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Inspired by SIMPLICITY

#nextchaptervietnam


Selamat siang!

Any guesses as to where I've been for the last 6 days?
Well, if not, don't worry, I won't keep you waiting any longer; I've been in Bali, Indonesia.

Although it was a fairly last minute decision for me to travel to Bali, I still had some time to think about a few things I wanted to see and do during my stay. Unfortunately (but fortunately), I didn't see or do most things I had on my list. I was 'forced' into a rather simple, but yet inspirational break.

 DAY 1
After waking up early Monday morning and fitting in one last Crossfit class, I headed straight to the airport to begin my journey to paradise. Believe it or not, but I really enjoyed the day travelling from HCMC to Singapore and on to Bali. I ate some good food on the plane (Singapore Airlines), I bought an interesting book to read (The Monk who sold his Ferrari) and I watched a movie I had been dying to see for months (I am Bolt). At the end of the day, I arrived happily at my hotel (Wyndham Garden Kuta Beach) and was ready for a good nights rest.

DAY 2
After a decent sleep, I decided I wanted to begin my day with a run on the beach. What was meant to be just a simple 9km long and slow run, became a fairly steady 10km run paired up with a long walk and a beach soccer match alongside some local school boys. After nearly 3 hours out on the beach, I thought to myself -  "It's not even 9am and this trip is off to a pretty AMAZING start!". I returned to my hotel, showered, got dressed, headed down for a well-deserved buffet breakfast, then went on to explore a little more of Kuta. After lunch (Coco Bistro), I began making my way towards Ubud with my private driver who wasn't shy about asking me questions and sharing information about his life in Bali. Once I arrived in Ubud, I found my cute little hotel (Betutu Bali Villas) and met up with some work colleagues for dinner (Nomad) and dessert (Kafe). After such an eventful first day in Bali, I couldn't wait to see what the rest of my stay would be like.

DAY 3
I woke up fairly early my first morning in Ubud, mostly due to the sounds of nature. I ate a delicious breakfast (scrambled eggs, toast, banana pancakes, fruits, orange juice), and then met up with my work colleagues for a day of aimless exploration. We ended up finding a path (Campuhan Ridge Walk) that led us through nature's beauty and a handful of spas. We thought it would be great to get a spa treatment in the middle of the 'jungle', so we stopped for lunch, a quick massage and some pool side relaxation at one of the posh hotels along the way (The Lokha Ubud). As we headed back into town, we made two last pit stops; one for some gluten and dairy free coconut ice cream cones from a little shop on the side of the path and another for a quick little swing hanging off a tree. For dinner, we treated ourselves to some Italian food (Black Beach) and a few more vegan and raw treats.

DAY 4
Doing a Yoga class at the well-known Yoga Barn was high up on my list of things to do while staying in Ubud. So, one of my colleagues joined me for an early Morning Flow class which was a brilliant way to begin the day. Then, after showering and eating another succulent breakfast (egg sandwich, banana pancakes, fruits and orange juice), I headed out solo this time to do a little more exploring. I walked to Ubud's Water Palace, Jalan Kajeng street (similar to Hollywood stars) and the Kajeng rice fields, then took a lunch break (Watercress). I continued on Monkey forest road and tried very hard to avoid the monkeys so that I could get back to my hotel 'safely' for some afternoon down time by the beautiful pool. In the evening, I met up with my colleagues once again to have dinner (Kafé Bunuté - I think!) and to walk around a little more.

DAY 5
My last full day in Bali ended up being just as spontaneous and amazing as my first day. I attended another Morning Flow Yoga class, which was hands down THE BEST Yoga class I have ever attended. I liked it so much that I decided right then and there that I wanted to return in the early evening to do another session with the same instructor. After an energizing yoga class and another tasty breakfast (egg and cheese jaffle (like a grilled cheese), banana pancakes, fruits, pineapple juice), I was feeling great, but I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with my day; I thought maybe another spa visit, some shopping at the market and some pool time would be nice. However, as I was about to leave my hotel, a young lady who worked there was kind enough to offer to take me around on her scooter to visit some main tourist attractions just outside of the city center. I was so incredibly excited and grateful, because travelling alone isn't exactly ideal for doing tours and site seeing outside the city center. The young girl brought me out for a couple hours to visit Tegallalang Rice Terraces, Pura Tirta Empul temple and a coffee (and tea) plantation. Upon my return, I still had time to fit in a quick foot reflexology massage and peaceful lunch (Taksu Spa and Restaurant) as well as a little pool time before my second yoga class. I ended my day by meeting up with my colleagues for another dinner (Kebun Bistro) and one last treat (Kafe).



DAY 6
Saturday morning, I got up early, packed my bags and made my way out to meet my colleagues for a quick breakfast (Monsieur Spoon) before heading out to the airport. From that point on, it was all about sitting around, eating more food, finishing up my book and watching silly movies (Baywatch and The House).

I'm now back in my apartment in HCMC and though I could be disappointed that I didn't get the chance to do all the adventurous stuff that I wanted to do, such as climb a volcano, go white water rafting or cycle through rice fields, I am feeling so inspired by the simplicity of my trip. This week, I got what I so often need; the opportunity to slow-down, to find beauty in the smallest of things and to just live in the moment.

"Simplicity is realising what you need rather than what you want."

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