Rebecca is a model from Toronto who has spent the past several years traveling for work, while living in exciting places around the world like Mexico, Beijing and Paris. I’ve known her for quite some time, and after seeing her post about her adventures in Bali, I asked her to share some snippets of her magical life there.
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What first brought you to Bali?
One of my modelling agencies took all the models away for Easter to Bali. We had such an amazing time but I was left feeling like I hadn’t seen anything! My ex-boyfriend and I went back for a secluded beach weekend a couple months later and then finally the last time was with a friend who felt like she found her place in life. I went to explore that with her.
What made you want to stay?
The island has this magic that you can feel everywhere. It holds you, or spits you out; you know what the island wants at all times. The energy you feel there is like no other place. It can bring you to your knees.
What was a typical day like for you?
A typical day would be waking up, doing a self lead yoga practice, heading to get coffee at Crate Cafe with my boy Denny. Grab a smoothie bowl, hit the beach. We are explorers. We had a lot of adventures and it felt like no two days were the same. Nights would be sunsets on the beach, some yummy food, maybe go to Pretty Poison and dance and sweat. And lots of scooter riding!
What are your favourite hang out spots?
Crate Cafe, any beach, Pretty Poison, and my friends’ swimming pools!
Sum it all up in one word?
Flow.
Sundays in Ubud overlooking the jungle. The girl in the picture is Tasha, her sister and her became like my little sisters in Bali. We baked a lot of cookies together, watched movies, tried yoga and dance moves and played games in the pool. They reminded me that family isn’t just based on blood.
This is the traditional market in Ubud bali. It’s pretty over run by tourists, but it’s worth a visit. I love Indonesia crafts. The colours and shapes are beautiful. I’ve always loved wood furniture an utensils and Balinese people are very resourceful in reusing their natural resources. All parts of the coconut tree are used; eaten or refurbished in some way.
Rainy season in Bali darkens the island and can create the most vivid colours. This palm tree looked metallic against the sky. // On my way to a job, stuck in traffic! Indonesia has some of the worst traffic in the world.
My best friend took me on a staycation at the Balquisse Heritage Hotel. The design is stunning, it has a colonial vibe, with each room having an entirely unique decor. We spent our time lounging by the pool and catching up.
Bali sunsets don’t really need captions. This is in Canggu, outside of Finn’s Beach Club. I was with a very special person and this moment helped me to open my heart a little bit more.
Catching the sunset.
My friends were in town from Paris so we went to see the rice paddies in Ubud, they have some beautiful patterns.
On my way home from an adventure in the rice paddies. I got slightly lost but look what I found.
Shady Shack does my all time favourite brunch in Bali. It’s in Canggu. It has a lazy beach house vibe, couches to lounge on, and books to read over brunch. They specialize in vegetarian and vegan food and have gluten free toast that is out of this world. I recommend their raw vegan cakes and unsweetened matcha lattes. But you really can’t go wrong with anything on their menu.
Aling Aling waterfalls was quite an experience for me. I’ve lived a lot of my life in fear. I had been spending some time learning to let go of that fear and Aling Aling pushed that boundary further. There are three waterfalls to jump from; the smallest is a 5meter jump, then 7, then 15. I jumped all three. Surrounded by new people I literally took a leap of faith into the unknown. I felt totally free and limitless in that moment. I also felt very connected with my sister, who I was missing a lot in that moment. Her and I love to go for adventures, the previous summer she had been jumping off waterfalls in South America – I had to jump for her.
Indonesia has some very talented photographers. A lot of models are going to Jakarta to build their books before contracts in bigger markets. I’ve been very fortunate to work with some of the best in Indonesia. This photo was taken by Ricko Sandy, he is one of my closest friends. He taught me how to pose more soft and romantically. He always tells me to think about waking up on Sunday morning and smelling pancakes – he knows how Canadian I am at heart. For this shot we trekked down the cliffs of Uluwatu to a little cove. A ton of tourists and surfers watched our shoot, to my embarrassment.
Ah the famous Nalubowls! I got the pipeline with added raspberries. Each bowl is named after famous surf spots from around the world. The owner is a Spanish surfer. These bowls are criminally good, and instagramable.
This is in Flores. My friend Yaz took us on a boat trip around the Komodo Islands. On the first night we parked the boat as the sun went down and suddenly hundreds of bats started to migrate from one island to the next. They do it nightly; they fly to eat the tropical fruit on the main island. The time in Flores was breathtaking. I was reminded of the power of intuition and nature. I met Komodo dragons, dolphins swimming by and watched the full moon reveal herself in a sky full of stars. The water there is so blue and each island has these green hills and human-less white sand beaches.
I made breakfast for a friend one morning. A fruit salad with mangosteen, local banana, red dragon fruit, pineapple and Bali Crunch granola. I post all my food adventures on @vegheadmodeldiet
I went to yoga with Liz, a close friend who has helped and inspired me. This is Samadi Bali, a beautiful yoga studio located in Canggu. They also have a hotel, spa and great organic cafe.
I don’t know the name of this temple but it was a reminder of the beauty and rich culture that you can find all over Bali. I had a shoot on a lake that day, it was misty and foggy, and this temple sat at the foot of the lake. On the drive to the lake we saw monkeys sitting road side and local pasars (markets).
