Japan and Bali

[Marielle]

Re: Japan and Bali

The Dutch were there for 500! years!! (toes curling from embarrasment), still many Indonesian people living here, a lot of mixing in the population too. And when you add Surinam (Dutch Guyana) to the mix, well! There's people here with black skin, blue eyes and asian features - like you could find in Jamaica too, I guess...

Wonder if you'll find an Indonesian restaurant in your area?

You could always try your hand in your own kitchen

All you need is our trusted friend google

http://www.melroseflowers.com/mkic/

http://allrecipes.com//Recipes/world-cuisine/asia/indonesia/Main.aspx

[Laurel]

Re: Japan and Bali

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: lapassionata</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Laurel</div><div class="ubbcode-body">LaPassie ... what an absolute thrill it is to tag along with you on this journey ~

while I have never had the desire to visit Japan ... I so much enjoyed all you shared.

what a blessed young woman you are ~ it simply leaps out of the computer screen at me ...

*you shine* ~

as a young woman, I had the notion to travel the world and spend time in Bali ... I did some traveling, then - life took the turns it did and now all the travel I do is to Jamaica - which suits me.

I so much look foward to all you will share about the rest of your journey and your experiences ~

what a wonderful treat this is. </div></div>

Laurel, thank you for that lovely comment Honestly the shine you're seeing is the sense of freedom and joy I was experiencing after getting over a disappointing situation and realizing that rather than get stuck in regret and recriminations, I wanted to move on and LIVE. I understand about Jamaica, in fact the first place I thought of going to get over my stress was Jamaica , but my family convinced me to go to Japan since I had more time on hand. Negril for 2011! </div></div>

how you seem so wise far beyond your tender years!!

I now try not to regret all the years I spent 'in regret and recriminations'!!

no - seriously ... we all have our path, our journey ... some of us just get stuck a bit longer ~

but it is all relative ~

I can not wait to see The Earrings ... (i have a La-Passion for Silver - )

[MsExced]

Re: Japan and Bali

okay lapassionata im caught up now, bwoy lady this is so much fun. You never disappoint from your firs report to Spain.

Yea come with the picture of the erring.

[JAmerican Ooman]

Re: Japan and Bali

YAYYYYYYYYYYYY we are in Bali... Japan was great and almost got a &quot;get there&quot; tug out of me.. I expect you to make me feel that about Bali because its on my Bucket List

I feel so proud of you like you was mi ownna pikney I could barely get my dawta to go away to college let alone around the world..

I am so enjoying this and stop mentioning you being in the pictures, it is your journey after all, so I expect to see you in more than a few places..

You looking purty in Bali to sistren... Looking forward to more.

Hope you got that packing and moving thing finished *lol*.. I am going through the same thing myself.. I love new places, but I hate packing..

BLESSINGS

[Xavier]

Re: Japan and Bali

This is great trip. I always wanted to go to Japan and almost did until the I worked with moved offices...You took me there...thank you

[Jazz]

Re: Japan and Bali

Lapassionata - I second everything that Laurel said - your beauty and serenity really shines from inside out... and your strength and wisdom shows in your commentary and general outlook.

I know this is not a report on you but I had to add my 2 cents on that.

This is definitely one of my favorite reports of all time on this board ( and I have read many!)

[Marielle]

Re: Japan and Bali

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jazz</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Lapassionata - I second everything that Laurel said - your beauty and serenity really shines from inside out... and your strength and wisdom shows in your commentary and general outlook.</div></div>

I second that too! (Or should that be 3rd? )

[Laurel]

Re: Japan and Bali

I keep coming back to check fi the ear-bobs ....

come with them soon!!! I wanna see ~

[MsExced]

Re: Japan and Bali

Miss Lady where are you hoping to see the erring picture before I leave on vacation this weekend

[lapassionata]

Re: Japan and Bali

Hi everyone

Thanks for continuing to follow and thanks very much for the lovely comments

I was MIA for the last week because I moved! New city, new job, new life? Hopefully anyway. I finally have internet again, so now I really do promise to finish up, because there is less than a week of Bali to go.

For Ms. Exced: I'm so sorry I didn't get to post the earrings before you left...but maybe it will be a pleasant surprise when you get back?

I'm just going to go ahead and fling up some pictures and then respond to the lovely comments. So here goes.

[lapassionata]

Re: Japan and Bali

Ubud. Day: I-cant-remember-and-my-travel-notes-are-still-packed-away-in-boxes.

The all day round central Bali tour had exhausted the heck out of me. When I had first dropped off the luggage, I made sure to book a spa treatment for the following day. I intended to do nothing but eat, sleep and read, and spend hours recuperating from the breakneck pace I had sorta maintained since landing in Japan.

So the next morning was a beautiful surprise for me. It was clear and cool, lots of loud-mouthed insects and birds somewhere outside my window. The air was refreshing, not too humid. Breakfast was served on my veranda and a call came from the front desk to remind me of my massage and body scrub scheduled for midday. There was also a silent retreat going on at the hotel so once in a while another guest would pass by on the stone path and we would smile and nod at each other.

Maybe it was the tropical air but I was unbelievably hungry, and that breakfast was the best I ever had. The juice was papaya freshly blended; the bread alone was out of this world. After the belly got well filled, I took two steps over to the day bed, with some books and my mp3 player. I am not entirely sure what happened, but the next thing I knew, one of the masseuses from the spa was softly calling my name and telling me it was time for my massage. Four hours. Out like a light.

The spa building has a view over the rice terraces, and each treatment room opens unto that view. Although I felt far more rested after my nap, my shoulders and lower back were stiff from months of accumulated tension. I had booked an hour's massage followed by the mandi lulur, which is a spice body scrub preceding a frangipani scented bath. Decadent.

About that massage: I will take the liberty of squealing like a 14 year old Justin Bieber fan - Oh Em Geeeeee!!!! It was a full body massage, and you know I was a little shy at first. But I stopped caring about five minutes in. Who knew your thighs could be tense too? Then she followed it up with a tumeric and cinnamon exfoliating scrub. And finally she led me to my flower-filled tub and told me to chill out for another 20 minutes. How much did all this pampering cost me? $24 USD. Yeah. I know what your face looks like right now, and I don't wrong you if you want to immediately go look up tickets to Bali online.




breakfast on the veranda





Awesomest day bed





Prelude to a 4 hour &quot;nap&quot;



the javanese royal treatment

[lapassionata]

Re: Japan and Bali

I emerged from the spa a couple of hours later all soft and smelly (in a good way). I tried to work up the urge to go exploring, but the daybed on my veranda was calling me again, and before I knew it, another four hours had slipped by. I may have wandered down to the bottom pool to take a look but I didn't feel like taking a dip that day.

At around 6pm I started getting ready. My tour guide from the previous day, W, had offered to show me around Ubud. OK, so here is where I was dense: I thought this was a PAID offer, complete with tour van etc. So when 7pm rolls around and W. turns up in his casual date clothes Yeah I bought a clue and figured that W was maybe a little sweet on me or more probably was trying to get me to be his new &quot;patroness&quot;. To his credit though, when he saw my discomfort, he returned to semi-tour guide mode and it was all good again. So since this wasn't official business, W was sporting his own private transport...which was one of those 250 cc bikes that are ubiquitous around the island. It's the cheapest way to get around; every Balinese family owns at least one. There's a line in E. Gilbert's EatPrayLove where she describes a Balinese family on a bike with mom and baby behind and dad and toddler upfront and a couple bags hanging off the side. I thought she had been exaggerating for laughs, but IT'S TRUE!! The entire Balinese nuclear family on a bike. You wince when you see the unhelmeted kids. Rush hour in Ubud is a sea of motorbikes rolling past. They don't care about cars and the certainly don't care about pedestrians.

So when I saw W's bike, I saw my mother's horrified face in my mind's eye. But I knew I would regret it if I didn't give it a try, so I grabbed the helmet, hopped on the back and sent up a quick prayer to all the deities: please don't make this my last night on earth.

Turns out I was worried for nothing really. We didn't go above 35 mph. First we headed out of Ubud to go take a look at Furama villas where I would be staying for the last two nights in Bali. It was a full moon night, and there was something incredibly exciting about zipping along in the open air, watching the moon's reflection in the rice paddies. I felt THAT much closer to Bali. For some reason though, Black Ryno &quot;Bikeback&quot; kept playing in my head.

The Furama staff was gracious and the property was gorgeous. My villa was still occupied, but they showed me a similar one and it was very luxurious. The only drawback was that Furama was 35 mins drive away from Ubud and you would pretty much have to take a shuttle or local taxi from Ubud. Also, this was another place that was ideal for couples. Don't really know what possessed me to book it. I should have stayed at Kumara Sakti and be pampered for the rest of the vacation. I might even have avoided the Bali belly too . Anyway, spilt milk.

After we got back to Ubud, W suggested a locally-owned place for dinner off the mainroad. I was a little skeptical at first, I was imagining a little roadside warung, but then he pulled up to Jazz Cafe (which is actually quite popular) and I proceeded to have one of the loveliest nights of my vacation. Well lovely except for what everybody assumed was going on between W and me. I had a very delicious lamb and rice pilaf dish, and watched a live Jazzy-bluesy performance by a really excellent Balinese group. Two hours later I called the night to an end and thanked W effusively for a memorable evening.

Lower pool deck





Ready to go out



Sadly, all the bike-back pics are blurry



This one should have been the moon's reflection in the rice paddy. I wonder why I didn't ask him to stop at the time?





Jazz Cafe





burning some incense and processing it all at the end of the night

[lapassionata]

Re: Japan and Bali

Day 18 (?). Ubud and the Legong.

I was quick out of the blocks this morning, and after breakfast and another hour long massage, I left for Ubud town centre. I decided to walk and experience the place at street level. I didn't really have a plan beyond buying more souvenirs and eating more good food. Turns out, that's exactly what I did.

Kumara Sakti







Taking off down the road





Family compound entrance









Maybe I'll stay here next time

[lapassionata]

Re: Japan and Bali

Half-way there



Temple construction



peeking into another compound



What kind of fowl is this? I've never seen a neck so long





Ubud Palace grounds.



Gamelan instruments awaiting the night's performance

[lapassionata]

Re: Japan and Bali

After I walked around the palace grounds I made a trip to the market, which is an interesting experience in itself. This is a bargain culture, and usually I am pretty bad at it, so I was a little worried that I would end up spending way too much. For the first couple of times, I did pay too much, but eventually I realized that the trick was to not get attached to anything; to know before going in what your absolute limit of spending is for that article; to remain firm on your price, and walk away if necessary. Once I told myself that nothing was really a NEED, it was easy to walk away when people were trying to sell me polished metal as silver. Anyway, I got the last of my souvenirs including a cute pair of beaded sandals that I'm still sporting here.

I had lunch at cafe Nomad. The food was delicious and very reasonable priced. Lunch can run you about 6 USD, and this is excellent, filling stuff! I had a platter of appetizers followed by pumpkin ravioli with pesto. YUMMMM!!!! My bill came up to less than 10USD.

I tried to get a taxi back to Kumara Sakti but the prices they were quoting were nonsense, so I decided to walk. I definitely should have factored in the bags of purchases and the heavy lunch I ate, because I was almost crawling on the last hundred metres. A refreshing shower and change, and I got the hotel driver to drop me back at Ubud palace to take in a performance of the Legong dance. It was a spectacular performance and totally worth the price.

Once again I had no idea the serving sizes would be so large



I give up. I am a pig.



Walking back. At least I burned a few calories.



Waiting for the dancers



The gamelan orchestra



the condong dancer wows us



every movement and facial expression is precise





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