|
|
Back to Main Page and All Chapters- Click here
|
|
Chapter Six
A Little Bali in All of Us...
When I first said I was going to Bali someone asked me, "Is it because of that book?" "What book?" I said. "Eat, Pray, Love". "Oh. No, I don't think so. I read it a few months ago." Maybe this is where I first germinated the idea of Bali...
So, once I got to Bali I re-read "Eat, Pray, Love." Now I remembered why I loved this book and yes I do think it influenced me. The part where the author is riding a bike through the rice fields at sunset and mentions her practice of "Diligent Joy" was a moment of recognition for me. In or out of Bali, this is a practice I want to pursue. And as she so clearly states, "The search for contentment is, therefore, not merely a self-preserving and self-benefiting act, but also a generous gift to the world. Cleaning out all your misery gets you out of the way. You cease being an obstacle, not only to yourself but to anyone else. Only then are you free to serve and enjoy other people."
To me, Bali was never just a place but a destination, a journey. The journey to Bali has always been a personal journey for me; an inward journey. Bali was the physical destination but not the only destination. And, anyway, as we know, the journey is very often the real thing!
Before I left Florida my friend Wendy and I were playing around with acrostics and we came up with this for BALI:
Be Authentic Loving Inspiring
You certainly don't have to be on the island of Bali to be these things, (but if you can, DO!) So, I always, wherever I am, want to be Bali inside. Coming to Bali was a stepping out for me, something unlike what I am used to doing and being. I felt proud of myself and felt a sense of personal power that was a quiet but very strong sensation. This will always stay with me, in the way my friend Asheema told me a new enlightenment will always stay with you. She said, when your consciousness has been raised it will never be diminished. Or as the Abraham-Hicks says, "Life is expansion, and once expanded it can never be contracted." And don't you love this, "Expansion creates more expansion!!"
I believe there is a "Bali" in all of us. And now, I will have Bali in me forever. So, with all this said, I feel my time in the physical Bali is drawing to a close. Yes, I know, it was only 6 weeks instead of 6 months! But I feel the exercise of my personal power was in the coming, not necessarily in the staying. Bali is beautiful in so many ways but I feel my time is complete here and I don't feel drawn to live in Bali long term.
Because of Bali I know more of what I can do on my own! And...there is a new journey that has already begun! In a few days I will be flying to New Zealand to a women's resort in Waipu Northland New Zealand. I will be doing "wwoofing" there which is working on an organic farm in exchange for room and board. My place is a women's retreat by the name of Waihoihoi Lodge, which has a large organic garden. http://www.waihoihoi.co.nz/ So for 4 hours a day I will be working in a beautiful location in exchange for room and board in a beautiful lodge situated on the north end of the north island overlooking the sea. Beautiful!
It's best to let the international WWOOF website (http://www.wwoof.org/) define WWOOFing: "WWOOF - World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms - is a worldwide network started in the UK in 1971, and has since become an international movement that is helping people share more sustainable ways of living. WWOOF is an exchange - in return for volunteer help WWOOf hosts offer food, accommodations and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles..."
I am very excited for this experience and grateful to have the opportunity.
But for now, back to Bali...A few days ago I took a "tour" to a sea temple right on the beach
Photo Right- Tanah Lot
It was my lucky tour; no buses, no vans, no bemos. I rode like a movie star in an air air-conditioned car with two other women and a driver! And as we left Ubud at 2:00 in the afternoon, I said a thousand thank yous. The other tourists were two women from Germany, mother and daughter. Over the course of the drive I discovered the daughter (30ish) was a social anthropologist in some remote village in Borneo, living without electricity, among other privations, alone!! She was doing research for her PhD. She spoke perfect English and rattled off Indonesian to the driver that made my head spin. Her mother, I found out later, was co-authoring a book on the colonization of central Java, which she had been researching for several years and was in the process of acquiring a PhD as well.
Photo Above- Tanah Lot Temple
On the way to the Tanah Lot we toured one of Bali's Royal Temples. There are temples everywhere in Bali but the royal temples are much bigger, typically with picturesque grounds. This royal temple was surrounded by a moat with many mature trees and beautifully manicured lawns.
Photo Left- Sunset-Tanah Lot
In the long moment of internal silence and quiet reverence I felt transported to the sublime place where one truly senses the presence and magnificence of God. This undoubtedly was one of my essential experiences in Bali.
Photo Above- Suzen at Sunset- Tanah Lot
Bali is magical, as everyone says, and very spiritual. Bali is a Hindu island in the midst of a 2,000-mile archipelago, Indonesia, which is considered the most populous Muslim country in the world. Somehow, the Balinese have been able to maintain their spiritual heritage, which is a Balinese form of Hinduism. Spiritual life in Bali is not really segregated from mundane life as it often is in the west. The Balinese spirituality is deeply integrated into their lives, customs and everyday activities. Offerings are made daily by the women, according to one of my Balinese friends, as a matter of respect as opposed to obligation. In addition, the Balinese are a very tolerant people towards outsiders. It's a good thing too because foreign tourist are constantly taking photos of temples and ceremonies and offerings like they have never seen anything like it. Oh yeah, I guess I have been doing that too. These patient and friendly people smile and offer a glimpse into their inner life with grace and openness.
And whatever your spiritual inclinations, you are free to exercise them in this open and rather sacred environment. Each morning as the women in my compound walk around with their baskets of offerings trailing the sweet aroma of incense I am reminded to offer my own thanksgiving and prayers.
So, my last few days in Bali I have decided to do what any self-respecting tourist does in a foreign country. Eat! Leave no prisoners. Eat all you can! Finally I broke free from the western cafes, as charming cheap and delicious as they were. I have been treating myself to more Indonesian cuisine, Thai and some Indian dishes. The other night I had a Green Papaya Salad that was so delicious and so spicy that my nose was running like a faucet and tears and sweat covered my face but I couldn't stop eating. It was just too good. I balanced this with a very yummy Samosa and eggplant grilled on a flat iron and topped with yogurt. Almost the same thing happened with a Vietnamese salad at another local place but this was served in something similar to a taco bowl, different but spicy and bursting with flavor. I felt like the big white rabbit that lives here at Gandra's and eats anything and everything as I was tearing through the salad and then ate the bowl down to the last crumb.
On a fairly quiet side street there is place renown among the backpacker community. (I have
Turns out these women, Anaka and Eva, (photo below and left) were staying in a Guesthouse directly across the street from me. So we quick changed clothes...meaning from a tank top to a long sleeve t-
What I had to eat at this bit of culinary heaven was crispy noodles with vegetables. This bowl of delight was 80 cents and on top of the crispy noodles was spinach, thinly sliced carrots, onions, cauliflower and bits of scrambled egg; all in a tasty delicate broth. SEE PHOTO- below and right!! If anyone loves to eat and doesn't have a lot of money, find a way to get to Bali. Even the Bali beer, Bintang, a very good pilsner, is just over a dollar for a bottle. Wine is extremely expensive and the Bali wine is just barely tolerable. Alcohol is still not
Anyway, Ubud has more interesting health drinks and just plain refreshing drinks than I have ever seen anywhere else. Ginger Tamarind Limeade or Lemonade, Mint and Aloe and Rose Water, (excellent and healthy) Ginger Fizz, shaved ginger, lemon grass and soda water in a tall frosty glass with a sprig of mint and a straw...mmmm. Smoothies that defy the imagination with the fruit combinations, Lassies and countless teas served in sweet little pots. Lastly, I have thrown caution to the wind and have gorged myself on roasted cashews and these fabulous little peanuts called kacang that contain an addictive substance yet to be identified.
So, farewell to Bali, though not really. I believe Bali will stay with me in a tangible and in a splendidly non-tangible way forever. As I am quite sure it does with most everyone lucky enough to come here. If you are going to travel anywhere outside the US, I think Bali is a must if at all possible. You can spend a lot of money in Bali or you can spend a little bit and still have a fabulous experience- from sensual to spiritual. Bali is a feast for the eyes, the heart, the taste buds and the spirit.
Photo Above- Bali Moon
|
called Tanah Lot Temple. Allegedly it is the most photographed temple in Bali. The temple is situated on a rocky inlet, which you can walk to at low tide. It is extremely picturesque therefore extremely commercial and packed with tourists! However, for me nothing could diminish the view of the ocean at sunset. 
We arrived in Tanah Lot about 5:00, an hour before sunset. We walked around the west side of the temple up a little grassy hill and found a wall, blissfully empty of people, and sat there and watched one of the prettiest sunsets I have ever seen. It was magnificent. And as it is with all natural beauty, once the life is removed through a photo, only a shadow of the splendor remains. But even though I was unable to capture either the shimmering colors or the sound of the rolling thundering waves, I have a lasting sensual memory of that hour. 
included a photo creatively called the "backpackers warung" photo right). This place was pointed out to me a week or two after I got here but with my innate snobbiness I said something along the lines of "not in this lifetime" inside my head. Remember the two German friends (the PhD researchers...) that I went to Tanah Lot Temple with? Well, on our way back to Ubud they asked if I would like to join them for dinner and I answered, yes, please. I do enjoy eating alone SOME of the time but the past week or so it has been 3 (or some days 2 or 5) meals a day with only my own company. I am beginning to see how redundant I can be!! (Great- probably another Bali-lesson!) 
shirt...and met out front. The daughter, Anaka says, "there is a great place not far from here that has really good food and is really cheap". That sounds perfect to me! Guess where it was? The backpacker's warung that I had shunned. Now these women had no compact cars on their backs, were very civilized and seemed to be healthy. So, I put my snobbiness aside and had one of the best meals I've had in Ubud. AND I have been back twice and am on my way again as soon as I finish this, my final installment of Bali. How fitting. 
widely available and also quite expensive, only available in the real western establishments. But who could drink with all this cheap, delicious, healthy food just begging to be eaten.
Copyright © WTCB- Women Taking Care of Business, Inc. ® All Rights Reserved See Terms of Use for this website |