Soul - Searching Journeys

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." - Nelson Mandela

Every woman I know, let me rephrase that, every person I know dreams of taking off on a round-the-world journey to “find themselves.”

When we are unhappy or struggling in our lives we tend to reach out to the universe in hopes that she will light the way. It’s that innate desire in all of us to soul search, to experience something so profound that it will bring about the kind of self-awareness that changes us forever.

The truth is that the answers already reside in our heart. It’s that inner voice calling you towards your destiny, trying to veer you onto the path of true happiness, but it is only through action and unwavering courage to face our truth that we will unearth the wealth of knowledge that lies within us.

What if you had the courage to pursue your dreams and follow your heart? Would you discover that those that matter don’t care and those who care don’t matter? What if you finally stopped living someone else’s life and started living the life YOU want? Imagine being liberated from all the fears that have held you back. Envision the life you could have, the love you could experience. It’s there, waiting for you to let go of your fears and embrace it.

That is what happened to one courageous woman on her journey of self-discovery. Author Elizabeth Gilbert’s 2006 memoir - Eat Pray Love - echoed such a truth in others that millions of people from around the world ran out to buy her memoir and booked trips to Italy, India and Bali in hopes that they too could indulge, meditate, and find happiness. That they too would be privy to the divine secrets of the universe to find the courage to escape the ties that bind them to a life and love they no longer want, to free themselves and explore the endless possibilities called life.

I was so captivated by her story that I read her book 3 times, wondering if I too would ever have such a profound experience. I’ve often thought, “Where would I go to soul search? And would happen to our world if every being opened up their heart, soul and mind to the possibility of change?” I imagine that we would live in a constant state of love and light, but until then, let us experience some of the wonders Elizabeth Gilbert experienced on her quest to finding her true destiny.

EAT – ITALY

As everyone knows, you could eat your way through Italy and enjoy every single moment of it. Lord knows I have! But since Gilbert spent most of her time in Rome, I’ll share some of my favorite places to eat in Rome. No visit to Rome is complete for me without dinner at Clemente alla Maddalena located in ‘Piazza della Maddalena,’ a few steps from the Pantheon. The food is always prepared using quality ingredients and the atmosphere enchanting.

If you’re in Italy to eat your way to heavenly bliss then you have to eat at the city's only three-Michelin-starred restaurant - La Pergola – with breathtaking views of the Vatican. On summer evenings, out on the candlelit terrace, the city shimmers like stars fallen to earth and the Dome of St. Peter's seems close enough to touch.

You can’t be in Italy and not eat gelato! Il Gelato di San Crispino has some the best ice cream in all of Italy, so eat to your heart’s content.

No Italian epicurean adventure would be complete without pizza, so like Elizabeth, hop on a train to Naples and visit the legendary L’Antica Pizzeria Da Michele that many have described as the “Scared Temple of Pizza.”

PRAY – INDIA

If the ashrams of India seem too hardcore for you, as they would be for me, try a more luxurious approach at destination wellness by staying at one of the many 'ashram-meets-boutique-hotel' where you can take yoga classes and meditation to re-connect with your inner core.

One of my dreams is to visit the Taj Mahal, India's most iconic and romantic sight. Built by the heartbroken Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife who died during childbirth, it took 22 years of meticulous work by 20,000 workers to complete this monument to love. For a hopeless romantic like me, this is the love story to end all love stories.

Udaipur in Rajasthan is unarguably India's most romantic city. Known as the City of Lakes, its bodies of water provide a picturesque backdrop to the city's palaces. Stay at the magical Oberoi Udaivilas, which sits in regal style on the banks of Lake Pichola.

LOVE – BALI

Like Gilbert, set up base in Ubud in the centre of the island and experience peace and tranquility.

Spirituality and religion is the life-blood of Bali. One of the oldest temple complexes in Bali and just north of Ubud, Gunung Kawi will take your breath away. Its 10 rock cut shrines each stand eight meters tall in sheltered coves, with an 11th further down the valley, and all date back to the 11th century.

If you don’t find the love of your life in the shape of an attractive Brazilian expat like Gilbert did, Bali still has plenty of scope for romance. Besides, the most important love of all is the love you have for yourself!

Under the Sea

Yes, I did just make a reference to the little mermaid. But how can you not sing along to that soundtrack when you're scuba diving? This post is a little rewind to Bali. Partially because I miss it and partially because it's starting to get cold here. We went to Bali with the intention to scuba dive once or twice. That was before we found out how ridiculously cheap it is! At 30 bucks a pop we were able to go a whole lot more than we anticipated!  

Kind of kept expecting them to form animals or words.

If you open your mouth then these tiny shrimp start to clean your mouth. 

We were able to dive a ship wreck right off the coast. The USS Liberty was an american cargo ship that was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in WWII. Too expensive to haul back to the states, it was decided to beach the huge ship. Then in 1964, Mt. Agung volcano exploded, over 10,000 ft tall, killing a thousand villagers. the lava made it’s way to the beach and pushed the beached cargo ship into the ocean. It now sits at a 90 degree angle on it’s side and goes from 3 meters deep down to 30 meters deep in the water. We talked to our driver who was born and raised in the town and he said that his grandparents witnessed the volcano exploding. Not having any cars in the town at the time, they had to run to the next town to seek safety.They were also able to do a night dive of the wreck!

While the boys were diving one morning, Alissa and I sat and talked with one of the workers at the hotel. She gave us great insight into the traditional Hindu lifestyle of Bali. It started by her asking about Alissa’s baby and when she was due. We then found out that she had been trying to get pregnant for 10 years now with no luck. She said that it is getting more and more difficult in Bali to get pregnant, and many people have the same difficulty as she. She told us that she was starting to get worried because if a woman does not have a child or does not produce a boy, then the husband sometimes goes and marries another woman. He can continue to marry different woman until he has a boy. She went on to tell us that it is very hard to find work. Sometimes her husband works a few days in a row as a boat driver but then can go weeks without work. Many women carry water pots to earn money but at the end of the day they have to split the money they earned with their “boss”. She said that some bosses were so cruel that if you were cooking and did something wrong they would take the boiling water and pour it on you. My heart went out to this woman and her obvious day to day struggle. It made me so humbly aware of how good we have it. Not having to worry about hubs leaving if I can't have a baby or if I have the wrong gender, having a good job with a great boss. There are so many things that we take for granted in our day to day life. Sometimes it's good to get a little wake up call from others.

Tanah Lot-Bali

We rented boats to take us out for a sunrise boat ride on our last day.

It was the perfect view of Agung Volcano

Our second hotel that we stayed at with a full breakfast served in the alcove to the left. It was a scuba diver's paradise with full service scuba training center and just a short walk to the beach for a dive.

Tanah Lot is claimed to be the work of the 15th century priest Nirartha. During his travels along the south coast he saw the rock-island's beautiful setting and rested there. Some fishermen saw him, and bought him gifts. Nirartha then spent the night on the little island. Later he spoke to the fishermen and told them to build a shrine on the rock for he felt it to be a holy place to worship the balinese sea gods.

The Tanah Lot Temple was built and has been a part of balinese mythology for centuries. The temple is one of seven sea temples around the Balinese coast. Each of the sea temples were established within eyesight of the next to form a chain along the south-western coast.

At the base of the rocky island, poisonous sea snakes are believed to guard the temple from evil spirits and intruders. A giant snake supposedly protects the temple, which was created from Nirartha’s scarf when he established the island.

At high tide you cannot see the strip of land connecting it to the mainland. It looks as though it is sitting in the middle of the water. 

 Pura Batu Balong, another temple in the same area. both temples are within eyesight of each other.

The Mother Temple of Bali

Over a thousand years old, Besakih temple is known as the "Mother Temple of Bali". Perched on the slopes of mount agung, at 1,000 metres (3,000 feet). besakih is the biggest and holiest of all the balinese temples. Named after the dragon god believed to inhabit the mountain, it's said to be the only temple where a hindu of any caste can worship.

The only original wall of the templeLake Batur. As the mountain grows through frequent, minor or not so minor eruptions, it gradually enlarges its base at the expense of the lake, which is slowly shrinking in consequence.

You can still see the lava flows that go right into the lake and the small roads that were carved out in the lava flow.

Temples Temples and More Temples

It was another full day. We started out with the driver at 11 am, after the boys had a chance to go scuba diving that morning.  

Our first stop was Kurtagosa, the former royal courts of justice in the town of Klung Kun. Kertagosa was the end of the line of the law system for serious crimes at that time in Bali. Criminals facing trial were kept in a building where the ceiling held gruesome murals depicting good vs evil and what happened to sinners.

 Some of the scenes depicting what might happen to the "sinners"

 Good to know

We met a group of boys that were hanging out inside the site. One boy was not shy about sharing his chocolate crepe with Jeremy.

After finishing at the palace we walked across the street to a market, which I doubt many westerners go to. We were met with gawking locals as we searched through the bolts of traditional indonesian batik fabric.

Our next stop was Goa Lawah bat cave. legend has it that the cave goes all the way to the mother temple, some 70km away. No one knows for sure if this is true because no one has ever been that deep into the cave. This is because the legend also says there is a large vicious dragon guarding the inside of the cave.

The temple at the entrance of the cave. If you were really wealthy, this is where you paid to have your funeral. Inside you could see bats covering every inch of the walls. It didn't smell the best.

When driving in the country side it is common to see students of the nearby schools marching. We were told that they did this on a regular basis. 

We arrived at our hotel on the north side of the island in Tulamben just before night fall. It is a tiny town in the middle of no where that has only a few restaurants on it’s ½ mile main road. It was exactly what we were looking for. Seclusion. We ate at one of the 3 local restaurants and for a main dish, appetizer and drinks for both of us it came out to about $12usd. Something I could definitely get used to. Another thing I loved about the city and being in the middle of no where were all the stars. With so much light pollution in Geoje, it’s a rarity to have such a clear sky that you can see the milky way.  

On the way to the hotel we passed one of the many lava flows that lead into the ocean from Mt. Agung volcano