Eating, Praying and Loving in BALI

I'm back from am amazing trip to Bali. As I said before, it was always a place I wanted to go to, especially after reading Eat Pray Love. It is hard to describe in writing the kind of experience I had there, so I will just give kind of a broad overview for now (I am also time constrained as I am busy studying for finals...!)

I arrived Sunday night at about midnight, and as soon as I got off the plane, it was hot. Really really hot. I went through customs and all of that, got a Visa on Arrival, and then went off in search of a taxi. Walking through the airport gave me my first glimpse of what a lot of the week would be like. For the Balinese, tourists, and especially Westerners, are like walking ATM's, and they always want to sell you something. This started with many vendors, money changers & drivers yelling out to me as I walked along. I found the taxi booth that had been recommended (lonely planet was my bible for the week) and was off to Sanur. Although it was night out, it was so amazing driving through the villages. Every few miles there seemed to be a massive looming statue symbolizing a certain god, spirit or something else of importance to the Balinese. I got to my 'hotel' at about 1. I use quotes because it was actually a homestay, as most of accomidation in Bali is. This one was rather large, having about 20 rooms I believe, and the family lived there as well. In Bali, and throughout Indonesia, it is not just the nucleus family who lives together. All of the generations live together (no getting away from anyone), and the son stays in the family, and when he marries, his new wife moves into the family compound. The home was very big, and very carefully designed. It had a central court yard, as most due, with a few shrines, some caged wild birds and a temple. Every family has a temple, as well as each village.

Monday I woke up and was a bit anxious to start my day, not really knowing what to expect, or where to really go. I headed down to the beach (only a couple minutes walk) and it was beautiful. The water was so blue and the sand so white. Walking down the beachfront walk was quite the experience. There were endless amounts of vendors and every few seconds a woman would yell out "Massage? Manicure? Facial?" Since it was my first day, I gave into the urge and started out the day with a US$5 hour long massage on the beach. Heavenly. I then got majorly ripped off (I found out later of course) while buying two sarongs. They are beautiful, and definitely came in handy throughout the week. I bought a beach lounger for the day, and just relaxed all day, reading, and taking a break every once in a while to go for some fresh fruit, or a meal. The food in Bali was delicious. Very flavorful. I am looking forward to trying out some recipes when I get home!

Tuesday was relatively similar, since all I really wanted to do was relax. I've spent so many of my trips running around trying to fit in everything I wanted to see, so it was nice to just lay around and absorb everything.

Wednesday I went off to Kuta, the beach area where mainly all the tourists go. I walked around down the narrow streets which were full of shops, and then on to the beach where there were tons of surfers, both really good and really bad. I walked down to a nicer area of Legian, and then back to Kuta and at night headed back to Sanur.

Thursday morning I woke up early to take a shuttle to Ubud, the cultural capital of Bali, as well as where Elizabeth Gilbert stayed during the "Love" section of her book. I didn't have a place to stay, but once I found there I found a homestay which I had read about, and got a room there for the next three nights. That afternoon I went to the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. It was like the Legend of the Hidden Temple, full of monkeys. They were crazy. First of all, there were TONS of them and they loved to try to steal anything they could get their hands on. I was wearing a hat, which several actually managed to steal when they jumped on my head while I was trying to pose for a photo (never got that photo, but got the hat back from those little thieves!) They were having so much fun in a little pond, and I was reminded how human like they really are. I went down some very steep steps and came into a very cool temple area, surrounded with statues and moss and of course, more monkeys.

Friday I woke up very early and went off to trek the Rice Paddies. I met up with a guy on the street Wayan, who offered to give me a tour around. We walked through some rice paddies and then it was on to the lush lands that the luxury hotels overlook. Walking down was extremely dangerous, and I thought I was about to break something every second of it. We went through various "Do NOT go this way" signs, and managed to make it down to the Sayan River, which he proceeded to take off our shorts (and him his pants too) and cross. The whole time I was thinking about the parasites which could be climbing up into my body through my foot, but I made it across, hopefully parasite free! We then trekked through the jungle which was fantastic. I even saw a lizard which was at least half the size of my body! We went into a little village in the middle of the jungle, and relaxed for a bit, before heading on. The next park of the jungle contained the sacred Bayan trees [which if you break a limb or leaf accidently, the Balinese believe you will go blind and only the village leader will be able to make you see again...I steered clear] and then saw some cocoa trees, banana and papaya trees, and some very cool flora. We made it back and crossed the river again, and then go the workout of a life time going up a massive steep cliff. We then parted ways, and I went back to Ubud for a shower and then a delicious meal in town.

Saturday I woke up early for a big day trip out of Ubud. I hired a driver, Rai, for the day to take me around. First I went to the Elephant Park and Safari place, where I rode my first elephant, Pikri! The riding was cool, but the best part was the feeding and playing with the elephants afterwards. I never imagined them to be so amazingly gentle and sweet as they were. It was a lot of fun, and it was sad to go, but I had much more to see in the day. We headed off to Elephant Cave Temple next, an ancient temple built underground, in a cave (duh) which as very holy springs in front of it. Then a woodcarvers shop, where the woodwork was amazing. Next was the Royal Family Palace Temple. Finally, the main sight of the day was Tanah Lot, one of the Sea Temples in Bali. I was to see the sunset here. I had a few hours there, so I did some hiking along the various cliffs around the temple, and got some really great views, and it was just a very relaxing experience. As sunset loomed closer, I went up to where the main restaurants overlooking Tanah Lot were, to get a good seat with good food for the sunset, which was, of course magnificent. It would have been much better though, if it weren't for the seemingly millions of tourists and locals everywhere! After the sun set and it became dark, I found Rai and went back to Ubud for my last night.

Sunday morning I woke up extremely early (about 5am!) and walked around Ubud until my shuttle left at 8:30. This was when my week long question was answered-do the monkeys actually stay in the forest? As I was walking down, there were quite a few duos getting frisky on the sidewalks, as well as many swinging from the electrical poles and wires, and walking along roofs of the shops! Only in Asia...it was very cool. Got to Kuta, and spent the day at the beach where it was extremely hot-I had about 4 ice cream cones throughout the day just to cool myself. At sunset I went off to the airport, since I wanted to get there before it was dark. Enjoyed a great last meal there, and then had an 11:30 flight back to Sydney. I got back to Unilodge at about 8 this morning, and spent the day unpacking, food shopping, cleaning, doing laundry, and of course studying. AND thinking about the fact that in only 13 days I will be on my way home-at this point, I am beyond excited. And beyond broke. But I've had the time of my life-but more of that mushy gushy stuff later!

Time to go make some dinner, and go to sleep early, since I still haven't slept for now over 36 hours! I can't believe I am functioning, but I actually feel great!

Of course, there is so much more about Bali that I can only share through talking, and would love to talk about it with any of you. It was a different world, and I cannot wait to go back again, multiple times throughout my life.
On my fourth day in Bali, a friend (part of the family with whom I stayed with) saw me as I was walking out the door in the morning and said
"You look so happy"

And he was right. While in Bali, and even now, I just feel so happy.