July 28th 2025
Bali, where you been all my life? I thought Thailand and Vietnam were green. You cant get any greener than green, I suppose. Even the bricks and sidewalks covered in blankets of green moss. Water, creeks and waterfalls surround you, though hard to see through all the foliage, but you can hear them and feel them nearby, like the presence of a good friend.
We are almost 7 weeks removed from the fray of life in the Western world. The tension of expectations, schedules, deadlines and payments are sloughing off like chunks of old scab. Still mildly uncomfortable, being off the hamster wheel, but we are sleeping well. The first indication, 7 to 10 hour stretches, moving our bodies with freedom and exhilaration, and eating the most amazing food we ever thought possible. Tena is doing yoga again, daily. We spend a couple hours each morning at the coffee shop. Tena draws and smiles a lot. Tena is working on her art and watching her progress makes me giddy. I have the mind-time and the freedom now that the monkey is crawling out of the cage and frolicking, to sit and write each day. And the conversations we can dive into…. With each other and with other travelers, so many of whom share a common sentiment; why didn’t we do this sooner? The answer to that question, after deeper conversation and evaluation is generally: fear. Not just me opining, the general consensus among those surveyed are afraid to pull the plug. Then you do it and the world doesn’t open up to accept you, you open up and accept the world. That’s me opining. “Oh, you do it like that?” Okay, I’ll try that.
We rented a scooter. Again. Terrifying for the first cross town trek. But being a passenger IS terrifying, every time. You cannot afford to watch what’s happening in front of you. It ain’t pretty. Provocation for anxiety attacks. But put the controls in your own hands…. Poor Tena. She sits on the back with a twelve year old boy driving and giggling, occasionally uttering an, “Oh fuck”, then more giggling. Swishing this way to avoid a pot hole and swaying that way to squeeze between two cars. Like watching your nephew Gus play video games. The options for where to go in traffic with a bike are endless.
How can we afford it? We eat, sleep, scooter and recreate for an average of $50-60 a day. Slightly more when we indulge. And the education and open-mindedness are free with your purchase. You cant get lunch in BFE, America for less than that. However you do the math, it’s less than the mortgage or the rent. How can you afford not to?
The trouble with writing is that my $.90 Cappuccino gets cold.