While walking along one of the many beautiful beaches of Bali, breathing in the salty air and feeling the sun warmm my skin, I realized that this time last week, I was arriving in Bali, tired, curious, and full of both exctitment and nervousness. It is strange to conceptualize in my head being 14 hours ahead of where my friends and family back home are, sleeping under a mosquito net on a tiny, tropical island in Asia.
After double and triple checking my bag for my passport, Ryan and I made our way from Canmore to Calgary to grab dinner before he dropped me off at the airport. The closer we got to my leaving, the more butterflies seemed to be fluttering in my stomach. I felt a mixture of anxiety and excitment for what lay ahead of me. It seems that no matter how much traveling I do, I always have this moment of “OMG I’m actually doing this” upon arriving at the airport. This time it was “OMG…I’m going to Bali!!!” followed by a “OMG… I’m going to Bali alone”. This is one of the major differences between my current trip and my past travels, as everywhere I’ve ever been I’ve gone with my family, friends, or Ryan. This trip is also different from my other travels because instead of simply going for the sake of exploring somewhere beautiful, I am going to do a 30 day intensive yoga teacher training. Yikes!
As I made my way from Calgary to Vancouver and boarded a China Airlines flight headed for Taiwan, it all became very real to me. Fortunately, it as 3am Calgary time and I was much too tired to think about how nervous I was. As I settled into my seat for the 14 hour flight that was to follow, I was pleased when I realized that there was no one in the seat beside me. Score! Two seats all to myself! Thankfully, I slept for most of the flight, arriving in Taiwan in the early morning feeling only slightly dazed. I made my way to a coffee shop with a few other people from my flight who were headed to Bali, where we spent the next 3 hours before boarding the plane to Bali. While in Taiwan, I was fascinated by the shops and restaurants throughout the airport, the Asian artwork, and the vending machines. It was all a bit of a shock to the system coming from North America.
Five hours later and I was touching down in Denpasar. The place that I am staying, Serenity Eco Guesthouse had connected me with a girl who was in my yoga teacher training program. We connected on Facebook and I found her blonde hair and bright smile easily as we boarded the plane. While waiting to get our visas and get our baggage, Chelsey and I began to get to know each other and we immediately clicked. We both live in mountain towns, enjoy the outdoors, and obviously, have a passion for yoga.
Our driver drove us through busy Denpasar out to the west coast of Bali to the adorable surf town of Canggu. We checked in and as I set my bag down in my single room, I took it all in. My room consists of a single bed with a mosquito net, a bedside table, a drying rack, an open concept closet and a safe. I spread myself out and began to make myself comfortable in what I was about to call home for the next four weeks.
Chelsey and I got dinner at the restaurant in our guesthouse, enjoying some raw, vegan food, before wandering through the guesthouse in search of the pool, which can be found through a maze of locally grown plants and herbs. We then proceeded to make our way down the beach, a mere 150 meters from Serenity, where we dipped our feet in the ocean, tipped our heads to the sky to admire the sky and breath in the ocean air. I couldn’t help but smile as it truly sunk in that I was in Bali.
As I settled into bed that evening, I thought about what the next 4 weeks had in store for me…. I drifted off to sleep feeling happy and excited for the journey ahead.