Bali Baby

Hello everyone and Happy New Year to ya!  Rob and I celebrated Christmas and the new year in beautiful Bali.  We arrived to our lovely hotel on Christmas Eve and were greeted with one of mom’s favorite songs upon our entry into the lobby.  While we took this a sign of mom’s approval of our decision to upgrade to a nicer room and her way of telling us that she was with us, it still hit us like a ton of bricks.  Christmas was one of mom’s favorite holidays and had always been the one holiday where our family was guaranteed to be together.  Her absence was palpable and deeply, deeply painful.  I was so grateful that Rob and I could be together for Christmas and that we were able to Skype with some our family back in the States. 

Knowing that the last thing mom would want us to do on Christmas Day would be to mope around, Rob and I took ourselves into town for a gourmet meal.  Mom loved a great meal and she would have absolutely adored the multi-course extravaganza that we had in her honor.  Here’s a pic of Rob and I on Christmas Day. 

Here’s Santa. 

Here’s the bathroom in the restaurant.  Yeah, I know it’s weird to take a picture of a bathroom, but check out the pond and the fish.  I mean, how could I resist this?  You’re pumped to see it too…..admit it….this is one cool bathroom.   

The next day Rob and I tooled around Ubud and just took it easy. 

You know, nothing special or out of the ordinary… 

Hahahaha!!!!!!!!!  Rob and I made a visit to the insurgent store while in Mae Sot and picked up these beauties.  In addition to ski masks, they sell uniforms, patches and pins indicating rank, a variety of weapons including guns, brass knuckles, machetes, and grenades, WWE wresting figures, stuffed animals, postcards….you know, all the essentials for being an insurgent general. 

You may notice that I’m wearing earrings.  I am my mother’s daughter so you know that I had to glam this baby up a bit and give it a little style.  These next few shots are what I like to call insurgent chic.  Work it, own it! 

Now it’s time to leave Ubud and meet up with our tour group in Sanur.  Rob and I were both looking forward to meeting some new peeps and seeing more of Bali.  This was my second trip to Bali, but with some new stops along the way. 

Our tour group consisted of 12 travelers….Canadians, Brits, Aussies, an Irish lass, an Austrian, and 2 New Yorkers (oh yeah, it is on!).  Not to mention our fearless tour leader, Tim, another American who has been doing Asian itineraries for about a year now.  Tim’s adorable girlfriend, Donna, also joined us for a few days.  Everyone in the group was so much fun and got along extremely well.  You’ll see more of them later, but I am thrilled to have yet again lucked out with an awesome group of travel companions.   

In the morning we went back to Ubud and rested up for a big day of biking through the rice fields.  Before our ride, we stopped by a farm to learn more about Balinese agriculture, especially coffee.  Indonesia is known for a special, very expensive type of coffee that goes for up to $150/cup around the world.  What makes this coffee so special is that the coffee bean is passed through the digestive tract of a cat-like animal called the Luwak.  Yes, cat poop coffee is today’s special and you know that I was all about it.  Fortunately, we only had to pay $3 to sample this unusual delicacy.  Don’t worry, the beans have been processed and are actually a pale white color. 

Here is a pic of the gentleman who owns this farm and is clearly living large on caffeinated cat poo.  It’s good to be this guy. 

Now that we are heavily caffeinated it’s time to bike our little buns off in the extreme heat and humidity.  Here are some of the sights we took in along the way. 

The men do the farming and the women do the harvesting.  It’s harvesting season now so the women are very busy. 

We also visited a local Balinese compound on our biking tour, which revealed some very interesting, cultural tidbits about Balinese family life and Balinese Hinduism. 

• The compounds are passed down from generation to generation, but it is the duty of the youngest son to stay in the compound forever to take care of his parents.  He may be allowed to leave the compound for higher education, but the expectation is that he will return to the compound to take care of his parents. 
• The Balinese file down their top 6 front teeth so that they are all even.  Teeth are the symbols of lust, greed, anger, insobriety, confusion and jealousy.  This ceremony is frequently done as a rite of passage from adolescence to adulthood, but is very expensive so sometimes it is postponed until marriage, or in extreme circumstances, death. 
• the baby is not allowed to touch the ground for the first 3 months of life because the baby is unclean
• every compound has a temple, allowing communication with one’s ancestors. 
• Placentas are viewed as twins of babies and are buried to honor their spirits.  The placenta is buried beneath a rock at the entrance of the sleeping house and is placed on either the left or the right of the entrance depending on the sex of the child. 

Here are a few scenes from the compound.     

The cow is used as currency only.  The cows are raised and then sold to help provide for things in the compound. 

After our big bike ride, which was uphill at the end, we were all ravenous and ready for a delicious meal.  Tim had the perfect place in mind, which delivered incredible scenery in addition to scrumptious food. 

The next morning it was off to Lovina.  We stopped at this lovely temple along the way. 

Sarongs are a must for temples for both women and men. 

And another lovely sunset. 

And now it is time for some snorkeling.  The day started off a bit overcast, but cleared up nicely.  Like a complete and total LOSER I decided against reapplying my sunscreen after lunch and prior to our second snorkel.  Obviously this is a superb idea for a ghostly pale blonde girl on the equator.  As anyone with even the slightest amount of intelligence would guess, I fried to a crisp.  I even took the precaution of wearing a one piece bathing suit to protect the fresh scars on my back from the removal of some moles prior to my departure from the States, but it turns out that the “covered” part was actually mesh.  This was not my brightest hour, folks.  Not at all.  Poor Rob had to continually apply aloe to my charcoaled skin and listen to my moaning and groaning about how much it hurt.  Who is fun and adorable? 

Here are some scenes above water near the area where we were snorkeling.  It was beautiful.

After the application of practically an entire bottle of aloe, I was ready for dinner and a traditional Balinese dance.  This particular dance, Legong, focuses especially on rapid eye movements and facial expressions.  One minute the dancer would have an innocent looking smile on her face and then she would turn her head and look back with crazy eyes and a kind of spooked expression on her face.  It was definitely memorable and very well executed by our young dancers. 

Here’s our posse with the dancers. 

Another early morning for us. This time we’re up for a sunrise dolphin cruise. 

I thought I was going to love this part of the trip, but I actually ended up feeling kind of guilty during and after it because hundreds of boats were literally chasing the dolphins to catch a glimpse of them.     

After Lovina it was time to head to Kintamani for our New Year’s Day sunrise hike up Mt. Batur, a live volcano.  It was pouring down rain when we arrived in Kintamani and was coming down so hard that it actually knocked out the power for a few hours.  It wasn’t looking very promising for a 3 AM hike. 

But right before dinner the skies cleared up and it seemed like we may very well be able to hike after all. 

We even got to see a blue moon on New Year’s Eve.  A blue moon is an extra full moon that only happens every 2 or 3 years.  My understanding is that the lunar cycle includes a full moon every month, but in addition to the 12 lunar cycles there is also a solar calendar that contains an excess of 10 or 11 days compared to the lunar year, which accumulate, so every 2 or 3 years an “extra full moon” occurs.  Bottom line: the blue moon is special and we’re all taking it as a sign that the rain will stay away and our sunrise hike will be a go.   

After a few drinks and some fireworks that a few enthusiastic members of our crew had purchased on the beaches of Lovina, we hit the sack early in hopes of a sunrise hike up an active volcano. 

At 3 AM our wake up call came in, and much to our groggy delight, the skies were clear.  The hike was a go. 

Rob was so sweet to lend me his fanny pack so that I could give my charred back a break.  Just putting on a bra made me want to scream so you can imagine what a backpack would have felt like scraping up and down my skin.  Thanks, Rob!  You’re the best nong lek EVER!!!!

Wait until you see these pictures.  They are gorgeous.  What a great way to start 2010! 

Happy New Year, Rob!  Hopefully 2010 will be a better year for our family.      

It’s time for some much deserved egg sandwiches and hot tea provided by our fantastic guides. 

Here’s the crew!  We did it.  Woo Hoo!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, I realize I have posted a lot of pics here, but I just can’t help myself.  It was such a stunning sight. 

I’ve been a bit obsessed with the sky since mom’s passing, believing now that mom is a part of the sky.  If so, she certainly didn’t hold back with a spectacular sky for us today.  Thanks, mom!  I love you and miss you so much. 

These are some of the scenes we passed on our hike down the volcano, which I thought was harder than the ascent.  The rocks are slippery and the slope was pretty steep so it was easy to slide around a bit.  That didn’t matter though, as we were all on a huge high from our amazing morning. 

I loved seeing the farms at the base of the volcano, but I’m not sure that I’d want to live there.  Seems a little too close for comfort for this girl.  Still, it’s beautiful. 

After we finished the hike we headed to some hot springs to rest our tired muscles and celebrate the new year!  I wasn’t sure if the hot springs were going to be possible given my charred skin, but Tim kept insisting that countless others before me with the same problem did it and swore that it made them feel better.  Skeptically, I dipped my leg into the water and surprisingly it didn’t feel that bad.  Within seconds my entire body was submerged.  Yeehaw! 

Here is a view of Mt. Batur from our hotel.  To think that we hiked this only a few hours earlier.  How amazing! 

Now it was time to head to Padang Bai for some 2010 celebrating.  What better way to kick off the festivities than by devouring an entire pig?!?

What a great start to the new year.  Sadly, our tour was coming to an end.  Back to Ubud and then it’s time to say goodbye.  But, before we say goodbye, say hello to Besakih or The Mother Temple. 

We lucked out as one of the major Balinese ceremonies, the cremation ceremony, was underway.  It made the experience so much more interesting and special.  Check it out for yourselves. 

What an amazing trip!  It definitely was a bit of an emotional roller coaster, but that is to be expected.  The trip ended on a high note and I leave Bali feeling optimistic that the new year is off to a positive start and that brighter days are ahead. 

I leave you with this final sunset in Ubud. 

I wish you all the best in the new year.  Right now I’m off to Koh Samui in S. Thailand and will be luxuriating on the beach for 5 days.  I plan to do nothing but sleep, read, listen to music, swim in the ocean and eat some tasty Thai delights.  After Koh Samui I’m headed to my yoga retreat that is also in S. Thailand and entirely on floating huts.  It promises to be an adventure. 

I will have no internet access while I’m at my retreat, but I’ll be back online around the 20th of January with updates for you.  I’ll be eagerly awaiting the arrival of one of my BFF’s, Sandy, Ms. Girard if you’re nasty, on the 21st.  Needless to say, I am thrilled to see her.  We’ll also be meeting up with Amie and Todd so you’ll get to see them again too.  How fun! 

See you all in a few weeks.  Much love from Thailand.