Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

First yoga class in Bali went well.  After not practising for close to 4 months, I feel a bit stiff.  Actually very stiff.

My initial intention was to stay at the back of the class and "blend", but somehow I mistook the front for the back and ended up not just in front, but close to the centre.  Well done, Kit.  I say "blend" in quotation marks because it's really hard to blend when you're part of the handful of Asians in a sea of angmohs despite being in SE Asia. 

There was some chanting and initially that freaked me out a bit, until I realised that I didn't have to chant.  There is a fundamental difference when you're brought up Asian --We're taught to conform.  Sticking out and doing your own thing is conter-intuitive, that probably explains why so many people in Singapore look the same.  But I digress. 

Standing in front, I was surrounded by nubile young things who could stretch circles around me.  I felt very self-conscious and very stiff despite probably being younger than most of them there.  The instructor was very hot.  She was indian-looking and had very nice abs and thighs.  And great curly-hair.  It's all very sexy and I can imagine if I was a guy in that class, I'd have problems concentrating.

Practice here is different from in the CCs back home.  It's much more spiritual: she even started the class by offering incense to Ganesh.  Then, there was some Oms and she talked about listening to sounds and breathing and more listening, to the blood under our skin, to our breathing, to our (insert body part) opening up, and all I heard was the mosquito buzzing beside my ear.  It was very Sophie Kinsella and I was trying not to laugh.  I suppose everyone else was taking it very seriously. 

Apparently today is also Moon-Day and we did moon salutations and appealed to the feminine, sexual (her word) side of our body.  She used the word sexual so many times that the immature side of me couldn't help thinking about sex.  It was very distracting! 

Despite my skepticism, I am looking forward to more sessions.  Not so much for the spiritual aspects, I think that part of me is a bit dead, but for the exercise.  I feel very relaxed after yoga and I hope I'll turn into one of those skinny, nubile young women too.  :-D

Bali!

Finally I get to write in here again! I had a trip to Batam in between but haven't written that because it was a day-trip and too short (I'm just lazy la).

This time, it's to Bali for ten days! The plan is Kuta and Ubud with Karri. We'll be celebrating his birthday there. And we're also renting a car in Ubud. Hope that's not a mistake.

After that he's going to can't-rmb-where while I'll be staying on and doing yoga. Hehe. So Eat Pray Love, but without the drama. I'm not running away from anything, if anything I just need to run (i.e. Exercise if you didn't get my pun). I found this place, The Yoga Barn, and I read only good things about the place on Tripadvisor. Seriously, nothing bad at all! But I think it's really about perspective because I read a comment about how it's like LA-meets-Bali and I'm not really a fan of overexcited Americans so we'll see. I might just get into Real Adventure Mode and take the African Dance class too. Why not go all the way on a holiday, right? After all one resolution for the new year is to Say Yes More.

Also, another exciting fact is that I brought my camera along which is quite a rarity. Usually I just depend on others to provide me with pictures at the end of a trip. I just don't see the purpose of capturing "moments" when I'm on a trip. Maybe it's also because I have a sucky camera? At the age where cameras are 15 megapixels, mine's a humble FIVE.

All righty then, on with dinner. I'm meeting Shoobs at Saboten. I'm still waiting. I am one hour early, story of my life. Will write soon if my plane doesn't crash. And if I can find free wifi.

Crazy thing is Karri can live without the Internet for.. 5 days? Whereas I need to check my email everyday. Initially I thought it'd be good to leave my laptop at home and free myself, but I realised I'll have better peace of mind knowing I have my laptop with me and possible connection with the world in case of an emergency. There was once I was in Helsinki and realised the hostel that was booked was closed down and the site was not updated! Thankfully for my laptop, sis and I could hurriedly do a search for available hostels!

All righty, bye for real now. In case this is my last email and my plane does crash, please sell all my clothes, anything that can be sold and give all proceeds to my father. And all insurance premium and all money in my bank and basically whatever I have, please give it to my father. I still owe him money for my education! If there actually is leftover, please give it to UNICEF.

Out and about!