Afterwards

 

 

I've been over 80 for over a year now but I didn't quite grasp the reality of that until I was in Bali recently.  

I've accepted that I don't need to deny being 'elderly' and accepted the physical changes that come with aging, the wrinkles and sags.  I think I've maintained a positive outlook on life and felt happy in my new home in a retirement village.  OK, there are a few physical challenges and health issues but generally I've been happy and content with my lot.

When I've reflected on the years it's more on the joys of life than the challenges.  I've been blessed with good physical genes including the gene for happiness.  That's the one I appreciate most and am most thankful for.  (By the way, I gave up caring about ending a sentence with a preposition when I turned 80.)

But I have to admit Bali almost undid all that.  In Bali I felt old.  Like struggle to keep a smile on my face old, struggle to take 10 steps old.  I've lived in coastal tropical North Queensland and in north-west Queensland but I'd forgotten how long ago that was and the difference those years had made to how my  body would cope with the heat.  And while I was struggling negative thoughts crept in and I remembered that my great-grandmother died in Australia during a heat wave.  When she was 91, Pauline, 91, not 81!

Thankfully, that happiness gene is a strong one.  Once my body had recovered from Bali heat and Bali Belly I bounced back.

I'm pretty sure that my lasting impression of Bali will be the people, the traffic and the food.  The people are the most polite and courteous I have ever met.  Obviously older people are accorded great respect.  When I needed help on stairs (or stepping stones) someone would quickly step forward to assist, as if it were an honour to do so. 

I can't even begin to explain the traffic.  It's just crazy.  The bikes and cars are practically crammed together yet the traffic flows, if slowly.  There is no aggression, the constant tooting of horns is simply someone saying, "I'm a bike, coming through."  There are very few traffic lights and I couldn't figure out any Give Way rules.  

 

 photo courtesy https//thebalisun.com

With both my daughter and grandson being regular visitors to Bali, I ate local dishes that they recommended. Most of them seemed rice-based, light but spicey and built around meat, mostly pork.  Often it would be a plate of rice topped with small portions of different dishes.  The meals were never large but always filling.  There was lots of coconut, herbs, and spice pastes.  It was always tasty.

I won't forget the overhead wires in a hurry, it was hard to take a photo and avoid them.  All the photos I took of the ducks in the paddy fields have wires in them.  A driver told me the wires have got a lot worse since the arrival of the internet.  The ducks live in the rice paddies helping manage pests while naturally fertilising the soil. Their eggs are collected fresh and used in the kitchens although I don't remember seeing duck on menus.

 

Can you imagine a serviceman trying to find the line that has the fault in this lot?

Ubud

My oldest son and youngest daughter put their heads together and decided to treat me to 3 days in Ubud before I returned home from Bali.  We stayed in The Udaya Luxury Resort in Ubud which sits in the central highlands of Bali surrounded by jungle and rolling foothills - and an extremely busy town centre.  It's only about 35 km (22 miles) from the airport in Denpasar but is about a two hour car ride.  I'm sure the traffic has a rush hour but it just seemed to be constantly frantic to me.

 

The Udaya 

 

With an average elevation of around 200 meters (700 feet) above sea level, Ubud was noticeably (and thankfully for me) cooler than around the beach towns.  It was a welcome respite from the heat.

 

Once again I faced the challenge of the stepping stones.  Below are the stones leading to my room. 

 

 

 

When I saw the photo below I was stunned to see how old that lady looked, stepping gingerly, hand out to grasp the platform beside her in case she stumbled.  But I was in safe hands with my grandson leading the way and my sil bringing up the rear.

 

This beautiful statue was set into the wall outside my room.   I asked a staff member about it and didn't need to understand her words (I couldn't) to know she was there to protect or bless me in some way.  (The smile and body language told the tale.)  She did a good job, I slept very soundly in my lovely bed.

Tegalalang Rice Terrace, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a series of cascading rice fields.  To me it looked like a jungle with picturesque rice terraces in the 'tamed' areas. 

 

Along an edge of the ravine were a series of adrenal inducing activities for the adventurous of spirit.

 

Grandson Aiden chose the zipline.

His mother, Justine has always had a fear of heights but these days pushes herself to overcome it.  She climbed up into this nest and squatted down to feel safe.

Then, I daresay after taking a deep breath, she stood up.  I was very impressed. 

This love heart frame was there for tourists to sit in and have their photo taken but I liked how it framed the view on the other side of the ravine.

I was lucky enough to be in the right spot at the right time to see a rice paddy being ploughed.

Glamp Nusa

Glamp Nusa, is a new Bali resort which specializes in weddings.  They pride themselves on exceptional 5 star service and certainly deliver just that.  This was my first experience with glamping, it's a long way from any previous camping I've done.  This was the venue for the wedding that 40 of the happy couple's closest family and friends had travelled to attend.

My tent was beside the koi pond, opposite Jami, my granddaughter on the other side of the pond and with my son and dil  my closest neighbour.  It came in handy having Jami so close when I decided to walk around on the lush grass barefooted while I took photos and got stung by an ant.  Jami is a seasoned traveler and had some cream to sooth the sting.

 

The resort was next door to a paragliding business and the colourful kites (is that what they're called?) as they glided past added a lovely splash of colour.  

 

Here there were no stepping stones to negotiate but a little bridge to cross.  Obviously this is where the koi are fed as the minute one approached, the fish swarmed to the bridge.

My grandson and his lovely bride chose a cliff top as their wedding location.  

My younger daughter going to inspect the set up.  

The flowers were glorious.  See those yellow-orangy garlands?  They are also fresh flowers. 

The guests were asked to not take photos so I don't have any to share except this quick snap I snuck in after the formal photos, of the happy couple having a quick refreshment.   I have received a lovely video of the wedding but can't link it. 

 

The paragliders had been asked by the resort people to not come past during the ceremony but after it was finished they did what looked like a fly-past.  A wonderful sight. 

 I hadn't been looking forward to having dinner outdoors but the minute the sun dropped below the horizon, the temperature dropped to something approaching comfortable.  

 

 

 

This is my shot of the day.  As all the guests were enjoying pre-dinner cocktails I looked around and noticed in a back corner my son, younger grandson and father of the groom enjoying a catch up.  Goodness knows what they had turned to look at!

Sanur sights

The entrance to a home along our access road in Sanur, Bali.  I think the sign said, "Please use the side door", so this one must have been purely decorative.

Something else purely decorative:

 

Icon shopping mall

I think perhaps it is ICON in capitals but can't find out if that stands for something or if it was built 2 years ago to be iconic.  It is 4 floors of all things bright and shiny, a mix of international brands you can find in any mall world wide and a few local products.  I think the most Indonesian thing in the place was this installation.  I don't know how else to describe it.

 

 

The night markets, in contrast, were all things Indonesian, a sensation of sights and smells - and smiles. We only ate what my grandson, a regular visitor to Bali, recommended.  I have no idea what it was but it was very good.  And I enjoyed every drop of the cold  beer we had to go with it.

 

 

Family discussions about what to eat.

 

 

The bike parking lot outside the Arts Market at Sukawati. And. below, canang sari near the road entrance to the parking lot.  They are small, handmade daily offerings placed on the ground, doorsteps, and shrines throughout Bali to express gratitude and maintain cosmic balance. 

 

This alleyway, in full sun, to a beachfront restaurant seemed endless.  

The flowers

Our first accommodation with the bride's family in Sanur was a large Balinese style villa that easily slept 12 of us.  It sat in spacious grounds with lush, colourful trees and shrubs, a long way back from a service alley that was always busy with cars and bikes - and friendly foot traffic. 

 

The service alley

 

 

There was a small pond to be negotiated which proved something of a challenge for me as I've had a bit of vertigo lately and looking down can send me into a spin.  But I found if I stood still for a few minutes then looked down and waited a tic or two before looking up again I was fine. (I'm not too old to learn new tricks!)

 

The lady of the pond