Bali you beauty
11.05.2016
“Bali is one of my favourite places in the world. In one of my past lives, I believe I was living on the island of Bali” – author Chip Conley. It’s weird that I haven’t, until now, found the words to speak about my experience in Bali. I’ve been back in London now for a week already and have finally collected my thoughts and the words to write about the happy time I had in a place that captured my heart. Bali has always been at the top of my places-to-visit wish list and so far it’s the best decision I’ve made for my mind and soul. Being a spiritual believer, I felt a deep sense of spirituality across the whole island, but I’m so glad I stayed in Ubud; out of all of the places I visited it seemed one of the most untouched, spiritual places set within the beautiful greenery. Being from the Western World of London meant Bali was so different from anything I’d ever seen before. I got a taste of the simple, beautiful and happy life and I was hooked instantly. I have come back feeling, and looking, refreshed and healthy in mind and body. Could Bali be my favourite place on this earth? I think it might.
For my time on the island I was staying with a volunteering-based group doing a yoga and meditation program. I saw a wide spectrum of the beautiful sights and cultural practices around Ubud. We visited the Sacred Monkey Forest where the amazing creatures were just roaming around, walked walked through the rice paddies and watched the breath-taking Kecak dance. I loved visiting one of the many water temples to bless our bodies in the holy water and give flower offerings. I felt a sense that my body had been fully blessed after bathing in the water and drinking it with each offering. One of the most unforgettable moments was the 2 hour trek up the live volcano Mount Batur at 4am before the sunrise, and then watching the sun rise above the mountain range. One of the things I grew to love was seeing on the streets of Ubud women placing the Canang Sari (flower offerings to the Gods) on the pavements, morning and afternoon. Everybody I came across throughout Ubud and the whole of Bali were so friendly and polite, happy to help you like a friend. The smiles I would get from strangers everywhere is one of the things I miss greatly now being back in London.
When I first arrived out of the Ngurah Rai airport in Depasar and was riding in the taxi to Ubud I remember looking out of the window and seeing all of the bikes on the roads and saying I would never ride on one of them. There are motor cyclists in England but not as many so I had never seen anything like it before. However, in the end in the second week of my stay, after making a close friend in a local Balinese man, I rode on the back of his bike to the South of the island. I have to say that you get the most liberating and freeing feeling and it’s the best way to see the island. The feel of the wind in my air is one I will remember forever. Throwing yourself fully into the way of life there means you will appreciate it fully. The one thing I did miss in Ubud was the sea so I went to visit it twice during my stay. I spent days in Seminyak and Uluwatu on the beach taking in the beautiful views and the sound of the waves lapping against the sand. Sometimes the beauty of the picturesque views will take your breath away a little bit and the nature just envelops you and makes you never want to leave it. The sea is the most clear and sparkling you’ll ever see, the green of the leaves so pure and the air so fresh and clean.
A big part of my experience was the yoga and meditation I practiced 4 hours a day for one of the weeks. I have practiced yoga now for 2 years but I have never before done it surrounded by such beauty and sense of serenity in the air. The Balinese yoga instructor we had was the best I’ve ever met; he had such knowledge of the yoga practice and also the surrounding spirituality around it and meditation, learnt from his time training for 24 years, sometimes in India, with his own yogi. I have a feeling that the yoga and meditation I practiced in Bali will be the most pure as my mind was at such ease, but I will strive to replicate that feeling back in the UK. I love food so I have to take a moment to explain how divine the food in Bali is. I’m a vegetarian and I found there was a wonderful selection of dishes I could eat at every restaurant, especially ones serving only vegetarian and vegan cuisine. My favourite thing to do would be to just go to a little warung (local food stall) and taste all the beautiful cap cay and fried noodles, and wash them down with a fresh jasmine ice tea. The best places are the ones that look simple, and may not look like much sometimes from the outside. But, just don’t pass them by, go in and try something that will awaken your taste buds.
For me two weeks wasn’t enough time to explore Bali and take in all of its amazing landscape. It also wasn’t enough time to spend there for my head and heart, and I wanted to stay longer in the place which had altered my mind set for the better. I will definitely be returning to Bali again one day. For the rest of time I will be annoying my friends and family with repeating all these stories time and time again as they are memories that will stay with me forever. I have never felt such a love for a place. If I now have any advice for someone it will be to go to Bali and have a life-changing experience that you won’t forget. People of any ages can enjoy what Bali has to offer as its beauty isn’t hard to fall in love with. Planning a girl’s trip? Thinking of a little family vacation? Looking for honey moon destinations? It’s the perfect place for every eventuality. Just escape for a little while to a land that is worlds apart from your own. It’s guaranteed to change how you see your world for the better, and will open your eyes to the bigger picture of the whole word and life itself. Novelist Anita Desai famously once said, “Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow;” I do believe that Bali has become a part of me.
