First two weeks in Bali

I have decided to start writing a blog (It feels a bit scary and my mind does not really agree with it ;)). 

However, writing keeps coming back to me as a form to express myself, show myself, and something that I enjoy doing. So, here it is, my first blog! 

 

I have been in Bali for two weeks now, and honestly, the first two weeks were a bit of a struggle.  The energy is different here, and so my whole system had to adjust (and still is adjusting) to it. Different ways of living, crazy traffic, different diet, different rhythm, 6 hour time difference etc. It really is a big change going from a western to non-western country, and I hadn’t really thought about that before coming here. 

 

The first few days I spent in the area of lake Batur. I had booked a place near lake and mount Batur because I felt a pull towards this place and I wanted to start somewhere where there aren’t so many crowds and where it would be quiet, in nature. This area of lake batur is surrounded by three mountains/volcanoes, and the view from my place was breathtakingly beautiful. This is also a place where you still get to experience the ‘real’ Bali, I had the feeling that the energy there was different than in other places, older as to say. As it is also one of the ‘oldest’ places in Bali and to me, this felt like the heart of Bali. I could really feel the land here is happy, it is alive, and things are moving, happening, vibrating. I think also because the people pray here to their land, every day, they make a little prayer to their home and the land they live on. And that does something to the energy. 

 

Something really special happened as well. The spirit of Mama Bali came to visit me twice. I already sensed her the first evening I was there, but I didn’t recognise her then. She came to me again the second night, this time in my room. She told me to surrender and trust. That everything Is exactly the way it is supposed to be. Everything is right. I had goosebumps all over. 

 

However, as the place where I was staying at was situated on a small hill, all the noises coming down from below where magnified. So not quiet at all. At first I didn’t want to acknowledge this. “I booked this place for 2 weeks. Give it a chance. You will get used to the noise. It is not that bad” All the excuses that your mind can make! I started fighting my mind, myself actually. When during the fifth day I felt really homesick and the noise kept on going, I surrendered and decided to leave to another place. It is so cool how life works- I didn’t know which place I wanted to go to when I met other travellers (with whom I climbed mt. Batur). They told me that they were going to Nusa Penida next, and my body immediately reacted. I felt this tingle in my belly and a smile on my face. I had never heard of this place before, but it was my body that told me to go there. 

So I went to the beautiful island of Nusa Penida. I was there, feeling homesick (not necessarily the Netherlands, but more my friends & family), not knowing what I wanted (I want to be alone, I want to meet people, I want to travel, I want to find home base), running into fears and feeling alone. At the same time, I was cruising around on my motorbike, really enjoying this sense of adventure and exploring the island.

So what I was feeling was always and/and (not or/or). Sad and adventurous. Scared and confident. Homesick and happy to be here. Lonely and excited. It was all there, at the same time.

I booked a place for 7 nights, and left again after 3 nights. Had to laugh about myself (Is this how it is going to be? I book a place for several nights, and then leave earlier?) Luckily refund was possible again and I just accepted the fact that I don’t know how a place is going to feel until I get there, and that I can adjust accordingly. 

 

It was at Nusa Penida that I realized that I do not really want to be in a remote place, but in a place where there are more people, where I can meet people, and where I can go to events and do things. 

 

And so I am in Canggu now. I feel more at peace and at ease here. It is super busy and the traffic is crazy, but it is nice being near the beach and the ocean. Although Canggu really is hyped and taken over by western people (and expensive!), it is nice to be around more of a crowd. 

 

I feel that I am now slowly beginning to ground here, to adjust, and open up to Bali. To letting her in and to see all that she has to offer. I begin to really let go of the energy of western “doing” and to step more into an energy of “being”. It is so crazy how much my system was used to the energy of “doing”, and I realize now how much stress that also brings to it. And I’m understanding more and more that things take time and that not everything can happen ‘all at once’. 

 

I had to start in Lake Batur to meet the heart of Bali, to meet mama Bali in spirit and to feel the ancient Bali energies. I had to go to Nusa Penida, only to realise I want to be in a place with more people and also to get comfortable riding a motorbike, to prepare for crazy traffic in Canggu & Ubud. I had to go to Canggu, to be around people and to feel that this place is in transition, and changing. It is the place for digital nomads, surfers & foodies. I realized that I am not a foodie and not a digital nomad (haha). 

I had to come here to understand that there is really only one place that I want to go to- Ubud. And so it all makes perfect sense. Each place was/is necessary to move to the next one. They all had their own purpose. I will stay here one more week and then I’ll move to Ubud, probably for a longer period of time, but we will see 😉 

(I have no idea how to insert these pictures in a nice way hahaha, so it will just be like this)