Red Kite At Sunset in Bali

The 13th June held mixed emotions for me.  On the one hand, I was on a tour in the beautiful Ubud (Bali) which captivated me with lush rice fields, a steaming volcano, bustling roads and mischievious monkeys.  Dangerous but intriguing!  Shopping, coffee tasting and a cheeky frozen margarita were also great pass times that day!  Looming overhead though was a dark cloud; the memory of my Mum who had passed away a year to that day.  

Bali is a very spiritual place; practicing in hinduism and it is an every day ritual to make an offering and pray to the gods.  Every shop, cafe, hotel and pub I went in had an altar or temple outside with offerings and incence burning.  My tour guide told me to relax and advised me that to make contact with loved ones passed over or with the Gods, there is no need to go to a specific place as spirits are omnipresent or everywhere.  He also told me to avoid red meat if I want to vibrate on a higher level. 

On my return to the hotel that evening, I stopped at the temple outside and decided to say a few words, or heartfelt thoughts and feelings to my Mum.  Nothing too elaborate, just a few nice memories, happy thoughts and “hope you are OK’s?”  Then I challenged “If you have heard all this, and understood it, please show me a symbol tomorrow to confirm it.”  I then cleared my mind of all thoughts and the first object that appeared was a bright red bird. 

When I got back to the hotel, I told Jim (my husband) all about the red bird and that we must look out for one the next day.

“You’ll never see a red bird, there aren’t even sea gulls here, let alone parrots” Jim replied sympathetically.  “Meet you on the beach at sunset and we can watch the sun going down.”

I realised after that day that bird life in Bali was pretty much non-existant, apart from the odd and very rare little sparrow.  Was it the climate, lack of food or are they deterred in some stark way?   I am not sure, but I have never seen such a lack of bird life before in a country.  

That evening I was drawn into ‘Mango’ and ‘Top Shop’ in Kuta which are two of my favourite shops from London and I succombed to the ancient art of retail therapy!  

As I returned to the beach, the sky was lit up by fire as the sinking, orange sun descended behind the ocean. 

Jim was pointing at a shadow in the sky, soaring then gliding in the last embers of the night sky.  

“What is that?” I asked.

“It’s a big red bird” my son, Charlie, replied.

As I focussed my eyes on the object, I realised that it was indeed a red bird.  Not real – a red kite, painted as a bird.  Confirmation enough to me that my thoughts and prayers to my Mum had been acknowledged.

I told my Dad about my story and loved his reply.  

“The red kite is a British bird.  It is very rare but was reintroduced recently and me and Mum actually saw one on our holiday to Wales last year.”

When I googled ‘red kite’ to find a picture of this rare bird, the first appearance on search engine was a cancer charity by this name.  This bore relevance, as cancer was the nasty disease that claimed my Mum’s life. I have made a conscious note to help ‘Red Kite’ in the future.

I wanted to share my story as I do believe we all have these experiences, but maybe we don’t always realise them and sometimes the messages are for the whole family.