B'ali've - Bali, Indonesia

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Bali, oh dear Bali – how you live in your own world. Indonesia is mainly a Muslim country, but on the island of Bali, they practice their own unique version of Hinduism and speak Bahasa Indonesian. You’ll find offerings (usually consisting of a small square bowl made from a palm leaf filled with cooked rice, flowers and sometimes sweets and crackers) placed in front of every doorstep of every temple, house, restaurant and even your rented room. The women will do these offerings and you often find them too busy to attend to your holidaying needs as they are constantly preparing for offerings, festivals or ceremonies. There’s even a little temple for each rice field and a big one for each farm, a temple for different occasions and special days of praying i.e the gods of metal and aluminum, including the gods in your car/scooter. I love this place. It’s spiritual and it’s not forced onto you (like certain countries I know, wink). You almost cannot help to love these people and respect their ways; they sometimes laugh things off too easily perhaps. They are ofcourse not all innocence though. You have the bad guys and you have the cockfighting culture. And these poor roosters are everywhere on the side of the road, in a small cage, ready for sale and fighting.


I came to Bali with a crazy traveling schedule, all marked off on my map. But I got there, and for the first time (especially realizing that I’m not an air hostess anymore, that this is not a layover, and that I need NOT bounce around like a gummy bear trying to see as much as I can) I learned how to be still. And do as little as possible, and absorb it all. So I stayed in Ubud. For 9 days. In ONE place. At a homestay with a lovely, true Balinese family (3 generations). My porch overlooked a peaceful forest where I did yoga every morning and enjoyed my bowl of fresh fruit and sometimes even fell asleep with a book chilling on my deckchair. It was surely heavenly! My journey was special to me. I made friends with my 61 yr Hawaiian lady neighbour who took me on her scooter (or she on mine) and she would take me around to cute areas and warungs (cheap eating places) . We fell over on our scooter one day, from slippery moss. Poor thing. I still have the memories when I look at my bruises, haha. So I was happy with my choice of place, and felt content. My other neighbour, a very strange Japanese guy, soothed my heart daily with his guitar/harplike looking instrument. I miss him now..


Even though I felt safe at night walking around through my village, dogs are always a big threat. Better to walk around with a pocket full of stones, or pretend you’re picking one up to throw at them. Dogs are very unloved and mistreated unfortunately. Ubud (the cultural centre town of Bali) is very alive, and there’s a program for each day of the week. There are sooo many foreigners who live there and many I’ve heard speaking the language fluently. I went along quite fine with Ubud’s rhythm, hanged out in libraries, a French café that plays a movie – Bali in 1930 – in a loop. I went to Yogabarn (very famous amongst us yogis) and even attended a 3 hr international workshop. Great venue, excellent teachers!

Ofcourse, the traditional dance performances were not to be missed and I found this truly an interesting experience.

And I saw a luwak, walking right on my porch! A week before I left SA, I was told about this animal – a civit cat whose favourite chow are coffeebeans, of the finest kind. They collect it’s poop (as everything just goes straight through its system)and you end up paying an expensive amount to enjoy its coffee. I say: “EEEEEWWW!!!!” You can find this is SA also….


Other things in Bali that are truly spectacular, is the greenery. The ricefields and watching the riceworkers. Kids playing with kites. Ducks. Nothing has changed since 1930 and thus Bali is the most consistent place I’ve been to.

I decided to cut my holiday short, but before doing so, I got off the island and went to another – to Nusa Lembongan. It’s very quiet and definitely a big hit for surfers and divers. Here, in this village life, I continued to learn to be still and be ok with doing nothing. I have come a long way.


Now I find myself in Delhi…. Lots to tell you about that, very soon!

So, all my lovely people - I hope you are doing splendid. Do know that this planet is your playground. People say that they wish they had my life. But what is my life? Life is just how you want it. We get too engrossed in our busy lives and get carried away with what we really want. In my next letter I’d like to share with you my thoughts about a crazy place like Delhi and that contentment is really just a choice. Blaming and making excuses take you even further away from that. But, but, but….shhh…


I wish you happiness.


Terimah kasi – for letting me share.


Big smooches,

A

rally in the alley - goodbye galley. Senegal, Dakar and saying bye to Dubai

Bonjour!!

So I finally and happily hung up my flight attendant uniform and left the soulless Dubai:) And let me tell you of my last endeavour in my career before doing so - Dakar, Senegal

Senegal is the Westernmost country of Africa, French speaking (aswell as Wolof, a local language) and slaves used to escape to America from the island off the coast called - Island Goree.
I explored this entire little island of only 1200 people - there is a school and hospital and everything, just no roads and cars. We know Dakar from the offroad rallies that used to be held there, and I was fortunate enough to see this famous route. Just getting there, was a rally on it's own, haha (an hour's drive from our hotel) Next to this area is the Lac Rose (Pink Lake) - a salt lake (where people can float like on the Dead Sea) which actually reflects pink in strong sun due to high mineral concentration and the presence of micro-organisms in the water. That day it just looked brown to me. There were heaps and heaps of salt harvested by the locals.


Our hotel was absolutely gorgeous, more like a resort and right next to the beach. I enjoyed my last walk in my uniform through the airport and blew a kiss in the air in memory of my chaotic (yet fantastic) life as an airhostess.

I stressed a bit from sorting out all my cargo and loose things while in Dubai. I had to sell Suzibob (my beloved superbike). My last day was spent at a yoga festival (bliss!) and the night at a trendy bar on the beach. I feel human again. I sleep. I sleep well. And I don't miss Dubai at all. It was incredible to live in the present/moment and be content with all my decisions. I had a blast during my 3 and a half years with the airline and I can count many blessings. I had the best flatmate I could have ever asked for, and an adorable feline companion. Right now I'm in my little village hometown, Vanrhynsdorp. And I'm taking the time to reflect on my life again - something I believe best we do from time to time. It doesn't matter where we come from, fullstop. We adjust, either way, to who we really are.

I'm in SA for 2 weeks and off I'll go to Bali for about a month - yes, to do a little more of nothing and enjoy this journey of freedom.Fullstop
Big African hug!
Alta