Munduk Serongga

On our original schedule, we planned to wake up at 2am to drive to a volcano about 1.5 hours away and hike up it to be at the top by sunrise and enjoy breakfast with a view! As you can imagine, with half of our group with food poising, this was no longer the best choice. So we opted to do the simpler option and wake up at 3am and take a jeep up the mountain 😂

I brought my pillow in the taxi and laid across the back seat while I listened to my hysterical friend Kelsey tell life stories, she’s a phenomenal story teller and they were even funnier at 4am! We got to the base of the mountain where we should have switched into our jeeps. But unfortunately, one of the had broken down on the side of the road and we didn’t have enough to get us all up. In solidarity, we decided to wait and made the best of it. Thankfully, I had my “Auntie Aneesa snack bag” as I like to call it. Filled with fruit snacks, cheese its, bars and chips that helped us pass the time. One of our team members has lived in Malaysia so she was not only able to communicate with our drivers but also explain to us the cultural nuances which was fascinating. People are extra sensitive to being shamed so she had to carefully navigate the conversation in a way that didn’t make it seem like she was angry at them but instead motivated them to want to help us problem solve collectively. She described that there are 2 words for “we”- one that means us (in this case, our group) vs you (the drivers). But there is another word for “we” that truly means ALL. Using the ladder, she kindly asked “what can WE do to solve this issue as we would hate to miss this beautiful sunrise that we ALL woke up early for!” They hopped to making calls and she explained that because of the guilt of messing up, they would go above and beyond to give us the best experience possible. She said “just watch, they will work a miracle”. And that they did :)

The jeeps arrived and we *booked* it up the mountain. We were laughing hysterically, feeling like we were in Jurassic Park, bouncing with our butts still sore from the bike ride, holding on for dear life 😂 We made it in time and the driver Amy had been speaking with told those of us who were up for a hike to follow him. We could already see a sliver of the sun so we were booking it. We start hiking the steep mountain, I was in my Target flip flops because I assumed the hike was off lol. The lava rocks and sand were incredibly difficult to move through in flip flops, but I was determined to make it to the best view! Our drive grabbed a bench from a little food hut on the side of the mountain, put it on his head, and kept hiking. There were hundreds of people who had taken this jeep tour, but he was determined to ensure we had the best seat in the house. He made it to the tippy top, higher than anyone else and placed the bench for us on the side of the mountain. At that moment, the Sun started bursting through the clouds and he told us it was one of the best sunrises he has ever seen here because often it’s cloudy. Tears are filling my eyes now even reliving it because it was simply magical. Who gets to sit on a bench, on a side of a volcano, watching the sunrise in Bali?! I felt so fortunate and so in awe of the beauty of the country and kindness of the people.

We made our way back down the mountain, my friend Faith holding my hand as it literally felt like we were ice skating down the sand was so slippery. We hopped back in our Jeeps and made our way to our next step, the hot springs! We got to relax in the warm water overlooking the mountains. And just when you think it can’t get any better, we got to experience “water massages”. Where they literally give you a back/shoulder/head massage in the water. It was a dream. We made our way back home and boy was I thankful I brought that pillow. I got a solid 1.5 hours of sleep!

We arrived back home and had a free afternoon. This was my actual favorite part of the trip! Three years ago, I came up with an idea of a product I really wanted to produce. I didn’t have the design/production/manufacturing/distribution knowledge so decided just to sit on it. Knowing if it was meant to be, I would find my way back to it one day. Due to all the space to dream and not be bogged down by day to day stressors, this idea resurfaced for me. And it just so happened, that my roommate Jen who because like a sister instantly, was just the partner I needed. She has a Masters in business and operates a company doing ALL the things I don’t know how to do! While I have the product knowledge and path to sales. It was truly a match made in heaven. We had our first business meeting where we sketched out the product, found a designer, found a potential manufacturer, wrote out our vision/mission/values, set boundaries and expectations and ran numbers. It was truly divine confirmation that we were roommates. I can’t believe I am coming home with a dream I had 3 years ago becoming a reality. Over the next few days, we were able to draw on other people’s talents (shout out to Rebecca, the bookkeeper of the group) for giving us so much practical knowledge in order to build the strongest foundation possible. More to come in the next few months on this exciting adventure!! The photo of us with our tea is us cheersing our new partnership :)

We ended the night with a batik painting activity led by Amy from Malaysia! The wax lining kept your paint in the lines and it felt like a more elaborate version of water color painting! Incredibly satisfying and fun to end a full day with.Read more