After our trips westward and eastward, we planned on a few more nights in Ubud. My parents hadn’t yet explored the town and Deepali, my good friend from childhood, was going to be in Bali for the next 9 days. She wanted to start her trip in Ubud.
Our stay in Ubud totaled almost a month. There were a few sights left to say and also goodbyes to be had.
We volunteered a few more days at the orphanage/school (Yayasan Widya Guna) and loved every minute of it. Yogesh was everyone’s hero – the kids and teachers just loved him because he was giving every ounce of his heart and soul with every interaction. In fact, when the last day came and it was time to say goodbye, one of the students, a girl named Putu who rarely spoke or interacted with others, kissed the back of his hand during their handshake. We both felt so attached to the kids and had a hard time saying goodbye – and we had only been there a week (me, a little less because I was tending to a sick Amani).
Here’s a shot of the kids receiving donations of clothing and toys from friends and family. They were so appreciative. And another shot of precious Wayan with his new bear.
I wrapped up my painting classes and said goodbye to Mr. Nyoman, my teacher. Amani said goodbye to her teacher, Putu, and his pregnant cat. She was hoping to bring a kitty home but didn’t even get to meet them…
We went out for a meal at sunset to a place called Sari Organik. We celebrated Deepali’s birthday at this gorgeous rice paddy viewpoint. My parents, our neighbors at Panorama Hotel (Ron and Mary) and Amani’s friend, Lola, and her family joined us on this evening out. My favorite moment was when we were walking back along the rice-paddy path back to the main road. Amani spotted fireflies and it was magical to see the twinkling of these creatures with this beautiful backdrop. She noticed a firefly stuck in a spiderweb but it was too entwined by the web to get out (Yogesh tried to save it). She didn’t know whether to be sad or not but Yogesh beautifully explained that this was nature and how the world worked. Later, she delicately caught a firefly in a loose-fisted grasp. She held onto it for a moment and then set it free and watched it as it took flight. Magical. Truly magical.
After a few last days of yoga, good eats, and goodbyes, we left Panorama Hotel, which had become our home for the month. Here’s us with the staff. This staff was more than that. They gave Amani bread to feed the fish in the pond, gave Amani goodies like orange juice, sweets and hugs, gave us rides to and from places in town, filled us in on their life happenings, and showered us wtih warmth. Amani woke up each morning, got ready and left the room before we did, to hang out with the staff and walk around the property. We even left her with the staff once while we ran an errand. She called all the ladies “Bibi” which means “aunt”. Bibi Wayan, Bibi Ting Ting and Bibi Ade were here favorites especially because of the sweets they carried in their pockets.
We had looked for other places to live – homes for rent, other hotels that were less old…but in the end, nothing compared to the staff and the positive vibe we got at Panorama.
Our next adventure was a northern excursion to Danau Bratan (Lake Bratan) and Danau Batur (Lake Batur). See next post…
Bali at Four 