Who would not be happy in a place like Cangkrim?

Who would not be happy in a place like Cangkrim?

In Sept. 1997, 56-year-old German Karin Klenke chose Buitan, Manggis, Karangasem, Bali as her new home, renting three bungalows in today's largely deserted Cangkrim resort. For almost five years now, she has been married to Balinese man I Wayan Sunarta, who is 26 years her junior. In her treasured garden she talked to The Jakarta Post's Mario Koch.

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting, but that's something one must be able to deal with here," Klenke excused herself, taking a seat on the veranda.

She had just finished searching for her new sandals, only to find them half-eaten by puppy Muki. Before that, a blackout compromised the water supply, leaving her in the shower, covered in lather, as she waited for the pump to restart.

Still, even if the frequentness of the latter is a minor pain in the neck, her countenance emanates serenity. "Isn't this a beautiful place?" she asked.

Cangkrim, a resort offering bungalow accommodation, had been relatively busy until -- due to a series of land sales and resales -- it was no longer accessible by road. To reach it today, one either has to pass over waste land or the parking lot and garbage shed of a neighboring hotel.

The only sign pointing to the resort -- surely one of the few lost places in Bali -- is on the rocky beach. It is hard to imagine guests lugging their luggage over this terrain in order to find a place to stay.

Most of the year, it is only Klenke, Wayan and I Luh Sugantini, the 24-year-old Balinese caretaker and gardener of the resort who are there to meet guests.

"The few visitors to Cangkrim find it truly surreal. It is like on those meditation tapes they sell in Europe: Apart from the geckos, the only things you can hear are the waves and the wind chimes."

Klenke discovered this idyllic spot when she came to Bali the first time, around Christmas 1991. After which she visited at least once a year until finally deciding to turn her back on Rottach-Egern, southern Germany.

"It was after I had spent half a year here, from August 1996, with my youngest daughter Janine. She still went to school at that time. Every day we sat down together to go over some exercises so that she didn't miss anything.

"All my life I had been traveling a lot and visited many interesting places, but none like this. For me, Bali is paradise -- its pleasant climate and low cost of living -- everything green, tropical, exotic. It's like a dream."

In Sept. 1997 Klenke paid five years' rent in advance for three of Cangkrim's bungalows, had them renovated and, in April 1998, moved in.

'Long-haired beach boy'

She first met Wayan strolling along the beach with a friend. After talking for a while, they arranged to have dinner together with some other people the same night.

"My previous marriage back in Germany had ended in disappointment, so I was looking for anything but a man here. Furthermore, I was a very conservative person at that time. Falling in love with a long-haired Balinese beach boy in his early 20s seemed completely unthinkable.

"Still, we had a lot of fun that night. Especially when we got stuck on the beach on our way home in the `64 Japanese army jeep I was so proud to own then. Wayan always hated it as it had been to every single bengkel (garage) from Denpasar to Candidasa without ever being properly fixed."

One thing lead to another and just three weeks later, the two visited his family in Sumbawa. The conversation immediately turned to marriage.

"Wayan's father was already talking about the land we should be given when I first realized what was going on -- some months later we had built this beautiful house on our own 3,000 square meters of land in the middle of the jungle.

"When we wanted to spend our first night there, as it was just built, police and the banjar (village authorities) turned up to politely inform us that we couldn't do so until we were married. What choice did we have then?" Klenke said.

Before the wedding could take place, the Catholic Klenke had to become a Hindu. "When it was "a good day" eventually, we had the ceremony. I had to answer lots of questions and honestly I understood close to nothing until Wayan suddenly said:`Now you're a Hindu!'

"Things were similarly difficult with the wedding itself. I just made everything wrong. But as I am a Westerner the only repercussion was frequent laughter.

"For example, we had to feed each other. Wayan was supposed to have a boiled egg, whereas I only got dry krupuk (fish-flavored crackers). I was so hungry that I took a bite from his before passing it on to him -- a total no-go, but nobody resented it."

While the couple enjoy an excellent relationship with Wayan's big family, they knew from the beginning they would stay mostly in Buitan.

"We go to Sumbawa three times a year, for around two months in total. At least half of that time we're working to get everything straight again. I'm still totally German when it comes to esthetics and tidiness. Though, when we're not there, Wayan's family oversees the house and garden.

"We pay them a regular salary for that and we are also putting his younger brother through school. He has to get a good education, because he will be the one to care for his parents later. Traditionally that is the task of the oldest son, but as this is Wayan..."

'We like this life'

The two make a living through various means. Besides relying on savings, Klenke occasionally sells silver jewelry when visiting Germany, she takes German tourists from neighboring hotels on day trips around "her" island or acts as a translator when fellow nationals engage in some kind of business here.

Wayan switched from the fairly profitable business of selling freshwater pearls to study and earned a diploma in computer engineering. Today he is working as managing director of Balina Diving dive shop a few metres up the road from Cangkrim.

"Sometimes the beach boys tease him, asking why he still has to work although he is married to me -- `that old German woman'."

Klenke has just finished saying this as Wayan comes home, carrying fresh mackerel for dinner and joining her on the veranda. The two look happy together.

She continued: "We do not have any problems in our relationship due to the admittedly big age difference. We've been together for over six years now and we've not been apart for a single evening -- if it didn't have to be for some reason. But, of course, I think about what will happen in 10 years, me being 66 and Wayan only 40, still young and attractive ...

"Still, I feel other people seem to worry about it much more, actually more often Balinese people than Westerners. But I have to acknowledge that, in the beginning, my family in Germany couldn't entirely understand it either. It took my mother a while to accept him, but now she's always sending his favorite jelly babies."

Somehow, this must have been Wayan's cue: "We like this life. There's been no shadow (over us) up until now. We're happy!"

Why shouldn't one be in a place like Cangkrim?