Sunset... Pura Batu Bolong

Last February, my best friend and I met in Bali. I departed from Bandung, while she departed from Osaka.

My best friend really loves Tanah Lot, with its majestic structures of stones and crashing waves. There's something peaceful and powerful in this area. Some say it's due to the presence of the sea gods, some believe it's because the place is blessed. I think it's part faith and perhaps superstition. They keep Tanah Lot area sacred and inspiring at the same time.

We stood there for a while, and found a cozy place to sit on. We arrived at about 5 - 5.30 PM and the wait wasn't long. We sat on the steps leading to the beach, and the view was... well, you can see for yourself here. Maybe next time we visit, we should bring a bottle of sparkling grape juice and make a toast or something. Or be philosophical and write endless poems, accompanied by the hues of yellowish-orange sun and grayish white sky and darkish sand. 

Yes. I am a dreamer, and I dig fabulous sights and romantic settings.

Dressing Up, Balinese Style

I have always admired traditional dresses. Especially the ones from Indonesia. They are always full of colors and panache. They have unique symbols and designs. Colors often denote functions and status in society, the same also can be said about the accessories.

Last May, my best friend and I thought that perhaps it'd be nice to dress up, Balinese style. We went to a photo studio specializing in this kind of thing. IIRC we had to pay IDR 350,000 for one person. Each will get five printed pictures in postcard size and a CD of raw pictures (they normally take about 3 pictures in one pose). The price includes make up and costume rental fee.

We were amazed to see their collection of costumes and headdresses. So many colors! I let them choose the colors and style. They told us they'd dress us in Putri style. They picked some long cloth and wrapped it around me. You really need to have someone else around to help, when you want to get dressed in this way!

One thing for sure, the headdress is very heavy! It left some marks on my forehead. Surprisingly, it didn't take very long for them to put on the clothes, accessories and make up. Maybe around 20 minutes or so. We took the pictures some time in the afternoon. We got the results at night.

You can see one of the results here. Gosh, we look so different! But it was certainly fun.

Once upon a time, it was always nice to play dressing up as princesses. And one day, looking back, memories will flood your senses and you'll sigh, "Oh, those good ol' days."

Thank you, Nina Higa, for taking the time to make some memories with me that day.

Sunset in Kuta

Bali has been a special place for me. Especially for my best friend, Nina. When she was still in university, she went to Kuta with her friends. Last May, after picking her up from the airport, we decided to go to Kuta.

There we were, two ladies of different backgrounds and nationalities. With different thoughts and dreams. Watching the sunset together made us smile. It made us dream. And yearn. And hope.

Happiness comes in many forms. Blessings come and go, and we might not realize our lives are brimming with them until we take some time to reflect and remember.

And when we do, we will realize that life might take us to a straight or roundabout route, but God will always shower us with blessings, sometimes when we least expect it.

I believe so.

Playing a Kite in Sanur, Bali

When my partner and I went to Bali in late June/early July, we noticed that there were plenty of kites decorating the sky. Locals told us, "Oh, it's the kites season. Plenty of wind for that."

So on Sunday afternoon, we decided to take a cab to Sanur beach. Sanur has always been one of my favorite beaches in Bali, not too crowded, light golden sand are abundant, and plenty tasty, affordable foods around it.

After having lunch, we bought a kite and tried to fly it right away. (In July 2012, one medium-sized kite in the shape of a bird costs about IDR 10,000 - 25,000, depending on your bargaining skill) First, we tried tying a piece of string to it, then... the kite sorta fall gracelessly towards the sand. We looked at each other and shrugged. We tried again. Again and again, the kite decided that the sand was to be its favorite destination, instead of the sky.

We had a good laugh (and I bet plenty of people watching us had a good laugh, too) and tried again. We failed miserably for so many times until a local guy took pity on us and helped us. He worked magic on our kite and string, and soon the wind worked his magic and we could fly a kite! (Please note that this is the first time, ever, for yours truly to be able to fly a kite!) So you can imagine me jumping up and down, tugging the string whenever I felt like it. In short, it was FAB.

I think we inspired many visitors to try flying some kites too, that day. Some asked us where we got the kite and one even bought a bigger kite, about 5 times bigger than ours! Talk about being competitive, man! Thankfully we were content playing our medium-sized kite, and it flew beautifully in the sky for... lemme try to remember, one or two hours, until we decided that the sun was getting too hot for us. And the guy with bigger kite didn't last that long, perhaps the kite was too heavy for him, ha!

My partner and I had a wonderful time playing kite. True, we're grown-ups and all but so what? And after a while, you can just tie the string to a rock or something and watch it soaring in the sky.

We bought some cans of drinks and sipped some juice while playing the kite. I hope one day we'll be able to play a kite in Bali, again! Maybe in different beaches, with our kids? We shall see!