Good-bye South East Asia...

Trip Start Aug 12, 2008
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Trip End Nov 21, 2008


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Where I stayed
Padang Padang Inn
(Uluwatu hotels)

Flag of Indonesia  , Bali,
Tuesday, September 30, 2008

After our engagement, life was in sort of a bubble for us.  We arrived back at Padang Padang Inn to all our friends, scored really good waves.  They dropped, so we took a trip out to Nusa Lembongan (an island just off the coast of the Bukit Peninsula).  We were so settled into the Balinese culture, were loving the people and the food.  We were on our engagement high, Iīd say it was the best part of the trip, as far as how great our days felt consistently.  I surfed a ton in Nusa.

We came back after 3 days (longer than we planned), and did a day trip to Ubud.  This place is the cultural center of Bali, and a sort of artist hub.  I really, really, really, liked this place.  Like Chiang Mai in Thailand, or Cuzco in Peru, this place just hits you right when you get there, and you get it right away.  Itīs always like that when the indigenous culture is still preserved, or even the present day culture is so palpable, that youīre automatically amped on it, you can feel the energy.  We dug it.

The monkey forest is a fun day trip.  There were hundreds of monkeys, and the scenery looks like Indiana Jones.  Itīs so sad that I use that movie to describe here and the temples in Cambodia, but it really does. Maybe it was part II, but it reminded me of it.  The monkeys werenīt as aggressive as they were at the Uluwatu temple, but definitely unafraid of our presence. 

The food in Ubud.  Oh, the food.  I donīt know anything I ate, donīt know what to call it, but I want it again.  Isane presentations and surprises in every bite. 

After Ubud, we had 3 more days of surfing.  I went off.  2 or 3 times a day, mostly Uluwatu, swell was dying again.  We had a dinner in Jimbarran, they set up tables on the sand, and you grind down on fresh seafood all night for about 20 dollars.  A must do.  We did. 


The ending:

You know, 2 months ago, we arrived in Bangkok timid, but anxious.  Unsure of all we would see, but curious up to every little detail about stuff we never knew existed.  After hikes in North Thailand, boat trips in Laos, Bus Rides through Vietnam, tuk-tuk explorations of Cambodia, relaxation on the beaches in Southern Thailand, and surf in Bali; all I can say is that Iīm gonna miss it, and "Sabaidee" (Laos) or "Terima Kasih" (Bali).  The street market hassling, the curries, made ten-thousand different ways.  The backpackers who have been travelling since 98.  The other
backpackers who paid double what we paid yesterday.  Wayan, Nyoman,
Made, and Ketut. The history.  The wandering monks.  Those crazy expats.  We wonīt miss the station touts, the fake "agencies", or the mosquitos, Lauren definitely wonīt miss the mossies.  Hostels for 8 dollars, dinner for 3 dollars, beers for 50 cents, Magnum ice creams bars at bus stations for 2 dollars, always worth it.  Same, same, but different.  Warm water at the beach, cold water in the shower.  The sunsets in Ko Phi Phi, Ko Tao, and Bali.  The motorbikes.  Lonely Planetīs advice being spot on at every detail!!!  Itīs all for memory and story now, but one trip that weīll never forget.  These are the times you realize that life is truly a blessing, truly miraculous, itīs just up to you to find it...

New Zealand and South America, here we come!!!
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