Despite my many visits to Bali, in the "Sturm und Drang" of renovating the bathroom at "Riverbend", I had totally forgotten how beautifully functional and simple a Bali bathroom can be: slate-covered walls which, with their natural unevenness, any fool can do himself, with just the odd piece of slate positioned horizontally to serve as a "shelf" for the soap and the odd flowerpot; a concreted shower run-off covered in smooth river pebbles, with a few concrete squares below the showerhead to stand on; and a perspex-covered roof to let the sunshine in.
Instead, I bought expensive tiles, engaged an even more expensive tiler, spent a small fortune on a freestanding glass-screen for the shower, even more on a spa bath and vanity unit, and all up parted with $25,000 to finish up with a bathroom which has none of the 'natural' feel of a Bali bathroom.
Perhaps next time I bring back this toilet roll holder for "Riverbend" 's toilet.
