When it Rains it Pours

I didn’t know it was the rainy season when I came here and it certainly does rain. Not all day mind you and mostly in the afternoon and the rain can sometimes last between 30 minutes and 3 hours. My umbrella broke when I was in Scotland and I thought I wouldn’t really need one in Asia…I was wrong! I do have a big poncho but when ever I do bring it, it never rains. It is also very, very humid much of the time except the evenings cool off nicely and sleeping is very comfortable especially with the sounds of the night.

Speaking of rain…I was invited to join a couple women friends to go on a two day excursion to see some other areas of Bali. We headed up to the mountains and first stopped at some wonderful hot springs with private pools plus a large pool and a waterfall. It really started out as a great day and then the rain decided to come….in buckets. The roads were flooded to knee deep at in some areas and motorbikes were pushing their bikes through and some cars were getting stuck. We arrived to Lake Bratan and had planned to have some lunch then visit a beautiful temple on the water. On the water and amidst the water! It was beautiful though and we did have umbrellas that day but inevitably we got wet and when we arrived at our guesthouse near Lake Tamblingan for the night, we were all scrambling for any warm clothes we had. It was really cold! Who would have thought that I would be cold in Bali! I had to borrow clothes and slept with three blankets (I think heaters are non-existent).

The sun was out the next day and we headed out on a guided five hour trek in the jungle. The huge trees were amazing to see and the wild ginger and other flowers I had never seen like a passion fruit flower.The one thing I certainly could have done without were the leeches. You might recall my strong dislike for roaches…well, next to roaches I truly hate leeches. There is NOTHING nice about leeches and they were everywhere. I think I was a bit distracted on the hike because I was constantly doing a leech check on my body and having my friend, Elaine, check for them on my shoes and pull them off. I won’t touch them if I don’t have to. I’m very happy to say that none of the blood suckers managed to get any of my blood (I guess the mosquitoes are doing that for me) thank God.

The other excursion I did was an eco cycling tour. It started out with a wonderful breakfast overlooking Gunung Agung which is Bali’s highest mountain and an active volcano. We then were taken to a Balinese plantation where we sampled the local fruit, coffee and tea and learned about local plants and healing properties. We started our ride and on the way visited a Balinese home/compound and were able to see how they live their daily lives. We also got to walk among the rice paddies and even got to join in the knee deep mud and help out. We rode on and stopped where they were harvesting the rice and again got to help out in the process. We rode on and had the option to ride uphill to the finish of the ride that ended in a delectable Balinese feast! Always worth the hard effort with food at the end! It was a great day.

One of the most amazing things here in Bali is the cultural aspect of men and women’s roles. The women carry everything on their heads from baskets of food to construction materials like bricks and 2 x 4’s. The men do the labor as well but the women do the hardest work of carrying. Women are definitely the stronger sex here. The men in general are the artists and the skilled in woodcarving, painting, etc. which have been passed down from generation to generation. The other cultural thing I learned was about the children. A baby is never put onto the ground for the first 3 months of their lives so are carried around by family members, friends constantly and hardly ever cry. How is that for establishing security at a young age? Three month is also when the baby is named by the high priest.

They are ceremonies for just about everything (even a day for metal). The other day was dedicated to giving thanks for money and I was invited to join in at one of the local temples and dressed in their typical ceremonial attire of sarong, kabala, and sash. It is quite a social event and the locals as well as the offerings around the temples were colorful and festive. One of the most important and expensive ceremonies is the cremation ceremony with a person dies. It is even more important and elaborate then a wedding in Bali.

I continue to enjoy my time here in Bali and have met some wonderful people including the locals as well as over travelers. I am doing yoga at least 3 times a week and have found some great runs among the rice paddies so I am happy to be back running again. I did an artistic creative day with a friend, Debra, who invited me to join her to experience Rudolf Steiner’s color theory and create our very own drawing done with pastels. It was inspiring and so much fun.

I hope everyone is doing well. Enjoy my photos and I will be in touch soon.
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