7 Days of experiencing humble Bali

How I felt about Bali....well, what you're about to read, is from my lenses. Everybody experiences what they see differently. What I saw, is probably what I chose to see. But hope you enjoy seeing through my lenses! ; )

Here's my experience of humble Bali..

The Balinese didin't seem to prioriotise anything above the importance of devotion, to their spiritual practise, prayers and offerings. They ritually carry the thought of simple grace, sharing their manifestation and blessings amidst a days hard work to their tight knit commmunity. This was what I felt of their being. The happiness or serenity on some of their faces did come from within.

Although adorned with intricate colors in architecture, clothing, music, art, craftwork and ongoing feasts of festivals to celebrate the gift of life, I valued the other contrasting quiet side just the same, if not more. After the gongs have struck and made their peace, the serenity from its garden pools trickling with water elements combined with earth, the endless mountain ranges and temples, the powerful waterfalls, terraced paddy fields and mystical water palaces shines through and brings a renewed breath of life from within.

I am very blessed to have experienced the art of living in surrendering mode throughout my time there. This is a summary of my experience, in my presence, crossing the path of a beautiful legendary island with a mystical past and her present joy, combining the peaceful balance of nature in life. With the fear of bombings put behind me, I'm glad I made a trip to Bali. Her mystical air and unique beauty is totally worth it.

First things first
• Conversion rate is approximately USD 1 = SGD2 = 10,000 rupiah (rp)
• Tax & Service Charge in restaurants are 21%. Tipping is not compulsory but common due to tourist.
• In each family, the children are named according to a fix naming structure — Wayan (1st child) Made (2nd child), Nyoman (3rd child) & Ketut (4th child) & repeat if there's more kids.

Day 1 — 25th May, Thursday

Depart Singapore at 4.40pm, arrival at Denpasar airport at 7pm. Caught adventure movie Eight Below on a nice and clean SIA boeing. A must see movie for dog lovers. Stewards/ess are pleasant and well organized. I like SIA, perhaps due to my love for top standard hygiene!

Driven straight to our guest house accomodation at Sindhu Merta. Its situated in Jalan Danau Poso, in south of Sanur town, a very nice cosy clean and lovely guest house @ US30 p/night (275,000 rp/night) with a lovely small pool and garden side.

Its too late to plan anything, so we just explored the vicinity and found a K mart (alike 7-eleven there). Water is not safe to drink from tap. Bought 8 bottles of mineral water (2,500rp per) and 2 yummy Classic Walls ice-cream (7,000 rp) to tantalize our tastebud before we hit the sack.

Day 2 — Friday at Sanur

Breakfast at the pool side garden with simple toast/pancake and tea. Did some reading and planning, head out for early lunch at a cheap 24hrs nasi padang warung called Sari Bundo II — a steal at 12,000 rupiah for 2.

Just before that, signed in for our dive equipments prep. Then, spent all afternoon exploring north of Sanur by foot. Entered a couple of nice Balinese hotels with awesome traditional Balinese architecture and garden pools and did some comparison on the room rates for the fun of it, all this whilst going on my citrus fruit hunt! Hallelujah that we finally found some oranges and lime — as its the best remedy for my tummy cleansing ritual. ; ) Walked back via Sanur beach front. Although baron, they were really nice hotels or restaurants with beach front and swimming pools. Quite a few lady masseurs hounding us with their services along this stretch.

Dined at Abian Boga Bar & Restaurant, a decorated place with some Balinese ambience which came with 4 in 1 Legong dance performances. (comprises of Panyembrama Dance to welcome guests, Manuk Rawa Dance, a story representing 2 birds bathing, Baris Dance, a war dance to glorify the manhood of the triumphant Balinese warrior and lastly Oleg Tamulilingan, a dance depicting a flirtation act between a male and female bumblee bee.

The funniest thing happen here — Our menu was Pineapple Juice (12,000rp) Tomato Juice (13,000rp), Grilled Squid with water spinach (33,000rp), Ikan Pepes with local vegetable (29,000rp) and rice & Tom Ayam Siap Base (26,000rp) and kangkong (7,000rp). We asked to replace the rice with more vegetables. AND when all the dishes came, ALL the vegetables turned out to be kangkong, and not just that, they were ALL cooked in the SAME STYLE. So hilarious!

So beware of the local vegetables' being the same type. Although we gave a feedback so this mistake can be corrected on the menu but possibly most restaurants aren't aware of this. I've heard kangkong given the name 'Morning Glory' too in other places/countries.

Day 3 — First Dive Day, Saturday

All ready and prepared at 7.30am! Just a piece of pancake and tea, minimal breakfast to prepare for my tummy for it! Met everyone at Bali Scuba Dive operator just across the road. ; )

Took my seasick pill when I was in the van to the beach front. Hopped on a jet boat to head to Manta Point at Nusa Penida. We had 13 people on this new orange jet boat. Oh, and didn't feel too well already. Barfed out my pancake before the jet boat even took off for the 40 minute ride!!

Vomitted again at Manta Point before i put on my wet suit. Was offered another pill but dumb as I was, I insisted I took one already. There were 4 in our group, and 6 more in another group. Sanut and Tom was our dive master with 2 boat keepers. I had Tom all to myself cause I'm a novice unlike the rest for precaution reasons. ; )

Bonz was unlucky, her underwater camera box loaded up with water due to a leak. God bless her $900 Olympus camera!! Well, because of that, they came back up and went down with me and Tom.

Everyone following Sanut saw 2 Manta from a distance. And the rest of us — Bonz, Nan and I didn't. So so so so sad. ; (((

I barfed more water when I was underwater, and at the surface when we went back up again.

Dive was 30 minute only at 20 metre.

Everyone had lunch on board, I skipped my meal cause I was feeling too ill already. The food was good though (Indonesian vegetarian — tempeh, awesome spicy sambal, some fried stuff and hard boiled egg.) I had this the next day on land ; )

I still didn't feel so well, so I decided to skip the other 2 dives and had nice short naps ( I should've ate another pil darn itl!!)

The other divers saw colorful corals and fishes at Toyapakeh and experienced medium to strong surge dive at Ped Temple on the 3rd dive. They also experienced sudden cold and warm change in temperature. When the divers came afloat, I awoke from my dreamless state and couldnt wait to get off our rocking float. Barfed one more time!!

We hit shore at 4.30pm, docking outside the sea coastal area and saw a herd of fishermans fishing lined up in a big curve, standing at waist depth. Some were wearing motorbike helmets! From here, we were transfered to shallow waters via a smaller boat (we are spoiled!) and thereafter walked over seagrass over the very vast beach on low tide. Thomas and the gals saw a tiny jelly fish and puffer baby in the puddles here. ; )

Finally, off the salty beach, we decided to soak in the pool.

i was in quite a upset state because I thought I had no choice but to skip my next day dive since I'm feeling phobic toward seasickness. There was a strong resistance to do it all over again.

And I was in a space caught up over 2 things — that perhaps I'm not meant to dive at all, ever and felt bad because I broke my agreement with myself to do 2 full day dives. (Although now, i think its a silly thing.)

Night came and we treated ourselves to a lovely power nap whilst we waited for the gals to finish their 2 hour (which turned out to be 4) Nitrox class and exam. Dined at Warung Blanjong, 10 minutes from hotel. Menu was Nasi Campur Set, Chicken baked in Spices with rice, Mie Goreng & Bee Hoon Goreng. Chicken & Nasi Campur was better than Abian Boga. They give cooking lessons here! We were the only diners out of aproximately 10 tables.

Day 4 — 2nd Dive Day, Sunday

The rest left for the dive.

I stayed at the hotel. Had a full breakfast, did more reading on Lonely Planets version of Bali. And also borrowed Bonz book, 360Degrees Leaders.

At 4.30pm divers finally returned with stories of Manta at Manta Point and Mola-Mola at Crystal Bay!!!!

We promptly set out for a drive down south to catch the spectacular cliff-top temple at Pura Ulu Watu for its sunset view.

Monkeys here are wild and vicious! If tourists are not carefully hanging tight to their things, it'd be snatched. Tourists bags, necklace, spectacles and probably even cameras are all good targets! The local gate keepers help get it back at a nominal fee.

We head back up to Jimbaran beach for a very scrumptious seafood meal at Mersati. Here we see a long line of contrasting busy and quiet restaurants. The rich frequent the bigger restaurants and the medium sizes seems to have a harder time surviving during this lull period. Our restaurant was a few metres from where bali bombing happened at Four Seasons Beach front. Bombing really changed the tourism scene apparently.

The Mersati adrenalin junkie shop owner shared some of his own experiences and recommended Menjangan Wall dive as a must see. Menjangan is a Reserved Marine Park as it sits under the National Park vicinity in West Bali forests. We noticed that bali also offers white water rafting and bunjee jumping. I respect some of these entrepreneur spirit in the locals. They make the effort to improve their English language with the awareness that language is the gateway to the outside world. The bustling tourism industry plays a crucial role in its economy growth.

Time to unwind after a good meal and channel surf back at Sindhu. Amidst the dramatic TV shows and advert, managed to find Lord of the Rings on the local channel and did a crash reading to finish up my book till 4am. ; ) Tonight, news reported 3000 over victims on the Jogjakarta earth quake. God Bless their souls.

Day 5 — Central Mountains, Monday

The gals have 3 more dive days and Thomas and I begin our land trips.

9am, we start our 2 hour drive up through Ubud to see rice paddy field slopes, whizzing by the arts and crafts area by car. We were aiming to skip all shopping and go straight up to Gunung Batur (1717m) to see the volcanic cones, a double caldera and a crater lake called Lake Danau Batur. Further to its right, Gunung Agung sits on a whopping 3142m.

We lunched at the best view restuarant overseeing the Gunung Batur. Surprisingly, food was not so good for the buffet spread charged at 60,000 rp p/pax. The very hard-sell locals managed to pursuade me to buy a chopstick set with nice box carving at SGD11. I think they were really good at using a sympathetic begging tactic and I totally bought into it! Oh well, some giving never hurts.

We finally reach The Pura Tirta Empul at Tampaksiring, the holy beautiful water temple. It keeps a fresh flow of water pools and makes a sacred place where locals still visit to cleanse their mind, body and spirit. Entry fee was 6000 rp. (This is my favourite temple in this trip).

Pura Bratan was an interesting temple. To enter, we have to rent a sarong and scarf for Thomas. I brought my own. Savoured the peace and serene annd sweet air for awhile. I especially like how they tie a scarf around the tree they believe to be sacred. Bought 2 pieces of painting here and a sandal wood fan at SGD2. My driver said I should never buy at these touristy places and should've stopped at Ubud instead or I'll get ripped off.

Dozed off on our way back. Decided t o try a Spa Treatment package at US40 p/pax which we found the ginger tea far better than the massage! Thomas and I realised we are definitely not the soak and spa kind but we are the quick and hard acupressure type!

Day 6 Central Mountains — Danau Bratan (1860m to 2276m), Tuesday

We visited Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, a Hindhu-Buddhist temple dedicated to Dewi Danu, the goddess of the waters. Pilgrimage and ceremonies are held here to ensure there is a supply of water for farmers all over Bali. This is a very memorable view. The perky Balinese holy rooftop compliments the salem high country fir trees in the backdrop of the wide and quiet lake. We did some macro shots on flowers where the well kept Botanical Garden decorates the landscape at the entrance of the Pura.

After that, it was a short ride up further north to Gitgit Waterfalls where we walked only 200m to reach. Entrance was 3000 rp/pax and we also decided to contribute to the tour guide with a 20,000++ fee and tip. I had a nice meditation session at the falls for 30 min plus.

Coming back down, met a German chap on a bike. I decided to to support the quiet shops and purchased some vanilla pod, 2 artwork with frame (20,000rp) and Bali Tea (10,000rp). We saw coffee fruit trees and some spice trees on the way to the falls around the foresty ravines. Bali exports spices and coffee. We had a young friendly waterfall guide, not that we needed one. Kinda feeling sorry for them during the lull period.

Short drive back to Sanur at Sindhu!! Ordered the cheapest nasi goreng (9000rp for 2).

We strolled out for night walk to see lovely stars at the south beach area in the deafening night. As we passed by a few perched up windmills sitting on high bamboo sticks, the noise began. We saw a three piece giant wind flute which made a sort of eerie melody standing tall at the beachside as well.

Day 7 Kuta's famed sunset, Wednesday

Changed plans from snorkelling at Nusa Dua to spending the afternoon visiting Museum Le Mayeur at north of Sanur instead.

The Museum is actually a house which Adrien Jean Le Mayeur, a painter, trained as an architect decorated with antique stone and wood carvings collected from across Bali. He painted mainly Ni Polok, a young and beautiful Legong dancer who he later married. He at 55 years and she at 15 years old. In his painting were pictures of lovely women dancing or bathing in the rustic ambience of Balinese artchitecture house or garden pools. Medium used were oil on matt grass, canvas and charcoal. He had a unique way of painting oil with pastel shades as well. Lovely lovely works. Entrance was 2000rp per pax.

Walked a long way back to our hotel and took a dip at the pool whilst waiting for gals to get ready for a night drive south and west, to Kuta for its famed sunset and to the Warung with a courtyard at Seminyak for dinner. My Thai salad was pretty good. The rest, Indonesian Flat noodles and Glass noodles were so-so. Burger and tea was good — Halia tea, Normal tea, Ice Lemon Tea. The courtyard was surrounded by other shops like Periplus (the only book shop i've seen so far) and other fashion brands. Interesting touristy crowd too.

Arriving back to Sindhu, everybody made a pact to catch sunrise the next day!! Yippee.

Day 8 Ubud & good massage, Thursday

Crash read to finish a book till 3am. but 4.30 I'm up! So, tried going back to bed till 5am. It was probably the tea which kept me up. We're all set at 5.15 for our morning walk out to the beach! It finally came at about 6am. Hidden behind the clouds, sunrise was pretty subtle as it was cloudy. It became windy later.

Breakfast first and then we head of to Ubud for a drive around. Walked around Ubud's Monkey Forest Rd to look for Jane's Place and picked out 1 yoga bag (2500rp) and 1 sling bag (3000rp), handsewn with Ikat material.

Found a must visit massage place called Ubud Bodyworks Centre. Traditional Balinese massage (90,000rp), Therapy Massage (100,000rp) was to die for!! The garden courtyard was heavenly and rooms were simple yet cosy and breezy. We all loved it. Ginger tea was great too. See www.ubudbodyworkscentre.com. Snapped quite a few pictures here.

Left for Kuta to find accomodation at the not so new Cottages. Settled in quickly so we could visit Fajar Restaurant for a nice cheap dinner. Fried tauhu, Asam Soup, Beef stir fry, Fuyung Hai, Vege, 1 coke, 1 pineapple juice, 2 Beers, all for just 80,000rp for 4!!!

Walked around in Kuta to soak in the night life at its main streets and had 1 hr of internet (200rp p/min) for pretty slow speed to end the day.

Day 9 Surfing morning in Kuta!

A new exciting day as we struck some morning luck with a surf shop called PALU!! After savouring our last Indonesian breakfast of fried noodles, we dressed up for our first dive crash course lesson.

Did some physical prep on sand first to familiarise how to position ourselves and then 1.5 hrs soaking in the morning sun and getting wet and trashed with waves. It was pretty wow! I realised I was pretty bad at coordinating my head turn and pedalling. I hope doing more sports will help with that!

We all had a very good lessonn. USD20 p/pax for surfing lessons. He was a good teacher.

Thomas and I rush back to catch our taxi to the airport. Bought an expensive keropok packet (USD3.50) for his mum to fry (which she handed to me to do!) and had a good lunch on board our non-pack SIA flight!

The End!

Recommended Books for me to read...

1. Believing Cassandra — Alan Atkisson
2. Tipping Point
3. Lmits to Growth
4. The Gaia Hypothesis — James Lovelock
5. Science, & The Search for God — Gary Kowalski
6. In Praise of Idleness — Bertrand Russell
7. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek -- by Annie Dillard
8. Teaching a Stone to Talk : Expeditions and Encounters -- by Annie Dillard
9. For the Time Being (Vintage) -- by Annie Dillard; Paperback


Buddha of Compassion — Jinhua Mountain Anhui Province China
Maitreya Buddha — Bodh Gaya, Bihar State India

Dipa Ma

I was passed this simple lovely book titled DiPa Ma, the life and legacy of a Buddhist Master, and when I started reading it, i couldnt put it down. In here, was a compiled story and experiences of people of this very loving enlightened being who had touched the lives of countless souls and apparently still doing so.

I was happy to have some affirmations aligned too when I read of this simple buddhist lady on not entertaining social events, visits and other gatherings that are not necessary. Its true for me that to find the peace that I seek, nothing else is needed, hence I don't enjoy it and don't want it. I used to think perhaps being non-socialble was a sign of selfishness, now i know more. Those of us who do a lot of self-work do need silent retreats and hence I question this no more.

Another lesson I learned this weekend was about Great Compassion. I tend to get myself in a frustrated situation because I hold people around me big enough to handle life and life's infinite powers. And, when people don't see it, I kept wanting to believe its because they are selling themselves short. Although I feel that by getting them to see the values of owning this infinite knowledge, that they could be a light itself for others, this could be a winwin, I still questioned whether I should or if it is my job at all. frustration sometimes occur for me when they choose not to see it and I knew feeling like this was amiss.

In an excerpt from the book, Dipa Ma said, anger is never justified. And the question i had hovering above me these few days about allowing myself to be frustrated due to my high expectation of others for their good, was answered. No matter what, I must unceasingly act out of compassion and loving kindness. Even if I know better. For everyone has their journey and takes their time to reach a certain level. I could hence embrace them when they are ready and bless them with prayers and blessings while awaiting them to arrive.

I learned so many things from her already. I have found my 3rd guru. She pierced right through my soul. What an awesome day I had. ; D