I’ve only been in Ubud a few days and time seems to be flying by. Now that I’m here, I’m not traveling anymore. I’ve got no more long bus rides, don’t plan to involve any ferries, no flights to book, lodging it taken care of and my most demanding activity is deciding if to get a motor bike today and where to explore.
Once I arrived here at Dewa’s Bungalows, I felt like I was arriving home! My room was ready, the same room I had last time below the swimming pool. Bayu carried my stored pack to the room for me. After a quick change, I plunged into the pool to relieve the heat on what has been the hottest day of my trip so far. Not the muggiest but the most intense heat. I’ll soak a bit of that for my friends struggling with another cold wave this week in the US.
I’ve found several local warung, small family owned restaurants, that serve tasty and inexpensive food. Now I know where to go for a treat when I want a nice cappuccino or croissant or a simple salad and dinner. The warung closest to Dewa’s, I discovered my last visit, also makes chai tea! It’s a delicious recipe, served in a large cup and half the price of the tourist restaurants. They also have free WiFi which is faster than the connection here at Dewa’s. I hung out there the other night sipping chai or my fresh lemon juice, having a lite dinner and writing for three hours.
My first day here, Sunday morning, I had an 8:00 appointment with Eddy the healer in Sukawati. It was great seeing Eddy once again and as usual, he zoomed right in on what was going on with my body. I felt lighter and more at ease all day after seeing him and will go back this morning in a half an hour or so for my second session. There are several things going on in my body, nothing causing problems, just out of balance. And it turns out all of them are related to the same meridian. This morning, I’m having my first acupuncture session from him to work that whole system.
Yesterday was city day, I drove into Denpasar on my motorbike to pick up the new external hard drive to replace the faulty one I bought in Sulawesi. I called, well, really, Bayu called on his phone. Bernard told me the drive was in and sitting on his desk.
There was no hurry really in going to get it! However, it felt important to complete this “Mission” and have it out of the way. I left feeling a little more confident in knowing where I was headed. As I followed the correct turns and got on the main road heading all the way into Denpasar, a rider pulled up beside me and gave me a thumbs up. Then he slowed and asked me where I was going. When I told him, he confirmed I was on the right road and told me what sign to look for before saying good bye and turning off the road. It seemed I had help before even asking this time!
It didn’t take long reaching Denpasar this time and I didn’t get lost on the way! That quickly changed when I made a wrong turn and eventually had NO idea where I was and began repeating the process I’d learned earlier of asking everyone for directions.
Here’s the cycle: stop ask and get closer; stop, ask, confirm and get a little closer; repeat until arrival. I got to the place and was out 9 minutes later with my new hard drive. I wasn’t at all sure that my communication last time was clear, had send a confirmation email to Bernard and never heard from him. I didn’t know if I was getting an exact replacement or if he understood I wanted the upgraded model.
He grabbed a box that looked just like the one my old drive came in and I decided to be OK with whatever he had gotten for me. Then, I noticed it looked different, smaller and more compact. He brought it to the computer, plugged it in, tested it and handed it to me. I paid him the extra $5.00 US for the drive, a much lower price than if I purchased one retail and left.
Outside, I debated getting on my motor bike and heading straight back for Ubud? Since I was already here and remembering what persistence did for me last time, I decided to head off for the market and to look for glasses. Asking directions, I was lost in a few turns. Asking again, and turning some more, I was more lost. Into a computer store and they turned me around telling me to turn left at the next round about. There were six streets coming into the round about and I wasn’t sure which left to take?! So, I took the next left.
Down a tiny side road knowing this was no where near where I wanted to be, I stopped at a paint shop. One poor lady came out of the office and was completely confused by my question in English. I knew a couple land mark businesses in the area I wanted to go so mentioned those. She got on the phone and called someone. Then someone came out of the back room. Then someone came from the back of the business. Now, I had a team of five people, one of whom talked enough English to help and explain how far I needed to go! I set off once again, clear for at least the next little way until I stopped again. When I left the paint shop, I had ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what part of town I was in or how to get back to Ubud from here. But, I knew I would know!
Eventually, I managed to drive completely around where I wanted to be until I got a one way street the right way and pulled into the parking lot. Getting off my motor bike, my flip flop blew out! Now, it’s only a flop but not completely. I went into the shopping area looking for glasses and decided I needed lunch first. Great choice!
I did manage to find the ingredients in the supermarket for the Dadar Guling coconut desert I love. No glasses, no flip flops, more directions and more stops. After three more stops for flip flops, I found none my size and realized mine are repairable. Four more stops at “Optiks” shops and I didn’t find any glasses I really liked.
ENOUGH! It was now nearly 4:00 and time to go home. I got on the right road and missed a turn. After a long ride, I got in to unfamiliar territory?! It sort of looked familiar but not really. I stopped and learned I was in Sukawati and that the market was just ahead of me. That meant Eddy was just ahead of that! I stopped, made an appointment for 8:00 the following morning for an acupuncture session and headed back to Ubud!
Once again, the pool was a life saver. A quick plunge, immediately cooled off, floating for a while and then listening to my intuition.
This morning, I said hello to the woman staying in the other portion of my bungalow. Her name is Jude, she’s from Dublin, Ireland and living in Melbourne, Australia after having taught English in South Korea for several years. A quick hello turned into a 90 minute conversation. Another wonderful connection.
After my dip in the pool, while I still had the motor bike (which needed to be back by 6:30 so Bayu could ride home), I kept feeling the urge to go see Wayan. I listened, drove over and walked right into Wayan finishing with Jude! We made arrangements to go see the “Holy Knife” with Wayan this evening for a healing session and my friend Mary will join us.
I took the bike back, met Jude for a coffee at Moka Restaurant and we sat there talking for several hours. I walked Jude back to Dewa’s and continued to Artini’s Restaurant and Market, one of the locally owned restaurants for simple, healthy and inexpensive food. It was nearly 9:00 pm but I needed something. A lemon juice and tuna salad satisfied my craving and I went home to rest up for Eddy.
Soon, I’ll post something I’ve thought about since I was in graduate school. With all the amazing connections recently, the idea has popped back up in my mind so I’ll organize my thoughts and feelings a bit and post it later.
Ciao….