Bali Dreams II

Breaking from the holiday mode, the intrepid travellers, now joined by another adventurous pair, the only difference being they are still in the child-raring phase, decided to check out the Bali real estate market - villa viewing! Encouraged by the drastic drop in real estate everywhere, this fact had to be verified by this team. Imagine waking up every morning to this organic view beside padi fields in a quiet part of Bali. . . . and this facing you in your king-sized four poster bed in the en suite master bedroom.

Escape Villa complex surrounded by padi fields and blue skies.

A last longing look at the environs of this dream villa.
The next few properties had something missing; either great bedroom views but bad structural design or bad views and even worse construction quality. Even with a soft property market the prices were not inviting.

Moving on, we are told that this house belongs to an 80's pop star who is in the red! The house is rustic with a lived-in feel sitting on a generous-sized land area . . .
. . . surrounded by padi fields. What is most impressive is the high level of maintenance that is evident in the better villas. Luscious well-groomed garden, Balinese veranda and open-air bathroom.

Just Googling 'Bali villas for sale' you get 13,800,000 hits and our agent, Ian (resident in Bali since 1997) from the UK tells us that there are 64 real estate agents in Bali fighting over the same turf.

Finally the creme de la creme of super villas - Layar, or so goes the marketing blurb. The interior design of clean lines and woody finish are contemporary and impeccable in taste. The variety of outdoor bathrooms have been a feast for the eyes - all Conde Nast stuff.

The journey ends with thoughts of a second visit to view more villas in the near future. Major issues to consider in buying property in Bali or anywhere in Indonesia is that the property would have to be bought under the name of an Indonesian nominee (whatever that means?). The agents flick this off when questioned as 'its normal', 'done all the time by expat buyers' and the 'lawyers know what to do'. The later statement itself is enough for the more discerning Asian buyer to view this some amount of apprehension.

All said and done, the fun was in the chase . . .