Well, I have been in Bali a little over a week now, and it is weird and wonderful. Weird, because I am solo on this journey, wonderful, because my options are open and endless. The first few days of settling and spa treatments were necessary, but getting the scooter, and becoming mobile was crucial...and intimidating. At first the rental company brought me a new scooter, but once they saw my driving techniques, they brought me an older one.;) Can't say I blamed them really, as I was a bit uncomfortable to say the least. Day one however, I only semi crashed, and now I feel fairly confident. I have been taking yoga classes at the yoga barn in Ubud, and the classes are taught in English, and mostly filled with Aussies and Americans. I am not self disciplined enough to do yoga without an instructor, so being on the farm for two years, I am a bit out of practice. My body is a bit sore, and my muscles somewhat weak. I enjoy the practice, and look forward to regaining my strength. The teachers are pretty amazing, and I have tried to go as much as possible.
Last week I took my first tour around the island. Bali is interesting, because it's a fairly large island with different options drawing different people. Some come for the yoga, others for the surf, others for the furniture. Agung and I went to the rice fields, and then attempted to go to a temple. In the pics you will see a list of rules of who can and can't go in. I was #4, and attempting to be respectful of their tradition, chose not to. However, I was extemely agitated. When inquiring as to why these rules were set forth, Agung informed me that those on the list were seen as "dirty". Of course I had major issues with this. Prior to, we had been to an art cooperative that only featured male artists. The women in Bali work hard. Yet it seems as though tradition still casts them below men, making me extremely grateful to come from a culture that has made their way into the 21st century. I struggled to understand this part of the Balinese culture, especially when creation and fertility is such an amazing thing. Needless to say, I became a bit emotional and expressed my feminist views to Agung, who was a bit taken aback. Our next stop was an amazing butterfly farm. This brightened my spirits a bit, and the people there were very kind. They placed massive bugs and butterflies on me, and the pics from this are awesome. We had planned on visiting another temple, and I told Agung I had no desire to see anymore temples on my trip. The night ended with a lovely meal overlooking the Indian ocean, and a beautiful sunset as the pics will show.
My downstairs neighbors, Julia and Chris, an older couple from Australia, have been very kind to me as well. We go sunset scootering, and I've been to dinner with them several times. It's nice to go out, and feel safe doing so. Today I have travelled south to the coast to check out the beaches. I am within walking distance to Padang Padang, but the monkeys on the beach, a bit of a deterrant. Tomorrow I am hopeful to find better ones, as there are several close by, most of which are surf beaches, which equals hotties from around the world!!!;) Will update soon with how my weekend goes.
Hope and trust that all is well and wondrful for you all!!! Much love.
