Living in a royal palace

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Most of the places we've rented during the last weeks have been small, often quite primitive cottages, but these days - just by coincidence - we've actually come from rags to riches.

We're staying at the palace in Sanur, where the former royal family, the Karangasems of East Bali, are now having their residence.
 
The last of the Raja Karangasem

Like the other eight royal Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms on Bali, the Karangasem was incorporated into the Indonesian state in 1950 and the descendants of the Karangasem are now getting a living out of running a hotel, Puri Maharani, on the property of one of their old mansions.




We are surrounded by beautiful rooms with chiseled golden doors and Venetian glass chandeliers and a park filled with beautiful orchids, where the 3-year-old crown prince is biking around on the garden paths on his tricycle, monitored by a devoted nanny.



We spent the first few days, just sitting in the royal park, reading or writing, but during one of my runs, I discovered a large area of rice paddies, with cozy warungs and bars, hidden away on the other side of the endless rows of traffic.

This has now become one of our daily routines - taking strolls on the paths along the paddies, being greeted by the farmers, and - on weekends (where we've allowed ourselves a splash), having a drink in one of the small outdoor bars before we return to the palace!

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