Since I've basically (not basically...totally) spent this month reminiscing about Bali and blissfully extending my summer vacation via blog posts, it's probably time I move on and live in the present. It's the last day of August, and, as per usual for this time of year, I've suddenly realized that summer is nearing it's close and my response is..."What the WHAT!?!?!" It's been a busy summer that's felt like one big un-ending goodbye party. And it's been an especially busy August. Let me break it down for you: The weekend after we got back from Bali, we said goodbye to Joy and Rob. It was great spending this past year with my old college roommate and friend...and her fantastic Australian man.
Then, the next weekend I said goodbye to Amanda as she began her travels to southeast Asia. So to wrap it up, I'm surprised I have any friends left.
However, there was one 'hello' in August, which was to Ali's parents!!! His mom and dad just left last Thursday after spending about 8 days here in Seoul with us. They did it all: the temples, the museums, the food, the dmz, the outdoor expeditions...any exploring that there was to be done in this city, they did! It was nice seeing people from the 'real world,' and remembering that there is life outside of Korea. Now if only I could see my own family. :) It's been 15 months and counting...
And finally, to finish off my blogs on Bali, I'd like to do a post on the people because I found them full of beauty and tradition.
This is a woman walking in a traditional Hindu parade to one of the temples.
A shy looking girl walking out of the temple after making her daily sacrifice.
On our bike ride, we stopped to see this man doing his wood carving. It was crazily intricate and detailed. His kids were all sitting close, learning the trade.
This woman was in one of the temples in Ubud, making her sacrifice.
In the traditional Hindu home, a woman weaving.
Woman chatting at the market.
The Grandma and Grandpa of the Hindu home we visited.
A woman working at the market trying to sell her things.
Women walking to the Hindu cremation ceremony, where they believe that their relatives' spirits can be set free.
Our last stop at a little village in the heart of Bali called Ubud. We spent 3 nights here, and I loved every minute of it. It's the center of arts and culture in Bali. On our last day there, we took a bike trip starting at the top of a volcano and making our way 25 kilometers down. (And then tacked on an extra 10k all uphill!)
Here we are eating breakfast at the top of the volcano.
A view from our breakfast table
The volcano.
So many beautiful rice terraces.
Not quite like they do farming in the flat fields of Iowa...
An old building next to some rice fields.
The little town of Ubud.
We also made a trip to the monkey forest! This little monkey stole all of our bananas. They really are cheeky!
After Nusa Lembongan, we took a tiny little boat from the island back to the coast of Bali, where we stayed for one night in a small harbor town called Padang Bai. Padang Bai was full of tourists and people getting in your face trying to sell you stuff, so it was a bit of a transition coming from the quiet, calm, and undeveloped Nusa Lembongan. However, despite more people and a little more hustle and bustle, Padang Bai had some beautiful scenery.
This is the blue lagoon, something that Padang Bai is famous for. It boasts of fantastic snorkeling. I would have enjoyed it more did I not have a huge blister on my toe from diving that prevented me from being able to wear flippers, and if there was also less trash in the water. This is often the downfall of too many tourists. Oh, and I heard once that sharks live in lagoons, so that didn't help either.
Not exactly a mode of transportation I've used much in my lifetime...
The evening we were in Padang Bai, we went for dinner for some yummy fresh Mahi Mahi...
...and finished off our meal with the most disgusting dessert I've ever had in my life.
On our way down to white sand beach...
...and the sand was, in fact, pretty white!
Balinese boys have attitude just like the rest of the world. These little dudes posed like pros for me, and then wanted me to pay them for letting me take their picture. "Gi me muhneee! Gi me muhneee!"
We did 4 dives near Nusa Lembongan over the course of 2 days. The last diving I had done was in Thailand 2 years before, so needless to say, I was a little rusty. And by rusty, I mean terrified. The first day we went out, it was pouring rain, the waves were crashing, and I spent the entire 45 minute boat ride to the dive spot clutching the edge of the boat like my life depended on it. If I didn't think my life was nearly over on the rocky ride there, I definitely thought it was when we arrived. We anchored the boat in the thrashing waves right next to huge rocky cliffs that, in the dark and stormy weather, jutted out like they were death itself. To make things even better, the location we were diving at that morning was called ‘Manta Point,’ for the obvious reason that there are often Manta Ray swimming beneath the surface. Now, this may sound exciting to most divers, but to me, it sounded like I was about to dive 30 meters under water with a massive sea creature that is big enough to eat me. I don’t care if it’s a vegetarian. If it lives in the sea and is bigger than the size of Nemo, it’s a threat in my book. I so wish I could be one of those divers who’s main goal in their diving escapades is to see as many terrifying creatures as possible, but really my main goal in diving is to stay as far away from any sign of danger as possible. I put on a pretty good show... "You saw a shark on your last dive!?! COOL! I'm SOOOO jealous! Oh, to see a shark someday..." but let's be honest, coming face to face with a shark is my most greatest of fears. After the fact it’s all cool and exciting, but when I’m under the water, am desperately trying to control my buoyancy while flailing my arms around ungracefully, and, oh ya, can’t BREATHE without a tank, I’ll stick with the clown fish and colorful coral, thank you.
However, my fear eased slightly as we went below the surface. For some reason, I’m less terrified when I’m part of the underwater environment than when I’m hovering between my world and theirs. When half of my body is above water, and the other half is dangling below, I can’t help but feel like I am prime shark bait.
Manta Point lived up to its’ name, and we saw a Manta. No, the picture of the Manta Ray here was NOT taken by me (I wish!), but hopefully it will give you an idea of what it’s like to swim with a Manta. They’re really beautiful. Like a giant bird flying through the water.
The other highlight of our 4 dives was seeing the Mola Mola. The Mola Mola is the famous Balinese sunfish. Apparently, if you see the Mola Mola you are VERY lucky. This sunfish is HUGE. The size of a shark! And very oddly shaped, as you can see by the picture. (Again, not mine, just an example!)Unfortunately, I was too panicked to calm down and really take it all in. This is something I’m hoping to work on.
My favorite part was all the beautiful coral and the crazily colored fish. I can’t believe how every fish is a different color, shape, size, and design. I know that people are all different, but for the most part, we all have the same general layout. Head, ears, eyes, mouth, hair – it’s all in the same place. But not with fish! There are some WILD looking fish out there! I can’t help but feel like God put all of his creativity energies into life under the sea.
If there is one place in the world that I would dare to call my 'happy place,' Dream Beach might be it. We strolled up to this secluded beach on our motor bike our first day on Nusa Lembongan, and I had such a surge of happiness and pure glee (glee!), that I nearly broke my leg scurrying down the rocks to the beach. I never wanted to leave!
I've never swam in such huge waves!
Caught Ali mid-jump...
The way the waves slammed against the rocks was mesmerizing...
Pretty...
The view from the hill...
We had the yummiest food ever looking over the beach. Shrimp with coconut milk and Indonesian spices steamed in a banana leaf. Yum!
After the long and exhausting journey, we were finally in Bali. Hooray! We spent the first night at Sanur beach, on the eastern coast of Bali. I’ve never been so happy to take a shower in my life!
The next morning, we headed to an island not far off the coast of Bali called Nusa Lembongan. Nusa Lembongan blew my mind! It’s a small island, full of Hindu culture, and completely untarnished by tourism. It feels like this magical untouched place with beautiful people, beautiful traditions, and seriously beautiful beaches. The pace was slow, the mood was calm, and best of all, nobody was pulling on my skirt trying to sell me stuff. (This may be my biggest pet peeve of traveling…)
We stayed in a little bungalow on the beach, attached to World Diving, the scuba diving joint that we had signed up for some dives with.Everything there was super cheap, the food was super delicious (despite the ‘Bali Belly’ it gave me a few days in…more on this later…), and the island was ours to explore.
So explore we did!We had barely thrown down our bags and changed into our swimsuits before we had a motor bike rented and were flying through the little dirt roads of the island. We were speechless! It was like we had gone back in time—old Balinese rooftops, temples in every home, and Hindu tradition oozing from every corner. All of the woman wore brightly colored traditional skirts and carried gigantic baskets on their heads, the children ran around barefoot (and sometimes bare naked), and one day we even caught all of the people of the island in their traditional Hindu garb marching to the temple on the corner of the island for one of their annual Hindu rituals. I would describe the feeling of the island as mystical. I kept asking myself…”does this place really exist?”
Right next to this island were two other islands: Nusa Ceningan and Nusa Penida. Seaweed farming is a big source of income for a lot of people on the islands. Every evening, you could see the farmers bringing in big baskets of seaweed from the water.
So yes, we fell in love with Nusa Lembongan. We spent 3 nights there diving, exploring, beaching, and inhaling as much yummy Indonesian food as possible –I’ve never eaten so much tuna fish in my life (FRESH, mind you -- and it's true what the can says: It really does taste like the chicken of the sea!) or been served every single meal on a banana leaf.
More on the diving and beaches at Nusa Lembongan to come…
The view from my bungalow.
Seaweed farmer taking in his seaweed at the end of the day.
The parade of Hindus marching to the temple.
Almost as many stray dogs as people...
A Balinese woman making her daily offering outside of her home.
