Cooking Lesson and The Pyramids of Chi

I started off the day facetiming my big sister Erica it was a grounding start to the day listening to her positivity and general equanimity, nothing ever fazes her, and I draw great strength from her steadfastness. I'd taken the stairs to the fourth floor and though the area hadn't been maintained I pulled up a pew so that I could chat and blog without disturbing my roomie.

When I finally returned Vicki was awake and ready to flee the safety of our nest  and go to breakfast, although I am greedy I controlled myself this morning and only really  had nasi bubur, I'm not sure what Keiko are but Vicki certainly waxed lyrical about the omelette which incidentally wasn't even intended  for her.

With only ten  minutes to go until we were shuttled through Ubud to the cooking school booked for us by our illustrious leader, Jan, Keiko and Vicki were determined to get changed, I patiently waited for the shuttle to arrive. Half  of the group went to the cooking school whilst the other half went to the slightly more esoteric experience of meditating in a pyramid of chi!! I respectfully say , weird does not do it justice this was next level!!

The cooking school claimed to go to the markets, this proved to be a tokenistic stop off where we went to three or four vendors tasted some 'exotic' fruit - mangosteen and snake fruit and were quizzed on whether we knew the  common Indo cooking ingredients.  Living in Cairns where there is Rustys market which offers a cornucopia of tropical produce none of this was new for us Cairns folk.

The two stand out moments for me were, 1. The incredibly intricate Goddess of Rice out the front of the markets, every detail had been woven out of natural fibres, right down to a floating eyeball inside the eye socket. 2. Was the unabashed slyness of the krupuk vendor, I had selected 3 lots of krupuk ( types of crackers  similar to prawn) which came to 30 000 rupiah ($3) as soon as the guide had left and I'd given her a 100 000 note she changed her price to 50, I raised my brows at her but didn't want to haggle over $2, I would have given her that in a tip anyway  but the underhand behaviour disgruntled me.

The cooking school experience was enjoyable I  particularly  liked the urap as it's something that I have never made. The Tempe goreng man is was great, it's honestly one of my favorite foods. The young fellows taking the lesson were very sweet, however they were nothing like Arie from the cooking school that I went to last time. I must say the experience I had with Rui was so much more informative and the techniques taught were fabulous. Plus they had meat dishes, however Rumali would have really appreciated the great vegan food we ate as trasi/blachan was only used in one dish. It was a restful activity to participate in with a beautiful group of people, working together with others is very rewarding when they gradually unveil their soul and you glimpse their essence. 

On that note, I could most likely write a script for the pyramids of Chi, I am not a sceptic and am completely au fait with the concept of oneness with creation, and all being molecular creatures who are susceptible to emotional release from sound frequencies. I was able to zone in straight away from years of practice from my past life. My cousin's would unequivocally say this was another form of cult life. However I was genuinely very happy that other's were able to use it as a catharsis to release deep seated pain. The sound of the gong disables the brains  ability to engage in mindless cluttering thoughts which impede the trinity between the spirit,  emotion and physical state. Hence my resistance to listening to the news or anything that hinders my spirit in the morning.

After the Pyramids we were dropped back off at the Palace where we had actually been between the cooking school and Chi. We walked down a market lane, where I was nearly a fool, almost paying $40 for 8 place mate, when I came to my senses i had to snatch my money back off the vendor, it was totally my own fault. Further down the lane Vicki was doing a stellar job with her bargaining. Keiko didn't want to buy anything which is fair enough,  as I am a typical example of someone who buys foolishly- this was proven by my recent trips to the Op shop while preparing for my relocation.

A tour guide/driver who was not pushy was discovered and we actually decided upon using him for our trip to The Gates of Heaven on the day after we have departed from the retreat. Now to back track, yesterday we heard about an amazing cafe called Cafe Clear (I thought it was Clare due to tonal interpretations). 

After our marketing experience we were led confidently (and competently)  by Vicki to the cafe, and yes, it was indeed mind blowingly amazing. My words cannot do it justice. We were lucky enough to be able to walk in without a booking and as we traipsed barefoot up the marigold strewn spiral staircase holding on to bannisters made of twisted tree branches I felt childlike in my delight. This was echoed by Vicki who ran back excitedly from the toilet, insisting that we go to tinkle.

I took her recommendation and also peeked in at the spa. Oh my goodness , this is a definite must!! I obtained a brochure and then night when we were sitting in our twin beds, gasbagging we chose our massages and I deftly sent off an email also booking for Keiko, who i am sure will be in agreeance. I am so excited for whatever adventures we have tomorrow !