Faces of Bali

 

Beautiful Ubud

Ubud, a town with a rich cultural past, sits in central-southern Bali, an outrageously beautiful island in the Indonesian archipelago. But it’s hot here. And I mean Hot. I don’t know if it’s because we’re closer to the equator, but the same sunscreen that worked in Thailand is ineffective here, and both Mark and I have been burned and scorched and suffered the effects of heat and sunstroke a couple of times.

Long a hotbed of cultural activity, Ubud has been attracting writers, artists, and musicians long before Elizabeth Gilbert set her love-lorn feet here. Ubud is also a hotbed of health, wellness, and spiritual living, with vegetarian, vegan, and raw eateries, spiritual healers, meditation centers, and a plethora of yoga studios. So yes, basically, it’s my heaven (if it didn’t feel like 42 degrees…). I found a studio with an affordable week pass, and have been going to a variety of yoga classes, and because of all the ex-pats here, all the classes are in English (unlike the one I took recently in Bangkok that was entirely in Thai… that was interesting!). And due to the heat and humidity, every class is like a hot yoga class, which can be challenging.

The streets bustle but feel intimate with flowering Frangipani trees leaning over lovely, moss-covered stone walls, interrupted occasionally by mammoth banyan trees, narrow laneways, and decorative gates leading to temples or homes. Both temples and homes are open air compounds with thick, thatched-roof shrines, towers, and platforms, and statues of Ganesh, Buddha, and other deities. Homes are beautifully and intricately designed, with hibiscus- and orchid-lined pathways leading to the various rooms, buildings, and sitting platforms. The scent of incense is heavy in the air, while bright orange marigold petals and little squares of green banana leaf dot the ground from the many daily offerings to the Balinese Hindu gods. Terraced rice fields sit on the edge of town, and in the distance you can see the imposing, hazy silhouette of volcanoes. Yes, I think I’m smitten with Bali.

Bangkok to Bali

Approved visa (!!!!) and passport back in hand, we jumped on a plane and headed south, past the equator, to Bali. Before we were allowed to get our boarding pass however, we were told we had to book an outward flight (overland travel is not accepted), so we had to dash to the airport internet cafe, pay $3 for 20 minutes, and book a flight out of Indonesia, before even getting there. Frustrating, because we wanted to keep things flexible, but that's apparently not allowed.

When we arrive in a new place I try to update our map, and it's always as I'm plotting the route we took and adding a pin that it strikes me as ridiculously absurd that I'm here. That dot on the map? We were there. That was us. There. Here.

Sometimes this all feels very normal, and we get caught up in the day to day sights and sounds and frustrations, and there is a realness to it that makes it seem regular, and that it's not out of the ordinary to be buying grilled scallops from a canal boat in Thailand. People do this everyday! I've never done it before, but I'm doing it now!

But flying so fast and so far across oceans and islands and landing in a new, faraway place jolted me anew to how incredibly lucky I am, we are, to be here. My eyes can't open wide enough to take in all the new sights and my heart can hardly stand how happy I am. I am so grateful to all the people who helped make this possible. To all the phenomenally amazing friends and family who encouraged us, and for taking care of things at home for us so we can do this: thank you so much, it literally means the world to me. You are the best. The. Best. I am the luckiest girl in the world.

Flying over Malaysia

Beautiful painting in the airport in Kuala Lumpur

Incredible clouds

Land! Indonesia!

Amphawa, the Venice of Thailand

After Kanchanaburi we still had a few more days before we had to head back to Bangkok, so we looked up some other nearby destinations. Amphawa, known for its floating market sounded intriguing, and was accessible by local (read: cheap) transit. We had rented a moto to make it easier getting back and forth from town to our guesthouse, and on the morning we left for Amphawa, Mark drove us and our backpacks on the bike. We spent several minutes strategizing how to arrange the packs on, around, and/or between us, and settled on Mark wearing my backpack backwards and leaning it forward over the console, and me wearing Mark’s pack—the “waist” straps buckled around my legs—doing my best not to tip backwards.

Kanchanaburi

After submitting my Indian visa application, we looked up some places where we could hang out for a little while, that weren't too far from Bangkok, and weren't too expensive to get to. So we went to the Victory Monument where all the mini-buses are, and you walk the gauntlet of ticket sellers stating your destination, and are ushered into "offices" to get your ticket. We passed on one because they wanted to charge us for our bags, and moved onto another, dodgier place with no "baggage fees," but it did reek (and I mean reek) of urine. You get what you pay--or don't pay--for?

Anyway! On to Kanchanaburi where we passed several lovely days at a homestay outside the town. Far enough outside the town that we had to take the local bus (ie. "just go out to the highway and flag it down" which in reality meant "wait by the roadside for about an hour or more and then flail your arms at the bus barreling down the highway at 100 then chase after it in flip flops..." We did this. Twice.) back into town to see the bridge on the River Kwai and get some groceries.

Our homestay was within walking distance of the village of Nong Bua which sits along the River Kwai, where the locals come around sunset, after the worst of the heat has passed, to play and swim in the current. We rented life jackets and had fun trying to swim against the current and perfect our cannonballs (since trying to dive with a life jacket is the quickest way to a face full of water. I had forgotten about this.). At the same time, the restaurants transition their seating areas from tables under the trees to mats and low tables on the banks of the river. Walking back after a nice, cheap riverside dinner one of the evenings, a very kind woman pulled over and offered us a ride home on her moto, because she was worried about us walking the road with all the stray dogs -- that was our first experience as three on a moto. It's cozy, that's for sure!

We ventured north one of the days to Erawan Falls, a series of cascades and turquoise ponds (not unlike Kuang Si Falls outside Luang Prabang), spread out over a lengthy hike up the valley. You can swim at almost every level, but if you stop moving at any point, you become a feast for the fish! You saw how I reacted to the fish spa in Siem Reap, and that was under controlled (and intentional) circumstances. I didn't like the nibbling, let's just say that. Unfortunately our camera ran out of batteries about halfway, which is too bad, because each level was so unique and picturesque. Oh well, you'll just have to google it.

And, bonus: our homestay had a DVD player, so we finally got to watch the bootlegged DVDs we got in Vietnam! (Moonrise Kingdom and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.) Yay for movie nights!

Giganto palm tree.

Local kids jumping from the tree into the river.

Floating on the River Kwai. The current is swift!

Back in Bangkok...

What's that? Weren't we just here a few weeks ago? Yes, yes we were. And weren't we en route to Malaysia? Yes, also true. But the lure of Bangkok just keeps pulling us back, and we can't get enough. Plus, it's the only place where I can get an Indian visa, because, due to a change in plans, the one I got just before leaving Canada is set to expire before I plan on leaving India. Serves me right for my overzealous overplanning. But I'd heard that is was easier to apply for an Indian visa from your home country, and boy, they weren't kidding.

But! It's allowed us to see some new places in Bangkok, like copy shops and print shops and various waiting areas. Also, the visa office was beside another mall (seriously, how can Bangkok support so many malls?!) and had a cheap movie theatre, so we got to see Bruce Willis prove that he's never too old to kick some ass. So it wasn't all a loss.

But actually, the whole thing has been quite frustrating, and those who know me or have ever hiked with me know how much I hate doubling back, so the fact that we were here just 18 days ago is acutely irritating. But at that point, we were operating under the (apparently foolhardy) assumption that Kuala Lumpur or Singapore could issue Indian visas to foreign nationals. Not so.

So, it's a bit of a detour, but after successfully submitting the application we're going to explore some nearby destinations (not sure where yet), and after 6 to 8 business days, we'll be back to our regularly scheduled program. Fingers crossed that my application gets accepted!

Fresh off a 16-hour night train and ready to spend the day at the visa office. You betcha.

Ah, Bangkok. Land of sacred temples and sacred 7-11s.

Amazing mural in progress.

Koh Lanta

When we weren't trying to walk dogs on Koh Lanta, we were enjoying sunsets and beach combing and zipping around on a moto. You know, just regular nine-to-five stuff...

Valentine's Day!