Travel Blog Posts
June 2nd 2007
We made it home - safe and sound - after 2 long days of travel. As we settle back into things familiar, it's easy to leave the lessons learned behind. So we are trying to stay in touch with what we learned and experienced on the other side of this great big planet. Our lessons include: 1. Be grateful - we are so fortunate. We have health, safety, shelter, food and many luxuries beyond that. As Canadians, we are so privileged with an abundance of "things", yet we often take it for granted (and consequently forget) the abundance of simple pleasures that surround us -- love, laughter, beauty, 2. Gather with those you love. It’s a source of great joy and satisfaction. 3. The "real" journey is within -- the outer journey mirrors our inner ... read more
May 31st 2007
Homeward Bound! Untitled Our trip The sun rises above the island Bali - the early morning mists give way to a tropical paradise filled with flowers and green. The ocean brings a bounty of food and fun. The local women begin the day by preparing offerings for the deities - prayers for blessings. The scent of incense wafts through the air - mixing with the sweet smell of Frangipani. A new day begins ... and, so began our last morning in Bali. It's hard to believe that a month has passed -- we have been blessed to have the means to take such a great adventure!! Somewhere it has been said that the act of travel allows one to leave behind an old way of seeing, and return renewed and open to living anew. There ... read more
Monkey forests, elephant rides, and infinity pools!
Published: May 21st 2007Asia » Indonesia » Bali » Ubud
May 21st 2007
Driving north to Ubud (the "cultural" centre of Bali) - the roads narrow, the drivers are ridiculously bold, the earth greens with the terraced fields of rice ... We arrive at our "swanky" boutique hotel - aLiLa - the air is fresh and humid, the terraced hillsides are all shades of green with jungle, a tribe of monkeys greet our arrival. What a cool place!! Looking out over the "infinity pool" (rated one of the best 50 pools on the planet ... who makes these lists??!!) to the countryside and a calm settles over us. This is definitely a differant Bali than Kuta!! Devin has decided he'd like to be an elephant trainer (he's as comfortable on an elephant as he is on Pongo, our quarterhorse!). Ambling through the jungle on a 3 ton animal ... read more
May 18th 2007
It's +32 degrees (C), the sun is directly overhead ... the low pressure system between here and australia (combined with a new moon) has made swells over 20 feet high - which to a landlocked calgarian look something like base jumping off the calgary tower!! Maybe today is a good day to sit these waves out!! At least we've been to the surf a few times already. With Dad's support in the push off Devin managed about 10 good rides on his first day surfing in Kuta. He decided "surfing rocks!!" --- until he got a mouthful of the Indian Ocean and decided that boogie boarding might be a better option. Phil on the other hand managed about 10 good bails! Surfing seems a lot tougher for an over 40 less than perfectly nimble dude! ... read more
May 14th 2007
Bali - scuba devin This is Phil's first travel update. After spending 3 days in Jakatra working I arrived Saturday afternoon. The work portion of Indonesia went very well and was extremely rewarding. As a consultant, it's always a good sign when you are invited back. It looks like I'll be back to Malaysia and Indonesia within the next 12 months, which I'm very happy about. As usual, it took almost a full week for me to work through the jet lag and I'm now feeling fully recalibrated and well rested. It was wonderful to arrive in Bali and see Devin and Jan. I'm so happy we can experience this adventure together. Typical words used to describe Bali are tropical, tranquil, beautiful and exotic. All would be true. We have a somewhat tilted view of ... read more
The Foi Gras was delicious!
Published: May 9th 2007Asia » Malaysia » Wilayah Persekutuan » Kuala Lumpur
May 9th 2007
On the road We arrived in Malaysia after 35 hours en route (Calgary-LA-Bankok-KL) - Devin set a new sleep record (rather a "no sleep" record - managing only 7 hours of sleep out of 56 hours!! Not a good situation for a 7 year old - though he managed well with characteristic good humour and curiosity!!). Needless to say - we arrived tired despite the excellent Foi Gras they served us in business class!! Sadly, our luggage chose not to accompany us -- deciding to take a vacation in LA instead :( As of today (May 9) they are still looking for mom's luggage, and can only tell us that it is "still pending" --- translation: "we have absolutely no idea where it is, and refuse to accept any accountability for it". They did however ... read more
May 1st 2007
The beginningIt is only 4 days until we are off on our adventure!! I'm not sure what to expect .... what kind of food will i eat? (my mom says lots of rice!) How will we talk to the people we meet? Will we understand eachother?? (my mom says kindness is universal - and a smile is the same in any language!) What kinds of things will i see and do? Only time will tell .... stay tuned!!!... read more
Tot: 0.065s; Tpl: 0.002s; cc: 10; qc: 69; dbt: 0.0446s; 1; s:notus w:www (50.28.60.10); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.6mb
