Since last writing in this blog it seems a major focus has been rather spa-like and it is easy for me to keep to that theme as I had a honey and cucumber facial this afternoon and in fact we're still sitting at pool side here at Cendana Resort and Spa on Monkey Forest Road. We just discovered this place last night as it is set way back from the road and as of today....it is our new favourite place to go. We can even just walk here it is so close to where we live! Here we have a huge salt water infinity pool that borders on the rice fields so you gotta know that the view is none too shabby. We also have a restaurant and a spa where the staff seem to want to cater to our every whim. Maybe that is because we are the only people here! Well, at the moment we are sharing the property with one other woman but as long as she stays over on her side of the estate we've decided we'll let her stay. :-). Seriously, we've been here all day and up until about an hour ago we were the only people here. Although there was this one little old woman Lynda made friends with while I was off for my facial. The little old lady was wandering the rice fields with her stick trying to shoo away the many birds who are intent on robbing her of her rice. Lynda was helping her by clapping her hands from pool side which was all well and good until the little old lady decided that she would come over to Lynda with her hand outstretched in search of a little "payment" for being allowed to scare the birds in her field. LOL....I'm not actually certain that was why she wanted money but money was what she wanted and even after Lynda gave her a little she still kept coming back for more. Not sure if she is senile or not but she is definitely forgetful!
Enough about her.....I want to tell you what I can see right now so you can sort of 'be here' with us. Lynda and I are sitting up at a raised table at one end of the infinity pool. The rice fields are behind me and over my right shoulder. The sun is setting and I can feel it on my back. The colour of the almost ripe grains of rice are golden in the waning sunlight. The blades of the rice plant are a rich vibrant green made even richer by the shadows being cast by the fading day. The pool at my right side is coated with ripples as the breeze dances over the water and several little birds come to sit on the edge for a drink or to skim the surface as they cool off with a little dip of their belly in the crystal clear water. Behind the far end of the pool there is a huge hibiscus tree that is covered in bright red flowers. There is a Buddha statue featured atop a large rock at the far outside corner of the pool. There are three other statues that line the length of the pool on the other side. Each of them doubles as a fountain and they look pretty impressive as they stand guard along the edge that also has stairs leading into the water the entire length of the pool. A little bird just flew off the outdoor shower wall to my left. He was startled by Lynda when she walked back over here from our lounge chairs on the other side of the pool. A little gecko just chirped his opinion from overhead. I'm sitting under a bale (gazebo) and he is somewhere on the roof. Across the pool and beside our lounge chairs there is a two person swinging chair and beyond all of that I can see the gardens and the villas behind the gardens. To my left (beyond the outdoor shower) is the restaurant. Yes, it is nice and I really really like it!
I am now laughing because Lynda has just come back to the table wearing her sweatshirt over her dress. I am still in my bathing suit! Nothing has changed....she gets cold and I don't. :-)
But enough about this gorgeous place we've spent the whole day at. Now I'll tell you where we spent the afternoon a couple of days ago. That time we were at Sedona Spa and although it wasn't as close (we had a couple of the boys drive us on the back of their bikes and then return to pick us up at the end of the day) the views were just as stunning. That spa was not attached to a hotel so no pool etc but boy oh boy....the spa was something else! Sedona was also adjacent to rice fields and each of their treatment rooms only has three walls so you feel as though you're getting your treatment right out in the fields! I can only imagine what the workers must think during harvest or planting times! Lynda had opted for a balinese massage with a herbal scrub. I went for the gusto and selected the chocolate massage. Lynda enjoyed her massage very much. I LOVED mine! Honestly, it was as though I'd been dipped in chocolate by the time my therapist was finished rubbing two bowls of warm molten locally sourced chocolate all over me. I smelled sooooo good! Once she had me completely coated in the candy goodness then she wrapped me in a cocoon that would allow the chocolate to "work its magic". I lay there in total bliss for about 10 minutes. All I could smell was chocolate and my room was open to the rice fields and the sun was shining and everything was right with the world! Once I was "unwrapped" it was quite a job to get all of the cacao off. Thankfully there is a shower right there in the room where I was able to scrub and rinse chocolate out of creases and folds I didn't even know I had. Just when I thought I was finished I'd find another spot I'd missed. I giggled through most of that shower as I thought what anyone who walked in on me might think! For both Lynda and I the "dessert" part of this treatment package was the flower petal bath they'd run for each of us in our respective treatment rooms. These huge copper tubs are perfectly formed to invite you to lay back and relax as you sip your fresh ginger tea and chow down on some fresh fruit. Oh ya....and the tub is right beside the rice fields so again...it's like you're right out in the open for all of this. Even for those of you who are thinking it might be a little too "out in the open"....honestly, you'd love it! Both Lynda and I are committed to going back to Sedona....she's eager to give the human chocolate fondue a try and there are other flavours on the menu that caught my eye too. :-)
The only down side I can say about all this relaxing spa time is that I've had a couple of nights where I can't really sleep.....maybe I'm getting too much rest during the days! On the upside of the downside though....the other morning after waking at 3:23 for the day it meant that I was up at the ungodly hour of 6:00 when the city just starts to come to life. So for that one day I was out on Monkey Forest even before most of the locals. In fact, I made it up to the market in time to be able to see the bustling event that place is at that time each and every day of the week. This is when all of the veggies and flowers and baskets for offerings are for sale to the locals. It is after most of them leave that all of the other "tourist" type stuff comes in to take their place. It was a hive of activity and I can tell you that I was the ONLY one that looked like me who was there at that time of the day!
So as you can see....really the spa theme is about all that we have to report in on this post. Other than that we've both been doing our regular intentional self-care with walks and yoga and treatments. Tomorrow I've got an appointment to have my tarot cards read and then we're meeting with a bunch of friends for dinner at Rhuma Roda for Indonesian smorg. Yummy!
Till next time,
L & L
Saturday, February 25, 2017
Saturday, February 18, 2017
February 19, 2017
Yesterday was such a full day that both Lynda and I have decided to lay low today!
I mentioned that we'd stumbled into a vespa tour and there is more to that story so I'll start right at the beginning.
While we were sitting at Mingle the other night and I was catching up on the blog, Lynda was making new friends. In this case her new friend was Allison, originally from Australia and now resident of Ubud and owner of Mingle. Allison was sitting right behind us and the place was packed so it was easy to get into conversation with her. I mentioned to her that our friend Julie had recommended Mingle as a great place that had great drinks and based on our experience so far....she was right on the mark! Allison asked if I meant Julie Silvester and "yes....yes I did". Allison said that she had just moments before messaged Julie to cancel their vespa ride tomorrow as two people had backed out and within seconds Lynda and I decided that we'd like to take their place if that was a possibility. Allison said yes and that she'd message Julie right back to say we were back on again. Before she did that though...we agreed that it would be fun to surprise Julie so Allison didn't tell Julie it was us and we wouldn't tell Julie if we saw her. It would be a fun surprise!
The plan was for the four of us to meet at Mingle the following morning at 10:30 but Lynda and I decided that we'd go early and have breakfast there too. We didn't want to take a chance on bumping into Julie on the way to Mingle and ruining the surprise! So...we were ready to go just after 9 and as we were walking out of our yard....who should walk in but Julie! Aggghhhh....we told her we were off for breakfast and had to run and that we would catch up later. As soon as we were out of the yard and into the laneway we burst into laughter with the knowledge that we'd need to apologize for our rudeness when we saw her at Mingle at 10:30.
Sure enough, at 10:30 Julie appeared and almost immediately said, "are you the two delightful ladies Allison met here last night?" We replied that we were and then we apologized for our rude and hurried departure this morning. All three of us were still laughing when Allison arrived a few moments later. All the signs were lining up for it to be a great day!
We all climbed into Allison's vehicle to drive the 10 minutes or so to her house where the vespas are stored. Made (pronounced Maday) is her partner in the homestay she has at her place and he is also the leader of the Bali vespa scooter club. There are 5 vespas in total and they are all painted exactly the same. They are a kaleidoscope of colour and each of the bikes has a sidecar attached to it. It is these sidecars that we will be riding in! Made had made arrangements for 3 other drivers plus himself and so within moments of our arrival at Allison's we were settling into our sidecars and the boys were firing up their engines.
What a fun way to see the countryside. The wind whipping past, a little skull cap helmet on our heads, kids waving and calling out as we past by their homes and shops, and scenery that seemed to be even more beautiful from this vantage point. In truth, it was a little loud and the exhaust from the other bikes were the only negatives I can say....overall the trip was AMAZING and so much fun! The bike time was maybe about two hours and in addition we stopped at a little spot for coffee where Lynda and I even walked down into the rice paddies for some photos. Another stop was at an art museum/school where the master carver is Made Ada. This place was UNBELIEVABLE! You drive right into the belly of a giant concrete garuda (the mythical bird that was Vishnu's mode of transport). From there the three dimensional wood carvings continue to take your breath away the further into the building you go. Ironically, Lynda and I had just watched a documentary with Made Ada! The program was about the shift away from the traditional arts (like wood carving) by the younger generation. Once again, we were getting to meet the "guy" himself. The day before it had been Agung Rai, the man behind ARMA, and today it was Made Ada, a master carver considered by many to be Bali's best.
Once the vespa tour was over it was back to Allison's for a dip in her pool while Made cooked for us. He made a delicious meal of nasi goreng (fried rice), a squash and green bean curry, and a spicy omelette. Of course this amazing meal was topped off with a selection of fresh fruits. To make it even better....every single thing that was on the dinner table came from Made's garden right there on the property!
From there it was back to Mingle for an Affogato for dessert and if you've never had one of these before (like I hadn't) you might want to google it and make yourself one! It is actually pretty simple but takes fantastic! It is a scoop of vanilla ice cream served in a martini glass. Atop that ice cream is some hot espresso so you end up with a cool/warm contrast as you eat/drink it. As delicious as it was on it's own...I added a shot of Bailey's to mine and Lynda went for the Kahlua. Yes, it was the perfect finish to a great day.
By the time the Affogato was finished....so was I and so as luck would have it, Julie's shoe had just broken and she'd called Ketut (one of the guys who works at her place) to bring her another pair on his bike. When he arrived, I grabbed hold of him and hopped on the back of his bike to catch a ride home. The rest of the group was off to a food truck event but for me...the night was over!
Bottom line....great day.....and ever so thankful to have a day "off" today.
Till next time,
L & L
I mentioned that we'd stumbled into a vespa tour and there is more to that story so I'll start right at the beginning.
While we were sitting at Mingle the other night and I was catching up on the blog, Lynda was making new friends. In this case her new friend was Allison, originally from Australia and now resident of Ubud and owner of Mingle. Allison was sitting right behind us and the place was packed so it was easy to get into conversation with her. I mentioned to her that our friend Julie had recommended Mingle as a great place that had great drinks and based on our experience so far....she was right on the mark! Allison asked if I meant Julie Silvester and "yes....yes I did". Allison said that she had just moments before messaged Julie to cancel their vespa ride tomorrow as two people had backed out and within seconds Lynda and I decided that we'd like to take their place if that was a possibility. Allison said yes and that she'd message Julie right back to say we were back on again. Before she did that though...we agreed that it would be fun to surprise Julie so Allison didn't tell Julie it was us and we wouldn't tell Julie if we saw her. It would be a fun surprise!
The plan was for the four of us to meet at Mingle the following morning at 10:30 but Lynda and I decided that we'd go early and have breakfast there too. We didn't want to take a chance on bumping into Julie on the way to Mingle and ruining the surprise! So...we were ready to go just after 9 and as we were walking out of our yard....who should walk in but Julie! Aggghhhh....we told her we were off for breakfast and had to run and that we would catch up later. As soon as we were out of the yard and into the laneway we burst into laughter with the knowledge that we'd need to apologize for our rudeness when we saw her at Mingle at 10:30.
Sure enough, at 10:30 Julie appeared and almost immediately said, "are you the two delightful ladies Allison met here last night?" We replied that we were and then we apologized for our rude and hurried departure this morning. All three of us were still laughing when Allison arrived a few moments later. All the signs were lining up for it to be a great day!
We all climbed into Allison's vehicle to drive the 10 minutes or so to her house where the vespas are stored. Made (pronounced Maday) is her partner in the homestay she has at her place and he is also the leader of the Bali vespa scooter club. There are 5 vespas in total and they are all painted exactly the same. They are a kaleidoscope of colour and each of the bikes has a sidecar attached to it. It is these sidecars that we will be riding in! Made had made arrangements for 3 other drivers plus himself and so within moments of our arrival at Allison's we were settling into our sidecars and the boys were firing up their engines.
What a fun way to see the countryside. The wind whipping past, a little skull cap helmet on our heads, kids waving and calling out as we past by their homes and shops, and scenery that seemed to be even more beautiful from this vantage point. In truth, it was a little loud and the exhaust from the other bikes were the only negatives I can say....overall the trip was AMAZING and so much fun! The bike time was maybe about two hours and in addition we stopped at a little spot for coffee where Lynda and I even walked down into the rice paddies for some photos. Another stop was at an art museum/school where the master carver is Made Ada. This place was UNBELIEVABLE! You drive right into the belly of a giant concrete garuda (the mythical bird that was Vishnu's mode of transport). From there the three dimensional wood carvings continue to take your breath away the further into the building you go. Ironically, Lynda and I had just watched a documentary with Made Ada! The program was about the shift away from the traditional arts (like wood carving) by the younger generation. Once again, we were getting to meet the "guy" himself. The day before it had been Agung Rai, the man behind ARMA, and today it was Made Ada, a master carver considered by many to be Bali's best.
Once the vespa tour was over it was back to Allison's for a dip in her pool while Made cooked for us. He made a delicious meal of nasi goreng (fried rice), a squash and green bean curry, and a spicy omelette. Of course this amazing meal was topped off with a selection of fresh fruits. To make it even better....every single thing that was on the dinner table came from Made's garden right there on the property!
From there it was back to Mingle for an Affogato for dessert and if you've never had one of these before (like I hadn't) you might want to google it and make yourself one! It is actually pretty simple but takes fantastic! It is a scoop of vanilla ice cream served in a martini glass. Atop that ice cream is some hot espresso so you end up with a cool/warm contrast as you eat/drink it. As delicious as it was on it's own...I added a shot of Bailey's to mine and Lynda went for the Kahlua. Yes, it was the perfect finish to a great day.
By the time the Affogato was finished....so was I and so as luck would have it, Julie's shoe had just broken and she'd called Ketut (one of the guys who works at her place) to bring her another pair on his bike. When he arrived, I grabbed hold of him and hopped on the back of his bike to catch a ride home. The rest of the group was off to a food truck event but for me...the night was over!
Bottom line....great day.....and ever so thankful to have a day "off" today.
Till next time,
L & L
Friday, February 17, 2017
February 17, 2017
It seems that blogging has become a weekly activity versus a daily one!
Since arriving back in Ubud we've been busy! Right now we're taking the opportunity to get a little blogging done at the same time as we rest our weary bones in an oasis in the middle of Ubud. It is a large piece of property called ARMA (Agung Rai Museum of Art) that is home to beautiful tranquil gardens as well as gift shops, museums, restaurants, and accommodation. We've been walking for the past couple of hours so sitting here in the cool of the gardens listening to the sound of running water, song birds, and the distant hum of city life is really really nice! Our entrance into the park/museum (80,000/person) includes a hot or cold coffee/tea so when we're finished in here we'll be sitting down again to take advantage of that cold drink.
Since we last blogged we've attended a royal cremation, participated in a universal exercise in collective conciousness where the intention was to help heal the world, experienced our first ever sound healing - in a pyramid to boot! ....and volunteered at a nearby english school where our hearts were touched by their enthusiasm and reverence. We've had a party on the neighbours deck, a grilled corn and bintang party on our patio, had dinner out with friends, and I've also managed to fit a full day of work in too so....it's been a busy week!
......I'm back.....started this post while sitting in ARMA and now it is several hours later and we've moved on to Mingle where we are on our second "happy hour" special. :-). Delish! Honestly....there isn't a lot of drinking here but tonight looks like it might be a little different. My espresso martini was not short of booze and now my white russian is more booze than milk for sure! Lynda has moved onto a chocolate chili martini on the heels of her rum and lime drink so for those of you who have been drinking with her you will know that she is feeling no pain! LOL. :-)
Backtracking to the cremation ....what an amazing experience that was! The person who died was actually a white woman who had married into the Royal Family and lived on Java where she passed away a month ago and was mummified in preparation for the cremation. Usually when people die they are either buried (for up to a few years) or placed on top of the ground at a place where magically bodies don't smell or decompose. The reason they might have to wait for up to several years is because it is so expensive to have a cremation! The royal cremation we attended would have been many many thousands of dollars in expense and regular people can't afford that so they wait until there are many many people that can all be cremated at the same time and then everyone chips in to cover the costs. Anyway....the parade with the cremation started at the palace and so we walked up to the palace from our place. It was HOT HOT HOT and there were a LOT of people. I can't even begin to guess how many people there might have been. There were literally thousands and thousands of them all squished in to the street between the sidewalks on either side of the road. All of the cars had been told to stay away EXCEPT for a couple that hadn't gotten the message somehow. Those poor cars were either broken into and pushed out of the way OR if they couldn't break into them the cars were just scraped all along the side as the structure that the bull and the tower were atop of squished past them along the roadway. I actually took some video of one car that was dented and scraped all the way from back to front! Locals just said, "they shouldn't have left their car there. Everyone knows that they were supposed to move their cars for the cremation and so....too bad for them!" I can only imagine what the owner might have said when he/she returned to find their damaged vehicle. But back to the procession....we had managed to station ourselves in a great place along Jalan Rayan (the main road that goes from the palace to the temple where the cremation would take place). How do we know it was a great spot? Simple! it was because all of the family of the deceased came at the front of the parade and stood right with us! Yes...we were in the middle of the family section of the event! First down the road (after the women of the family and a whole bunch of other people) was the bull. The big black bull was HUGE and the reason it was a bull is because her family is of the bull caste. The bull was carried on a bamboo structure that was being carried by dozens of men. The bull was being ridden by a guy in a white shirt and black and gold sarong. All of the men who were dressed like that were also members of the royal family...in fact they were all princes. As well as the guy riding the bull there were others sitting on the base that the bull was standing on. The bull was so heavy that the men carrying it had to stop every fifty yards or so to rest for a bit. This made the parade take even longer than we thought it might! After the bull came the tower. The tower was sooooo tall! It was 9 tiers tall which is the tallest that the towers ever go. It was so tall that the city had to have electrical crews stationed at each power line to take the line down for the tower to pass and then put the line back up once it was through. The tower too was being carried by dozens of men....maybe even more than the bull as the tower was bigger and heavier I'm sure! The body was in a white coffin about 1/2 way up the tower and there were also several other princes riding on this structure. Again, the men carrying it had to rest every so often too. Along with the mayhem that you might imagine already as you read this...add to that the sound of men cheering as they encourage the carriers along their way and the sound of drums and other percussion instruments celebrating the life of the deceased and encouraging the crowds the entire way. Cleverly, we managed to get ahead of the procession by sneaking through the market and then we bounced back and forth between being in front and then behind the bull all the way to the temple. Once we finally reached the temple the body was moved (along with the coffin) from the tower to the bull and the body was removed from the coffin and placed into the bull's body. They had cut a chunk out of the bulls back to allow for this to happen. Then the high holy man placed a huge number of offerings into the bull with the body and blessed the body one final time. The family members were all there right beside the body about 30 feet in the air (on the side of the bull's platform) and finally...the fire was lit and eventually the whole bull erupted into flame and additional flame from a massive gas torch was added to the section where the body was to ensure it burned fully. This cremation is just one step in the process. This was to separate the body from the mind. Ten days later there will be another one to separate the mind from the spirit. Again we were reminded of how important ceremony is to the Balinese culture. We both felt so honoured to be able to witness this event. The only unfortunate part of the whole day was that so many tourists had climbed onto the stairs as soon as the body had been moved down from the tower. That felt so disrespectful to me and I was ashamed of the fact that they were treating the event as a spectator sport instead of the important ritual it was.
Lynda has been asking and asking if I've gotten to the burning bit yet as she sucks back another yummy drink. It is reminding me of another time a few years ago as we sat in an airport in Mexico, Chiapas I think it was. That time I was searching for cheap flights and she was drinking her drink and mine too! LOL. Good times! :-)
After we left the temple we popped into Bali Buddha where we met up with Komang who returned our passports to us. Passports were freshly stamped with a new visa date of March 16th so we're good for another month.
The next day was Valentines, Feb 14th and what a day that one was too! We thought that we'd been emotionally drained the day before at the cremation but no....the 14th was going to be an even bigger roller coaster ride!
Lynda and I hooked up with our friend from the Netherlands, Miranda, and the three of us shared a cab to the Pyramids of Chi where we had signed on to participate in a universal exercise of collective consciousness intended to nurture peace, love and harmony in the world. It was valentines day after all and with all the awful stuff that's been going on in the world it seemed like a really good thing to do and it was! About 30 of us gathered in one of the pyramids where we spent about 10 minutes of focused chanting and meditation in support of that peace and harmony. From there we shifted into a sound healing exercise. We each had our own mattress on the floor of the pyramid to lay on. We had little eye pillows to help us to relax even more and for the next hour and a half we lay there in total relaxation as gongs and didgeridoos and rain sticks and drums were used. Sometimes the sound was far away and other times it was right over us as they "washed" us in sound. At the end of the time we all had to admit that it was like nothing any of us had ever experienced and the only word we could think of was "drained". In fact, I would say I was even a bit dizzy walking back to the restaurant from the pyramid! I guess the science of it is that the sound waves affect the molecular structure of the fluid that is inside of our bodies which leaves us in a state of readiness to be "refilled" with stress free positive vibes. I know it sounds a bit hippyish but honestly it was very good and both Lynda and I plan to do it again before we leave here.
After a great lunch at the pyramids of chi we headed back to our home with just enough time to get ready to go to volunteer at an english school (about 25 mins away by car). The school is for kids aged 12-14 years and Lynda and I were the only show scheduled for the evening class from 6-8 pm. While there were moments that it felt a bit awkward (as no one would say anything - they were all to nervous and shy) overall it was AMAZING. At the end of the evening each of the kids came up to us and spontaneously put their forehead to the back of our hand. It was like nothing I've ever experienced and honestly as I type this I can feel the emotion welling up in me again. It was not because they were "supposed" to....it was just that they wanted to show their appreciation and respect to each of us. WOW! What a way to be "refilled" with good stuff after the sound healing emptied us out! We've both agreed that we will go back to the school next month before we head back to Canada. What a gift to be able to meet these wonderful kids!
The day following neither of us had any energy left and so it was a quiet day for both of us. Somewhere in there Lynda had a pedicure and I went to see my reflexology guy. Seeing as everyone works until about 10 pm....you can fit a lot of stuff into a day! :-). On Thursday I ended up working all day (had two proposals to complete) and that brings us to today which was another great day. Actually every day in Ubud is a great day and if I'm truthful about it....the longer I'm here the more I can see myself coming back here for a long time again.
Today we walked and walked. Lynda ordered a couple new tops and we stopped for coffee along the way. Eventually we made our way to ARMA which is where this post started. The thing that I haven't told you yet though is that while we were at ARMA wandering the amazing gardens that were the vision of a guy named Agung Rai....Lynda actually recognized Agung Rai from his photos in the guide book we had. There he was...just sitting in the gardens (having taken a break from pruning the shrubs and bushes). Yes, the founder/owner of this amazing place was there and he was working in the gardens! Of course, Lynda asked Agung if it was really him and from there a very interesting and inspirational conversation ensued. We are soooo LUCKY! And Lynda is soooo observant!
After leaving ARMA we tried to get into the salt therapy place but unfortunately it was closed so we'll have to go back another time to check it out. By then we were both pretty much done for and so we decided to hire a couple of bikes to give us a ride back up to the part of the city where we live. In fact, we decided we'd get them to take us all the way to the Paradiso movie theatre as there might be something worth seeing on and since you can have dinner there....we could kill two birds with one stone. Unfortunately there was nothing we wanted to see at the show and so we set off on foot again. Wandering along we stumbled across Mingle (which is where we are now). Again....lucky girls that we are....we ended up sitting right beside the woman who owns the place and within minutes we'd agreed to go on a vespa tour with her tomorrow. Who knows just what that is going to look like but I gotta tell you...we're feeling pretty excited for another new adventure!
Now....I think I'd better sign off and get Lynda headed in the direction of home. Her eyes are currently at half mast and the drink she is currently working on is looking a little forlorn as she ignores it in favour of a bottle of water. :-). #balilife is GOOD....really really good. :-). Once again, we are so appreciative of having the opportunity to live here for this long as that has afforded us the opportunity to see Bali from a very different angle than most tourists get to witness.
Till next time,
L & L
P.s.
It has been such a busy week that I actually forgot to mention that we had an earthquake in there too! I'm not kidding! It only registered 4.6 but it shook our chairs (we were playing cards on the patio) and rattled the glass in the windows and left us feeling a bit like we do right now....like we've had one too many to drink! Another bali adventure chalked up....earthquake.....check!
L & L
Since arriving back in Ubud we've been busy! Right now we're taking the opportunity to get a little blogging done at the same time as we rest our weary bones in an oasis in the middle of Ubud. It is a large piece of property called ARMA (Agung Rai Museum of Art) that is home to beautiful tranquil gardens as well as gift shops, museums, restaurants, and accommodation. We've been walking for the past couple of hours so sitting here in the cool of the gardens listening to the sound of running water, song birds, and the distant hum of city life is really really nice! Our entrance into the park/museum (80,000/person) includes a hot or cold coffee/tea so when we're finished in here we'll be sitting down again to take advantage of that cold drink.
Since we last blogged we've attended a royal cremation, participated in a universal exercise in collective conciousness where the intention was to help heal the world, experienced our first ever sound healing - in a pyramid to boot! ....and volunteered at a nearby english school where our hearts were touched by their enthusiasm and reverence. We've had a party on the neighbours deck, a grilled corn and bintang party on our patio, had dinner out with friends, and I've also managed to fit a full day of work in too so....it's been a busy week!
......I'm back.....started this post while sitting in ARMA and now it is several hours later and we've moved on to Mingle where we are on our second "happy hour" special. :-). Delish! Honestly....there isn't a lot of drinking here but tonight looks like it might be a little different. My espresso martini was not short of booze and now my white russian is more booze than milk for sure! Lynda has moved onto a chocolate chili martini on the heels of her rum and lime drink so for those of you who have been drinking with her you will know that she is feeling no pain! LOL. :-)
Backtracking to the cremation ....what an amazing experience that was! The person who died was actually a white woman who had married into the Royal Family and lived on Java where she passed away a month ago and was mummified in preparation for the cremation. Usually when people die they are either buried (for up to a few years) or placed on top of the ground at a place where magically bodies don't smell or decompose. The reason they might have to wait for up to several years is because it is so expensive to have a cremation! The royal cremation we attended would have been many many thousands of dollars in expense and regular people can't afford that so they wait until there are many many people that can all be cremated at the same time and then everyone chips in to cover the costs. Anyway....the parade with the cremation started at the palace and so we walked up to the palace from our place. It was HOT HOT HOT and there were a LOT of people. I can't even begin to guess how many people there might have been. There were literally thousands and thousands of them all squished in to the street between the sidewalks on either side of the road. All of the cars had been told to stay away EXCEPT for a couple that hadn't gotten the message somehow. Those poor cars were either broken into and pushed out of the way OR if they couldn't break into them the cars were just scraped all along the side as the structure that the bull and the tower were atop of squished past them along the roadway. I actually took some video of one car that was dented and scraped all the way from back to front! Locals just said, "they shouldn't have left their car there. Everyone knows that they were supposed to move their cars for the cremation and so....too bad for them!" I can only imagine what the owner might have said when he/she returned to find their damaged vehicle. But back to the procession....we had managed to station ourselves in a great place along Jalan Rayan (the main road that goes from the palace to the temple where the cremation would take place). How do we know it was a great spot? Simple! it was because all of the family of the deceased came at the front of the parade and stood right with us! Yes...we were in the middle of the family section of the event! First down the road (after the women of the family and a whole bunch of other people) was the bull. The big black bull was HUGE and the reason it was a bull is because her family is of the bull caste. The bull was carried on a bamboo structure that was being carried by dozens of men. The bull was being ridden by a guy in a white shirt and black and gold sarong. All of the men who were dressed like that were also members of the royal family...in fact they were all princes. As well as the guy riding the bull there were others sitting on the base that the bull was standing on. The bull was so heavy that the men carrying it had to stop every fifty yards or so to rest for a bit. This made the parade take even longer than we thought it might! After the bull came the tower. The tower was sooooo tall! It was 9 tiers tall which is the tallest that the towers ever go. It was so tall that the city had to have electrical crews stationed at each power line to take the line down for the tower to pass and then put the line back up once it was through. The tower too was being carried by dozens of men....maybe even more than the bull as the tower was bigger and heavier I'm sure! The body was in a white coffin about 1/2 way up the tower and there were also several other princes riding on this structure. Again, the men carrying it had to rest every so often too. Along with the mayhem that you might imagine already as you read this...add to that the sound of men cheering as they encourage the carriers along their way and the sound of drums and other percussion instruments celebrating the life of the deceased and encouraging the crowds the entire way. Cleverly, we managed to get ahead of the procession by sneaking through the market and then we bounced back and forth between being in front and then behind the bull all the way to the temple. Once we finally reached the temple the body was moved (along with the coffin) from the tower to the bull and the body was removed from the coffin and placed into the bull's body. They had cut a chunk out of the bulls back to allow for this to happen. Then the high holy man placed a huge number of offerings into the bull with the body and blessed the body one final time. The family members were all there right beside the body about 30 feet in the air (on the side of the bull's platform) and finally...the fire was lit and eventually the whole bull erupted into flame and additional flame from a massive gas torch was added to the section where the body was to ensure it burned fully. This cremation is just one step in the process. This was to separate the body from the mind. Ten days later there will be another one to separate the mind from the spirit. Again we were reminded of how important ceremony is to the Balinese culture. We both felt so honoured to be able to witness this event. The only unfortunate part of the whole day was that so many tourists had climbed onto the stairs as soon as the body had been moved down from the tower. That felt so disrespectful to me and I was ashamed of the fact that they were treating the event as a spectator sport instead of the important ritual it was.
Lynda has been asking and asking if I've gotten to the burning bit yet as she sucks back another yummy drink. It is reminding me of another time a few years ago as we sat in an airport in Mexico, Chiapas I think it was. That time I was searching for cheap flights and she was drinking her drink and mine too! LOL. Good times! :-)
After we left the temple we popped into Bali Buddha where we met up with Komang who returned our passports to us. Passports were freshly stamped with a new visa date of March 16th so we're good for another month.
The next day was Valentines, Feb 14th and what a day that one was too! We thought that we'd been emotionally drained the day before at the cremation but no....the 14th was going to be an even bigger roller coaster ride!
Lynda and I hooked up with our friend from the Netherlands, Miranda, and the three of us shared a cab to the Pyramids of Chi where we had signed on to participate in a universal exercise of collective consciousness intended to nurture peace, love and harmony in the world. It was valentines day after all and with all the awful stuff that's been going on in the world it seemed like a really good thing to do and it was! About 30 of us gathered in one of the pyramids where we spent about 10 minutes of focused chanting and meditation in support of that peace and harmony. From there we shifted into a sound healing exercise. We each had our own mattress on the floor of the pyramid to lay on. We had little eye pillows to help us to relax even more and for the next hour and a half we lay there in total relaxation as gongs and didgeridoos and rain sticks and drums were used. Sometimes the sound was far away and other times it was right over us as they "washed" us in sound. At the end of the time we all had to admit that it was like nothing any of us had ever experienced and the only word we could think of was "drained". In fact, I would say I was even a bit dizzy walking back to the restaurant from the pyramid! I guess the science of it is that the sound waves affect the molecular structure of the fluid that is inside of our bodies which leaves us in a state of readiness to be "refilled" with stress free positive vibes. I know it sounds a bit hippyish but honestly it was very good and both Lynda and I plan to do it again before we leave here.
After a great lunch at the pyramids of chi we headed back to our home with just enough time to get ready to go to volunteer at an english school (about 25 mins away by car). The school is for kids aged 12-14 years and Lynda and I were the only show scheduled for the evening class from 6-8 pm. While there were moments that it felt a bit awkward (as no one would say anything - they were all to nervous and shy) overall it was AMAZING. At the end of the evening each of the kids came up to us and spontaneously put their forehead to the back of our hand. It was like nothing I've ever experienced and honestly as I type this I can feel the emotion welling up in me again. It was not because they were "supposed" to....it was just that they wanted to show their appreciation and respect to each of us. WOW! What a way to be "refilled" with good stuff after the sound healing emptied us out! We've both agreed that we will go back to the school next month before we head back to Canada. What a gift to be able to meet these wonderful kids!
The day following neither of us had any energy left and so it was a quiet day for both of us. Somewhere in there Lynda had a pedicure and I went to see my reflexology guy. Seeing as everyone works until about 10 pm....you can fit a lot of stuff into a day! :-). On Thursday I ended up working all day (had two proposals to complete) and that brings us to today which was another great day. Actually every day in Ubud is a great day and if I'm truthful about it....the longer I'm here the more I can see myself coming back here for a long time again.
Today we walked and walked. Lynda ordered a couple new tops and we stopped for coffee along the way. Eventually we made our way to ARMA which is where this post started. The thing that I haven't told you yet though is that while we were at ARMA wandering the amazing gardens that were the vision of a guy named Agung Rai....Lynda actually recognized Agung Rai from his photos in the guide book we had. There he was...just sitting in the gardens (having taken a break from pruning the shrubs and bushes). Yes, the founder/owner of this amazing place was there and he was working in the gardens! Of course, Lynda asked Agung if it was really him and from there a very interesting and inspirational conversation ensued. We are soooo LUCKY! And Lynda is soooo observant!
After leaving ARMA we tried to get into the salt therapy place but unfortunately it was closed so we'll have to go back another time to check it out. By then we were both pretty much done for and so we decided to hire a couple of bikes to give us a ride back up to the part of the city where we live. In fact, we decided we'd get them to take us all the way to the Paradiso movie theatre as there might be something worth seeing on and since you can have dinner there....we could kill two birds with one stone. Unfortunately there was nothing we wanted to see at the show and so we set off on foot again. Wandering along we stumbled across Mingle (which is where we are now). Again....lucky girls that we are....we ended up sitting right beside the woman who owns the place and within minutes we'd agreed to go on a vespa tour with her tomorrow. Who knows just what that is going to look like but I gotta tell you...we're feeling pretty excited for another new adventure!
Now....I think I'd better sign off and get Lynda headed in the direction of home. Her eyes are currently at half mast and the drink she is currently working on is looking a little forlorn as she ignores it in favour of a bottle of water. :-). #balilife is GOOD....really really good. :-). Once again, we are so appreciative of having the opportunity to live here for this long as that has afforded us the opportunity to see Bali from a very different angle than most tourists get to witness.
Till next time,
L & L
P.s.
It has been such a busy week that I actually forgot to mention that we had an earthquake in there too! I'm not kidding! It only registered 4.6 but it shook our chairs (we were playing cards on the patio) and rattled the glass in the windows and left us feeling a bit like we do right now....like we've had one too many to drink! Another bali adventure chalked up....earthquake.....check!
L & L
Thursday, February 9, 2017
February 9, 2017
Another week just flew by! We must be past the 1/2 way mark of our time here as now the days are going more quickly than they did when we first arrived. Somehow that happens....just like in life the years go by more quickly the older I get and on vacation the second half of my time away goes more quickly than the first. But enough of that....it was another great week!
We can report that we've been here long enough to have worn out 2 decks of cards! Yes....it's true....you can actually wear cards right out if you play them enough. When we were in Lovina we played a lot of scrabble and dice (as they had them available at our accommodation) but since then we've been pretty much sticking with the cards. Regular rummy, contract rummy, crazy eights, 31.....we keep rotating through them. We actually have a book where the scores are kept and in addition to wearing out 2 decks we've filled 1/2 a book with scores! Jeez....it sounds like we don't do anything else....but we do! :-)
We've both become pretty professional in the "being looked after" department. In fact, as our departure draws ever nearer the anxiety grows accordingly higher as we consider what it will be like to have no cook, no laundry service, no driver, no gardener, no housekeeper....yep....we're starting to get a little worried! But we're not going to worry about that until we have to so...in the spirit of crossing that bridge when we get to it....I will move on. :-)
As we've reported many times by now, Bali is filled with special ceremony days. Well, there was another big one a few days ago. It is to honour all things made of metal as well as all things sharp. So....in addition to acknowledging such things as a sharp mind, offerings are placed on cars and motorbikes and equipment made of metal. Knives and tools and cymbals and spoons/forks....yes....everything that is made from metal has offerings of appreciation made for it on this special day that comes around once every 6 months. Most noticeable for us was the significant amount of offerings that sat on the hood of the cars or were tied to the vehicles mirrors or the motorbikes front end. It was very obviously a special day on the streets that day!
What else have we been doing? Well....one thing that is sure to happen when you live in a place is that we've been meeting new people. Some of them have shown up in the blog already and there was another we met for dinner the other night. Jessika is a dr from Germany. About 6 months ago she left her practice and headed to the east.....the far east in search of new answers to the age old questions of wellness. Her western science based practice was good but often she felt that the best she could do was to put a "bandaid" on her patients problem and her desire was to be able to practice in a way that supported transformational change. So....it was off to the land of ayervedic practices and body work. At the same time as she decided to leave her practice in Germany, she applied for a work visa to Canada and voila....she got it so....in April, Canada will be welcoming a new temporary resident who brings with her a multitude of interesting knowledge and insight. I will be connecting her with my contacts in Continuing Education for sure as it is my guess that Jessika will make a great facilitator for an interesting general interest course! But that is Jessika's story....lets get back to Lynda and Lorrie. Jessica suggested a vegan place for dinner and since we'd never been there before decided to give Sage a try. Wow! Who knew that vegan food could be so yummy! Honestly, there is so much great food here....it must sound like all we do is eat!
At the moment we are in the city of Sanur (south of Ubud). We had to get out of our place for 4 nights as there were others who had already booked those dates in the room. These forced "getaways" have proven to be great excuses to visit other towns for more than just a day trip. First it was 3 weeks in Lovina and then a week on Gili Air and now 4 nights in Sanur. We opted for a place on the beach here and it is a really nice treat to have that vibe and access to 3 separate pools. As well, we've got a bungalow with two bedrooms so once again....it gives us that little bit of extra space. Not that we need it.....we're still talking and playing cards. :-). Seriously, we know how lucky we are to be able to get along so well that we are able to do this!
This morning we were up bright and early and ready with the breakfast we got "to go" last night from our friends at a little restaurant right next to our hotel called the "White House". We love that little place! The young people who own it were high school friends. After travelling a little and studying (a couple of them are chefs) they opened this place and are working to make a go of it. We've been doing our best to support them! Last night while we were there for dinner one of them "checked the pantry" to see what he could come up with for a 'to go' breakfast for us. This morning we found: a couple of hard boiled eggs, some coconut french toast with a vanilla custard to pour over it, a piece of delicious banana bread, and some vermicelli rice noodle salad that had all its components separated into little bags so it wouldn't get soggy. Lynda and I enjoyed this gourmet breakfast in the sitting area of our hotel lobby along with the complimentary coffee that is there 24/7. As soon as our breakfast was over our driver arrived to pick us up for a day tour package to Lembongan Island. Yes.....Landlubber Lorrie would be getting on another boat! In the end, the company we went with was called Scoot and I cannot say enough good about their service. The trip to the island took about 20-30 minutes and thankfully we were on a fast boat (that can carry about 30 people plus crew). The swells in the sea were higher than the boat and even though I made it through the trip without getting seasick there were a few moments where I wondered if our little boat was going to be lost in between some of those swells! (actually I've been doing really well on all of the water vessels this entire trip!). Lynda and I were sitting outside the cabin at the back of the boat right in front of the four massive engines that were insanely loud. At one point while our boat was lost in between two massive swells there was another boat that materialized from nowhere and that was just about 50-100 feet away beside us! It too was disappearing in between the swells and so I'm guessing at least some of the people on that boat were just as surprised to see us as I was to see them! I'm sure our captain knew they were there all the time but as I was facing backward and the swells were pretty skookum.....they sure took me by surprise! Our day on Lembongan was great! Almost as soon as we got off the fast boat we were hustled onto a glass bottom boat that would also be the snorkel boat for those who wanted to go snorkelling. I had opted to stay on the glass bottom boat but Lynda was uber ready for getting into the water so had her snorkel gear on almost before the boat had stopped. There were 8 of us on the boat in total. A couple from Australia, 2 couples from China, and Lynda and I. As soon as our boat stopped at the snorkel site the younger Chinese woman said she needed to go back because she didn't feel well. Then her mom said she would go with her so she wasn't alone. Her husband was already in the water snorkelling and her father was getting geared up for his snorkelling too. There was really no way to accommodate her request but Mei (our morning guide) was able to get the speedboat that pulls the banana behind it to come pick her up. I told Mei and the two Chinese women that I would go back with the younger one so the mom could go snorkelling (easy decision for me to make!). It was all agreed and everyone was happy. The speed boat arrived and the young Chinese woman and I boarded (yes...balanced and jumped from boat to boat bobbing out there in the salt chuck!). right behind us came the Chinese mother and then the father and then the husband who had climbed out of the water and jumped aboard with his snorkel still attached! They had decided that they all needed to stay together and so the little speed boat that was made to carry just a couple of us back now had 5 additional passengers (plus 2 crew) aboard! In the end, it was all good. One of the crew, another young man named Ketut, and I had a great visit and a fresh juice at the restaurant while waiting for the 3 lone snorkelers to finish their 90 minutes and come back for lunch. Poor Lynda! When she got out of the water and discovered I was gone and then discovered that there were only 3 of the original 8 left on the boat....she wasn't sure what had happened! After a nice lunch at a beach location we had a little free time before heading off in the back of a truck to tour the island. First stop was mangrove forests where we climbed back into a boat! OMG! What is with all these boats?! This water was very calm though and the tour through the mangroves was incredibly beautiful! It was soooo quiet! Lynda, Ketut and I were in one boat and the 4 Chinese people were in another. The Australian couple had not signed on for this part of the tour. The type of boats we were in for the mangrove tour are the same boats that the locals use for their seaweed farming. These boats differ from fishing boats as they don't have the big bamboo arms that help them stay balanced on rough seas. These skinny boats also have no motor...just a guy that stands on the back poling it along. The seaweed farming they do used to be in the ocean but now most of it is done inland in fields kind of like rice paddies. They can only do the seaweed farming in the dry season so we were not able to see one in action but it was interesting to hear about them. The seaweed (once harvested) goes to China for use in face creams (most of which also include ingredients meant to whiten the skin). After about 1/2 hour poling through the mangroves we popped out into the open ocean and then rounded a corner on open water where we were then able to get back into the mangrove and make our way back to our truck. From there we were off to a couple of lookout points where the views were stunning! White sand beaches and azure blue waters...it doesn't get much better than that! Our final stop up top was at the Devils Tears which is the name given to a massive cave/blow hole where the bigger the wave the bigger the misty white spray that blasts out and onto the surrounding rock. What a great stop! The majesty of mother nature was sooo present here! Sadly, also present were a lot of very foolish people who were going right up to the edge of the cliffs. Honestly, it was kind of scary as it was easy to see that each of the big waves that came could have washed any of them away. Many of them even had their small children with them! Tourism is very new on Lembongan....just 6 years old. I am hopeful that they will post signs warning tourists to stay back from the edge before too much more time passes. Our guide Ketut told us not to go near the rock (our chinese foursome wanted to) but I guess not everyone's guide was as safety conscious as ours. The rapid rise of tourism on this island is due in very large part to the Chinese visitors. They flock to Lembongan and have been ever since 2010 when they were involved in it's early development. Lynda and I couldn't get over the level of infrastructure that exists in such a short time and the fact that the part of it that we saw was all running like a well oiled machine. The population of Lembongan (about 6000) is now all employed. On the downside...the increase in tourism and boat traffic has caused pollution (oil leaks etc and the need to use beaches for tourism related business) in areas of the ocean and beaches that used to be used for seaweed farming. There are still a few seaweed farms a little way offshore but most are now inland and require a lot of hauled water. By the time we made it back to the Scoot office at the beach it was almost time to board our boat for Sanur so once again we waded into the water to climb aboard. (knee deep unless you're unlucky and a big wave comes at the same time in which case you are waste deep!). We rocked and rolled a bit right at the start of the return journey but once we settled into it and got our internal rock and roll on the same beat it was all good. Our driver was waiting back onshore and in no time we were back at our hotel and ready for a shower!
But I should backtrack a little too. Our first couple of days here were pretty much spent poolside. The first evening we hit it lucky and were able to enjoy complimentary entertainment right here on the hotel grounds. Not only was it right here and free....we were pretty much the only people in attendance and so had front row seats! The performers were all from the same family. Dad and the youngest son played the gambolan (one on each side of it). A gambolan is kind of like a xylophone and it is played with metal hammers (am guessing they were given a special offering on metal day!). The gambolan is different than a xylophone though as the player has to use both hands. One to hit the key with the hammer and the other to grasp the key which stops the note before the next is hit. The sound is very unique and if you've got facebook you can listen to them play on my page there or if you don't have facebook...I encourage you to youtube it so you can see and hear it for yourself. The mother in the family played a cymbal type drum and the eldest son played a different drum and a gong. A friend of the boys played another type of drum and the daughter was there but I'm not sure what her role is. In addition to playing the gambolan, the youngest son also performed two very traditional Balinese dances and in between them he stopped long enough to demonstrate his amazing prowess on the drum that his buddy was playing too! What a talented young man! What a talented family! What a great show! Seeing as we were practically the only people there and in the front row....they pretty much gave us a private performance and afterward came over to say hello. It was at that time that I'm pretty sure Lynda agreed to go on tour with them! Yikes....I wonder what instrument she will play? I know she wants to learn how to move her hands and eyes the way that the Balinese ladies do when they dance so .....maybe that will be her claim to fame on their tour! :-)
Speaking of music...that leads me right into my final story for this post. I said right at the outset of this blog that my intent was to "live" in Bali and tonight the evidence of just that really presented itself! On our way back to the hotel I had noticed a restaurant called the White Orchid just a couple doors down from our hotel and since we were dead tired and not wanting to walk too far....decided to give it a try once we were cleaned up a little. As we entered the restaurant we were met with the smiling faces of two musicians we've met in Ubud! They were as thrilled to see us there as we were to see them. Both Lynda and I really enjoy their music! I'm sure I must have mentioned them in an earlier post as we've seen them a couple of times at the Art Kafe in Ubud. Their names are Moses and Anthony and their style is pretty eclectic. In fact...they can play pretty much anything. Both play guitar and sing. Anthony also plays harmonica. ( I know those names don't sound very Balinese so maybe those are just their stage names). As we entered the restaurant they both gave us a high five as we walked by, they dedicated songs to us (the ones they know we've requested before), and when we left after dinner we heard through the mic..... "good night grandma Double L" as it seems that is destined to be our moniker! LOL!
Yes....you know you're a resident when you can travel around and still have people recognize you and say "hi". So yes....we've got just 2 months left in Bali....but I'll bet we can make a few more new friends in that time! :-)
Till next time,
L & L
We can report that we've been here long enough to have worn out 2 decks of cards! Yes....it's true....you can actually wear cards right out if you play them enough. When we were in Lovina we played a lot of scrabble and dice (as they had them available at our accommodation) but since then we've been pretty much sticking with the cards. Regular rummy, contract rummy, crazy eights, 31.....we keep rotating through them. We actually have a book where the scores are kept and in addition to wearing out 2 decks we've filled 1/2 a book with scores! Jeez....it sounds like we don't do anything else....but we do! :-)
We've both become pretty professional in the "being looked after" department. In fact, as our departure draws ever nearer the anxiety grows accordingly higher as we consider what it will be like to have no cook, no laundry service, no driver, no gardener, no housekeeper....yep....we're starting to get a little worried! But we're not going to worry about that until we have to so...in the spirit of crossing that bridge when we get to it....I will move on. :-)
As we've reported many times by now, Bali is filled with special ceremony days. Well, there was another big one a few days ago. It is to honour all things made of metal as well as all things sharp. So....in addition to acknowledging such things as a sharp mind, offerings are placed on cars and motorbikes and equipment made of metal. Knives and tools and cymbals and spoons/forks....yes....everything that is made from metal has offerings of appreciation made for it on this special day that comes around once every 6 months. Most noticeable for us was the significant amount of offerings that sat on the hood of the cars or were tied to the vehicles mirrors or the motorbikes front end. It was very obviously a special day on the streets that day!
What else have we been doing? Well....one thing that is sure to happen when you live in a place is that we've been meeting new people. Some of them have shown up in the blog already and there was another we met for dinner the other night. Jessika is a dr from Germany. About 6 months ago she left her practice and headed to the east.....the far east in search of new answers to the age old questions of wellness. Her western science based practice was good but often she felt that the best she could do was to put a "bandaid" on her patients problem and her desire was to be able to practice in a way that supported transformational change. So....it was off to the land of ayervedic practices and body work. At the same time as she decided to leave her practice in Germany, she applied for a work visa to Canada and voila....she got it so....in April, Canada will be welcoming a new temporary resident who brings with her a multitude of interesting knowledge and insight. I will be connecting her with my contacts in Continuing Education for sure as it is my guess that Jessika will make a great facilitator for an interesting general interest course! But that is Jessika's story....lets get back to Lynda and Lorrie. Jessica suggested a vegan place for dinner and since we'd never been there before decided to give Sage a try. Wow! Who knew that vegan food could be so yummy! Honestly, there is so much great food here....it must sound like all we do is eat!
At the moment we are in the city of Sanur (south of Ubud). We had to get out of our place for 4 nights as there were others who had already booked those dates in the room. These forced "getaways" have proven to be great excuses to visit other towns for more than just a day trip. First it was 3 weeks in Lovina and then a week on Gili Air and now 4 nights in Sanur. We opted for a place on the beach here and it is a really nice treat to have that vibe and access to 3 separate pools. As well, we've got a bungalow with two bedrooms so once again....it gives us that little bit of extra space. Not that we need it.....we're still talking and playing cards. :-). Seriously, we know how lucky we are to be able to get along so well that we are able to do this!
This morning we were up bright and early and ready with the breakfast we got "to go" last night from our friends at a little restaurant right next to our hotel called the "White House". We love that little place! The young people who own it were high school friends. After travelling a little and studying (a couple of them are chefs) they opened this place and are working to make a go of it. We've been doing our best to support them! Last night while we were there for dinner one of them "checked the pantry" to see what he could come up with for a 'to go' breakfast for us. This morning we found: a couple of hard boiled eggs, some coconut french toast with a vanilla custard to pour over it, a piece of delicious banana bread, and some vermicelli rice noodle salad that had all its components separated into little bags so it wouldn't get soggy. Lynda and I enjoyed this gourmet breakfast in the sitting area of our hotel lobby along with the complimentary coffee that is there 24/7. As soon as our breakfast was over our driver arrived to pick us up for a day tour package to Lembongan Island. Yes.....Landlubber Lorrie would be getting on another boat! In the end, the company we went with was called Scoot and I cannot say enough good about their service. The trip to the island took about 20-30 minutes and thankfully we were on a fast boat (that can carry about 30 people plus crew). The swells in the sea were higher than the boat and even though I made it through the trip without getting seasick there were a few moments where I wondered if our little boat was going to be lost in between some of those swells! (actually I've been doing really well on all of the water vessels this entire trip!). Lynda and I were sitting outside the cabin at the back of the boat right in front of the four massive engines that were insanely loud. At one point while our boat was lost in between two massive swells there was another boat that materialized from nowhere and that was just about 50-100 feet away beside us! It too was disappearing in between the swells and so I'm guessing at least some of the people on that boat were just as surprised to see us as I was to see them! I'm sure our captain knew they were there all the time but as I was facing backward and the swells were pretty skookum.....they sure took me by surprise! Our day on Lembongan was great! Almost as soon as we got off the fast boat we were hustled onto a glass bottom boat that would also be the snorkel boat for those who wanted to go snorkelling. I had opted to stay on the glass bottom boat but Lynda was uber ready for getting into the water so had her snorkel gear on almost before the boat had stopped. There were 8 of us on the boat in total. A couple from Australia, 2 couples from China, and Lynda and I. As soon as our boat stopped at the snorkel site the younger Chinese woman said she needed to go back because she didn't feel well. Then her mom said she would go with her so she wasn't alone. Her husband was already in the water snorkelling and her father was getting geared up for his snorkelling too. There was really no way to accommodate her request but Mei (our morning guide) was able to get the speedboat that pulls the banana behind it to come pick her up. I told Mei and the two Chinese women that I would go back with the younger one so the mom could go snorkelling (easy decision for me to make!). It was all agreed and everyone was happy. The speed boat arrived and the young Chinese woman and I boarded (yes...balanced and jumped from boat to boat bobbing out there in the salt chuck!). right behind us came the Chinese mother and then the father and then the husband who had climbed out of the water and jumped aboard with his snorkel still attached! They had decided that they all needed to stay together and so the little speed boat that was made to carry just a couple of us back now had 5 additional passengers (plus 2 crew) aboard! In the end, it was all good. One of the crew, another young man named Ketut, and I had a great visit and a fresh juice at the restaurant while waiting for the 3 lone snorkelers to finish their 90 minutes and come back for lunch. Poor Lynda! When she got out of the water and discovered I was gone and then discovered that there were only 3 of the original 8 left on the boat....she wasn't sure what had happened! After a nice lunch at a beach location we had a little free time before heading off in the back of a truck to tour the island. First stop was mangrove forests where we climbed back into a boat! OMG! What is with all these boats?! This water was very calm though and the tour through the mangroves was incredibly beautiful! It was soooo quiet! Lynda, Ketut and I were in one boat and the 4 Chinese people were in another. The Australian couple had not signed on for this part of the tour. The type of boats we were in for the mangrove tour are the same boats that the locals use for their seaweed farming. These boats differ from fishing boats as they don't have the big bamboo arms that help them stay balanced on rough seas. These skinny boats also have no motor...just a guy that stands on the back poling it along. The seaweed farming they do used to be in the ocean but now most of it is done inland in fields kind of like rice paddies. They can only do the seaweed farming in the dry season so we were not able to see one in action but it was interesting to hear about them. The seaweed (once harvested) goes to China for use in face creams (most of which also include ingredients meant to whiten the skin). After about 1/2 hour poling through the mangroves we popped out into the open ocean and then rounded a corner on open water where we were then able to get back into the mangrove and make our way back to our truck. From there we were off to a couple of lookout points where the views were stunning! White sand beaches and azure blue waters...it doesn't get much better than that! Our final stop up top was at the Devils Tears which is the name given to a massive cave/blow hole where the bigger the wave the bigger the misty white spray that blasts out and onto the surrounding rock. What a great stop! The majesty of mother nature was sooo present here! Sadly, also present were a lot of very foolish people who were going right up to the edge of the cliffs. Honestly, it was kind of scary as it was easy to see that each of the big waves that came could have washed any of them away. Many of them even had their small children with them! Tourism is very new on Lembongan....just 6 years old. I am hopeful that they will post signs warning tourists to stay back from the edge before too much more time passes. Our guide Ketut told us not to go near the rock (our chinese foursome wanted to) but I guess not everyone's guide was as safety conscious as ours. The rapid rise of tourism on this island is due in very large part to the Chinese visitors. They flock to Lembongan and have been ever since 2010 when they were involved in it's early development. Lynda and I couldn't get over the level of infrastructure that exists in such a short time and the fact that the part of it that we saw was all running like a well oiled machine. The population of Lembongan (about 6000) is now all employed. On the downside...the increase in tourism and boat traffic has caused pollution (oil leaks etc and the need to use beaches for tourism related business) in areas of the ocean and beaches that used to be used for seaweed farming. There are still a few seaweed farms a little way offshore but most are now inland and require a lot of hauled water. By the time we made it back to the Scoot office at the beach it was almost time to board our boat for Sanur so once again we waded into the water to climb aboard. (knee deep unless you're unlucky and a big wave comes at the same time in which case you are waste deep!). We rocked and rolled a bit right at the start of the return journey but once we settled into it and got our internal rock and roll on the same beat it was all good. Our driver was waiting back onshore and in no time we were back at our hotel and ready for a shower!
But I should backtrack a little too. Our first couple of days here were pretty much spent poolside. The first evening we hit it lucky and were able to enjoy complimentary entertainment right here on the hotel grounds. Not only was it right here and free....we were pretty much the only people in attendance and so had front row seats! The performers were all from the same family. Dad and the youngest son played the gambolan (one on each side of it). A gambolan is kind of like a xylophone and it is played with metal hammers (am guessing they were given a special offering on metal day!). The gambolan is different than a xylophone though as the player has to use both hands. One to hit the key with the hammer and the other to grasp the key which stops the note before the next is hit. The sound is very unique and if you've got facebook you can listen to them play on my page there or if you don't have facebook...I encourage you to youtube it so you can see and hear it for yourself. The mother in the family played a cymbal type drum and the eldest son played a different drum and a gong. A friend of the boys played another type of drum and the daughter was there but I'm not sure what her role is. In addition to playing the gambolan, the youngest son also performed two very traditional Balinese dances and in between them he stopped long enough to demonstrate his amazing prowess on the drum that his buddy was playing too! What a talented young man! What a talented family! What a great show! Seeing as we were practically the only people there and in the front row....they pretty much gave us a private performance and afterward came over to say hello. It was at that time that I'm pretty sure Lynda agreed to go on tour with them! Yikes....I wonder what instrument she will play? I know she wants to learn how to move her hands and eyes the way that the Balinese ladies do when they dance so .....maybe that will be her claim to fame on their tour! :-)
Speaking of music...that leads me right into my final story for this post. I said right at the outset of this blog that my intent was to "live" in Bali and tonight the evidence of just that really presented itself! On our way back to the hotel I had noticed a restaurant called the White Orchid just a couple doors down from our hotel and since we were dead tired and not wanting to walk too far....decided to give it a try once we were cleaned up a little. As we entered the restaurant we were met with the smiling faces of two musicians we've met in Ubud! They were as thrilled to see us there as we were to see them. Both Lynda and I really enjoy their music! I'm sure I must have mentioned them in an earlier post as we've seen them a couple of times at the Art Kafe in Ubud. Their names are Moses and Anthony and their style is pretty eclectic. In fact...they can play pretty much anything. Both play guitar and sing. Anthony also plays harmonica. ( I know those names don't sound very Balinese so maybe those are just their stage names). As we entered the restaurant they both gave us a high five as we walked by, they dedicated songs to us (the ones they know we've requested before), and when we left after dinner we heard through the mic..... "good night grandma Double L" as it seems that is destined to be our moniker! LOL!
Yes....you know you're a resident when you can travel around and still have people recognize you and say "hi". So yes....we've got just 2 months left in Bali....but I'll bet we can make a few more new friends in that time! :-)
Till next time,
L & L
Thursday, February 2, 2017
February 2, 2017
What a fun night we had last evening. There were five of us out for dinner: Julie (our neighbour here in Ubud), Glenda (a university teacher from Hong Kong), Miranda (an entrepreneur and wanting to be coach from the Netherlands), Lynda and I. On Julie's recommendation we went to a restaurant that is about a 10 minute drive from here called Bale Udang. A bale (pronounced balay) is a small hut and udang is the Indonesian word for shrimp. The restaurant consists of several bales that are set about a foot above a large lake that is stocked with koi. It is stunning and unique! To make it even better...adjacent to the restaurant are a series of rice fields that are incredible to look out over. Last night was not a good night to see the sunset but I can imagine how beautiful it would have been had there been no rain.
Yes, for the past three days we've seen pretty much nothing but rain (which is reasonable considering we're in the peak of the rainy season!). We've been spoiled the past few weeks with mostly sunny skies or with cloudbursts that last only a few minutes and at most an hour. This past three days of alternating between drizzle and downright insane buckets of torrential downpour have been "interesting". On the upside....we've got our fingers and toes crossed that this is mother nature getting it all out of her system before we go to our beachfront bungalow in Sanur on the 7th. For the four nights we're there we'd like to have nothing but sunshine please. :-)
But back to last night....the five of us had a great night and the conversation was interesting and varied. Each of us brought our own life experience to this table of diverse women but the common denominator we all shared was our love of travel and appreciation for diversity. It is such a treat to spend time with a group who are all likeminded.....the conversation flows so easily and everything is so interesting.
Our evening was not without excitement too! During our meal the winds picked up and the drizzle turned into a torrential downpour. The rain began to blow into our little bale (it is just a roof and a floor with open walls). But not to be chased away we just dropped the bamboo screens that are on all four sides of the bale and within minutes we were dry once again and the excitement of the evening had just gone up a notch. We sat there in our little bale listening to the wind and the rain while wondering if those hanging "walls" would stand up to the wind (the "walls" are only attached at the top). At one point during the worst of the wind a small palm tree (about 15 feet tall) was actually ripped right out of the ground and the branches of it crashed into the "wall" of our bale! We all just high fived and said that if tonight was the night we were meant to go then at least we'd be going out in style. Yes....it was a fun night that was filled with excitement and adventure too! :-)
After our dinner we all fed the hundreds (perhaps even thousands) of koi that live in that lake that was under our bale. The fish got so excited about being fed that they almost jumped into our bale with us! More fun memories for us all.
When the rain finally subsided enough for us to even consider heading out and back to the car it was time for the restaurant to close and five hours had passed since we'd arrived. Luckily for us...all of our shoes were still there! We hadn't thought about it until then but considering that the winds had been strong enough to blow over a tree how was it possible that they hadn't taken any of our shoes from the platform right outside our bale?! Luckily too.....this is Bali and Jati was still waiting patiently for us in the lobby. We felt badly that he'd been waiting for that long but as he said...that is his job and it is no problem. I believe him but honestly....my hunch is that he was likely cold sitting in the lobby of the restaurant all that time! (There are no walls there either.)
You may think that I'm joking about him being cold but honestly these past few days even Lynda and I have felt the cold here. Perhaps we have become a bit accustomed to the warmer temperatures but whatever it is...the breeze is cool and the temperature outside has gone from it's usual 30 plus whatever the humidity makes it feel like to somewhere around 25 that feels a bit cool because of the dampness and the breeze. We're pretty sure that these few days are our winter and we're okay with it as it is giving us a taste of what everyone at home experienced this winter with the crazy cold temperatures that settled all over BC. Okay...maybe our +25 degrees can't compare with your -25 but people are wearing sweaters here so it's kind of the same. :-)
It poured all through the night as well and got so cold in our room that I had to get up and turn off the aircon at around 2:00 for a few hours. It gets a bit stuffy without the aircon on as the windows are closed to keep out mosquitos etc so by 5:00 a.m. it had warmed up enough for me to turn it back on again.
It's been a pretty lazy day today with rain falling for most of it. This morning Lynda popped out for a bit to get a hair cut and so she is feeling like a new woman. Feeling a little envious of her fantastic head massage (that comes with a shampoo and a cut) I stopped on the way home this afternoon to get a shampoo too. $4 and 30 minutes of my time and I too feel like a million bucks. :-)
This afternoon while out for lunch we checked out another nearby hotel to see their spa and pool (always on the lookout for "must go" places). While nice....it couldn't compete with our favourite local spot where Maryanna works her magic in a private room with private open air shower. There is also a pool there that we're free to use when we've had a spa treatment so for under $20 I can get a 90 minute amazing massage, a fantastic shower with oversize nice quality towels, and as long swimming and at pool side as I'd like to have. Oh yes....and a cup of tea and plate of fresh fruit to rejuvenate me after my massage is also included in the price of course. The other spa that both Lynda and I are anxious to try is about 10 minutes from here and it is called Sedona. There we will be dipped in chocolate! (For its antioxidant properties of course!). But that is another story for another day.
I had to go shopping for some deodorant today and while you might think that is an easy thing...not so much! The pharmacy didn't have any at all and they directed me to CoCo's (a good 20 minute walk or a $5 cab ride away). I didn't want to go all the way to CoCo's and so finally I found some at the little convenience store across the street (the Circle K). I expected to pay some exorbitant price given that it was at a corner store but no....it was only $2.60 for adidas brand deodorant! I was so happy that I decided to pick up a little bag of the most amazing peanuts to celebrate. These peanuts are vacuum packed and we had some for the first time the other day and OMG I am now officially addicted! They are crunchier than crunchy and their flavour is amazing. It might be a problem that they're available at the corner store where you can buy beer too!
The other thing I went shopping for today was a new bar of soap. We have a really nice quality store right across the street from where our little lane pops out. They carry all kinds of natural products that range from local spices to a myriad of soaps made out of coconut oil or honey etc. That bar of soap cost $3.80 so it too is a little less than it would be at home.
The shopping here is endless. There are clothes that range from high quality designer pieces in beautifully appointed shops to cheaply made garments in the too many to count market and street vendor stalls. There is jewellery everywhere and it too ranges from high end to lesser quality. Or the statues and art and bags/purses and flip flops and household goods and all things wicker and I haven't even mentioned the food places. I think the restaurants are my favourite. There are more than we will ever be able to see during our time here. There are possibly more restaurants than there are temples in Bali and that is saying a LOT! Each restaurant that we visit is special in some way. Either it is that their food is outstanding or their decor is interesting and eclectic or their view is breathtaking. All of them offer great service and although the food is better in some places than in others...even the not so good places would still rate an 8/10. The really great places score more like a 12/10! We're constantly saying...OMG! We're going to have to remember this place and come back here but honestly....we hardly go to the same place twice. There are just too many to choose from! There is even a Mexican place just up the road from us that we haven't tried yet. It is called Lemonade and is supposed to be AMAZING! Go figure!?!
But enough about food.... Right at the moment I am listening to Ketut (the guy who makes our breakfast) and Made (the guy who has the place right next door) as they talk in their native tongue. Made came over to ask Ketut for some help as he is putting in a new window. The rain has stopped at the moment and so he is taking advantage of the opportunity to get this project done.
Jati took Glenda (one of the girls we had dinner with last night) to Canggu this afternoon as she has two days there until she heads back to Hong Kong. We've met a lot of really great people here and Glenda is one of them. Speaking of meeting people....I just found out that someone I know from Summerland lives here in Ubud and has done for the past 14 years. Stephen was one of the first Assistant English teachers who went from Summerland to Toyokoro. I connected with him last night and am looking forward to meeting up with him for coffee. He owns a language school here in Ubud. They teach Bahasa (indonesian) and from what I understand are quite busy.
It really is a small world when I think about some of the coincidences that have happened during my two months here. There is the friend connection with Laurie Dillon (Itsy Bitsy Emporium) and then there is another connection that I have not yet made in person but that I will make at some point before I leave. Debbie Berry from Berry & Smith in Penticton who now lives here and who is friends with many of my friends. Now there is Stephen who I just found out is also friends with my new friend Julie (neighbour here). And then when I think of the new friends I'm making here and who at some point may connect with again in the future....yes....the world is a small place where we have more in common than we realize at first glance.
Ketut just came back and is now washing his bike. They are all really fastidious about keeping their cars and bikes clean. Even though it is going to get dirty again the first time they take it out as there are puddles everywhere....bikes are washed often. Jati is cleaning the car (inside and out) every day too. I know that is partly because that is his job but....what a lot of work knowing that it is going out into the rain right after it's finished must be a bit discouraging!
No one seems to watch TV here. A few places have TV in them but not many. The boys that work here sometimes watch something on youtube or the occasional movie online but for the most part their time is spent working on something (or going to ceremony or travelling between work and where their family lives). Cooking and cleaning take up a lot of their work time but even when those things are finished....they find something else productive to do. The only things I see them do during their "down" time is either sleep or visit with one another or sit out front on the bench in front of the little corner store where they visit or meet new people and in the case of Ketut and Ketut....look at the pretty girls. :-). Young 20 somethings the world over are the same! :-)
Well, I'm thinking mother nature might actually have gotten that rain out of her system as I haven't seen a drop fall from the sky in over an hour. Everything is so quiet when the rain stops! I never thought about rain being noisy before but when it is coming down as hard as it does here it is very very loud. When that stops...the silence is almost deafening. The birds are starting to sing again so maybe this really is the end of the rain for a while.
It's 6 pm here and now that the rain has stopped the mosquitoes are coming out in full force so I'll sign off for now and slather some more Bug Begone on me. I love that stuff...it actually kind of works and it smells okay too. It's also all natural (citronella) so we're not killing ourselves by using it either. We bought a 1 litre bottle of it when we first arrived and are almost through that so another 1 litre bottle should take us right into April. Sure don't begrudge that purchase! It's been worth every penny. :-)
Till next time,
L & L
Yes, for the past three days we've seen pretty much nothing but rain (which is reasonable considering we're in the peak of the rainy season!). We've been spoiled the past few weeks with mostly sunny skies or with cloudbursts that last only a few minutes and at most an hour. This past three days of alternating between drizzle and downright insane buckets of torrential downpour have been "interesting". On the upside....we've got our fingers and toes crossed that this is mother nature getting it all out of her system before we go to our beachfront bungalow in Sanur on the 7th. For the four nights we're there we'd like to have nothing but sunshine please. :-)
But back to last night....the five of us had a great night and the conversation was interesting and varied. Each of us brought our own life experience to this table of diverse women but the common denominator we all shared was our love of travel and appreciation for diversity. It is such a treat to spend time with a group who are all likeminded.....the conversation flows so easily and everything is so interesting.
Our evening was not without excitement too! During our meal the winds picked up and the drizzle turned into a torrential downpour. The rain began to blow into our little bale (it is just a roof and a floor with open walls). But not to be chased away we just dropped the bamboo screens that are on all four sides of the bale and within minutes we were dry once again and the excitement of the evening had just gone up a notch. We sat there in our little bale listening to the wind and the rain while wondering if those hanging "walls" would stand up to the wind (the "walls" are only attached at the top). At one point during the worst of the wind a small palm tree (about 15 feet tall) was actually ripped right out of the ground and the branches of it crashed into the "wall" of our bale! We all just high fived and said that if tonight was the night we were meant to go then at least we'd be going out in style. Yes....it was a fun night that was filled with excitement and adventure too! :-)
After our dinner we all fed the hundreds (perhaps even thousands) of koi that live in that lake that was under our bale. The fish got so excited about being fed that they almost jumped into our bale with us! More fun memories for us all.
When the rain finally subsided enough for us to even consider heading out and back to the car it was time for the restaurant to close and five hours had passed since we'd arrived. Luckily for us...all of our shoes were still there! We hadn't thought about it until then but considering that the winds had been strong enough to blow over a tree how was it possible that they hadn't taken any of our shoes from the platform right outside our bale?! Luckily too.....this is Bali and Jati was still waiting patiently for us in the lobby. We felt badly that he'd been waiting for that long but as he said...that is his job and it is no problem. I believe him but honestly....my hunch is that he was likely cold sitting in the lobby of the restaurant all that time! (There are no walls there either.)
You may think that I'm joking about him being cold but honestly these past few days even Lynda and I have felt the cold here. Perhaps we have become a bit accustomed to the warmer temperatures but whatever it is...the breeze is cool and the temperature outside has gone from it's usual 30 plus whatever the humidity makes it feel like to somewhere around 25 that feels a bit cool because of the dampness and the breeze. We're pretty sure that these few days are our winter and we're okay with it as it is giving us a taste of what everyone at home experienced this winter with the crazy cold temperatures that settled all over BC. Okay...maybe our +25 degrees can't compare with your -25 but people are wearing sweaters here so it's kind of the same. :-)
It poured all through the night as well and got so cold in our room that I had to get up and turn off the aircon at around 2:00 for a few hours. It gets a bit stuffy without the aircon on as the windows are closed to keep out mosquitos etc so by 5:00 a.m. it had warmed up enough for me to turn it back on again.
It's been a pretty lazy day today with rain falling for most of it. This morning Lynda popped out for a bit to get a hair cut and so she is feeling like a new woman. Feeling a little envious of her fantastic head massage (that comes with a shampoo and a cut) I stopped on the way home this afternoon to get a shampoo too. $4 and 30 minutes of my time and I too feel like a million bucks. :-)
This afternoon while out for lunch we checked out another nearby hotel to see their spa and pool (always on the lookout for "must go" places). While nice....it couldn't compete with our favourite local spot where Maryanna works her magic in a private room with private open air shower. There is also a pool there that we're free to use when we've had a spa treatment so for under $20 I can get a 90 minute amazing massage, a fantastic shower with oversize nice quality towels, and as long swimming and at pool side as I'd like to have. Oh yes....and a cup of tea and plate of fresh fruit to rejuvenate me after my massage is also included in the price of course. The other spa that both Lynda and I are anxious to try is about 10 minutes from here and it is called Sedona. There we will be dipped in chocolate! (For its antioxidant properties of course!). But that is another story for another day.
I had to go shopping for some deodorant today and while you might think that is an easy thing...not so much! The pharmacy didn't have any at all and they directed me to CoCo's (a good 20 minute walk or a $5 cab ride away). I didn't want to go all the way to CoCo's and so finally I found some at the little convenience store across the street (the Circle K). I expected to pay some exorbitant price given that it was at a corner store but no....it was only $2.60 for adidas brand deodorant! I was so happy that I decided to pick up a little bag of the most amazing peanuts to celebrate. These peanuts are vacuum packed and we had some for the first time the other day and OMG I am now officially addicted! They are crunchier than crunchy and their flavour is amazing. It might be a problem that they're available at the corner store where you can buy beer too!
The other thing I went shopping for today was a new bar of soap. We have a really nice quality store right across the street from where our little lane pops out. They carry all kinds of natural products that range from local spices to a myriad of soaps made out of coconut oil or honey etc. That bar of soap cost $3.80 so it too is a little less than it would be at home.
The shopping here is endless. There are clothes that range from high quality designer pieces in beautifully appointed shops to cheaply made garments in the too many to count market and street vendor stalls. There is jewellery everywhere and it too ranges from high end to lesser quality. Or the statues and art and bags/purses and flip flops and household goods and all things wicker and I haven't even mentioned the food places. I think the restaurants are my favourite. There are more than we will ever be able to see during our time here. There are possibly more restaurants than there are temples in Bali and that is saying a LOT! Each restaurant that we visit is special in some way. Either it is that their food is outstanding or their decor is interesting and eclectic or their view is breathtaking. All of them offer great service and although the food is better in some places than in others...even the not so good places would still rate an 8/10. The really great places score more like a 12/10! We're constantly saying...OMG! We're going to have to remember this place and come back here but honestly....we hardly go to the same place twice. There are just too many to choose from! There is even a Mexican place just up the road from us that we haven't tried yet. It is called Lemonade and is supposed to be AMAZING! Go figure!?!
But enough about food.... Right at the moment I am listening to Ketut (the guy who makes our breakfast) and Made (the guy who has the place right next door) as they talk in their native tongue. Made came over to ask Ketut for some help as he is putting in a new window. The rain has stopped at the moment and so he is taking advantage of the opportunity to get this project done.
Jati took Glenda (one of the girls we had dinner with last night) to Canggu this afternoon as she has two days there until she heads back to Hong Kong. We've met a lot of really great people here and Glenda is one of them. Speaking of meeting people....I just found out that someone I know from Summerland lives here in Ubud and has done for the past 14 years. Stephen was one of the first Assistant English teachers who went from Summerland to Toyokoro. I connected with him last night and am looking forward to meeting up with him for coffee. He owns a language school here in Ubud. They teach Bahasa (indonesian) and from what I understand are quite busy.
It really is a small world when I think about some of the coincidences that have happened during my two months here. There is the friend connection with Laurie Dillon (Itsy Bitsy Emporium) and then there is another connection that I have not yet made in person but that I will make at some point before I leave. Debbie Berry from Berry & Smith in Penticton who now lives here and who is friends with many of my friends. Now there is Stephen who I just found out is also friends with my new friend Julie (neighbour here). And then when I think of the new friends I'm making here and who at some point may connect with again in the future....yes....the world is a small place where we have more in common than we realize at first glance.
Ketut just came back and is now washing his bike. They are all really fastidious about keeping their cars and bikes clean. Even though it is going to get dirty again the first time they take it out as there are puddles everywhere....bikes are washed often. Jati is cleaning the car (inside and out) every day too. I know that is partly because that is his job but....what a lot of work knowing that it is going out into the rain right after it's finished must be a bit discouraging!
No one seems to watch TV here. A few places have TV in them but not many. The boys that work here sometimes watch something on youtube or the occasional movie online but for the most part their time is spent working on something (or going to ceremony or travelling between work and where their family lives). Cooking and cleaning take up a lot of their work time but even when those things are finished....they find something else productive to do. The only things I see them do during their "down" time is either sleep or visit with one another or sit out front on the bench in front of the little corner store where they visit or meet new people and in the case of Ketut and Ketut....look at the pretty girls. :-). Young 20 somethings the world over are the same! :-)
Well, I'm thinking mother nature might actually have gotten that rain out of her system as I haven't seen a drop fall from the sky in over an hour. Everything is so quiet when the rain stops! I never thought about rain being noisy before but when it is coming down as hard as it does here it is very very loud. When that stops...the silence is almost deafening. The birds are starting to sing again so maybe this really is the end of the rain for a while.
It's 6 pm here and now that the rain has stopped the mosquitoes are coming out in full force so I'll sign off for now and slather some more Bug Begone on me. I love that stuff...it actually kind of works and it smells okay too. It's also all natural (citronella) so we're not killing ourselves by using it either. We bought a 1 litre bottle of it when we first arrived and are almost through that so another 1 litre bottle should take us right into April. Sure don't begrudge that purchase! It's been worth every penny. :-)
Till next time,
L & L
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)