you get excited about the supermarket. The real deal I’m talking about now, you know the kind of super market who has other stuff than 32 different kind of noodles. So I’m in Bali for a romantic week with myself and I spent the last hour or so walking around the isles like a shop lifter with no purpose going ahhhh ohhhh whaaaaa. Picking stuff off the shelf and putting them back. It was overwhelming. I didn’t know what to get. So I left with a package of Green Tea. Oh the fancy imported stuff? No the exact same one that I buy at my local kampung AlfaMart. Bali – Kampung, 0 – 1
You know you have been in the kampung for to long when
If this is a blog
it should be updated like a blog. Like every other day. Not every other month. It’s not like I’m to busy for you guys it’s just that I’m way to lazy for this kind of commitment at the moment.
Anyway this morning I decided to have sleep in because it’s been a bit like a flat ocean situation and it’s also been raining lots (and when it’s raining in the kampung we sleep). So was I surprised at all that in the middle of my sleep in I get woken up by a sound like someone is dropping bombs but not really bombs? No because at 6am on a rainy morning is when we harvest the coconuts. It’s a bit contradictory so maybe it was a dream?
I’ve just been surfing
The vegan groups on Facebook that I’m in are talking about the new dairy free Magnums, that’s the latest and greatest happening in the vegan community for months. I don’t know when I had an ice cream the last time but I don’t care to much. I’m just busy enjoying this monsoon village, well it’s a monsoon without rain or very little of it this season. But the wave is small and fun. Like always. Good for logging they say. Good for the soul. Grateful to be here.
Liz Clark & the Voyage of Swell
I really like stories about people living their passions, doing this life thing their own way and here is one more for the collection. If you have 20 minutes or so to spare check out the documentary of Liz Clark produced by Patagonia, it’s about her travels sailing around the world chasing waves and solitude. Trying to live a life in harmony with nature. Be inspired. I am.
From 30 degrees to 0 – a winter memo
When it’s good it’s good so I did what any sane surfista heading for the Northern parts of Europe would do. I surfed my poor little brains out and ended up with a cold from hell accompanied with sore neck and shoulders. So here I am, 30 degrees colder but I’m not leaving the house much anyways (not at all in fact), why would you when it’s 0 outside and you’re surfed out and sick as a dog. I’m busy eating all the good stuff you can’t find in a tiny tropical village and doing nothing and of course enjoying some holiday time with the family. Happy holidays everyone, let’s catch up in 2019 – I have big plans for us other than eating and being sick. Promise.
Tropical office issues – Part 78
No there’s actually no problems. At all. Maybe it’s not super ergonomically correct to work from a hammock. Could also be that it’s not super productive. But I cannot care less, life is way to good. Waves are fun again and in a few hours I’m going to watch the WSL show go down in Hawaii. Stay kind kids <3
Sometimes we have swell
but like right now it’s been so long since I’ve seen any movement in the ocean (except for rain drops) that I’m beginning to think it is just a lake that I keep staring at for some reason. So there was no options left but to pack the car with six girls, equal amount of surfboards, put on some tunes and head up north. We scored the cutest little guest house, good food and some fun sand banks to play on before we had to return. Now I’m back with my lake. Manifesting some waves. Still so very very happy, I had the best get away with these girls. So much love <3
There’s no tea left in the house.
Our guesthouse was like living in a vintage shop.
Somewhere in China town
All you need is love, Nora in China town
Alia and Norris… ehhhmmmm ๐
It’s time to say goodbye
and for some reason you have four (seriously who does this) logs that’s decided to leave the country with you. Well it gets interesting because well people always find it funny to look at western girls especially when they are accompanied by big and heavy surfboards and other junk trying not to run over people or knock down to many signs. We also picked the best time to leave, just at the beginning of the rainy season so there was flooding and landslides to put into the travel plan. Pretty excited that despite the poor odds we reached the airport in normal time (8 hours in the car, ha ha) but now we had like 5 hours or so to killย at the airport and what do you do with your four logs and other junk? Well we decided to leave them just in front of the airport where our driver dropped us of with our new taxi driver (and other random hangarounds) friends while we went for makan and a few rounds of Uno. All good we where right thinking no one would like to take of with our boards in the middle of the city because when we came back a few hours later they where still sitting where we left them. So much for not leaving your bags unattended…
When Mandy comes to the village
When does a joke get boring? Could it ever happen? Or does it just become more funny the more times you hear it? So yes Mandy is in the village and her name is Mandy. Nice name you might be thinking and you are very right. But yes what Mandy’s parents did not think about is that it’s the same as mandi in indonesian which translates to having a shower or a bath and this is where it becomes oh so funny… I now get to hear this amazing joke 10 times a day. “Mandy – sudah mandi? (translates to Mandy did you shower already)” or “Mandy – belum mandi? (or not yet)” and sometimes it gets really creative like “Hello Miss Shower” ๐ I think that’s my favorite. And now I have to leave you guys because I’m going for a surf with my friend Miss Shower… I can see you smiling to!
At the local bengkel
You go to the bengkel if you have a flat tire, your bike won’t start or if you just can’t be bothered find the right screw driver. Or maybe you’re just to lazy to look for the screw driver, anyways you get the picture. When you get there the guy working there is busy and asks you to tunggu sebentar, which would translate to wait a while. And then after a while he takes of on his bike and you’re left tunggu sebentaring on your own for quite a while. He then returns just to tell you to keep tunggu sebentar. But now I’m still a westerner who’s always worried about time and efficiency so I ask how long is this tunggu sebentar gonna be? Because I know that this concept of a while can be quite flexible so maybe I should kembali nanti (come back later). But nah I’m lucky I get only two minutes of tunggu, this is a great score and now my war on rust continues but maybe next time I should look for the screw driver?
Who gets to define rest?
I’m with this little (actually it’s not so little, it’s filled with fluid and way to big which is the actual issue) annoying inflamed knee sac still. So I’m chatting with Glen this morning and saying I’ve gone back to resting my knee again. And he then suggest that I should rest like properly rest… I don’t get this at first, but it seems like some people, Glen for instance thinks that resting is doing like nothing. My definition of resting is just not surfing with my poor knee but maybe go for a run on the beach or do some yoga. Glen thinks I should just put my leg up and if I have to move I should take the bike and not walk anywhere, like an Indonesian (only tourists would walk in this village, it’s considered strange to walk if you have a motorbike to ride around on by my local friends). So I’m trialing this doing nothing thing because I’m far away from my Balinese doctor with the needle to drain my knee and to be honest it didn’t really help that much the first time. But that could also have to do with my definition of rest.
Tropical office issues
It’s not all surf, sunshine and a bit of work you know. Living the tropical dream also comes with some serious health hazards. Like today the neighbors of my usual office are burning plastic not at all an uncommon occurrence here. Where I come from when black smoke are coming at you like this you’re told to go inside, close windows and doors and turn on your radio for updates. Here – not so much, just go about your business. Try not to inhale to deep for an hour or so.
My new favorite vegan hang out
is livekindly.co it’s filled with vegan realted sunshine stories, only good positive things! The world is going vegan and it’s now happening faster than I could ever have imagined <3 So I’m just hanging out here, scrolling through and smiling, scrolling and smiling. Big love to you livekindly.
Inspired by the notion that Mother Natureโs intricate design is arguably flawless, the LK community have come together to build a home for informative and thought-provoking content, focusing on sustainable and compassionate living.
The day iyabiye_olokun starts to follow you on ig
What do you do? You run? You try to hide? You follow back so she won’t cast a spell on you? You get some sage to clear the funky mojo from your lap top/phone? Hello universe what are you trying to tell me? That I should get on the next flight back to Bali or to Island?
Ready for Merdeka – Independence Day
The village has changed, I realized already on my very pleasant (all due to the panda) nine hour bus ride here that in fact the whole island is undergoing a massive face life. I did have quite a lot of spare time to look out the window last week. Everyone is getting in to the festive spirit – flags are going up outside every house, very creative decorations are being crafted my fave being colored water in plastic bags that’s hanging off the trees and bushes. It feels a bit like Xmas back home. So I didn’t want to be late to the party. Say hello to most patriotic c70 in the village (red goes on top btw, otherwise you’d better be in Poland, just saying it’s not like I had to google this).
What I love about Indonesia part 52
So you’re on the local bus and there’s not only the usual chickens, suspect looking boxes and coconuts traveling with you but you also end up getting the seat next to a panda. What else can you possibly ask for except for maybe another toilet stop since the last one was more than 4 hours ago, but no I love the bus!
I’m calling this the comeback
Almost two months to the date has past since the last time I surfed. Travels and some injuries has kept me away from the ocean for so long I forgot which leg to put the leg rope on. But today I decided to give it a go, the swell is small and there’s not much wind around so I wrapped my poor knee up really nice (so nice I lost feeling in my foot after 15 minutes). I forgot this passion of mine, which is a good thing I guess but man it was so nice to float around again. I could not stop smiling, I have now sore cheeks. There was this sour looking girl on the inside with me, she looked at me like I was some kind of mental case and it was like she forgot to squeeze the lemons in her hair and she ate them all instead (or maybe I just scared her). So I tried to tone my dorky smiling down but it just wouldn’t happen. So see you tomorrow dawn patrol, my good old friend ๐
Hello from the slow lane
I wanted to move, like every inch in my body was ready for dynamic movement and in my mind sweat was dripping down on my mat. And there I was with 24 hours of travel and already a full on class that very first day, maybe things went a bit to fast. I feel something is not right and looking down I realize my right knee has the size of a water balloon. Decided the next morning that it still looked pretty ugly so went to the doctor who gave me some anti inflammatory pills and told me to rest for a few days. So back to yin, meditation and pranayama. Not what was in my mind but probably what I need. It’s the morning of day three and I finally start to arrive, sometimes it just takes time, relearning about my right side, the unbalanced yang of my body. Hello to you from the slow lane.
When she talks, just listen
I know she has a message for me. We meet about a year ago and sometimes you just know, the energy is there and that intuition of mine is trying to say something. Time is flying by and there she is – back in my social media feed again. I say hello. She says she’s on her way to Bali. I say I’m leaving in two days for the very same island. And so it turns out she’ll be staying down the road from me for the week. Miss universe has spoken.
Granola munching hipster coming at you
A few weeks in Sweden is coming to an end, it’s been the warmest summer since forever, no one can remember last time it rained, back in May I heard someone say the other day. It’s been good but lot’s of sitting, eating and all of that. So before I head back to the village I’m making a stop in my fave yoga hipster town. I’m joining my raw vegan yoga holistic ecstatic dancing friends in Ubud next week. Exciting times. you just don’t know what you’ll leave with maybe some new crystals, chakras or just some parasites from the raw food ๐