 |
| Eat, Pray, Love? |
The day before I
flew to Bali I watched the film adaptation of Eat, Pray, Love. I know that
sounds ridiculously clichéd. I hadn’t read the book but I knew what it was
about. A writer fed up with her job, her life, her home, her husband….someone
in need of a change and a new perspective. Knowing I had more than one of these
things in common with her, it seemed apt it should be my pre-flight viewing.
The movie rushed through Elizabeth Gilbert’s travels around Italy, India and
Bali though I sensed that the book would be more complete. But alas; it got me
excited about the prospect of seeing some rice fields, even if I wouldn’t, like
Julia Roberts, be able to cycle through them.
 |
| Happy feet |
First thing was
first. Bali has long been known for its massages, spas and pampering treatments
and it was my plan to ensure every inch of me got to experience these local
traditions – starting with a frangipani pedicure. Seeing these fragrant buds in
abundance on every street corner made me realise that I’ve never actually seen
a real one before. But it wasn’t just these beauties; the entire island was
filled with colourful fauna and foliage, none of which I could name as most of
them were new to me.
Wherever you are
in Bali, you are never far from a massage therapist. But the biggest concentration
are in the cultural capital of Ubud. I found it useful to gather up all the
leaflets I was handed as I wondered around, and to pop in and view the
facilities before choosing. Prices vary so it’s best to pick and mix around the
treatments you want, rather than packages. On my final day I opted for four
hours of massage, scrub, reflexology and a hair treatment, split over two
neighbouring venues that set me back just £17.
 |
| Toyah Bungkah's resident artist |
I had heard that
creative people automatically feel at home in Bali, while non- creatives leave
in touch with their creative side. I can safely say that the first part of this
theory is true; I settled in immediately, which was strange considering
geographically it is the furthest I’ve ever travelled. Even the most ordinary of
people seemed to be brimming with creative talent. I met this man in Central
Bali in the lakeside, volcanic town of Toyak Bungkah. He makes his living by
selling paintings (so intricate you need a magnifying glass to appreciate them)
and breeding fish. He paddled me over to his fish farm in a small canoe to see
his specimens. It was one of the most picturesque locations and it sounded like
the most ideal of jobs, and yet in reality holding down two jobs is a challenge
and no where near as romantic as it seemed.
 |
| Family life |
Public transport
is Bali’s only weak point; it’s non-existent. For boat trips, there are a
choice of public and tourist boats, where prices vary. The quotes I received to
visit a small island, off the coast of mainland Bali varied from £50 to £32 to
£4…..I’m sure you can work out which one I opted for! On the roads there are
small tourist buses called Bemos but sadly they are unreliable, take ages
(two-hour car journeys can take seven hours in one because they chug along so
slowly) and are crammed, so you can’t appreciate the views. I saw most
of the sights on the back of a motorbike and from car windows where I snapped up this family outside their shop.
 |
| Another Wayan |
In Bali people
have several names. Dependent on the order of when you were born, one of your
names will be Wayan (first born), Made (second born), Nyoman (third born),
Ketut (fourth born). I met many Wayans, Mades and Ketuts!
 |
| Strawberry Stop |
I found it hard
to get a true understanding of Balinese food as I mostly lived off fish curry
and rice or tofu and rice (it seemed to be served everywhere, but I wasn’t sure if that makes it strictly Balinese?) Juice wise
I switched between avocado and jackfruit…..two of my favourite fruits. For the
entire trip my travel partner Janine and I followed our noises rather than the
guidebook. Infact there was just one place we read about that we made an effort
to go to, Strawberry Stop (because I have an obsession with strawberries.) Here
we saw strawberry fields, drunk fresh strawberry juice and witnessed local kids
gobbling them down like sweets.
 |
| Peaceful playtime |
We actually had
no idea that December/January is low season in Bali and because we stayed away
from the major tourist hangouts we rarely saw any other travellers. And perhaps
that also explains why I found it so easy to switch off. For once in my life I
felt as though I was living in the present. My mind wasn’t wondering off
daydreaming as it usually does, it stayed where it was. One of the main
disciplines taught by mediation instructors is to master this technique and I
seemed to do it without even closing my eyes.
 |
| Natural phenomenons |
No trip to Bali
is complete without visiting temples. All but one of them are Hindu temples and
I saw some utterly outstanding ones, but it was islands only Buddhist temple that
blew me away the most. It had an almost magical atmosphere that attracted all
manner of wildlife to settle within its grounds.
 |
| Culture in Ubud |
Traditional
Balinese dance shows are on most evenings around Ubud. I was slightly sceptical
that they could be very dull and amateurish, yet the performance we saw
at Ubud Palace was hugely impressive. The costumes were stunning and the
discipline of the moves and facial expressions made it seem like the hardest
choreography I’ve ever witnessed.
 |
| My companion Janine at Mundak waterfall |
But the moment I
felt like I had truly let go and felt fully rejuvenated was when we stopped off
at Mundak waterfall. There’s another major waterfall in the vicinity that most
visitors flock too, but Mundak is the quieter one. As soon as the gentle.
cooling mists hit my cheeks, every stress I had ever felt, vanished. And this
comes from the girl who sits at her computer most of the day with poor posture,
storing stress in her shoulder blades. The mists dissolved away what months of
physio could never do. Which makes me think rather than shelling out a fortune
on expensive doctors, coming here is a far better way to spend money!
 |
| Mount Batur (this is real scenery, even if it does look painted!) |
All images (apart from the last one!) taken by me!
No comments:
Post a Comment