Advertisement
Published: January 15th 2012
Edit Blog Post
Hi everyone and happy new year,
We arrived in Ubud, Bali on a rainy evening on December 23rd after almost a month on Lombok Island. We moved into a small vacation cottage for a week (I had pre-booked it on the internet). We had a great week exploring Ubud's art scene, temples, great restaurants, the monkey forest, yoga studios, shops, masseurs, and just resting. Christmas morning was spent eating a lovely brunch on our veranda, talking to family back home on the phone, having friends that we met at the IHF Centre (where Gemma and I volunteered in November) visit, going out for a lovely meal and ending the day with a massage. Very different from how we spend Christmas at home. New Year's eve was more exciting. We went to a Michael Franti outdoor benefit concert.....we danced under the stars (and fireworks) well past mid-night. What a great way to bring in 2012! It was a concert we all could enjoy and sometimes that is challenging to find with a 13 year old, 18 year old and then us "old folks!"
We moved into a fairly large house on January 1st. We all have our own bedroom, a
large kitchen, dining room, 2 bathrooms, a living room, an additional sitting room......we feel like we live in a mansion after spending 4 months traveling, staying in small-one-room bungalows and guest houses and living out of backpacks! We may just end up staying here the remainder of our trip with side trips to other places in Indonesia (Java, Flores Island and Komodo Island) and maybe Australia......Gemma especially finds it very challenging to "travel" and not have her own space. When we travel, it's very hard for her to focus on her homeschooling.
Jeff and I have met a group of friends here in Ubud - mostly ex-pats and also some locals. It's great to do some of the things we normally do at home - i.e. have friends over for dinner, have a "games" night, etc. It's funny how we have come to the other side of the world and crave familar activities - it's the sense of community we want and that is hard to find when you're always on the move and wearing the "tourist hat".
We're hoping that Gemma will meet some friends here. We've hired a tutor for Gemma on a part-time basis to
help her with her homeschooling (a young Canadian teacher). Starting next week, Gemma is also going to join a drama class for other children who are homeschooled in Ubud. This will be a chance to meet other kids. They are younger than her (mostly 10 and 11). Lucas connected with a group of 17 and 18 year olds when he was here and even did a overnight hiking trip with 4 of them. Lucas left for Thailand on Jan. 12th where he is going to travel with his buddy Justin and a couple of other friends from Kimberley/Cranbrook for 2 months. He'll join us again in March until the beginning of May when he returns to Kimberley.
It's rainy season here, and it's really raining this month - sometimes up to 4 hours/day. The good side is that it's not quite as hot as the dry season - just warm and very humid. We have motorcycles (not a car), so we have been soaked many times. My day to day life consists of volunteering, walking, yoga, meeting up with friends, going to the market, cooking, reading, helping Gemma with homeschooling...and all those "normal" day to day activities. We try
and do some special outings a few times a week, but often get caught in rain storms. Last week, Gemma and I took part in an all day cooking class where we learned how to make 7 Indonesian dishes - yum! Gemma just got back from spending 3 days in East Bali at the IHF Centre. She loves the children there. I volunteer at a foundation here in Ubud called Kupu Kupu (it means butterfly in Indonesian). Check out their web-site.
http://www.kupukupufoundation.org/
Kupu Kupu provides services to children and adults with disabilities. On Tuesdays, I teach English to the two women with physical disabilities who work at the art gallery/gift shop. Everything sold at the shop has been made by people with disabilities here in Bali. On Fridays, I go to the school/day centre for children and help out. Gemma is going to come with me, but has been away or feeling ill the past two weeks since I started. I'm hoping to be able to raise some money for the foundation when I get home. They really are a great "grassroots" organization. Public services for people with disabilities are non-existant here.
Jeff's dad passed away last
month, so that has been difficult to deal with being so far away. His family had a small graveside service and we will all have a memorial when we get home in the summer. We are grateful for the internet to connect with people back home, but in this case, we feel so far away.
Sending love to all of you, Kevi and Jeff
Advertisement
Tot: 0.113s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 12; qc: 56; dbt: 0.0444s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
gary clohan
non-member comment
we are in toowoomba
Hi Kevi, Well, we have settled into Toowoomba (west of Brisbane). Went on a nice 2 week camping trip to some inland parks and then the beach and had great weather. We are in a big house with spare bedrooms, so you are more than welcome if you want to come for a visit, but after a scan of your blog it sounds like you'd be better to just hang out where you are. Not that it isn't nice around here, it is, but we are basically in an upscale suburban neighborhood and after being in Indonesia the prices for things here would drive you crazy. Best non-Aussie travel deals seem to be to either Vanuatu or Fiji, mostly week-long resort deals but airfares aren't bad. We will probably go to Tasmania for the school break in April and then some more exotic locale for one of the other breaks, perhaps Bali, so may hit you up for tips on than down the road. Hope all continues to go well, Gary