BALI - PART 3

Written by Mélody Besnard Posted on 03 Mar. 2023

bali

THE END

BALI, These 4 little letters will remain engraved forever in my heart.

These 4 little letters, which look like paradise on earth, made me dream, these 4 little letters which cover a reality which is however much more complex than the one we are initially sold.
Because beyond the marketing Bali, its beautiful rice fields and its healthy cafes for expats, hides a thousand-year-old culture of incredible complexity and richness that I partly discovered during my stay. …

Ubud, penestanan, seseh, canggu, munduk, batur, sideman, uluwatu will now be added to the corner of my head alongside sidi kaouki, Hoi an, tilcara, el bolson, gorée, san marcos sierra, lago atitlan, la guajira, choroni…

For the logbook, it's February 28th, I'm on the plane back after a very stressful day packing everything and sending it by cargo to Barcelona and obviously packing my suitcase at the last minute this morning and realizing that I had way too much stuff compared to the size of my two suitcases.... And bam, a small $250 extra kilo not at all expected nor taken into account in the largely exceeded budget...
But hey, we stay calm and tell ourselves that it's only money, that the important thing is to be alive and to be happy, isn't it...??!

I cried a lot to leave this little paradise, but once again here I also managed to calm down by telling myself that I could be more than happy to have made this beautiful trip and discovered Bali, and that I was going to go back there very soon... That's something to cheer you up in such an existential crisis (the return to the individualistic European reality is hard after two months here)

The last time I wrote was just before leaving for the road trip with the friends from Paris who were visiting me!
It was really great to have close friends join me for a few days, because even though for me traveling alone is very

important, even essential, I also really appreciate the presence of friends for a few days...!

Here we are, off with Fred and Max, on motorbikes to explore the north of Bali. A loop from Ubud to Batur to Munduk, then Nusa Penida...
Very beautiful landscapes, great encounters, very few tourists in this region (a must for here!), monkeys, rats (private joke for Fred!), incredible rice fields but also a lot of rain….
Unfortunately, even though I was pretty lucky with dodging the rain in general, we're still in the middle of the rainy season and so, it doesn't fail, we get a huge downpour every day (and not our little downpours, no, a good big tropical downpour!), so on a motorbike and in the mountains, I'll let you imagine!
Luckily, Ginger's daily laughter, food and infusions warm our little hearts :)

I then returned to my little paradise, penestanan, where I clearly got used to my routine (bed at 9:30 p.m., up with the sun at 6 a.m., meditation, yoga, no alcohol, meetings with artisans, visits and discovery of really cool little cafes...)

Another friend then joined me to spend a few days in Amed.
The beaches are not as "paradise-like" as other places in Bali, but at least Amed has the merit of being much more authentic and without mass tourism, and that is still quite pleasant (also remember that we are in low season in January and February).
Amed reminded me of a mix between Senegal and Reunion Island...
The beaches have black sand, due to Mount Agung surrounding it and giving it a very mystical appearance. There are quite a few French people living here (I gather that they like places off the beaten track), and there are very good diving and snorkeling spots.

(For hotel and restaurant recommendations, see the end of the articles and soon a Bali guide will be available on Insta :))

It's time to say goodbye to Ubud, I'm postponing my departure twice because I don't want to leave, but I have to, because now I have to take care of finishing my purchases, my current productions and the shipments... And it's obviously the last day that I make friends with the hippie who runs the local grocery store and who introduces me to 2 local reggae bands (one of my favorite music!)

In short, Paki is great, and we'll keep in touch for next year because he rents rooms and knows a lot of contacts for my new projects (which I'll tell you about later!)

Back to Chloé in Canggu, where I had the chance to attend the opening of her magnificent boutique (@awild, a concept store combining natural cosmetics and ethical fashion for those who happen to be in Canggu) on her birthday. All my purchases and shipments were handled perfectly (a huge thank you to Jean René and his wife Juli).
then I'm going to spend my last two days in the Bukit peninsula, Uluwatu, the surfers' paradise where I was told that it never rains there... Well, I think the rain is following me because over the 2 days I must have had 5 hours of pure sunshine and the rest a tornado of rain and wind...

I'm not sure that January and February are the best months to travel to Bali because there is still a lot of rain... Then there are fewer tourists and it remains a magical country anyway...

To conclude, Gratitude and love for this incredible island where I spent two wonderful months that combined everything I wanted: healing my body, mind and soul with the creation of a magnificent collection that I am super proud of (which will be released in spring :)

Beautiful encounters, a beautiful reconnection with myself, new life projects…

Bali brings together everything I love, incredible nature (fauna and flora, I will not say much here about its fauna...For those who know me, no need to say more!!), the kindness and sincerity of its people, the beauty of its crafts, the spiritual side very present daily, the food and especially the possibility of eating vegetarian (but I still prefer Thai or Vietnamese food).
In short, I felt really good there and I will come back even if I obviously still want to discover lots of beautiful countries :)

And there, I try to sleep in these 16 hours of non-stop flight and, closing my eyes, images pass by... the Balinese and their traditional clothes going to their numerous ceremonies on the back of motorbikes, the colorful offerings on every street corner, the bedogols dressed in their black and white kerchiefs (these divine statues) who guard the temples and forests, the smells of incense in the street, the background sound of gamelan or the mantras of the priests that you hear in the distance in the morning, the incessant traffic of motorbikes that parade in front of you and that have absolutely no notion of priority... the stray dogs that eat without pressure the offerings on the ground (those that are for the demons), the green and fuchsia colors of this luxuriant vegetation... the rice fields as far as the eye can see with sometimes a few pointy hats that you see in the middle... the monkeys that suddenly arrive from nowhere and that you absolutely must not look at for lack of seeing each other snatch your handbag, coconuts, small street food tuktuks (which I admit I avoided eating too much, not without wanting to but due to my little turista or bali belly at the beginning...), dragon fruit colored smoothie bowls, yoga classes with a view, markets with a thousand colors and smells in the early morning, the impressive melukats in temples in the middle of the forest...

In short, some images that will remain engraved in my head and in my heart forever and a trip that gave birth to new life projects and made me want to perhaps create something here one day inshallah….

SUKSMA BALI,