My Bali Adventure - Bali Welcomes

Christmas time is the time of the TV repeats of the “feel good films”. I  think it may be in recognition that this is the time when people get emotionally sensitive, or there may be some less idealistic and more commercial reasons for that. In any way, I   recently saw the repeat of the film Eat, Pray Love. The last part is very romantic, and it takes place in Bali. Never mind the romantic aspect of the film, the place for westerners seems very attractive and close to a paradise. Suddenly a thought of wanting to go there came over me, but I crossed it out as too adventurous for a single woman who even has some health challenges.   A few days later my qigong instructor or should I rather say master and mentor in some areas send me an email inviting to a trip to Bali that he was organising. It was supposed to be a trip to practice qigong, tai chi, kung fu and talk about Taoism. The invitation was very timely, and it seemed like a sign that I need to go to Bali this time. I was strongly drawn to the idea. So I organised the hotel, air ticket and I am now in the Novotel in Nusa Dua, Bali.

The trip was great, I flew with Garuda, and they seem to be to still be airlines used to be some twenty years ago.  The service and food were great, I forgot that I can be treated so well and without a subservient attitude which typically deep down is not that friendly and sometimes covers resentment to those who are being served. Another strong impression was of dignity and friendliness that emanates from the Indonesians I came across. Reflecting on what might create this impression I came to the conclusion that part of it is their body posture. Most of the locals have very straight backs. When I look at them, I also straighten up immediately. Even now when I write about it, I sit straight, not in my normal slouching manner. I hope this new, good practice will stay with me for a while. Another thing is their slow and measured movements. I have not observed any jerky movements around. The hot and humid weather may be the reason for that, I noticed some slowness in my own movements since I have arrived. It is not that hot really, but it is very humid. The rainy season has just started, and it rains almost all the time with short breaks only. For some reason, I do not mind that. The first day here I did not realise that part of my room equipment is a huge umbrella. Which my current experience I know that this is one of the essentials in Bali in December. Before I gained this knowledge I went for a little walk around the hotel compound and, of course, it started to rain. There was a local couple walking opposite me. They had an umbrella so I asked where I could get one. Almost immediately their still not open umbrella was extended in my direction, and this gesture was accompanied by a respectful bow as if saying “namaste”.  I accepted the umbrella with gratitude. Coming back to my room I found my own umbrella waiting for me in the corner of the apartment entrance. I had not noticed it before. I decided then that I am going to like the place and the people. Few days have passed, and I still have this very positive impression and experience. When I walk around the hotel grounds invariably, local people smile and great me. Often they ask questions how I am and how my day has been. They behave as if they were my friends. They do it so naturally, and I believe that this is their way to be. Well, maybe there is a little of hotel training in it as well, but what their behaviour is convincing friendly and I buy it.    

The hotel I am staying in is one of the Novotels, one would think there is nothing to get excited about, but this Bali version of a Novotel is great in many ways. The hotels in Nusa Dua are located behind gates. The gates are rather symbolic as they do not close, but they are gates nevertheless. When cars entering the hotel grounds, the guards check the boots of the cars for the potential threat of terrorism. This is the lesson after the Balinese terrorist attack of 2002.

My Bali adventure started well, and I feel that it was an inspired decision to go for a holiday. In the recent years, I have travelled a bit or a lot in fact, but I have not been on such stationary holiday for ages. There is some sort of luxurious laziness about it. No wonder that Italians call it “dolce far niente” – sweet idleness. This is indeed a sweet experience for me. No guilt about doing nothing, just pleasure.

To be continued…  

Hi Sydney !

I have been in my second home country just over 24 hours. No jet lag, but not a full brain capacity or motivation to do anything. I gave myself a break and decided to get over the bewilderment caused by the big change. I know that I am fortunate to be able to live in two great or at least interesting countries during the best time of the year in each of them. This is one side of the coin. Maybe this coin should have only one, positive side? There is a change of lifestyle, language, friends, food, landscape, ways… It is all good and also a bit challenging.

                                           

My trip started at the Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport. The place is turning to a really nice, efficiently working, small airport. The journey started pleasantly with the exception of my flight being late. There were weather problems in Germany and I was flying Lufthansa.

The first stop - Frankfurt. This was a very brief stop, hurried in fact. With some help of the Lufthansa staff I managed to catch my flight to Bangkok. Boy, it was a race. I managed but my suitcase did not. I am still waiting for its delivery. Frankfurt airport is one I like least, out of the ones I know. It is too big and too impersonal. It does not work all that well either, in spite of famous German efficiency.

The Lufthansa flight was quite pleasant though. They improved their seats the last year and I was able to stretch. The food was also very nice and I said “taste you later” to fantastic, one of its kind bread that they can only bake right in Poland and Germany. Maybe Austria as well, at a push? Not sure about it though. The rest of the world eats some different type of bakeries calling it bread. I suspect that I may be byes, just a bit. But try for yourself if you get an opportunity. Especially dark bread variety.

                                           

Not typically for me I did not watch any film on this flight. All my neighbours watched some catastrophic, terrifying films. New version of Matrix? I was not attracted to it at all. And I had a new book to read.  

Then Bangkok and a looong wait for the next flight. I had 9 hours to kill and this time I slept few hours at the airport. It was a good idea and I will try to schedule my future flights the same way. The Bangkok airport has been modernized few years ago and now it has facilities that make lay off time not that hard. Maybe even pleasant if one is not in a hurry home. There are restaurants, coffee places rest areas, spas, massages and shops of course.

I find mentality of the Bangkok airport people very different to what I am used to and difficult as well. They are very officious lot and not helpful. The staff rarely smiles and their English is often insufficient. They always answer questions confidently but often not correctly. It is the only airport I know that I had things confiscated from my luggage without any need. They always look into and mess up the hand luggage. Even if it goes through x-ray stations they need to check it out. This time there was a new attraction. Passengers need to take the position like criminals on films for police officers to frisk them. Hands up, legs apart facing an x-ray for quite some time. A bit humiliating really.  Does it stop more people with wrong intentions? I doubt it.

It finished well for me

One may wonder if I like any airport really. Yes, I do. I like Singapore. And I feel at home at Kastrup in Copenhagen, so I like it. It is familiar and works well. And Lech Walesa Airport, of course.

                                       

Sydney Kingsford-Smith is now in a reconstruction stage and I would have some critical remarks here but I got my suitcase back as I wrote this post. No problem, no fuss and delivered to the door. Thank you Kingsford-Smith. You are great!

From Sydney to Gdansk

It has been my time to move for some time to the northern hemisphere. I have rather ambivalent approach to the fact that I move from one country to another like a yo-yo. To some it looks glamorous but to me it is what I just have to do. I even had a tendency to look at it negatively.  It was an unpleasant necessity. This year I have decided that I will take a different approach. I intend to enjoy my stay here, in Europe, from the day one. This means from today. This is the promise given to myself and I intend to keep it.

I am back to Gdansk, in the environment I know well. Not much has changed. Friends who stayed in the place added few towels to my possessions, at least temporarily; the grass in the garden is yellow rather than green, as I saw it last, but the rest seems to be as I left it. I am still taking stock. It is fun; I find things that I forgot about during the time I have been at home in Sydney. They are usually nice surprises. Except for one. I found a rotten fish in my defrosted freezer. My first chore was to dispose of the fish and clean the fridge very thoroughly. It has been a lot of airing in the kitchen but the smell sill lingers. I do not remember leaving the fish to rot; I did not turn the fridge off myself. It was my friend who was supposed to do it. And he did. I think I better leave the fish affair uninvestigated.   After all, it is a rotten business.

                               

The trip was long. It seems to be longer and longer every year as the layoffs are longer.   Strangely enough, I go through it better now than in the past. Knowing that it will take about 30 hours before I will breathe fresh air again, I resign myself to the fact. Arriving at the airport I step in into a travel bubble. For the next many hours things of my normal life will not require any action. I will be only reading, writing, watching films, eating and sleeping. Knowing that relaxes me. This time I was reading Knausgaard second book from the autobiographical series - My Struggle and an NLP book by Richard Bandler himself – Get the Life You Want. I watched three films – Cinderella, Focus and English Vinglish.

 It was so uncharacteristic of me to pick Cinderella to watch, a film  for children but I found it fun and I watched it with interest. One needs to feed the inner child sometimes.  The second film did not require a mental stretch either.  The film is about a con man played by Will Smith and his partner in crime, very pretty Margot Robbie. Interesting thing is that in both of the films, played two Australian actresses – Cate Blanchett as a wicket step mother and Margot Robbie as a skillful pocket thief. None of the actresses got particularly challenged by the roles but both looked fantastic.  

English Vinglish is an Indian film about a woman who is systematically put down by her well educated husband and her daughter because she can not speak English. As Shashi is clever and determined, while visiting her sister in New York, she goes to an English school. Learning the language fast and well in the span of four weeks she gains respect and admiration of her family and most importantly self-respect as well. It is a sweet, funny, uncomplicated film that makes one feel good. It was my definite favourite of the three.

Shashi and her international class

                                         

I traveled from Sydney with Singapore Airlines, absolutely fantastic. Later, I found out that it has been voted #2 in the world by passengers. Well deserved. Changing to Lufthansa was like swapping exclusive comfort and service for no fuss efficiency.

It has not been the first time I changed planes in Frankfurt. I knew that the distances between gates were exceptionally big. This time however I had technology to tell me more about it. My fitbit told me that during the day spent in the air and the Frankfurt airport I did 13,000 steps and walked 8.85 km!!! One can get fit in Frankfurt without leaving the airport. And I did not do any flaneuring at the airport, just walked the necessary distance.

Books well traveled

I love books. I love many things about them. Their content teaches and amuses or irritates and forces to assess new points of view. It influences me often as written word has authority for me. Written – then it must be true or at least worth considering. I simplify my approach, of course. I am not naïve or gullible as all that. However, printed word has subconsciously stronger influence on me than spoken words.

                             

I also like nicely published books. Australian book – ONE; living as one and loving it by Victoria Alexander is an example of books I consider beautifully published. Another one on top of my list is Polish edition of Master and Margarita of Mikhail Bulgakov. I like to touch them, scan their beautiful pages, look at the illustrations. I think that I read almost all works of Bronte sisters because of being lucky to have a very nice edition of their books.

I also like smell of some books, even old musty ones. When I was very young and wondered who I want to be when I grow up I did not want to be a firewoman, this was suitable for boys. I wanted to work in a book shop which would also sell cosmetics. Hmm… I wonder about myself, at least my thinking in young years.

So, now that I have confessed my love for books, it makes it clear that it is very hurtful for me to part with them. But, I have moved around the world quite a bit. The first move was from a small Polish town Włocławek to Warsaw. This was an easy move. I did not have many possessions at eighteen. My father organized nice wooden crates in which I packed my books very carefully. And off I went to be a student in a big city.

After some years of living in Warsaw, I accumulated more books and was a proud owner of a great wall unit which easily housed my books plus other less important things. There was a room for expansion. And then the time came to move again. This time the move was serious, out of Poland. My father organised more wooden crates and I packed my books again. In those days nice carton boxes that removal people give you did not exist. Books packed in wooden crates are heavy. I heard loud complaints from people carrying them from the forth floor without lift to the container lorry parked downstairs– Please, not more books! I felt sorry for the removal men and guilty.


                                          

The books landed up in a storage space somewhere in Vienna while I lived bookless in Paris for one year. Then we all got reunited in Düsseldorf. It was great! My new Polish bookcases were placed in a special room, all my books were comfortable and there was room for expansion.

I gave my books a rest for two years and then we were on our way again. This time the journey was very long, we were going to Sydney. Books and all.

It was a time of stability for books and me for quite some time. Again, there was a special room for my bookcases and their content in my first houses in Sydney. We were all stable and happy. But the next move required changes; there was not enough place for all my books in the new house. I had to give away many of them to various libraries and charities. This was painful. My friend, who volunteers in St Vincent de Paul shop, tells me that many donated books are thrown away. I am glad I did not know it then.

This was not the end of travels of my books. I decided to go and live in Poland again. My precious bookcases went to charities together with many of the books. The most precious of the books went with me of course. We landed up in Gdansk this time. It was stability time again.  I had place for books and time to read. I bought more books to add to my so brutally culled collection. However, nothing lasts forever. Some years later it was time to come back home – Sydney. And this is where after our travels, I and my books are now.