LAOS | Saturday, 29 Dec 2007 | Photo Gallery
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LAOS | Monday, 24 Dec 2007 | Views [4235] | Comments [1]
I celebrated my 33 rd birthday by riding an elephant. Her name is Meixi, and she’s 45 years old. She is “retired” from logging work and now just has to carry around tourists for a few hours a day, which is apparently much less taxing than logging ... Read more >
Tags: adventures, birthdays, celebrations, elephants, luang prabang
LAOS | Monday, 24 Dec 2007 | Views [1978]
My jaw was dropping from the moment I stepped off the plane. Flying in, all I could see were green mountains, rivers, and the occasional dirt road and small village. It felt like flying into the middle of nowhere, a small town surrounded by ... Read more >
Tags: cia and hmong fighters, cities, lao history, luang prabang
THAILAND | Friday, 21 Dec 2007 | Views [1118]
It’s been like a Muay Thai boxing match: Thailand’s germs and bugs 3, Justine’s immune system 0. I start to get better from one thing and something else unexpectedly knocks me out. It’s been frustrating, as I’ve seen little of Northern Thailand ... Read more >
Tags: christmas, on the road, spirituality
THAILAND | Tuesday, 11 Dec 2007 | Views [2169] | Comments [2]
I haven’t written in nearly two weeks because I’ve been sick. First it was a nasty cold that slowed me down and then that turned into a nasty sinus infection that makes me just want to chop off my head. I kept thinking that if I just rested ... Read more >
Tags: chiang mai, doctors, hospitals & health, sickness
THAILAND | Thursday, 29 Nov 2007 | Views [17077] | Comments [2]
Last night I spent the night in a Muslim floating fishing village called Koh Panyi. It’s a village of about 2,500 people, entirely constructed on stilts over the water, just in the lee of a small island right in the middle of the spot where the ... Read more >
Tags: adventures, andaman sea, koh panyi, phang-nga bay, philosophy of travel
THAILAND | Thursday, 29 Nov 2007 | Views [11249]
I ended up in Krabi town for Loy Krathong quite by accident, as a result of a double whammy of food poisoning (first night in town) and a vicious bed bug attack (second night in town). A normal person would have fled town, never to return, not ... Read more >
Tags: celebrations, culture, festivals, krabi, loy krathong
THAILAND | Thursday, 29 Nov 2007 | Views [957]
Coming soon: tales of tropical islands, teaching yoga on the beach to an Aussie rugby player, Brits Brits everywhere, projectile vomiting in Krabi town, a vicious attack by bed bugs, and other adventures.
Tags: adventures
SINGAPORE | Sunday, 18 Nov 2007 | Views [2111]
I left Bali late on Thursday evening and flew to Singapore. I had heard about the wonders of Changi airport -- reclining chairs for naps, a rooftop pool and gym, free internet, free movies, great shopping, good food -- and figured it wouldn't be ... Read more >
Tags: airports, changi airport, in transit, jet star, layovers, singapore
THAILAND | Sunday, 18 Nov 2007 | Photo Gallery
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INDONESIA | Thursday, 15 Nov 2007 | Views [2649]
Everyone comes to Tulamben on Bali's north coast to dive the wreck of the U.S.A.T Liberty, a US Navy cargo ship that was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in January 1942. Apparently there were no casualties, but the ship was a wreck so it was towed ... Read more >
Tags: bali, diving, tulamben, wrecks
INDONESIA | Thursday, 15 Nov 2007 | Views [1544]
On Monday, Kiki and I parted ways. I wanted to spend my last few days in Bali by the sea, and she preferred to stay in Ubud. It felt good to get on a bus again and to be back in motion again, glimpsing gorgeous bits of green countryside along ... Read more >
Tags: amed, bali, on the road, snorkelling
INDONESIA | Thursday, 15 Nov 2007 | Views [9876] | Comments [1]
No trip journal is complete without a discussion of the diversity of cultural traditions around that all-important human institution: the bathroom. I have received no formal training in the analysis of bathroom rituals and traditions, and what I ... Read more >
Tags: bali, culture, minor mishaps, toilets
INDONESIA | Thursday, 15 Nov 2007 | Views [11561] | Comments [2]
In Bali yesterday, November 10 th , [the posting was a little delayed] was the day to honor Saraswati, the Goddess of Knowledge, Learning, and Creativity. She’s this lovely slim woman, floating above a lotus flower (symbolizing the openness required ... Read more >
Tags: bali, ceremony, rituals, saraswati, ubud
INDONESIA | Friday, 9 Nov 2007 | Views [1832]
Every time I sit down in an internet café, I get a little tense. So many emails to read, thoughtful replies I wish to craft, research, logistics, and plans to figure out for my Thailand trip, finances to track, photos to download, select, and ... Read more >
Tags: bali, balispirit, meditation, ubud, yoga
INDONESIA | Thursday, 1 Nov 2007 | Photo Gallery
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INDONESIA | Thursday, 1 Nov 2007 | Views [24191] | Comments [18]
I had read about Wayan, the Balinese healer in Eat, Pray, Love , and stumbled across her shop here in Ubud during my ramblings around the town. I was curious...but also felt a little silly about my curiosity, like I was being a groupie. Outside ... Read more >
Tags: a scam?, bali, eat, love, pray, traditional healer, ubud
INDONESIA | Tuesday, 23 Oct 2007 | Views [3001] | Comments [4]
I arrived in Ubud on a wave of flow. My guesthouse, Narasoma , was beautiful – very simple,
but with lovely accents like carved wood beds draped romantically with
mosquito netting, statues of Buddhas and Hindu gods surrounded by flowers,
sweeping ... Read more >
Tags: bali, heat exhaustion, solitude, ubud
INDONESIA | Monday, 22 Oct 2007 | Views [2808]
I crossed both the International Date Line AND the Equator in one day! I've never done that before, and for some reason I find it incredibly exciting. In fact, I've never been south of the equator. I'm still trying to get my head around the time ... Read more >
Tags: arrival, bali, beaches, jet lag, sanur
USA | Thursday, 18 Oct 2007 | Views [854]
It's 12.33 am and I had intended to go to bed at midnight. My flight leaves at 6 am, which means waking up at the ungodly hour of 4 am. But I'll have about 30 hours of travel time to catch up on sleep before I arrive in Denpasar Friday night at 11 ... Read more >
Tags: pre-departure, the planning phase, why travel?
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