We arrived back into Bali for the second time this year three nights ago. For this trip we have chosen the Padma, approximately 40 minutes drive north of Ubud.

The Padma, chosen after being highly recommended by a friend has lived up to expectations. From the misty outlook over dense tropical forest, to the steep, 1 kilometre walk down the winding paths to the tranquil, babbling creek that runs below, it’d be hard not to find this place, relaxing, impressive, memorable……

But as with our last trip to Bali earlier this year, it’s the people that impress me the most. The Balinese people are extremely family orientated, and proud to be so. The Balinese tradition is that at least one of the sons should marry and bring his bride into the family home. As the son’s parent’s grow old, it becomes the son and his family’s responsibility to care for them. No-one seems to resent this, in fact everyone I speak to seems to accept this as both an honour and a privilege.

What happens though to couples who aren’t fortunate enough to have sons – girls seem to accept, albeit sometimes with sadness, that they will move into their husband’s family home, even if it means leaving their parents without any offspring to care for them as they age. When this is the case I believe the responsibility of caring for any son-less couple as they age falls to the father’s brother’s family, (the daughter’s uncle).

Elta, who seems to be our main hostess tells me she married this year in February. Elta is the oldest of three girls and has no brothers. Apparently, there can be (but not always), a certain amount of social stigma should a newly married couple take up residence in the home of the wife’s parents, as apposed to the son’s parent’s home. Elta’s parents spoke with her during her teenage years suggesting that any prospective partners in the future be sounded out for their acceptance of moving into Elta’s family home. So that is just what Elta did. She told me that one of the happiest moments of her life was when her chosen partner indicated he had no reservations about this change to tradition. They’re now living happily in the back of her parents home in what’s called a Bale, which I think is a seperate abode on the same property. Her parents and her two younger sisters live in the main family home. It seems that both Elta and her parents hope the younger sisters will follow suit and also find partners that will happily live on the parents property. It sounds like there’ll be space found for them all either in the family abode, or by building a seperate bale on the same land.

I asked Elta about crime in Bali. Apparently there is not much of a crime rate here, however, like everywhere, Cyber-crime is on the rise. We ourselves fell victim to Cyber-crime twice just getting to Bali, the first time when we attempted to complete our Electronic Visa to enter Bali on line, and the second time when we attempted to do our Electronic Customs Declaration, also on line before entering the country. It wasn’t till we arrived into Denpasar airport that we became aware we had fallen victim to scammers. Fortunately though, when we return to Australia, I think we’ll be able to lodge a dispute with our bank, and I think we’ll get our money back. We’d like to lodge the dispute earlier, however to do so is likely to result in cancellation of current credit card, and that would leave us in a precarious financial situation for the rest of our holiday. So for now we’re just monitoring our account, and hoping we don’t see any unexpected money leave it.

During this conversation with Elta I was almost brought to tears as she related how she’d attempted to book a villa in Kuta for a few nights for herself and her husband following their wedding in February. Living in an inland village, they had been looking forward to a couple of nights by the seaside. However, they fell victim to scammers when booking their villa, and it seems that as they didn’t book through the safety of a travel agent, they have no recall. They lost their money, and so had no honeymoon away for a few nights at the seaside on their own. I gather they are now saving hard, hoping that one day before children arrive that they can treat themselves to a short holiday somewhere nice. I so hope she gets her wish.

I love getting to know the Balinese people. In Australia we ourselves are considered at best, comfortable financially, but by no means are we considered wealthy by Australian standards. Yet we can afford trips to Bali staying in luxury resorts, and we have travelled to many overseas countries. For most of the Balinese people, a few days holiday in a different location on their own island is the most their modest incomes can stretch to. Yet these people never fail to impress me with their genuine smiles, their happiness, and the pride they take in their jobs. By comparison, hospitality staff in Australia are often ashamed of their jobs, and their attitude when waiting on clients tables, or making up a hotel room bed can sometimes be resentful.

I often consider myself to be truly lucky to be living in Australia, but when holidaying in Bali, I wonder…… Are we really that lucky after all in Australia. Will I still feel lucky if I end up living the final years of my life, as many Australians do, in the lonely ward of some aged care facility. Will I be thinking in the final years of my life that it would have been nice to have been born into a financially poor, but family rich Balinese village. A holiday on this gorgeous Island certainly provides food for thought……