First few days in Thailand.

Arrival time into Phuket airport was 10am Sunday April 27th. I can't believe I've waited so long to visit this country. It's strange that I've already been to so many places on this trip and for some reason it feels like my trip has now, finally started. Even though, I'll admit I'm getting anxious to head home. 

Perhaps the other countries were just the appetizers and now it's time for the main course! 

On my first day in Thailand so many unexpected things happened. 

Shasta's friend Corey who lives in Phuket sent his driver to pick us up at the airport. I know that sounds very high class like but it's not what you think. A lot of westerners in 3rd world countries have a "driver" (some even have cooks and house cleaners because it's affordable). This is basically just a private driver or taxi driver who speaks good enough English that the westerners call them to drive whenever needed. 

The airports in Thailand are well known (like Bali) for having a mob of taxi drivers outside the airport doors, yelling at you, "taxi!" Or grabbing at your arm to get your attention. Having a driver there for us, holding a sign with Shasta's name on it was so nice! I loved telling the other drivers, no thank you we already have a hired driver. One of the guys actually laughed at me. A laugh that I knew from my past experience in the last few months. He was thinking, yeah right. She'll be back. 

Joke was on him! 

The craziness of the taxi drivers outside the airport in Phuket. 

We arrived at Corey's villa in a more country - ish town called Kathu were we stayed for a few nights. We paid the driver and greeted Corey, settled in and we all went to the swimming pool outside his apartment. 

Corey is a licensed scuba instructor and sky diving instructor. Shasta, her friend Jarred and I had decided to take private lessons from and stay with him at his place while taking the course.  

Scuba in the pool at Corey's place.

My first scuba lesson and Thai dental cleaning happened day 1! That teeth cleaning was only $25 USD! I finished my scuba cert. on wed. and on Thursday I had another appointment for dental work on what was supposed to 3 teeth but turned out to be only 2 teeth. I had a new cavity to be filled and my (only) prior cavity filling was in need of replacement so I had it removed and replaced. The work for 2 teeth and a tube of Colgate toothpaste, (I chose to buy) was $52 USD! I may have to plan a trip to Thailand whenever I need dental work. Seriously! I was a little unsure of what to expect from the Thai dentist world but I have only heard great things about it. Now I can speak from experience, the dental industry here is great! The dentist I had was wonderful and truely the best dentist I have ever had. In fact we are FaceBook friends now. Haha!

The scuba certification was intense. I wasn't expecting it to be as hard as it was but I suppose the way I went about it compared to most backpackers, I set myself up for tough! 

Most backpackers come to Thailand and book a 3 to 4 day PADI (professional association of divers association) certification thru a shop in Phuket or Koh Tao. Backpackers from all over the world are usually in classes of 8 or more and given hotel accommodations and meals included in their cost. As a result they do beach dives instead of boat dives and don't get as much one on one attention. 

The 3 of us (jarred, Shasta's Oregon friend who joined us) stayed at Corey's house, used his pool for the first 2 days of the course and did our video training from the comfort of his living room. We did our open water dive days off a boat 

Called "Latitude" that included all our gear, friendly Thai assistants, breakfast, lunch and mid day snack. An inflatable SUP (stand up paddle board), 2 glass bottom canoes and an inflatable water slide off the side of the boat. Of yeah and there was a nice (dry area only) lounge with wifi, play station, couches and bean bags! I never saw those electronics in use as we were all pretty busy. The fist day there was maybe 15 people on board plus crew and the second day it was just the 4 of us and another group of 3! It was like we had a private boat. 

Our boat.

We completed 4 open water dives off the boat in 2 days. During those dives we practiced and tested for the skills that we originally learned in the pool. Skills such as taking my mask off for a few seconds (in deep salt water) and then putting it back on again. Breathing off a buddy's air tank, switching to their tank while your under water, taking your air supply from your mouth letting it drop and then having to calmly find it and put it back in. All of this and more was done while following the number one rule in scuba diving... Don't hold your breath! The last dive we made of our course was a ship wreck. We didn't go in it just stood on it and swam around the outside, it wasn't as scary as I had expected a ship wreck dive to be. But it also wasn't a huge ship. 

I made friends with the 4 Thai guys who didn't speak English on our boat. They assisted us with our gear, helping us get in the water and onto the boat after dives. Really friendly guys! The Thai people are a complete joy and so funny. They interacted with us during our "play" time on the boat. 

3 of the Thai guys.

I happend to ask the correct question which led me to learning that for every western person hired on the boat 3 Thai people need to be hired. I believe this applies to everything in Thailand concerning jobs.

During our evenings after dive class we would typically go into town to buy our dinners at the market. It was cheaper to buy ready to eat food there then buy from the grocery store. Our fist night in Thailand, while eating our market dinner back at Corey's house I pulled a "smart card" and ate a green chili pepper! Apparently the hottest chili pepper in Asia? Why did I do this? Because I was eating a salad and saw the chili thinking it was a green bean! An oddly dark green bean but that's what I thought it was. Ugh! The right side of my mouth went numb for a bit. 

I love these markets though! They always seem to hold my attention for awhile. So many different foods and different health codes compared to the USA, it's just incredible! 

Market sharks. 

Some market curry. 

Market squid.

One evening a Thai dive student of Corey's was at the house studying for her dive master exam. Jarred and Corey had left to have tire repair done on a bike and Shasta was coloring her hair in the bathroom. Phan (the Thai student) was hungry so her and I went to the market together on her scooter. I wasn't hungry, I hadn't really been in 2 days as I was trying to recover from another stomach issue. Going to the market with a Thai was a much better experience then I had, had at a market yet! I was finally able to ask someone what this paper was being sold out of brief cases on the sidewalks.  They looked like passes to something but Phan said lotto and it clicked! That's right! Thailand has illegal lotteries that the police generally just turns a blind eye to. I know a friends wife who runs one in Bangkok I just hadn't thought they'd be sold in a food market like this. 

All those vendors selling mystery foods who couldn't speak English to me was now solved! Phan translated for me pointed out things I had missed and she bought some things she thought I should try. We even found a few new sellers. There were fish lying on trays just as I had seen on the days before but this time I noticed they were still breathing! Fish, small shark, snails, lobster, all alive. Phan had been telling me everything was fresh and I believed her, I just hadn't realized it was "still alive" fresh. 

As fresh as they get. 

She asked me if we have markets like this in Oregon so I explained to her that yes we do but they are called farmers markets and we don't have chickens and other raw hunks of meat just sitting out on tables. We have a lot more produce and less seafood then they have available but we have safety rules on the way meat is sold. Our meat is usually stored in coolers on ice or wrapped in plastic or butcher paper.  

During all this conversation I found out Phan has a boyfriend in Oregon. She met him through Corey, he's an engineer and around 56 years old. Phan is my age, 32. I asked her how old her parents are, (they are 61) and what they think about her dating a guy so close in age to them. She went on to explain that it's common in Thailand for women to marry older men from other countries. She said they treat them better and know what they want in life.

She had been married to a man from England for 3 years (I forgot to ask how old he was) but he cheated on her a few times and once she found out that marriage ended. 

Before we left Corey's place I experienced driving a motorbike a.k.a. a scooter on my own through the neighborhood and eventually to Patong city, a tourist beach town. It was great! Totally fun and I picked up the Thai defensive driving skills right from the start! Dodging cars and other bikes as they weaves in and out of each other. If Oregon wasn't so wet during the year I might consider getting one for home. 

Scooter mania! 

Before I forget, I want to make a mention of a new found pill that I'm pretty impressed with!

In Bali while Shasta was sick someone recommended to try taking charcoal. I bought her some and it seemed to work very efficiently. 

It's a natural ingredient so when it goes into your body it absorbs anything bad in your system and disposes of it when ready. 

These are them. 

Well, one of my street food meals in Phuket, Thailand got to me and had me back in the bathroom again for a few mornings and evenings. This of course was happening during dive training too! So I pulled myself together like a champ and managed to pass the course. I even had a fever the night I took my final written exam. Shasta had me take some for my first time and within a day I was feeling results. 

Jarrod, Shasta and I left Phuket yesterday and took a 2(ish) hour ferry ride to phi phi island. I am now island hopping my way to Bangkok to meet up with a good family friend, Joe (he lives there) and to meet 2 friends of friends. 

Welcome sign just off the ferry. 

The ferry ride wasn't bad, there was AC on inside and lots of room. I slept most the trip to pass the time faster. We arrived to phi phi around 2pm and we were funneled into a single line taking us through a gate where they charged us a $20 baht island entrance fee. That's $.60 in USD. Kind of ridiculous, I thought. 

Inside the ferry. The main floor. 

By the time our day was over yesterday I was feeling like I was in Gili T. back in Indonesia, again. It's a small island with no vehicles and it's a party island, for sure! They don't have horse carriages hauling people around so I don't have to see horses in desperate need of water, again. Phi phi has mostly stone laid roads, unlike Gili and it's dirt roads that turn into a mess during rain storms.

The 3 of us along with a German couple we met on the ferry went on an adventure hike looking for nicer and hidden beaches on the island. We decided to do this AFTER getting into the ocean at one beach and getting out to find a nasty brown film on our bodies. 

A map of phi phi island. 

We found 2 very nice beaches with beautiful water but they were definitely a hike away from the home stay accommodations we booked. On our hike out from the last beach we hear a commotion in the trees to our left. After watching them carefully for a couple of minutes we realized there were heaps of monkeys in them! We kept moving as there was no reason to stick around and see if they wanted to take stuff from us. We wondered back a different way and ended up trekking thru a very non tourist area.

One of the main beaches. 

We saw parts of the island most travlers won't ever see. I was welcomed back to seeing mounds of garbage just sitting on the side of roads and seeing how the Thais live compared to the accommodations most travlers stay in. It's always a good lesson to see this in the places you travel. 

Trash.

And more trash! 

A few of the towns people have monkeys they walk around with and they'll charge you $100 baht if you take their photo! One monkey had a diaper on and a gold chain necklace around its neck and a gold bracelet on both it wrists. The other monkey I saw was taller, wearing a flannel shirt and overalls walking around with a Thai toddler. I wish I had a photo to show you but it wasn't worth $100 baht out of my pocket.  

At dinner last night I had some really great Pad Thai and noticed the restaurant  cats hanging around in this open aired dinning facility. Apparently they enjoy a good cool off on occasion, as well. 

3 cats in the fridge!

Yeah, this clearly happens often! 

We are on this island for 2 nights and tomorrow I'll catch a ferry to Krabi. I decided to use today as a research day on my next stops since I'm not to impressed with this island. Shasta and I have also discussed partying ways but we might not just yet. She tends to like to relax in ine spot more then I do but this is also because of the heat and her monstrous back pack, I don't blame her. I'm okay with relaxing in one place for a few days as long as the location keeps me occupied. I'm not occupied on phi phi. One night was to much and this morning I was alone for a bit and I realized I was having an anxiety attack about being stuck here for another night. So I talked it out with her when she returned, it was a great conversation and I think the 3 of us are all moving on tomorrow. Jarrod will head to Bangkok for dental work and Shasta will follow me to krabi. 

Last nights sunset on phi phi island.

Oh and... RIP CITY! To all you Portland Trail Blazer fans, party in the streets of Portland tonight! 

The revival time of "bust a bucket" is here and now! :) 

The green school of Bali

I realized the other day I never posted anything about my Green school (of Bali) tour. I feel it deserves at least a little overview so here it goes.

It's a beautiful bamboo oasis just outside of UBud in Bali, Indonesia. It's almost entirely made of bamboo, all the buildings, the tables, the cubbies, chicken coops (yep they have a little farm), soccer goals... You name it! 

It was voted the worlds greenest school which had me wanting to visit instantly. Well that paired with knowing of a teacher from Oregon who taught there. So I really went to meet Kris (a friend of my friend Janet) but Kris and I could have met up anywhere in UBud.meeting her at the green school was killing 2 birds with one stone! 

Tanu drove me there, a Baliinease English speaking driver that drives Kris around on occasion. A great guy, good personality and very helpful. We arrived at the school just as it was letting out for the day and I met Kris in the front by the swing set and sports field. She was watching a friend and fellow teachers daughters while she (their mom) was in a meeting. Kriss and I visited for a bit then she told me a little about the school before I went off on a self guided tour while she stayed up front with the girls. 

When I entered the school I walked thru a bamboo (of course) entry way that had a recycling center to my right and an electronic finger scanning system to the left. The finger scan system is for the students to check themselves in and out of school. 

I'm still outside, most the campus is open aired with the only covered areas being the classrooms, (composting) bathrooms and barn. After I pass thru the entry gate and walk a few feet I see a clear view of the sports field to my left with a few pieces of playground equipment along the outside perimeter and the bamboo gym structure just on the other side of the field, from me. To my immediate right and left are 2 whole food organic, everything made on site cafés with amazing food and drinks for sale. Also in the mix is a "front desk" for visitor check in, questions and whatever else. 

When I walked straight past this I came to a large two story, open aired main building that had a library, offices, a foosball table made out of recycled materials and some of the high school class rooms. Walking thru this building and to the other side I came to several gravel walkways trailing off to my right and left, these led down the hill to other classroom buildings, the barn, the chicken coop, the gardens and the super cool bamboo bridge that spans across a rapidly flowing stream. On the other side of the bridge lays the schools rice paddies and more farm land. 

Chicken coop.

Bamboo starter beds. 

The bridge. 

The campus cow. 

This school is clearly self sustained. 

I was told its about $10,000 USD a year to send a child there. the majority of students are westerners, surprising but also not. I noticed VERY few Baliinease children, dark completed kids for that matter. The school is apparently trying to get more balinesse kids but I honestly don't know how hard they are trying. I think there's some serious political issues going on with the student population. 

A classy garden shed.

This is the school I was told might be hiring an art teacher next year. Working at this school is just like working at any other school, America or I'm another country, it doesn't matter the politics are always there. I know this of the Green School through 2 reliable sources. It is a beautifully put together school though. I must say! 

Last days in Bali

My last few days in Bali came and went quickly! During these days of craziness I met Tom Lang, a friend of my friend Brad's. He lives 5 months of every year in UBud and the rest of the year in Alaska. He works as a coach, teaching yoga instructors public speaking, when he's in UBud. When he's in Alaska he's an outdoor guide. He was a very nice man with a great spirit and a strong love for the people of the island. Tom gave me a lot of insight on the people and their culture, he was also able to answer many questions I had about everything Bali. 

This is Tom. He also writes short story books that I found selling at a yoga shop. That's where I took this picture. 

He explained to me that the women who are begging for money with their small children aren't from UBud. They are actually from a tribe up north and the Balinese don't want them there begging but they are to nice to voice it. They wish they'd just get a job like everyone else. The beggars always go back to where they are from. This made me feel a little better about what I was seeing for some reason. 

We talked about my art and he told me he knew the founder of the green school and they are more then likely looking for an art teacher in the coming school year.  With Tom's positive outlook on Bali and his talk of a potential career for me in the field I went to school for, I was starting to actually think about applying. 

I told Tom to put me in touch with the person hiring so I could ask them some questions. The job would be amazing but I don't think I could live on that island for a year or more. Doesn't hurt to ask questions though. 

Before Tom and I parted ways he handed me a pass to a 7am yoga class for the following morning. It was at Radiant Alive Yoga studio where Tom mostly worked out of. 

Yoga studio, this way! 

I gladly accepted the pass! It was a teacher training class and expected to be packed but the main instructor was a very well known one from Main, USA.

Shasta and I enjoyed some more authentic Balinese cuisine for dinner that night, this time we tried crispy duck. Something Shasta had been really wanting to try. It wasn't bad but it was nothing I'd write home about. It had a good sauce served with it and a small dish of slivered pickled veggies to eat with the duck. The pickled veggies MADE that dish! 

Crispy duck.

We parted ways for a few hours so Shasta could go to the Indonesian dance at the palace and I went to use up my last yoga pass at the yoga barn. It was a mostly outdoor class starting at 7pm. A very humid evening and I got eaten up by Mosquitos at the end of the class when I was laying in savassana, the final (resting) pose.

The class at radiant alive yoga the next morning was great! packed with 40 people and a good portion of them were there for a teacher training workshop. It was a 7 to 8:45am class that got me up and walking thru the town to get to class, earlier then normal. It was fun to see the locals setting up for the market. I think seeing all the work that you can possaibly see that goes into a market is important. Gives you a bit more appreciatiation for what you see and the people who are selling it. 

I saw these at the market set up and thought of my tutu (grandma). She has these planted outside her garage. I was suprised to see them in Bali. 

In the morning yoga class I experienced a new yoga technique (I guess that's what you could call it). Two assistant instructors were in the class and went around the room giving everyone a short neck massage with a natural form of Ben Gay on their hands. Yeah! Ben Gay on my neck for the duration of that class! It made for an even warmer class with the heat radiating in my neck but it was kind of nice to have it. An interesting form of yoga practice, indeed. 

We left our homestay after 12 days on this same morning. 12 days!!! It felt very strange and sad to leave a place that had been so good to us. I said good bye to Wyan, the owner and walked over to In Da Lodge hostel to say good by to the manager there, Edward, who I had become good friends with.

Edward and I. This guy was loads of fun and always had good tips on things to do.

I hired a taxi with my mad bargaining skills and Shasta and I headed to Canggu in the pimped out custom car of our 28 year old taxi driver. He even told us that he lives at home with his parents and he parks his car (his baby) in his bed room and his bed is right next to it. He was very proud of this fact and yes, I'm pretty sure he sleeps in a garage. Now back to the point, we went to Canggu to stay our last 2 nights in Bali with Alain and Michael and we hadn't been to this area yet but I knew there were beaches near by and a Crossfit box! 

S2S Crossfit. Great community of athletes! 

Alain flew to Hong Kong the same day Shasta and I were flying out so we figured we should all share a cab to the airport. Michael plans on staying in Bali  for a few more weeks but he wanted to hang out with us for our last few days. Plus sharing the nice air B&B place Alain found made accommodations super cheap! $10 or $15 for 2 nights with a pool included. 

Our pool, picture taken just after Michael copied Alain and jumped off the wall into the pool. 

Being around Alain and Michael, together is nothing but constant laughs! Those guys have become brothers to me and I'm really going to miss them. For the duration of our 2 nights with them I went to Crossfit Bali with Alain where I swear more then I ever have during a Crossfit class! I worked out next to a rice paddie with bats flying above me as the darkness settled in. It was a pretty special class to experience in another country. 

After class. Alain and I. 

Michael and I became scooter pals when the 4 of us would go out together. Shasta would ride with Alain and this was mostly because Michael wasn't used to driving with a passenger. Alain was and he told me (I've heard it before, ha!) I am a good motorcycle passenger so Michael should have me on back. 

Michael and I after our last scooter ride together. Alain with his fancy pants on, in the background. 

We had great breakfasts at a little gem of a restaurant called Beatle Nut, which I always called Beach Nut, on accident. It drove everyone nuts when I called it that constantly! Haha! 

The view from the upstairs of Beatle Nut. 

We went surfing in the Seminyak area in an absolutely disgusting ocean! I've never felt so gross from being in the ocean as I did here. There was garbage floating around my feet and the ocean looked like it had algee growing on top! I had to get out after an hour. The waves were good though. 

Our last night was spent as a group together experiencing some new things in the town. Later we took our adventure to the beach where we witnessed a beautiful sunset and laid on bean bag chairs in the sand listening to music and getting harassed by the local merchants. 

A magical sunset. 

One guy even had the nerve to start rubbing Alain's neck with an oil he was selling. Alain kept trying to get away from him and telling him to stop and then the guy tried to charge him for a "massage!" Alain told him no way and the guys response was "F you!" and he walked away. Can you believe that!? He didn't even know how to speak good English but those words were clear as day! 

2 of the several different vendors who pestered us! 

We have left Bali now. Flew out on Saturday morning (April 26th) to arrive in Singapore by the afternoon.

Good bye Bali! 

The 4 of us just happend to have the same brand and model in backs but different colors and sizes. 

We spent a night there with a friend of a friend, of mine, Alexis who is originally from Europe and is now living and working (for a purfume company) in Singapore. 

We spent some time at his apartment getting to know him, talking about travel and what we'd enjoy doing while we were in the city. We had a 14hour layover that we purposely bought so we could see this city and not skip it entirely. 

Singapore! 

So the night played out like this: Alexis, Shasta and I took a cab to china town to eat at one of the Hawker centers and see a Chinese temple that happened to be in the middle of a prayer session, inside. We were able to watch but were not allowed to take photos. 

We ate a delicious spread of different foods, lamb and beef skewers, lemon chicken and rice (as recommended by Anthony Boardaine on the travel channel), duck with noodles and broth, and an Indian form of lamb pizza with a coconut water beverage. 

We then took a taxi to a mall near the bay where we saw the hotel with what looks like a cruise ship on top of it. The bay of gardens was also in this area. It's a night garden that's lit up and very pretty. It made us feel like we were in the movie Avatar! Alexis parted ways with us here and headed to a house warming party leaving us to explore the city. And that we did! 

The hotel with the ship on top. 

The night garden, at a distance. 

We went to Arab street for a traditional tea even though we asked for iced since it was pretty warm outside, even at the late hour of 11pm it was hot out. Shasta ordered a traditional Arab pastry, baklava to go with the tea and for $7 it was BITE SIZE! Here is where I started to really see the spendy prices of this country kick in. Our bill for a pitcher of tea and the smallest desert ever with a restaurant tax added on was $19! Alexis had told us that all restaurants are expensive to eat at there and eating at the Hawker centers is the way to go! 

Shasta pouring our tea. 

This is Singapore tho, currently the most expensive country in the world to live in! 

The city Ferris wheel. 

Another good example of their price differences that I saw is a Starbucks venti caramel macchiato priced at $7.50! 

In Oregon they sell for $4.55 and I know 

this because it's my dad's number one drink of choice there. 

We headed back to Alexis house after Arab street to sleep for a few hours. The sound of my alarm at 6am, paired with the loudest thunderstorm I've ever experienced woke us. The thunder was right above us crashing down in heavy sheets joined with the pouring rain and the lightning. It was very intense and kind of cool to hear. It felt like the island was under attack by Mother Nature herself!  

A cab came for us and we thanked Alexis for his wonderful hospitality as we headed out the door aged sent him back to bed.

I'm happy with the amount of time we had in the city, it was almost perfect. Not to much not to little. Since it is such an expensive city any more time would have been pretty costly but we were able to see just enough in 14hrs. A good taste of this Asian country that is very clean and westernized, complete with clean water from the tap. 

Chewing gum is not sold here and spitting on the street can cost a person jail time or a fine of $500 +! There were signs in portions of the airport and on the mass transit train that said no eating or drinking or subject to $500 fine! They don't joke around here, they mean what they say! 

So Sunday morning we headed to the airport to fly to... Guess where!!!!???

Thailand!!!!!!!! I'm finally here! 

Oh how I've patiently waited for 13 years to travel to this destination. 

Stay tuned! :) 

Our next destination, I've dreamed of visiting for years! I'm SO ready for this! 

The good, the bad and the ugly of Indonesia.

Random paragraphs to read:

The amount of organic and raw food restaurants and cafés here in Ubud blows my mind. They aren't crazy cheap but they are most defiantly cheaper then what these cafés would cost to eat at in America. I've had some traditional Indonesian food and street food but now I seem to be on a health food kick. I know I'm about to REALLY enter the land of rice and noodles as I fly to Thailand soon. My thought process is that I should enjoy this clean healthy food while I have it. The fresh blended juices are incredible! Young coconut water, fresh squeezed juices, smoothies all for $1.50 to $4.

I wish I could bring all this home with me for the same price I get them for in Ubud. 

I am missing meat when I eat at these places but it'll be back in my diet before I know it. 

A vegetarian German friend of mine wrote me last night from Thailand. She said she missed Bali as it's hard for her to find just veggies in Thailand. Meat and fish come with almost everything there. 

Alchemy's one of my favorite cafés here.

Yep! 

Garbage and just overall waste here in Indonesia is an interesting issue. They burn their garbage. It used to be all organic matter that they would burn but then like everywhere else, artificial materials started being introduced. Plastic and glass bottles as well as plastic bags for example. So they burn this now as well. Not everything gets burned though. I haven't seem a lot of garbage burning during my stay here but I've seen it enough to know that this is how they dispose of waste. A lot of the waste ends up in their streams and on the roads and sidewalks. 

It doesn't help that you can't drink the water in Indonesia so people are always buying bottled water. 

There are a few places trying to make a green difference but I've only seen a handful and they are in Ubud. Places that offer for you to refill your water bottle from their big jug for a small price. Or instead of giving you a plastic straw with your drink you may get a bamboo straw, a glass straw or even a straw made from papaya stalk. There aren't enough of these places to make a difference... Yet!  

Natural to go containers. An example of natural waste that I see on the streets in Bali. This is better then plastic bottles. 

On the topic of garbage and leading into their way of building, I just witnessed a man dump a bucket of rock onto a path. The path is just outside my home stay and the guy is a builder working on a building close by my place. He was apparently clearing the land near the new building by picking up chunks of concrete and wood and other debris. I watched him as he dumped the bucket and then strategically placed 

The building.

Do you see the light bulb? 

Animals are a sad subject. The cats and dogs that I see are mostly maul nourished. Their ribs show and a lot of them look thirsty. A lot of them have their heads in garbage piles trying to find food. There's been a night or 2 when I've walked back to my accommodations after midnight. I walked down the street and there's small packs of dogs that have pulled garbage into the street. They rummage thru it and walk around barking making me question if I will be attacked by a Bali dog. Rabies is no bueno!  But in the end if you just keep your distance from them they stay away.

The horses on the Gili islands that pull the small carriages with tourists are a soar sight. There are a few good looking ones but overall their skin is rubbed raw where the harnesses lay against them. They are thirsty and probbably overworked. I saw a horse panting and shaking one night, I found the owner/ driver and told him I thought his horse needed water. He strongly disagreed with me, telling me his horse was fine and practically shooed me off. I voiced this via text to my dad and he was right to say, you might as well give up because you won't make a difference on your own. 

   Before Pia left us she showed me a website she stumbled across. It was for a zoo in Indonesia, which island I'm not sure. I don't care to search for the name of it again but I will tell you PITA tried to shut them down. I'm not sure why they were unsuccessful as I would have been in full support of their closure.  From the pictures of the animals I saw online, let me just say I've never seen a black bear, tiger, or giraffe look as awful as these did. I didn't know it was possible!  

Three uncommonly healthy dogs I see every morning while I'm eating breakfast. 

I watched this dog just walk out into the road and lie down. This is common! Dogs lay in the road (sometimes even in the middle) and don't seem to be bothered by the cars, even a honk. 

There is a strong cleansing/ yoga/ spiritual way in Indonesia, of both expats and natives. It's soothing to witness and sometimes even to be a part of it. There is a strong yoga presence in Ubud and on Gili T. there is a strong Muslim presence with the call to prayer being heard through out the island everyday at at 5am, afternoon and the evening. 

Michael, Alain, me and Shasta after taking a sound healing yoga class. 

Certain areas are not as green and lush as I had expected. There's much more commercialism here then I expected. However one of my favorite parts of Bali is being in a car driving somewhere. Anywhere. It allows us to get out of the main areas and see the less tourist areas. These are the more lush areas I had imagined, often there is garbage laying around these areas but it's definitely more of what I expected.  UBud was not at all how I imagined but it has managed to hold my attention for a few weeks now. I pictured more foliage and less shops, less traffic. There's beautiful pockets of serene areas within UBud but you really have to seek them out. 

A pocket of beauty in UBud

More commercialism then expected. The Indonesians really need to take a few selling tips from the western culture. 

**When a customer walks into your product area, give them time to look. Let them get a feel for what you are selling. 

My goodness!!! I can't tell you how turned off I get, friends included when it's, buy! buy! buy! from the Balinese. It's so annoying! They have so many yet so few different selling tactics but they are all frustrating. Their ways of pushy selling and the humidity are an awful combination! 

Here are a few examples of things I hear from the street merchants:

When they see me wearing a sarong: "sarong? You want one more? You buy one more? Yes? They nice, one more? How much you pay? I give you same price!" "For good luck!"

When I stop to take a picture of rice paddies, a lady calls me down a few steps to take pictures closer. 

Her: "Where you from?" Me: "America" her: "oh America... I like America, good people. You like this?" She pulls a foam plumaria hair clip out, quickly flashes it in front of me before putting it in my hair! 

I take it out of my hair and hand it back to her. 

Her: "I give you good price, you buy from me, good price!" Me: "I have no money, I don't want it, thank you." Her (pointing to Shasta): "she have money."  

You get the point! It just makes you want to pull your hair out sometimes! 

These little girls already have the pushy selling tactics of their mother, down! But they were cute so I took their picture. 

The prices aren't so cheap, at least to start with. It's as if they expect the westerners to come pay the bigger prices so they have marked things up. It's a bit aggravating but with a lot of patience and some knowledge of bartering you can't get the prices lower. Heck! I bartered for a 1500ml bottle of water in a circle K a few nights ago! I never thought I'd see that happen! They were asking $.61 for a bottle of water when I had seen the same bottle a day before for $.35 so I told them no and worked them down. I told them I wasn't buying otherwise. They basically ended up saying, well okay, maybe this our last one at this price so you can have it for less. 

Ha! Classic! 

When you walk down the streets you constantly hear, "Taxi?" Get used to it because there's loads of taxi drivers offering you their services and it can become as frustrating as hearing the street merchants trying to sell you another sarong! I've watched a few friends almost lose it with the street merchants AND the taxi drivers. Sometimes making a game out of it is the best way to deal. Just laugh it off. Tell them no thank you as you continue to walk on by. 

The beggars are a sad sight. I've only seen them in Ubud and they are mothers with small children. It hurts my heart to see them with babies laying on the hard sidewalk asleep next to them. It also really makes me wonder what their story is and why I never see men on the streets begging? It's always women with children.  

I found out quickly that many Balinese speak English here but I seem to keep forgetting that they only speak so much. Usually only enough English to sell whatever it is that they are selling. I was loosing them in conversation, often until It was brought to my attention that I use to many words when talking with them and then they don't understand. So I've made a point of trying to be simpler with my words. 

This one speaks excellent English but he's also the prince of Ubud and studied in Melbourne Australia for 7 years. 

More Americans need to travel, bottom line! 

During my time away from the states, Ive noticed there are hardly any Americans out here exploring and educating themselves. This was true years ago when I found myself in Canada, Mexico and Europe and still, nothing has changed. 

There is a big difference in culture with Americans vs... well basically the rest of the world! Other countries encourage their kids to get out there and travel after high school and college. Where as the majority of Americans tell their kids after high school to go to college and then they tell them to get a job. There is so much to see and learn from the world first hand. This is as important of an education as college is, sounds crazy but it's true! 

Pool crashing has been fun and a necessity in Bali. It's so stinkin humid that I've become hooked on wearing my swimsuit almost everyday with a sarong over the top, even when I'm as far inland as Ubud. This is for 2 reasons, 1 is i never know when ill stumble across a pool to jump into and 2 it's easier to hand wash my swimsuit after being sweaty then it is to wash my regular clothes. I've crashed some good pools, and it's SO nice! The refreshing feeling I get coming up from under the water after that first jump... I can't describe it! These aren't home pools either, they are usually at small hotels. When people discover me I simply tell them I'm waiting for a friend who is staying there. That's usually all it takes for them to leave me alone. I taught Shasta how to pool crash a few days ago, I suppose I'm a bad influence. She needed a good cool off though and she thanked me later. 

Shasta's first pool crashing experience.

Alain came back to Ubud to visit and brought a friend from Canggu, Bali Crossfit with him. Michael is from Southern California and traveling for an unknown amount of time. He has a theme to his trip and a sort of business plan that really seems to be taking off! It's called WOD the World. For those non crossfiters WOD means workout of the day. Michael and Alain rented motor bikes to come to Ubud. I sold them both on renting rooms at our home stay and also talked them into driving Shasta and I around on their bikes. This is what I call, getting warmed up to motor bike - driving. 

It was fun, a true adventure but also crazy scary! People are insane drivers here! I'm not really sure how to describe it well enough for a visual. 

How about this: on a one way road motor bikes can go the opposite direction, if they want. They aren't supposed to but they can. 

I think I may be ready to rent my own now but I could be alright without renting either. 

There's actually been talk of a small group of us meeting in SE Asia, buying motor bikes and touring Vietnam, Laos and Thailand together and doing Cambodia on foot. That plan is still being worked out though, it may not happen. 

I organized a driving tour with Wyan (our home stay owner) yesterday. We paid him $8.68 each to drive the 4 of us around yesterday to points of interest outside of Ubud. We went to a picturesque rice terrace area, (another!) a holy water temple, coffee plantation (my 3rd), and then lunch at a local Warung (means kitchen & more importantly to me it means cheap and traditional). 

Then we went to the elephant caves which we walked to the entrance of and then turned around. We were put off by what a tourist trap it was. On the way to our final destination I caught sight of a possible cock fight happening along side the road. I had Wyan pull over. The locals were welcoming, thank goodness! They even allowed us to take pictures - cockfighting is illegal in Bali but it still happens and they pay the cops off if they come. 

Turned out to be more of a cocks in training session and not a true fight but it was interesting to see, regardless. 

The guys with their prize cocks. 

And finally we ended at a huge waterfall that we were hoping to swim beneath but it was to gross! When we returned back to Ubud Michael and Alain headed back to Canggu. Shasta and I are headed there in a few days. 

Tegenungan waterfall.

Can you see how dirty the water is at the bottom of the fall? 

I'm suddenly reminded of a little thing called MSG! For whatever reason it has felt like that is something that doesn't exist anymore. I remember seeing a sign somewhere in Bali that said "no MSG" and I thought nothing more. Then Shasta bought a container of seaweed flavored Pringles (just to try the unique flavor) and as we were almost finished with the can she thought to read the ingredients. One of the first things was MSG. Awesome! We tossed them in the trash. 

I'm so much more aware of my food, again.

Is it possible that Asians have fogy minds from all the MSG in their food!? Because apparently they use it in everything! Something to ponder. 

I really miss drinking tap water! Being able to just fill up my water bottle whenever I want and to be able to brush my teeth without a bottle of water. This will be the longest amount of time I have gone in my life without freely using tap water. It starts in Bali and it'll end a few months from now. Walking to the circle k every night for a bottle of water on my way "home" is becoming a habit OR is it more of a chore? 

I received an email from Burgerville the other day (don't judge me!) announcing that it's fresh strawberry season! Oh yes, yet another thing I'm missing out on fresh strawberry smoothies! I hope someone reading this post has one in my honor! :) let me know if you do! 

Fresh Strawberry smoothies made me think of my other favorite Pdx stop... salt and straw (why are you still judging me!?). I'm missing my monthly visit to try the seasonal flavors. I'll admit I got on their website this month to see the current flavors I was missing. Perhaps that's pathetic to some of you but I support local business with great ingredients! Even if it is ice cream. :)

I had live tropical porridge last night as my dinner/desert, in lieu of salt and straw and Burgerville. I went with the super healthy option. 

So good! I'm going to try to recreate this.

Wyan told me if I wanted to swim in a pool I could go down the lane to Inah Inn and swim at their home stay. So the day before yesterday Alain, Michael and I went swimming there. As we were leaving the staff saw us and asked where we were staying. I told them and mentioned that Wyan said it was okay. They asked what we were paying to stay there and after responding they told me if I paid $5 more I could come there to swim! 

What!? 

The unfortunate part is that I have referred several people to them AND the place I'm currently staying at. However they don't speak or understand good enough English for me to inform them of this. In the states I could explain that to them and they'd probably let me come back. Again, FRUSTRATING!   

This is the pool, looking back in the direction of our place. 

Well thats all my thoughts for this posting. Have a good rest of your day, whatever time it is for you. Where ever you are in the world.