Weeks 21 and 22: It's a Bali Holiday! Dec 20-30, 2023

 

The school break officially began on the afternoon of the 15th of December. I was completely exhausted so I used the weekend to recover from the semester, do some cleaning, mail some cards and packages, etc. Then I worked for three days (not the whole day, but I needed to clean up the chemical stockroom so I got things organized one day and then dug in over the next two days). I also packed for my vacation. 

I have been trying to stay local for school breaks and save money for next summer when my kids will come visit, but several friends had given me gifts of money before I left California, and I ended up not needing all of it for the move (the school really did provide a lot for me). So I used the money to buy an airplane ticket to Bali for the winter break. I knew I would be alone for Christmas and missing my kids so I thought it would be a good distraction. 

And it was! Bali is achingly beautiful. I was oohing and aahing over the pretty flowers, water, sky, colors, people, food...it was a daily exercise in appreciating a new place. It was also a chance to really relax. I had a stressful summer followed by a big move and a fast-paced first semester. I was able to really relax, take advantage of the low prices for massage therapy (I had 3 massages in 8 days, and also a facial and a pedicure, and the total for all 5 treatments was under $80). I stopped grinding my teeth at night. My outbreak of shingles pretty much disappeared. It was therapy. 

I spent my first 4 nights on a little island to the southeast of Bali called Nusa Lembongan. A colleague (Sarah, of Peanut fame) suggested this place. It was remote and not as commercial as the main island of Bali. I had a lovely time there. 

  

I wandered around the island on foot, enjoying the plumeria-perfumed air and taking in the beautiful vistas over cliffs and beaches. I chased sunsets. I got my feet wet. I slept well. I ate (and sipped) a lot of nice tropical fruits. 

  

From Sunset Point on Nusa Lembongan you can see the island of Bali rising up above the clouds. The volcano there is active and Bali is a volcanic island, but Nusa Lembongan and its little sister, Ceningan island are coral islands. 

 

I spent Christmas Eve on Ceningan Island, checking out the Blue Lagoon (left) and Mahana Point (right, and in the video I call it Mahala Point but it is Mahana). I also walked in the water at Surfer's Beach. It is so nice to go explore things with a flexible schedule. And of course, I took a lot of pictures of sunsets. So many. 

 

After 4 days of life near the beach (at Bale Gede Lembongan Villas) I was ready for a change of scenery. I traveled by boat to Sanur Harbor on Bali and then a driver (Sananaya) took me to Ubud where I stayed for 4 nights at Cendana Resort and Spa. This village is in the mountains and is famous for the monkey forest that sits in the center of the town. My hotel was just a few blocks from the forest, so I saw a lot of monkeys (they are macaques, actually). But before I went into the woods, I went into the rice terrace. My driver took me on a half day tour of several amazing attractions, including a coffee garden, a rice terrace, a waterfall, and a holy water temple (Hindu temple). 

I enjoyed all of the touring around, but I think I was the most engaged at the coffee garden. They feed the arabica beans to a little raccoon-looking animal called a luwak. The luwak eats the beans and poops them out, then the poo is collected, cleaned, the beans are shelled, roasted, and ground, and they make coffee out of this. I tried some. It was strong, had an interesting flavor, and apparently is lower in caffeine than regular arabica beans because it is partially digested. 

They also grow ginger, vanilla, cocoa, and turmeric at this garden. They had a lot of things for me to sample that were teas. I of course liked the ginger tea. I also really liked coconut coffee and avocado coffee. Mangosteen tea was also delicious. Clearly, the use of taste in this experience was a win. 

In case you are wondering, these are tiny cups (espresso sized) and I did not drink every sample to the bottom. Only about half. 

On the 27th I was joined by a colleague from SIS named Phoebe. We had been talking about the holidays at school one afternoon and realized that she was going to overlap with me on Bali, so we planned to get together on December 27 and 28. That is when we saw the Balinese dance performance (Dec 27) at Ubud Palace, and the Monkey Forest (Dec 28). After spending a week alone I was ready for company. 

 

The monkeys were something else. I don't know if I could live patiently in harmony with them. But I did enjoy seeing them in the forest. In the town they made me nervous. 

Some things I loved about Bali: 

1) Massage therapy at rock bottom prices. A Balinese message is a very relaxing experience. I think I need to look for a Balinese massage therapist in Korea. 

2) Canung sari offerings everywhere (Hindu tradition)

3) Squashed ginger in some fancy juice or tea concoction

4) Plumeria perfume in the air

5) Morning birdsong

6) Sunsets 

The canung sari offerings are akin to a prayer over your food. But they are prepared before breakfast is served, and they have incense burned over them, and they are an offering of gratitude to the gods for all of one's blessings. 

Some people may wonder how Bali is any different from Hawaii. There are a lot of similarities actually, but the main difference is this Hinduism. I just found it very peaceful. 

I flew back to Korea on the evening of Dec 29th. My flight to Bali was through Ho Chi Minh City airport in Vietnam. My return flight was through Hanoi airport. I was happy to see both of them. I am taking a group of 18 students to Vietnam in March for a field trip and being able to get a little idea of the place (the airport anyway) was helpful. 

By the time I actually got on the ground in Korea it was about 9am on December 30th. And it was snowing. I had packed appropriately, and I was ready with my down coat and wool scarf. But boy what a contrast to lovely Bali weather (27-30 degrees C every day). 

Here is the link to the long (37 minutes!) Bali video: https://youtu.be/oY-U-77knF8

I have only scratched the surface of Bali. If anyone wants to go with me I would happily do it again!

Dec 30, 2023 in front of my apartment