Monico Family Travels

Monthly Archives: June 2019

• Fathers Day

  Posted at 11:28 pm by Bella, on June 16, 2019

  We started the day off by cooking Daddy a meal in bed.  We made pancakes with Nutella on the side.

  

  

  We collected up some frangipani flowers and put our cards, some coffee and the food on a tray with the flowers to make it pretty.

  

  Emily and I carried up the tray and surprised Daddy with it!

  

  We served it up and then jumped into bed with him to have a breakfast feast and lots of cuddles.

  

  

  

  Then we drove to Kuta, a busy city to go go-karting.

  

  We were a bit worried when we tripped over this chap in the car park!

  We had the karting track to ourselves so we had a nice empty run, and no thugs!

  

  It was so fun to ride the karts but they were really hard to turn because they were heavy and the steering wheels were really stiff.  The track was really twisty and swervy, and Daddy raced through it really fast.  We all got out of his way so that he could get the fastest score of the day.

  

  

  

  

  

  After karting we went to a lovely beach club for lunch.

  

  When we set off for MonicoFamilyTravels (right at the beginning of our trip), Dinne (our grandmother) gave us a big bag full of little treats and games.  We got to do a lucky dip and get a new one out to play with at special moments.  Here is an example of one that was really handy and fun to take to restaurants with us.

  

  I really enjoyed my apple mojito mocktail.  Emily and I both had one.  We had chicken noodle soup for lunch and it was nice to know that we hadn’t forgotten how to use our chop sticks!

  

  

  During the afternoon we got a giant lounger bed with enough room for 4, and relaxed enjoying the sunshine.

  

  

  

  After we went in the sea and then rinsed off, Emily and I did our puzzle book while we dried.

  

  

  At the end we got to watch a beautiful sunset although lots of Instagram posers went in front of us and blocked our view!

  

  Then we walked across a beautiful bridge (that smelt like poop) to a fancy Italian restaurant for dinner.

  

  I was forced to wear a dress for dinner, but Daddy liked that and today was all about him (although we all had lot of fun too!).

  

  Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 5 Comments

• The craziness continues

  Posted at 1:51 am by Charlotte, on June 14, 2019

  

  Sunrise from the stunning balcony where the girls do school, and where Bella and I hangout of an early morning doing puzzle books and drinking turmeric tea / fruit smoothies

  This week James and I attended (embraced!) a tantric workshop together which (for us) was not so much enlightening, but rather entertaining and sometimes excruciating.

  About 80 of us joined together for 3 hours of tantric edification and application (all fully dressed I hasten to add!).  Most of it we managed just fine, but when practicing ‘exploring the Ecstatic Orgasmic Breath to supercharge your Life-Force Energy’ we dissolved into uncontrollable giggles.  It went like this:

  • We sit cross-legged facing each other
  • James projects his male energy out of his groin towards my groin
  • I then receive and welcome his energy and carry it up through my body to my breast
  • I then pass it out through my breast and back across to James who receives it into his breast and then sends it back down to his groin.

  There were accompanying hand-movements………. and deep breathing.

  We really did manage it quite seriously for at least 5 minutes, but then James hammed it up a bit and I totally lost it.  So then he lost it.   Unfortunately we also ‘infected’ our neighbouring couple too.  Everyone else was taking it so seriously, so our giggle-guilt just made it worse.  The exercise went on for about another 15 minutes in total…..eek!

  On the excruciating end we had to perform private dances for each other (no not THAT kind – that would have been MUCH easier that what we ACTUALLY had to do).  One person sat on a block on the floor and maintained full eye contact with the other who danced their ‘shadow’……………for what felt like a lifetime (but was probably only about 10 minutes) to the other person.  We both started with a good effort, but then it was a case of just willing the music to PLEASE STOP!  Then we swapped.

  Worth going? On balance, yes.  Highly unconvinced that we will incorporate anything we learned into our personal lives, but glad we gave it a try, and at a minimum they say that laughing has huge health benefits in itself!

  Emily opted for a much more sensible Ubud special – the braids!!!  Her hair is so thick that end-to-end braiding and beading took a good 2 hours of work.

  

  

  

  

  The end result was fabulous though:

  

  

  Anyone notice that Millie is actually taller than her gorgeous stylist?

  

  Here she is rocking her new look

  

  Back at home, more break time fun with spinning whizzer pinger thingies!

  Now many of you (particularly our Argentinian friends) would be surprised to hear that we have lasted so long in a new home without a single attempt to grill our dinner.  Well, the day came that James could no longer hold out, and solicited help from our wonderful villa manager to secure this little number. It was a somewhat tragic scenario.  The charcoal we had was bamboo based……and not particularly flammable.  With his usual unorthodox ingenuity, James decided to get the charcoal blazing in a sieve over the gas hob before depositing it in what can only be described as a sorry excuse for a BBQ.  He then wafted it a bit with a fan before depositing the (thankfully precooked) chicken drumsticks.  The whole event was a slightly sad state of affairs, and a slightly deflated Jimbob, but dinner was delicious that night none-the-less.

  

  

  

  

  Over these few weeks, we all came down sequentially with a hideous bug reminiscent of some kind of bird flu.  Emily had such extreme fevers that I basically had to surround her with bags of ice.  She is still now (3 weeks later) still trying to clear the snot/plegm.  Nice!  It manifested with Bella in a hacking cough and some truly amazing bogies.  James fell ‘dangerously ill’ (to coin a Senor Jonesism) and sweated it out in bed for 3 days  straight.  Having nursed the rest of them out of the worst of it I finally succumbed myself to a somewhat milder version of the whole suite of symptoms. James  trying to kick as I writ. 

  

  Theo our wonderful yoga teacher and vedic practitioner recommended the remedy Javanese Jamu.  I have to say I think it probably did more than a pure placebo!

  The rice in the paddys outside our house has turned from bright green to golden brown, and harvest is kicking off.

  

  With all the craziness around us, we are forever grateful and thankful to Wyan and Augus who bless us, our house, our pool, our kitchen, and our garden temple on a daily basis.  I’m sure it helps.

  

   

  Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 3 Comments

• It wouldn’t be Monicofamilytravels if we didn’t…..

  Posted at 11:51 pm by Charlotte, on June 9, 2019

  It wouldn’t be Monicofamilytravels if we didn’t find at least one completely bonkers and somewhat dangerous physical activity per country to scare the pants off me…… and the ropes course wasn’t it!

  But let me start at the beginning of this crazy weekend when we traveled to the central northern part of Bali (through spectacular scenery on a mountain pass between 2 big volcanoes), and enjoyed an exhilarating afternoon at Bali Treetop Adventure Park.

  

  The safety briefing was minimal at best, and Bella smartly identified her very floppy harness and gave it a good tug, while I had a somewhat frantic panic and sent James up the first ladder first.  The obstacles themselves seemed sturdy enough though so we relaxed and got climbing!  There were 12 routes to follow of varying height, strength and dexterity requirement, and general terrifyingness, with tonnes of zip lines built in for whooshing and taking a break from balancing and wobbling.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  My one horror was the claustrophobia inducing tunnel.  Here is Emily who followed me through it sniggering at my whimpers!

  

  Exhausted, even more raw handed, sporting one rope burn (Bellas) and one rather strange wire rash/blistery thing (mine), we popped back in the car, and drove past more spectacular scenery to our resting spot for the night.

  

  We have ended up doing a lot of driving in Bali, often in terrible traffic conditions, but the girls churn through books on Audible, and with never-ending eye-watering scenery, its hard to get too frustrated!

  We stayed in a resort, not usually our style, but having picked the right villa, this one had very worth-it views…..

  

  

  

  

  

  …..and the most spectacular flowers….

  

  

  

  

  

  …..and some of the lushest paddys yet!

  

  

  Playing Sussed – a great new addition to our games bag from the lovely Lewis Banks family

  Next morning we set off fairly bright eyed and bushy tailed to the Aling Aling waterfalls: 

  

  We stumbled across this sign after a hike to the waterfall – I think it says it all!

  We started with the relative ease of a 5M jump (still with a bit of screeching!)

  

  

  

  

  Next up was the slide down this huge waterfall:

  

  Bella in mid flow!

  Next up was the relative safety of the smaller waterfall slide, but while less generally alarming, it was definitely bumpier on the nether regions!

  

  

  

  We walked downstream a bit to the next set of falls…..

  

  …..James took a peak over the edge…..

  

  ……and then jumped the 10M!!!

  

  It must be a boy thing…. but I have to admit I was impressed by his lack of hesitation!

  We were thankful to our lovely guide who responsibly shared with us that the last punter who jumped the 15M broke a small (but vital!) bone in his back, so we retired gracefully at the 10M, revisited the 5M pool for a few more family jumps, and then headed home.

  

  Wonderful vibrant colours in this paddy

  Famished after all the exertions, we stopped at a restaurant for early dinner on the way home and found a bonus playground in the garden.  Sweet!

  

   

   

   

   

   

  Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 7 Comments

• Feisty equines and farming

  Posted at 1:53 am by Charlotte, on June 7, 2019

  We can’t seem to stay anywhere too long without finding some horses to ride (although this only stems Bellas ‘I miss Tornado’ lament for a matter of hours…….while we are actually in the saddle….).  This particular afternoon and route turned out to be the most wonderful way to experience rice farming practices, real life unfolding in the paddys, and to see a local village entirely off the beaten track.

  Even on the drive up we saw interesting sights of bundled straw and rice grains laid out in their various guises to dry in the sun:

  

  

  Many of the fields we rode through were harvested or in the process, so there were lots of villagers out and about cutting with scythes, threshing, drying, burning etc.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  And there was even some evocative stubble burning which took me back to my favourite event of the annual calendar from Mutton Hall in the arable farming days.

  

  

  It was fascinating to see how people ‘live’ in the paddys.  There were clothes drying everywhere, kids flying kites and families and friends hanging out together.  There are also huts dotted around where farmers often sleep overnight.

  

  

  

  Now as for the horses, they were beautiful, glossy, and well looked after, but someone had given them WAY too many oats, and we subsequently discovered that they were all (recently) ex-racehorses.  They had mouths of iron, and stopping was not something they particularly embraced.  Mine had the mother-of-a-buck on her which she shared with me every time I held her back from racing the rest.  Despite my usual penchant for the ‘interesting/spirited’ horse, this time it was actually somewhat unnerving.  James’s kicked and went mental any time it got close to the other horses so he had to try (and sometimes succeeded) to keep it at the back.  Emily’s was an incredibly elegant chestnut, but entirely devoid of brakes.  Bella’s wasn’t much better and there were lots of raw hands by the end of the day!  The girls did incredibly well though, and we survived several out-of-control gallops, as well as the remainder of the 3 hours of more civilised hacking.

  

  

  

  

  Midway, we passed through a very local village in the hills, which was a fab opportunity to see life away from the tourist routes.

  

  

  

  Sadly we passed a big bank of rubbish on the way into the village.  There is actually not too much around the country in general (most locals buy food wrapped in banana leaves vs plastic packaging, and villagers grow their own rice on a household by household basis), but what there is isn’t collected or managed, so usually ends up on the street sides if it isn’t burned.

  

  Here are some women breaking rocks, which is a relatively common sight.  Not quite sure why its always women?!?!?!

  

  We also passed plenty of cockerels in baskets being groomed for fighting.  In Balinese Hinduism, the spilled blood in a cockfight is believed to expel evil spirits.  Although it is illegal, cockfighting takes place throughout Bali.  Men will spend anywhere from six months to two years preparing roosters for a cockfight.

  

  

  I love seeing the oldest generation out and about in Bali.  They are often to be seen walking slowly down the roads with sticks to help support them.  Usually very thin, I find their faces very expressive and beautiful, and its always heartwarming to see them out in the community.

  

  

  

  We passed so many spectacular valleys and scenery I could post a hundred pictures as dramatic as this one!

  The ride drew to a close as the sun started setting.

  

  We look positively peaceful here on our feisty mounts!

  On the way home I managed to snap this picture (again out of the car window) of a kite on a bike.  We see them everywhere, and they have definitely inspired us to see if we can find some way of joining the kiting fun with some locals.

  

  Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 2 Comments

• Fun fiery times, and farewell to Sarah

  Posted at 10:22 pm by Charlotte, on June 4, 2019

  You can’t really visit Bali without experiencing one of its famous exotic dances.  Some are complex dance-dramas that recount various myths and legends, while others are only performed during religious holidays.  There are animal-themed performances as well, most humorously the frog dance.  We opted for a Kecak Fire and Trance Dance (yes, Jimbob DID do the choosing on this one….).

  

  It kicked off with the lighting of the fire

  What makes the Kecak special is that the accompanying music is provided by the human voice, the ‘gamelan suara’, a choir of a hundred or more men sitting in concentric circles swaying, standing up, and lying prone as the story develops:

  

  

  

  The story itself was a fragment from the Ramayana Hindu epic.  It narrated the life of Rama, legendary prince of the Kosala Kingdom.  He was exiled for fourteen-years by his father King on the request of his step-mother.  He then traveled across forests in India with his wife Sita and his brother.  Sita was kidnapped and a war resulted to rescue her back.  Rama eventually returned to be crowned king as the crux of the epic.

  

  The Trance Dance was performed after the epic, and the version we saw was the Sanghyang Djaran (djaran meaning horse).  A horse rider is lulled into trance by the repetitive sounds of the gamelan suara and in his hypnotic state he walked on a bed of burning coconut husks responding to the rising and falling of the music.

  

  

  Although the show we watched was clearly a fairly mainstream tourist attraction, we were for sure experiencing some genuine history, culture, ancient arts and unique talent.  I was enthralled by it.  The girls had fairly mixed views, but were ultimately awed by the fire walking and thankful that its duration was only just over an hour.

  

  Check out the fire-walkers feet!

  We have loved getting to know the wonderful staff in our villa, and Wyan loves to share insights into local life with us, in particular Hindu traditions and ceremonies.

  

  

  Various ceremonies and celebrations:

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  For the Balinese, Ngaben (cremations) are one of their most important ceremonies as they represent the release of the deceased’s spirit from the body, allowing them to reincarnate, or find final rest in Moksha free from the cycle of reincarnation and death.  Fittingly cremations require significant effort, time and expense.  To help defray the cost of a Ngaben, many Balinese temporarily bury their dead, to be exhumed for participation in a mass Ngaben at at later date.  We’ve driven past several of these mass cremations, and Wyan shared with us this incredible video of the elaborate Ngaben of a senior religious leader in her province:

   

  

  And Wyan herself looking incredible at the back of this beautiful foursome

  Back at home we practiced the far less erudite art form of some temporary tattoos!

  

  

  

  One happy Sunday, we met up with Shervin (of Sound Healing fame) and one of his sons Aiden for an afternoon on the beach.  We all swam in the sea, took in the glorious coast line, the men built a sandcastle, the kids found the swimming pool, and Sarah and I hung out in the warm lapping shallows for a deep-and-meaningful.

  

  

  It was such a treat to spend the afternoon with great people, and we will be eternally grateful to Susie Hunt (Knox) for introducing us to such incredible new friends here.

  Emily found the most gorgeous puppy on the beach.  Sadly its boy owner had been dragging it in the sea and dunking its head under the water so Emily comforted it and dried it with a towel.

  

  

  Sarah spent a happy morning at the Ubud market to pick up some souvenirs to take home (and actually as it turned out some gorgeous gifts for us).

  

  

  James took Sarah on her last night to a Cocoa Ceremony at the Yoga Barn (I was at home nursing Emily who had a stonking fever).  Watch this space for Sarah’s second guest blog which will hopefully give more insights into what sounded like a bizarre yet truly uplifting experience!

  On her last morning we eventually completed the trixy circular puzzle that Sarah had kindly brought out with her.  Phew!

  

  

  And we all had a massage in the garden – what a treat!

  

  

  For a final farewell lunch we went back to the fab duck restaurant over the koi ponds, and ate huge quantities of prawns.

  

  

  

  

  

  Last group photo!

  And to finish for today, a fabulous dragon – laid out on the tiles of our terrace, made from leaves in our glorious garden!

  

   

  Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 4 Comments

• My last few days in Bali: a second post from guest blogger Sarah Thorley

  Posted at 4:38 pm by sarahthorley, on June 4, 2019

  Charlotte and James had planned a most thoughtful and varied last two days for me. A visit to a beautiful small sheltered cove where we could swim in the warm clear blue water and with our goggles, look at more brilliant little fish on a small coral reef, make sandcastles and watch the sun set. A plunge into Ubud Market and a restful afternoon in the garden (very necessary as it turned out!).  Tickets for the Sacred Celebration of the Cacao Tree at the Yoga Barn. And on my last morning, an al fresco massage in the gazebo in the garden. Followed by a very special restaurant for a farewell lunch. Here are a few photos and snippets (from my journal)  . . .

  

  

  Only two days to go. I wake early and write my journal sitting outside my room, as the sun rises over the paddy fields and coconut palms and the kingfisher flashes past and the local bird scarer starts his duties with his bamboo pipe and wooden hammer. 

  

  The bird scarer became very much part of our daily lives!

  You have left, at the WELCOME HUT, your computer, phone and other electronic gadgets (apart from a camera and if essential, a phone for silent messages) for two days.

  STRICTLY NO FOOD IN YOUR HUT. Food, even crumbs = ants = mice = snakes. Your shower is outside and drains away through stones into the earth. TOTAL SILENCE PLEASE. The gong will sound at 5.30am for meditation and again at 7am for yoga followed by a drum beat at 8am for breakfast.

  

  In the communal ‘lodge’ where we eat, in your pigeon hole is a wooden board, a coconut bowl, a ceramic dish, knife, fork, spoon and glass. These are yours during your stay which you wash up yourself. You eat your meal mindfully, sitting on a stool overlooking the jungle and vegetable gardens. IN SILENCE of course. All food is vegan and grown in the vegetable gardens here. It is on the table within hours of being picked; no ‘dead’ food (tins, packets, plastic bags or frozen food) here!  All electricity is solar powered. Care for the environment is a high priority here.

  

  

  All around you is the healing glory of nature. Awesome too – we had the most spectacular thunder and lightening storm in the night and monsoon torrents of rain next morning (on the way to yoga – I’ve never got so drenched)!

  

  

  

  These are the two days, about which Charlotte has already so beautifully blogged, that we spent together at the Bali Silent Retreat Centre. It was a very special time for me too – and lying head-to-toe on our backs (silent of course) on the stone star-gazing bench was a wondrous seminal moment I’ll never forget. Thank you Charlotte for that great treat (amongst so many others).   

  

  

  

  A few memories of two beautiful and fascinating 3 hour guided country walks across agricultural land and lush jungle and through villages. I learned so much from our delightful Balinese guides: Sumadi on the first, along with a Dutch couple. Sang Tu on the second, along with two young American guys. We saw the local crops being harvested by hand: rice of course, maize, sweet potatoes and other vegetables and flowers (for offerings). We learned about the medicinal wild plants, the entrancing birds, butterflies and dragonflies dancing on the exotic flowers and hiding in the jungle foliage. We visited the village home of an elderly couple who brewed tea for us and homemade coconut buns. We sat beneath their rice barn built on stilts, beyond the reach of mice, and talked about the state of the world, in particular climate change and what we could do to help. The Balinese seem to be very aware of  the urgency for sustainability and care of the environment. Sang Tu carried a big bag into which we put every scrap of plastic litter, as we walked – quite a surprising amount considering how rural our walk was.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Wyan’s brother drives me into Ubud Market early in the morning. We chat for all of the 45 minutes journey. He tells me about family life and village life. He is the eldest son living with his wife and two daughters with his parents. When the first son marries, the couple make their home with his parents. If there are no sons then the eldest daughter’s husband will come to live with her parents. Elderly parents are never left to live alone. He was shocked by the idea of old people being put into institutional ‘homes’.

  

  

  I spend two hours in the crush and colour and activity of Ubud Market. I love markets and this is a star market! I bargain for drinking straws made of bamboo and bracelets made of seeds. I buy fruit from old ladies and some beautiful sarongs and a kimono from a family-run stall who tell me about all their crafts and how many of them are handmade in people’s homes in different parts of the island. The Balinese are such friendly people. I learned to smile, really smile when I went to Sri Lanka years ago; my smile muscles are definitely back in action here!

  

  

  I discover the Market Temple, a place of calm and peace surrounded by noise and activity.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  I wrap one of my new sarongs around my waist and spend a totally engrossing half hour sitting on a wall in the (open-air) temple just watching. But it isn’t just watching. I feel accepted by all the devotees, old and young, women (mostly) and men and drawn into their devotions and thanksgivings even though I do not know, intellectually, what they are doing or saying.

  

  Another special moment. Here I am back home trying only new kimono.

  Poor Millie had a high fever my last evening, so Charlotte stayed with her and James and I set off to celebrate chocolate (we are both fanchoconatics!) It was crazy, rejuvenating, optimistic, inclusive and inspiring and quite a great wild Love-In! From all over the world, maybe 80 young people and me (40 years older than most of them!). Gathered in the big hall, with sides open to the jungle night time noises, for the Sacred Celebration of the Cacao Tree.

  We had no idea what we were in for but reckoned we should just go with the flow and enjoy!

  A mug of the most delicious thick rich chocolate liquid to sip throughout the evening was a good start. Led by a teacher and his four musicians, as we sit on our yoga mats, we are exhorted to join in and love each other through sacred sound, music and dance; to let go and enjoy ourselves and each other in gratitude for the Cacao tree, sacred especially to the North American Indians. And indeed we did.

  

  Tbe cacao fruit

  We hum and intone Indian mudras and mantras. Standing and turning, we invoke the Spirits and blessings of the South, the East, the North and the West in the Native American Indian tradition and the four elements of Fire, Earth, Air and Water. We stomp and sway and clap our way through an African tribal dance for benevolence and gratitude for the cacao tree; we move around the hall ‘connecting’  with each other first by eye contact and smiles and then with hugs. We dance, moving from partner to partner but be always mindful that nobody is left alone. “Now make 3 big circles.” The circles leap and whirl round and round as each person takes a turn in the middle to ‘go wild’. I’ve temporarily crashed out, but it’s great to watch! The music speeds up and I’m on my feet again for the free dance which becomes quite frenzied. At last it slows down and we retrieve our yoga mats and subside into sweaty heaps. Sitting facing a partner we will each speak to the other without interruption for 3 minutes. 3 minutes is a long time. Actually, James and I were caught up in the generally positive and optimistic mood and spent our 3 minutes of ‘gratitude’, saying lovely affirming things to each other! It ended with 10 minutes lying flat on the floor with quiet sound and a communal Christian blessing in Latin. Quite wow really for an old sod like me. Made me feel quite hopeful for the future of the world when I’m dead and gone. [no pics]

  My last morning I am up at dawn in the garden picking seven exotic flowers. Influenced perhaps a little by last night, I paint a little gratitude card for Charlotte and for James and Bella and Millie and Wyan and Augus and Gidday (our 3 house helpers). Impossible to capture the brilliance of the colours, but I did my best.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  After breakfast I went for a last wander in the village and said goodbye to a few of the neighbours .

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  And met a startled cow in the trees and felt quite a pang to be leaving.

  A traditional Bali massage had thoughtfully been arranged for me, in the garden. Much pressing and pinching unblocked my muscles and arteries and got the oxygen flowing from my brain he told me. It set me up for the long journey ahead.

  

  Here is Charlotte enjoying her turn!

  

  Wyan offering blessings for our beautiful home

  And finally a special farewell lunch sitting cross-legged on a wooden platform in a small lake, Millie and Bella feeding the fishes. We ate delicious traditional Indonesian crispy fried duck, satay chicken and prawns and lentils and vegetables. And then it was goodbye.

  

  

  

  

  Thank you Charlotte and James and Bella and my goddaughter Millie for giving me an unforgettable holiday, but most of all for embracing me into your family; my time spent with you all was very special.

  

  See you back home!

  Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 1 Comment

• Extreme noise, healing noise, extreme silence and fun times in the middle!

  Posted at 5:16 am by Charlotte, on June 1, 2019

   

  

  The confluence of art, beauty and spirituality is everywhere in Bali

  The sound of Gamelan** is a constant in Bali.  I generally quite like it except when its being played very loudly near my dinner table whilst trying to enjoy good conversation alongside my meal!  There are temples dotted all around Villa Arcadia (home!), and the sound of Gamelan drifting across the paddy fields is so atmospheric and indicative of living in this highly spiritual place that 95% of my associations with it are entirely positive.

  **Gamelan is the traditional ensemble music of Java and Bali in Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. The most common instruments used are metallophones played by mallets and a set of hand-played drums called kendhang which register the beat.

  Since Gamelan is such a ubiquitous part of Balinese culture, we decided to have a go ourselves, and booked into a Gamelan workshop within a local art gallery.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Without underestimating the skill required to play any percussion instrument at a high level, the metallophones we took a crack at were really quite tricky to have a bash at!  You hit the metal bars with a wooden hammer (a bit like a xylophone, except the notes aren’t sequential), but the bars reverberate so much you have to hit with one hand, and grab with the other hand to stop the build up of echo.  It takes a certain level of coordination to follow hammer with hand whilst playing an unfamiliar tune as demonstrated by our leader.

  The other aspect to the workshop was that it wasn’t really a workshop.  The blurb had indicated that we would begin by hearing some top level musicians perform a private concert for us, and then we would be taught to play a tune as a group.  There was no concert, our leader didn’t speak english, he didn’t exactly teach us, just played himself and then paused expecting us to copy/follow.  And he was REALLY grumpy**!

  After a while we got fed up of being growled at and went a bit freestyle with the instruments and enjoyed making a blast of noise, with an underbelly of gong time-keeping from Bella and Emily.

  ** highly unusual as we have found the Balinese to be overwhelmingly amiable, kind, generous, welcoming, smily and accommodating.  They believe in their own unique version of Karma which is somehow less about reciprocity and more about the general state of giving vs receiving.

  Having spent a good 45 minutes extracting a full refund (it wasn’t a cheap ‘workshop’), we gave half of it back to the museum and then went to explore its galleries which genuinely housed some spectacular pieces, catering to many tastes.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  The museum also had stunning gardens, so once we got perspective and could see the funny side of what was essentially a fiasco of a gamelan workshop, we were free to relax and enjoy our spectacular surroundings.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  We filled the next few days relaxing in our glorious surroundings at home, and  when we weren’t enjoying our own cooking and gorgeous lunch spot……

  

  …… we took in some incredible local organic restaurants with breathtaking views to match.

  

  

  

  One evening we went to the yoga barn to experience Sound Healing with Shervin.  It had come so highly recommended we thought it would be tough for it to live up to its reputation, but it surpassed it.  All I can say is that if you ever get the chance, give it a try it with an open mind and an open heart (Shervin is often in LA, London and is generally going global!).

  The girls entertained us as ever with break time fun…….

  

  We have to believe this trip has surely cultured their creative juices when they come up with such gems as ’tissue shoes’!

  ….. and came up with a treasure hunt which sent us all around the house and garden searching for fiendish clues and hidden bounty.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Sarah and I took off together for 2 nights of spirituality and reflection to the Bali Silent Retreat.

  The paddy landscapes we enjoyed our our way up to up to Penatahan (a couple of hours north of Ubud) were the best yet!

  

  Harvest has begun so we saw teams of villagers cutting and threshing.

  

  Arriving at the Bali Silent Retreat, we were given a quick tour……

  

  ……were shown to our huts….

  

  

  …… and then I got to sit down and appreciate this spectacular view from the balcony of my temporary home for the first time:

  

  Unesco protected lush rice fields

  The 360 views took our breath away:

  

  This was the view looking in the other direction from my hut – sacred Mt. Batu Karu is visible on a clear day.

  So what was it all about?  Well that was up to each of us to figure out for ourselves.  It is an eco-sanctuary that offers meditation and yoga, but its restorative offering is way beyond the amalgamation of these 2 practices.  Guidance was limited:

  Things to DO

  • Nothing
  • Breathe, Meditate
  • Read, Pray, Yoga asanas
  • Connect with your Divine Source
  • Eat, slowly and often
  • Walk the rice terrace path
  • Walk the labyrinth meditation
  • Walk the gardens
  • Walk the jungle path
  • Watch
  • Walk to the hot springs
  • Sleep without air con (it’s cool at night)
  • Stare at the stars from our star beds
  • Write (paper and pen)

  Things to NOT DO

  • Talk

  We arrived in the late afternoon, so my first evening consisted of taking in my surroundings, enjoying some incredible vegan food (I’d totally convert if vegan food always tasted this good!), and a walk around the grounds with some star-gazing thrown in.  Sarah and I spent very little time actually together during the few days, but we did lie head-to-toe on a stargazing bench together that first night which has become and enduring special memory.

  The idea at Bali Silent Retreat is to rest and wake with the sun, so it was early to bed!

  

  

  

  

  Morning wake up gong sounded at 5:30am, and I stumbled out of my hut to find a flask of the most wonderfully aromatic ginger tea waiting for me on my balcony.

  

  First meditation began at 6am.  It was a fully silent meditation in the Bale (tent) below, and we began in the dark focusing our attention on a candle in the centre of the room, and the day then slowly lifted around us.  I’m not very good at meditating, but achieved my best efforts yet in this incredibly conducive place.  Yoga began at 7am and the morning class was a fabulously vital and physical practice.  It felt great to move and wake up my body after 45 minutes of cramping cross legged.

  

  Yoga and meditation were repeated every afternoon, and I made the most of every opportunity.

  Meals were served silently, and ashram style, so we all kept/cleaned our own cutlery and crockery.

  

  Menus were incredibly varied.  They were decided each morning by the cooks, dependent on which veggies in the organic garden were at their best that day.

  

  We helped ourselves:

  

  

  And then took our nourishment to one of these amazing spots to eat (silently and slowly!) and enjoy the views:

  

  The lodge also offered communal seating, and a library.  At times it felt good to be around other people even if we weren’t talking!  Positive aura, warmth and good vibes abounded.

  

  

  

  The ‘tea’ station was a personal highlight.  So many herbs and plants to make a fresh brew with, available all day:

  

  

  

  Hard to disagree with CS Lewis:

  

  This is why the food was so good – it was all home grown on site:

  

  

  

  Even the marrows were delicious!

  

  

  I tried out most of what there was to do.  I wasn’t expecting to have a cry on the cry bench, but actually I did!

  

  

  I walked the labyrinth meditation heel-to-toe.  It was a test of patience for me, but I valued the reminder that I find it very hard to slow down.  Definitely something to take away with me as I get closer to returning to ‘normal’ life in London.

  

  

  

  This year has given us so many opportunities to learn and reflect which allowed me to embrace the chance  to share wishes (on post-its!) for the world, thoughts for ourselves and our loved ones (hung from twisted branches), and opportunities to try medicine herbal healing rather than reaching for the pharmaceuticals.

  

  

  

  The beauty of the flowers and greenery encountered at the lotus ponds speaks for itself:

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Everywhere there were personal reminders and thought provokers.  These could have been annoying, but in fact I found them found them cute, sometimes humorous, and more than often very applicable to me in the moment, or as an aspirational intention.

  

  

  

  Time passed in a blink, and soon I found myself saying a say goodbye to this beloved view.  I hope beyond hope that I will return one day for another chance to experience the restorative bliss of BaliSilentRetreat.

  

  There were more breathtaking view on the way back, but Sarah and I hardly noticed them because we were so busy chatting!

  

  Apparently James and the girls had a lot of fun doing Saturday morning pottery, and at Bali Bom (the biggest water park in Asia!) while we were gone. No doubt making a LOT of noise.  No photos from them, but I suspect we will be going back for a final fling before the trip is out, so watch this space.

  I leave you with this provocation from BaliSilentRetreat.

  

  Posted in Countries, Indonesia | 3 Comments

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