Ubud Day 4, Purification and Paddies

My last full day in Ubud, I started my morning with the yoga at my hostel. I didn’t like the instructor yet this was my third day taking her class, mostly because it was free and one of the main reasons I selected this hostel. What is so great about the hostel yoga though is you get to talk with the people after at breakfast. At the table as I was gorging into my pancakes, I made some plans with a new friend I made from Spain the night before when I walked into my hostel post pedi just as she mentioned she was looking for a place for her nails. We ended up being in the same hostel room and walked there chatting. We wanted to do the same things the following day so I invited her to join me and we could see the sights together. 

We confirmed our plans over breakfast, got ready together, and then we were off. On the agenda was to go to the Pura Tirta Temple and back to the Cekling Rice Terrace. I wanted to do the rice paddies justice and visit them again with a greater appreciation for them. But first, we stopped at this temple that allows you to do a water purification. Claudia and I ordered Grab scooters and our drivers took us 45 minutes outside of the city to this temple (that ride was only $3 which I think is crazy cheap). It was such a magical ride because I had Zach Bryan's new album playing in my AirPods as I gazed at the many rice paddies that wrapped around the road and the amazing landscape tracing the way to the temple. I truly enjoyed the ride, as it was a freeing feeling to be riding open air on a bike with amazing views around you, reminding me of a similar feeling back home when my friends an I go out on four wheelers in northern Minnesota. Although, I have to admit the Bali jungle is a bit better than the American forests. 

When we got there, we walked around the temple a bit but in the direction of the water purification area. We thought we could do it ourselves without the need for a guide. We figured it out by asking our way through the process, first changing into the garb that could go into the water. We couldn’t bring in any phones or shoes so all of that was left in the lockers. Then, before entering the water, we grabbed one of the many cute little blessing boxes with incense lit and said a prayer, a time in which you ask for permission to enter the water. It was a cool cultural experience, but not my religion, so the whole time I just prayed for things that was on my mind, resisting the temptation to say, “please God” or “thank you God”, as that was the most Christian thing I could do and I should at least attempt to focus more on the act of praying which was a similarity between my religion and Hindu. 

After we asked for permission, or in my case just pray, we set the prayer basket on the table next to the many others and walked towards the water pools. We had to wait in a queue before getting to the first fountain, but I used that time to observe and see what the others were doing in order to learn what is the proper way to pray. From what I gathered, first put your palms together and up to your third eye in prayer. Then, you open your palms as the water falls into them, gathering enough that you can splash it onto your face. You cup your hands and wash your face three times, once of the eye, the second time for the mouth, and the third (I am less sure) for the nose. I just washed my face each time. Then, you place your hands on the wall and lower your head as the water passes on the top of your head and down your back and face. You can stay there however long you like, for me until I feel renewed and complete my prayer.

There are many spouts of water in which you repeat this prayer process each time, so once you finish at one fountain, you would move to the next and the next until you have gone through them all. There were about 10 prayer points, and I decided that I would pray for a specific person or thing at each one, thinking deeply about what I was asking and longing for. Hoping by the end I could feel content and at peace with my inner self through this moment of intentional prayer and act of blessing being in the water. 

One interesting thing about the water was it was very clear and clean, and, they had some big blue koi fish swimming in there. They minded their own business, but it was such a wild experience to be in a temple in Bali doing a water purification ritual with koi fish swimming around me. It was such an amazing experience and my heart and body felt so calm and content by the end of it. 

We finished up and then went back to our lockers to change into our clothes, return the robes, and complete our tour around the temple. I didn’t know there was more to see, but Claudia led me behind the water pools to check out more of the temple and stumble on a natural hot spring that was absolutely incredible, another feat of nature that made Bali more gorgeous and unique as each day passed.

We hopped back on a bike and headed to a cafe next to the rice paddies and took in the view from our table. We split a hummus and pita appetizer, and then I got two filling pieces of avocado toast and a coffee for my lunch. We sat at this cafe with the most incredible views for three hours. The whole time we were in deep conversation, opening up about our dreams, goals, aspirations, challenges, and hopes for the future. I can’t recount every topic we discussed, but the main takeaway I had after my conversation with her was a true motivation to move to a Spanish speaking country and master the language, and finally be able to distinguish myself as bilingual. She told me of her time in Vancouver learning English for two years, the challenges from it, but the great success of her almost perfect English. I was further inspired because she is from Barcelona, Spain and encouraged me to take the leap of faith to move their and master her native tongue. The second main conversation was about her business idea to open a pilates studio in new town that has a great need for it, how she is down to take the risk that is interlaced in the norms of starting a business venture, yet her passion overpowering her fears. Again, it made me think long and hard about my similar aspirations, about taking Evoke as far as I can, and dedicating the time, effort, and energy that it truly takes to grow and establish a good business. So stick with me, all my lovely readers, and keep me accountable that I continue this current hobby as I hope to develop it into a business one day. 

I loved every minute of the day and each new conversation topic with someone who feels like my new best friend. I was so sad at the fact we only could spend one day together, as I was leaving for a new city tomorrow and she does the same heading to a different Indonesian island. But, I truly hope if I find myself in Spain again (which I know for a fact I will it's more a matter of when) or if I make Barcelona a new home for myself, that she would be a friend I’d have there and someone advocating for me and my dreams. I can't wait to see if she opens that studio so I can cheer her on through that process. 

We left the rice paddies around 3pm, made it back to the hostel by 4pm, and booked a yoga class for 5pm. We went to Alchemy, a beautiful outdoor studio and one of my favorite classes I’ve taken while in Bali. It was my first male instructor, but he did such a wonderful job with our class, teaching along with leading the flows, instructing us on what to move into next or how to improve or challenge a certain position. It was an energizing session and I loved it so much. I was happy to do one more activity with Claudia, but at the conclusion of the class, she ran (literally had her trainers laced up to get in an extra workout) home while I had my eyes set on going to dinner and returning back to the hostel early as I had a big morning tomorrow. She left, giving me a big hug first, and I went out front to route myself to my vegan restaurant. While out front, I noticed another yoga mate from my class who had an American accent and was so flexible and skilled at yoga. I really wanted to learn more about her and see if she was actually American as I guessed and how she was so good at yoga. I started the conversation by complimenting her on her workout outfit and then transitioned into those two questions I had. She ended up canceling her grab scooter to keep talking to me.

We had the most lovely conversation outside of the Alchemy, she was in fact from California and 21 years old traveling Bali for the month. We wanted to keep chatting so I invited her to join me at dinner, and we talked the whole night over a meal! She was so cool, and so good at yoga because she was in fact a yoga instructor and just completed her second training, now having 500 training hours under her belt. Crazy enough she just completed her training on Koh Samui at the yoga retreat center next to my hotel. Izzy and I went to this yoga studio, Vikasa, for lunch one day, and we loved it so much we stayed there for 6 hours and vowed to return one day. To meet someone that actually did yoga training there was unreal, and she fully understood the hype Izzy and I have for this place as she loved it just as much. 

We ordered a feast, and talked about the coolest things, each describing our own passions and talking in such a fulfilling way. I truly had the most amazing day and spending time with the coolest, most inspiring people. I was so sad to say goodbye to her as well, but I know these people were placed in my life for a reason, for me to meet them, and be inspired or discover something in myself that I knew was inside but now has surfaced and sparked my soul to follow my dreams ever more deeply. Ubud is magical, the people here are amazing, and Bali is everything I hoped and more.