The Gods have provided!

I will not start on how my day began, but with a unique and powerful moment I had. I went to my appointment for a traditional Mandi Lulur massage. I had no idea what the massage was traditionally good for, it was decided by the staff this was the kind of massage I needed it to sooth my skin inflammation. I am more and more allergic to the sun, I have not lay under the sun, but walking everywhere, the upper part of my chest, my neck and shoulders have itchy bumps that are getting bigger and bigger every day. I only learn the healing properties of this massage as I was writing about it, having found a good description in my guest book. This massage is supposedly the epitome of Balinese Massage. I was in another section of the spa that I had not discovered yesterday, further down the river, just as perfect as the other section and more private. My masseuse was a frail looking lady, but very kind, she was experienced and older than the majority of masseuse in Bali. Here, you should never judge a masseuse by it looks, just like you don’t judge a book by its cover! She was very good and thorough. They have a way here, to really massage deep into the muscles without you feeling you are ironing your breast into the massage table. It is never uncomfortable, and believe me, they massage with all their strength, and if you could take more pressure, they still have more strength to give you. She even massages my hand so well it feels real good. I realized doing the same thing over and over really does have an effect, very quickly on your body. It’s only been a few days since I constantly write; my hands have already knots in them. After over an hour or so she applies the warm scrub all over my body. The warm liquid is comforting and the beguiling scents induce instant relaxation. I asked what the scrub was made of; Rice powder, sandalwood and Jasmine. Sandalwood is an ancient scent and a masculine one, Jasmine is a floral and feminine scent. Sandalwood has a way to take my mind travel into ancient time, every time I feel going back in the past and I feel a deep connection. Sandalwood is often use in meditation and exotic perfume recipe. Sandalwood is a raw material, from a tree.It is not considered an endangered species,yet, but it has been depleted greatly from the planet. Sandalwood is now protected in many countries. Now some regulations are in place. I hope Sandalwood, will recover in time, and that people will use it in moderation. Sandalwood is one of the most spiritual scent used in the world, especially in Asian countries. As I lay there with my eyes closed, listening to the background, the river flowing the birds and crickets, I have never experience the real thing, very few have, but we all experienced it on CD! I am thinking how fortunate I am to be here, how thankful I am to life. Life wasn’t always easy for me, I was not dealt a good set of cards like many have.But it is all behind me now.You do choose some part of your destiny. If you love life like I do and savor every moment you can, and appreciate beauty when you see it, it is a profound experience to here. I am happy I made the choice to come here and I am thankful for the present. It all sounds so easy, but I chose to make a lot of sacrifices to be here. I drive a car that most of you would be too embarrassed to drive and I never pamper myself with pedicure, hairdresser or anything like that, unless I have a special occasion. I have worked harder than anybody I know; many days I worked 14- 15 hours. When I will return, there will be more sacrifice, but it is worth every moment. I am in that moment, thinking of all this, thinking of what happen to me this morning and suddenly the tears just rolled out from the corner of my eyes and I cannot stop it. My masseuse is all worry she did something wrong, I told her not to worry, I am happy. I don’t think she can grasp that one can cry from happiness. But I cannot control the flow of tears, I suddenly realize that I came here with a certain emotional baggage. I have been under stress for over a year, financial stress, work related stress, and my husband accident was the peak of my stress before coming here. I did not know how to tell him, I was leaving him for a month, I just didn’t have the heart to tell him, things weren’t supposed to happen this way, I didn’t know at the time, my husband was not going to be ok alone. For many years now, I always say, nothing turns out the way you plan them, I have since learned not to plan anything, but this trip did required some planning. I really left it to its bare minimum. People did not believe I did not know where I was going to stay, because I knew it would all happen when I would get here. If I had planned any of this, none would off turn out this good! We all have a certain baggage, some carry it for years. I realized I was having what we call” a release”. Everything I had hold inside me, all the tensions and stress, all came out today. If your ead these lines, and drop a tear, you also need a release, call my daughter for an Indian Head massage, many of our customers have releases during the massage. I had only experience release with this kind of massage before, no other massage ever did it for me, till today.What made this release so powerful, as you all know, I participated in yesterday’s ceremony, for two days I did what they do, and ask the gods to bring me enough money to have a good life. For the last two days, the ceremonies were about money and gold. As I was having breakfast before going for my massage, I opened my emails. There it was, I couldn’t help letting out, a loud, Oh! My god! I received an official confirmation that I won a trip for two, a value of $14 000! I cannot reveal the details of this trip or my prize, before I actually go on the trip, as official pictures will be taken and publish in a well known magazine. I never participate in any contest, this one was a fluke, I was trying to find a recipe on a web site, a contest application was on the first page and I taught “why not”, I had forgotten all about it, till today. Now, I am hoping that the lottery ticket I purchased for the 50 million draw, also turned into a winner with the help of the gods over here. Thankfully, my masseuse left the room, so that the warm liquid has time to dry, as the liquid dries I try to dry my tears! Then she returns to scrub my body. Then it’s the other side’s turn, and it feels just as good. As I was waiting for the paste to dry, a really different noise came from the river, I asked her what it was, she said, bird, a bird? The sound was more like a mammal of some kind, similar to a monkey, she said no, no monkey here (thank god!) pointed to the river and said, yes, look. It was really a bird, a cross between a duck and a bird. Here, most people cannot have a conversation with you, their English is very basic. In school they have to learn two languages, Balinese and Indonesian. Very little English is taught in class. They learn most of it from their contact with tourist. They only learn what they need to know. The fortunate who attends University, get to learn good English. So, our conversation is, words. If I say, would you mind if I use the bathroom, I lose her, if I saw bathroom, she know what I want. After the scrub she applies a yogurt, it is cold and refreshing. The yogurt here smells good and sweet, but it is not sweeten, so I tried to find out if it was the milk from the cows or the goats. All I could get out of her was “milk”. I know it is made with milk but not sure which milk! After rinsing, she ran a bath filled with flower petals; frangipani, Calendula, roses and one more that I could not remember the name. She made me a wonderful cup of fresh ginger and honey tisane. While I was in the bath she brought another cup, this time, lemon and honey. She said I had to drink it. And again in the tub I contributed to fill out the tub with more tears. I cannot believe I won something, finally it’s my turn, and I can’t believe how fortunate I am to be here healthy and happy, most importantly, alive! I have not felt like this in a long time. To often we take things for granted, I don’t. Too often we forget to appreciate life and its small moment. For me beauty is not a Louis Vuitton bag, for me beauty is what Bali is all about.
Later on, I found this description of the massage; “Detoxifying & stimulating herbal skin preparation, flush away all tension, followed by a cooling yoghurt rub for PH balance, with the final touches of Bali flowers bath and fresh pressed herbal tonic”. If there is orthographic mistake, it is how I found the text!
Looking for the description I also found this warning, that you should be aware, if one day you wish to visit Bali. I thought the notice was cute.
The hotel is nestled on a piece of hillside landscape that descends down to a valley and there are plenty of steps and ledges. We are also located just 8 degrees south of the equator it is considered a tropical island with humid weather conditions that attract many species of reptiles and insects. Please be aware that although our housekeeping staff cleans on a daily basis, you may encounter geckos, ants and small bugs in your room. These creatures are part of the Islands eco-system and are completely harmless.
The massage, was well over an hour, the scrub and bath another hour. Cost $33.00 including tax! Not only did the massage heal my bumps but it flushed all the tensions, tensions I didn’t even know I had! We had rain today, a nice fresh breeze came down after ,so I decided to walk downtown for diner. My diner was $6 (meal, dessert and a drink). I very seldom eat dessert, but as I was in the restaurant another cloud of torrential rain came down, I was in a small remote street, there is no taxi in those areas. The roads are too small, they are more an ally than a street. Those little streets are where you find the best deal for food and shopping. Their business is part of the compound where they have lived for generations. I got to observe their daily routine as well. The Grand-Mother brings a new offering basket, in front of the steps where everyone comes in. She splashes some water over the basket , similar to our Christening, I could tell she was saying a prayer or a blessing. Than the Grand-Father comes around to light all the candles of the Temple, the candles are all in an alcove hand carved just for them. Then he burns incense. The son and wife run the restaurant, and the kids hang around without being fussy or loud. I knew the rain would eventually stop and it did, just in time for my return, but I had to have a dessert to justify my over extended stay. With all this, I spent just, a little less than a hundred dollars, including my room! Where else can you have this kind of day? And believe me, my $6 dollars meal was good, I have yet to have a bad meal here. The food is good everywhere. You don’t need to worry if the lettuce you are eating, or the ice in your drink will make you ill. I have not meant anyone yet, that has had cramps or diarrhea. This place would be the apogee for Corey Mintz from the Toronto star newspaper! The food here is vibrant in taste and colors, just like, I like my food to be, also you cannot find this kind redolence and freshness in Toronto.