I am in love with Bali: the people, the culture, the food, the beaches. It’s an incredibly laid back place – no skyscrapers, no rush and no worries! I am staying in Legian, a small coastal city in the south of Bali. On Sunday, Neil, the owner of the hostel drove a mini-van full of us to Padang Padang, a small and secluded beach about an hour away from Legian. The beach was nestled between cliffs covered in trees and vines….absolutely beautiful. From there, we went to Jimbaran beach for dinner. After picking out the prawns, squid and snapper and mahi-mahi that we wanted to be grilled by the locals, we sat down at candle lit tables on the beach eating some of the best fresh seafood I've ever had and drinking fresh papaya and pineapple juice – incredible. While eating, we watched one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen. I have a feeling that I will see many beautiful sunsets here…so it’s going to prove difficult to rank them!
Sunday night, Van, a surgeon from Brooklyn, performed minor surgery on a nasty blister that I got from walking an hour to Kuta, dancing all night and walking back in fairly new sandals. I bought these cute shoes in Australia and wore them briefly there before moving to China where the majority of my skin, including my feet, was not exposed to the air for over 5 months! Needless to say, all of the walking and dancing wrecked havoc on my feet...and I’ve been hobbling around the island since Friday! Thank goodness there was a surgeon nearby to help me!
Van, Gundula (an awesome 39 year old German woman who, like me, quit her job to travel the world) and I spent Monday in search of ceremonies that the locals were performing all over the island to celebrate/prepare for Nyepi Day. Around Legian and in Kuta, a larger and more touristy city within walking distance, we saw large groups of Balinese putting the finishing touches on their Ogoh-Ogoh (paper mache representations of evil spirits/monsters for the parade). We went to the Vihare Buddhist Temple where we performed incense offerings to the Gods and received the traditional blessing. The blessing entailed sitting on our knees, drinking water from our hands three times, having water brushed on our foreheads three times and then having rice placed on our foreheads and collarbone. Women also receive a flower which is placed behind the right ear. It was a very moving and peaceful experience.
From the Vihare Temple, we walked to another where hundreds of locals, all dressed in white, were performing their offerings en masse. Some were chanting, some were playing drums and most were carrying baskets made out of bamboo or reeds carrying fruits, rice, money, flowers, etc. In both temples, we had to wear sarongs to cover our legs and had to cover our shoulders. I love observing people performing ceremonies in their own culture….and the Balinese have some of the coolest traditions I have ever witnessed!
After eating some delicious local Indonesian food, we went for head and face massages. I paid less than $6 USD for an hour long head and face massage! After our massages, we did a little bit of window shopping as we made our way to the beach. Again, witnessing one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever witnessed, we made our way to the street where the parade was to be held. At exactly 8 PM, the procession started with children carrying lighted torches. Then, the evil spirits made by different families in the community passed by, carried by children and teenage boys. Bleganjur was being played by teenage boys – a combination of drums, bells and chanting. It was magical! We followed the parade until the end, where they have parked the ‘floats’ until the 17th. On the 17th, they will burn them. Today, the 16th, no one can be on the streets. It turns out you can talk a little, but only in quiet voices. Tonight, we can’t turn on any lights…looking forward to doing some star gazing once it gets dark and eating dinner by candlelight! Since I’ve got a bum foot and a sunburn that is still healing, I’m happy to have a day to rest and relax at the hotel.
Smoothie Watch: the fresh juices/smoothies here are amazing. The best so far: vanilla yogurt, milk, ice, banana, date, honey and cinnamon. The most unusual: avocado and chocolate…an interesting and very thick combination that I’m glad I tried once but likely won’t again!
Next stop: Ubud in central Bali that Elizabeth Gilbert made famous in her book Eat, Pray, Love. I’m still working out the details, but I think the book I write based on my travels will be entitled Drink, Cough, Sleep. I drank a lot in Africa and Australia. I coughed a lot in China and I’ve been doing a lot of napping by the beach and pool in Bali so far! Happy Nyepi Day everyone!
Sunday night, Van, a surgeon from Brooklyn, performed minor surgery on a nasty blister that I got from walking an hour to Kuta, dancing all night and walking back in fairly new sandals. I bought these cute shoes in Australia and wore them briefly there before moving to China where the majority of my skin, including my feet, was not exposed to the air for over 5 months! Needless to say, all of the walking and dancing wrecked havoc on my feet...and I’ve been hobbling around the island since Friday! Thank goodness there was a surgeon nearby to help me!
Van, Gundula (an awesome 39 year old German woman who, like me, quit her job to travel the world) and I spent Monday in search of ceremonies that the locals were performing all over the island to celebrate/prepare for Nyepi Day. Around Legian and in Kuta, a larger and more touristy city within walking distance, we saw large groups of Balinese putting the finishing touches on their Ogoh-Ogoh (paper mache representations of evil spirits/monsters for the parade). We went to the Vihare Buddhist Temple where we performed incense offerings to the Gods and received the traditional blessing. The blessing entailed sitting on our knees, drinking water from our hands three times, having water brushed on our foreheads three times and then having rice placed on our foreheads and collarbone. Women also receive a flower which is placed behind the right ear. It was a very moving and peaceful experience.
From the Vihare Temple, we walked to another where hundreds of locals, all dressed in white, were performing their offerings en masse. Some were chanting, some were playing drums and most were carrying baskets made out of bamboo or reeds carrying fruits, rice, money, flowers, etc. In both temples, we had to wear sarongs to cover our legs and had to cover our shoulders. I love observing people performing ceremonies in their own culture….and the Balinese have some of the coolest traditions I have ever witnessed!
After eating some delicious local Indonesian food, we went for head and face massages. I paid less than $6 USD for an hour long head and face massage! After our massages, we did a little bit of window shopping as we made our way to the beach. Again, witnessing one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever witnessed, we made our way to the street where the parade was to be held. At exactly 8 PM, the procession started with children carrying lighted torches. Then, the evil spirits made by different families in the community passed by, carried by children and teenage boys. Bleganjur was being played by teenage boys – a combination of drums, bells and chanting. It was magical! We followed the parade until the end, where they have parked the ‘floats’ until the 17th. On the 17th, they will burn them. Today, the 16th, no one can be on the streets. It turns out you can talk a little, but only in quiet voices. Tonight, we can’t turn on any lights…looking forward to doing some star gazing once it gets dark and eating dinner by candlelight! Since I’ve got a bum foot and a sunburn that is still healing, I’m happy to have a day to rest and relax at the hotel.
Smoothie Watch: the fresh juices/smoothies here are amazing. The best so far: vanilla yogurt, milk, ice, banana, date, honey and cinnamon. The most unusual: avocado and chocolate…an interesting and very thick combination that I’m glad I tried once but likely won’t again!
Next stop: Ubud in central Bali that Elizabeth Gilbert made famous in her book Eat, Pray, Love. I’m still working out the details, but I think the book I write based on my travels will be entitled Drink, Cough, Sleep. I drank a lot in Africa and Australia. I coughed a lot in China and I’ve been doing a lot of napping by the beach and pool in Bali so far! Happy Nyepi Day everyone!
Wow! Sounds amazing. So peaceful and so beautiful. Enjoy every minute.
ReplyDeleteOh My Gosh...how beautiful!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI wish I was there with you!!!!
Enjoy!!!
I love you!!!