Oh! The Places I'll Go...: May 2013

I couldn't believe I'd finally arrived in one of my dream places, Bali! Sinead was waiting for me outside the Starbucks (yes, they have them everywhere), our designated meeting spot at the airport. It wasn't long before we had attained a taxi and were on our way to Ubud. A short hour and a half drive, filled with beautiful scenery and a lot of traffic, we arrived on Monkey Forest Street. We easily found our Guesthouse where tea was waiting on our private balcony. We hadn't eaten proper meals so we went in search of an early dinner. We ate, explored the area, and then were ready for an early bed time. Bright and early the next morning we were served a delicious breakfast on our balcony. I could get used to this! Afterwards we went walking to see more of the city. We found the market with all sorts of goodies, including some interestingly shaped bottle openers and then ate at a delicious cafe with vegan, vegetarian, organic, and local dishes (we bought some yummy cookies at their bakery) and just when we were getting to the good shops.......it started to pour! We tried to wait it out, twice, but it was coming down much too strong. We hired a taxi to get back and then chilled in our room for a bit. That night we walked over to Yoga Barn, an amazing yoga resort. The studios are amazing and so are the "gardens". Since we were both keen to do yoga we shared a 10 class pass and started to stretch! Sinead went to a class the first night and I got a massage. For $6 I had the best massage of my trip so far (though it just doesn't compare to my massages at home Chrys!)....it was very relaxing, except for the fact that I was told to take everything but my underwear off....OK, normal so far. I soon discovered there was no sheet to cover me and the beds were laid out with hospital style curtains between them. At the time there was a power outage and so the curtains at the back remained open, with a perfect view of my backside! So even though the massage was amazing, I didn't fully relax since I kept wondering who might be peeking in and seeing everything! And to top it off when I rolled onto my back, there was still no sheet, awkward!

Ubud, and Monkey Forest Street in particular was full of great restaurants. And many of them had either live music or great tunes playing. I realized how much I'd missed good music! I definitely need to update my iPod playlist! It is also a place of relaxation, tourists, and yoga. So we went to yoga, explored, ate good food, and relaxed. We treated ourselves to a Hot Stone Massage, and to countless delicious lunches and dinners. We took yoga classes, sometimes twice a day, saw the Monkey Forest, full of curious monkeys, and rode bikes out to see the rice paddys. After 5 days, I was ready for the next place. I asked around and the locals all said Amed was the best beach to go to. I searched out a shuttle and made plans to leave Sunday. The shuttles need a minimum of 2 people and so I had to keep checking whether I could go or not. Sinead was staying one more night in Ubud. After yoga on Saturday I was told the shuttle was a go! Yes! The next morning I had time for one more class before I left. When we arrived at yoga we discovered the teacher was looney. I mean this totally seriously. It started off normal enough except for her referring to a deeper energy and things that started sounding a bit strange. Only 10 minutes in she began to vibrate with this so called energy, as did a few students in the class. After an hour and a half I witnessed people bursting into laughter, describing their anus as breathing, vibrating limbs, thrashing heads, moaning, and a few others I may have blocked! I finally left when it was clear we weren't ending any time soon and class was meant to be over(and a good thing since Sinead was still there an hour after I left). I was in shock for hours after that class. I showered and gathered my things and was on the shuttle at 11 am!