The first time Kenric walked the Jalan Subak Sok Wayah trail on March 15th, he saw a local helping two tourists who had fallen off their scooter and into a rice field. The local was helping them find their shoes and sunglasses in the mud. Kenric heard the local tell the German tourists in English that the family who owns the paddy field will be quite upset when they see the damage. The tourists told him to tell the family that they’re sorry.

In situations like this, Kenric and I believe the right thing to do is to ask how they can compensate for the damage. While it may just be a small patch of rice plants that were damaged, it will still have a detrimental financial impact on small farmers who need every inch of their land to be productive. Kenric chatted with the local who happened to own an art store about 30 feet away from where the accident was.

A Customer Sends Paint From The Netherlands

When Kenric brought me on that trail three days later, we stopped by the art store. The artist didn’t recognize Kenric until we mentioned the accident. The paintings are beautiful and are either done by him or family members. We couldn’t buy anything from him because we can’t carry it, and we don’t have a place to hang it. He said he used to sell his paintings through a gallery in town, and that they would cost three times as much, but the biggest cut went to the gallery owner. He decided to open his own store here about two years ago. His wife told me that a customer from the Netherlands sends him paint periodically. Nyoman and his wife spoke to me in Bahasa Indonesia, but only he could manage to speak to Kenric in English.

We really wanted to support his business so we decided to look for something for Mother’s Day, but couldn’t find anything suitable for Kenric’s Mom. We really like his technique of painting paddy fields. One thing led to another, and Kenric was ready to purchase, but the one he wanted was already sold. We were ready to leave when I noticed the one he was working on. I asked him how long it would take him to finish such a painting. He said, one that size, takes about two weeks. I asked if that one was already spoken for. He said no. Then, he started asking how long we’ll be staying in Ubud. He was sure he could finish the painting by the time we return to Ubud after a week in Seminyak. He described his plan for the mountain, the river and how there would be an “upacara” (ceremony) at the temple. We asked, “Just like in preparation for Nyepi?” “Yes.”

Sold!

Sold! To the gentleman, who doesn’t even have a wall, for one million Rupiah (about USD $73). His wife was visibly happy. I felt bad that something that takes him two weeks will only fetch him about USD $73. Since I didn’t want his or Kenric’s head to explode by asking him to raise the price, we simply agreed to one million immediately. He told me when he first started doing pre-sale, some customers never came back to pick up their paintings. Understanding that he was hinting about a deposit, we gave him 500,000 Rupiah.

Very apologetically, he asked to take a photo of Kenric because he couldn’t recognize all the tourists’ faces. He didn’t have to take a photo of me, but we took photos of them for keepsake. I joked that it was to prevent Kenric from going to the wrong store. They thought I was serious. He gave us his business card “I Nyoman Warta”. We agreed to pick the painting up on March 30 (today). At the end of the trail, we stopped to eat at Warong Pengkolan (Corner Stall).

She Didn’t Recognize Us

After that, we walked back to the hotel using Jalan Suweta, a main road in town. I saw his wife approaching on a moped and waved excitedly. She smiled and passed us by. About fifteen minutes down the road, as I was taking pictures, who else but his wife came running out from the back of the house. We happened to have stopped at their house. She told me she just couldn’t figure out where she met us when she passed us by on her moped. No wonder they had to take pictures of their pick-up customers! Should have taken one of me too. We told her we ate at Warong Pengkolan. She said that’s owned by her relatives. She offered twice to give me a ride back to our hotel.

Today, Nyoman was very happy to see us. He said, “Saya sudah tunggu dari tadi” (I’ve been waiting). As he was about to get our painting, a local guide and a family of three stopped by. We assured him we’re totally fine with waiting. The lady wanted to pay 400,000 Rupiah for a painting with an opening price of one million. They finally settled on 650,000. He removed the staples from the frame, and rolled up the painting. We chatted with the guide and the family. The lady was excited to bring her zen painting back to the U.K.

Every Day is a Celebration in Bali

We really like our painting. The colors are vibrant, and the upacara is something that we can relate to after seeing the Nyepi-related ceremonies. I encouraged Nyoman to put his work online, and to offer shipping services. He said he lost his Facebook password, but asked for our Facebook account names so that he could look us up when he has access in the future. He invited us to return on May 30th for Hari Raya Galungan, the second-most important Balinese holiday after Nyepi. “Every day is a celebration in Bali”, he said. We stayed for about an hour. His wife was at the temple because tomorrow is a, yep, Balinese holiday, and there will be upacara at the temple.

Just as we were leaving, his wife arrived. We were really happy we got to see her again. They asked about our travel plans. Nyoman was very surprised that I’ve been with Kenric for almost twelve years, and that we were together the entire time. He probably thought I was Kenric’s Asian concubine that he only visits when he comes to Asia on a “business trip”. Nyoman’s wife asked him to take a photo of the three of us with his phone. Shortly after that, the phone rang. We said our quick goodbyes, but not without promising that we’ll visit when we come back to Bali.

Map of Places Visited