"LET THIS MOMENT BE ENOUGH..." Whispered quietly in an open room, lined with people, silent, breathing, eyes closed. The rain tapped on the bamboo roof and candles flickered against the night sky. In that moment, I am reminded that nothing else matters but my mind, body, heart... I feel like the luckiest person on Earth.
Let me rewind. We left Kuta Thursday morning heading for Ubud. I didn't know much about Ubud except the fact that it was the filming location for the movie Eat, Pray, Love (based on the best-selling book by Elizabeth Gilbert). In the movie, Elizabeth reaches Bali as her final destination in her search of an old medicine man, Ketut. Elizabeth, of course, meets a man and eventually, they fall in love. Ubud is also known for its beauty, layered rice fields and serene settings appreciated by yogis far and wide.
After an hour bus ride through the country, we reached Ubud and found our way to Bening Bungalow. Although we ended up in a room with just one bed and no air conditioning, the balcony overlooking rice fields made up for it! First we rented motorcycles and set out to grab some lunch and explore the new place. In the middle of our lunch, it began to down poor - typical of a tropical island. Optimistic, we set out hoping it would soon clear up. Less than 5 minutes down the road, I tried to pull off the road (because I had lost Ayesha), hit a patch of loose gravel and my motorcycle slipped right out from underneath me. My dad always said to ride motorcycles in pants and closed toed shoes. Had I been following his directions, I wouldn't have scrapped off a chunk of my big toe and bruised up my knee as I went down. As my toes started to gush blood, we decided it was time to turn around and head back so I could clean all the gravel out of my toe.
Unfortunately, the rain continued throughout the rest of the day (and the rest of the time in Ubud), and kept us indoors for most of the time. That night we were able to walk around a bit after dark, and after the rain let up, and grab some dinner at a local diner. The next morning, my eyes shot open just in time to witness the sunrising just outside of our window, so we sat on the balcony and enjoyed the view.
That morning, we took a cooking class at Warung Semesta - an organic and vegetarian specialty place near Monkey Forest. It was only Ayesha and I and another couple from South Africa. Our cooking instructor was very informative and knowledgeable with a great sense of humor. He gave us a tour around the kitchen, introduced us to the ingriendents (some familiar and some new) and gave us some information surrounding the Balinese dishes we were going to make.
We chopped, grated, mashed, sauteeds and wrapped until each paste, veggie, and meat was hand prepared from scratch. Our menu included Jukut Metantok (vegetabe salad with peanut sauce), Tun be Siap (chicken and spices wrapped in banana leaves), Pepes be Pasih (fish with spices in banana leaves), Be Leleng Base Manis (pork in soy sauce), Mei Goreng (fired noodles with chicken and eggs). For dessert, we made Dadar Gulung (crepes with coconut and cane sugar). After the morning of cooking, we got to sit down and enjoy our lunch together.
Surprise, surprise, it was raining again by the time we were finished with the class, but we invested in some ponchos, refusing to let the rain lock us inside, and continued our walk around the city. That day, we discovered the Yoga Barn. Tucked away in the thick of the jungle off the main road, it was an oasis for yogis or anyone looking for a little bit of an escape. One looks, and I was considering staying forever! It was all outdoors with bamboo roofs and open walls to let the surrounding green enclose the large rooms. Later that night, we tried our first yoga class at the barn -Tibetian Bowl Meditation. Now let me just say that meditation is not my strength when it comes to yoga. I can stand on my head all day long, but ask me to lay still for 90 minutes and clear my mind... it is a recipe for a nap! The class came highly recommended, so we gave it a whirl. We lay on our mats in a dark room, lit only with a few candles. We were instructed to get comfortable with pillows and blankets and close our eyes. The instructor gave few directions after that but began to play the bowl instruments and walked around the room swinging the instruments above everyone's head to let the vibrations flow through the body. I think I did pretty well for the first 30 minutes. Then, I started to get hungry, and think about what I wanted for dinner. Then I kept getting bit by the mosquitos that we also invited into the class. Then the guy next to Ayesha began to rumble and snore (there is always one in the group). After that, my eyes were wide open, for fear of being that guy. Tibetian Bowl Meditation, yes, check, but most likely a once in a lifetime experience.
The next morning, we had planned to hike Mount Batur for the sunrise. So we rose at 2:00 am and set off in a bus (with two other girls) for an hour drive to the mountain area. After a quick breakfast, we began the hike up one of the active volcanoes on the island in the dark of the early morning. We began the hike inside the large crater of the volcano, now partially filled with Bali's largest fresh water lake (Lake Batur) and villages. The hike only took about 90 minutes or so and was pretty simple, aside from the slippery volcanic rocks and the darkness. Once at the top, it was pretty certain that we were not going to get a magnificent sunrise. As we sat in a cloud, waiting, the air cleared a bit for us to see the mountains surrounding the low crater and Lake Batur. We sat for a while and tried to enjoy the peace and quiet, but there were so many people on the top, and with the sun came the monkeys! Unlike other monkeys, these were pretty tame and placid, used to visiting tourists. As we walked around the summit, our guide took us to serval different craters where steam poured out from the hot volcanic lava below. He also showed us a smaller crater on top that erupted in 2010, covering one of the local villages with thick black lava.
Eventually, we made our way back down the mountain... not an easy task, as the rocks were very slippery, it was beginning to rain, and my injured toe was being smashed against the front of the shoe due to the decline. We got back into the van and headed back to Ubud. Ayesha and I were exhausted, so we took a little nap as it rained, more. After some relaxation, we went to another yoga class to stretch out a bit following the hike. It was a really great class. I really just cannot get over the ambiance of the Yoga Barn, and the natural environment only adds to the calm state of relaxation. During this class, we held a variety of posses to stretch and the instructor talked us through settling our minds and disconnecting from our body. It was a rather spiritual experiences - peaceful and quiet, rain softly tapping on the hatch roof, and the breeze blowing through the open walls. As Tina whispered, "... forget about your stress, forget about your fears, forget about your life racing through your mind... let this moment be enough to comfort your soul..." It was comforting, and again, I was reminded of how blessed I am to lead this glorious life and that I don't need anything more that my mind, body and soul to make me complete. Following yoga, we spent the rest of the rainy evening reading at the Kafe.
On our last night, we were determined to make the most of it, despite the pouring rain outside. We rented motorcycles (round 2) and spent some time riding outside of the city into the smaller villages and rice fields. The rain was relentless, so we took lots of breaks to shop around in the small galleries. After a quick stop for lunch, Ayesha wasn't feeling well, went back for a nap and I continued my exploration. The surrounding villages were very peaceful and beautiful with all of the rice fields, but soon, I surrendered to the rain and headed back.
I had my final yoga class that night, and my favorite of them all! Although the calming meditation yoga classes were interesting and a change of pace from the strength and endurance classes I am used to, I was looking forward to a power class to test my abilities again the real yogis! it was fantastic! Ninety-minutes of stretching, strengthening and holding on to power positions - most of the posses I was used to doing on a regular basis, but not holding them for the extended length of time. When our instructor asked us to get into head stand positions, most of the people in class found their position on the wall for support. I love doing headstands and I can do them pretty well. The few people in class that could hold the headstand independently, we then asked to hold steady for 5 minutes... FIVE MINUTES! It was hard, and I fell once to let the blood drain out of my head, but I was a trooper!
That night, Ayesha and I wanted to go out for a nice dinner and find the popular night club in town, The Jazz Club. We got all dressed up, bought a bottle of wine to drink a little before dinner. The cheapest wine we found was certainly a cheap bottle of wine, for 16 dollars. It was terrible, but we were determined to finish it off! Suited up in our ponchos to face the rain, we headed out. It was raining harder than it had in the last couple of days and the streets were completely flooded. By the time we made it a block down the road for dinner, we were drowned rats! Dinner and drinks were delicious, but we were quickly losing our will to face the rest of the night so we headed back early to drink some beers on our balcony instead... our cute neighbor boy came out and joined us for a little bit, then we called it in early to get ready for our 6:00 am bus the next morning.
Let me rewind. We left Kuta Thursday morning heading for Ubud. I didn't know much about Ubud except the fact that it was the filming location for the movie Eat, Pray, Love (based on the best-selling book by Elizabeth Gilbert). In the movie, Elizabeth reaches Bali as her final destination in her search of an old medicine man, Ketut. Elizabeth, of course, meets a man and eventually, they fall in love. Ubud is also known for its beauty, layered rice fields and serene settings appreciated by yogis far and wide.
After an hour bus ride through the country, we reached Ubud and found our way to Bening Bungalow. Although we ended up in a room with just one bed and no air conditioning, the balcony overlooking rice fields made up for it! First we rented motorcycles and set out to grab some lunch and explore the new place. In the middle of our lunch, it began to down poor - typical of a tropical island. Optimistic, we set out hoping it would soon clear up. Less than 5 minutes down the road, I tried to pull off the road (because I had lost Ayesha), hit a patch of loose gravel and my motorcycle slipped right out from underneath me. My dad always said to ride motorcycles in pants and closed toed shoes. Had I been following his directions, I wouldn't have scrapped off a chunk of my big toe and bruised up my knee as I went down. As my toes started to gush blood, we decided it was time to turn around and head back so I could clean all the gravel out of my toe.
Unfortunately, the rain continued throughout the rest of the day (and the rest of the time in Ubud), and kept us indoors for most of the time. That night we were able to walk around a bit after dark, and after the rain let up, and grab some dinner at a local diner. The next morning, my eyes shot open just in time to witness the sunrising just outside of our window, so we sat on the balcony and enjoyed the view.
 |
| My favorite part of Ubud |
We chopped, grated, mashed, sauteeds and wrapped until each paste, veggie, and meat was hand prepared from scratch. Our menu included Jukut Metantok (vegetabe salad with peanut sauce), Tun be Siap (chicken and spices wrapped in banana leaves), Pepes be Pasih (fish with spices in banana leaves), Be Leleng Base Manis (pork in soy sauce), Mei Goreng (fired noodles with chicken and eggs). For dessert, we made Dadar Gulung (crepes with coconut and cane sugar). After the morning of cooking, we got to sit down and enjoy our lunch together.
Surprise, surprise, it was raining again by the time we were finished with the class, but we invested in some ponchos, refusing to let the rain lock us inside, and continued our walk around the city. That day, we discovered the Yoga Barn. Tucked away in the thick of the jungle off the main road, it was an oasis for yogis or anyone looking for a little bit of an escape. One looks, and I was considering staying forever! It was all outdoors with bamboo roofs and open walls to let the surrounding green enclose the large rooms. Later that night, we tried our first yoga class at the barn -Tibetian Bowl Meditation. Now let me just say that meditation is not my strength when it comes to yoga. I can stand on my head all day long, but ask me to lay still for 90 minutes and clear my mind... it is a recipe for a nap! The class came highly recommended, so we gave it a whirl. We lay on our mats in a dark room, lit only with a few candles. We were instructed to get comfortable with pillows and blankets and close our eyes. The instructor gave few directions after that but began to play the bowl instruments and walked around the room swinging the instruments above everyone's head to let the vibrations flow through the body. I think I did pretty well for the first 30 minutes. Then, I started to get hungry, and think about what I wanted for dinner. Then I kept getting bit by the mosquitos that we also invited into the class. Then the guy next to Ayesha began to rumble and snore (there is always one in the group). After that, my eyes were wide open, for fear of being that guy. Tibetian Bowl Meditation, yes, check, but most likely a once in a lifetime experience.
 |
| Yoga Barn in the middle of the jungle |
Eventually, we made our way back down the mountain... not an easy task, as the rocks were very slippery, it was beginning to rain, and my injured toe was being smashed against the front of the shoe due to the decline. We got back into the van and headed back to Ubud. Ayesha and I were exhausted, so we took a little nap as it rained, more. After some relaxation, we went to another yoga class to stretch out a bit following the hike. It was a really great class. I really just cannot get over the ambiance of the Yoga Barn, and the natural environment only adds to the calm state of relaxation. During this class, we held a variety of posses to stretch and the instructor talked us through settling our minds and disconnecting from our body. It was a rather spiritual experiences - peaceful and quiet, rain softly tapping on the hatch roof, and the breeze blowing through the open walls. As Tina whispered, "... forget about your stress, forget about your fears, forget about your life racing through your mind... let this moment be enough to comfort your soul..." It was comforting, and again, I was reminded of how blessed I am to lead this glorious life and that I don't need anything more that my mind, body and soul to make me complete. Following yoga, we spent the rest of the rainy evening reading at the Kafe.
On our last night, we were determined to make the most of it, despite the pouring rain outside. We rented motorcycles (round 2) and spent some time riding outside of the city into the smaller villages and rice fields. The rain was relentless, so we took lots of breaks to shop around in the small galleries. After a quick stop for lunch, Ayesha wasn't feeling well, went back for a nap and I continued my exploration. The surrounding villages were very peaceful and beautiful with all of the rice fields, but soon, I surrendered to the rain and headed back.
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