Hello Everyone!
I survived/thrived on the 7 day detox in Thailand with excellent results, sweet talked a man with a pick up truck to drive me to the other side of an island through flooded roads to the airport where no cab driver would venture, and have discovered a land of smiles and sunshine in (drum roll please...) Bali!!
I spent one day on the crystal blue-watered beach of Kuta, Bali, and then headed inland to the happy little town of Ubud, very close to where Elizabeth Gilbert stayed in her memoir Eat, Pray, Love. This place is by far my favorite out of all my travels. There is eternal sunshine, oodles of friendly people, and the streets are soooo safe to walk at night as a single lady traveler (compared to Bangkok in which I didn't even like to go out in darkness). It seems to be the yoga capital of the world (everyone comes here to do yoga retreats, learn to be a yoga teacher, etc.) and there is a large raw food community here, with several restaurants catering to that demand.
I have taken a handful of raw vegan un-cooking classes. My favorite was "Raw Desserts":
Raw Vegan Berry Cheesecake:
Pineapple Cobbler:
Key Lime Pie:
No dairy, ovens, heat, or sugar were involved with any of these desserts!!! And they were soooo delicious!!!
Sitting in a juice shop in Ubud, I met a yoga student from Canada named Dustin. I was telling Dustin that I loved raw food, and Dustin shared with me that his yoga retreat that he was attending only serves raw food. He gave me the chef's email and SNAP! The next day I am apprenticing full time in their kitchen!
Being a TOTAL rookie at working in any type of kitchen other than my own, I am finding this to be a totally crazy experience. I am learning soooo very much about not only raw food, but kitchen environments. Lucky for me, the peeps working there are absolute angels and are so sweet to me despite my severe lack of experience.
My FAVORITE part of this adventure is getting to eat all this crazy yummy food! Check out some of these spreads:
Mexican Night with raw burritos:
Salad bar lunch party:
Breakfast with cranberry vanilla almond "milk", mango smoothies, coconut "yogurt", fruit, etc:
The fruit here is crazy amazing! Mangosteen, Jackfruit, Snakefruit, Passionfruit... so much yumminess!
My other favorite part of Bali are the eternally happy, extra smiley Balinese people! In particular, there are two young men (Ketut and Yande) who work at my guest house that are quite the charmers...
Ketut offers to hand feed me my fresh cut fruit breakfast each morning with a giggle and a smile. I respectfully decline his generous offer. :)Yande ranks an eleven out of ten on the charmer scale. He is quite the comedian as well. He has been driving me to and from my apprenticeship resort each day, which is about a 20 minute moto ride. I have been enjoying teaching him the meaning of "Sugar Daddy," and "Cougar." He has requested that I locate a "Cougar" for him pronto.
Upon returning to my guest house, I receive hilarious notes like this:
Yande couldn't drive me to my apprenticeship today because he had to go to a wedding. I received the following Facebook message from him:
"Hiii my waterlily, how are you.....I miss you so much. On the wedding ceremony I just thinking about your lovely face. I almost cry for this, 102% very sure."
And then, because I am leaving Ubud on Tuesday, he said:
"I will kill myself on Tuesday....at the time you leave me..I bought a gun today.."
I peed my pants a little when I read it. (And then scolded him for the suicidal part.) He is quite possibly the funniest human I have ever encountered.
Here are a couple quick Bali videos for you!
Me on the beach in Kuta rejoicing in the sunshine after 10 days of Thailand rain
Me at my guest house in Ubud
Balinese Kids Band raising money for tsunami/volcano victims
Hiking near Ubud in green paradise
Dining in a pink sunset at Sari Organic Restaurant
Hope you enjoy the vids and I highly recommend Bali as your next vaca destination!!
Peace out from Bali!
Love,
TBC
