A few days ago on a trip to Bali I went for a walk with a friend through the rice paddies near Sebatu. 2./3 of the way through our circuit we came across 2 new roofs (traditional style terra cotta like material) We peeked in and saw that the new owners were there doing some finishing touches to one of the new villas. My friend chatted to them in Indonesian and it turned out the male of the partnership had studied at Monash Uni . My friend told me later that he didn’t think that they had built the villas to live there but to rent out. Both buildings were the same - quite small with a walled courtyard and a deep plunge pool each. Outside the wall was …..wall- to- wall rice paddies. I couldn’t understand the attraction of a holiday in a hot rice paddy.
It reminded me of a recent episode of ABC’s Foreign Correspondent which raised the issue of agricultural land in Bali being sold or decommissioned to make way for tourist accommodation.
I could see that in this particular place the first 3 or 4 sets of villas might benefit but subsequent developments would be decreasingly attractive as they accumulated, wiping out the rice paddies. If overbuilding occurs near a natural attraction eg. the sea at least the sea remains but what’s left after the race paddies are built over? A suburb ripe for a large supermarket?
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