Good morning Ubud! It's just after 10:00 on day one and it already feels like we've been here a week! The fragrance of tropical flowers, the warm breeze coming across our private patio from our very own lush garden, the sound of the water feature with the birds mixed in, and a full tummy from a breakfast of banana crepes and fresh fruit salad all combine to create a vehicle for rapid transport to a place of peace and serenity that I wish for each of you at some point during your day today.
Although our flight(s) yesterday were long they weren't all that bad thanks to April (at the China Air counter in Vancouver) who switched our seats for the long haul (13 hours) to Taipei to an exit row so we had room to stretch and get up at will. As well, the temperature at the exit row is about 5 degrees cooler than the rest of the plane so that made me a happy camper to be able to lean up against the outside wall of the plane beside the door and find respite for my damn crazy legs that seem to plague me when I'm seated in a small space and are always worse when it is overly warm. Both Lynda and I were able to actually sleep quite a bit on that long flight too so the time passed more pleasantly than it otherwise might have.
Once we arrived in Taipei I was saddened to find that we were in a different wing of the airport than I'd been in 6 weeks ago and so the massage chairs I had been dreaming about were no where to be found. We used our three hours there to go for a long walk to get the blood moving again and even found a place to get a coffee. As luck would have it on our way back to our gate we located a couple of the much coveted chairs and were able to get tokens from a nearby store so each of us was able to fit in 30 minutes of complimentary uninterrupted massage time that left us feeling restored and ready for the next leg of our journey.
The 6 hour flight from Taipei to Denpasar was also quite comfortable and as we were seated in row
11 we were right near the front of the plane so when it came time to deplane we were one of the first ones off.
Jati (pronounced Jetty) was there to meet us but as he was amidst more than 100 other drivers lining the entrance once you're through immigration we were sure thankful to see our names on his sign along with his friendly smile to welcome us to Bali.
As soon as we were out of the airport the heat and humidity hit us. The temperature was 31 and the humidity about 86% so it felt warm but honestly....as warm as it was it didn't feel overly uncomfortable. The hustle and bustle of the airport was tempered by a sense of peaceful calm that seems to be a cultural norm here. Jati retrieved the car and in no time we were off and on our way to Ubud.
During the 2 hour journey (made longer than the distance might suggest by the amount of traffic that
is relentless) I felt like I'd won the lottery as Jati was willing to explain everything I asked about. A couple of things I learned along the drive to Ubud included that Jati's real name is Wayan Terusjati. Wayan is the name given to the first born son. However, there are only 4 options for names for your son and so if you have 5 sons you start back at the beginning of the list again. As it happens Jati is son number 5 and so he has the same name as his oldest brother. His personal given name is Terusjati but he goes by Jati. He doen't have either his mother or his fathers name included in his and that is typical of families here. He explained that occassionally parents will include one of their names in their child's name and even more occassionally they will combine their names to include in their kids name but most often....it is the traditional way as Jati's family did it.
Jumping ahead a little but along the same theme.....once we arrived at our new "home away from home" in Ubud we met Jati's cousin, Ketut. Ketut is the name given to the fourth born son so we know right away that Ketut is either son number 4 or number 8....didn't ask him that though and am going to go on the assumption that he is son number 4. :-).
Now back to the drive.....we passed a couple of amazing statues that are absolutely massive and intricate in detail! Questions about these statues prompted Jati to go into as simplified a version of the history of some of the Hindu story as he was able to. Even in its most simplified state it is still an incredibly complex story with multiple stories and characters that span several different eras and generations of kings. Most of it was a little over my head but One part of the story that I will share with you is what the swastika symbol means as it is at the core of the Hindu faith. The centre of it is like a Christian cross and then each of the four arms that come off that in a clockwise order are symbolic of one of the four foundataional elements of their beliefs. I can't remember what all four are but I do remember that one was karma and another was desire. When Jati was explaining it all I really appreciated how open and willing to share he was and also found it really interesting. Another story he told was the story of one of those statures and it was of an ancient king who had no sons to pass his throne to. He did have two daughters though and so arranged with a powerful old man who was kind of like a wizard to marry them both. The first one to have a son would fill the role of being the next king. That wizard was also very ugly and so when the eldest daughter spent her wedding
night with him she closed her eyes and as a result (so the story goes) her son was born blind. The second daughter had learned from her sisters experience and so she kept her eyes open but as her husband was very ugly and wrinkled that was how her son was born. The cut to the end of this rather long story....the belief was that the blind son could not rule because he was blind and so the wrinkled son was cast as ruler. It wasn't long before that son disappeared as the people were divided about who should rule and so in the end it was the blind son who was named king. Soooooo....now you know as much as I do and I'm hoping I've got it at least close to correct. :-).
Once we arrived in Ubud Jati called his cousin Ketut to meet us at the road. We hopped out and Ketut (and his friend Goodday) grabbed our bags and we were off down a tiny alley that wound its way between the backs of homes and gardens. The end result is that we are literally only about 100 yards from the main road but feel like we are in the middle of the jungle as all we can hear are birds and the quiet sounds of daily village life. A stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of downtown Ubud!
Ketut welcomed us to our new home with a fresh drink of mixed fruits and we relaxed on our private patio pinching ourselves until the mosquitos came out and we decided it was time to either go in or put on some repellant. Truth be told we were both pretty tired so opted for unpacking and an early night.
Our room is exactly as the pictures online represented it to be. It is actually HUGE and we won't feel crowded here at all no matter how long we decide to stay. The only thing lacking here is a pool but Pasek (our host and the uncle of both Jati and Ketut) tells us there is a pool next door that we can see about paying to have use of. We're seriously considering staying here at this location for longer and so by tomorrow we will have made some decisions on that front once we've had a chance to explore the city centre of Ubud a little.
Our beds were comfortable and the hush that falls over this place as night falls is nothing short of a miracle so needless to say both of us slept like babies and feel rested in spite of the long journey yesterday. This morning Lynda was up bright and early and located a little yoga place she wants to return to so she's managed to figure out how to find her way back here already. This afternoon it will be my turn to see just how good I am at leaving a trail of breadcrumbs. Lynda even thought to count the lights that line the little alleyway that leads to our home....clever girl! There are nine of them from where they begin and I have to tell you that without counting them it would be impossible to know where to turn in until you've been here for a while. Reminds me a little of our wandering around Venice in the late late night Lani!
I think thats enough for now as I can feel the garden calling me. This morning I was out there watching a snail eat a flower on a tree. Yes....I'm not joking....I actually watched a snail eat a flower! I could see his mouth open and his tongue come out and him chewing and swallowing....it was amazing and yes....that is how tranquil it is here. Even the snails aren't afraid and I was just inches from him.
Till next time,
Lorrie and Lynda
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