The Villa The Astronaut and The Monkey

Darma picked me up to take me to the villa of a British man who I am working with on the festival. I have never met him, but he offered to let me stay at his place while he is out of the country. What a kind and generous offer. 

We drove about 20 minutes outside of Ubud and as the road got narrower and we drove further and further into small villages, it occurred to me that I had no idea where I was going, who the people were who were taking me there and no one knew where I was going. I didn't panic, but rather had a feeling of calm come over me and I knew I had to trust that everything would be alright. I knew it would 

We pulled up in front of the place and got my bags out. Some cute boys from the road came over to see who this blond haired stranger was. They were so cute and shy they wanted to talk but we didn't know each other's language. But it was a nice welcome. 

The villa was so incredibly beautiful. It's big and spacious with a huge living room, a great pool, another living room that was sunken down square with comfortable pads for conversation, two outdoor showers, kitchen, master bedroom and my room which was upstairs and had a wonderful balcony overlooking gorgeous rice fields. 

Darma told me to make myself at home and I did so by first having a delicious nap. I was still sort of in a daze from my morning at Bodyworks with Sri Guru. 

When I got up I went out by the pool and started writing as the orchestra of frogs in the rice fields started up and the light from the fireflies twinkled around me. I wrote 8 pages in my journal as I was processing the events of the day. It was very cathartic. After a few hours, a man arrived sporting a New Zealand accent, and introduced himself as Manny. He was a friend of Sacha and was staying there for 2 more days before going home. He had been in Bali for 3 weeks. Manny and I got along great and had long talks into the night about Bali, world events and spirituality. He is a wealth of knowledge and a very kind person. He is a painter, an assistant cameraman (he worked on Lord of the Rings) and has purchased a ticket to go into outer space in 2012. Not many people can say that. 

When I woke up the next morning after a very restful sleep, I heard a strange sound outside of my bedroom. When I walked out, I saw a small monkey tied to the post. He was very jittery and going crazy running around at the end of his short leash. What a strange site to see. I wasn't sure if I was awake or still dreaming about monkeys in the Monkey Forrest. I found out that the monkey's name is Cosmo and he is a pet of Sacha's, along with the 3 dogs and 3 cats that live there as well. The cats and dogs love visitors and insisted on sharing my bedroom with me. I spent some time with Cosmo talking to him and was happy when he would calm down and just look at me as we chatted. He would make funny faces and open his little mouth in a wide grin. As soon as I would get up to walk away, he would become very agitated again and start running in circles around the post.  It reminded me to stay calm, take it easy, and not run around like a monkey on a string myself.

I made some tea in the kitchen and had the place all to myself most of the day. I had a hard time with no internet connection and no phone and no way to get to town, but I decided to just relax and enjoy a few days of being disconnected. It was so wonderful. I swam, read my book (titled A House in Bali) and watched a movie on my computer. It rained very hard much of the day which made it so nice to be inside and quiet. 

That evening Manny came back from a surf trip and we talked some more and had some noodles and tofu and cold beer. There was quite a bit of commotion in the lane outside and we later found out that the man who lives next door had died. He was an older man and wasn't expected to live long, but he was also an important elder in his community. The village came together and had him cremated within hours of him dying, which is unusual. But it happened to be a good day spiritually and astrologically for it. 

We had another round of good discussions that day before I left to come back to Ubud. I really appreciated the gift of being able to spend time at the villa and was invited back anytime I would like to come. What a beautiful repose....

Monkey Forest of Dreams

 After my visit to the monkey forest and talk with the man that works there, I had a very  “good dream” as he said I would after washing my hands in the sacred stream. The dream wouldn’t make sense to anyone else, so I won’t tell it, but it was a very important dream to me and had to do with knowing my “center” or my “source” and trusting it and always coming back to it. This dream reiterated to me that I am a powerful being and all that I need is here in me.

As I was writing down the dream the next day, I was overcome by a sense of joy that this information had come to me. I wrote the word “source” at least four times on the page. And as nutty as it sounds, Kevin Bacon was in the dream and helped deliver the message.

Later that day, I had an appointment with Sri Guru, the same one from the yoga class at the ashram. He is a massage therapist, acupuncturist, chiropractor, energy worker and healer. I really didn’t know what I was going to him for except to spend time with him and see what he had to say. I had a 30 minute appointment. I went a little early to the BodyWorks Center, which is inside of a beautiful family temple compound and had some tea and got my mind calm and clear.

Sri Guru came downstairs with his previous client and as they were talking, he climbed into a fly gym swing that was hanging there and started spinning and hanging and doing acrobatics. He looked over at me and smiled with his happy face and sparkling eyes. He reminded me again of a little grey haired mischievous monkey.

He took me up three flights of stone stairs and into a small room on the rooftop. The room was filled with images of The Buddha, Ganesh, The Dalai Lama, Jesus, Shiva, crystals, a fountain, books and beautiful natural light. He asked me if I had any problems I wanted to talk about and I said no, not really. I told him my neck was still a little sore from when he cracked it at yoga class, and he said “good. That means it is changing as it needs to”. Hmmm….

I climbed onto the table and he started doing some light massage and then focused on my neck. He was doing some intense acupressure stuff there that made me squirm. It was painful but I could tell it was releasing some very old, stuck energy there. Most of what he did that day was energy work and it was very, very powerful.

At one point he was touching a place on my stomach and I could feel a flood of bright, beautiful energy moving from there up through the top of my head. I have never felt anything like it. I breathlessly asked him what that was, and he leaned in close with his wonderful face and said: “that is The Source”.

The road to Seminyak and more....

It’s been a very busy, very eventful few days in Bali.

Last Friday I had to go about an hour south of Ubud to the coastal town of Seminyak for a meeting with the new W Hotel that is being built there. My driver was Ketut and we had a delightful time together. We talked about family life in Bali, kids and grandkids, what my work was, and he wanted to know how children are educated in the United States and how we pay for college. He was a very jovial, very funny man with a huge smile and loves to talk about his people. I have had many people ask me my age, and when Ketut asked, we figured out we are the same age, although he does not know what day his birthday is because his parents did not read or write. Ketut keeps busy with is transport business and being the head of the Gamelan group in his village. He seemed to know everyone on the way to Seminyak and he honked and waved at many people on the way. I adored my time with him and asked him to pick me up the next day.

The meeting went well. Afterwards I walked along the beautiful beach for hours. It was nice but as I walked near the large hotels, it was apparent that this was party town central. Loads of tourists, people selling things and general mayhem. I didn’t like it much at all. I had dinner at a place on the beach and watched a glorious sunset. I went back to my crappy little hotel and had a restless night. I didn’t like the vibe in Seminyak at all. The energy was completely different than Ubud and I couldn’t wait to get back here. I did a little shopping the next day and stopped at a little café for lunch where I met Rocco, the Australian angel.

Rocco was a very large man sitting by himself. He started talking to me and at first my alerts were on high. I wasn’t sure what his purpose was but as it turned out, he had some important information to share. We ended up talking for an hour and half. He was a very kind man with a very spiritual nature, but also very realistic.  He has a wife, children and grandchildren and we talked a lot about family, non profit work, health, travel, having a positive attitude and the state of our world. We seemed to be thinking and vibrating on much the same level and I enjoyed our conversation very much.

On my travels in Nepal and India I seemed to be surrounded by women who wanted to mother me and take care of me, and on this trip so far, it’s been a very male vibe that has been around me, nurturing me. 

Ketut picked me up and we had another delightful drive together. We talked a lot about culture this time and he explained to me how the family system works and told me about the practice of Tooth Filing. This happens to every child who is in puberty and there is a huge celebration around it. The children’s fang teeth (I don’t know the proper name of those) are actually filed down and sometimes the front teeth as well. Ketut says this is an ancient tradition that is done because of the belief that the fang teeth might attract evil and may make a person want to draw blood on other beings. This is fascinating to me that the thought and belief in vampires could be traced to Indonesia? I am offline at the moment so can’t hit the good old “google” button, but plan to soon.

On Sunday I worked on the computer a lot in the morning, had a late breakfast with my friend Wendy from Australia and then went to a fantastic organic farm near Ubud. The hotel has a great staff and the boys are willing to take me anywhere I want to go on the back of their motorbike. The farm was high up on a hill in the middle of acres of rice fields. It was so green and luscious and gorgeous. It’s a wonderful place and I had a delicious meal in the restaurant and bought some jam that’s made on the farm. I walked through the rice fields for a few hours and felt so happy and peaceful there.  I stopped in at the Ubud Palace on the way back but most of it is closed off to tourists.

In the evening I went to a cultural performance with my new friend Rucina who has lived in Bali for 25 years. She was the MC at the event and it was interesting. It was filled with expats and was a very non traditional performance of interpretive dance and music.

On Sunday I joined some of the yoga group for an outing to do a session with a woman who does healing with crystal bowls. It was fascinating and very soothing and wonderful. There were six of us on the porch of her wonderful Balinese home. We were lying on our backs with nice cushions under our feet and heads while she tapped and rubbed 9 crystal bowls of varying sizes. They made the most glorious sounds in different tones that seemed to vibrate through my whole body. As we lay there, the rain started and soon it was coming down so hard it almost drowned out the sound of the bowls. It seemed to be in perfect rhythm with what she was doing. I felt like I was being carried away into a wonderful dream state. Afterwards we all talked about the experience and shared some nice time together.

On the way home I stopped at a dance performance that was happening at the palace. It was gorgeous, lush traditional dance with the colorful costumes and the full gamelan playing onstage. I was mesmerized and moved to tears at how beautiful it was.

Which brings us to today’s adventure. I got up early (as usual) and decided to go for a walk before breakfast. I didn’t end up returning to the hotel until 4 pm. I walked to the monkey forest, which is a short distance away. It’s a very holy place where the monkeys make their home. There are two temples there as well as a graveyard. All Balinese people are cremated, but some can’t afford it, and have to be buried until a mass village cremation ceremony takes place. Sometimes they are buried for years but all are eventually cremated and their remains taken out to the ocean. But I digress….

It was early in the morning in the monkey forest and the monkeys were a little tired I think. I was watching a man feed them sweet potatoes and he started telling me about the place. His name is Nyman and he has worked there for 25 years. He ended up taking me all around the forest, through the temples and to the ancient stream where the blessed waters are. We washed our hands in the water, and he said it would give me “good dream”. I’m about to find out.

After the temple, I walked around town and checked out some hotels and shops and ended up in an hour meeting with the manager of one hotel. We had coffee and snacks and talked about all the changes in Ubud over the years. He was another kind, older man who was very caring and sweet to me.

Then I walked over to Meghan’s café and had a delicious tuna salad lunch and talked with a man from London and his Japanese girlfriend for over an hour. She confirmed to me that the Japanese Kanji tattoo on my back does in fact mean “grandson”. They were here on vacation and we compared travel stories and notes. He was a very funny man with a great sense of humor. We had good fun sparing and throwing one liners back and forth. It’s good practice J

I got back to the hotel in time to have a quick shower and then it was off to a local Rotary Club meeting. Good god, I’m tired just typing all of this. I’m packing a lot into my days here but I am loving life in Ubud.

Tomorrow I am going to stay in the villa of a British man, Sacha Stone who has offered to let me be his houseguest for a few days. He is out of the country but says his staff will take good care of me.

More adventures to come…..

Random Thoughts about Traveling Alone

I don't ever think about the fact that I'm traveling alone until someone points it out to me. Or if I'm sitting in a touristy restaurant and see people on vacation together, then I remember. It just feels so natural to me and there are really great things about it. 

1) I never have to consult with anyone about plans and am free to flow wherever I will.

2) I don't have to worry about sharing a bathroom or a bed with anyone and can leave my towels on the floor and use every one of the pillows to make a little pillow fort around myself.

3) If I want to do nothing at all one day except lie on a chair and read my book, I don't have to feel like I'm putting anyone out or making anyone change their plans.

4) People start conversations and interact with me because I'm alone.

I adore traveling with my friends but I am also happily ok to be my own travel partner. Every day is a brand new adventure.

The Guru and The Ashram

There is a group of women from Australia at my hotel who are on a yoga retreat. They are so sweet and kind and have been very friendly with me. Yesterday they invited me to come with them to an ashram to do a yoga class with the locally famous Guru Sri and then attend a ceremony. I was honored and delighted to join them. I had had a very quiet day of rest, still not feeling totally great as far as my stomach is concerned. Getting used to the intense heat has been a challenge too. My energy seems to be zapped by mid day. Especially after waking up around 5 am each day, as my body clock tells me to do.

I felt a little nervous, having never been to an ashram before and no knowing what kind of yoga we would do and what the rules would be. They told me to bring all white clothing for the ceremony, wear my hair up and someone let me borrow a sash to tie around my waist. They also said to be sure and never point your feet at the guru, or offer your left hand as this is considered disrespectful.

We were driven to the ashram which is about 20 minutes from the hotel. We drove through gorgeous rice fields and lovely villages and temples all around. Each family home has a temple compound which is situated according to the direction of the sea and the mountains. Everything is placed for a specific reason. More on that later.

The temple grounds where amazing and green and peaceful. We were taken to an open area where the Guru was talking with a family. He is a small, slight man with a long grey beard to the middle of his chest. He was going to do a blessing or a session with them while we started our warm up with his counterpart, a young man who was in great yoga shape. As we were doing our cat/cow and downward dog stretches, we heard a loud wailing coming from the woman on the porch of the Guru’s home. I’m not sure what was happening. I imagined he maybe was talking to the family’s dead relatives or helping them through some pain. It was sort of eerie but there was a certain power and healing energy there too. Everything in Bali is about the energy….

After we warmed up for 15 minutes, the Guru Shri came over and started giving instructions in broken English. “Spread fingers!” “Strong in your legs!” “Breathe through your mouth and make big sound!” He took off his long sarong and revealed a very fit, very tight little body in spandex biking shorts. I had to smile at this. He pushed us pretty hard but did so with great humor. It is said that Guru Shri is inhabited by the monkey god, Hanoman who is full of fun and mischief. 

The Guru is also a chiropractor and he came to each of us during the yoga session and cracked our backs and our necks. It was scary and wonderful. He didn’t ask, he just did it. After cracking my neck he looked down at my frightened face, his smiling, mischievous eyes lighting up:  “See, you not dead. It’s ok. You still alive”. It was a great class and we worked ourselves hard for an hour and a half until the mosquitoes started eating us alive. 

After yoga we showered and changed into our white temple garb. We were met by our guide Made (Ma-day) who showed us where to leave our shoes and our bags and took us on a tour of the grounds. It was dark by this time and there were candles everywhere which made it feel even more magical and special. Made took us first to a little fountain where we kneeled down and he poured water into our right hand three times which we poured over our heads as a blessing. Next we went into a small cave where there was a huge and amazing statue of Ganesh, my favorite Hindu god. He was lit with sparkling candles and there were pads to kneel down in front of him to say a prayer, which we all did. Ganesh is a great guy whos main job is to move obstacles out of your way with his huge trunk. You can pray to Ganesh to help you with just about anything. You just have to bring him some sweet treats in return.

We walked out into the courtyard where there were more sacred spots and alters and a huge bonfire in the middle. We were led into the main pavilion where The Guru was sitting on an slightly elevated platform. We sat on bamboo mats as people filed in. There were quite a few foreigners but mostly local Indonesians.

The rest of the evening was filled with chanting, dancing and blessings until late into the night. It was really amazing and wonderful and I was honored to be there and learn just a little bit about this world. I am barely, slightly, ever-so-lightly scratching the surface....

Bali Belly and other Tales

I now know the meaning of Bali Belly. It's much like Delhi Belly and is when you get some kind of stomach bug that keeps you in the bathroom for a few hours. Yuck. 

I have been being careful and watching what I eat and drink, but you just never know. I went to a very upscale restaurant for lunch (thought I would splurge a little on my big meal of the day) and had a delicious Indonesian dish that had noodles, veggies and prawns. Sounds pretty safe and tasted amazing. But within about an hour, I had a sinking feeling in my loins....I got myself back to my room just in the nick of time. Sort of put a damper on my afternoon plans, but it really hasn't been too bad. I feel very spent and have a headache and dry eyes, but it is passing and by tomorrow I'll be fine. 

I decided to go down the street to the little Zen spa and get a massage and a hot bath and I'm so glad I did. It was amazing and my body needed it so much. It's a sweet nice spot and so wonderfully inexpensive. 

The nice lady brought me into the room and had me take a shower. Then she gave me a full body massage (no clothing, no cover, but what the hell? I felt very comfortable with her). She had very strong hands, the style was more concentrated pressing then actual rubbing. I had to ask her politely to ease up once or twice. I thought she might break my little foot bones with her strong paws. She somehow knew to rub my tummy with just the right amount of pressure and it felt great. I could feel my insides responding in a good way after the somewhat violent happenings a few hours earlier.

She then scrubbed my body with delicious smelling salts and then plastered me with what smelled like cool yogurt. I'll bet I would have tasted delightful. She let that all sit for a while and then asked me to shower it all off. There was a huge bathtub in the room which she filled with the perfect temperature of water and then put tons and tons of fresh purple and white flowers in. It was so amazing and beautiful. When I was in the tub, she brought some delicious, pungent ginger tea (perfect for my tum tum) and some fresh fruit that had a coconut sauce drizzled over it. I thought I had absolutely died and gone to Bali heaven. And all of this for a mere 150,000 rupiahs. (about $16)

I'm back in my room now, feeling pretty spent. I'll do a little work and then hit the hay. I will move hotel rooms tomorrow and my friend Rucina is coming to pick me to up to help me move and then we will go to her place for the afternoon and to look at two possible venues for film festival events. It will feel good to get out and about after sticking pretty close to this 'hood for a few days. I am anxious to see other parts of the island too. Probably over the weekend I'll hire one of the thousands of available drivers for a day. His name will be Made (Ma-day) or Wayan or Ketut and we'll have some rip roarin' fun.

Bali Oh Bali

I have had so many visions about what Bali would be like. It's always been a romantic notion to pack up and go to Bali someday. I can't believe I am really here. 

My friend Alison in Tiburon connected me with her friend Alice who lives here. We had talked via email and then she surprised me by coming to the airport with her sweet Balinese family to meet me. They had a flower necklace for me, some cold drinks and snacks. She also gave me a local cell phone to use, which was so very kind. I am looking forward to spending some time with Alice and having her show me around. We visited for a while in the parking lot of the airport and then my driver drove me about 45 minutes to Ubud where I'm staying. 

My first impression of Bali was that Denpasar was a busy place full of industrial buildings. There are a lot of businesses where people are carving beautiful furniture pieces and where large statues are made. Gorgeous Buddhas, Ganeshes and many others. The traffic was crazy and there were so many people on motorbikes weaving in and out through the cars. There didn't seem to be traffic rules except for the street lights and roundabouts. People came up to the car at stoplights wanting to sell me magazines, newspapers and snacks. Some played a harmonica or a guitar and had a big smile on their face. My driver, Wayan was a very kind young man who spoke English very well.  I felt like I pestered him a lot with questions but he didn't seem to mind too much. 

I came to Bali without doing much research, which is the way I like to experience new things. I didn't do a lot of reading about the culture or the land. This trip came up rather quickly so even if I had wanted to, there wasn't much time. It's think it's nice to just be in the moment and not have expectations....

Wayan and I drove to Ubud and he brought me to the Aura Hotel which is so sweet. It's a small place down a very narrow road. There are just 14 rooms here and a beautiful swimming pool. I have a deluxe room because there weren't any of the regular rooms available. It's really nice but is a little bit out of my Bali price range at $50 per night. I'll stay here for 4 nights and then move to another place that's around $25 or $30, which is average for a nice room. 

I was so tired when I arrived, I could hardly see straight. But after putting my things in my room, went for a little walk around to stretch my legs and get the blood flowing again. I am in a great area of Ubud, next to several wonderful cafes, The Yoga Barn and some great little shops. There is a beautiful rice field directly across from the hotel where people are out each day harvesting.

I slept pretty soundly until 3:30 am and when I woke up was not at all sure where I was. It was SO quiet.....

I had meetings scheduled the first day with Meg, Rob and Rucina and I sort of floated down the street to meet them at the cafe. They were so kind and we spent a good few hours together talking about the Festival and getting their wonderful help. They have all lived here for many years and know everyone and everything that's happening here. Great connections to have. 

After lunch Meg offered to drive me around and show me Ubud. This was especially kind of her because she is a very busy woman who owns several businesses, including The Yoga Barn, Kafe Kafe Restaurant, Bali Spirit, an art gallery and she and her Balinese husband are producing the Bali Spirit Festival coming up in March. We got along so great and I adore Meg. She really is a get-it-done kind of gal (obviously). At the end of our tour, we went to her cafe where her darling husband and two kids were. We had dinner together and Kadek, Meg's husband showed me around the family temple that is in he back of the cafe. Before we went in, however, he asked me if I was on my menstrual cycle because if I was, I wouldn't be able to go inside. In Balinese tradition, a woman is unclean and will offend the gods if she is menstruating. It was all very fascinating and Kadek is a wonderful teacher. He and Meg invited me to a local ceremony next week, and he will also take me to the Monkey Forest that he and his family helped to restore in recent years. 

I got some pretty good sleep last night and woke up at 5 am today. I walked through Ubud and loved seeing people getting ready to go to work, cleaning their doorsteps, getting children ready for school. Everyone smiles as you walk by, and they say hello. Beautiful, loving people. 

After breakfast I went to a yoga class and then came back to my room for a delicious nap. I think I'll go out for a short walk this evening. My body is still feeling a bit stiff and sore from the flight, I think. 

I feel very happy here in Ubud so far and I know there is so, so much to learn. I am excited about that prospect.

Bali via Hong Kong

Before I've even had time to process my trip to Haiti, I am off to Bali for work. It feels like a dream.

After a 14 1/2 hour flight, I am here in Hong Kong for a couple of hours waiting for my next 4 1/2 hour flight to Bali.

Man, that was a long time to be in an airplane. I had a middle seat next to a nice man from San Francisco and a nice (smelly) Indian man from Portland. I swear he farted for 14 hours straight. Nearly killed me. There was also an unhappy baby who cried and coughed most of the way. Poor thing.

I am so excited to get to Bali and meet the people I have been working with via email. They will be there to welcome me and get me to my new digs where I can take a shower and a nap. I feel like I am covered in the smell of Indian farts and stuffy airplane. I wonder what it will be like when I get there...I'm sure I have way too many clothes on at this point and will have to shed them as soon as I get there.

I'm sending lots of love to Bruce across the miles. He is in Argentina and suffered a heart attack. I got a note from Dana today who said that although they released him, he had another "episode" this morning and they had to take him back. They are hoping to get him back to the states soon so his care can be more closly monitored. I hope and pray that he will recover fully and get back to doing all the things he loves.

More from Bali!