Memories of Bali---A Cultural Experience

I’ve been wanting to share or probably archive my Bali moments through this blog for a long time already. But when you’re going through a break-up and that fucking (forgive the language) moving on process, it’s just hard especially when the holiday I am about to talk about is probably the last one that I’ll ever have with my buddy. That use of foul word is not even me anymore. But being in a situation I was so scared to be in before is just a total torture. I’m like “Fuck all of you who caused this!” And I have myself to blame too. I can’t even decide whether to sing Mariah Carey’s “Emotions” or “Breakdown.” Or maybe her interpretation of that art called letting go, “The Art of Letting Go!” And some people are probably rejoicing already because I’m finally in deep shit, but is that still important? I just really want to get over this and pull myself up again.

At first, I thought it was only coming up with a title that hindered me from writing about my Bali escapade. Now, it’s more than that obviously.  When I thought of a title before, the first thing that came to my mind was “Memories of Bali,” which I was so hesitant to use because it was a Korean television series that had a tragic ending, but now, I think it’s very appropriate for this entry. Our ending may not be tragic, but it’s really sad! It’s depressing! And it’s definitely something you or anyone else would want to experience. For someone and probably a lot out there who are conditioned to believe in happy endings, going through the anxieties of separation is just worse as hell!

And it’s not only memories of Bali that I’m mourning about as I write this. Memories of my work will be something I’m going to mourn about in the coming days. You know when you’re going through as bad as a break-up, everything just stops functioning in your system and so as not to compromise the employment of the people I work with, I decided to quit my job! The second riskiest decision I’ve made this year. Today, I’m in the office trying to complete the tasks I’ve not done for the week, but look at me, I end up blogging. And I thought this is totally unfair to the company who fed me for the last six years. Quitting my job may not be the best idea there is to deal with my current situation, but I’m quitting with optimism, not defeat. Thinking about the uncertainties of tomorrow scares me, but I won’t stop knocking (hopefully) on more doors after closing one or two doors in my life.

I know it’s pathetic of me writing about this break-up saga I’m going through right now. I’m not even sure if this is a cry for help or I’m just merely sharing this for those people who can relate or maybe I need someone to tell me I shouldn't be feeling this way, but there’s a voice inside me saying this can help me free my heart from that heavy feeling. It can help release the hate towards what or who caused everything that’s happening now. I’ve shared my story to a few friends. They were there to listen, but I’m not convinced if they really understood me, if they really cared. I know I should be thankful, but it’s just so hard to trust anyone. I can’t avoid feeling that at the end of the day, they will just leave and move on with their lives because after all, my battle is not theirs to carry!

Jumping from one thought to another is pretty obvious in the four paragraphs I wrote above. At this moment, I’m still not decided whether to post this entry or not so I thought posting my Bali photos below would help. And this is probably one of the ways for me to walk down memory lane and revisit those wonderful moments I had with my buddy and at the same time say goodbye to everything we shared in those moments that supposedly changed the way I used to see the world. Bali was such a nice place, just like Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, but these are places I may never go back to and visit again in the future. Or maybe I’d still do want to visit them---when I’m ready. Only time can tell! For now, I don't really know.

BATUAN TEMPLE

As I mentioned in my previous post, Bali was more like a cultural experience---revisiting the past. Since we only had a day to tour around before flying to the Philippines, we only got to visit a few temples and our picks were based on the brochure handed to us by our driver/ tour guide named Putong. He used to be a seafarer, but since it's so hard to be away from his family, he chose a job in the tourism industry. He was kind and quite chatty. 

Our first stop was Batuan temple. As far as my memory is concerned, there were no entrance fees to temple visits, but they accept donations. And visitors are required to wear sarongs to hide the legs as form of respect to the sacred structures. We stopped at Batuan first as it was closer to the city central. As you can see in the photos below, the temples especially the gates are reminiscent of a typical Balinese structure, which I think are really pretty. 

UBUD RICE TERRACES

When Putong was driving us to another temple or probably to the volcanoes (I couldn't remember exactly, which came first), he said we were going to drop by at their famous rice terraces. I was a bit excited to witness and see how it is compared to the ones we have here in the Philippines. Well, it was a site to see for curious travellers, but having been to our very own Banaue rice terraces, I must say without bias that ours is still the most majestic and the best rice terraces in the world. I was there back in 2013 and I've been wanting to go back. Sadly, with the situation I am in now, it seems like Banaue's going to be something I'm going to bury in my past too. But for the wanderlusts out there, Banaue rice terraces must be in your bucket list. I highly recommend it and if you haven't thought of a place to stay there yet, then you might want to consider staying at Native Village Inn, which is a resort nestled atop one of the grand mountains in the area. You also get to stay inside a traditional ifugao house and the resort offers unblocked view of the rice terraces. It's a perfect place I highly recommend too for honeymooners. :-)

UNKNOWN STOPOVER

Before we reached the volcano site, we dropped by at this Hindu temple along the way. It was a bit drizzly so we didn't stay longer and I didn't bother to ask as well what the name of the temple was. I was fascinated again though of the architecture and landscaping, hence, the photo below. 

THE VOLCANO SITE

Even back in school, it's taking down notes that I was so lazy to do and I think that's still true nowadays so I have not taken down notes on the exact location of this volcano site in Bali. I also have the option while writing this to research about these volcanoes, but first, I'm really too lazy to google some information right now (I'm going through a break-up for crying out loud and I think that's enough excuse for this laziness Hahaha) and secondly, there are too many of them volcanoes to reseach on. :-D All I can assure you is that the site is a must-see in Bali. It may take almost an hour to get there, but if you drive yourselves going to the place, it would be faster. We even saw caucasian tourists just cycling themselves up to the mountainous area. The drive is worth it. That I can assure everyone and being there was the closest I have been to a volcano. 

GUNUNG KAWI

The next temple we visited was Gunung Kawi. We only visited three temples and I must say this one was my second favorite. I'm saving the top of my list for last. It will take a hundred plus steps to get to this ancient marvel and as usual, wearing a sarong was a requirement. This is where I had a few photos of myself were taken too. I think I felt quite good looking with the sarong I wore, specifically the print. Hahaha But since I still had my stye this time, it took some hardcore photo editing before I could finally post a decent photo of myself with my stye almost not obvious. 

PANDAWA BEACH

Aside from the temples, it was also the beach that we were quite enthusiastic about. Is it bad to say I was a bit disappointed? To be honest, it was not as pretty as I thought it would be. Maybe because we have not gone to the best ones like Kuta. This is the reason that in my previous entry, I stated that Lombok had the best beaches and Bali is really more cultural. We just took a few photos and observed how both locals and foreign tourists enjoyed their moments at the beach. The sun was so up and the weather was really scorching hot when we were there. That wasn't the reason though why we didn't swim. We loved the sun, only that the beaches were not that enticing as the ones in Lombok. 

PADANG-PADANG BEACH

Our next stop before the major event of the tour was this beach called Padang-Padang. Just like Pandawa, the place was really filled with tourists, both foreign and local. As seen in the photo below, one has to go through that tiny tiny passage with man-made stairs to get to the beach. Again, it wasn't really our thing because it was too touristy, but our curious minds kept us going. The beach wasn't spectacular at all, but we noticed tourists really enjoyed their moments there. We liked the rock formations though, took some shots of it against the sunlight, trying hard to come up with an 'instagramable' photograph. The place may not have been that impressive, but we surely had fun observing people and exchanging words about what we thought of the place. 

ULUWATU TEMPLE

Now, here's the moment I've been dying to really share. Since this was our last stop, we were already a bit tired after the whole day of driving and stopping and walking under the heat of the sun. I haven't even taken photos of our lunch and the restaurant where we had it as my iPhone also died quite a few times. And you know when you're hungry and tired and your phone is not cooperating, the mood to take photos sometimes dies too. Hahaha :-D But now, the regret is mine. Gosh, it made me hungry thinking of that sumptuous lunch we had in the middle of our trip. 

When we thought of our tour in Bali, one of the things we really look forward to seeing was the sunset---that talked about Balinese sunset. Hence, Putong intentionally made Uluwatu our last stop because aside from the activities that can be done there, it offers the prettiest and the most spectacular view of that Balinese sunset. And he didn't fail us. It was indeed beautiful. Just romantic! 

Uluwatu is really a site to see in Bali. If you go to the cliff side on the right side, you will see monkeys and men chanting while facing the ocean. I couldn't understand a word that came out of their mouths, but I knew they were praying. On the other cliff though, the main temple was located but tourist were not allowed entry but we were able to see the interior by peeping through the grilled gates. It's also where the mini theatre was closely located where the much-awaited dance/ drama/ play is usually done. It faces the sea still and it's where everyone can see the horizon while watching the play going on. You can see what I'm talking about in the photos below. 

They say that every visitor to Bali should see at least one dance and if you plan to witness one of the many, this dance should be it! It's called Kecak Ramayana & Fire Dance accompanied by a choir of chanting and singing men. 

Quite a few memories to dwell on, right? Our Indonesian holiday was just one of the many that my buddy and I had together. A few years ago, we talked and hoped we could travel together. And we did, countless times! I never though it'd happen, but it did and I had so many memories to take with me as I move forward (which make the moving on process really hard) And we dreamed about more travels together, but I guess that'll just be forever a dream now. Or maybe it was just I who dreamed about that. My buddy had chosen to adventure on his own now and wished that I'd do the same, even farther. But I only had one desire and that is for us to go on more adventures together. He took me to wonderful places I've never imagined I'd be at in my whole life. He motivated me to experience things I never thought I could do. He was my get-up-and-go. We've been to our definition of paradise together, but as I always told him, I will only have one most favorite place in the world---right next to him! 

I guess I've really put my whole life in this relationship that's why I can't just easily tell myself that happiness is a choice and moving on is a choice too. I guess that's true, but nobody said it's going to be an easy choice. But like what my buddy and I had---it all started with hope. So I guess I will start from that again this time---to hope that things will get better on my own, or to hope that one day I can tell myself, "This is my new favorite place?" I'm not really sure what to hope for this time, but I guess I'll just hope for universal happiness for all of us!

XoXo, 

Red Eye 

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