Travel stories written while I’m on the road exploring. So many adventures and experiences pop up each day, I’ll begin by managing them under travel stories and invite you to follow along.
I’ve been back for nearly 36 hours now. The surreal part of being here is that it doesn’t feel like I’ve been gone long. The other part is my home isn’t my home. I packed everything up in the bedroom, closet, hall closet, bathroom, kitchen cabinets, cleaned out the fridge and minimized the office. Everything […]
Back in the USA….mostly! Read More »
Walking in Little India I saw a sign at a restaurant advertising “Free Coffee” with any order of our pig organ soup. You might need something stronger than coffee with that?! Tonight on my way home, I saw a sign in the MRT indicating a fine of $500 if you are caught eating or drinking
Free coffee and free fall…. Read More »
I met with my friend Mei this afternoon for a coffee at the Coffee Bean. While waiting for them to make my iced coffee, I watched the activity behind the bar. NO ONE was very friendly or appeared to be very happy. They were seemingly efficient. I watched the espresso get dosed, then tamped….weakly, knowing
Caught a bug in Singapore Read More »
My last day in Ubud, one moment that stands out was when I made several wrong turns looking for Yeh Pelu. I had just stopped and asked for directions before riding on and spotting a small road that went straight where the road curved. I took the curve and stopped about 200 meters later feeling
Arrived in Singapore! What a great and full day…. Read More »
I had Miki’s motor bike for the day yesterday, my last full day here. The morning was taken up with writing as I sat on my porch, sipped coffee, listened to roosters and wrote. That was lovely. Several gift ideas were on my mind so I went shopping on my way to the ATM. One
Yesterday was a day for visiting healers here. At 8:30, I drove over to Wayan’s for the trip to visit the Holy Knife. I wanted to take the motor bike so I could come back slowly taking photo’s. She was a bit in disarray having lost the phone number for her driver Mario. By 9:00,
Hot Flashes and SORE Muscles Read More »
Yesterday, I stopped by to say hello to Wayan. She was busy but told me to come back in two hours at 5:00 pm and we’d go see the Holy Knife. He’s a village spiritual priest and does work with people on the spiritual energy causing or effecting their physical health. Many cultures around the
Healing and healers Read More »
I woke early this morning. My left ear was plugged and I couldn’t near anything from it. Maybe it was the hours in the pool yesterday. Maybe it was seeing Nyoman, the reflexology oriented healer, for two days in a row? Maybe my body is preparing to go home, my ears and sinus’s go through
I wrote earlier today about feeling the energy of my trip changing significantly. On my way home, I had trouble with my motor bike starting up a steep hill. Changing gears and holding the throttle a little too open, I popped a wheelie going uphill for about 20 yards. The front tire landed softly and
Pummeled, bruised and healed! Read More »
Yesterday was the first day of the Balinese New Year. I wrote about NYEPI earlier. I left Dewa’s around 5:00 pm the day before heading toward the royal palace and the Ogah Ogah Parade, the parade of the demon effigies they build. It’s not as large of an event here in Ubud as in other
Today, I had a lazy start to the day. It’s the first time in weeks I haven’t gotten up before 5:30! I went back to sleep and got up at 7:30 happy I missed the dolphin watching trip. The guides are so hungry for money, they parked on my friend Mono’s bungalow porch, signed up
Lovina and Balinese New Year Read More »
My friend Jim is now roasting coffee beans in Longmont. He got some very good beans last fall from Bali and shared the result with me. Here’s how that works. One the beans are ripe, they are harvested and then dried. The dried cherry is either washed off or taken off through a mill of
After a restless night Friday, I woke Saturday morning groggy and unsettled. I woke often, hot and thirsty, drifted back to sleep, woke again, was up from 3;00 until 5:00 am, and finally got up at 6:30. My energy felt unsettled to say the least. The day before, I’d heard something about a baby naming
Lovina, beach, dolphin and hungry touts! Read More »
Busy…. In a few short weeks, I’ll be returning to the US and am finding myself preparing for that re-entry. The time I have left is perhaps more vacation than many people in the US take! I read last year that less than 20% of American’s take all the vacation allotted to them. The US
Preparing for re-entry: cultural and work change! Read More »
I’ve been here almost one week. It doesn’t seem possible it’s been that long?! Ubud has it’s own vibe and while it’s a spiritual center of sorts, there is definitely a buzz in the air to get out and do something, go somewhere, have a massage, try a different meal, or take a walk. Hitting
A quiet lull in Ubud Read More »
I left after my last writing to meet the car. The woman who was going and had walked by much earlier was still sitting there in the center of the family compound arguing with Dewa about a price he’d given her for the tour she wanted to do the next day. She’d been up there
Another perfect twist! Read More »
I was having lunch at Artini’s before going by motor bike with Dewa to Kintamani and the markets. During lunch, I realized I felt so mellow from the work with Eddy this morning, it would probably be better if I waited until tomorrow morning to go. Eddy did acupuncture with me for nearly two hours,
Another amazing moment AND more healers! Read More »
I’ve only been in Ubud a few days and time seems to be flying by. Now that I’m here, I’m not traveling anymore. I’ve got no more long bus rides, don’t plan to involve any ferries, no flights to book, lodging it taken care of and my most demanding activity is deciding if to get
I heard that phrase several years ago. It was used in reference to how much life is changing. In the past, people looked “down the road” at their life goals, where they wanted to be, what they wanted to do, planning for retirement and career and life. Recently, with the changes in the economy, culture,
The light shines on your next step Read More »
I made it here to Seraya Island. My French friends I met early in my trip, when I landed in Penang, were so enthusiastic about it and wrote down all the instructions for how to get here. I put those instructions in my computer case so they would remain handy for the duration of my