Gilly Trawangan

 Home sweet Kuta. Back in Bali after four days of exploring reefs and waves in clear blue water with a snorkel, fin (one was lost in a big wave..) and one of the waterproof cameras.. my favorite thing was diving down and watching waves break from underneath, especially when surfers caught the waves and sliced through them like fish.. and diving down amongst brilliant blue, yellow and green fish, sea turtles, anemones and strange coral shapes.

As soon as you step off the brightly painted ferry into the water you realize you've stepped into a sort of paradise. The colors of the water are completely untranslatable in pigments or words- blues that make your eyes ache, contrasting with the ivory colored sand that lines the beaches and roads.

We stayed in small backpacker rooms, rented bikes and spent our evenings eating delicious nasi goreng and banana pancakes at the night market. It would be so easy to go on like that for weeks, but instead we've returned to Kuta and are now planning some more motorbike daytrips for the next few days before we say farewell to Indonesia and g'day Australia.


Strange to think that tomorrow's the 4th of July. How did it get to be July already?

unbalivable.

Where to begin? So much has happened, and it's always hard to imagine wasting time typing on a computer when I'd rather be out exploring. Every few moments or so it strikes me that yes, I am indeed in Bali.

Our first week here started out with us spending far too much time in the Bali Medical Center waiting room, and then in a tiresome search for a cheap homestay. Once we escaped the hospital with 17 days of antibiotics and probiotics in hand, we finally got to start exploring this incredible island we've landed on.

As it was in Cambodia, motorbikes are a pretty sweet way to get around in Bali. Many of our days have evolved into motorbike daytrips that involve weaving our way through shockingly green stepped rice fields and tiny village markets to such places as the culturally rich city of Ubud or in search of perfect indo waves at Canngu, Ulu Watu and Padang Padang. We've spent a few other days hanging around in Kuta, with Jon competing with the locals for the little but fun waves, and today I finally joined in the surfing after renting the limousine of all surfboards- or what seemed like it anyways. I'm not ready to turn pro, but I managed to get on my feet a few times on the baby waves. This could turn into a serious addiction. Fortunately, if you meet cool surf shop people they'll rent you a board for 25,000rp per day, which is about $3.

Tomorrow I'm planning to wake up early to wander over to the market at Bemo Corner and buy some fruits fresh off the mountains in the North. The locals start their day very early, and apparently it's the best time to see what local life is really like, since it's the time they do all their food shopping for the day, make offerings, and socialize. Speaking of socializing, our homestay hostel was filled with people and incredible looking food today and one of the ladies told me they were having a 6 month celebration for a baby. All of the men and women seemed to be sitting separately while eating, laughing and chatting away in musical sounding Indonesian. The women were wearing beautifully printed batik sarongs, frangipani blooms in their hair and small, brightly colored silk temple sashes around their waists.

On Wednesday, we head to the Gilly Islands, which are North of Lombok- which is the next major Indonesian Island east of Bali. Gilly Trawangan is where we're headed first- it has incredible walk in snorkeling beaches, surf breaks and beautiful white sand beaches. So many people I've talked to have mentioned it, so it will be amazing to see it for ourselves. How can one resist coral bays filled with seahorses, seaturtles, mantarays and leopard sharks?

Photos coming soon, hopefully!

The waves in Bali...

Paradise, with a dose of parasites..

We've made it to Bali! The streets here are littered with frangipani blossoms, stray dogs, empty coconut husks, and these ornate little woven coconut leaf basket offerings filled with brightly colored sticky rice cakes, flowers, cookies & other odd things. Even as our plane was touching down at the Ngurah Rai airport, I looked over and saw these perfect sheaths of white waves breaking in neat rows.. We spent most of our first two days here in a hospital, but have finally found out what's been making Jon so sick (a pesky parasite!) and he's now on the road to recovery, thank goodness!

Yesterday we rented a motorbike and were able to zoom about the streets & sidewalks of Kuta. Jon did really weaving in about the sometimes hectic local traffic, and the fact that they drive on the left side of the road. We got happily lost in tiny backstreets amongst rice fields, tiny dusty shops selling everything from fruits to giant teddy bears and with a thousand kites in the air above us. We passed lots of children toting around massive and fancifully shaped kites, which seem to have a bamboo frame. At one point I even saw a large frame that was being constructed for a large kite about the length and width of an SUV.

Well, time to go check out the waves! Jon's going to check out about renting a board today and might even be kind enough to give me a surf lesson or two on these incredible waves! This is surf paradise, so I hope I pick it up fast! :)

Sawatdee ka Phi Phi Island!

Sawat dee ka! We're on the incredible phi phi island now, aka paradise! One of the coolest things we've done here was swim across this pretty big channel- longest swim I've ever done to this monkey island, where we got chased by monkeys!


The only problem with this place is that it's given us our first few injuries- me with a cut foot, Leslie with a bad jelly sting on the bum and Jon has some kind of feverish flu. Luckily one of the thai boatmen from our longtail snorkel ride yesterday crushed up some plants with a seashell to help Leslie's sting, and we're trying to help Jon heal with rest, meds, pedialite (so glad we have it- bought more today at the tonsai pharmacy because also the water here tastes unbearably bad after we filter it), mango smoothies, thai chicken broth and banana/ peanut butter thai pancakes.

Have to run.. but all is well and we have 1 more day here til we fly south..

Cambodia

wandering through the temples of Cambodia..

Biking in the Cambodian countryside!

Yesterday started early- we woke before the sun and biked madly along the roads of Siem Reap to try to catch the Angor Wat sunrise. I'm so happy we were able to rent bikes the night before (at 11pm or so!)- they were trusty little blue and white beach cruisers. I caught it in time, even after being chased a bit by the Siem Reap police for not stopping to show my pass (I thought they were overzealous street vendors or tuk tuk drivers). It was not the most colorful sunrise, but still spectacular to see the silhoutted stuppas of Angor Wat rising into the sky, and reflecting in the water that surrounds the complex. I couldn't believe how many Wats (temples- Angor Wat means "city temple") there are in the 40k radius of Siem Reap, which is a small Cambodian town that is built next to the region where the Angor Dynasty built an architectural paradise in the 9th-14th centuries. Needless to say, I was in photography heaven and will have many photos to show when I have the time!

Now that I'm back in Bangkok, it scarcely seems real that we got see the temples of Angor. Wandering through them feels so dreamlike for me, because of how powerful it is to be surrounded by the aesthetic remains of an ancient culture. Time has certainly taken a toll on the temples, many of which lay in heaps or have been laid out block by block by architectural restoration groups who have the arduous task of putting together a crumbling, ancient, moss-covered puzzle. Sounds pretty fun actually! My favorite site (the names have blurred together of the 8 or 10 temples we saw) was built very high, and overlooked the surrounding jungle. It was built from a pink limestone, and had massive stone elephants guarding the corners of its lower walls. As you walk up the stairs to the temple there was this amazing series of doorways which stood like picture frames against the sky. It was a very sunny day, with a bright blue sky so it was visually quite stunning. At the top of one set of stairs there was even a bright yellow canna lily that was in bloom! We also found a rather curious little brightly colored bug which looked either like some sort of tacky blue aluminium jewelry or an alien, and it was fighting a cambodian cockroach. We're not sure if the bug was poisonous, but it sure looked it and we spent about 5 minutes just watching the bugs. We tried to ask some local kids that were hanging around what the bug was but they didn't speak much English.

We spent the rest of the day biking around the backroads of Siem Reap, which was such an incredible way to move about since it meant we were free to go where we pleased and were able to escape the crowds of tourists for the most part. We think we went around 50 miles total yesterday, since the furthest temple was 38k from town and we went further down a road than we needed to. But it was a lovely mistake because we got to see what small town Cambodia is like. So many beautiful farms- watery fields of grasses and rice that are a shade of brilliant green that I only see for a week or so during the first moments of spring. The red dirt roads were lined with lush coconut palms, and motorbikes and bicycles are definitely the way to get around in Cambodia. Even tiny children who look barely old enough to walk manage to scoot around in adult sized bikes, and tiny motorbike engines are pushed to their limits as they pull carts filled to the brim with such things as lotus blossoms, sticks, dried thatch, coconuts or other foods and supplies.

Speaking of food, I must say Cambodians are genius for creating amouk- a dish in which they cook richly spiced chicken or fish inside a coconut (cost $2.80 or 9000 riel). And yes, it is as delicious as it sounds! I also had mango smoothies, fried banana pancakes, coconut curry eel and tried a palm wine that we think was made from this amazing gigantic palm nut that dropped out of a palm by Leslie at the entrance to Angor Wat. It was very sweet and honeylike- quite delicious. I must say though, I was disappointed that we didn't have time to try any fried spider or grasshopper from the street carts. Also they sold some kind of snake whiskey that Leslie saw, which had a pickled cobra inside it. Only in Cambodia.

Thailand today, Cambodia tomorrow!

Well as you've noticed, we're in Bangkok now, surrounded by beautiful orchids, tuk tuks zooming about, rain dripping off fern leaves, colorfully painted buildings, elaborate thai & hindu temples and the people here are very kind.. since Tibet was closed, we rerouted to Thailand, and will be going through Cambodia and then to Bali before heading down to Sydney.

We met a really sweet Danish girl who's staying in our dorm at New Road Guest House who is traveling for 6 months through Asia- she's giving us great advice on Cambodia and other places we're going.

Tomorrow we have an early start and are planning to go to Siem Reap, Cambodia - which is the city in the Angor region where the Angor Wat temples were built by the Khmer dynasty in the 9th-14th century. I feel so lucky to have a chance to walk amongst such incredibly ancient examples of architectural beauty. Cambodia has a very painful history, and it's amazing that these temples have endured through it all.


Earlier today we took a Tuk Tuk from Charoen Krung Rd (where our lovely hostel is) to Chon Sai rd (??) and booked a flight to Bali! Then it started pouring with rain and we had pad thai and thai empanadas before heading again in a tuk tuk in the rain. Tuk tuks are funny little open air golf cart type things that are cheaper than taxis and way more fun! Especially in the rain.. Jon made a video of our trip so you'll get to see what it's like later.

So now the plan is 4 hr bus to Cambodia for a few days, then head back to Bangkok, down to Phuket by 14 hr bus, then over to Phi Phi Island and possibly Railay by ferry. Then on the 19th Christy & Leslie head up to Nepal and home, while Jon & I head over to Bali for almost 3 weeks, then 3 days in Sydney and 2 weeks in Fiji.



So I won't be in Phi Phi Island for my birthday anymore.. I'll be in Bali. Am I dreaming?

Thai street food: Purple seaweed & mango cupcakes!

Day three in Bangkok! Started the day with a lovely walk through Charoen Krung Rd., through the river district of Bangkok, with Christy, Leslie & Jon. We got smoothies from Fruit Moose- mine was mango, passionfruit & lychee. Lychees are small fruits about the size of a ping pong ball with a mottled green, brown and red peel that makes them look like a kind of dry nut. But inside there is a small clear fruit with the texture of a peeled grape and a very tangy sweet flavor. I wish we could get them in America! We've been enjoying the food here so much, and it's quite easy to do because not only is it incredibly cheap, but as Christy & Jon agreed, it's like an all-day buffet. Every hour of the day there is a different assortment of food carts lining the streets offering everything from ornately sliced tropical fruits to sweet smelling curries to various types of meat on a stick. I honestly think you can walk through Bangkok and never be more than a block away from someone ready to stir fry a fresh batch of pad thai for you, complete with fresh thai basil, leeks and diced peanuts for around 50 baht ($1.50).

In my three days here so far, I've tried bananas fried in what I think was coconut oil, mango cupcakes with shredded toasted coconut on top, handmade pork sausage with lemongrass smoked in coconut smelling chips, a mango-lychee-passionfruit smoothie, seaweed wonton-shaped pouches (colored purple & white) filled with a finely diced garlic & peanut mix... and of course, several variations on pad thai! So far it's all been incredibly delicious, and safe- none of us have been sick. Perhaps we are just lucky, but the one advantage street food has vs. eating in a restaurant is that you can see how it's being stored & prepared. So if they pull the chicken in your pad thai off ice and cook it in an extremely hot wok before your eyes, then I feel pretty safe about eating it.

If only it were a little less oily, I would love being able to eat thai street food snacks throughout the day every day! I think they're definitely onto something and the flavors of coconut, peanut, garlic & the various sauces are always fascinating to me.

Wuhan: Day 2!

On the streets of Wuhan..

It's now our third day in China, early in the morning, and the sounds of the bustling city and slightly angry sounding high-pitched Mandarin is streaming through the paper thin walls.  I've managed to finally get the internet to work well enough to add some photos of our rainy exploration of Wuhan yesterday.. it's quite a magical feeling place.

Yesterday we had an amazing day exploring Wuhan with Leslie- who arrived here a week before us and has learned her weave her way around the local streets with ease, so we haven't even been lost once. Considering the crowdedness and overall newness of this place, this is quite an accomplishment!

The magical buildings of Wuhan..

a sculptural arrangement 

We only had a bit of difficulty find the shop that sells duck neck which she wanted us to try, since it is the local specialty, but we managed to find it by spotting the cheery sign- a smiling (and appropriately neckless?) duck face! They cure the neck, and pretty much every other part of the duck- even the head and feet in this spicy, slightly tangy & sweet flavoring. Leslie loves it, and surprisingly enough so did Jon and I, after mustering the bravery to bite into something it wouldn't even occur to me to eat!

Cleaning shrimp on the sidewalk..

Mangoes sand, Grilled oreos & Cool mango bing. Yum!

Dumpling makers..

Do dumplings cure jet-lag? Not quite. But they're still delicious!

She's cute, but somehow I don't trust her question mark soup.

We also went past lots of curious looking little shops selling such curious items as corn ice cream, gigantic frogs kept out on the sidewalk in bins (to be eaten, of course!), mysterious looking mechanical parts, or the glittery high heels that the women wear on these streets. Between the piles of trash, mud, loose bricks and slick mud it's pretty amazing that they are so motivated to look delicate & feminine that they put up with hobbling around painfully with muddy toes!

A lovely apartment in one of the old districts.. very miyazaki feeling!

Leslie & Jon by a curious garden sculpture

Another incredibly shocking thing about being here is realizing what severe pollution actually feels like. We hear about it all the time, and it's very easy to talk about how bad it is that humans are polluting the earth. But it takes on a whole new dimension when you look out from Christy's apartment window and the city is clothed in what would be a dreamy looking fog in San Francisco, but is actually just the mid-day pollution. Or walking around in the streets and realizing the air has not only a taste, but a texture. Christy has mentioned many times about how bad it is and how it's the norm here for people to have respiratory problems. But it's so hard to imagine how oppressive bad air quality can be until you experience it- and I've only felt three days of it!

from Christy's apartment, around 7am

 I now understand why she is so excited to get back home to Florida, and nearly tears up from emotion when seeing a rare patch of blue sky..

They recently demolished the land behind where she lives..

I try to look on the bright side though, so the bright side of this pollution is that you can almost imagine it is fog, in which case it is quite beautiful at filtering light and gives the city a very dramatic feel. Last night we hung out for a bit on the roof of Christy's apartment, which is above he 32nd floor. The city looked surreal- thousands of tiny lights beaming through the mist (well, the pollution..) and the buildings- which must've looked very futuristic indeed in the 1970s & 80s style stand patiently, but rather dejectly under 20 years of what appears to be grime, fire damage and haphazard wrecking balls operated at night under the direction of flashlights (Christy has actually observed this!). There is a certain beauty to the resilience of it all- the fact that in spite of everything, life goes on here and people are on the streets smiling, laughing, eating, trying to make a better life for themselves, just like all the rest of us..