No matter who you ask, every story about Canggu starts with the rice paddies. There’s just something about shimmering sun-soaked fields and two-thousand-year-old agrarian toil that seems to captivate the Western imagination. And it’s not just barefoot backpackers and Morning of the Earth fans either. 

In a Youtube video touting Bali’s ‘hidden investment gems’ a smug property developer explains, without a whiff of irony, how much he loves his own plot, situated in a quiet part of Canggu, because it still has “green paddies” around it. Moments later, he unveils his plans to build a 5000 square metre complex nearby, complete with 200 flats, 2 coworking spaces, a rooftop swimming pool, restaurants, bars, a golf simulator, a gym and a yoga/meditation centre. 

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