Three km south of Selat amid bamboo, coffee, and clove trees sits Iseh, a serene mountain village of rice, sweet potatoes, and onions. Approached on a beautiful untrafficked back road from Klungkung, with panoramas of 'sawah' and hilltop temples.

In 1963, Anna Mathews lived beneath Gunung Agung as the volcano erupted, vividly capturing the terrifying experience in her powerful The Night of the Purnama. Walter Spies, seeking release from his life of notoriety in Campuan, bought an Iseh mountain hut in 1932.

In this land of deep ravines, tier after tier of luminous rice fields, and incomparable views of the navel of the world, Spies created some of his most haunting paintings: Sawahlandschaft mit G. Agung ('View across the Sawah to G. Agung,' 1937) and Iseh im Morgenlicht ('Iseh in Morning Light,' 1938).

After Spies died in 1942, the Swiss painter Theo Meier later lived in the same house. Now the house and the cabins behind it belong to the family that owns Homestay Sideman. You can rent the cabins and occasionally the house itself.