Since the last travel blog post, we made our way
through Singapore [for 2 days] then to Indonesia.
China Town, Singapore
Our original plan was to fly from Thailand to Singapore and spend two full weeks there. When we decided to travel through Malaysia from Thailand via bus en route to Singapore, we knew our time would be limited there. We were OK with this as it is MUCH more expensive in Singapore than it is in Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia! We still were able to experience China Town and the beautiful Singapore waterfront.
On to Indonesia. Bali is an incredible place not
only for the perfect weather, but the culture as well.
As we were walking along Kuta Beach, we noticed these beautiful temples and structures sitting on the sand. There were tons of people around and they started to burn them to the ground. Little did we know, this was a funeral ceremony we were witnessing. We asked our cab driver about it by showing him these pictures, which is when he told us it must have been someone very wealthy since they were burning the bodies on the beach to cremate them. Eerie and definitely a culture shock. What an interesting ceremony in celebration of someone's life.
Kuta Beach
Kuta Beach Funeral
We have been enjoying massages, exploring temples...
Adam's Beautiful Flower Foot Treatment LOL
Capturing the offerings for the Hindu Gods inside a Temple.
In exchange for a donation, we were able to borrow sarongs and walk around a beautiful temple
Lotus flower inside the Temple
...exploring Art Galleries, volcanos, and we even met a guy on the beach who took us fishing which was AWESOME. I just so happened to catch the monster fish of the day- my first fish, too!
At an art gallery where this man was working on this intricate piece
Fishing with Blake!
My monster fishy and the boat we went out on!
Lunch looking out at this awesome volcano
Us and Batur volcano...sort of!
We spent almost a week
in Kuta and then made our way to Sanur where we currently are staying at
another AirBnb location. $20/night with A/C and drinking water provided=
perfect. Private bathroom and private entrance to our room. We love the cheap
countries!!
Our room!
So.. remember the movie The Bucket List with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman? Jack Nicholson loved his Kopi Luwak until he found out how it actually was made..
Production of Kopi Luwak: The luak, that’s a small catlike animal, gorges after dark on the most ripe, the best of our crop. It digests the fruit and expels the beans, which our farm people collect, wash, and roast, a real delicacy. Something about the natural fermentation that occurs in the luak’s stomach seems to make the difference. Kopi Luwak is one of the most expensive coffees in the world, selling for between US$100 and $600 per pound in 2010. Some specialty coffee shops sell cups of brewed Kopi Luwak for US$35–$80.
Well, we got to enjoy a cup for less than $5 and boy...was it strong.
A cup of Kopi Luwak
This is what it looks like fresh out of the little guy below.
The money maker.
We also got to taste tons of teas and coffees while we were there...for FREE! :)
Today we decided to go check out Monkey Forest.
Exactly how it sounds. There are monkeys EVERYWHERE. And they will literally jump
on your back if they want to… which happened to both of us before we left!
Yikes. We’ll let the photos speak for themselves!
We also bought this awesome
mask. They use these during the ceremonies and dancing productions- we bought
one at a local shop which was 10x better than getting one at a touristy
location.
We plan to head to Gili Island on Monday and
hopefully get some diving in there. We are LOVING Indonesia! I know a few people have messaged Adam or myself with questions about the places we are visiting and we LOVE THAT. Please contact us if you want to know more about anything or comment right on the blog.
We love hearing from people who are following our journey- it means the world to us!
It was bound to happen, and this definitely
isn’t the first time that it has- but the first time writing about it for sure.
Adam knows how this is going to go all too well- I think I’m already in tears.
HA It has almost been 5 months [give or take 2 weeks] since we left the United
States. I think it’s important to note that
prior to this life changing journey around the world, I had not left home
[Buffalo, NY] for more than a week at a
time. While in Buffalo, I either was living at my parents’ house or the
house I purchased myself [which was a whopping 20 minutes from their house]. I
went to Niagara County Community College and the University at Buffalo, which I
graduated with my BA in Communications from. During my college years I was
living at my parents and working a few jobs. I never did the whole “college”
thing, all I really remember is homework and working- slightly embarrassing I guess.
Oh well, I purchased and moved into my own house at 22 years old so YAY! LOL Having said all that- I have been a quick
drive to my parents and close vicinity to my friends my whole life. Well, until
now. And wow- you don’t realize how much you depend on family and friends until
they aren’t a phone call or a drive away. Adam and I share a phone and purchase
SIM cards in countries we spend a good amount of time in, but really only for
emergencies or local transportation phone calls. I struggled BIG TIME in New Zealand with
being away from home and the lack of cell phone service we had when in certain
locations. I found myself and my mind going to the worst possible things and
then I start to panic. For example- when we didn’t have service I would start
to think- OMG what if something happens and my parents can’t reach us. And then
my mind would suffer a tornado of thoughts and terrible things. I’m not sure
where that started but I think it stems from always being able to stay in
contact, to such an extreme- a different country and being so far away. Yikes.
Adam deserves a big gold medal for those times in New Zealand let me tell you.
My Parents, Myself & Adam at dinner at Mike A's in Buffalo-YUM!
The “separation anxiety” lasted only a
little while in New Zealand. By little while, I mean a few weeks. It’s tough
leaving your comfort zone and I didn’t think my feelings would go to such a
place, but they did. Things got better and we didn’t have to come home- PHEW. I find myself missing small things and
home A LOT lately. We are in such a beautiful place currently [Sanur, Bali;
Indonesia] and I don’t particularly want to GO HOME right now, but I miss
things about being home. We have been on the go for so long and the thought of
having a refrigerator full of food that we can cook sounds like a dream. The ability
to go to the gym or drive somewhere to camp/hike would be awesome. Having
to deal with taxis and finding transportation for everything we want to do that is not
in walking distance is something I will most definitely not miss. We currently
are still only traveling with our packs [and one satchel] which prevents us
from purchasing much of anything unless we are sending a package home. This
could be a good and bad I guess- as it stops us from buying much but once we
start we either have to think- can I pack this or am I shipping it home? Now let me think of how to phrase this.
I LOVE YOU ADAM…but can I get a little GIRL TIME PLEASE!!!
Leah's Birthday!
Our first date ended
up a Girls Night with Leah & AmyRae- that should have said something. Those
times when you just want to run to your girlfriends [or guys] and can’t, they
are some SERIOUS TIMES. I have found myself in the shower enjoying alone time
because I know for this journey- that’s about the only alone time we have.
Girls Night! Me, AmyRae, Leah, Tara & Marci
As
much as I do love my girl time and alone time- we stick together everywhere we
go and we truly are the best of friends. If I had to be STUCK with someone 24
hours a day for months straight- I pick Adam! Having said that…we have spent every
minute together since January 21 and the fact that we haven’t killed each other
yet is a miracle. If anything proves that two people are perfect for each other-
this is it. TRAVEL with your significant other. Buy a campervan and call that
your home for a month straight. Struggle with finding showers and tell me if
you still want to cuddle up every night with that person. In a van. Sleep in
cars when you have to and when you’ve had enough- go book a room and stay in
luxury. Push yourself to the limits and see if you still can wake up every
morning madly in love. I miss my PARENTS! Ugh do I EVER!!! We
email all the time but there’s nothing like some parental detox time. I can’t
wait to get home and hug the both of them so hard. I already told my dad I would
be crying and I may just start as I think about it. My parents have supported
us through this journey and I can’t imagine how scary it must be to watch your
little girl traveling around the world [with a bearded tattooed Marine, which
helps- HA!]. I love them both more than anything in the world and I can’t wait
to just hang out with them!
My Parents in Italy in May
I can’t wait to see everyone when we get
back. From my departure from Stampede Happy Hour, AmyRae’s going away dinner
party for me, and the going away party my parents threw- they all were SO much
fun and when I start to really miss home, I think of everyone who was there and
the amazing time we had.
Some of the BEST! We are so lucky.
It was such a blast and it’s so comforting knowing
Adam and I have such amazing people in our lives.
My family at the going away party my parents threw.
Our plan is to get back to the US and
road trip around the West Coast to find somewhere to live for at least a year.
Explore some locations in Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, California, etc. We aren’t
totally sure of our plan but we will know when our feet hit US soil. We are
hoping to find a place to settle down and then hopefully spend the holidays on
the East Coast with my parents and visit Adam’s family in Maine. But as we have
seen on this trip- you can’t plan too much because as things start to work
themselves out, plans always change. Always. What I do know is that I am very
excited for the turkey dinner my mom promised us as our welcome home dinner!
YUM. I feel that I am getting stronger and
stronger as the time goes on- but being away from family and friends never gets
easier! It will be settling to know that the place I called home, Buffalo NY,
will only be a plane ride away when we finally settle down on the West Coast. I am thankful for the things we are
learning, the people we have had the privilege to meet, and the culture we are
able to see and experience first hand. I wouldn’t trade this trip for anything.
It is a big world- there’s no better time to explore than now. But for now I can only dream… Tim
Horton’s. Wegmans. Mighty Taco. Marcos Subs. Tempo. Left Bank. Starbucks: Dirty
Chai Latte. Moe’s. White Rabbit. Sushi Kaya. Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound. John’s
Subs. AND LA Fitness,
because after all that I can assure you I will be in a food/coffee/wine coma. See you soon, Buffalo! Oh, and more
on Bali coming right up! :)
