Bali is a hot place, even in February when I visited. For me, its odd, but I actually spend almost this whole trip at the resort. I was just plain exhausted! Sometimes despite being half the world away from home, the right answer is just to stop and enjoy yourself however you wish!
It is not something I much do. I tend to go places with large populations, so it’s likely very safe +1 for safety. I also tend to carry around a bunch of camera gear, -1 for safety. I generally have a big tripod at night which is like a modern day mace, +1 for safety. You can see where all this gets you, overall protecting yourself and your stuff can be complicated. As such my traveling rules generally are don’t drink much in public AND be back to the hotel before the town rolls up for the night (or becomes a different world all together).
In this case in Bali, I was oddly on a resort…something I almost never do. I stayed here for three days almost exclusively and had a really relaxing time just sitting and reading by the beach. At the time, it was perhaps the perfect thing I needed. As such, walking after dark was almost entirely safe!
From the deep cold darkness the lotus awakens. It’s beauty perhaps only surpassed by it’s journey and determination to survive, to blossom. It fights to spend what time it has in the glory of the sun. It grows to sway in the gentle warm breeze. I can see why Buddhists find such inspiration in this, beautiful little flower.
It was peaceful on the beach in Bali. It was oddly quiet when I visited and I was so exhausted that I decided to spend the days I had sitting on the beach at the resort. That is an exceptionally odd thing for me to do…I don’t think I have ever done it before honestly. The ocean in my little cove was calm and the sun had retreated behind the clouds making for some wonderfully warm light. I was walking alone on a beach, halfway around the world for my home. Sometimes, I am in awe of where I have been.
I like to go places in the off season. I generally find solitude the most relaxing of companions, especially when visiting nature. There is something about having around that breaks my moment of zen. There is more vibration, energy, something that prevents connection. I realize cosmically this shouldn’t matter, but I am one easily distracted by all manner of noise. The days on the beach in Bali were some of the most alone I have been on a resort beach (usually I find resorts intolerable). The nights were completely deserted.
This tent was setup at sunset for one lucky couple to dine. It looked terribly romantic, but I didn’t want to disrupt anyone for a photo. Come evening this was lit blue beneath the Moroccan lamps, but nobody seemed to come for the dance party. The music droned for none but the sea. I am sure in the high season its a raucous time, but this night, the party was but me and my friend solitude.
My time in Bali was relaxing. As I was leaving I saw this lonely Hindu statue meditating. I almost didn’t stop to take this photo, but for some reason it was the first I remembered while traveling home and one of the first I processed. I’m not sure why honestly. The statue just seemed at peace and I was on the move, headed to another place, while it wisely sat. Maybe that is why it grabbed me…Bali seemed to as a whole say to me, slow down.
This coral on Nusa Dua Beach in Bali, Indonesia reminded me of my life. It was beaten down, nearly warn smooth, but I found it beautiful. There is beauty in simplicity. There is an elegance that comes with age. I spent my time in Bali sitting on the beach, relaxing and being pampered. It’s something I never do. Never. Something I should do more. This “something” the coral seem to know instinctively and I always seem to forget. Though the sea throws you about, the salt water and sand polish away everything you are, eventually you come up for air…and lay in the sun.
