Yogyakarta – Can I do yoga there?

May 1, 2013 by karpiadiem

1 year ago, my cousin Souvik and his wife Aarti came to visit us in Vancouver Canada.

6 months ago, my husband David and I decided we needed to experience a unique travel adventure with our kids and booked our flights to Indonesia.

Planning began; travel advice and recommendations whirled around via email. The Busy Life of Leisure Lady in residence, Aarti, was an invaluable resource of the what, where, when and why’s of experiencing Indonesia.

She mentioned a town called Yogyakarta, the home of one of the largest Buddhist temples in the world called Borobudur. I was drawn in by the name. Hey, this place must be a yoga haven! “Pia” says Aarti, “it’s pronounced Joag-Jakarta.” Y = J. Ok. Got it.

A few days after arriving in Jakarta, Aarti and I escaped on our own mini-adventure, with no husbands, kids or sister-in-law, to experience what Jogja had to offer.

Jogja had plenty to offer where my body, mind and soul were concerned.

We arrived in the morning and headed straight to our hotel, D’Omah Yogyakarta. http://www.yogyakartaaccommodation.com/accommodation.html

It was an absolutely beautiful, serene, wonderful, quiet retreat in a small village past the main town center, across from a rice field. Our room felt like a honeymoon suite!! The architecture was typical Javanese, and the surroundings held a balance of serenity and nature. No stress here.

Aarti enjoying a pool side break at D’Omah Yogya

We decided to take a drive around the city, check out some of the sights, including an interesting bird market.

Pink and green chicks? Happy Easter….

Then in the morning we woke up before the light and drove out to Borobudur to experience the temple at sunrise.

Rolling with the flow of ups and downs ( forgotten wake-up calls, and an unfortunate accident with a stray cat on the road – sorry Kitty!), we made it to the temple by 5 am.

Arriving at sunrise in Borobudur was absolutely one of the highlights of my trip to Indonesia. We were at the top of this 9^th century temple even before the roosters started. The surrounding area is rural and peaceful…Seemingly far from any chaos. Very few tourists enhanced the experience of the awe-inspiring views of the volcano Merapi in the distance.

I was fascinated by the number of Buddha statues (over 400) and panel carvings depicting scenes from the life of Prince Siddharta. The site was abandoned in the 14^th century after Hinduism was on the decline in Java, and Islam was on the rise. It wasn’t until the early 1900’s that someone happened to find it buried under the jungle overgrowth and volcanic ash. It is a very special place, and a memory I will keep with me for a very long time.

Half Lotus Tree Pose!

Gorgeous views at every turn.

Returning back to Yogya, we had a wonderful lunch with papaya/lime juice and homous appetizers at a typical young tourist café, where young people were eagerly chatting and sharing their travel stories. I watched them enviously, I must admit. To be a young, single traveller again with no responsibilities…impossible at this stage in my life, but fun to dream about.

We continued on to the Prambanam Hindu temple. It is dedicated to the Trimurti – the three aspects of God – Brahma (the Creator), Vishnu (the Preserver) and Shiva (the Destroyer). The structures, surroundings, and deities were very different from Borobudur. However, despite many travels to India, I have never experienced a Hindu temple before. I was thankful to have had the opportunity finally in Yogya.

With no offense intended, after experiencing Borobudur first on our itinerary, Prambanam felt like a 3 star hotel after a spectacular, glistening 5 star resort. Definitely worth seeing, but it did not have the same impact on my Spirit.

That was the end our getaway and we set off for the airport to continue our separate journeys.

I am grateful to Aarti, my personal tour guide and friend, for taking the time to spend with me on this trip. Yogyakarta left an impression on me in many ways – how much I value my independence, my Spirit and moments of stillness.

Namaste

Pia

Adventures in Beautiful Bali

April 10, 2013 by mabkmcd

Bali was so much more than a beautiful tropical vacation, it was a spiritual journey. Coinciding with this trip I started a 21 day meditation challenge and Bali was the perfect place to make this a habit. The people of Bali were so friendly and clearly spiritual connected. There are enchanting temples, worship places and offerings to the gods everywhere. As my son said, hope you find your Zen Mom… what could be a better start than massages and mediation every day in paradise.

Our home base was a magnificent villa in Sanur, with a beautiful private pool in the centre and just a short walk to the beach boardwalk. Our trip was the perfect balance of relaxation and exploring… ideal for a Busy Life of Leisure. We hired Nano and Gerry, our friendly Balinese drivers, to show us the sights. Bali may be small but there is so much to see; we played in the surf in Seminyak, visited Taneh Lot temple by the sea, were mesmerized by a traditional Borang dance performance, interacted with Trider the dolphin, snorkeled by a coral reef, witnessed the beauty of a waterfall and other local landscape, explored the spectacular rice terraces, watched the sunset and feasted on seafood in Jimbaran.

Sanur was close to everything and Ubud was well worth the trip with many great side stops along the way. The Lewak coffee plantation tour was amazing, seeing how the most expensive coffee in the world is made. The Lewak eats the ripe coffee beans, where the animal’s stomach acids naturally decaffeinates the beans before they are excreted… they are then cleaned, toasted and ready for drinking. Another highlight was the Monkey Sanctuary where thousands of monkeys roam around in a large beautiful reserve. When we were not exploring, playing in the pool, floating in the ocean, shopping or biking the boardwalk we were relaxing. It was the perfect place to sit back and unwind reading a book under at tree with the ocean breeze, have a $3 beach side massage, meditate, have a nap or enjoy a cold Bintang as the sun sets before heading out to one of many beach side cafés for dinner.

We were also lucky enough to experience Galungan which is celebrated every 210 days according to the Balinese calendar. It celebrates the victory of good over evil and it is believed the ancestral spirits descend to earth on this holy day. According to the locals it is equivalent to our Christmas. Outside almost every home and business is a Penjor, an elaborately decorated bamboo post with dangling offerings for the gods. They are beautiful and some are very elaborate (similar to our Christmas tree). We were out exploring the day before Galungan and the preparations were well underway, many roadside stores were closed to celebrate and the streets were lined with Penjors, a sight I will never forget. The next morning we went for a bike ride and there were hardly any cars on the road, just some scooters with families (we have seen up to 5 on one) all dresses in beautiful Balinese traditional attire and the temples were packed with worshipers.

It is really the people that make Bali amazing… so friendly and grateful. It really made me realize the focus we put on material things in our quest for happiness which is so different than in Bali. The spirituality of the people is evident in the magnificent small offerings which magically appear at the many worship places throughout the island. The people were content and gracious for all the beauty in their lives. What Bali taught me is that happiness is not found in things but in appreciating all that we have and in being present… I come home with a new appreciate for my amazing life and importance of enjoying every moment!

Resting in Peace

April 7, 2013 by Aarti Garde

Another photo walk last week – to the Dutch cemetery – Ereveld Menteng Pulo. In the midst of the chaotic Kuningan neighbourhood is this oasis of calm and green. The only people around are the groundsmen, maintaining the pristine neatness of this place. The graves honor people of different religions, as does the chapel in the center of the grounds. We shuddered to see that a lot of the victims must have died barely out of their teens, in the frontlines. That’s war!

While we waited for a friend, there were some wildlife to shoot -

And what’s a photo walk, without stretching for ‘that best angle’?

Through the stained glass

Busy is no understatement!

March 29, 2013 by davidwnichols

POOL Fun after Car Free Sunday in Jakarta

After Aarti and Souvik came to visit us in Vancouver in June of last year we decided we had to come visit them in Jakarta. Pia and I thought it would be an amazing adventure for our family and specifically our two sons Ravi and Jaian so see part of the world that is VERY different to Canada. When my sister Andrea found out about the trip she was so excited she decided to join us. The boys were more excited to come because they were told that there was a pool at Souvik and Aarti’s Jakarta house. We could have been just about anywhere in the world and the boys would be in paradise with their own private pool. They were not quite ready for the culture shock if an enormous Asian city but they are getting used to it every day.

With Aarti as our tour guide we soon learned there would only be so much ‘pool time.’ A Busy Life of Leisure is no joke. Let me tell you we are sure kept Busy! In Vancouver the only time my family gets up before 6am is if Santa has stopped by the house. But in Jakarta if we haven’t left the house on some adventure by 6:15am we would have been in big trouble. Usually that trouble was traffic trouble. Good thing my family was still dealing with jet lag and waking up well before 6am naturally.

Our first adventure was experiencing ‘car free Sunday’ in downtown Jakarta. Souvik and I rode bikes to the city centre and Aarti and the rest of the family drove to meet us. What a sight! By 6:45am there must have been 20,000 people on the street, walking, running or biking. It looked like one of the biggest marathons or running races you would see back home, except most people were just out for a nice Sunday stroll. The other thing that amazed me was the variety of dress. There were many bikers out dresses up lite they were going to do the Tour de France but there bike did not match clothing. Then there was runners many of them very serious and they looked the part. women and men in small little running shorts and tops. Looking at this crowd you would never have guessed it was a strong Muslim country.

After the Car Free Jakarta experience it was crucial we get a good breakfast after all we were with Souvik. By 8:30 we were in a nice little breakfast spot enjoying coffee and pancakes.

By the time we got back to the house it was about 10:30am but felt more like 5pm. Busy life of leisure is definitely not an understatement.

A Tale of Two Islands

March 17, 2013 by Aarti Garde

Souvik & I have the same birthday, and we like to celebrate it in style. Last year, I was in Malaysia for a training program, so Souvik decided to join me there for the birthday weekend.

We went to Langkawi – that world-renowned tourist hotspot – and spent a glorious weekend there. We stayed in the Temple Tree resort, which has to be among the most exotic places we’ve lived in, ever, and checked off all the touristy boxes on the list – island hopping, jet skiing, cable car ride, eagle watching, even managed a helicopter ride for spectacular aerial views.

‘Langkawi’ means reddish-brown eagle, and there were plenty to spot, sadly thanks to various groups going out to the water to feed them.

Eagles!

Freshwater lake in the sea

Geared up

Sporty adventures

Eagles!

Chopper

Cable car views

Birthday together

Island of the pregnant woman!

our jet skis

Consequently, nothing less than an exotic island would do for this ‘milestone’ birthday. Bali was rejected for being ‘over-travelled’. And then we found Cubadak, a tiny island off the west coast of Sumatera. It was everything that Langkawi was not. One simple resort – Cubadak Paradiso – with not even a sign. A quick flight to Padang, then just follow the people who hand you over from the car to the boat to the cottage. No air-conditioning, no room service or even menu cards, hardly any phone signals. No roads, no vehicles on land. Just a calm blue ocean, a few basic boats, and living with the tides. We managed to forgo wi-fi for 3 days, and didn’t regret it once.

Aerial view of the coast

Sunset

40th

The Pier

Footprints

Sunrise

Sunset

Into the deep

And yes, we went diving and swimming and snorkelling and eating and reading and meeting new people. Wonder or wonders, we even met some friends from Jakarta there! A different picture of sunrise and sunset every day. Waded in knee-deep water for miles into the ocean. Not much that the camera could capture, but it was more about touching all the different senses. The day we left Cubadak early morning before sunrise, millions of stars glittered in the sky like divine blessings from up above.

I grew a year older from one island to the other. Learnt new skills. Read more books. Made new friends. Visited old ones. And found that the urge to travel is stronger than ever.

It’s been a wonderful life already.

Java Jazz Again

March 7, 2013 by Aarti Garde

Last weekend was Java Jazz time – one of those must-do events in Jakarta. Last year had been eye-opening for me, to see how popular is the jazz scene among the youth here, plus there was a slew of big names to draw us in. I’m not a follower of jazz music, love it when I’m listening, had no idea of who was playing this year, but went along with some friends who are far more keen. What can I tell you, it exceeded my expectations! We only attended some shows on Sunday – Butterscotch, David Helbock & Earl Klugh, and loved every moment. What’s more, there was vegetarian food available at the food court too!

Plenty of colour, fashion, light effects photo ops:

Fashions

Shooting Religiously

March 6, 2013 by Aarti Garde

I lost my photography mojo on the last walk, amid all the confusion of not being allowed inside the train station to take pictures to abruptly changing the venue to the Jakarta Cathedral via Masjid Istiqlal. Uju and I had toured the masjid when she was here, but I recall not being too enthused about photography then either. Maybe stay away from the camera for a while, huh? But that is not to be. Have camera, will shoot, have internet, will blog!

This Masjid Istiqlal has a relatively young but interesting history – it was built to commemorate Indonesia’s independence from the Dutch, following traditional Javanese norms that it should be in close proximity to the city center (the Merdeka Square in Jakarta), and the site was chosen by President Soekarno right across the cathedral to represent religious tolerance of the then-new nation. There are a whole lot of other symbolic elements in the building that you can read about on the link.