Eat. Pray. Love.

Location: Bali

"Some days, I just want to live in the moment, knowing that's all I've got." 

Hi guys! Just came back from the island where Julia Robert's "Eat, Pray, Love" movie was filmed, during Bali's kite-flying season. That meant kites were a common occurrence in the skies. To prevent being roasted in the intense rays of the sun in Bali, I almost literally bathed myself in sunblock across my stay (thank God for its creation). This post is a summary of my stay in Bali - because I've been feeling too uninspired to write something romantic or poetic. *By the way, silly me charged the battery of my F900 EXR camera overnight the day before I set off to Bali, but I forgot to bring it along on my trip. So there. All photos were snapped using my S5 camera!* 

For starters, my vacation in Bali was honestly not so much about praying or loving as it was about EATING! Even in Singapore, we love to patronize Indonesian cuisine stalls don't we? The pride of Ubud Cuisine is in its CRISPY duck, a.k.a. Bebek Bengil. This delicacy is found in a majority of restaurants there. Had the pleasure of tasting it on my first day in Ubud. They serve generous portions in Bali. Serving size for 1 person came in the form of half a young duck. The skin was very crispy indeed - almost charred - and the meat tasted very strongly of "duck meat", probably because the ducks are kampung-reared. Food was generally cheap in Bali, except at the Airport, where they came in huge servings for relatively affordable prices. $9SGD could buy me a whole pizza that a family of three would be contented with. 

During my vacation, I learned something new about the Balinese culture. It is steeped largely in the Hindu religion, as the island is made up of a whopping 90% Hindu population! So there was strictly no beef served in most restaurants, and even police stations boasted of Hindu sculptures and altars. Floral-scented incense was everywhere - in shops, houses, and on street corners. 

The locals were extremely friendly and chatty. They were very welcoming of foreign presence, as tourism is apparently a huge contributor of the island's economy. Home-stay places were abundant in Ubud, a region of Bali that retains a rich cultural heritage, where lush rice terraces, Hindu temples, Holy Springs, and nature reserves are found. I personally had my first Airbnb home-stay experience there, and it was a refreshing experience. Such experiences apparently appeal to tourists who want to experience more "real" local culture compared to commercialized attractions. For those who are interested, you can check out "Homestay Loris"! Decent price for a decent stay and breakfast! 

Over the course of 4 days, I experienced some interesting sights in Bali that juxtapose greatly against modern city-states like Singapore. Traditional policemen in Bali looked nothing like what I expected - they wore turbans and were clad in very civilian-looking clothes, and they didn't wear long pants. You wouldn't have been able to identify their vocations if not for locals pointing them out. Roads were cramped and narrow, especially in Ubud; some roads didn't even have white lines as dividers. Luckily, our Airbnb host who doubled as our 'tour guide' in Ubud was a seasoned driver who could maneuver his SUV through rough terrains and avoid oncoming motorbikes and cars quickly that appeared very suddenly at blind spots. Zebra crossings were essentially non-functional in Ubud; it took me almost 5 minutes to cross the street sometimes, even though the other side of the street was perhaps a mere 4 meters away. Locals also carried baskets of incense and items by placing them on their heads. Much of the livelihood of locals appeared to hail from either farming (plantations) or retail or food businesses. Our Airbnb host personally ran a furniture shop, on top of home-stay services, for a living. 

Bargaining is kind of the norm in Bali, which means prices of goods have probably been inflated beforehand to accommodate that. I acquired a Henna-like tattoo of a rose on my arm because a Henna artist at a beach in Kuta wouldn't stop persuading me to get one. "For good luck," he said, "Very cheap." At first I wouldn't budge. "150 thousand only," he coaxed, "Normally 300 thousand." I gaped. Such price difference; he must have inflated the original price! Finally, he said "70 thousand", an offer I couldn't resist. I almost felt guilty for devaluing the worth of an artwork, but considering it cost a mere 70 thousand to rent a motorbike for a full day there, I figured he was actually quite contented with the arrangement after all. The henna kinda looks more like a tattoo though. "Gangster," my friend teased me when I touched down in Singapore. 

My days in Bali started and ended earlier. Sunlight filled the skies one hour earlier there compared to in Singapore, and darkness also fell earlier in tandem. That promoted early waking up times and dinners. In the mornings, we awoke to the sound of Roosters crowing. 

I brought my notebook and a pen along on this trip to write. Had thought that rural life would inspire me to look upon the world in a different angle. In ways, it did, but perhaps the vacation was too short-lived to inspire creative juices in me. Instead, my eyes devoured almost half of the self-help book my Jie had got from a book sale and that I borrowed - "Men are from Mars, Woman are from Venus". It's been an eye-opening read thus far. 

Bali tested me on certain fronts - namely, battling my phobia of airplane rides and water, In spite of that, I'd think my heart is too wild to be contained within this sunny island for long, which means it's probably time to look into more overseas trips! 

Till next time,

Meng Yee <3