Mimpi Resort, Finally! Friday, Saturday, and Sunday Morning

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Jasime flowers create an intoxicating scent here

Selamat datang! Saya tinggal disini. Welcome! I live here now.

It's now Sunday morning as I write this. I arrived here Friday morning, just 48 hours ago, but it already feels like home. 

I lack the vocabulary to adequately describe this place and time. I suppose that's why different cultures in different places and different times have different vocabularies with some words that cannot be accurately translated to another language. 

Mimpi feels more like a retreat than a resort. It's not party-central. It embraces the spirit of the people. It's not the image of Bali on travel websites. It's beautiful, clean, and very nicely appointed, and the staff is wonderful, but it's different. The energy here is healing and embracing. 

The staff is not invisible. Everyone is shown the same respect as they play different roles in the balance of life. People engage with one another with a smile, a greeting of some sort, and usually a palms-together slight bow. And a "how are you?" is answered, and that answer is responded to. A "thank you" often elicits a "thank you" in return, both genuine appreciation for the other person and the role they play. Just like "there is no east if there is no west," none of us would be here if the others weren't here. 

When I arrived and was shown to my room, I quite literally did a happy dance right in front of this gentle man. He grinned and waited until I got over it before continuing to show me around. It's everything I was hoping for and more. Absolutely amazing, both my room and the entire grounds. I couldn't be more comfortable. It is perfection in this place and time. 

Friday morning, my legs and feet were still quite swollen and my brain was not yet functional, but I couldn't fall asleep. I unpacked some clothes, wandered around, drank a lot of water, elevated my legs, and got a massage. Oh... that massage... wow...

I had a Balinese massage. I had no idea what it was. I simply told her what my concerns were and she said the Balinese massage would be most appropriate. It was quite different than western massage. 

The room was simple and beautiful. There was a large stone tub (that I did not use), chair, massage table, sink, and a small closet for the client's clothes. The doorway we entered through had no door, but was somewhat discretely set so others couldn't see into the space. The opposite wall, well, there wasn't one. It was wide open at the other end, save a beautiful, wrought-iron gate that opened onto a deck. On the other side of the deck was jungle, literally. 

As instructed, I slipped out of my clothes and into the robe she had given me. She returned and started with a foot bath, then I settled face down on the massage table and was covered with a very light cotton sarong. A breeze blew through the room. I mostly noticed jungle sounds, but somewhere there was barely audible music. 

At first, my brain wouldn't shut up. I was wondering why/what she was doing because it was like nothing I'd experienced. Eventually, I let go and went into that amazing and wonderful space where a great massage takes you. It was unique and exceptional. She was young yet confident and grounded. [A note to my professional colleagues, without even questioning, yes, she worked on my abdomen, thankfully.]

After she was done, she bowed and spoke to me. I held her hands and thanked her, telling her that I had so much to learn from her. A few minutes later while I was still lingering on the table, she brought in a small tray with a lovely cup of tea and two small cookies - a very nice touch. 

The cherry on top was when I heard a ruckus in the jungle and watched for several minutes as a troop of monkeys went swinging through the trees. 

I had planned to explore more and swim on Friday, but I simply couldn't. I was finally hungry so had dinner at the restaurant, sitting on the porch, watching the fishing boats slip silently on the water. My dinner was plain, steamed, sticky rice, fresh fruit, and pisang goreng - a fried banana with carmalized sugar and a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. "Pisang" being banana, and "goreng" being fried. "Nasi goreng" is fried rice. Rice, nasi, is served at every meal. 

Returning to my room, I unpacked more, but not quite everything, then climbed into bed by 7:pm. 

Saturday, yesterday, I woke up at 4:am (jet lag, 13 hours time difference). I finished unpacking and settling in, making the room my very own. 

People don't usually rave about and share pictures of their bathroom, but...

I was thrilled with my first outdoor-bathroom shower under a really good rain-style shower head. The whole bathroom is outside. I couldn't be happier. Next, I grabbed my swimsuit and towel, hit the pool, and headed for breakfast.

I don't take my phone with me all the time, so pictures of the pool will come later, as will the restaurant and boats and many other things that I don't even yet know exist. 

There are two swimming pools here and several natural-spring, hot tubs. All are made of beautiful stone. Scattered around the grounds as well as near the pools are places to sit or recline. Some are under flowering trees, taking advantage of the perfumed air. 

My breakfast was a traditional Balinese breakfast of nasi goreng with fresh, mixed fruit juice. Nasi goreng is fried rice served with an egg on top, pickled veggies on the side, and prawn crackers. On the side were a small piece of chicken breast and one prawn, both breaded and fried. Frying is popular in Bali.

Portions here are healthier than America's huge portions. Although the nasi goreng serving was generous, the rest was modest. The cups of coffee are actually small cups, not mugs, holding about six ounces. Glasses hold about eight ounces. Desserts are small. The people here appear to be far more fit than most Americans. They are active and eat fresh, real food in healthy portions. 

Two concerns y'all have expressed are bugs and water. I brought bug spray, but so far have seen very few. The resort has four water stations where we can safely fill our containers. It took only one trip to a water station to begin to appreciate being able to turn on the tap and get potable water. It has also made me more respectful of not wasting water.

I brought a collapsible one-gallon container that I keep in my room for brushing my teeth and making coffee, etc. And I have a 24 ounce bottle for taking with me. I "go to the well" often during the day to refill my water bottle. I appreciate the mindfulness of the walk to respect the availability of safe drinking water for everyone on earth. I laugh every time I approach them as they have a sign, "I'm ready to drink." I think of how many people say that as they grab a glass of booze. 

By the way, no, alcohol isn't common here. Indonesia is a Muslim country and Bali is predominantly Hindu. Neither religion condones alcohol. I'm sure the big tourist resorts have bars that are quite popular with visitors. I haven't seen a bar here yet, but there might be one. Alcohol isn't high on my list of priorities, 

Heading to the well yesterday afternoon, a man stopped and introduced himself. He's one of the teachers. Rob, from California. He was just getting settled in. 

So I've met one person from the class, and I'm starting to recognize some of the staff now. I'm comfortable finding my way to two of the wells, both pools, three of the hot springs, and the restaurant. Being the only food I have access to right now, I'm really appreciative of their quality and variety.

Yesterday afternoon and into the night, I enjoyed typing out my experiences so far and going through my pictures to share with you. I got a decent night's sleep, though woke up at 4:am. By the time night rolled around yesterday, I was starting to feel much better. This morning, the swelling is mostly gone and I feel great. My room looks fantastic (I spruced it up with some twinkle lights on timers, and covered the TV with a map of Bali). 

Before sunrise, I headed to the pool, fins and goggles in hand. I had a good swim as the sky got light. I floated, staring at the "toenail moon" and the passing clouds, amazed that I was actually in Bali. I swam some laps. I looked underwater at the pool's beautiful stone walls and floor. I learned how infinity pools work. I watched the boats start moving around. I played with various tropical flowers that fell into the pool from the overhanging trees. 

After a fairly long time in the pool, I moved over to one of the hot-spring tubs where I saved the life of a bee. I already wrote a brief post about that.

Then I dressed and headed to breakfast. Today they offered a vast buffet with an array of new foods and tastes for me. And guava juice! Fresh guava juice! Oh, my happy tummy! I had more nasi goreng, fresh fruit, kopi (coffee), Balinese pancakes (about the size of a modest hamburger bun), prawn crackers, and three different sweets - what we would consider desserts. All three were quite small. All three were completely new to me and delicious. My next meal will be with my classmates and teachers this evening. In the meantime, water, water, water. 

So, there you have it. The travel is done. I'm here. I've settled in. School starts in about five hours. Like a little kid starting school, I'm nervous. 

With the travel over with, I don't think my future posts will be missives. We'll see...

Selamat tinggal. Sampai jumpa lagi! 🙏