I initially wasn't going to blog about my trip to Bali because I wasn't feeling well, but now that I'm no longer trapped by the grip of depression, I want to document some things.
I'm currently sitting in a hostel room in Ubud with Angus and Katharine. We got here this afternoon, after 5 days spent in a beautiful villa in Kutuh for Celia and Landen's wedding. The wedding was great - apparently thirteen people is considered an intimate affair, but on the day of the wedding itself, there was myself, Angus, Katharine, Celia and Landen (obviously), Celia's mom and dad Jillian and Peter, her cousin and her partner Ruth (RJ) and Arlen, childhood friends Lina and Shanna, and Shanna's boyfriend Jun, and two people from Landen's work who's names I forget.
Katharine and I were the wedding photographers, and I still have to edit all those photos. I was really nervous about it initially, but I actually had a lot of fun shooting the wedding, and now I can add wedding photography to my portfolio. We did the bulk of them at this absolutely gorgeous yoga studio/villa. They served us cold coffees and snacks, and we wandered around as we pleased. I took my favourite photo there.
The wedding itself was really lovely and quirky, just like the two people getting married. Angus officiated, and his sermon involved a lot of animal facts and puns. There were poetry readings, and a Russian bread tradition where the bride and groom rip a loaf of bread apart with their mouths and whoever gets the bigger piece is supposed to be in charge. We played lots of wrestling themed games, including Muskox, Inuit leg wrestling, knees and shoulders, etc. The food was incredible - beef rendeng is a complex and wonderfully aromatic dish. Gado gado is my new favourite thing.
As guests slowly left over the night, we ended up closing out the night sitting in the villa's swimming pool drinking mojitos. A truly good day had by all.
The rest of our time in the villa was spent exploring on and off. We found a steep cliff side path down to Pandawa Beach, and our own secluded beach blocked off at high tide. I found lots of neat seashells, and there were tiny hermit crabs walking about. The seawater was warm and salty and I could float without being scared. We did that almost daily.
One day we went to Ulutwatu temple, which cost money and wasn't that exciting, but Celia and Landen really wanted to go. I saw a bunch of monkeys, but I wasn't that interested in them. They're jerks and I'm apprehensive about them. I did see an iguana, which was cool.
Yesterday was a big day for a few reasons. In the early morning, we had an earthquake. I found out later in the day that it caused some building damage in and around Bali, but it didn't do any damage to the villa. The ground shook like there had been a huge blast and Margaret (the villa manager) ushered myself and Peter out onto the grass, just to be safe. It turned out to be a 5.7 on the Richter, but later news reports said 6.1. ...I thought it was neat. Other people I'm with thought it was scary.
In the afternoon, Celia, Landen and myself went to a secluded beach called Green Bowl Beach, which might have actually been my favourite part of the trip so far. We had to walk down 300 stairs to the beach, which can only be accessed at low tide, through a bunch of monkey infested forest, until we reached the bottom and there was a spit of sand, a few people, and a tidal shoreline environment. I loved it. The tide was low and we could explore the tidal pools and they were filled with life. I saw a sea urchin, and some little crabs that were wearing seaweed as a hat, and two little tropical fishes, and hundreds of sea stars...one of which crawled onto my foot and it felt really awful and I had to remove it. They're sticky, it turns out.
Ubud so far has just been an exercise in exploration. We all checked into the hostel and I spent the afternoon walking around. I found all the white people I had heard came to Bali but hadn't yet seen. This is simultaneously my place and also filled with pretentious white girls here to find themselves and do yoga. My verdict: 7/10. Food could be cheaper.
Tomorrow is for hikes!
I'm currently sitting in a hostel room in Ubud with Angus and Katharine. We got here this afternoon, after 5 days spent in a beautiful villa in Kutuh for Celia and Landen's wedding. The wedding was great - apparently thirteen people is considered an intimate affair, but on the day of the wedding itself, there was myself, Angus, Katharine, Celia and Landen (obviously), Celia's mom and dad Jillian and Peter, her cousin and her partner Ruth (RJ) and Arlen, childhood friends Lina and Shanna, and Shanna's boyfriend Jun, and two people from Landen's work who's names I forget.
Katharine and I were the wedding photographers, and I still have to edit all those photos. I was really nervous about it initially, but I actually had a lot of fun shooting the wedding, and now I can add wedding photography to my portfolio. We did the bulk of them at this absolutely gorgeous yoga studio/villa. They served us cold coffees and snacks, and we wandered around as we pleased. I took my favourite photo there.
The wedding itself was really lovely and quirky, just like the two people getting married. Angus officiated, and his sermon involved a lot of animal facts and puns. There were poetry readings, and a Russian bread tradition where the bride and groom rip a loaf of bread apart with their mouths and whoever gets the bigger piece is supposed to be in charge. We played lots of wrestling themed games, including Muskox, Inuit leg wrestling, knees and shoulders, etc. The food was incredible - beef rendeng is a complex and wonderfully aromatic dish. Gado gado is my new favourite thing.
As guests slowly left over the night, we ended up closing out the night sitting in the villa's swimming pool drinking mojitos. A truly good day had by all.
The rest of our time in the villa was spent exploring on and off. We found a steep cliff side path down to Pandawa Beach, and our own secluded beach blocked off at high tide. I found lots of neat seashells, and there were tiny hermit crabs walking about. The seawater was warm and salty and I could float without being scared. We did that almost daily.
One day we went to Ulutwatu temple, which cost money and wasn't that exciting, but Celia and Landen really wanted to go. I saw a bunch of monkeys, but I wasn't that interested in them. They're jerks and I'm apprehensive about them. I did see an iguana, which was cool.
Yesterday was a big day for a few reasons. In the early morning, we had an earthquake. I found out later in the day that it caused some building damage in and around Bali, but it didn't do any damage to the villa. The ground shook like there had been a huge blast and Margaret (the villa manager) ushered myself and Peter out onto the grass, just to be safe. It turned out to be a 5.7 on the Richter, but later news reports said 6.1. ...I thought it was neat. Other people I'm with thought it was scary.
In the afternoon, Celia, Landen and myself went to a secluded beach called Green Bowl Beach, which might have actually been my favourite part of the trip so far. We had to walk down 300 stairs to the beach, which can only be accessed at low tide, through a bunch of monkey infested forest, until we reached the bottom and there was a spit of sand, a few people, and a tidal shoreline environment. I loved it. The tide was low and we could explore the tidal pools and they were filled with life. I saw a sea urchin, and some little crabs that were wearing seaweed as a hat, and two little tropical fishes, and hundreds of sea stars...one of which crawled onto my foot and it felt really awful and I had to remove it. They're sticky, it turns out.
Ubud so far has just been an exercise in exploration. We all checked into the hostel and I spent the afternoon walking around. I found all the white people I had heard came to Bali but hadn't yet seen. This is simultaneously my place and also filled with pretentious white girls here to find themselves and do yoga. My verdict: 7/10. Food could be cheaper.
Tomorrow is for hikes!
.jpg)
