A short stay in the Bay area

On Friday Lieselotte had to work, so I borrowed her spare bike and rode the BART (like the metro) to Oakland's Merritt Lake. There is a path that goes all around the lake and I biked the whole thing, stopping to get a sandwich from the grocery store at one point. Then I biked down to Jack London Square - which is a really cute area on the marina with shops, restaurants and many boats. It was fairly dead in the middle of the day, but very pretty. I then biked back to the BART station and rode back to Berkeley and rested for a bit before heading out again to watch the sunset from the Berkeley marina/pier. I misjudged exactly when sunset was however. In Bali it is 6:30, but here, it was more like 6:15, so as I was biking in that direction, I realized the sun was sinking too fast, so I was really pushing it to make it in time. I made it just as the sun was going behind the mountains next to the Golden Gate Bridge, panting and coughing from exertion. But it was worth it - what a sight to behold.

Sunset over the bay

Riding around

No matter how many times I watch the sun set over the Bay, it never gets old. I would have liked to stay longer to watch the oranges and yellows change to pinks and purples, but I knew I'd barely make it home before dark even if I left right then. So I said a final farewell to the beautiful sight and turned around. The ride was slightly easier going back because the wind was at my back, but when I got back to Lies' house, I was both sweating and freezing. I'd had on two jackets and a scarf, but my fingers and face were very cold. I spent the next 20 minutes recovering on the couch. lol

When Lies finally got home from work, we went to a little restaurant/cafe called Trieste. They had live music by a duo who were very impressive. They played a lot of Simon & Garfunkel, which we loved. We split a big bowl of spaghetti and an amazing piece of turtle cheesecake.

Lieselotte and Drew

The next day, Lies and I planned to bike the "wiggle" (a bike-friendly route through San Francisco that avoids the big hills). However, it was very gray outside and rain was predicted on and off all day long. We decided to skip the bike ride (which my butt was thankful for after the day before) and took the BART into the city where we met up with my cousin Erin and her wife Kerri. We had lunch at a delicious place called Thee Grove. It was so nice catching up with Erin - I saw her at my wedding, but we didn't get to spend much time together. Before that, it'd been quite a while. They just returned from Cambodia and Thailand (where they spent 32 days!), so we had many stories to swap about southeast Asia. Erin also told us she is graduating in May with her occupational therapy degree and she's very excited about where this new chapter of her life will take them.


Lies and I left them about 2 p.m. and started walking down Market Street where we ended up in the shopping district. We went to Nordstrom Rack where we got a couple things, and then we walked around the gorgeous indoor mall that was nearby.  Finally, we headed home and bought a bunch of food to make a delicious dinner: kale salad with pomegranate, quinoa, blueberries, blood orange, candied pecans, avocado and caramelized onions. We also had baked chicken that Lieselotte seasoned and cooked to perfection. We finished the evening eating ice cream and watching Jane the Virgin. It was a pretty great night. :)

The next morning we had a big breakfast before Lies took me to the airport. It was sad to say goodbye after such a short stay, but I'm so glad I got to see her since I was unable to get to California in October like I usually do.

Heading to Bali and First Day

I arrived in Bali after about 36 hours of traveling. Each leg of the journey had its own adventures. From CLT to SFO, I was sitting next to a man named Ken. It turns out that Ken lives in Saint Augustine and used to own a dive shop there. He also lead dive trips around the world. I found this quite fascinating since Linda, the leader of this Bali retreat, is also a huge diver who moved to Belize just so she could scuba dive every day. Anyway, Ken relieved my first-flight jitters and we talked for the whole six hours. He is a graphic designer and has even done work designing prototypes for new Apple accessory products. He showed me some of his work and it made me realize how much I still don’t know about the Adobe creative suite products. It’s amazing to see how someone can design something in 3D on a computer, or make a flat picture come to life. He also works one day a week as a diver at Disney! He works in the huge shark/fish tank at EPCOT. He said next time Matt and I go down, he’ll swipe us in! I love meeting really awesome strangers on planes!

After that I had a 3 hour layover in SFO waiting for Linda to arrive. I was very tired by this point, as it was after midnight (my time). The long leg was next – from SFO to Hong Kong – about 14 hours. I was window seat, Linda was aisle and there was a Chinese man in between us. I got this crazy looking neck support contraption online and after eating a pretty large and decent meal, I tried to get some sleep. Well, let me just say, this crazy neck thing works! I slept for 5.5 hours! I couldn’t believe it. Then I watched a half of Dirty Dancing before getting too tired and falling back asleep for a little bit. There was another meal during that time as well. Finally, there was breakfast and we arrived in Hong Kong at 7 am local time. It really didn’t feel as dreadfully long as I was expecting.

We had an hour layover in Hong Kong before heading to Singapore. I may have slept a little on that flight and watched half of Dr. Strange...or maybe all. I can’t remember. That’s how delirious I was. In Singapore we had a 3 hour layover and we got to explore the airport a bit. Oh my goodness is it beautiful! Linda and I first found a lovely Butterfly sanctuary where we spent a few minutes being surrounded by gorgeous butterflies. Then there were coy fish ponds and GIANT living flower gardens. There was even a napping area with comfy lounge chairs.

The last leg of our journey put us in Bali about 7 p.m. local time on Saturday night (which is 6 a.m. EST). I had left Charlotte on Thursday evening. That was pretty trippy. Our luggage came very quickly and a driver from our hotel was there to meet us. Another retreat-goer, Kim, was with us at this point as well.

We quickly learned on the way to the airport that driving in Bali is not for the faint of heart. Most of the roads are only one lane in each direction. There are no medians, often no sidewalks and no police. Oh, and usually no traffic lights. It’s every man for himself. There is lots of honking, with different types of honks meaning different things. One quick honk means, “I’m going around you so don’t swerve into me” and a longer honk means “You’re an idiot” and two quick honks means “Hey, I know you.” There are more, but those are the only ones I have deciphered so far. It was 1.5 hours to the Alam Indah hotel in Ubud where we were staying. We all thought we may die about 4 times on the way, especially when two trucks were passing a car in the other lane and were heading straight for us in our lane. We missed each other by a few inches I’m pretty sure. That was a long honk moment for our driver.

A typical site on Bali roads

We arrived at the Alam Indah and we immediately noticed the peace and serenity surrounding us. It was such a different feeling from the roads. Everyone was incredibly welcoming and kind. They brought us delicious mixed juice (fresh) and put our bags in our rooms (and carried them up a BUNCH of steps from where the car park is). Linda and I were staying in the Rambutan Suite which is two stories. Downstairs there is a twin sized bed, a small living area and a door that goes to the open air bathroom. (This means the shower is open to the sky above. It is freaking gorgeous. Upstairs there is a queen sized bed surrounded by a ton of windows and it opens up to a large balcony with a daybed and table. From here you can see into the Monkey Forest next door and over the gorgeous gardens of the Alam Indah hotel. We also have a porch downstairs with daybed and table. Every morning, the monkeys come onto the porches and balconies to eat the offerings that the staff leave there. But I’m getting ahead of myself. That night, we took showers in our beautiful bathroom, looking up at the stars, and went to bed.

View from our Alam Indah balcony

Door to our hut in Ubud

The next morning we awoke to the most beautiful sight. When we opened the curtains of the upstairs room, all we could see was greenery and flowers and trees. It was breath-taking. When we left our room to head over for breakfast, we saw some monkeys being chased off the grounds by men with slingshots whose sole purpose is to chase away monkeys. Lol But they are no dummies. Each morning, every Balinese woman makes hundreds of little offering baskets out of palm leaves and fills them with flowers and often rice or other small food. They are then set all around the property. The monkeys just scatter until someone isn’t looking and then sneak in and tear apart/eat another offering.

Alam Indah breakfast spread

I left for an open air breakfast in the “lobby” of the hotel (a huge porch). Linda was in the bathroom and heard something. “Did you forget something?” she called, thinking I’d returned. When no reply came, she went into the living space and there sat a large monkey eating fruit out of the fruit bowl on the table. (I’d mistakenly left the doors open when I left in the hopes of getting a breeze into the warm room). The monkey looked up at Linda with one hand still in the fruit bowl. She moved to get her camera, but he thought she was going to chase him away, so he looked at her, looked at the fruit, grabbed one more piece, and ran out the door. He then sat on the porch peeling a piece until she came out and he took off, again thinking she was going to try to take his stolen goods. The Alam Indah staff told us we must not keep our doors open if there is any food they may smell.

Hello there little friend...

The food was spectacular – fresh fruit juice, fruit salad, yogurt with granola, a large variety of eggs and crepes, and fresh breads as well as coffees and teas. We immediately fell in love with the overly accommodating staff who will do anything in their power to make you happy.

our outdoor bathroom!

After breakfast, Linda, Kim and I went to the Ubud market. This is basically a GIANT outdoor Black Lion or flea market. There are hundreds of vendors – most of whom sell essentially the same stuff, namely: wood carvings, woven baskets, sarongs, dresses, kimonos, bags/purses, hats and sandals. There were also spices, paintings and jewelry. Oh, and a ridiculous number of falic key chains, bottle openers, etc. Apparently, they think these wooden carved things are funny for tourists, and have no other purpose than to amuse said tourists.

More resort views

We were looking for sarongs for the women coming on the retreat because you have to wear them in order to enter temples. Anyway, we found some really pretty ones with sashes for a good price since we were buying 7, and after the lady had the money in her hand, she followed us out of her little stall and started tapping the money on everyone else’s goods. Finally we asked her what she was doing and she said she was blessing her friends so they would have good look too. Haha. This was an action repeated every time we bought anything at the market. It was pretty funny.

Ubud market

The hotel (which offered free transfer to and from the center of Ubud) let us check out a little late, and our driver arrived at 1 p.m. having already picked up 2 of the other retreat-goers, Lisa and Traci. The five of us then made the 3.5 hour drive to the Poinciana Resort on the north shore of Bali in the town of Timbok. The drive was fairly treacherous as we went over the mountains on tiny little roads where drivers had to take their lives in their hands to pass one another. Although I think if we did it again now, it may not phase me. I always sit up front since I get motion sick, so I’ve more or less gotten past the abject terror that Balinese driving initially inspires. I do have to say as a side note, however, that it is so incredibly dangerous for the people here. Most of them drive motorbikes – I’m talking THOUSANDS of motorbikes weaving in and out of the trucks and cars and vans like mosquitoes. Also, motorbikes can go either direction on the road – so they can be passing you on both sides – one coming toward you, the other going past you. They carry everything on their motorbikes, one of the most common sites was entire families: the dad driving with a baby in one arm, the mom on the back holding two more kids. Or just one parent and a child or two. This was the most concerning to all of us, as they could easily be killed in this lawless, light-less traffic landscape. There were also men with tons and tons of stuff on the back of their motorbikes. Like, the entire contents of one of the market stalls. It was actually rather impressive. One guy probably had 15 stools, 10 buckets, 5 mops, dozens of toys, a bunch of pillows and random other stuff all miraculously strapped up behind him on his bike.

Anyway, upon arrival at the Poinciana, Linda and I got massages (the first of many this trip). The massage tables were out under a little cabana near the ocean where you could hear the ocean breeze. It was heavenly. The last two ladies, Nicole and Kelly, arrived about 8:15 pm and we all ate a delicious dinner together. The Poinciana provided all of our meals and I found out that I really like a lot of Balinese food. They do tons of fresh fruit and fruit juices, chicken and fish, rice and vegetables. 

Goodbye Bali

Our final day was the only truly relaxing one Linda and I got the whole trip. We went back to some local shops, I got a massage and a facial, Linda got a massage and pedicure, then we had lunch at a little café and returned to the hotel to swim in the ocean and the pool, watch the most stunning sunset of our trip, and return to the pool after dinner. It was the perfect end to our trip.

beach day

beach day

sunset

sunset

sunset

last dinner

pool time

We left the next morning (Thursday) at 10:30 a.m. We went from Bali to Singapore, Singapore to Hong Kong and Honk Kong to San Francisco. The whole trip, including layovers, took about 28 hours, yet we arrived in San Fran at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. We lost a day on the way over, but gained a day on the way back. The trip back was much easier than the one there. Probably because 1) there were only 3 flights instead of 4 (since I am staying in San Fran for a few days), and 2) because we started in the morning so I wasn’t already exhausted after the first flight. We also had an open seat between us on all legs of the flight, which made it much easier to sleep on the 12 hour leg, as we took turns laying down. We had a four hour layover in the Hong Kong airport – which basically looks like a huge mall – and we checked out the Disney Store there and had pizza at Pizza Express. Overall, for such a long trip, it wasn’t too bad.

Lies getting me from the airport

Lieselotte picked me up at the airport and we went to get some dinner with her boyfriend Drew before heading to her house in Berkeley. It’s so cold here compared to what I’m used to! I’m having to borrow a bunch of clothes from Lies since all my stuff is for Bali weather. On the plus side, my heat rash is now totally gone. Lol 

Legian, Bali

Tuesday was the last day of the retreat (though Linda and I were staying an extra day). After breakfast and a morning meeting, Linda and I started walking around the area near our hotel, known for its shopping. I picked up a few more things and we made massage appointments for the following day with Yes Spa – which is owned by the same family that owns the Poinciana Resort (where we stayed on the north shore). We had lunch at an Italian restaurant (by this time, we were pretty sick of Indonesian food). We watched the sunset from the beach and then walked with the group to a Mexican restaurant we’d found for a final goodbye dinner. We gave everyone necklaces that Linda and I had specially made that day that said, “Bali 2017,” each woman’s name and a word that represented them. In the middle was the tree of life. They were very pretty and a great memento of our time together. 

Talking to the jewelry maker

With our special necklaces on our final night dinner

South Bali Tour

Winten picked us up in the morning for a tour of south Bali. First we went to Nusa Dua beach – which is where all the tourists go to do water sport activities. Everything was pretty expensive, so we decided to do the cheapest thing as a group – a glass bottom boat to “turtle island.” We were under the impression that this was an island where hundreds of turtles roamed free in a protective environment. Wrong. First off, the glass-bottom boat was a boat with a narrow glass window on the bottom where you could sort of see fish swimming by. When we finally arrived at the island, we realized it was a type of petting zoo. They had dozens of turtles that they said were being protected from poaching, but some had been there for many years. A worker said a bunch were being released into the wild in June, but I was very unclear on why some had been there for over 10 years. They were keeping them in relatively shallow, ugly holding pens and it was really sad. Linda started crying and had to go sit by the exit. Sadly, it only got worse as we walked through the “petting zoo” which had many cages of animals that you could hold like fruit bats, toucans, a boa constrictor (with its mouth taped shut), and even a flea-ridden puppy in a tiny cage. That one made me tear up. It was all so inhumane, but none of the countless Asian tourists or Balinese workers seemed bothered.

This was before I realized what a terrible place this was

Turtle statue

glass bottom boat tour

After that, four of us had also paid to do parasailing. First, we were taken out on a speedboat into deeper waters, where we pulled up next to a parasailing boat and were told to climb on. Once on board the parasailing boat, we were driven around and two people at a time would get harnessed in and go. The workers/drivers of the boats had bandanas wrapped around their faces to prevent breathing in all the exhaust from hundreds of boats in the water at once, but one of the ladies, Kelly, said it looked like we were going parasailing with ISIS. They had hats and sunglasses on as well, so you literally couldn’t see any of their faces. The parasailing itself was really nice – with a great view of the whole beach and all the boats below, though it paled in comparison to parasailing in the Florida Keys. When I did that, I could see turtles and stingrays and all sorts of things in the water swimming around because it was so clear. The water at Nusa Dua beach would have been clear, except that with all the boats taking tourists out to do stuff, it was churning up the sand.

parasailing time!

view from on high

landed safely

We left the hectic Nusa Dua beach after that and went to a different part of the same stretch of shoreline where people swim and there are no boats. Lining this stretch of water are expensive hotels and restaurants. We chose a Chinese restaurant for lunch before heading into the water. While the food was pretty good, the service was terrible. We were also the only non-Chinese people in the place, and everyone kept staring at us. When we finally got out of there, we only had 30 minutes left to swim, so a few of us waded in. Unfortunately, the tide had gone out and the water was very shallow for a long ways out. We just lounged in a few inches of crystal clear water and enjoyed the beauty of our surroundings.

In the shallow waters

From there, we headed to Padang Padang beach – one of the most iconic beaches in Bali. They filmed some of Eat, Pray, Love here and the tour guides all tell you that Julia Roberts was here. To get to the beach, you have to go down some very steep steps that carve their way through a giant rock. The beach is bordered by these rock cliffs and also features many miscellaneous boulders covered in beautiful green moss.

Padang Padang beach

Padang Padang beach

We set up our towels under one of the rock ledges and then I went into the gorgeous water. However, after I’d been in for five minutes, I looked down and realized the tops of my legs were bright red. I must have missed them when I was lathering on the sunscreen earlier. I ran out of the water and back into the cool shade of the rock face. I was so mad at myself for getting burnt, and quickly applied lots of sunscreen, but I wasn’t willing to go back in the water.

On our way back up to where Winten had parked the car, we saw many monkeys. Winten had warned us about the “cheeky monkeys” there and said to watch out. They didn’t seem bothered by us...until an Asian tourist came up with an ice cream cone. All of a sudden, the monkeys started running toward him. He was terrified. We told him it was because of his ice cream, so he threw the cone on the gound and the monkeys rushed over. One picked up the cone and started eating it just like a human would. Another picked up the wrapper (it was one of those cones from a cooler box) and started licking it carefully. It was pretty amusing.

From there we went to our last temple of our trip: Uluwatu temple.

Uluwatu temple

Uluwatu temple

Uluwatu temple

Uluwatu temple

This temple is another that is on a cliff in the ocean. The terrain looks a lot like the California coast. It was pretty to see, but after Tanah Lot, it wasn’t quite as impressive. The sunset was also not as nice because there were clouds on the horizon. There was a Kecak Fire Dance happening in an outdoor amphitheater there, but since we’d already seen a Balinese dance for free, it didn’t seem worth the $8 pp.

There were also a lot of “cheeky monkeys” at Uluwatu, and we saw some steal sunglasses off someone’s face, and others grab someone’s hat. They are usually bribed to give said items back by the workers who offer them bananas in exchange. We were on our guard and with Winten’s warning, had put anyway anything easily grabbable, so we were left alone.

We left before the fire dance let out (so we’d beat the rush) and headed to Jimbaran Beach, which is famous for it’s “seafood dinners in the sand.” Winten dropped us off at a restaurant where they took us to a table out on the beach and gave us menus. We were completely scandalized by the prices which were 10 times what we would’ve paid in Ubud. Plus, there were almost no options except seafood (which was not good for the vegetarians among us). Thousands of people were eating out on the beach in both directions, so I started walking down and looking at other menus – but everything was the same. Finally, we decided as a group just to have Winten take us back to our hotel and we’d eat there. It was a good call. We sat at Azul, our hotel’s gorgeous open air restaurant, at an upstairs rounded booth that looked out over the ocean. We got pizzas and salads and brownies for dessert. It was heavenly.

Sunset from Bali Mandira

Ubud to Legian, Bali

Checkout was at noon, so after breakfast and our morning meeting, Linda and I wanted to check out the other properties associated with the Alam hotel group. We stayed at the Alam Indah, but just down the street there was also the Alam Shanti and the Alam Jiwa. They were both beautiful, but we still liked ours the best because of its seclusion and its proximity to the Monkey Forest. We then returned to the Monkey Forest to see the real thing, not just the back road. Man do we wish we’d gone there sooner! We didn’t have nearly enough time. There were monkeys EVERYWHERE. People were holding them, feeding them, they were swinging from trees and lounging on statues. It was amazing. Plus the reserve looked like something out of Indiana Jones. Why didn’t anyone tell us how totally cool it was?? As we walked, a monkey jumped onto Linda’s backpack that she was wearing, but when it realized she didn’t have any food, it leaped off. I was trying to get a photo, but all I got was a gray blur leaping from her backpack back to the railing. Lol. I was too nervous to let them touch me. If I’d been in the US I would have...but if I got scratched or bitten in Bali, I’d have to go get a bunch of shots in a foreign hospital and we didn’t have time or desire for that! However, everyone who encountered them said they had a very gentle and soft touch. Their fingers and toes are a lot like ours, so they have finger pads, not long nails that scratch you like a cat or dog.

A traditional wedding going on inside the Monkey Forest

Grooming party

Brave tourist

We sadly returned to our hotel and Winten picked us up at noon to take us to our next hotel and location – the Bali Mandira resort in Legian (south Bali). On the way, we stopped at a HUGE store where he said all the Balinese people shop. We saw much of the things you can find in the Ubud market – for a quarter of the price. We all got some bargains in a 30 minute shopping spree. (I felt like I was on that show where you throw stuff in your cart in a small amount of time). We had to be at the hotel in time for a couple of the girls to get 3 p.m. massages which we’d pre-arranged.

We made it in time and checked out our new digs. It was very gorgeous there – much like a 5 star resort in Hilton Head or the Bahamas. The pools were amazing and it was right on the beach. Our room had a little courtyard when you walked in with a stone bathtub where you could bathe under the stars. Then there were sliding glass doors to go into the room. On the other side of the room, we had a bathroom with an open-air waterfall shower which was just about the coolest thing ever (but not as cool as the open air bathroom we had in Ubud). The room itself was fairly standard but it had GREAT air conditioning and it was the first time we’d been truly cool since we arrived.

eating at the hotel

Bali Mandira resort

Bali Mandira

pretty flower designs

gorgeous sunset

That evening we met with the ladies on some outdoor benches near the pool where we could see the sunset over the beach. Pretty amazing. 

Ubud, Bali

In the morning, Linda and I wandered into the Monkey Forest which is right next to the Alam Indah hotel. There is a back pathway that you can get to from our hotel without having to pay an entrance fee. We had 30 minutes before the group Balinese dancing class, so we wanted to check it out. We didn’t get very far.

A morning session at Alam Indah over breakfast

A couple hundred feet into the path, we started hearing rustling. Suddenly, dozens and dozens of monkeys were surrounding us in the trees, on the path ahead of us, swinging from vines above us. Since we were in an area that tourists don’t normally go, we think they were curious. We saw monkeys of all sizes including itty bitty babies being carried by their mothers and fathers. It was SO awesome to watch them up close in their natural habitat. We were a little wary – after all, we’d heard countless stories of their thievery and some more scary stories of monkeys ripping earrings off people, etc. However, we didn’t need to be too concerned. They were just living their lives, and observing us cautiously. We walked up to the main path, but realized we were about out of time and turned around. Back on the original back-road path, a mother, father and tiny baby popped out in front of us. The baby was ahead of the parents and started wandering toward us. When the dad saw us, he scooped that baby up so fast it didn’t know what hit him. Then the mother came over and wrapped her arms around both of them. They looked it us with terrified eyes, worried we might harm their baby. They then side-saddled out of our way and into the brush. It was a pretty august experience (if you don’t know what that word means in this context, look it up ;)). To see the monkeys acting just like we would act as humans were a bear to ramble into our path touched me in a way hard to explain. However, I was sad that we had scared them so badly – but I did get an amazing photo of the little family huddled together, looking up at us.

monkey drinking water

Monkey yawns

The little monkey family I terrified by accident

The gorgeous monkey forest

Gorgeous trees in the Monkey Forest

From there the group went back to the Lake Leke for Balinese dance class, but I was too sick to dance, so I just took a few photos and videos for them. I was coughing pretty badly that day and not breathing very well. That with the horrible humidity and heat made the idea of dancing seem quite impossible. I left after about 30 minutes, had lunch at the hotel and then swam in the pool. The cool water seemed to help me feel better – and definitely calmed the heat rash that had developed on my arms (but the bumps didn’t go away until I left Bali).

I went back to the market with Linda later that day and we had dinner at an Italian restaurant in town.