Finding the way to more Adventures

One of the decisions I made during my meditation retreat was to do more travelling around Bali. For the last few months I have really soaked up my Ubud life; feeling like this place is an energetic song pulling me along in an improvised dance. I have been very happy to stay put in this intense little town, getting into a ‘routine’ of sorts – filling up my days with spontaneous adventures and subtle inner-changing. My wish for some island adventure was answered very quickly. I hadn’t been back from Singapore very long when my friend Eagle mentioned her wish to be by the ocean. I was also feeling this ocean desire and so it didn't take us long to plan the when, where and how - soon it was 5am on a Sunday morning and we were off!

Both of us were a little nervous, I had never driven my scooter for that long by myself and now I was going to do it with a passenger. We were also pretty uncertain of the way, all we had were general directions (“go east, turn right, go straight…!”) and an untrustworthy printout from google maps. We left early to avoid the traffic as well as give us as much time as we needed. It was an awesome journey. I learnt that to get anywhere in Bali you need to be a very good direction-asker. So at every turn we asked for the next town and were invariably pointed forwards, ‘Terus!’ Straight! On the way we stopped for sandwich snacks, a coffee break next to the ocean and a little fruit shopping. We also had to stop to relieve the pain settling into our bottoms – the same sort of pain you feel after long bicycle rides. I wonder what the locals thought as they drove past – two white, bule, women standing on the side of the road, with helmets on, massaging their buttocks in full view of oncoming traffic!

Coffee stop

The last half an hour to Amed (the little seaside town which we were visiting) took us through the most exquisite rice paddies and volcano views. We didn’t stop to take photos, rather we just enjoyed the feeling of flying through, feeling settled and blessed in the experience. We arrived in Amed at about 9am, I had a quick swim in the clear, calm, lake-like ocean and then settled into my day’s activities: lying horizontal reading my book, watching the sea and napping. It was pretty heavenly to be on that beach after the long morning ride. Just being near the ocean is always special after spending so much time inland. We didn’t do much that day and lifted our heads only to seek out some food! In the late afternoon we went for a walk on the beach and landed at a beautiful little spot in which to enjoy the sunset and an early supper. We met an Italian woman who convinced us of the virtues of her favourite seaside warung and so we chose to eat supper there instead. It wasn’t exactly how she had described it but we had a delicious cheap meal and enjoyed conversation with her boyfriend and herself. Before bed I sat on a lounger on the beach: the dark sky and stars above me and the gentle lapping of the shoreline a few meters away. I think that any time of day at a beach has its own kind of specialness, and I really had to drag myself away from this magical scene to get my tired self off to bed.

Images of Amed

We were not planning to stay in Amed for two nights but decided that we didn’t really feel like facing trucks and traffic on the way home in the afternoon, and so instead found another cute and very cheap place to stay for night number two. While we were admiring the bonsai trees in the garden, the owner of the homestay came out to greet us. It turns out that he’s a priest and readily invited us to join him for meditation in his temple that evening. We spent the afternoon exploring the coastline on the scooter and it was all pretty spectacular. The road was mostly set up on cliffs and we would stop and look out at this incredible vista of jungle and then sea beyond. WOW. Meditation with the priest turned out to be a pretty special experience. As a spiritual healer he was immediately attracted to Eagle’s healing abilities and was full of questions for her. He set up the most beautiful offerings to the Gods and created an opportunity where, in meditation and prayer, he encouraged us to ask for what we wished for.  Later, while we both sat eating spaghetti and watching the night-time ocean we discussed what this experience had meant to us. For me it was a reminder that the universe is constantly providing and loving, and that my anxieties about finances and purpose hold little importance: as I continue to follow my heart, the path will slowly be revealed to me step by step.

Our afternoon exploration

My trip to Amed was followed by a flurry of social activity which resulted in very late nights, Indian dinners and live music at a beautiful villa. My friend Courtney and I met for an ice-cream at a little shop which we affectionately call ‘the mother ship’, because behind the shop is the little factory where the BEST ice cream in Ubud is made. After the mother ship visit Courtney took me to one of her secret nature spots, and wow – it was cool. We sat by the river and chatted for ages until it was time for a spontaneous dinner at our favourite indian restaurant (we order the same thing every time because it’s just amazing!).

During the Vipassana course, or rather after the silence had ended, I really connected with quite a few of the women who I had just spent ten days of silence with. One of them was Tatiana. Sonia (another ‘Ubudian’) and I convinced her that at the crossroads-of-life in which she found herself, the only real option for her was to come to Bali. She very quickly changed her flight and two days later we were all sitting together having dinner in Ubud. Fast forward a week and a half and again it’s Sunday morning and it’s still dark, and this time it’s Tatiana on my scooter and once again I'm heading down towards the ocean. We were going to an area known as Uluwatu, after the famous temple perched high on its cliffs.

Uluwatu at sunset

Another epic dawn journey! My favourite part was this awesome looong bridge which goes through the mangrove swamps. There’s a skinny little road just for scooters and it felt so wonderful zooming along, watching the sky turn from pink to blue. We once again used our direction-asking-skills which eventually took us to the place we were heading for: Bingin Beach. This of course was after a morning of detours and twists and turns and swimming at beaches just because we found ourselves there. We were hot and sweaty and pretty ready to find a place to land, but first had to manage these crazy steep steps down to Bingin Beach; a little collection of restaurants and homestays set up against the side of a cliff. It was a really cute place, and once again we found a perfect spot to spend the next two nights. The next two days were filled with sea-swimming, scooter rides, surfing for Tatiana, sunset gazing and pizza eating. We had the most delicious pizza I have ever had in my life (to be honest we ate one and then ordered another…yes, we went there). It was really so fun to let the day unfold - and I loved riding my scooter along the gorgeous little roads which were lined with coastal bush and beautiful pastures home to a cow or two. On the second evening we went to Uluwatu Temple. Tatiana went to a traditional Balinese dance while I watched the sunset and ran away from the monkeys who think that every human is there to give them food. We ended off our day with a dinner of coconuts and grilled mielies – we were both still pretty full from the indulgent pizza episode. 

Tatiana looking out the window in our little room. Me getting involved in pizza. Our coconut and meilie dinner! 

It was awesome to travel with Tatiana and I can’t believe that I’ve barely known her a month (and at least half of that month we were in silence!). I think we both found each other at the right time, our meeting and mini-holiday was meant to be. I felt quite bereft as she left my little cottage late on Tuesday evening, but I know that we’ll find one another once again: we definitely have more adventures and delicious meals to share!