Island Life

5am: I wake to the eery sound of Muslim dawn prayers (Fahr) drifting across the terraced rice paddies below the bedroom window. It is still dark and so I snuggle deeper under the covers.

It is the coolest part of the day at 27 degrees, but the aircon quietly whirrs keeping the bedroom at a comfortable 22. The cat purrs and eases his way up towards our shoulders, nudging our faces before curling back into a ball. Eyes still closed I am no longer sleeping and so swing my legs to the floor and pad out to the rooftop to watch the sun as it rises over the horizon. 

One of my favourite parts of the day is the early morning when the beach clubs and hungover holiday makers sleep. The local workers set the beanbags and umbrellas on the beach and unload the daily produce deliveries to the cafe’s. The surfers venture down to Echo Beach to catch waves and the stray dogs and cats emerge from abandoned temples to roam the streets looking for food.

Back on the rooftop of the villa I roll out my mat to do some yoga. Afterwards, I strip down and jump in the pool. Sun getting higher in the sky it is already hot and sticky.

9am: “Selamat Pagi Iluh!!” I come downstairs and greet one of our house keepers as she lugs armfuls of fresh linen into the villa. 

“Pagi Miss!” She sings back. The other maid is in the driveway paying for our daily juice delivery. “Makasih (Thanks) Agung”, I say as I take the freshly squeezed watermelon juice into the kitchen.

Iluh now lays out the canang sari, a small tray made from banana leaves in front of the entrance to the villa and one in a miniature temple that sits in the garden by the pool. In the banana leaf trays lay fruit, flowers, insence and sweets. She lights the incense, and the sweet, musky scent drifts into the villa as I drink my juice. Iluh, a Hindu, lays these baskets out at our villa daily to keep the gods happy and the evil spirits away.

I pause.

Whether I believe in evil spirits or whether I believe the ritual will protect our villa, it is nice to take this moment to be mindful of the day and what lays ahead. During my pause I remind myself that I can do this anywhere. Whether living on island time in Bali where there are countless moments like this, or back home where there are much less, a pause to be mindful can go a 1000 miles.

I say a silent thank you for Iluh for my daily reminder.