Leaving

Lotus and Bee

Home again- Om again

A long long day of travel. Leaving our sweet space in Ubud, dear friends gathered for a final good by. Riding silently in the back seat memorizing the sights that are so unique to Bali. Check in a breeze, not even a glance askew at our four check-in bags. No weight issues. The flight to Taipei was turbulent and seemed long. Bumpy landing. Waiting another two hours in the airport, hobbling around in search of a coffee. At one time Ron had me sit in the pushcart meant for luggage but we got repriminded by a security person so I had to hop off and limp along. Check in was easy, lots of security. The plane was new and comfortable. Paying more for elite economy turned out to be really worth the cost. Seats were wider and there was a lot more leg room. Service was excellent, food pretty good. The headphones were crappy, and eventually they made some garbled announcement which I couldn't make out and all the screens went black. Just as well because mostly everyone went to sleep. We took ambien and closed our eyes and somehow 4 hours disappeared. Because of tailwinds our flight was a total of ten hours. Going the opposite direction it was 14 hours from LA to Taipei. Smooth flight, no turbulence which I was eternally grateful for. LAX was easy and we got to Avis an hour later and got our rental car and took off. First stop, Starbucks for a strong vente coffee, a cookie and a bottle of water. Made it to the house in an hour and a half. Rewarded with our soft mattress and cocoon of down pillows. That is one of the worst things about traveling, crummy mattresses and rock hard oversized pillows. This morning we awoke and went straight away to Pete's for coffee. Bought some food at Traders and went home to fix the dead battery in Ron's truck and the broken lock on the front door. Our dear friend Ron Metheny was watching over our house and garden while we were away, and he did an awesome job. Orchids are flowering, mail neatly stacked, essential bills paid. How could we go without the help of others?! Tomarrow I have to find a doctor to remove my stitches, convince Cox cable to give me the deal of the century, and start working our way through a ton of mail and phone messages. We're back!

Last dance

With a heavy heart we spend our last night here in Ubud. We've become contented here. Made friends. Felt like we became a tiny bit of the community. It will be hard to leave this small sweet neighborhood. We've embraced a few of the Balinese customs and made them ours. Like having more patience, and not being so fast to place blame or judgement. They have a graceful way of gliding through life and taking things as they come, good and bad. Women and men are always holding babies, ecstatic in their embrace. And the babies hardly ever cry, so loved and cared for that they don't need to. A flower placed on your doorstep, a quiet offering. The driver who takes you home and understands your jokes. An old woman who walks with dignity and grace while carrying a heavy load of bricks on her head. These people take my breath away. I have much to be thankful for. A wonderfully loving traveling companion, enlightened old friends, generous new friends we've met along the way. Charming little places to stay reminiscent of years ago when things were simpler and easier. The opportunity to wander and experience something new each day. It's not all easy. The romance sometimes grinds to a halt when you don't feel well, can't sleep for the rock hard mattress and the bulky neck wrenching pillows, musty smells, mosquitos, ants, loud music, and exhaust fumes that are so heavy you feel dizzy. These are normal in your world. You can't control everything around you. You have to concede ownership to any place even though you like to think the table you eat at each day is "yours", it's not. You take what is placed before you and make the best of it because that is what you do. I want to thank my friend Robert Sommers, master blogger, who generously helped me conceive and design this blog. He came to our house before we left, sat at our computer and worked through my thousand and one questions and we got Rice is Sacred started. He has been my administrator and has enlarged every photo and spell checked each blog. He encouraged me to write every few days and told me not to embarrass myself starting something and not following through. Here is an example of an email I sent him one especially difficult night: Hi Robert.  Another blog, be it ever so frustrating... I am besides myself when I make a fatal error.  It takes so long to do anything on the iPad.  I tried to delete a word in the title of a photo and the photo was gone from the blog in a matter of seconds, not to be retrieved.  I was cussing up a storm.  Ron braves my wrath and takes a levelheaded approach to fixing it and works his way through the puzzle.  I meanwhile am fuming and freaking....  So you can dress up the photos.  I guess I could have cropped out the blue plastic cloth in the second photo, but I didn't... Thanks for your attention to detail.  Lena xoxo This has been a very fun and enjoyable experience for me. I used to write postcards and letters to my friends but this is a million times more creative. Photos really help, and comments from friends thrill me. Looking at the live feed and seeing who has read the blog is exciting. Having this iPad has changed everything. It is the single most wonderful new toy I have experienced. So much fun to lay in bed and write, google news, read letters, play solitaire. I love it. Tomorrow is hurry and wait day. Morning with friends. Last breakfast, final goodbyes. Driver at noon, return to Denpasar and the airport. Check in, pay departure tax, wait several hours, then it's off to Taipei and then LA. The party is over... Until next time.

6:50 AM

Motorcycle Mishap

Well, all good things must end. Just when I was getting much more comfortable riding on the cycle, enjoying the cool breeze on my skin and the views of the outlying villages, we had a minor mishap two days ago. Fortunately, Ron and I are fine. Grateful we didn't break anything. So many people came to our aid. A hand from behind me kept passing over small antibacterial tissues. Never saw their face. Another man picked up our cycle and moved it out of the street. And a most kind driver helped me into his taxi and drove us to the small clinic just up the street. He waited with my shopping bags in his car for over an hour, drove me home and refused any payment for his time. Such kindness! The doctor there, Dr. Made, is a daughter-in-law of the owner of our guest house. I had a pretty nasty gash on my leg. Needed cleaning and a few stitches. She was kind and gentle. Ron just had some scratches. We both felt so lucky that we were not hurt bad. So I am hobbling around and visiting the clinic every other day to change the bandages. No more swimming sadly, and no more riding the cycle for me. Everyone staying here has been so kind and checking up on us. Our friends Allan and Issac brought me their computer and for the first time ever on our travels we laid in bed and watched a movie. Felt so weird. You can buy bootleg DVD's here for a couple of bucks, so there are all the new movies I hadn't seen With Indonesian subtitles. Today was Nyepi. Dewa came to our room early, about 6:30, with our coffee and tea. We sat on our porch and watched the sun brighten up everything after the night's rain, and then a beautiful rainbow. It was such a nice way to start the "new year". Most everyone tried to be respectful of the traditions today. No loud talking or noise. Stayed in our rooms or gardens. They make allowances for tourist, fed us breakfast, but other than that we fended for ourselves. Had some food, ice in a cooler. Simple stuff. Since I have been forced to keep my leg elevated and not walking much, this was easy for me. Read my book, played on the iPad and had a few conversations quietly with friends leaving tomarrow for Bhutan. The electricity has been turned off. Ron is reading with his headlamp and it is getting hot in here with no air con or fan. Overall, it has been interesting to experience Nyepi. In the silence any sound was magnified. The most noise came from the doves and the roosters. Even the dogs were quiet!

Temple

Temple carving

Silent Day

Once a year, people in Bali celebrate Nyepi day. Nyepi means silent. For 24 hours all people stop their activities and the island becomes quiet, calm and peaceful. People fast and ponder their regrets on their mistakes during the year. The day is dedicated to meditation and silence. The airport closes, no cars or motorcycles drive on the streets and no one walks on the streets. There is no electricity used, no work or cooking of food. Essentially everything shuts down. We have to gather our food the day before and can wander around our compound and swim in the pool, but in quiet. The weeks before Nyepi are busy with the construction of ogre-ogre. These are large statues made out of wire, paper mâché and painted vivid colors. They are paraded through the streets the night before Nyepi to help ward off the demons that might be passing through. Then on Nyepi all is silent, hoping to fool the marauding demons into thinking no one is around and they will continue along and not cause trouble. There is an ogre ogre being built at our cottages. All the boys take part and often we hear the kids laughing and carrying on way into the night while they sculpt and paint. There have been celebrations every evening this week. We have been listening to gamalan and drumming late into the night from the nearby temple. The locals are dressed in their best ceremonial sarongs, women often with tall offerings balanced on their heads, pyramids of colorful fruit and flowers. Tonight is the parade of all the ogre-ogre. Tomarrow we will be quiet and enjoy a day of silent meditation, celebrate nature, and the coming of the new year here in Bali.

Blessings

Another typically magic day

Each day now is precious and dear. Time slipping through my fingers like sand. We took a long hike along the path on the ridge following the river Sunday. Maybe we ventured out a little too late, 10 am, because the sun took its toll on us. We carried water but sweated so much that we were both dehydrated and weak on our return, just an hour and a half later. We took a swim and fell asleep in our chaise exhausted. Awoke famished and somewhat hypoglycemic, so we dressed and rushed down our drive to the small Japanese deli across the street. We barged in, butted in front of another couple pondering the menu and pointed out our choices of food. WE NEEDED FOOD NOW!!! Felt a little guilty but really didn't have a choice. After lunch we felt much better. The heat and humidity take a toll. Today we rode our cycle to Mas, the woodcarvers village. We checked up on the slab of wood we bought and are having made into a dining table. Many details to correct, shape of the legs, choice of wood, curve of the edges. You really can't leave anything to chance. This is our fourth trip to the factory. Won't be our last. Rode back as a drizzle of rain started so we stopped at Moka Cafe for a cappuccino and an almond croissant. Our treat to ourselves. Then we rode further to Threads of Life. This small shop supports local women in all the islands who weave fine cloth in the old methods. Each island, such as Java, Sumba, Timor and Flores, have a style that is uniquely their own. So, if you look at a weaving you can recognize its orgin. They display how threads are dyed with natural colors, photos of weaving patterns and techniques. I lusted for each piece; sarongs, ikats, wall hangings, pillows. Each label listed the name of the weaver, the dyer of the threads, and the village she lived in. Prices were high, but then you were supporting this cooperative helping women maintain the old traditions and quality of weavings. Such beauty takes a long time and a passion passed down for generations. We couldn't resist buying a few small pieces. Later we walked over to the village of Penestannan where we found the Vespa Cafe and TingTing Gallery. Our friends, Tony and Elizabeth, live behind TingTing in a beautiful house surrounded by 12 Rai of land, which is quite a large area. We've known Tony and Elizabeth for about 20 years. We met in Chaing Mai, Thailand and have run into them each time we have been on Koh Samui island. They are from Alaska and leave every winter for warm climates. This time we ran into them on the beach and they told us they sold their house 6 years ago, bought Apple stock, and moved to Bali. They were in Thailand on a visa run and taking a break from the rainy weather. So we stayed in touch and made a plan to met up this evening. Their home is really nice and has the most wonderful pool and surrounding gardens. Really big vista of trees and flowering plants as far as you could see. Really private. Yet walking distance to most anything you would need. We had a great time catching up on each others lives and sipping wine that Tony makes. We haven't had a glass of wine in almost three months so that was really a treat. Friends of theirs arrived, we sipped vino well beyond sunset, stories were exchanged and rain once again came down softly for a couple of hours. In a lull from the showers, we borrowed a flash light and walked back to our side of the stream, down the little wet trails and pathways, stopping at BuBu's for dinner. Now we are home, the rain finished, air cool and gamalam music from the temple beyond the stream competing with the symphony of frogs and crickets singing in the paddies. Not a bad day!