Bye Bye Bali

    It's hard to believe that another large portion of my trip has come to an end. I am all packed up and ready to face Bangkok tomorrow morning, where I will have to deal with my Vietnamese Visa, before getting out of there and flying back up to Chiang Mai. I am very excited that as of only a few weeks ago, I will now be joined in Chiang Mai by one of my good friends from home. Jenny will be accompanying me through Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia for the next 34 days! 

BATS

    I managed to get one last thing on my 'Bali Bucket List' checked off yesterday with a trip to Tanah Lot Temple on the west coast of Bali. With Claire on her scooter and Leslie on the back of mine, the three of us set off for the massive rock formation out in the Indian Ocean (with the hopes of arriving by sunset). We hit a few bumps along the way, some heavy traffic spots, a handful of wrong turns, and ran over an already mangled snake, but eventually came face-to-face with the entrance to the temple. It was as though we were entering a North American amusement park with the large welcome sign, seperate lanes for car and motorcycle traffic to enter through, gates to pay at and a very vast parking lot. Considering we arrived as the sun was setting, we quickly jumped off our bikes and ran towards the water, to discover HUNDREDS of tourists lining the cliff facing the beautiful temple with the setting sun as it's backdrop. We had also strategically planned to go at low tide so we were able to walk around the beach below the temple as well as walk up to the temple, which is blocked off during high tide due to ocean spray. The drive and rush to get there was all worth it when we had the chance to take in the stunning sunset, the overbearing temple above us and the bats. Yes, the bats. As we were meandering through the rock pools down on the beach, we could here a very high-pitched noise coming from a cave to our left. Thinking not much of it, we ignored it, until we were no longer able to. All at once, thousands of bats came screaming out of the cave, flapping narrowly above our heads, heading out into the quickly changing nighttime sky. It was incredible! The sound they were making, plus the sheer number of them and how close they were, was such a sight to be seen. Naturally, they were quite hard to photograph as they just wouldn't stay still, so I videoed instead - http://youtu.be/5ps23SHQVmM.

    The drive back to Ubud was not as easy as our not-so-easy drive to the temple. Our way back was now dark, though roads were slightly less busy, we were without a map or satellite signal as our phone had used up all it's battery and given up on us. Confident in my somewhat trusty sense of direction, we set off as far as my memory could take us, which was a good hour-long stretch. Keeping in mind, roads here generally do not have road signs, and it is very hard to tell the difference between a main road and an alley. Just as we were getting ready to give up, a green road sign appeared saying UBUD with a directional arrow pointing left. Golden. A short 20 minutes after that exciting turn, my front tire popped causing me to swerve left and right and left again, again and again and almost completely lose control of my bike that I was going downhill on at 50mph. Unsure as to how I pulled it off, but I managed to keep us upright until coming to a complete stop on the side of the road and only scraping my left foot in the process. Pitch black, few cars on the road, no phone, not exactly your ideal situation. This was the starting point to restoring my faith in humanity. After a kind family had pulled over on the road to ask if we were alright and thankful for some obnoxiously barking, protective dogs across the road, Leslie pointed out that where we happened to stop was right outside of a (closed) car service centre and two people were coming down the driveway to check us out. Within minutes, with no English spoken, they were pushing my bike up the driveway into their centre that was filled with about 6 dogs and their whole family. After discovering pumping air into the tire was not going to work, a lot of hand gestures, some charades and a few giggles later, Claire and I were back on her bike, following Helpful Man #1 with Leslie on his back, and Helpful Man #2 struggling behind us on my bike to go the 200m up the road to a scooter 'service centre.' We waved goodbye and thank you to the two gentlemen and took a seat next to the very friendly son, baby daughter and wife of Helpful Man #3 who was tending to my tire. 45 minutes, a fixed tire, $4, and priceless memories and acquaintances even later, we were back on the road heading towards Ubud. Thankfully, my sense of direction held on all the way into the city centre of Ubud to where all three of us knew exactly how to get home. Starting with a 4PM departure from home to a 11PM arrival back, I could not have been happier to see Inka's wagging tail and my bed. But Tanah Lot...Tanah Lot was all worth it ;)

    Bali has been such a serene place I feel so lucky to have called home over the last 2 months (7 weeks). Living in the village of Penestanan has been simple, comfortable, humbling and at times surreal. Every morning I ran or walked by an older woman who spends her days walking up and down the roads picking up garbage - 'Selemat Pagi!!' - she would yell and wave at me with a huge smile on her face. I could routinely be walking down the street on my way home from class and coordinators would scoot by yelling my name, waving. Every day I could count on getting home from school to see Inka waiting on the veranda, and the wonderful family I lived with smiling, sitting on seperate verandas, quietly making flower offerings. Watching the way construction is done here has blown my mind. There are no trucks, no cranes, no shovels, no nothing. Cement blocks are carted around 2 or 3 at a time on the heads of women, making however many trips it takes to get them all from A to B. On the way to school one day, I saw a few men casually walking layers of brand new bed frames down the road. Everyone does everything themselves without relying on anything but themselves, yet for everyone other than themselves. If you catch my drift. 

My house

    I enjoyed the daily routine I had going on most days, and will miss it and the smiles of my Kindies as I move on to my next adventure. Running, reading, teaching, exploring and discovering new places, and new faces. This province is small and I think I got what I wanted out of it in the time I was here. I very much look forward to the next few weeks that lie ahead and the new discoveries and experiences I am about to make. Bye Bye Bali.

XOXO Nicky   

USS Liberty

    

    Nicky and open water have never been friends. I would not say we are enemies, but we are certainly far from being allies. Water has never done anything wrong to my knowledge or memory, I have just always been terrified it. I am the person who avoids the clear, refreshing H2O at all costs. If swimming in a lake, I will bring my feet up to my chest as soon as I jump in. When wading in the Californian waves of the Pacific Ocean I rarely take myself past where my feet can't touch. Any snorkeling I had done before my travels was with my family and in the firm grasp of my Father's hand. Even the sight of underwater things on TV gives me the chills - whales and shipwrecks in particular. The root of this fear is unknown. Could simply be the fear of the unknown below me, the vast expanse of what I'm treading in, the inability to place my feet on the ground, a number of things. Now you get the idea of what this relationship is and always has been. That being said, after doing some snorkeling in Nusa Lembongan last weekend, and at some point deciding this trip is turning into one to face fears and push myself even further past my comfort zone, I (yes, me) mentioned the idea of going scuba diving. Two of my friends jumped on the idea and suddenly we were signed up, equipment prepared and ready to go diving before I had a moment to change my mind.

    Let me tell you, the two-hour car ride from Ubud to the northern coast of Bali had me silent, unable to speak or feel my fingers. My stomach was a giant mass of butterflies, and knots and I was coming up with different scenarios and excuses in my head that I could try to get me out of this experience. I tried one scenario and it worked! I didn't have to go diving, fear unfaced and I'm still happy as a clam. 

    Kidding, but wouldn't that be anti climactic.

Pool Training

    We arrived at the Ocean View Dive resort in Talembun and hopped out of the van to lay our stuff down, start our briefing and catch a glimpse of the crystal clear Bali Sea waters we were shortly headed for. Our 24-year old, Balinese instructor was incredible from start to finish. Very informative, clear in his instruction, attentive, friendly and most of all, understanding to the uneasy feeling I think all 3 of us had after we were briefed.

    Things started looking up when we were actually shown our equipment and started practicing our series of skills in the hotel pool. Breathing with the regulator was so strange at first but once we got the hang of it, and were under the water, it felt quite natural. Also, having been doing quite a bit of yoga here, where it's all about breathing in through your nose, it made for a very focused transition to breathing in and out through the mouth. We were also taught and had to practice until Dede thought it was perfect - losing our regs, finding them again, and placing them back in our mouths; getting water in our goggles and clearing them; getting the hang of inflating and deflating our lungs to demonstrate how it affects our bodies going up and down in the water.

    Finally, it was time to go into the ocean. The beach along the northern coast is black sand and very rocky, which made for very tricky entry and exit to and from the water. In our briefing, we had been given information on the dive site we'd be exploring - the famous, USS Liberty Shipwreck.

    Yes, stick a girl who's frightened of water into the sea with a 20-pound oxygen tank on her back, and then lead her to a SHIPWRECK of all terrifying things. Again, as I said, Dede was wonderful. He had myself and Mel grab hold of his arms for the first while until we felt comfortable enough to let go. As soon as we were completely submerged in the sea, had our breathing steady, and were starting to kick, I immediately felt very at ease. To say I loved diving would be an understatement. It was totally, completely, and utterly incredible. The first moment we started to see the wreck I felt anxious, but settled when I realized it didn't even really look like a ghost ship, but instead just beautiful coral. As long as I didn't let myself look into the distance, and just focus on what was right below me, I was a very happy camper. We did a perfect loop around the entire ship, going 12m down, seeing some very small and very big, very bland and very colorful fish. After 30 minutes, we came back up and I screamed in excitement. We did it! It was then time for a relaxing lunch break, before heading back in again for ship dive #2. As we were all more confident the second time around, Dede led us further in through the wreck as opposed to just floating over it. It was easy to make out a porthole or two, some railings and and the bow of the 120m ship.

Mel, Seraga, Me

    The USS Liberty sailed in the first and second World Wars until it was torpedoed by the Japanese in January of 1942, off the coast of Bali. She was towed into Tulamben to salvage cargo and items onboard and left beached on the northern coast. In 1963, the tremors caused by the volcanic eruption of Holy Mount Agung (the one I hiked 5 weeks ago) forced the ship to sink between 30 and 100 feet below the water. It is actually one of very few natural shipwrecks that exist around the world.

    On our way back to Ubud, we caught and pulled over to appreciate, a stunning view of the powerful volcano. I found it pretty amazing to think about having climbed to the top of Mount Agung, pushing aside my dislike for heights, and then to have found myself exploring and diving through the ship that had been wrecked due to the volcano's last eruption. I may even look at going diving again before I leave this island. Don't think I'm ready for sharks but a turtle sighting or two would be nice! Click here to be transported into an aquarium.

    Scuba diving being the breaking news for the week, other headlines include discovering new morning run destinations, attending a Sound Medicine performance at Yoga Barn, spending further quality time with Bre (visiting from Australia), and working on animals and writing our letters and numbers with my Bintangs (Stars). Time is flying by here and I can't believe I am leaving to get back on the backpacking train in a week!

    XOXO Nicky

Morning Run - Coffee shop planted in the middle of rice fields

The Island of the Gods

    Still here! Living on, teaching in, exploring the Island of the Gods - Bali. My second week of teaching went very smoothly, with fewer kids than I saw the previous week. It seems we are coming to the end of a term, so some schools have closed, with mine remaining open, just a limited number of students. I started introducing fruits and vegetables to my class, which went over well! We played games using plastic fruits and veggies, I made up worksheets for them to color in and we went through electronic flashcards on my tablet (that was their favorite). We continued working on and mastering the names of animals, their favorite one being the butterfly. It seems every time we sing 'Old McDonald,' they jump up and down over wanting to act out a butterfly and flutter around the classroom. That, and a ribbiting frog. Thursday's class we made butterflies out of paper, pipe cleaners and our creative, colorful minds to beautify our butterflies. I have one student in my class who is a very talented drawer in the making and instead of scribbling down colors whenever I ask them to color something in, he draws full scenes, with a house, people, pets, the sun, and very detailed trees.

    In other news - Inka's puppy opened her eyes and took her first steps this week, the ladies indulged in a night of salsa dancing, cock fights could be found on every corner and the island of Nusa Lembongan was discovered.

    Nala, the name the group of us have given to Inka's puppy, took her first steps this week along with opening her little puppy eyes to reveal beautiful, grey, shining eyeballs. She is very wobbly on her legs but she can get going for awhile before she collapses again onto the ground 5cm below her. Her little personality is starting to come out as well, as she has tried play fighting with me and gnawing on my ankles, toes and fingers. It's been amazing being able to watch Nala grow over the last few weeks and see Inka's motherly instinct kick in.

    For a fun night out, myself and 5 of the girls I live with decided to go salsa dancing at a place called Cafe Havana, that came as a recommendation from another friend. None of us had ever really been salsa dancing before but we had heard the waiters and waitresses at the restaurant were all trained salsa dancers, willing to dance with you, as well as offering classes on Friday nights (we went on a Thursday, though). Did we ever have an amazing, hot, sweaty, giggly, amusing time. The live band played three different hour and 20 minute sets, the waiters had some people up on their feet, as well as a very friendly, very salsa-talented Australian man who was asking anyone and everyone if they would like to dance with him, even if it meant getting his toes crushed. By the end of the night I think our whole table plus others had been twirled around the dance floor by this stranger, who actually managed to make us all look like we knew what we were doing. We plan to go back at least once more before we all leave this island, and who knows, I just might look into taking classes when I return home!

    Full moon Odalans (temple ceremonies) are a very big deal here and span over three days. Seeing as this past week we had a beautiful (harvest) full moon, our village and the surrounding villages were bustling with families dressed in their traditional temple wear, flower offerings could be found everywhere and, wait for it......cock fights were taking place every single day. There is a large, grassy area that we pass in the car on the way to school everyday that had a tent setup and was surrounded by roughly one hundred people watching cock fights. I never actually saw a fight, nor would I ever try to, but they are very popular here. Cocks or Roosters are treated better than dogs here - they are given massages, fed the best food, brushed, cleaned, etc. Prized posessions. In fact, the owner of the house I live in has 12 roosters including a very decorated prize-winning rooster (I have to admit, the thing is quite beautiful). He has him out every night, massaging him, and rumour has it, he has killed 20 roosters in cock fights.

Ladies on a Fast Boat

    Finally, after a busy week of teaching, temples and cock fights, seven of us took off to the island of Nusa Lembongan for a 3-day vacation away from our own island of Bali. Nusa Lembongan is best known for its dive sites and surfing, neither of which were things any of us are skilled in, but we still wanted to go for the relaxed vibe, white-sand beaches, blue waters and the Sunrise Hut's we stayed in at the top of a hill. We comfortably piled into 2 huts at this beautiful resort, which included an infinity pool overlooking the channel between Lembongan and Cenigan Island, and a perfect view of the nightly rising moon and daily rising sun. We were actually all awe-struck when we were sitting eating dinner on our first night and suddenly noticed a glowing orange light from behind a layer of clouds. Very quickly revealing the harvest moon. We had taken a 30-minute Fast Boat from Sanur, Bali to Lembongan and upon arrival, jumped off the boat, into the seaweed-infested water, to wade into shore, bags held above our heads.

Arrival in Lembongan

Devil's Tear

    We spent the weekend lying on Dream Beach (it really was a dream), visiting Devil's Tear (50-foot cliffs with even higher ocean spray), discovering Blue Lagoon (clearest, bluest water I have ever seen - stunning), zooming around Lembongan and Cenigan on scooters (on the bumpiest, most non-existent, pothole-infested roads you can imagine...no exaggeration, I'm talking full on craters with a scattering of boulder-sized rocks, strategically laid out to cause you to zig zag), crossing the famous Suspension Bridge (narrow enough for one scooter to go across at a time, plus a few missing planks, see video - http://youtu.be/dlipedJEimM), and snorkeling. The pictures will barely do it any justice but you can get the point. As per usual, I was a little apprehensive getting in the water to snorkel, as open water is not my thing, but once I was in, I was okay. Managed to see some beautiful fish and even more beautiful coral. Seeing as we were out around full moon, the waters were very rough all weekend, with extremely strong currents, but luckily our boat driver, instead of anchoring in one spot, continually moved alongside of us, so when we were ready to get out he was right there!

Blue Lagoon

Moonrise from our veranda

Under da Sea

    Also, shocker, football is quite big here. Slowly over the course of last week, different flags popped up in front of houses, restaurants, hotels and bars showing the support of their teams. Fifa World Cup 2014 is in full swing. GO ENGLAND GO! But really, Los geht's Deutschland, kampfen und siegen ;)

XOXO Nicky

ABCs, Shapes and Rainbows

    I would call my first week of teaching a success! I went in on Monday, not entirely sure what to expect as we aren't given much prep or guidance into what happens in the classroom here. The orientation week is wonderful, when it comes to submerging you into the Balinese culture and your surroundings, but it lacks any information about what one will be teaching, how many kids, what the schools are like, etc. I am teaching in a class with two other girls from my house, so they filled me in slightly on how it all works. I teach everyday from 3-5PM, in what can be considered an 'after school program,' for parents to bring their kids to, for further English learning, which is a shorter period of time than I had thought going into it. My class is made up of 3-5 year-olds, and on any given day I can expect to see between 8 and 25 students. The program is free for the community and open to anyone who wants to drop in.

    

    Monday, I sat back as more of an observer, while I watched how Erica and Taylor went about working with the class, what topics seem to get covered, how much English the kids already know, as well as routines the kids go through every class. Routines being - every class starts with a welcome greeting from the class, in both Balinese and English: 'Good afternoon teacher, Good afternoon my friends!' Before (the half-hour) break/snack time, we all sit in a circle and pray. And, every class finishes with a song in Balinese that I am still trying to learn, but so far have picked up 'It's time to go home, it's time to go home, it's time to go home, see you and bye-bye,' which is followed by a kiss on the hand from every student. 

    Once I had Monday under my belt, I went in the rest of the week with set lesson plans and ideas of what to cover with the kids. As is the same with any 3, 4 or 5 year-old, their attention span lasts about....35 seconds, especially when they don't understand most of what you're saying, so we have had to get creative sometimes when we've run out of our lesson plan! Luckily, we have a translator in all of our classes, who helps to explain various activities. This week we covered the colors of the rainbow, our names, the alphabet, body parts and numbers. All of which were accompanied by different arts and crafts includings chalk drawings/stencils of our bodies outside, colorful name tags, and scenes made up of different shapes (a house is made up of a square, rectangles, triangle, and circle you know!)

The little Noodle

    What else happened this week.....I have voluntarily taken on the responsibility of caring for Inka. As most who know me could attest to, to me, there is little in this world more special and better than puppies and dogs. Since Inka gave birth, she has worried us all by eating less, becoming very skinny and weak, shedding too much hair and developing sores on her sides because of laying in the rocky nest while she feeds the little Noodle (puppy). On Tuesday of this week, I took her some tofu while she was laying in her nest, which she ate slowly and little bits of, but still ate! Wednesday, I was at the supermarket and picked up a large can of wet dog food. I don't think I've seen Inka so energetic and happy since I arrived here. She was barely letting me empty the can into a bowl before diving, nose first, into the mushy,  5-meat yumminess. Myself, along with the others in my house, were so excited to see her like this. I can see my budget for Bali is going to now include picking up cans of dog food at the local Bintang, which I am very okay with. I am being careful to not indulge her too much of course, as I don't want her relying on this new food or the attention I give her and then poof I'll be gone, but just until she's looking strong and healthy again.

Inka and Me

    This past weekend was spent staying at home in Ubud with a few others in my house. Ubud is such a beautiful town with so much to offer, so we try and do and see as much as possible when we have this sort of time. Mel and I went to a yoga class at a studio called Yoga Barn, I went to the spa for Ear Candling, Mel and I went coffee tasting, and Sawyer, Mel, Natalia and I discovered a new restaurant in the middle of the rice fields for lunch on Sunday. 

View from Sunday's lunch spot - Sari Organik Warung

    The yoga class was amazing. If you close your eyes and think Yoga in Bali, this place is probably what you picture. At least, it's almost exactly what I had pictured! A hidden oasis (so hidden that it took forever and passing it a few times to actually find), surrounded by lush greenery, trees, ponds, a series of different wooden, tree-house looking studios, and even a 'whisper zone.' Mel and I went for the 7AM Morning Flow class, which was a perfect level of intensity for me, while being relaxing at the same time. We walked into the Main Studio - a large room with wooden floors, floor-to-ceiling windows looking out at trees and a large pond - and grabbed our mats from the cupboard to join some of the other students who were already lying down waiting for the class to begin. Lying there I could hear the birds and tree frogs outside, the rain that had started to fall as soon as we arrived, and I could smell honey/beeswax throughout the room. One hour and 40 minutes later, the class had ended and we were back on my scooter and heading back home, feeling like we had already accomplished so much in the day and it was not even 9AM. 

Coffee tasting at Seniman Coffee Studio

Coffee Tasting

    Bet you're wondering what ear candling is. Well, it is sort of how it sounds plus an added face, neck and head massage as a bonus. Basically, the esthetician had me lie down with one ear to the ground and one ear facing up, and placed a small white candle in my ear. There is a paper plate around the middle of the candle to protect me from any dripping wax, and the candle itself is hollow. Once she lit the candle it sounded like the sound heavy rain makes when you're inside, I could feel nothing, and 15 minutes later she was taking the candle out of my ear. Then, switch! After all was said and done, I got up and the lovely lady asked if I'd like to see what was produced. "Yes!" Not to get too gross or anything, but it is pretty incredible how much wax builds up in our ears! Don't worry, I didn't take any pictures to show off. 

Treating ourselves to a Sunday Sunset Cocktail - Mel, Claire, Me, Natalia, Saraga

On to Week 2 of teaching! We'll see what adventures, challenges and new experiences it brings.  

In case you were curious about what I'm typically served for lunch/dinner - rice, veggies, tofu/tempe

XOXO Nicky

Renovation Week

 

   And what a relaxing week that was. As it was still a holiday here, there was no school,  therefore I still haven't started teaching, but instead had the opportunity to help refurbish the school in my village, Penestanan. The week was spent rotating shifts with the other volunteers, and spending time at the school repainting classrooms, scraping floors, sanding and varnishing desks and benches, and putting everything back together looking brand new. It wasn't anything strenuous, but it was fulfilling, having the chance to give back to this village that so kindly and happily welcomes us to live here. All of our teaching placements are at schools in other villages, so this was a good change.

           

 

 



     Apart from spending a few hours most days working at the school, I got out and explored the town of Ubud further, and spent some time by the pool at a hotel around the corner a number of us go to.

Big news for the week, my host family's dog, Inka, had her puppy! She has been pregnant since I arrived and finally gave birth on Wednesday night. We are all a bit suspicious as to what happened to the rest of the litter, but instead of dwelling on it, I have spent every day soaking up the preciousness of the little one, and helping Inka in any way I can - bringing her bowls of water, food, etc. She has created a little nest under a stack of shelves in the area of the compound where all the caged roosters live, and has been a very attentive mummy.

 

    I rented myself a scooter on Friday night, and subsequently started a bit of a trend in my house, as three other girls picked up scooters for the weekend as well. We went on a little adventure Saturday, zooming up and down the streets of Ubud, plus making a lunch stop for Mexican food. We were quite the sight on the road, all in a line, and I felt like a mother duck with her little ducklings. Everyone following behind me (as if I knew where I was going....) and asking various questions about their scooters (as if I knew what I was talking about...). Only kidding, I have become very comfortable on my scooter, and feel like I know this city very well already. I have finally got a solid grasp on my sense of direction. A bit different when there's no body of water, or free-standing tower to help you out!

    Sunday afternoon, 4 of us set off on another adventure to northern Ubud. After telling the girls about the rice paddy terraces I had been to with Nick 2 weeks ago, a few of them wanted to check them out. With Mel and Natalia on one scooter and Alex on the back of mine, we headed north about 25 minutes before hitting the area of Tegalalang and the unmissable terraces. It was nice being back to see the beautiful area and appreciate the hard work that goes into keeping up the various farm plots that make up the famous terraces. Following a quick lunch and some 'ooo-ing' and 'ahh-ing,' we were back on our scooters heading along the scenic drive to Ganung Kawi.

   

    Ganung Kawi is the 'Angkor Wat' of Bali that Nick and I had tried getting to but got so lost along the way, that by the time we arrived, it was well past closed. Not this time! Encountering only one wrong turn on the way, but noticing it very quickly before turning around, we made it to the temple! I was so elated when we turned onto the road to the temple, I literally cheered out loud, to everyone else's amusement. Was it ever worth it. The temple was breathtaking! Stairs led us far down into a valley, through rice fields, until we reached the bottom and were suddenly exposed to massive carved-rock walls, hidden temples, waterfalls, and stairs that led to secret places. The area was vast and we tried our best to follow every trail there was even if it led to a dead end. The Temple itself was fairly quiet, which was nice. It didn't feel too littered with tourists, which made for an overall more peaceful experience.

 
    First day of teaching tomorrow....finally! Stay tuned.

XOXO

Nicky