Leaving on a High Note

Wow.   5 & ½ weeks of floating through a life of leisure in a country I had been desperate to escape for some time.  Not so bad.  The paths I’ve been led down over the last few months have been ever changing and full of unscripted surprises.  Stomach lurching upsets and heart bursting reunions have fuelled emotional tidal waves worthy of dramatic accolades and set me on a road that I would have never found if left to my own small mind.  It’s the people, always the people.  It has been an uplifting end to my Indo road, the note I wanted to go out on.

Life is easy in Bali.  Easy to travel, easy to understand, easy to live.  Yes, yes, it’s Indonesia so there are the everyday frustrations that come from an inability to think outside said “box” but things work, more or less, here.  The service industry here truly is a functioning industry but pride in who they are is present outside of the service industry world, in even the very small things.  Efforts are evident in yes, promoting luxury tourism but also in keeping good care of their island, their home, whether the boss is watching or not.  While of course trained (or tainted) by western influences, there is still culture woven through the everyday performing pony duties.  People are kind here, peaceful here, personable.  From the big cities to the smaller, lost on my motorbike villages the interest is genuine, soft, inviting.  Oh wow, don’t get me wrong, there are turds, there are always turds, but they seem to be much less concentrated here. 

Gone are the shudder inducing shouts of slurred “BULE!” (foreigner) donkey calls as I walk down the street or drive by homes.  Gone are the gawking, finger up the nose, glazed eye stares as I pull up to a stop light or enter a shop.  Gone are the whispers and giggles and agonizing delays accompanying any small task as one or the other gathers enough courage to speak a word or two of English on a dare, not a welcome or greeting, sending all surrounding parties into collapsing hysterics.  *sigh*  Gone, gone, gone.  Yes, there are still the occasional looks of surprise, gasps of shock, and signs of distress when my white face shows up but almost always, almost always, composure is quickly regained and a genuine smile replaces any previous sign of alarm.  The Balinese people are lovely, lovely, lovely.  Instead of running frantically towards the airport exit gate, I will breathe a small, wistful sigh of thanks that my ever changing plans allowed me to experience this very unique island within this very complex country before going on my way.  Thanks Universe, I owe you. 

The weeks have passed in a spin cycle and I’m having trouble remembering all that I’ve done.  I’ve visited familiar places and relished in feeling a bit like a local while doing nothing at all.  I’ve seen new places that left me ooohing and ahhhing when I thought there couldn’t be much left to wow me.  I’ve met people who have rekindled my love of exploring by willingly doing it with me.  I’ve refilled my closed door lonely heart of the past year with new memories with dear friends from days of when I was more … me.  My camera wasn’t so much the focus this time around, even though I do have more than I need; these past few weeks have simply been about … feeling it.  Just feeling it.  My emotions have been intense, from serenity to rage to heart wide open love.  I’ve run headlong into laughing without restraint, reacting without filters, and embracing experiences without analyzing.  And it has felt very, very good.

 I am ready for the next part of my journey (she says now in the comfort of a familiar house in a familiar town).  I am welcoming the anxiety that always accompanies my first steps in heading towards a new country (she says with a tight-lipped grimace).  I am moving forward, finding a path, making decisions (she says with 3 years of lost and aimless on the road quickly approaching).  I am ready.

A few highlights, shall we?

Hidden away, barely there, well-kept secret bays and pristine beaches found by merciless motorbike maneuvering shared with some of the best company I could have ever hoped for. Surfers and divers demand the most breath-taking scenery in the world.  Easy. 

Meeting a friend from a lifetime ago and getting to snorkel with him, a pod of dolphins, and a few magical mantas.  Wow.

Laughing my guts out with my SA boys from Mozambique.  The love and peace I feel in their company centres me entirely.  So.  Much.  Love.    

A mute, mentally and physically disabled girl on a deserted beach taking my hand, leading me to the sea, and playing in the water with only the sounds of the waves and her laughter.  Heaven. 

Fully mastering motorbike riding chaos with large men on the back of my bike.  Victory.

Experiencing the lunatic fun of diving with friends rather than random divers.  Ridiculous fun.

Liberating a tied up crab.  Yes, a crab.

Meeting a very cool Bristol Boy who just happens to love mantas as much as I do.  Bliss.

Relearning the art of just going with it.  Excellent.   

I’ve covered all of south Bali several times over, been up and down Lombok and over to a few islands.  I’ve blown my budget clear out of the atmosphere but wouldn’t take any of it back.  I haven’t sat still for very long at all and I’ve made a new travel plan which will keep me on the road for the next few months, fingers crossed. 

India is still in the plans but Sri Lanka will be the first stop.  Too many conversations and flashing neon arrows have pointed in that direction over the last couple of weeks so yes, Sri Lanka is mine for the taking.  No connections, no plans, just going.  How hard can it be? Ahhhh... the trouble I have found myself in and the stories that have followed past utterances of those 5 little words … I cannot wait.  New worlds on the horizon folks, wish me luck!