April 9, 2017

So much can happen in just a few days and it seems that the closer our departure the more we want to fit into our time here.

But....even the best laid plans can change and that is exactly what happened on the 5th when our plan for massage went awry in deference to the fact that Barb was suffering from a fall she'd taken the day before during a torrential rainstorm.  On the day of the fall....she wasn't too bad but overnight (as often happens) things started to seize up and by morning she could hardly move!  She managed to make her way over here (with help) and as soon as Pasek got one look at her he began the underground communication that resulted in an amazing adventure for all of us!

To complicate things just a little....it was Galungan Day and so all Balinese are very busy with family and ceremonies but.....given their desire to help they shifted their plans, moved their ceremony/prayer times from afternoon to morning and so by afternoon Agung (from across the road), Pasek (our host), Barb, Lynda, and I were ensconced in Agung's car and headed east to see a balian (traditional healer) who specializes in broken bones.  Now, we didn't think Barb had any broken ribs but she sure had something wrong with her rib section!

The drive shouldn't have taken much more than 1/2 hour but with all the traffic (due to Galungan) it was well over an hour before we left the main road and headed into a little village where we wound our way through the merry makers, the cars parked askew, and the motor bikes that were everywhere!  Eventually we arrived at our destination.....a small dirt road that headed off into the jungle.  We left our car and set out on foot to make the final 15 minute trek of our journey.  As we moved further and further into the forest and the lane became more and more narrow I know I'm not the only one who had fleeting thoughts of "where the hell are we going?!"  The final leg of our walk took us off the main path and onto an even smaller one that veered left and up a small hill.  At the top of that hill we popped out at the family compound of the balian.  As Agung had predicted we found the balian out working in his garden so we were invited to sit and wait in the family "living room".  Living rooms here are outside the house....they are a large covered patio where everyone sits on the floor.  Within seconds of our arrival another family arrived with their injured son in tow and just a few minutes after that another family with a young woman in need of attention.  We could see the young mans injuries as there was blood (and they told us that he'd had a motorbike accident) but we had no idea what the problem for the young woman was.  Obviously this balian does more than broken bones!  While we were waiting Agung told us a story about how he'd brought his 26 year old son to see this balian when he suffered a broken leg.  Agung had had to carry his adult son on his back up the trail we'd just walked to get him here!  Gads!  Now I feel really ashamed at my chagrin about making the little hike!  Agung is not a big man....I cannot imagine how he would have done it!  But at the same time, I can.  That is just what they do...whatever needs to be done.  Agung is likely 50'ish but looks older.  He works every day in the rice fields (and that is HARD work!) and then he drives taxi every evening.  It's like Pasek....working working working all the time.  Pasek works at so many places and then when he does go home to his village he works on stuff there like carving that door that he's been working on for years!  The Balinese are traditionally very hard working people and although I suspect that is being challenged by the younger generation (just like the rest of the world)...hard work is still very much a part of their daily practice.  But I digress so back to the story.....shortly the Balian came in from the garden donned his sarong and went into his family temple (on the property right beside the house). Through all this not a word was said....somehow he knew we were first there though...perhaps his wife who had greeted us and gotten him from the garden had told him the white folks were first or maybe balian's just know stuff like that!  After a few minutes of waiting for him to return from his prayers/blessings in the temple he came out and walked right over to where Barb was sitting.  He got down on the floor behind her (all Balinese men are able to sit cross legged on the floor regardless of their age!) and asked her to lift her shirt and drop her skirt through sign language.  Yep....it is all right out in the open here.....no modesty or privacy allowed!  Barb wasn't in any shape to argue though and so she exposed her mid section at which time he took a large Q-Tip that I think had been dipped in holy water from the temple and drew a series of signs on her middle back.  From there he went to work and dove in with both hands.  He poked and massaged and prodded and adjusted and poked and massaged and adjusted again.  Exactly 8 1/2 minutes later he was done and she was like a new woman.  If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I never would have believed it!  Just a few minutes before she'd hardly been able to move and now she was moving and bending and smiling and yes....it was like she'd been given a new lease on life.  Now don't get me wrong....she still had some pain but it was now a dull pain versus the sharp breath catching agonizing pain she'd had before he started his work.  The Balian gave Barb's "prescription" to Pasek and we were off back down the path in the direction of our car.  This time it was a much quicker trip as Barb was able to walk normally.....it was like a miracle!  You may be wondering about payment for this service....well.....you cannot pay a balian directly.  What you do is give him offerings (which Pasek had provided) and you can put whatever you can afford into that offering.  Pasek had suggested perhaps 100,000 ($10) but Barb was happy to double that to 200,000 IDR and my guess is that the balian and his family would have been happy to receive that gift.  Barb's prescription was: a special type of leaf, some onion, some Arak (illegal moonshine), and some softened rice all ground together into a paste that she was to apply topically to the area for the next two days.  Agung knew where the special leaf grew (in front of a temple and although you're not normally supposed to take leaves or flowers from temple grounds it is okay to do so when it is for medicine) so on the way home we stopped at that temple so Pasek could collect a handful of the leaves.  Somehow Pasek and Agung also knew where to find some of the moonshine and so within a few minutes of getting back to the car we were stopping in front of a little corner store.  Pasek went inside and a minute later came out with a plastic water bottle half filled with "water".  I took one whiff of that "water" and was surprised it wasn't eating right through the plastic of the bottle!  Once we were home Pasek went to work on soaking the rice, gathering the rest of the ingredients, and grinding it all into a fine paste in his traditional mortar and pestle.  That night Barb was tucked into bed with one side of her covered in a sweet smelling green paste and feeling better than she'd felt in a couple of days!  She'd be flying home (30 hour trip) in the morning so this reprieve was very much appreciated!

Bottom line...what an adventure and a memory for all of us!  We are sorry that Barb had to go through the pain but boy oh boy am I ever glad that I got to see a real traditional balian in action!  Thanks Barb!  :-)

Now that we're down to our last few days here we've become really intentional about fitting in those things that we really want to do 'just one more time.'  Yesterday it was a trip to the Pyramids of Chi for another round of sound healing and it was without a doubt my favourite of the three times I've been there!  There were just 4 of us in the pyramid for the session and this time we were in the smaller of the two pyramids (the pyramid of the moon).  The two Ketut's brought us on the back of their bikes so we got a nice long ride out of it too.  (I am going to miss hopping on the back of those bikes sooooo much!). Lynda and I enjoyed a fantastic lunch in the gorgeous restaurant that looks out over the pyramids and within minutes of our arrival the skies opened up and a torrential rain beat down.  There is a massive overhang on the restaurant and so we were able to enjoy the rain from the safety of being far enough under the roof that we didn't get wet at all.  There is something wonderful about being able to be out in the rain without getting wet.  :-). By the time 3:00 rolled around and it was time to go into our sound healing session the rain had stopped and so we were able to walk out to the pyramids without getting wet.  The skies were still overcast and so the pyramids against that dark backdrop looked even more impressive.  It's kind of like the panjars that everyone puts up for Galungan....they're amazing to see any day but when they're set against a dark sky they're just soooo much more dramatic.....their colours and tones are all just sooooo much more striking and the overall effect they create is just that much more dramatic.  But again I digress so back to the pyramid.  Our session was being led by the same girl who led it when we were there for our first introduction to sound healing (on Valentines Day in February) when we also participated in an international exercise of collective consciousness for world healing.  That sound healing was good...really really good but it was also a pyramid full of people whereas this time there was just the four of us!  The next time I attended was with Barb and Alison and that session was led by the man of the couple who own the pyramids (Paul and Lynn). As Paul was away visiting family in Australia...the session was assigned to the same girl who did it in Feb.  She is originally from Newfoundland and more recently from the west coast of Canada.  She's been living here in Ubud for the past 5 months and is due to go home about the same time as Lynda and I are.  Who knows....maybe our paths will cross again on the other side of the world.  I think her name is Sendan but regardless....she did an amazing job.  First she led us in a relaxation meditation, then she moved on to the gongs.  From there it was a combination of drumming, chanting, singing, a rain stick, and more gongs.  We were washed by the vibrations of all of the instruments, cleansed by the sweet grass she burned, and all of the water in our bodies was realigned to be at one with the universe.  Now I know that sounds pretty "hippy" but I gotta tell you that this hippy shit felt pretty damn good!  :-). To top it all off.....just as Sendan finished her final sounds for our session the gods took over and in perfect synchronicity the thunder crashed right over the top of the pyramid.  We could literally feel the vibration of the storm and the electricity that it brought with it.  There were two more massive claps of thunder as the gods finished our sound healing session with a bang.  I couldn't help but think of the belief that surrounds Galungan....for these 10 days (until Kuningan) it is believed that the gods descend to the earth to do what they do and for the triumph of good over evil to be celebrated.  If this thunder wasn't evidence of their visit to earth....I don't know what is!  We had to get a taxi back to town as it was too late to call the Ketut's back to pick us up (they'd already have left for school in Sanur).  By the time we got home we were so mellow.....we had no interest in going out at all.  So.....a couple of hours later and as a pre-emptive strike at staving off hunger before it hit.....I picked up some sushi take out from Icip Icip (across the road from our lane) and we had a little picnic on our patio.  Great way to end another great day!

Today has been pretty relaxed too.  Lynda picked up a couple more little things she's certain she'll be able to fit into her suitcase somewhere and I caught another back of the bike ride with Ketut down to the Salt Therapy place for one final session there.  Again, it was 45 minutes of bliss.  Relaxing music in a darkened room that is lined with salt and salt lamps.  A mist of salt is sprayed into the very cool room so you can breathe it deep into your lungs and hold it there to help cure whatever might ail you.  I have no idea if there is any actual benefit but it makes a lot of sense when I think about it and regardless.....it is so great to just sit in that VERY COOL room when everywhere else is smoking hot and humid.  Ahhhhhhhhhh............

After my salt session Ketut came back to pick me up and we were off to Coco Mart where I was able to pick up a couple little bottles of Arak (local whiskey) to take home as gifts for my kids.  I have absolutely no idea where I'm going to fit it in but.....hopefully by stuffing a little more into my bag somehow it will magically result in nothing breaking.  Well....at least that's the story I'm going to go with as I cross my fingers and my toes.  LOL. :-)

Today, Lynda and I also walked up to Verona Spa (overlooks the rice fields) to make an appointment for tomorrow.  We've both decided on the Bliss Spa package which basically means that we will be pampered from head to toe for a little more than four hours.  We were able to both get appointments for 1:00 pm and I for one can hardly wait!  The package we both chose includes: a four hand massage, an herbal body scrub, a flower petal bath in a soaker tub, a facial, a hair cream treatment, a pedicure, a manicure, and oh ya....did I mention a four hand massage?  :-). This will be my second time for a four hand so I know the treat we are in for.  I'm pretty positive that will be all we'll be able to do tomorrow because by the time they've finished treating us like royalty we'll be lucky to just make it back to our respective beds!  Oh ya.....the final price on this spa pkg is way over our usual limit but heh....it is our last one so what the hell.....we will spring for the $52....it is a full four hours with multiple therapists after all.

The day after that will be the 11th....our last full day here and so it is likely that day will consist of little more than final packing and laundry pick up and farewells. However, if we get everything finished and if the weather cooperates.....I'm pretty sure that is another full moon Kecak performance at ARMA and seeing as Lynda missed out on seeing it when I went to the last one with Barb and Alison....that might be a perfect way to say good bye to Bali on our final night here.

As I type this we are sitting in another restaurant we've never been in before.   This one is called Lamak and it is located right on the corner of Monkey Forest and the little lane we take to go down to Cendana where we avail ourselves of their saltwater infinity pool that overlooks rice fields.  Seriously, we've been in a different restaurant every day (and lots of days see us in more than one) and I can count on my fingers the number of times we've doubled up with repeat visits.  The statistic is that there are more than 500 restaurants here in Ubud and I have no doubt that is the truth.  The other thing I have no doubt of is that they're all very very good!  Prices have ranged from $1/entree to where we are right now which has prices comparable to what we'd pay at home (maybe even a little more than what we'd pay at home) and everything in between.  The common denominator is that they're all exceptional and 99% of the time we hear ourselves saying that we want to return to "this one".

And on that note....I think I'll draw this post to a close and it is very likely that this will be my final post as I can't imagine I'm going to have any more time between now and departure and on top of that I've already told you pretty much everything we're going to do so there wouldn't be anything to tell either.  :-)

So.....till the next trip......this is L & L signing off......