Bali Silent Retreat Day 1

I am still fighting the cold I acquired in Cambodia but it seems to getting slightly better. A car is arriving at my hotel to drive me to my yoga silent retreat at Bali Silent Retreat. I am spending the next three nights in silence. There is no talking to others while at the retreat. Your time is spent on reflection, mediation and yoga. I have work to do – on myself!

Arrival

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I’m taken around and introduced to everything. I arrive at the end of lunchtime but I choose not to eat due to not being hungry.

It is humid and there is no AC/fans and I start my never ending journey of sweat.

I share my room with a wasp family. They live around the window and come in and out as I leave the door open. I contemplate reporting it to the staff but I let them be as they keep their distance for now.

I head to the lodge to look around. I reference a book provided by the retreat concoct my own healing tea since I’m still fighting a cold I picked up in Cambodia. All the necessarily herbs and roots and readily available.

There is a library upstairs with a reading area. I “check out” a book for my time at the retreat. The book I choose is by an author I have enjoyed in the past. I love reading so this is how I will spend my down time. I think I can keep quiet but it will be hard to keep away from the internet. I do get a slight signal on my phone but I limit my time to checking in with family to let them know I am ok.

We are also given a booklet and encouraged to journal so I will use that to capture my reflections the best I can.

Sleep Night One

You are encouraged to rest with the sun which is quite early. There is no power in the rooms except a limited solar powered light system. Luckily there is a reading light in the room. Not sure what time I did end up falling asleep but it couldn’t of been much past nine. I did use the mosquito net the best I could but mosquitoes have not been too bad of a problem so far (could be because the lack of rain lately). I wake up frequently, sometimes to go to the bathroom but I fall back asleep. I am very self-conscious of my snoring (part of the reason why I won’t stay in dorm hostels anymore). I booked a special bottom-level room specifically for this reason (the top rooms are open aired) but I still feel bad because the side walls are thin and there is a small window open to outside at all times. However I am delighted to discover during one of my wake ups that my neighbor is snoring. I am not alone!!!

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