Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Sources of Inspiration: Eat, Pray, Love.

Funny story. When Kim and I were still thinking about this trip, we watched the movie Eat, Pray, Love starring Julia Roberts. The movie, based on a true story and a best-selling book by Elizabeth Gilbert, chronicles the author's journey to find herself as she travels to Italy, India, and Bali. We figured the movie would inspire us, which it did. But before we got a hold of the DVD, as we poured over world maps and atlases trying to pin down where we wanted to go, one of us (I don't remember who) said "Hey, why don't we just pull an Eat, Pray, Love?"We had each mentioned both Italy and India among our top choices for traveling, but the idea naturally led to one question: "What's in Bali?"

I have to admit I didn't know a thing about Bali before we watched the movie and started toying with the idea of visiting there. I had to Google it to find out it was an island in Indonesia, a country not originally on my radar concerning our trip. But not long after, it became not only an option but more of a mandate after what I see as God basically handing us one-way tickets marked "Bali." Kim was traveling with her dad through Europe after her semester at Oxford University, and one day while they were in Germany he casually mentioned his best friend, who happens to live in Bali.

What!!

Kim knew her Uncle Mike had long ago ended up in Indonesia, but she hadn't connected the idea of Bali with him until her dad mentioned it. In the midst of our disjointed travel plans, it seemed like a sign. So, after establishing that we would have a place to stay on the island and friends to show us around, Bali turned from an exciting idea to a definite reality. Since then our travel plans have evolved into something much different from Gilbert's journey in Eat, Pray, Love, but the movie was one of our many sources of inspiration. It's good, you should watch it. Here's the trailer:



In approximately two months we'll be Bali-bound!