No noisy trains to sleep on, no terrifying traffic to dodge, no hostel full of drunk hooligans. This week, I’m celebrating my thirtieth birthday in a state of pure bliss, and it was long overdue. It wasn’t until our first yoga class that I realized how much stress I had been holding in my body. I couldn’t even touch my toes – something I’m very certain I could accomplish just a few months ago. 

My seven days at Oneworld Retreats in Bali were incredible. The itinerary could not have been more inviting—each day a combination of morning yoga, delicious meals, spa treatments, relaxation, and meditation. In case I was worried about getting stir crazy in paradise, I was lucky that this week at the retreat was titled ‘Footprints in Bali’, meaning in addition to all the yoga and meditation and zen offered at the resort, hiking around some of Bali’s most beautiful fields and temples.

The first few days were a blur of activity – we visited the Gunung Kawi Hindu forest temple, hiked through rice fields, visited the sacred monkey forest, and most notably, attended a purification ceremony at Tirta Empul, a Hindu water temple. 

During the melukat or purification ceremony, we donned white sarongs, ‘sacrificed’ our offering of flowers and fruit, and jumped into (freezing cold) spring pools, dunking ourselves three times under each fountain before being blessed by a manku (local priest). The water comes from the mountain springs and is as crystal clear as it is freezing cold. The water is believed to have curative powers. Each fountain spout represents something different—some grant protections, others cure physical ailments, others cure mental ailments. I won’t get into all of them, but you can find what each spring represents here.

These photos really don’t do this temple justice—it’s gorgeous.

On my actual birthday, we had a 2:30 am wake-up scheduled to hike to the top of the Gunung Batur volcano. My first decision of my thirties was that sleep was more important than a volcano hike (I was also still a bit nervous after the New Zealand volcano eruption just a few weeks before). Priorities. I slept in, took breakfast in my room, wandered the town for a bit, and then spent the rest of the day reading and journaling outside on the porch while I watched the rain. Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday. 

Bali is said to have three seasons – wet season, dry season, and (best of all) Mango season. I happened to be here during the wet season, which meant each afternoon I was gifted a few hours of a thunderstorm. However, I didn’t mind. It was a nice respite from the heat and there’s nothing quite like a rainforest right after a storm.

On my free day, I visited the rice terrace. I had hiked about halfway through the rice fields before a severe thunderstorm came through. I ended up spending the next hour in a small, empty guide hut waiting for the storm to pass.

The trip was worth it as the fields were still gorgeous, I have a weird love for the rain, and best of all, I stopped at Batu Karu Kopi for a coffee tasting. They’re most notably known for their Kopi Luwak, coffee cherries digested and then pooped out by a civet. Happy to report that it tasted like coffee.

Our last full day was a relaxing one. We drove to the beach and spent the day sunbathing, swimming in the ocean, and drinking out of coconuts.

We were given a special treat at night—the resort is also home to Bali’s prince (which is a thing I guess), and before our final feast, we were invited for champagne and hors d’oeuvres in the prince’s stunning home, complete with Balinese artifacts.

On the last night at dinner, we were all given a quick shock back to reality when China completely shut down its borders due to coronavirus. A Swedish woman on our trip was currently living and teaching in China, and was stranded with no idea how she would get back or how to get her things. Although if there was anywhere I’d want to be trapped, it might just be here.

At this point, I need to thank my guides and teachers, Iyan and Desi as well as those who joined me during this week. It was a phenomenal group of people who made it a wonderful experience. The closing ceremony was emotional for everyone and while it was only a week, it provided me with memories and people that I’ll never forget. 

The post Turning Thirty: Peace, <br>Love, and Mango Season appeared first on Kim Is Lost.

After finally getting my luggage, I was harassed by a number of shops trying to sell outrageously overpriced sim cards. The airport had WIFI so I decided to book a Grab Taxi and get a sim card after I checked in. My hotel was only wto miles from the airport, but there weren’t any sidewalks as the highway was the only way out of the airport, so walking didn’t seem like a great option. My Grab (the Uber of Asia) took about forty minutes to get to me and once I got in, we drove 5 minutes before hitting bumper-to-bumper traffic. I was pretty tired after the last few days and took a nap.

I woke up 2 hours later and we were still only halfway there. It would end up taking me almost three hours to get to my hotel, far longer than it would have taken me to walk. As my cab fare was predetermined, but I left my driver a generous tip for his trouble, thankful to be out of a car.

By the time I arrived, most shops were closed, but I found a small hut selling SIM cards. It seemed a little sketchy and the shop owner didn’t speak English so I just pointed to my phone. A SIM card for 2 weeks was about $3 USD, so I decided to take my chances. I popped it in and sure enough, I had internet (I would be grateful I bought the cheap SIM card as I later discovered that SIM cards are regional and only work on the island where you purchase them, meaning I would end up having to buy a new one when I got to my next destination).

The next day, I landed in the airport in Labuan Bajo, a town of about five thousand people. It was a mile and a half to my room, and after my cab troubles from the previous night, I decided to walk. At least twenty people on mopeds stopped me on my thirty-minute walk to ask if I needed a ride. I declined, not wanting to think about balancing all of my luggage on a bike.

I walked past a group of young girls all smiling and waving madly as they chanted their practiced English “Hello”. I smiled and waved back returning the greeting and they all cheered and laughed. I passed a large pile of burning trash, a pile that continued burning for the three days I spent here. After finally arriving at my hotel, I dropped off my things and got dinner just in time to watch the sunset. There are few places with a sunset quite like the ones I witnessed in Indonesia.

The following day, I woke up to complete darkness and headed to the boat where I would be exploring the islands around Flores. After an hour boat ride watching the sunrise, my small group headed to Padar Island to hike to the summit. The hike in total took about an hour and would have been quicker but the summit was crowded. We spotted a baby green tree viper on our way down, which was surprising considering how many people were on this island.

We escaped the crowd and took the boat to the Pink Beach, which was truly unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The beach gets its color from the red coral washing ashore.

The Pink Beach lived up to its reputation.

After sunning on the Pink Beach, we headed to the most anticipated part of the day—Komodo Island. There are an estimated seventeen hundred Komodo dragons living on the island. We were lucky enough to see a few baby dragons as well as several adults.

One thing I wish I had known prior to taking the above photo is that their venom is very poisonous. They bite their prey and wait for the poison to do its job before digging in for a meal. Our guide had a large, pronged stick to push away any dragons that may get too close or try to attack – the stick was not comforting in the least.

On the way to our final stops of Taka Makassar Island and Kanawa Island, we passed a group of dolphins swimming and jumping out of the water. It was a great introduction to the snorkeling we were about to undertake.

We hopped out of the boat and put on our snorkel gear while our guide pointed out the reason we came here – several Giant Manta Rays swam just a few feet below us. These Mantas can get up to thirty feet wide. Ten Giant Manta Rays swam below us, with fish clinging to their backs for a free ride (conjuring memories of watching Finding Nemo).

I was so focused on the Manta Rays that I didn’t even notice we were swimming through small jellyfish. Either they can’t sting or I couldn’t feel it, but the unease I felt when I first spotted them slowly ebbed as I took in all of the sea life swimming around me.

After a perfect end to a great day, we headed back to shore. The following morning, the heat would be unbearable, so I headed to the street with my luggage to wait for someone to drive by and offer me a ride to the airport. After a few minutes, I precariously balanced my luggage on the back of a moped while the driver wound his way up the hills and to the airport.

I’d been going non-stop for the last few weeks and was very excited to be heading to Bali for a much-deserved, week-long yoga retreat.

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