Bali workshop day 2

Best laid plans and all that ...wrote this yesterday and had planned to go to a fast Internet place in Ubud today so I could upload photos etc. But when I got down there, the electricity was off! However, I had discovered that there is limited wireless access here at the hotel, so have come back to pLay with that! Photos will probably have to wait another day ... This below is what I wrote yesterday to post.      

I'm going to write a separate post about the yoga so far (incredible), but wanted to write about today's 'trip to the countryside' with Sujana first. Such a sweet and unassuming man - I'm so unaccustomed to that! So, we set off on this drive up into the mountains. First stopping to see some amazing rice terraces - mind you, rice is grown everywhere here, including all through the grounds of this hotel - as photos will reveal soon!

Then on to a place that grows all sorts of spices and coffees. Coffee, cocoa, vanilla, ginger, ginseng, cloves, cinnamon - you name it! The owner (another sweet guy with an adoring little 2-year old daughter clinging to him!) reminded me that Indonesia used to be known as the Spice Islands. They served us up a variety of teas and coffees - including wonderful cocoa and incredible 'ginseng coffee'. That was the best! I had to buy some - I think it's just powdered ginseng mixed with coffee, but Yum!

Then we carried on driving up the mountain, through beautiful Balinese countryside, orange groves and up to the top wih a spectacular view of two live volcanoes! Nothing happening there I hasten to add, but evidence of the lava flow from an eruption about 70 years ago. Had lunch at a restaurant overlooking the view - vey nice! Came home after that to have a restful rest of the afternoon. I have arranged with Sujana to go to some Balinese dancing on Thursday evening. Maybe Maxine and/or someone else will want to come too.

I would never have done something like this - go off for a drive to the countryside by myself with a taxi-driver I hardly know - in somewhere like India! It is a completely different world here!  

Friday in Bali

There is something to be said for writing with a pen. I wrote a whole note on the iPad to copy and paste into this blog when I got to a wifi cafe. Well, either you can't or I haven't mastered that yet! (Note: I appear to have somehow got the copied text in but mAybe a bit out of order. For info - that was written yesterday. The yoga workshop starts this afternoon. I'll get better at this soon!!)

Of course I am loving Bali. Who wouldn't?! The people are so nice and the countryside is so so pretty! Yesterday (Friday)Oi had a lovely day. Had intended to go down into Ubud to try a wifi cafe, and maybe go to the Monkey Forest. Then the taxi driver suggested a few other things and I thought - why not be different! So he took me for a drive through the lovely Balinese countryside, first to a silversmith place (where I ended up buying a nice silver bracelet, of course!) and then to this batik place, where they have demos of the batik process and ikat weaving. Plus a very large and wonderful shop! I emerged from that some time later with my travel money card somewhat lighter, having bought some very nice clothes, a sarong and a few presents for people.

After that he took me to the Bali Bird Park, where I saw some amazing birds, although a few not looking so happy, including a cassawary. But there were huge caged rainforest areas that you could walk through with the birds flying freely in there. Including birds of paradise. That was lovely.

Came home exhausted after that ... I really enjoyed driving through the pretty pretty Balinese countryside! Such a sight for sore eyes (if my eyes were sore, which they're not!) I think I'm going to go for another drive with him up into the mountains and more rice terraces on one of the days when there's only yoga in the morning ... Not the sort of thing I normally do, but it is so lovely, (and the people are really gentle and nice, and trustworthy!)

Now I'm back home, and in a little while I'm going to do some yoga. Managed a bit yesterday, but I didn't even get through the standing sequence. Hopefully better today. The workshop starts tomorrow afternoon and it'll be full-on from then! had been

Notes from the Plane

Below are some notes I wrote on the plane to Bangkok. Happily in Ubud now but having a few problems using my iPad wireless in the internet cafe - so am reduced to using the awful PC and evenworse keyboard!! Hopefully I will get this sorted/find a better place soon!
 
***
Panic over the Virgin \airlines system meltdown meant I ended up getting another ticket on Qantas to fly to Sydney and connect with my flight to Bankok. I just couldn't risk missing the connection onto the Thai flight! It all worked out and now I'm sitting on the plane, tapping away on my iPad! Housesitters are firmly ensconced and no doubt glad to see me go!

Even though I've gone through Immigration (and had my toothpaste confiscated and thrown away?!), and I'm sitting on a Big Plane heading way north of Australia, it stil seems somewhat unreal. Maybe when I get out of the plane in Bangkok airport it'll seem more real. Certainly when I finally finish with airports and am out into the steamy Balinese head I believe I'll know I'm somewhere quite else!!

Amazing sunset arount the edge of the sky ... probably over Bali but we're flying to Bangkok. Sleeping there, then flying back down to Bali.

Later:
Watched the Ashtanga NY video on the iPad. Now as the plane flies through the dark getting closer to Bangkok I'm having a lovely time listening to devotional/inspirtional music. This is my Inspirational playlist:

Every Day of my Life - Aaron Neville
One Love/People get Ready - Bob Marley
Hallelujah Chorus - Handel's Messiah
Oasis   and
Downpour - both by One Foundation
Loving you Tonight - Squeeze (4 Weddings & a Funeral soundtrack)
Into the Mystic - Van Morrison
Love is all Around - Wet Wet Wet (another from 4 Weddings ... )
Can't Help falling in Love - Elvis Presley
As we Are - Cara Tower
Hare Krishna - Krishna Das with some throat singers (amazing sound!)
Om Jai Jagdish Hari - this is (or contains) a wonderful instrumental version of Arti

Got the last 2 off iTunes - happy to share further info to anyone who's interested!
 ***

I'd forgotten how awful internet cafe computers/keyboards can be!! Hope I can sort the iPad connection out very soon so I don't have to do this again! Plus I want to upload photos ... :)  But - Bali is wonderful (of course!) More very soon ...

Final countdown!

This time next week I'll be in Bali ... hopefully on my way to Ubud. In one way it seems quite unreal, but as I'm counting down the things I have to do/get/sort out, it is definitely becoming more real! I decided I needed to call a halt on buying new things (shoes, daypack etc) as it was getting too expensive, and if I need new things I'd much rather get them in some exotic/new place! So I'm taking an extremely old pair of shoes with me (I do have one new pair, plus some sandals!). And I'm not buying any more yoga clothes (I did have to buy some, as those I had were all falling to pieces!), and I'll take the old daypack I used 5 years ago! I think I'll try and clean it up though!

But my list of things to do is actually shrinking, finally! I'm also trying not to rush around doing too much these last few days. I work a long day as it is, and have been feeling quite tired in the evenings. Don't want to spend half the time I'm in Bali collapsed in a heap!

This is the place in Ubud where I'm staying, and where the yoga workshop is being held - Ananda Cottages . Looks so pretty - out in the rice paddies ...

Last week a friend of mine texted me to see if I wanted to go to a preview screening of 'Eat Pray Love' with him. It felt quite amazing to text back that I'd actually be in Ubud (the 'Love' part) at the time of the screening!!

The housesitters are coming on Sunday after lunch. I'm hoping to meet some friends for a late breakfast in Ipswich on the Sunday morning. Then on Monday morning it's off to the hospital very early (7am) for a final infusion of gammaglobulin to boost my immune system for while I'm away. Packing in the afternoon, and being picked up to go to the airport at 7.30am on Tuesday morning!

Woohoo!!!  :)

Sleepy pussycat

This is partly an experiment for uploading photos into blogposts on my iPad, and partly just coz I can't resist sharing this. Mind you, I won't know if it's worked till I try to upload this! Anyway, here goes ...

Yeah - it worked! Meet young Jedda pussycat relaxing after a hard day chasing lizards, and snoozing!

Getting very close ...

... to when I fly off to Bali. In fact, in 3 weeks from now I'll be sitting on the plane waiting to take off for Bangkok! I'm kind of starting to panic now, thinking of all the things I need to do and how I'm going to fit them all in! I guess it'll all happen, and anything that doesn't, won't matter, but I'm still a bit stressed. Lists are getting longer (when they should be getting shorter!) and weekends are certainly not restful relaxing times anymore!

Having said that, I did actually have a fairly relaxing weekend just past! A friend from Byron came to stay while the Brisbane Writers' Festival was on. He's written a book about Christopher Isherwood and his spirituality, and was talking about it on Sunday. I went to his session which was lovely, and we also went out for dinner one night, and to see a movie. It was really nice to catch up with him again ...

The previous weekend was a mad rush - going down to Sydney on the Friday to do my tax, then catching the train to Bowral to visit Mum. We had a good day and a bit together, but then I had to leave at 8am on Sunday morning to catch the train back to the airport to get home to Brisbane. Mum is progressing in leaps and bounds - she is now actually driving again! There's not much I can think of that can keep her down for long!!

I'm managing to get to yoga quite a bit - in fact quite a bit of each weekend till I go is taken up with it. Can't relax the effort now just before the workshop - even if I wanted to which I don't. Just have to fit other preparations around it.

I'm sure there's more I could/should be posting about but I'm busy at work (oddly enough!) ... If I don't post again before I leave, then I will most certainly be posting from Bali, hopefully with lots of photos too!!

Update from the past few weeks

Well, where have I been?!! Mostly too busy to post! I spent a week down in NSW helping my Mum who'd broken her arm falling over a few weeks earlier. I was there to help out for her first week home from hospital. With a broken arm she can't drive, and there's so many simple things that we take for granted that are either impossible, or hard, or you have to find new ways of doing! Luckily she was able to get community services help of one hour a day during the week. She gets the house cleaned, gets taken shopping, help with hanging out the washing, etc etc. Luckily she has a big network of friends who are constantly dropping in with food or for a chat, to take her or the dog out for a walk, etc etc.

Only managed a couple of yoga practices in that week, but since I got back things have been going well. I can actually see the results of putting in extra time/effort, which is pretty pleasing! I'm still mostly looking at consolidating my practice before I go to Bali. I know that I am unlikely to be able to practice some of the poses that I do at the Brisbane shala, as they have a different view on skipping poses to what I imagine Dena Kingsberg has! But that's OK - I'm happy to learn and improve wherever. (Although I do plan to keep doing certain poses in Bali in the privacy of my room, just so I don't completely lose them!!)

And I've booked my ticket to Portugal (going to stay with my friend Wendi), and most excitingly, she has booked tickets for us to go to Marrakesh (Morocco) for 3 days! Flying from Seville ... Oh it's going to be so great! That's kind of at the end of my time in the UK, so I've now got a great 10 days in Bali at the beginning, a great 3 weeks (only 3 weeks?, help!!) in London and the UK visiting family and friends, and then 8 days in Portugal and Marrakesh towards the end!

Happy sighs ... :)