Oh, it took me a long time to get to Bali! I had been wanting to go to Bali since I wrote a report about Indonesia in fifth grade!  Pushy was willing to take me anywhere in the world to celebrate my (gulp!) 70th birthday, but where would it be?  Someplace beautiful! Someplace I hadn’t been before! Some place spiritual! Bali’s time had arrived!

I will never forget a girl in high school who came up to us while we were all huddling in our bathing suits and regulation swim caps, reluctant to jump into the freezing pool for swimming class. She announced that she had her entire life planned and then rolled out the details. She was going to graduate from college, get married at age 24, and then get a job in pubic relations….etc. I thought Holy Cow. I haven’t even thought of anything beyond college and the vague idea of getting married someday!  That night I went into my bedroom, closed the door and literally dreamed up my future! Surprisingly, my high school girl dreams match my grown up life almost exactly.  My little plan was to marry a lawyer who would always be my perfect husband/boyfriend, live at the beach, drive a Porsche,(I saw my first one at Dillion Beach during Easter vacation) and it was love at first sight!) have a cute little Maltese puppy I would carry around everywhere, and be a socialite! I know that sounds a bit silly now, but I was inspired by Pat Montandon, the famous San Francisco socialite who married Melvin Belli (hence my desire to marry a lawyer) on tv every afternoon with my Mom. We also watched Gypsy Rose Lee every day, but luckily I didn’t decide to flaunt my stuff! Also I religiously followed the society column in the San Francisco Chronicle, so I knew all about museum galas, opening night at the opera, and that good clothes opened all doors, little smile!  Although at the time, my mom made most of my clothes. Sounds a lot like my life, right? Really, young girls are so impressionable! I truly believe that having a dream, visualizing it in detail, and actually verbalizing it puts something magical into motion!  I always wonder what happened to that girl that had a plan.  She didn’t come to the reunion or even join Classmates.com.

But now that I was looking at 70, I again realized that I didn’t have a plan for this part of my life. I never even considered it!   At my age I began to realize that spiritual beauty  and wisdom are the keys to our happy future. Maybe I could launch the next phase with a spiritual journey (of sorts) to a beautiful place where I could have fun, get in touch with my true desires and turn my childhood dream of visiting Bali into reality. First we flew 15 hours to Hong Kong where we shopped and ate our way around the city for a few days. (See previous Post, “A Jetsetter’s Love Letter to Hong Kong”).  Then we took the 5 hour flight to Bali, one of the most mythical spiritual places in the world!

We decided that since we live at the beach, we would skip the Balinese beaches and head for Ubud, the cultural, historical and spiritual center of Bali. Think about those foggy shots of terraced green rice paddies and tropical forests. Since I live in a blue world, when I am near lots of green plants, I literally feel kind of high! We checked into the Amandari Resort, where we had booked the Amandari Suite, which is not a  regular hotel suite at all.  It is more like a private luxury compound , entered through grand wooden gates and surrounded by moss covered stone walls and lush tropical landscaping. It has two main buildings, a “living room” bale  or pavilion looking out to koi ponds and landscaping leading to a separate bedroom pavilion adjoining a private infinity swimming pool, the river gorge and a pool house pavilion.  You don’t really see the river from the pavilions, but you hear it and people floating down the river on inner tubes laughing as they go!  The architecture throughout resembles a royal Balinese compound, with the ceilings perhaps fifty feet high. And of course, you have every modern technical convenience, internet, multiple big screens, and wi-fi, but why waste your time on that? You have arrived in paradise!

 

 

The hotel staff was warm and exemplary in every respect! They helped us make plans and understand the culture.  We were immediately invited to a wedding, though the the exact time was unclear.  Apparently the actual ceremony takes place at an auspicious moment that is not known in advance.  And most exciting of all, we were invited to a special ceremony at the King’s compound. Guests are required to wear appropriate Balinese dress when entering any temple and, of course, the home of the King. The staff at the hotel dressed us with saris and  all the appropriate dress.  When we arrived at the compound, we entered a beautiful front patio filled with musicians, actors and dancers. Then we were ushered  inside where we were invited to sit with members of the Royal Family.  Tony found himself sitting with one of the members of the Balinese Parliament and the King’s son!  They talked politics of course. Honestly, we couldn’t believe our good fortune!

 

 

The hotel had a great restaurant and room service was divine.  But Ubud has some very fine restaurants.  We wanted to try Locavore.  The  restaurant is listed on the top 50 Asian Restaurants of the World! As my photos show, each course is a little piece of art. Although we usually prefer wine, this is a place where you absolutely do not want to miss the cocktail pairing with the tasting menu.

 

My friend, Elaine Tajima, has been to Bali many times. She set up a meeting for us with the famous photographer and writer, Rio Helmi.  He met us for cocktails one evening at the hotel, and this time, even the hotel staff was impressed that we knew him! He was quite urbane and charming. And he gave us a few tips on his favorite places in Ubud. It is always wonderful to have a local person share their knowledge with you!  We were very honored!

The Amandari, like most hotels in Ubud, has its own healer available. This trend of consulting with a  healer really took off after the film, Eat, Love, Pray became such a huge hit.  Since I was on a spiritual journey, I thought why not try this!  I was a little skeptical and afraid because I am definitely a scaredy cat!  But our hotel staff friends assured me there was nothing to worry about and Tony and our driver went with me.  When we arrived at the healer’s home, we entered through a very  beautiful garden.  We met his wife and little child and admired the authentic  balinese residential architecture. One of the most fun parts of traveling occurs when you are actually invited into a private home. Tony waited in the garden and made friends with the dogs while I entered a small room where my session would be conducted. The healer greeted me and asked me to take a seat on a pillow on the floor. He turned away from me and began to light incense, candles and invoke the spirits.  He sat down with me and asked me if my parents were still living and did I have a sibling.  I provided basic yes and no answers.  And then he said, “Usually, if we want to ask a spirit to join us, we would set out a treat for them and invite them in. But I have to tell you, that your is father standing right behind you and he has something important to tell you.  Honestly, there was no way in the world the healer could have known any of the things he explained to me that afternoon.  He measured the power of my spirit (which he said was so strong, it almost knocked him over) and told me I would live a long life and much, more. When I emerged, Tony said I was literally glowing and that’s the way I felt too!  Just like that, something I thought would be impossible to fix was repaired. I felt spiritually light as a feather. And prepared to celebrate my big birthday the next day.

 

I think most people look forward to  birthdays with great anticipation.  But I actually spent my 30th birthday crying because I was so old!  So the idea of actually being 70, an age that practically everyone agrees is “old” was pretty hard to accept. Still, I have to look around me and count my blessings.  We are healthy, happy and together. We have a wonderful life. We actually don’t live very differently than we did when we were 40! So I woke up, skinny dipped in that beautiful private pool, and got dressed for a photo shoot I had requested to celebrate this momentous day.  The wonderful hotel staff friends brought cake, champagne, gifts and hugs!   Our excellent photographer, Dewa Day, really captured the spirit of the day! I soon discovered that this would be an Excellent day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was time to move on to our next experience.  Everyone insisted that we had to stay at the Four Seasons Hotel so we could experience “the river”.  We booked a  beautiful  indoor outdoor suite, right on the river.  I could see and hear the river from every room, even from the bathtub!  This time we had a beautiful small infinity pool. My official birthday dinner was at another highly rated restaurants, Kubu at Mandapa at the  Ritz Carlton Reserve Hotel.  A golf cart whisked us across the hotel grounds which looked like some sort of exotic Mandalay.  We had requested one of their private bamboo dining “cocoons” overlooking the mythical Ayung River.  The mediterranean tasting menu was absolutely divine! The entire evening was a dream!  When we returned to the Four Seasons, I found a special birthday surprise waiting in our bedroom! What a way to start a new decade!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Returning to our hotel, I found  a special birthday surprise created by the hotel staff awaiting me.  I had successfully with love and fun crossed optimistically into the next decade! We luxuriated there a few days before moving on to my “Grand Finale”.

On each trip, I always like to find some place for us to stay that is totally unique!  This time, we made reservations for one of the most beautiful homes on the planet, the famous Bamboo Mansion!  This six story bamboo tree house known as Sharma Springs, situated in a tropical and guarded rain forest. It would be our home for two magical days. We crossed the bamboo bridge into a magical treehouse, designed by Elora Hardy, the  multi-talented daughter of jewelry designer, John Hardy.  We had pre-ordered our meals and stopped to buy our own snacks and wine on the way. A team of two local chefs prepared  breakfast and dinner. We sat at the beautiful kitchen counter as we watched them prepare  local specialities like nasi goring.  We loved being there so much, we didn’t leave the compound  while we were there.  We wanted to memorialize these days too, so Dewa came by for another photo shoot.  All the rooms, except the bedrooms which are closed off and air-conditioned, are completely open to the air. At night the air fills with the sound of cicadas and the morning brings a chorus of birds singing, beginning with the local roosters!  There are so many rooms, a media room, multiple bedrooms, a playroom where we enjoyed the hanging swing,  different balconies and porches, a pool, and even a bird’s-eye lookout at the top of the house.   And it was all ours! Truly, it is a once in a lifetime experience!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We returned to Hong Kong  and to “our suite” at the Peninsula to prepare for our flight home.  At the airport, sitting in Cathay Pacific’s beautiful first class lounge, I reflected on the many special moments of our great trip. I thought the spiritual part of my journey had been accomplished.  If I had not figured out my entire plan, I had at least cleared the way and started the next chapter of life in the most creative, fun and loving way possible.  But upon boarding we learned that our flight would be delayed a few hours  and that we would be staying on the plane until take off. And that’s when I met the nice man sitting across the aisle from me, who introduced himself as  Suresh Devani, the Happy Doctor, a millionaire who realized  money could not make him happy. He now travels the world specializing in making the world a happier place one person, one company, one community at a time. That is when I realized my spiritual journey wasn’t over, it was just beginning!  A  new friendship started right there and then.  Three days later, he was sitting with us at my kitchen island in Malibu! I kid you not! Some things are meant to be!

My short-term goal for now is to be loving, kind, gracious, generous, grateful, happy, and supportive of the new girls! Maybe even inspire a few teenagers!  Fast forward nine months….And you know what? A few weeks ago, we were in New York, at the Whitney Museum’s opening of our friend Mary Corse’s beautiful exhibition.  Google it!  As we were leaving, a gaggle of young girls surrounded us. They said they wanted to be like me!  They wondered how long we had been together and what our secret was! What a wonderful compliment! So honored! Guess I am doing something right!

Fast forward, I can report that beyond 70 has been way more fun than 30!

 

 

Happy girl here signing off,