Today is my last full day in Bali and I head to Bangkok tomorrow. In order to prepare myself to be jarred by big city life, I will be getting my sixth massage in 13 days! I am going to have my final Balinese splurge and get a 3 1/2 hour package. For the low price of $30, I will have a spa day that includes a 90 minute massage, honey and cucumber facial, and hair creme bath.
These last few days have been amazing. Need to find a new adjective because everything is just so AMAZING! I attended another cremation ceremony. This one was relatively smaller for only one person, so I was able to see the more intimate details of the ceremony. The streets of Ubud were closed as the delegation of gamelan troupe, women carrying offerings on their head, friends/family/community, proceeded down the city streets into the Monkey Forest. I could hear the chanting and see all the offerings they placed into the coffin.
Yesterday, I went on an amazing bicycle tour. The tour starts with breakfast overlooking a lake and Mount Batur (still active volcano). We stop at a coffee plantation and learn about the process and sample five kinds of drinks including Bali coffee, ginseng coffee, lemongrass tea, cocoa and ginger tea. We bike 25 kilometers (all downhill!) with many educational stops along the way. The tour guide is very informative and we visit a family compound (the pigs in the backyard he calls a living bank, just like an ATM!), rice farmers, village temple and more. As we bike through small villages, the children come out and scream “HELLO!” Again, I felt so lucky to be witnessing everyday life in Bali.
Last night, I attended a fantastic cultural performance of Kecak Fire and Trance Dance. It’s outside and in the round and we were in the front row (I’d heard before about fireballs and was ready to raise my feet!). Men are chanting, the story unfolds and the costumes are spectacular. Before the fire walk, my friend leans over and asks if I want to walk on the hot coals and for a moment I pause because I felt/feel like I can do anything. It has been a long time since I felt like I could do anything and this sense just pervades my being, to the point that I think I can walk on fire! Well, I didn’t walk on fire but am ready for new adventures in the coming weeks in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Thank you to everyone for partaking in my journey!
Attached are photos of the cremation ceremony (the body is inside the bull), pounding rice on the bicycling tour, Kecak fire walk, and me with the Kecak performers.
Sucking the Marrow from Life 