Beautiful Bali Moment

 

We arrived at almost midnight in the busy Bali, Indonesai Airport. We had an Uber driver waiting for us holding a sign with our name on it. Now that is service! He drove us three hours on dark, windy roads through tiny towns perched on cliffs overlooking the ocean. Our Bali teacher friend is impressed that we survived that notoriously dangerous island drive. Our corner of the island if filled with tiny, one room homes made of concrete that has weathered many storms. The highlight of each village is a colorful, ornate Hindu Temple. Bali is a very busy with cars, motorcycles, and chickens running wild in the streets. What a pleasant surprise to escape this chaos and drive into our modern bungalow resort perched high above the ocean with two pools. Each bungalow has its own sundeck has a couch and table overlooking the ocean. I think I could easily stay here for a while. 

For our daily lunch, we order fresh watermelon juice and eggrolls delivered to our deck. I feel like a movie star and could get used to this. The day continues as we snorkel off the hotel beach with colorful fish on a coral reef. Did I tell you there are two volcanos, a lake, and a waterful on this island too? Bali is known for it coffee beans, fruits, and spices in the countryside. There are leveled terraces with rice plants everywhere. The island is full of street food markets, art markets, silver jewelry, and craft villages. A travel brochure offers a 'Scenic, Instagram-worthy tour of Bali'. A famous Bali temple is known as "The Gateway to Heaven." Another cave temple has a thousand bats hanging from the ceiling. You can ride an elephant, take a white water rafting trip, or a bicycle island tour. How about swinging over a valley with a river view? You can choose from giant swings that range from 10 meters to 78 meters above ground. There are endless possibilities for adventure on this island.

Bali was also the setting for the famous movie, "Eat, Pray, Love" starring Julia Roberts. The book was a New York Times 2006 best seller and made into a movie in 2010. Elizabeth Gilbert spent time in Bali to rediscover herself and have a new outlook on life after her marriage ended. The book became a New York Times Non-Fiction bestseller for 88 weeks in 2008. Gilbert was named one of the most influential people in the world by Time Magazine. Gilbert is also on Oprah's SuperSoul 100 list of visionaries and influential leaders. Tourists can take a "Eat, Pray, Love" tour here to visit the movie sites. I have to admit I enjoyed reading the book and saw the movie in Florence, Italy. Gilbert met and married a man she met in Bali. They moved to New Jersey and opened an Asian import store. Their marriage did not last. However, I can see how Gilbert found comfort and adventure in the beauty of Bali in the surrounding temples, green hills, and blue ocean.

The local family who works at our hotel is friendly and full of smiles. They live with their three daughters here and cook, clean, and tend the gardens. See photo below. Daily, we snorkel from the beach in front of our bungalow. The crystal, blue water is warm and the fish are colorful. This morning the hotel staff surprised us with a special breakfast to celebrate our 50 years together. Chuck and I met during our first week of college at the University of Colorado in 1972. Our hotel wrote an anniversary message to us created with flowers on the breakfast table. Luckily, I wore a flowered dress to breakfast and put the breakfast flowers in my hair in the above photo. 

Here is our waitress with her youngest daughter. She is afraid of the ocean and never learned to swim. However, she lives and works at this seaside resort. Life is strange and beautiful. Every sunset, we have our own Happy Hour on the porch overlooking the Indian Ocean. I thank my lucky stars for this magical moment in time. In the future, whatever it brings, I will look back on this idyllic, island vacation as a 'Beautiful Bali Moment'.