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
Category Archives: Travel
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
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 kill 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” 🙂 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?
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 Nature’s 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).
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.
A visit to Yogya
Or Yogyakarta or perhaps Jogja, as the Swedish saying goes “loved child has many names”. She is also known as the cultural and creative center of Java. A University town with lots of funky street art and graffiti. What’s not to love?
Paradise gone wrong?
So I’m on an island just a few kilometers north of Java/Indonesia, white beaches and swimming pool like water. And yes I know we have a problem with plastic. Like I’ve seen the pictures of the plastic island floating around my social media many times. But I guess it’s like a difference to know and to see for ourselves. This makes it so more real. So I went on a snorkeling trip and ended up just collecting plastic from the ocean instead. So much plastic floating around and then look the other way – the most amazing ocean, corals and animal life. I feel so sad – where did we go so wrong? What can I do to help? This is my favorite playground, I spend so much time in the ocean and I am so extremely grateful for it. So from now I will try even harder to be a responsible traveler and eliminate the plastic I buy and use. But what more can I do? I mean there’s so many things gone wrong that need to change, like when I finish my snorkel my guide who also collected many many plastics hands me a single use tiny plastic water with a straw to drink 🙁 And on the pic above it’s batteries that I found sitting on the coral, and I couldn’t even get them all because some where jammed in the coral, seriously – what the fuck 🙁
The Power of Kindness
The ability to see value even in humble, unremarkable situations is essential to our happiness, or at least to our well-being. Some people seem to have everything in life but are not content because they do not see the value of what they have, and concentrate on what they still would like to have, or on what makes them unhappy. Others, instead, maybe less fortunate, appreciate simple things that many of us take for granted – good health, a fine day, a smile.
– words from the power of kindness written by Piero Ferrucci.
This very nice read was sitting waiting for me at the camp site just outside the village one day. Left behind by a Finish girl who couldn’t fit it into her backpack when she left.
And then there was change
Small things that leads to something new and unexpected. A familiar face I hadn’t seen for a while came back. I should go say hello and see why we’re meeting again, what did we miss the first time? Maybe nothing, you never know. It’s nice to have the time to slow down and see things more clear. I can take the time because I have no where else to be, we should live like this all the time. So we start to practice together – I love moving together, the dynamics of a group. Then more people came to join, and then some more. I looked so close at my own fear and judgment and I realized that it was all mine. Mine to keep, learn from, let go off or whatever I choose.
I wish I knew then what I know now
It’s like a distant dream those months I spent in the village. I arrived on a Wednesday morning, it’s trickling rain and I feel I’m in a ghost town. There is no one around, nothing is open and I’m probably really hungry. Everyone is sleeping and I walk around ‘town’, seriously town is maybe just a street or two if you feel generous. I had no idea what was coming for me back then, what this sleepy village had in store for me, the lessons to learn and the love and kindness waiting to hit me straight in the heart.
Leaving to arrive somewhere else
Hello hello to you little forgotten blog, I think I got stuck somewhere in transit between one destination and the other. Then there was a reminder the other night that sometimes it’s nice to share so let’s see. I started this year off so so nice, I keep forgetting how blessed I am. So I finally ran out of excuses (no full time job commitments or lack of time) to sit Vipassana so pretty much the first thing I did this year was to spend 10 days in silence. Away from social media, my iPhone, internet, news, books all of it was traded for 10 days of disciplined meditation practice. The hardest work I’ve ever put into anything but in return a very powerful experience. I’m mind blown by this practice and tradition, so beautiful. I always did my best to hide from meditation I guess just being to lazy to make an effort but this course made a huge change.
60 Days in Indo – Tourist Visa – How to
Hello hello, next week I’m off to my favorite surf destination once again, and this time I decided to apply for a 60 day visa with the Indonesian Embassy in Sydney before I left to save me at least one painful visa extension. Most travelers are eligible for a 30 day visa on arrival which is free and non extendable upon arrival. If you feel like you might stay a bit longer it might be worth applying for the 60 day visa before leaving. Here is what you need to know.
You need to print and fill out the application and attach a photo of yourself. Then take your application together with your passport, a printed itinerary (including return ticket), recent bank statement and if needed proof of Australian residency and make the trip to the embassy in Maroubra (if you’re in Sydney) between 10 – 12 AM to hand in your application over the counter and you pay the $70 fee via EFTPOS. To easy they tell you to come back 3 days later after 2 PM and pick up the passport with your new 60 day visa and you have 90 days to enter Indonesia. Let’s go surfing 🙂
This makes me want to go logging!
The rain outside is torrential – I’m rugged up with tea and a cold watching surf clips and thinking it’s time for travels 🙂
ROAM from Kelia Moniz on Vimeo.
LUNAR by Onde Nostre from The Seea on Vimeo.
Karina Rozunko from Ed Fladung on Vimeo.
A tribute to you – solo female traveler
So my last two months or so on the road was on my own. I always think that I’d rather travel on my own than not at all so I guess for me the choice has always been easy. And I’ve done it so many times now. I have friends spread out everywhere and alone is never really alone. But some people you meet has this misconception of solo travelers like the German guys telling me “oh you travel alone you must read so many books” or “but you must know someone there (when I talk about where I’m going next)”. Well I read because I like it no matter if I’m on my own or not. Alone does not equal lonely. I’m lucky because I don’t mind my own company but you meet people all the time when you travel. You don’t have to sit on your own reading unless you want to and you can go somewhere you don’t know people because everyone wants to be your friend.
It’s also nice to be your own person, don’t get me wrong I love traveling with Pax or with friends. It’s amazing to have someone to share all those moments with or to have someone just keep an eye on your bag when you have to go to the toilet at that busy train station. But traveling solo makes you step out of that comfort zone more and people treat you differently to. Suddenly you’re not just 50% of that couple or one of those European girls or whatever your crew happens to be. You get to be 100% yourself and all those connections you make are yours. And the last two months I’ve made a lot of those and I’m so stoked about it, especially all the cool solo female travelers that’s come my way and I know we’ll share travels together again. Lots of love 🙂