Birthdazed in Bali

Dear Friends,

This is a post about my birthday. It was in November. I could go into detail about the reasons I've been backlogged on posts for the last few months, but I'd rather just leave you with this image.

(Moving on.)

My trip to Unawatuna re-wetted my appetite for travel and plans for a birthday holiday to Bali voraciously brewed before I even stepped back onto my resort's jetty and returned to work. As some of you may or may not remember, Bali had been a dream destination of mine before my travels even began. Planning to ring in my next birthday there not only excited me, but occupied much, if not all, of my free mental space at work. Eight weeks of work passed quickly, and before I knew it, I was back on a seaplane heading to the Male International Airport to meet my boyfriend, Sanoon, and begin my birthday celebrations.

 

Sanoon and I had plans to spend the afternoon in Male then take the first flight out in the wee hours of the morning to begin our long transit to Bali [Male--->Sri Lanka--->Singapore--->Bali]. However, the underwhelming qualities of Male propelled us to change our tickets the minute we passed the main terminal and we flew out on the next available flight to spend one night in Sri Lanka.

Without any plans or reservations set upon our arrival, we hopped in a tuk tuk and found the closest hotel to the airport that was not only affordable but also looked like we could succussfully avoid waking up in bathtub full of ice missing a couple of our vital organs in the morning.

("Good Wood"... just what type of clientele frequents this rent-by-the-hour establishment?)

With all our organs in tact, Sanoon and I started to leisurely make our way to the airport. Since Good Wood was a stone's throw away from our terminal, we figured leaving just before 6am for our 7:30 am flight provided ample travel time. However, we forgot that Sri Lanka is an extra half hour ahead of the Maldives, and it was actually 6:30 in the morning when we left, making us dangerously close to the closure of our check in.

After a frantic tuk tuk ride, [and thanks to the fact that we had no baggage to check] we were able to snag our tickets at a kiosk and make it just in time for the final call at our gate.

(The face of success/someone who didn't look at their iPhone World Clock.)

We flew to Singapore's Changi International Airport, where we spent the next 5 hours of our layover exploring the many shops, restaurants, free wifi and [my personal favorite] the butterfly garden.

(Sanoon and I agreed that there's more to do in Changi Airport than the entire Republic of Maldives.)

We arrived in Bali late in the evening. As I habitually changed over my money at the airport, I was happy to discover that I appear much richer in Indonesian rupiahs than I've ever appeared in my life.

(Move over, Denzel.)

My dear Balinese friend, Nur, made sure Sanoon and I would be taken care of immediately upon our arrival to Bali, so she employed her friend Gede to be our personal driver on the island throughout the week.

(Nur's too lovely not to post a picture.)

(Gede, the best guide in Bali.)

It was rather late when we arrived, but Gede graciously took us for our first meal in Bali.

(Nom, nom, nom.)

Gede dropped us off in the west coast village of Seminyak. Known for its nice beach and night life, Sanoon and I occupied our time there scooting around town on our Scoopy, shopping and eating.

(Perhaps it wasn't the beachiest way to spend our time in a village reknowned for surf and sun, but I live on a sand bank in the middle of the ocean full time...so, meh.)

I was happy to ring in my birthday at the Seminyak staple, Potato Head, a beachside bar/club with as many beds as there are couches and an enormous pool that's good for a drunken dip in the dark [not that I did that].

The next morning, Gede picked us up and we drove through the countryside towards our next destination, Ubud. The ride was lovely as we passed through many rice paddies and rural villages.

Somewhere along the winding roads of the island, we made a detour at a local coffee plantation. The plantation was beautifully sprinkled with Balinese handicrafts,

gardens,

And the famous Luwak, a weasel like creature that sh*ts coffee beans.

(I think this coffee machine needs to be serviced.)

(Yes, the Balinese drink this. No, I did not.)

(Plumber or Barista? You make the call.)

There were other types of coffees and teas to try at the plantation,

but my favorite was the Ginseng Coffee, good for stimulating the central nervous system, lowering blood pressure and enhancing virility. Make sure to drink it in moderation though, otherwise this could happen to you.

Sanoon attempted an intervention,

but ended up succumbing to peer pressure buying his own package of coffee instead.

Another hour and a half of winding mountain roads later, we arrived in Ubud. Ubud is the spiritual center of Bali, renowned for its arts and crafts, amazing architecture and yoga [my personal draw to the region].

The guest house we stayed in was lovely.

It boasted many gardens,

rice paddies,

and a swimming pool [I think].

Since I tend to be a bit of a birthday glutton, Sanoon and I celebrated my birthday a second night in a row by going to dinner at the 5 Star restaurant in COMO Uma Ubud.

The rest of our stay in Bali was spent practicing yoga, visiting with a couple of my pals from Koh Phangan, shopping [more than necessary] and hanging out at various bars and cafes around town.

Before we knew it, our whirlwind time in Bali had come to a close and we were heading off to our final birthday destination...Singapore!

I'll write more about that part of our trip in a separate post that I promise to publish in a more timely fashion [i.e. less than three months].

Scout's honor.

The Delectable Treat of Unawatuna

I've never been one to turn down the opportunity to travel to a new place, so when my boyfriend, Sanoon, suggested we take a long weekend to Sri Lanka together, I had all but packed both our backpacks before proclaiming the word "yes" in agreement.

Before I knew it, we happily boarded a 25 minute seaplane from our resort to the Male Airport.

Once in the airport, we had the pleasant surprise of running into our friend, Tinos. Tinos worked as a dive master at our resort but was placed with a dive center in another Atoll a few weeks ago. Our happy reunion helped pass the time in transit as we waited 3 hours to board our flight to Sri Lanka.

The flight was an easy breezy hour to Colombo. With only a few days in Sri Lanka, we didn't want to waste any time, so Sanoon and I decided to skip dinner and begin the long journey to the South Coast of the country. One rickshaw, two buses and 6 hungry hours later, we arrived on the outskirts of Unawatuna, a coastal beach town one of our Sri Lankan friends recommended as a good place to spend the weekend. Knowing we would arrive famished in the early morning hours, we opted to go above our "budget travel" allowance and booked a [supposedly] 5 Star hotel with 24 hour room service. However, upon arrival we realized the hotel was not what it promised to be online. With a single security guard at reception to greet us and the kitchen long closed, we were informed that there was nothing they could do to accommodate our hunger.

( I think our "roommates" got the right idea and decided to look for dinner elsewhere).

We must have played on just the right amount of starving sympathy and convinced the security guard to bring us a plate of fruit as it didn't require much kitchen preparation.

Our hotel was conceived by three male European shoe designers. As we noshed on the fruit plate and looked around the new digs, I began to feel as though these shoe designers furnished the entire room from a sex store in New York's West Village.

This room was too flamboyant even for Tim Gunn to approve...

The next day, Sanoon and I left the Freudian phallic paradise and took a tuk tuk to find a more affordable hotel closer to the center of Unawatuna.

The laid back town of Unawatuna was the perfect place to relax and enjoy the beach,

Kick back with a cup of [vaguely familiar] "Starbeans Coffee,"

Peruse some of the famous teas of Sri Lanka in a local tea shop,

And take a welcome break from our resort cafeteria with a delicious Italian dinner.

(I promise to get a shot of the food in my next dinner-selfie).

Aside from eating and relaxing, we were able to squeeze in a nice beach party and a surf lesson in the nearby town of Galle. [Sorry, no pix here folks!]

After a few days in Unawatuna, we took a bus back to Colombo and spent our last 24 hours shopping, swimming in a rooftop pool at sunset,

And taking quick trip to the salon to get our hairz did before our final nice dinner at Tao in the Cinnamon Gardens.

(Chocolate cheesecake and "straight" hair in the tropics...who knew!)

I loved Sri Lanka so much that before I even boarded our flight back to the Maldives, I started projecting plans for the next trip to visit the northern tea plantations of the country. Surely, another adventure is warranted in paradise!

#vacationallieverwanted #vacationhadtogetaway

Boredom- A State Bigger Than Texas/The Art of Doing Nothing

Dear Readers,

I apologize for the massive delay in posts this time around. To be completely honest, it's been even harder to write about traveling while living on this single speck in the middle of the Indian Ocean than it was while living on a single bed in my childhood bedroom.

So far working in the Maldives has not been what I expected. Yes, I get to wake up every morning in a natural paradise,

I run the 1.8km length of my island before teaching my morning fitness classes either at the pool

or in my Jungle Gym.

I like to take time out of my day to further my Ashtanga Practice on the yoga platform,

Steal coconut slices when no one is looking,

("Help Yourself" is a message intended for the guests and not me...clearly.)

And on my day off, take advantage of the incredible ocean habitat by going SCUBA diving or searching for whale sharks on the top of a Dhoni [a traditional Maldivian boat].

My job has given me the amazing opportunity to meet and train people from all over the world, but when I first arrived on the island, the resort was not very busy so I found myself occupying free time by practicing skills in which I was so devoid of talent that I previously evaded them for embarrassment's sake. Nonetheless, when you're on an island in the middle of nowhere, things like table tennis, pool and darts seem like fantastic [albeit humbling] options to kill fill some time.

(My first and last bullseye. Beginner's luck, indeed.)

Although the leisurely perks of my job are nice, I'd be lying if I said that my arrival to this island was stress free. There was one enormous anchor that continued to weigh down my time here- BOREDOM.

My grandmother used to say, "there is no such thing as boredom because you can always find something to do." I definitely think she made a legitimate point, but then again, Grandma never lived in the Maldives.

To say the island I live on is "small" is an understatement. It takes about 30 minutes to walk from tip to tip. There are no cars. No roads. No nightlife. Nothing. Just ocean and sky out here. As much as I was warned via Internet forums that living and working in the Maldives was boring, I thought that my years longing for retreat from the daily grind of Western society warranted the challenge.

Of course, I can see the benefit of living so far removed from my New York City life. I was frequently overwhelmed there by the sheer amount people, buildings and sensory stimuli. I even developed my own source of city survival skills out of an intense relationship with my noise canceling headphones and a few alternating playlists of Enya, Ekhart Tolle and Lama Marut. And I cannot deny that I am more than grateful that for the first time in years, I do not need to worry about income and housing.

Despite the intense challenge in my first few weeks here, I looked at this environment as an opportunity for growth instead of an obstacle for stagnancy. Many people referred to life on the resort as living in a 5 Star Prison but as I began to reframe my thinking, I came to realize that prison only truly existed in the mind.

(My best friend, Maiwenn, made fun of me extensively for uttering such a crunchy-granola-existential statement, but then she put on a onesie and played the ukelele for me in a ski mask, so I think we're even.)

The more comfortable I grew in this environment, the more I began to appreciate the small big things I received here, like waking up at sunrise to train people in a gorgeous millennium pool,

riding jet skis with friends on my lunch break,

and creating my own version of Happy Hour by swimming in a lagoon at twilight.

Life is quiet at the moment, but I know it will only temporarily stay this way, so I am lapping up the luxury of my working retreat from the West.

As I've clearly demonstrated, I'm not certain how frequently I'll be posting blogs here. However, I'll do my best to update any time something interesting happens or if I'm able to take the odd weekend and travel to another island or country in the region. Till then, I am sending you all some island sunshine and Indian Ocean kisses to boot...