Something Familiar, Something Different

My day off was great.

Ahhh, the beach.

The water was so warm and refreshing. Getting out of Ubud for a few hours was so cleansing. Feeling so grateful to be there, especially knowing that the continental US is under what looks like a huge block of ice, was so nice.

When I got back from the beach, I was completely exhausted. The sun and the heat really zapped me. I didn't want to spend my day off napping so I threw on some clothes and went to the one place I knew would revive me:

There is a lily pad pond and a Hindu temple next door. There was a large procession of worshipers dressed in white walking into the temple, some of whom were balancing elaborate platters of fruit on their heads. Men were playing drums and an Indonesian instrument that's kind of like a xylophone. It was beautiful but I kept walking to the big green sign. "You have your temple and I have mine," I thought.

I had my kindle and got to read more of the latest Stephanie Plum book, I had a delectable toffee nut latte with whipped cream and caramel chunks on top served in a ceramic mug. I curled up into a corner cushion and relaxed to the tunes of Christmas music coming from the speakers.

There's just something about going to a familiar place after being in an unfamiliar setting for so long that just feels so cozy.

But then I thought, I'm in Ubud! Why did I go to Starbucks? Ugh!

So when I saw something completely out of the ordinary, I decided to try it:

It felt so STRANGE! Hundreds of tiny fish were nibbling away at my feet. I am not a huge animal lover and it took me at least five minutes with my feet in the water to relax and stop squirming.

At first it felt like something out of Fear Factor. But then I slowly relaxed and soaked in the novelty of the experience. And the fishiness of the pedicure.

Fifteen minutes later, my feet were soft and the fishies were nourished.

I walked to an Italian place for a pizza. It's my day off so I wanted to treat myself to some junk food. The pizza came out with about a pound of fresh spinach on top, plus tomatoes and black olives. This is how Ubud does junk food, I guess. It was delicious!

I walked along the street and popped into shops that looked nice. I bought some new yoga clothes and new headbands. I ran into 3 different friends on the walk home.

It was a great day.