Who Knew Vietnam Was So Beautiful?

I guess it's been a while since my last geography class. I was expecting Vietnam to be endless miles of mountains, rice paddies, and hilly terrain. In the first week of traveling here, I have discovered gorgeous Pacific coastlines, white sandy beaches, the bluest waters, and beautiful bays with countless limestone cliffs jutting out of the water.

Ha Long Bay

View from our room on Cat Ba Island

Boat tour of the Perfume River in Hue

Views on the way to Hoi An

The two afternoons I have spent on the beach have been a welcome respite from the massive and overcrowded cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, which shockingly are crazier than Bangkok in terms of traffic and the overabundance of motorbikes.

Bali Day Tour #2 (in the pouring rain)

Pura Kehen in Bengli

Goa Lawah (Bat Cave) outside of Candi Dasa

There was a ceremony happening here the day I visited,

they stayed like that praying even in the pouring rain

The bats were SO loud! I could here them from the temple

entrance, above the rain and the chanting

Water Palace in Tirtagangga

One last rice paddy view

Amed

A sleepy dive town with flat waters and black sand beaches.

I spent the past couple of days here in solitude, doing some snorkeling

and sunbathing between the rain storms, mostly lots of reading and writing.

Bali Day Tour #1

Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave)

Just outside of Ubud, this temple has both Hindu and Buddhist facets,

dates back to the 11th century

The crevices in the cave were for meditation

Tirta Emphul (Holy Water Temple)

Built in 960 BC, the waters are believed to have the power to

cure illnesses, purify the body, mind and soul, increase intelligence,

luck, and magical powers, and negate the effects of black magic.

Kind of hard to tell but that's natural spring water bubbling up

into one of the pools

Kintamani (Mount Batur)

Still an active volcano, last big eruption was in the 60s

Lake Batur

Besakih

Also known as the "Mother Temple" and situated in a ridge of Mount Agung, 

Besakih dates back to the 14th century and is actually made up of 22 separate temples.

I was lucky enough to be there during the temple's annual celebration,

and thousands of people from all over Indonesia had made a pilgrimage

to come at pray at the temple for 3 days.

Amazing restaurant view from lunch

Monkey Business

There's a place in Ubud called the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, and besides millions of monkeys, there is also a beautiful temple, monkey graveyard, and huge beautiful banyan trees all in a jungle setting. You can check out the scenery pictures when I post them on Facebook, this post is just about the monkeys.

I don't know why I'm so fascinated by them and take so many pictures of them, there's literally monkeys in pretty much every country that I've been to. Nevertheless, I always find ones being so cute or doing something so out of the ordinary that I'm compelled to take pictures.

Some of them were just so precious:

Then I saw the strangest thing, and instead of walking away, I was so fascinated that I stayed and watch. Of all the animal sex I've witnessed, never have I seen them doing anything but doggie style. This is seriously like having human sex:

Finally, I was walking towards the back exit when I kept hearing what sounded like someone chopping down trees. I walked towards where it was coming from and I saw a few people standing there with cameras. As I approached I witnessed the most amazing sight - literally 20 monkeys were flinging themselves off trees over a pond into the water and swimming around. The pictures don't do it justice cause it all happened so quickly. Hopefully the video I took came out better but in the meantime enjoy :

Living Loving Ubud

I've spent the past four days in Ubud, and I decided to stay one more day before I head to the beach. Besides one day where I did a day tour to surrounding areas (separate post on that later), I have just been hanging around Ubud, exploring the town, appreciating the nature and beauty, reading and writing in cafes, meeting some very interesting people and having great conversation.

Rice paddy view

Clear Cafe, a favorite place to sit and work or chat

I'm staying at a "homestay," which is when families have a kind of b&b in their compounds. Mine is called Jati Homestay, and it is run by a family of well known artists. My room overlooks a wonderfully green rice patty, there's a small koi fish pond, and little offerings are left on the statues on the property. The people who work here are so sweet, they cook breakfast in the morning, offer assistance is travel and ideas for where to go around the town, and are very open in terms of sharing about their culture. The kids play in the courtyard, some of the artists may be out painting at any time, and the women make the little offerings that are left out morning, afternoon, and evening.

View from my balcony

Office/breakfast area

Thatched roof of my room

Offering left on figurine on the property

Mr. Jati spends most of his day in his art studio. I love to go in and just watch him work, and this morning he gave me a tour of the studio and told me about his paintings. Most of them are inspired in his dreams, and he usually does detailed sketches before he starts painting.

Mr. Jati with his master piece, his largest painting

One of my favorite pieces of his

I've been living very clean and healthy since I've been here as well. I've taken yoga classes, meditation classes, eaten some amazing organic and raw foods at nearby restaurants, and walked everywhere. Today I took a two hour walk through the rice paddies. The views were stunning, and I stopped to have a fresh carrot ginger juice at an organic restaurant. The rice paddy fields are all amazing shades of green, the walk was so peaceful and refreshing.

Sadly I have found that I am no longer comfortable taking pictures of people when they are aware of it. I would be very annoyed if I was just going about my daily life at home and strangers stopped and stared and took pictures of me. The people here live such a beautiful and simple life and I don't want to make them feel bad or self-conscious. I have a National Geographic-worthy image in my mind of coming across a lone Balinese woman in the middle of tall rice paddies, dressed in a bright blue sarong, carrying a basket on her head, surrounded by the most vivid shades of green. Sorry I can only share a description, it was magical though.

Yesterday I had the chance to witness an amazing cremation ceremony. The whole town came to witness and participate in the ceremony, all dressed in their traditional outfits. I let the women in my compound dress me in a traditional sarong and sash, and sat with them for hours waiting for the ceremony to begin. Despite the language barrier, it was a very nice bonding experience. For the ceremony itself, two massive float-type apparatuses were built. One was a large bull painted black and gold, ornately decorated, and it was on a huge bamboo platform.

The other was a (for lack of a better word) chariot where the coffin was placed. It was beautifully painted, the back had a picture of the deceased, and it was also on a bamboo platform.

There was a huge procession, with people carrying flowers, banners, playing music, dancing and singing.

Each of the bamboo platforms was carried by a hundred men, who ran down the streets of Ubud carrying these massive structures. The procession led to the Scared Monkey Forrest, and in the main temple there both of the structures were burned to the ground.

Watching this ceremony was so eye opening and inspirational. Everyone was cheerful and truly focused on a celebration of life and sending this person off to what is hopefully a better life. I hope one day to not be so devastated by the death of loved ones, and to be able to celebrate their lives instead of mourn their death. Death does not have to be so final if we can find a way to connect to those that we love even when they are not with us in the physical form.

I am very sad to be leaving Ubud tomorrow, but there is still more of Bali that I want to see in the next 3 days before I have to go. There is something truly magical about Ubud that is hard to put into words but I'll try. Tonight I was talking with a wonderful woman I've met here, and we decided that because so many people come here on spiritual journeys, wanting to grow and better themselves, searching for a spark of inspiration, setting clear intentions, there's a really amazing energy here. People here are their most open and authentic selves (or at least trying to be), so it's fairly easy to find people to connect and share with. I'm so grateful for the opportunities that I've had here and the people I've met who so readily shared their stories, insight, and wisdom with me. I will hold this magical town in a very special place in my heart, and I know I will return. It's not very hard to see why people come here for months at a time or even move here. Life is pure, the people are pure, and I hope to carry this positivity with me on the next leg of my journey and in my return back to La La Land.

The Balinese Perspective

I had a very interesting conversation last night with the manager of the homestay I am at here in Ubud about life in Bali and the differences between life in America and Europe compared to Bali. We talked a lot about careers, money, religion, and relationships. He gave me some very interesting insight into life here and why the Balinese do things the way they do.

He said that the reason there are not many professional people here in Bali is mostly because of religion. The majority of the country is Hindu, and besides the fact that there are many ceremonies that take place every year (which makes traveling impossible), you have to make offerings two or three times a day. So you need a job that allows you to do that. He said there aren't really high schools here because since most people are focused on their religion and their families, there isn't a need for higher education. He also told me that the reason why most people in Bali are so poor is that even though they do not have any taxes here, at least 50% of their income goes to all of the ceremonies taking place at their temples. Offerings, food, and clothing all have to be taken care of.

We talked a lot about work and differences in perspective about careers, money, and motivation. While in America it seems the majority of people are content to work long hours, have stressful jobs, mostly just thinking about themselves and how to make the most money. Here, people are content to have simple, low stress jobs that allow them to have time to devote to their families, religion, and helping their neighbors.

We also talked a lot about love, family, and relationships. He said that when you're in love, everything is good. He said the views are prettier and the places you go are more fun when you're with someone you love. He told me not to worry about work and to get a boyfriend instead. Not sure about all that, I'm still not ready to seek someone out but I am going to work on being more open to the possibility of meeting someone.

I've had a lot of time to think while I've been here, and I've been meditating more trying to clear my head and decide what really matters and what I really want in life. I've lived pretty simply here with few possessions and without spending a lot of money. I know I'm going to be in for a rude awakening when I get back to Los Angeles, but I think I'm ready to do some downsizing. Let the planning begin...

Party Time in Kuta

My trip has been fairly low key until now, but when I arrived in Kuta, Bali, all that changed. The Kuta region is known for being very touristy, but it also has the longest white sand beach in Bali, great surfing, and the best sunsets, so I decided to give it a try. The sunsets there were indeed gorgeous, and I made it down to the beach twice to watch them.

I tried to go to the beach in Kuta but it is so hot here and there's no shade, plus since it's a surfing beach and the waves are huge you're not really supposed to swim there. Luckily the place I stayed had a nice big pool, and I could lay under a tree or go to the a/c in my room if I needed to.

So my second night in Kuta I met another girl traveling on her own named Miriam from the Netherlands. She had been in Bali for a month and had recently made some friends, so we went out every night the rest of the time I was there.

Kuta is a very popular destination spot for Australians especially, cause it's only a 2 or 3 hour flight, so many people come just for weekends or a week to party and surf. There are massive clubs that are open all night. Usually we would start our nights at this tiny bar stop on her street and have a few beers. Yes, I drank beer, lots of it. I'm just as shocked as anyone but the fact is beer here is $2 or $3, and vodka drinks are poured weak and cost $10. Then we would go to the clubs, there is one called the Sky Garden that is literally 5 or 6 floors, each with a different DJ and type of music. The first night we went we were there til almost 6 am, and ended up walking home in the daylight.

After that night I switched hotels up to one in Legian, which is still in walking distance of Kuta but nicer and not as crazy. Although my new place did have a pool, I spent most of my time at the beach because for $3 a day you could rent a cushy beach chair and umbrella. I would switch of laying in the sun and under the umbrella. I had brought my ipod but didn't even use it because the sound of the waves was so loud, but I actually found it really peaceful to only be able to hear that.

As fun as my nights have been and as relaxing as my days have been, I am ready to move on. My next stop is Ubud, which is kind of the cultural center of Bali. I'm ready to do some sightseeing and get to experience more of Bali. Rice patties and temples here I come!