Tropical Oregon

My 21st birthday present to myself was a trip to Bali with Michaela and Audrey, my close friend of ten years from home (she was in Singapore for a conference and extended her trip to visit). Basically, it was just what I needed and an all around blast. We got different kinds of massages everyday (it was a goal we set for the trip) including foot reflexology (Audrey got us excited about figuring out which parts of her feet corresponded to the different areas of her body) and a full body jasmine oil massage and scrub, as well as other drop-in ones. We even convinced each other to stick our feet in the pools of little fish that eat your dead skin (a huge accomplishment for Michaela who is petrified of fish), something I've been seeing and meaning to do this whole time. It tickled like no other but our feet were so soft afterwards. Besides that, we went shopping and walking and eating a lot (dessert and cocktails before dinner, anyone? oh yes).

I even went diving one day, my last time before coming home, I think, and it was really fun. I went with Jo (from Singapore who I learned to dive with and who is kicking it in Bali for a while) and we dived in the shipwreck called the US Liberty which sunk during WWII. It wasn't very deep and you couldn't really tell which parts of the ship you swam through but there was incredibly beautiful corral growing all over it and the first time we swam towards it it came looming out of the darkness, just like a movie. Man, I love diving.

For the six days we were there, we stayed in Ubud, the little inland town that Elizabeth Gilbert writes about in Eat, Pray, Love. Lonely Planet has a little blurb about "That Damn Book" and how it's totally turned Ubud into more of tourist center than it was before and how people are knocking down the doors of Liz's healer friends. I actually didn't realize that Ubud was the town from the book until we went there but it had been recommended by several friends because of it's art scene and peaceful atmosphere. Here's the thing: it's just like Oregon. I kid you not. All three of us go to UO and grew up in the Northwest (Michaela is from Seattle) and we couldn't get over how exactly Ubud is like Oregon (it reminded me of Ashland a lot). There are tons of hippie ex-pats there and everyone wears tie-dye. People eat organic and local and certain restaurants only give out straws by request and will refill your water bottles so that you don't have to buy a whole new one when you run out. There are pottery stores that carry tons of stuff that I've seen in friends' homes and that my mom obsesses over. There are independent jewelry stores with peace sign earrings (I bought some) and sand dollar pendants (ps those animals don't exist in SE Asia so who gave them that idea?). They have good coffee with fresh milk and scarves and hippie pants that everyone in Eugene would buy. There's a place called the Yogabarn that has yoga classes all day and potluck dinners and movie nights that feature films such as "Conversations with God" where you go and eat a healthy fish and veggie buffet. If you're not convinced, trust me and go to Bali. You'll feel right at home.

Like everyone says, Bali is super overrun with tourists (I was startled to come back to KL and get stared at again) but it doesn't feel as if the culture of the locals has been compromised. We stayed in a homestay that had a beautiful statue/shrine outside our room and part of the morning chores for the family was to replace the flowers. There are little flowers in banana leaf offerings outside of every door and people are constantly tripping over them and kicking them around but they're always replaced. Most of the locals dress in traditional dress for their own purposes, not to impress visitors. However, the streets and areas that the tourists roam are certainly not the only parts of Bali. They're just the only ones that people write about. During our cooking class, we were taken down some back alleys to a market that looked just like the rest of the ones in SE Asia. It almost made me feel better to see something so familiar in this clean, safe, tourist-center; dirty, sewage-y water being swept up by a stooped-back man, lots of fruit and veggie and meat stands covered in flies, crowded corners with cheap clothes and curry seasonings. The poverty spoiled the illusion of the rest of the little town but it's the reality of the place and I'd rather know that than be [entirely] blinded by all the cheap massages and silk dresses. However, I can't pretend that the trip to the market changed my behavior.

In any case, I loved Ubud, Bali for exactly what it was and my time there with banana pancakes and fruit plates for breakfast in my pajamas, eating pesto pasta and drinking mojitos, doing free yoga while looking out at rice paddies (ps yoga is hard), and enjoying the mild climate - it felt like summer in the Willamette Valley (current one excluded - I feel for you, Northwesters) and was absolutely amazing. Great trip.

Also, I turn 21 tomorrow (or in two days, Pacific Standard Time). uh what?