heavy. Sleek showerheads and faucets along with modern toilet fixtures, large tile showers, and miniduct air conditioners provide the amenities Western travelers appreciate. Old boat mastheads, tobacco-cutting seats, and carvings from puppet theaters have been enlisted as sculpture. Metal donkey blinders, ceramic ceremonial Hindu vessels, wooden betel-nut (Indonesian snuff) boxes, and huge rice-storage bins carved from single chunks of wood are among the unique items that serve as decorative accessories. My little house (#5) sports a mix of furnishings drawn from different Asian cultures and, in the bath, natural materials reign—round stones encased in a rusting metal grid form a low wall and a single slab of water-resistant wood shapes the sink.

TREAT YOURSELF TO one of the bodywork offerings the facility offers. I follow a path of small boulders to the Spa House where, over the next hours, a skilled masseur works out my travel kinks. Upon exiting the thatched-roof hut, I’m greeted by an attendant carrying a wooden tray laden with blossoms and a complimentary pot of ginger tea. We walk to my house and, cup in hand, I settle into a vibrant turquoise settee on my front porch and read the local paper to the gentle “tune” of a mechanical polisher buffing the floor of the nearby open-air yoga studio.
The morning of my second of seven days in Bali, I seek out a Yoga class—and though my body protests, I find the promised grounding and clarity through the poses and meditation. The teacher, Iabelle, who is substituting for a third owner, Kate Rourke, is excellent and patient. I while away the rest of the day ogling other houses on the property and walking along the beach with my yoga classmates. The sands teem with tourists and colorfully clad local residents attending a Hindu religious ceremony.

BE INSPIRED BY the sounds, which are as unexpected and arresting as the sight lines. My first morning at Desa Seni, I awake to a symphony of rustling grasses and palms, beach breezes (it’s only a 10-minute walk to the shores of the Indian Ocean), exotic birdsong, and swishing straw brooms.

CREDIT owners and creators Talucci and Klein. They rented the land from local rice farmers for 25 years with the caveat that they shape their facility without disrupting the flow of water to the surrounding fields. The pair not only kept it flowing but managed to do so in an aesthetically pleasing way—little bamboo bridges cross over the meandering stone– and water lily–lined streambeds in several spots.

LEARN MORE desaseni.com

READ MORE about local side trips and the cuisine in my next blog.— Room Whisperer