Stranger in Paradise

The Best of Stranger in Paradise 1996-2008 by Made Wijaya
by Bill Dalton

Michael White first visited Bali in 1973 with the intention of taking only a short sabbatical from his architectural studies at the University of Sydney. Then destiny intervened. Smitten by the island's extravagantly rich pageantry and culture, he soon moved in with a Brahman family in the laid back fishing village of Sanur. Shortly thereafter, he assumed the Balinese name for first-born son, Made Wijaya.

Then in 1980 Made had the stupefying good luck of being invited to revamp the gardens for the Bali Hyatt Hotel in Sanur and the Bali Oberoi in Seminyak. In what was to become his day job for the next two decades, these initial assignments ultimately led to a long and illustrious career as a landscape architect with more than 800 gardens all over the world to his credit. (...)

The quality of his writing and his genius for self-promotion has made his encore career as successful as his first, carrying with it perhaps even more social impact. Indeed, it can be said that the famous landscapist has gained an even wider reputation for his perennial column “Stranger in Paradise: The Diary of an Expatriate” than he has artfully moving rocks and dirt around.

The Best of Stranger in Paradise 1996-2008, Made Wijaya, edited by Rachel Greaves, Wijaya Words 2008, ISBN 978-979-95003-1-1, softcover, 373 pages, art direction by Agus Setiawan, illustrations by Dewa Juane and Komang Wiramajaya., glossary, index.

Available via wwords@indosat.net.id."