Living that EAT PRAY LOVE dream in BALI

Brace yourselves...

I have many many photos from my long weekend in Bali so the next 4 posts will be Bali-dominated.

This first post includes photos from Ubud, a culturally rich city where much of Eat Pray Love was filmed. The majority of people living in Ubud practice Hinduism. The landscape was decorated with tons of beautiful Hindu stone sculptures and temples.



This is the view from our guest house porch!




Walk way to our guest house! When we arrived, we met a 17 year old who worked there and he was so sweet and helpful! He made us delicious banana crepes in the morning with a plate of fresh fruit and tea! (our room cost 10$ a person a night!)


The beautiful Balinese flowers that are scattered on the ground everywhere.



These next pictures start the Eat Pray Love adventure!


Above is the house Elizabeth Gilbert stayed in when she lived in Bali (Eat Pray Love).

Another house surrounded by beautiful rice fields.

Our awesome driver Nyoman is in the distance walking through the rice fields. He took us all around Bali--the nicest and funniest man ever--cracked jokes all the time.

Reminder when walking through rice fields: tread carefully because they are muddy and slick and one will fall in--tip may be based on personal experience.


Lovely palm trees.

All of us walking back to the car after walking through the rice fields.

Living that Eat Pray Love dream--EG's house in the background.


Keeping with the Eat Pray Love theme, we all figured we would track down Ketut Liyer, the medicine man Elizabeth Gilbert befriended when she was in Bali--the same man who read her future. He has a booming business, no doubt since the book and movie came out. When we went to see him he was all booked for the day. People show up early in the morning and take a number, yes like at a deli, and then wait for their turn. We went late in the afternoon so he was full, but Mary and Hayley went back another day after I left because they had a glorious week long vacation.

The sign outside of Ketut's.

Here is Ketut and a customer.


The day before we went to see Wayan, another friend of Elizabeth Gilbert. Wayan is the woman who helped heal Elizabeth's wound when she was injured. EG asked friends from home for donations so she could help build Wayan a new home after she lost everything in her divorce. We went to see Wayan at her business, she too is a medicine woman and reads palms and does body readings. When we got there Wayan only had time for one reading because she was tired. Our friend Gretchen, who was leaving later that day to go back home, got a body reading. We all observed! It was an interesting experience. Wayan talked about Gretchen's health and love life. Some true, some not so much. Regardless, it was a wonderful experience.

Unfortunately I did not have a body reading from either Ketut or Wayan, but I plan to go back and have one. I have always been intrigued by palm readings, but have never experienced one, so why not in Bali?



Herbal supplements and healings.

You can see the yellow alter in the background hanging on the wall.

Cabinet filled with herbal supplements above.

Lighting incense and waiting..

Wayan prays before every body reading or practice. She has a small alter, not sure what it is called, where the offerings are put every day and she prays to it. These offerings are all other Ubud, outside of restaurants, shops, inside cars on dashboards. It's quite beautiful and peaceful to see. The offerings of flowers, small monies, candies, etc. are placed in a handmade woven palm box. The offerings are replaced every day and are offered to the gods.


After our day of exploring we went to a cafe for lunch that is set in the hills, surrounded by gorgeous rice fields. I also threw in some random pictures of the Ubud landscape!



New house being built next to the cafe.



Rice field worker.





Bali is so unbelievably beautiful and there is a peaceful presence. Like all the islands of Indonesia, it is unlike any other. Bali is so different from where I live and teach. For one, there are sooo many BULES (foreigners/white people). It was actually a culture shock to see so many white people. There were tons and tons of fun and friendly people from all over the world--especially Australia. And beaches. There are many gorgeous beaches. My friends and I surfed at Kuta Beach, which is a pretty famous beach for surfers. After experiencing Bali I NEED to go back. There is an ashram there that I really want to spend time at but I need to research more. And of course, the beaches call me, as always.