Bali 2.0

I am SO thankful I got to visit Bali again!  I decided to go on another yoga retreat, and everything aligned perfectly.  

One Saturday I decided to take a yoga class and dance class back to back.  Dance was first, and I was met by a young fiery exotic presence (the teacher).  I met Nikki Baksh for the first time and I was impressed.  Dance was so wild, so good, so free, and next up was hot yoga to stretch it all out.  Little did I know Nikki was also the yoga teacher!  WOAH.  This hip hop infused beauty with yoga talk and feels.  I think I have met who I've always wanted to be!  

After class Nikki mentioned she had two spots left on her Bali retreat.....  I was OVERDUE for a proper vacation, and little did I also know this Bali retreat would be just that.  

9 random souls met at Hotel Komune in Bali, Feb 15th, 2018. All strangers, yet all friends of Nikki. The week was set with excursions, a cooking class, sunrise hike, holy water temple visit. Umm yes, please. Yoga was held at an outside shala, where the deck overlooked the ocean waves. Every morning class was filled with incense and a nice breeze. Namaste for real.

#Rutherforddoesyoga too :)

Between yoga we lounged at the pool, and with 3 meals a day included (with a juice) we did not miss one. One of my favorites was the super club sandwich!

The excursions were spectacular.  My favorite was the sunrise hike of Mount Batur!  I've never done anything like that!  We left the hotel at 3am, and it was a two hour hike up - one way!  I must say it was pretty tough, but totally worth it.  The way up we all had flashlights so all you saw was a twinkling line of stars moving up the mountain.  When the sun came up, the monkeys came out to play, or take our food rather. 

Visiting Tirta Empul was also very special.  It's a holy water temple.  I went the first time I was in Bali but this time we actually submerged ourselves in the water for the water blessings! 

   

We also visited this coffee plantation in Ubud that makes coffee from cat poop?  Some tried it, but I'm good.  I already have a cat and am way too familiar with their litter box situation.  Ugh.  But at this coffee plantation was this really cool swing!  The surroundings were lush green rice patties and the swing went SO high.  It was cool.  You were strapped in, but with how hard the guys were pushing you my butt would almost slide off the swing every push!  Talk about exhilarating.

   

Bali is a special place.  I highly recommend Hotel Komune if you're looking for a place to stay in Bali.  It's not close to the hot spots like Kuta or Seminyak.  But is a nice chill place where you feel like a local, there's great surfing, and great accommodations and food for a reasonable price.  Oh and did I mention its on a black sand beach!!  They have two pools and two restaurants, and a cute surf shack with snacks.  The staff is also exceptionally nice.

HAPPY AND SAFE TRAVELING! :)

Nine Days Until Bali!

I never thought I would be this excited to visit Bali again!  My first trip to Bali was three and a half years ago when I decided to quit my job and travel the world!  I had no plans other than to not come back.

I came home after 3 months.

Bali was actually the last stop on my Southeast Asia tour, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and then Bali.  By the end, I was tired.  Tired of what exactly I wasn't sure.  But I knew I needed a new direction.  I needed to go home, get back to work, make a plan, and execute on it.  I had a house in Bali paid for the month and I left one week early to fly back to the states.  My original experience of Bali sounds sour, but I was in such a transitional space it took away from the beauty I did see but didn't register at that time.  Fast forward and it's interesting to see yourself grow.  :)  Now I'm living my BEST life in NYC and thankful I get another chance to experience Bali!

The universe aligned me to retreat with a bad ass human, a bomb ass dancer and energetic yoga teacher who stopped me in my tracks the first time I met her.  Stay tuned, no doubt our combined vibrations of 5,000 gazillion will make for a magical trip.  !!!!!

Choosing to Stop Traveling (For Now)

This year I made a BIG decision. I decided to give up my successful 10 year career in banking to go travel the world. I was lucky, I found two other girls willing to do the same, willing to give up everything to go on this journey together. This type opportunity was once in a lifetime, and was one I could NOT refuse.

So off we go. Thailand for a month. Vietnam for three weeks. Cambodia for a few days. Bali for a month. My life is just SO awesome, right?! I just have it so good, right? I am just SOOOO lucky!!

Don't be so quick to judge. It's quite easy to assume other's situations are amazing, great, terrible, etc. But looking from the outside in, it's merely your illusion of how you assume their life is based on your reality. Just because someone is traveling the world doesn't mean they're the happiest person in the world and have it the best, and just because someone is poor and has dirty clothes doesn't mean they're unhappy or have it the worst, either.  I think studies have been done that have proven those with less are actually, happier.

Don't get me wrong, I am very blessed, and am very lucky to have traveled to all the places I have traveled to. But as of now, I think I'm over it. For the longest time I think I was searching. For what I didn't know exactly, but I just knew going to these exotic places would help round out, or fill in rather, all the gaps I was feeling inside, right?  That these places had the answer!  Little did I know these places helped ME find the answer.

The answer is not anywhere "out there."  I had to learn that I had the power, for everything.  For success, happiness, for love, strength, courage, all of this lies within me, within you, too.  Sometimes you have to get to a point of total confusion and delusion to realize that YOU are the only one who has the power to change your life.  

If you are unhappy about something, change it, or change your perspective on it. If something or someone stresses you out, stop doing it or stop hanging around them. If you hate your job, stop complaining about it and get anther one, or change your perspective on it.

Changing your perspective, challenging yourself, and stepping outside your box breaks down barriers allowing new energies to form and grow.  And that's what changes your life!  

We all have this capability within us, and the answer is not far, not in a far away land or in a new designer purse or new pair of boots.  The answer is not even a foot away, the answer is YOU.

Will I ever travel again?  Damn right!  But my intention will be different.  Sharing life with my family and friends is what I've learned brings value and happiness to me in my life.  And traveling with them will only be the icing on the cake!  :)

Bali

I'm sure everyone has heard of Bali, right? Oh it's the most luxurious, peaceful, beautiful, most zen place on the planet, right? Well, depends on who you ask....

My three weeks in Bali were cool. We rented a house, or "villa" as some like to say, in the Seminyak area of southwestern Bali. We had a private pool, a maid every other day, and a kitchen where we could cook our own food whenever we felt like it. Not too shabby!

We could walk to the grocery store and convenience store, and could run or walk a mile into town for shopping, restaurants, etc. But that mile walk, frequently, and once it turned dark, was just not going to work all the time. So taking cabs everywhere was the norm, and they were on our speed dial. Here's the view of our walk into town.

So, what did we do?! Some days we relaxed by our private pool. Oh the perks oh having a private pool. Correcting my tan lines was first on the priority list! :)

We actually had a few friends come and visit us often at the pool!!! Aren't they so cute!!!!

Other days we went out shopping in local Seminyak. It was such a cute little town with plenty of bars and restaurants to explore! There were actually a couple of large impressive venues, Potato Head and Ku De Ta. They reminded me of Vegas! They were modern, huge, busy and expensive! LOL. It was a great place to mingle and chill, and that is exactly what we did!

Other days we checked out different beaches. Honestly I don't remember which all ones we went to. I know one was Dreamland Beach. LOL.

The beaches were great, don't get me wrong. But I think my expectations were VERY high for Bali. Your whole life you hear about Bali, almost imagining it looking something like heaven. And to me, it looked like a normal exotic beach. We had a great time though! The one main difference I noticed in Bali were the waves. Never have I seen such large, strong and violent crashing waves!  Here are pictures from some other beaches we visited.

I did get to see my first black sand beach!

Being a yogi of course I HAD to get some yoga pictures on the beach! 

A couple of days we went to check out the town of Ubud. This town is known for its energy, cool shops, restaurants, etc.

We actually set up appointments to meet with a couple of energy healers there. Check out one of my interesting encounters here. It's so cool to meet other like minded folks who recognize the depth and energy of the nature that's all around us. Those experiences I will never forget.

Of course a night or two out on the town was a must!!!

One blissful moment I will NEVER forget dancing in the rain at a nigthclub.  Read about it here.

I actually ended up leaving Bali a week early, yes, for real. I am in no way "bashing" Bali, because it is a special place. Three weeks was just enough for me. :) I think staying at a resort on the beach will give you a different experience than I had. Don't get me wrong, I did not have a bad time, just was nothing like I had pictured it in my head. I was able to relax, lay out, beach it, shop, eat at cool restaurants, etc. It was fine! I'm glad that I can check Bali off my list. But I'm also glad that I realized I don't have to travel halfway across the world to find "paradise." It can be a lot closer than you think. ;)