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Published: November 11th 2015
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I woke up in agony. Riding over large potholes on a scooter with very questionable suspension wreaked havoc on my back. When it became too painful to even breathe, I decided to seek out a chiropractor who incidentally was from Melbourne.
I felt so much more human following my treatment and we were able to go for a gentle walk and have lunch. We stumbled across the wonderful Warung Siri Bale, a lovely restaurant which supports a public healthcare foundation. As much as 70% of the funds come from the restaurant and meal purchased provides two healthcare consultations for the 27,000 thousand people that are cared for each year. The restaurant’s food, drink and atmosphere are fantastic, so please pay them a visit on your next trip to Bali.
By the afternoon, I was desperate to practice yoga and ended up in a hard core class of vinyasa flow. That evening, I joined a wonderful women’s circle led by the beautiful Emily Kuser. It was a truly magical experience and I fully intend to join a women’s circle once we are back in Melbourne.
The following Day, poor Dean woke up feeling unwell (possibly some dodgy food in
addition to lack of sleep because of the crowing cockerels!), so he slept it off while I went to yoga, had an amazing western-style remedial massage and a light lunch. In the afternoon, we both headed to our very first silversmith class with Studio Perak (perak meaning silver) where we learnt how to make jewellery. Dean got stuck straight in (the girl at the table next to us assumed he had done this many times before) and we ended up with a beautiful pendant, a pair of earrings and a ring between the two of us. Some of the techniques were quite tricky, most notably soldering and filing, but the teacher was fantastic and guided us through it all. After the class, we went for a little ticky tour on the scooter. Thank you Dean for doing your best to avoid all the potholes! As it turns out, Ubud is a lot bigger than it had first appeared and there is so much to explore. We finished the day off with a delicious dinner back at home and an early night.
The next day, it was my turn to wake up with the infamous Bali Belly. Not good. At
all. Somehow I had thought that I had escaped this one, but it wasn’t to be. After resting up during the morning and allowing whatever food hadn’t agreed pass through me, I found some hidden energy and we embarked on a gentle excursion. We swang past the art gallery and the beautiful temple next to ‘The Bridges’ that cross the river on the northern side of town. Next, after purchasing a pair of $6 sunnies as I had lost mine, came one of the most memorable experiences of this trip: a beautiful walk through the ride paddies where we saw quaint homes and homestays, locals offering their arts & crafts, and women working tirelessly to harvest the rice. It’s tough work and I doubt I will look at a bowl of rice in the same way from now on! The countryside was stunning, lush and serene. We stopped at the lovely Sari Organic farm for lunch and thoroughly relished the views.
My stomach remains fragile, but hopefully that was the first and last experience of Bali Belly!
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