Destination Peach

Where Reality and Inspiration Meet

20 Days of Peach: Day 11…Get In Tune With Your Ancestors

One of the things I appreciated about my time spent in Bali was the honoring of the ancestors. This was the first time I experienced the ancestors be honored out in the open. When seeing the offerings out on public display, it made me feel normal.

Let’s be honest, people who come to my home, I know they also wonder about my ancestor alter. To that extent, I feel like it isn’t one of those things I have to explain. When you know…you know. I celebrate and honor my ancestors because I am grateful for them. I am aware of the sacrifices they made for me to be in my position. I understand how my ancestors help me in my day-to-day journey. There are certain things that happen in life where I just know God and my ancestors are covering me.

Ancestral practices are common in many cultures. Not sure why ancestral practices are taboo in western culture. To connect with one’s ancestors requires people to do more spiritual work. Many ancestors are waiting for their people to get in tune with them.

If you’re not sure on how to get in tune with your ancestors…do your research. Research ancestral practices. Learn about your ancestors. Then find a way to connect with your ancestors. Your ancestors will let you know how they connect best. Pay attention to the signs. Your ancestors are waiting to help you, just lean into the enlightenment process.

Until Next Time,

-Peach

20 Days of Peach: Day 10… It’s Either Now or Never

Right now, I feel this intense energy needing me to move forward. Move forward with urgency in the things that inspire me. Move forward in pursuing my dreams with more discipline. There is this subtle voice in my head like “come on, Peach…we don’t have time, it’s either now or never”. My inner voice is on that 8 Mile…”palms sweaty, knees weak, arm’s heavy, mom’s spaghetti” type energy.

Every day, I watch people give up on their dreams. People stop believing in themselves. Watching people give up on their dreams is a trigger for me, like a strategic call to action from God to keep me focused. Sometimes I wonder, what happens in the moment when people are like “fawk these dreams, I’ll be content with my life as is”. Please be clear, I’m not saying we shouldn’t appreciate the space in life we are in.

But I am saying, there is a pivotal moment where you go for what you want or become enslaved to what other’s want for you. I feel like me and many other people are in this moment. Many of us are choosing to progress towards our dreams but the journey gets hard.

Look, if you have a dream go after it. No matter how big or how small the dream may be. No matter what age you are. The chances are high that your dream is connected to your purpose. The world can condition us into believing our dreams don’t matter. Our dreams do matter! Stop giving up on yourself. Many of our dreams are constructed to help people.

Now, if you’re working on a dream but haven’t seen any progress… keep going. When you know, the dream is a part of your purpose, you must move forward in the pursuit. I know the pursuit is tiring. The pursuit can be thankless, but I promise you one day the dream will manifest.

Not sure who needs to here this but…keep going!

Until Next Time…

-Peach

20 Days of Peach: Day Nine… Bali Food

Hey Heyyy,

Happy day nine!

Hope you’re not tired of these Bali posts. I’m clearly not. Let’s talk food. What’s a holiday/vacation without food. Bali’s food tasted good and was well-seasoned. I appreciate good seasoned food. What I loved about Bali food was the mixture of salty, spicy, and sweetness all in one bite. Salty, spicy, and sweet in one bite… is a Godly combination.

In Bali, I had some of the most amazing food. Finding plant based food was not hard. Every place we ate had options. I lived my best plant based life in Bali. My new challenge will be recreating the delicious food I ate. Also, for those wondering I did not get Bali belly. Bali belly is basically, travelers’ diarrhea. Moment’s where I felt like my stomach might not hold up, I took medicine before eating.

My favorites in Bali were:

  • Nasi goreng- Nasi goreng me please… for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
  • Rice chips- The perfect way to eat/scoop a nasi goreng meal.
  • Fruit/fruit juice- Divinely sweet but the biggest applause goes to snake fruit.
  • Fried tempeh- Dipped in Bali’s sweet ketchup or sweet soy sauce, perfection!
  • Fried tofu- Hits different in Bali.
  • Sweet soy sauce- I took a bottle of this sauce home.
  • Hot chili sauce- Took home a bottle of this sauce too.

Honorable mention:

  • Bali lemongrass and ginger tea
  • Bali salsa
  • Bali coconut pancakes
  • Acai bowls
  • Cooked food in a bamboo leaf

I’m craving Bali food right now. Thankfully, the cooking class I attended gave me a recipe book, so I can continue living life the Bali way,

Until Next Time,

-Peach

20 Days of Peach: Day Eight… What Bali Taught Me About Love

In Bali, some unresolved issues came up for me. That’s how healing works…we can’t pick and choose when our soul is ready to do “the work”. What I discovered about myself was, I haven’t been open to love. Open to love in the romantic sense. Over the last few years, while being single I have worked on loving myself and have done a great job.

However, I haven’t been open to receiving love from a romantic partner. I’ve dated, my heart hasn’t been open. To think of opening my heart again makes me feel vulnerable. It’s a vulnerable feeling, making me want to cry. There’s an untapped issue I haven’t dealt with. I have done a great job of protecting myself. I haven’t let anyone in. It feels safer that way. Being able to control my narrative of hurt, brings me peace. Let’s be honest, some people be out here living wild. Also, the dating scene… My aura cannot tolerate B.S.

I know I have residing fears from my previous relationship. I refuse to let those fears stop my love life. I’m willing to take the risk and let love in. Now that I’ve identified my issue, I am actively working on the issue. My first step started in Bali. I was open to conversation, we formed a connection. We later exchanged numbers. He’s a dope person. Who knows what’s to become of it. In my actions, I need the universe to understand and know I’m open.

We’ll see how this risk-taking thing goes.

Until Next Time,

-Peach

20 Days of Peach: Day Seven… The Bali Way

The Bali way. I’m not certain if the “Bali way” is an actual term. The Bali way was a phrase me and my cousins started using to define our travel experience. When we would talk with the locals we noticed them referencing the Bali way. The Bali way is a lifestyle. The Bali way implies…challenges will occur, how we respond to those challenges is up to the us. According to the Bali way,

  • Challenges come and go:
    • Enjoy life
    • Have fun
    • Be happy
    • Don’t think so much
    • Love those around you
    • Do things from a space of love
    • Go with the flow of life

I believe the Bali way is reflective of the Balinese people, culture, customs, and religion. Balinese people respect what is dark, light, and in between. To be respective of everything dark, light, and in between is to have an expanded awareness of life. Balinese people understand what life is in the spiritual and physical dimensions. Because of this… Balinese people have adopted the art of worrying less and taking life as it comes. Balinese people walk/talk what they believe and practice.

In my time spent in Bali I can confirm, Bali people are the nicest. Even when challenges occurred they still operated from a space of love and went with the flow. Since being home from Bali, I have been trying to incorporate the Bali way. Prior to going to Bali, I had an understanding about energy and what I allow into my vibration. Yet, the Bali way affirmed the practices I need to continue implementing.

Considering the Bali way, I invite everyone to incorporate this way of being.

Until Next Time…

-Peach

20 Days of Peach: Day Six…Bali Day’s 4-7

One of the best nights in Bali!

Hey-Heyyy,

Here’s part two of my Bali Holiday enjoy :).

Day 4:

  • We started our morning off early again. We attended a Bali cooking class. Nyoman had set up our day perfectly. He had a driver pick us up from the villa. In the cooking class, we visited the local market. We learned how rice was made. We made ancestor offerings and later cooked a traditional Balinese meal. I loved how the cooking class offered vegan cooking options.
  • After cooking class, we went to the spa. We got massages and took floral baths. Later that night, Azjia wanted to get a tattoo. Nyoman, had a friend that did tattoos. Nyoman knows a guy for everything. Nyoman is the plug! So, we pulled up to his f riend’s house. His friend introduced himself and pulled out his tattoo equipment. Nyoman, Cierra, and I sat at the elders’ temple as we watched Azjia decide the type of tattoo she wanted. BTW every traditional Balinese house has some sort of temple.
  • The night was great. Family and friends started to pull up one by one after work. We met lots of good people. We drank Arak wine. Had deep conversations about life, happiness, religion, and living the Bali way. I even learned how to eat sunflower seeds the Bali way.
Our cooking group
The chef
Food we made in the cooking class
Flower Bath

Day 5:

  • We started the day with a floating breakfast. Then we got dressed and headed to the Bali swing. The rain didn’t let us be great at the Bali swing. Because it was raining on and off, we only had time to take pictures for one swing.
    • Pro tip…if you go to the Bali swing have the employees take your photos.
  • After the Bali swing we were tired. We were going to go to the Holy Temple but we went to Seminyak instead. Nyoman drove us to Seminyak. Finding our Seminyak villa was a bit of a struggle. The villa was beautiful but not cleaned like it should have been, which was fixed.
  • Straight from the villa we started walking the Seminyak streets. We were right in the center of the action. We ate a great dinner. After dinner decided to go to Coco Market for this Bali sauce and got rained on. We then stayed at the Coco Market because it turned into a party. Outside of the Coco Market was a DJ. I’m telling you Bali is a whole vibe.
  • After the rain, we went midnight shopping haggling deals and went back to the villa.

Day 6:

  • Day six was a beach day. We went to Potato Head Beach Club. Potato Head is amazing. I highly recommend it, but do make sure you get a day bed! From Potato Head, we went to La Plancha to watch the sunset. After La Plancha, the plan was to go to La Favela but the rain and tiredness took us out. It was a long but good day.
La Plancha
Bali Sunset

Day 7:

  • We were headed back to the states. Before our flight, we visited Kynd Cafe. I was in vegan heaven at Kynd. From Kynd we went shopping at the Seminyak Flea Market. After shopping we check out of the villa and then headed to the airport.
Kynd Cafe

And just like that our Bali trip came and went. I will be back! I will also be making a video about what you need to know when traveling to Bali.

Until Next Time…

-Peach

20 Days of Peach: Day Five…Bali Day’s 1-3

Taking the picture was a surreal moment. I finally made it to Bali!

Getting to Bali was a journey. From my previous post, we had long layovers. We (Azjia and I) were originally scheduled to arrive in Bali Sunday night (2-16-2020). We ended up arriving in Bali on Monday morning (2-17-2020). When we arrived, it was a different type of feeling going through my body. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It was a surreal moment, to realize I made it to Bali…all I can say is yoooooooo (in my voice).

So many great things happened in the short time span we were in Bali. I wanted to break the trip down by days. My description of each day will be condensed, because everything doesn’t need to be shared. Before I go into detail about the trip, I want to give a special shout out to Nyoman and Ayik. They are amazing people, and made sure we had a true Bali experience.

Aight so boom…we started are Bali stay in Ubud. We spent a total of 4 1/2 days in Ubud.

Day One:

  • Arrived at the airport. At the airport, it took an hour to go through customs, exchange currency, get bags, and find our Airbnb host/driver. The drive to Ubud was about an hour.
  • Once we arrived at the villa in Ubud, our holiday officially started. We showered and had massages in our individual rooms. I kid you not, 12 dollar massages with VIP service…I could get use to this type of lifestyle.
  • After massages we had lunch at this beautiful restaurant (if I remember the name I will post it). The restaurant had a pond with fish and a amazing view. After lunch went shopping at Ubud market. After shopping we called it a night. *For more visuals check out my Instagram highlights. *

Day Two:

  • Day two we woke up super early. The time difference from AZ to Bali is wild. On day two we watched a traditional Balinese dance, visited the Goa Gajah temple, Tengenungan waterfall, and the rice fields. We were going to visit more tourist spots but we were waiting on my cousin Cierra to come (she missed her flight to Bali).
Traditional Balinese Dance
Goa Gajah Temple
Rice Fields

Day Three:

  • Day three was rest day. We didn’t do much. Many parts of Ubud were closed for the Galungan holiday. The Galungan holiday celebrates good spirits winning over evil spirits. It’s the time in which departed ancestors visit their loved ones. To celebrate the ancestors, offerings are created. We saw some of the most beautiful offerings. Every Balinese home was required to create offerings for the holiday. It was dope to see Balinese people in their ceremonial clothing.
  • 99.9% of everything was closed for the Galungan holiday. Thankfully, we could get lunch. Nyoman took us to a restaurant near the villa, despite it being a holiday. Nyoman is dope!
  • Cierra finally made it to Bali later that night!
Ancestor Offerings
Ancestor Offerings

Tomorrow, I’ll post about days 4-7 in Bali.

Until Next Time,

-Peach

20 Days of Peach: Day Four… Layover Chronicles

Hope your prepared. Now starts all the blog posts about my Bali Holiday. Getting to Bali was a long journey. It took over 40 hours. I flew to Bali with my cousin Azjia (pictured to the right). The long journey to Bali was because of flight delays. We flew from Arizona to New York. From New York to Qatar and Qatar to Bali. Every flight of our trip was delayed beyond what we expected. My advice for long layovers…

  1. Research each destination ahead of time.
  2. Determine activities you can do during your layover.
  3. Pack extra clothes in your carry-on bag. Most international airports have showers.
  4. Get an extra passport stamp en-route to your destination if possible.

We made the most out of our flight delays. When we finally arrived in Qatar, we were determined to be out in the Doha streets. We had seven hours to explore. After going through several rounds of security to get another passport stamp, we took the city transit system and visited the National Museum of Qatar.

Btw, the public transit is very nice. The men in Qatar are beautiful. Also, I saw more Black people in Qatar than I have in Arizona. Here are a few pictures from over layover experience in Doha.

Doha Public Transit
National Museum of Qatar
National Museum of Qatar
National Museum of Qatar
National Museum of Qatar
National Museum of Qatar- Artifact Picture…I was too scared to get more pictures #museumrules

Until Next Time,

-Peach

20 Days of Peach: Day Three…Vacation Blues

Post vacation life is hard. Getting back into a normal routine has been a struggle. My mind is still on holiday. To think it was all good just a week ago. A week ago, I was living my best life and now I am back into the routine of work/bills. This was the first vacation where I did not want to go home. To be mentally detached from all expectations felt amazing!

For me, getting back into my routine made me realize there are some things I need to change. For post-vacation to affect me in this way, this lets me know my day-to-day routine ain’t working. I’ve been having thoughts about living internationally or how to live without working (true thoughts of a millennial).

According to Crockford (2019), coming back from a vacation can cause disinterest and decrease motivation and emotion levels. ->This is exactly how I feel. I don’t feel like doing anything. I’m jet lagged and need time to nurture my Pisces soul. My plan is to work through my feelings while changing what makes me discontent. In working through what I feel, I will be mindful in doing things “The Bali Way”. I’ll explain more about “The Bali Way” in another post.

Reference

Crockford, N. (2019). Post-trip blues: Full time college students’ emotional and motivational post-trip transition from adventure break trips.

Until Next Time…

– Peach

20 Days of Peach: Day Two… My Bali Holiday

Bali-Bali-Bali. Bali is magical! I had a wonderful time in Bali. I am few days post Bali holiday. Not sure how I feel about it. But…Bali was everything I needed. It took me almost four years to get to Bali. Four years ago, I was not ready for Bali (mentally and spiritually). My trip was worth the wait! I had the time of my life in Bali. Bali heightened me to a new level of awareness. There’s still so much I want to share about my Bali experience. Not sure where to begin. Still trying to figure out which modality would be the best way to encapsulate my Bali experience. All I can say is be prepared for multiple Bali blog posts.

Until Next Time,

-Peach