Sidemen, Bali

As I drove away from the northern coast of Bali, I said my goodbyes to the vibrant, crystal waves and couldn’t help but feel a bit melancholy to be going inland. Being by the water is the most settled I feel, complete flow and no resistance. I reminded myself to take with me the lesson the waves had to teach of non attachment. 

Each mile further inland, I watched the shades of green explode in every direction as the flora got larger and denser. An hour and a half through mountains and along rice fields before arriving at Griya Valud in Sidemen. 

I was speechless as we pulled up. In front of me was a small check in desk next to a small restaurant. Stone paths led the way past the handful of tables and wrapped around a large square pond in the center of the property with a Ganesha statue at its head. The garden was grand and lush with different plants and flowers and just overhanging the pond on one side was a small, raised hut covered by mosquito netting with cushions inside. A short walk past that was room No. 1, where I was to stay. The villa was raised and had a wide koi pond that wrapped around it. Up a few steps and I was on my front porch, a small, square dining table to my right and two cushioned chairs and a coffee table to my left. Behind large, glass, sliding doors, I could see my bed, dressed beautifully and draped from the top of the dark wood bed frame with soft linen. Another small dining table to my right, dressers to my left, and two benches, one at the foot of the bed and one to the left under the window. To the right of the bed was the bathroom with a beautiful vanity, large bathtub, and a stone walled shower with half of the ceiling gone so sunlight and a soft breeze could stream in. 

This place was beyond words—really it took me so long to try to sum it up in even those words and I left out so many fine details. I was brought hot tea as I settled into my new home for the next three days. 

After unpacking what I needed, I walked to the restaurant and ate delicious food while I stared out at the jungle just beyond my table. 

The young boy, Gung De, that worked the desk offered to show me around and I didnt hesitate taking him up on that. I had read about Sidemen and knew it was well trafficked by travelers but I also knew it was a fairly small villiage and getting shown around by a local was exactly what my internal map needed. 

He took me to the river just a couple minutes walk from the villa and I was so happy to see so many people in the water. I had seen the river on the map and hoped it was swimmable but I was not about to jump in uninvited and be the one tourist leaping about the town river that no one went in for a number of reasons the locals knew of but I did not. Gung De told me everyone used the river to bathe and since it was around 5:30pm and the rice workers were just finishing up, this was the time to wash up. Naked locals glanced up at me questioningly but quickly went back to the business of washing themselves and all their clothes. We took the path along the water for a while before turning around to walk to the rice fields. 

It was just about sunset when we started trekking through the small, narrow paths that weave through the fields. A few women still worked and smiled at us. No one seemed bothered to see me but their smiles did evidently read “you stand out”, it was very clear I was one of the only travelers in Sidemen at this point in the low season. The rice fields climbed up and down in every direction like grassy steps and the mountain crevices illuminated pink and orange as the sun disappeared behind the trees. My first sunset on Sidemen settled anything in me that was afraid I wouldn’t find the same calm here as I did by the waves. 

That night I ordered hot tea and fried bananas to my villa as I ran a bath. I slept perfectly in my very large and very cushy bed and woke up the next morning with soft, easy light peaking through the mosquito covers. 

I had a long, satisfying practice on my front porch and breakfast delivered as I finished. Banana pancakes with jam (and a random side of french fries??) and a plate of fresh fruit.

I left the room in search of a river adventure and didn’t think much of it as it started spitting rain. The staff even tried to send me with an umbrella but I refused. I was going to play in a river, I certainly didn’t need any shelter to keep me dry! Well they knew much better than I. As I started trekking through the water, climbing around the big boulders and having a grand play time, it started raining harder. And harder. And harder until it was coming sideways at me. I was already drenched and decided not to fight it. Maybe I needed to be cleansed of something and mama nature knew it! 

I kept trudging along, making my own path through the water until I had gone very far and lost sight of the path. I kept going, hoping to see it reappear but no such luck. Now I was completely soaked, head to toe and my backpack was dripping. It’s only things, they will dry. I kept hiking until I decided I wanted more stable ground to walk on and looked for the path that was no where to be found. I climbed up the side of the riverbed and found myself in the middle of the jungle and what I think was someone’s property. I climbed over their fence, assuming I’d find a road from their house but no such luck. I had to keep dragging myself through thick bush, hyper aware of every spider web I saw, most of which had the alarmingly large and vibrantly colored spiders still at home. Eventually I found the stone path I recognized and the rain started to settle only a few moments later. I felt oddly victorious. 

I arrived back at the villa to change my clothes and watched as the sun burst from behind the clouds and every inkling of a storm ceased to be. I grabbed one of the scooters to find food in town and sat down on a balcony overlooking the fields and mountains after taking a short and sunny ride up the hill. 

The days here have been easy. My last night ended with another sunset on the rice fields, this time alone with my breath. Then another hot bath— this time sprinkled with flowers I found along my day’s travels— a plate of fried bananas and a cup of ginger tea. Lights off, phone far away, feeling the breeze blow in from my open ceiling shower. 

These nights alone have been so much for my heart. Nights are always hardest traveling, I think. After a good meal and a drink, I’m usually back at my room between 9 and 10 which sometimes feels very late if I was doing a lot that day but sometimes feels very early and quiet. I’m not one to go out to drink on my own when traveling and returning back to the empty home stay can make the hours feel long and silent. The months before this trip I had gotten very in the rhythm of spending my evenings with my other half and feeling his body wrapped around mine as I fell asleep. This month hasn’t only been the longest I’ve gone without seeing him in the past six but the longest I’ve gone sleeping alone since we met. I miss his warmth and his easy breath next to mine but have found a different sense of strength in finding my own comfort in sleep again. (Though still counting down the days when I get to settle into his familiar frame!)

Sidemen has kept in the rhythm of the grounding I began on Gili Air. Tending to my body each morning with a long practice, actually opening the book I intended to finish on this trip, and easy nights comforted by my own company.

 I needed this place before I headed to Ubud, the hub of Bali.

with ease,

sarah