I moved to Bali in the middle of the pandemic after a long Melbourne lockdown. The week I arrived, Indonesia also went into lockdown — but of a different variety, the kind that left my family and me free to explore the de-touristed island paradise mostly unhindered.
Our landing pad was a villa, of Pererenan, a southern-coast neighbourhood that, unlike its busy neighbour Canggu, had all the characteristics of authentic village life. Incense smoke filled the air, shrines were covered with daily blessings, the traditional ceremonial dress was commonly seen. At our villa, a built in the traditional Javanese style, we grew vegetables and made a bamboo chicken coop.