Today has been one of the most perfect days here. It has taken me a while to adjust to being in a place so new all by myself but the mind and body have a way of adapting to anything. For the last few days, I’ve set goals to go and do all of these touristy things: go to the museums, watch a traditional bali dance, learn more about arts and crafts and thus far, I’ve failed in ALL OF THESE things. I wake up, lounge around on my balcony and eat breakfast in the lobby. Then I try really hard to see the sites but get distracted on my walk over by book stores and silk stores and parks and hour long foot massages. The afternoon hits and the humidity is so thick you feel wet all the time so I head home, turn on the AC and watch a DVD until I fall asleep. I wake up just before dinner, take a shower, walk into town when the air is finally cool, go for a drink and chat with other travelers. And I go to sleep not having seen the Balinese kechak dance or the Armi Museum or any temples. And I used to come home feeling guilty about my lazy tourist behaviour. And then suddenly, I got over it.
IT’S OK. Whatever I do, wherever I go, IT’S OK. =)
Because this is my time. And I have been spending it the way that I need to spend it. Sometimes I just don’t want to brave the heat and humidity and I nap all afternoon watching the Dark Knight in my hotel room. Sometimes I spend hours writing and photo editing and not seeing a thing. Sometimes I sit in a cafe for 5 hours, writing postcards, drinking coconut juice and meeting some pretty amazing people.
I had planned to get to the coast at some point today but instead went to a cooking class for 6 hours and learned to make bumbu bali sauce, sayur urab (mixed veggies), tuna sambal matah (fish and hot sauce), tempe manis (sweet soy bean fry and my absolute favourite dish here) and opor ayum (chicken curry). It felt amazing to be learning something new, to walk the market in the morning learning about local ingredients, to take something back from here that can last forever. =) Then I spent the hot afternoon napping in my room and when I’d had enough of that, ventured out and visited different spas. I ended up booking a two hour scrub and massage body treatment in a place that should have cost 5 times more than it did (I love Ubud for this reason. You can have a massage EVERY SINGLE DAY and it be affordable). I was massaged in minty oil, scrubbed in javanese mud, slathered in yogurt and then dipped in a flower bath overlooking green rice paddies while sipping tea and eating fresh fruit. Oh the pure perfect pleasure of something so luxurious.
I’ve stopped feeling guilty for NOT seeing museums and going to foot massage parlors instead. I don’t care if I don’t end up seeing even one Balinese dance. I am spending my days on my own time, listening to my body and heart. It feels amazing. AMAZING. I wake when I’m rested, eat when I’m hungry and rest when I’m tired. Going back to the basics of these most simple desires has been so good for the soul. I am just here, in this moment and it is great. Great, great, great. =)
