Returned to Bali after four and a half years.

This trip is filled with nostalgia. So much has happened in the last four years. Events such as my first Bali Yoga Retreat will be forever etched in my mind, like a historical marker.

That’s why I am all the more excited to be back. What changes await me? I am also curious to see how I have changed. Not just being four years older, but how my mindset and thought processes have evolved in the last four years.

My last trip to Bali was during a very difficult time in my life. It was part of an enduring trip that was also cathartic.

Now I am back, with a fresh perspective and some major changes.

My yogis arrived 20 minutes before me by Singapore Airlines after a long journey from San Francisco. I had a much shorter journey – just a six hour flight from Melbourne. We met right after customs and Dewa, my driver from four years ago received us. It was nice to be received by a familiar face.

After an hour’s drive and a bit of getting lost in the confusing Bali roads we found our lodge – Kashantee Village. Complete with two pools, a koi fish pond and lots of trees, it was the ideal place to have booked. Luba, Irene and I were quite happy with the accommodations. We each had our own bungalows, with a terrace and a small garden. Inside, I found my villa to be very spacious, clean and cozy. I personally loved the huge wardrobe. And the working safe. I hate it when you get to the hotel and find that the safe is useless because it doesn’t work, or the door is in lock mode with the safe door open. We were also greeted with a delicious welcome drink which was a nice touch!

We took a short rest after arriving at around 2:00 pm and met up in the lobby at around 2:30 pm. I was actually surprised at how much energy Luba and Irene had after about a 20 hour journey to get here. Impressive.

We found Boozy Bali, a lunch/coffee shop practically adjacent to our lodge. I’m glad we got past the name and tried it out. The food was really good. I had the fish tacos and Luba and Irene had the smoked salmon salad. We would be eating well on this trip!

Just a 10 minute walk brought us to the beach. The water was clean and there were not too many people there. It was a somewhat cloudy day but you could see a bit of blue peaking through a beautiful sky. I mentioned to Luba and Irene that this would be the ideal setting to start their art classes with Tarli. They would be taking photos of landscapes at the beach and the next day they would be painting based on their photos. And they would use thread to sew and add additional texture to their artwork. I was really happy Tarli was coming in six days and that she would be a part of this retreat.

We walked back to the lodge and took a little break from our activities. I went back to my room and Irene and Luba enjoyed the pool area. I joined them for a Cosmo later (thanks Luba!).

We took another walk to the beach and tried some delicious coconut water. I was still hungry so I tried some grilled mahi mahi at one of the beachside bars and it was really good!

Once back at the lodge, I did a bit of tidying and organizing and then crashed hard at around 9:00 pm.

Bali Yoga Retreat 2024 is off to a great start!