Sapphire Beaches and Raspberry Sunsets!

We are already on a lovely island with nice beaches, but there is always something better around the corner.... like another island!



So we made some friends! Kandis from BC, Cananda and Ella from Sweden!




Then we charmed them into hiring a boat with us for transport out to Koh Nang Yuan (Koh means Island in Thai, i.e. Koh Tao)

Koh Nang Yuan is a stunning island with clear bright blue water and a wonderous white sand triple beach which is created by a really confusing mildly low tide. It's a private beach where the Thai government heavily restricts over-development, this making it pricy to get to and pricy to be on. There are no water bottles allowed on the island and there is only one bar on the entire beach. A bit overpriced, but man they make the best strawberry-banana smoothie I have ever had!

Here is an pic. I took off the web which truly captures this beaches awesomeness:



And so we spent the day lying on the beach, walking along the beach, playing more chess and doing some snorkelling. At a certain point when low tide is happening and the beach strips are starting to appear, the current is actually quite strong and people get pulled out to see.



This happened to a larger, older man and Olli ended up running into the water to save him and explain to him how to swim back to shore. I beamed with adoration from the shore, the type damsels have when their hero has slain a dragon or something... lol...

When Oliver came back to the shore I joked with him about how he was a life saver, he replied, "well, I'm with 3 hot women on a beach, of course I have to save him!" hehe... regardless he would've of course.



...and then we went snorkelling!


And what is better than snorkelling with attractive friends? Snorkelling with attractive friends and suddenly happening upon a floating piece of watermelon near a dive boat!



Fact 1: There are fuck loads of fishies (that are NOT shy) all around Koh Nang Yuan.






Fact 2: They LOVE Watermelon! (almost to the point that they will chew through you for it!




After a long day of snorkelling and sandy beaches and watermelon-eating fishies we headed back to the main island and up the the hilltop "High" Bar for a relaxing beer, smoke and a breath-taking raspberry sunset.




I love this place....

Chess and Diving: Lazy days on Koh-Tao, Thailand.

Upon returning to Thailand we headed south on the night train to Chumpon and then the 7 am 3 hr boat ride to Koh-Tao.




Okay... so the boat ride is the hardest part about this trip since they pack you on the boat like sardines, and if the seas are even mildly rough, everyone gets sick.
There were some people drinking loads of beer getting on the boat at 7am. They were yelling and singing and gluping down booze. After we started to move, they got really quiet and turned quite pale.



Our days in Koh Tao have been super relaxing. There is not really too much to write about here accept that the time seems to pass by quickly when one is doing nothing but sleeping, eating, lying on the beach, dving, and snorkelling...



....oh yes, and chess playing... lots of chess. Yes. We have actually be backpacking around with a chess board! Oliver loves games, and even though I hate losing to him (constantly) I will at times begrudgingly play... it was part of the contract after all.

Here in Koh Tao when I lie on the small strip of beach (high tide) near our guest house, the Tropicana this is what I see....





...and this is what I see when I look to my right. Oh Yeah! Sexy!!!




That said, there is not really much to do in Koh Tao apart from just this. The next island over, Koh Pang Ngan is the crazy party island where the full moon parties happen. Tonight just happens to be the night of the full moon in Jan. and after a couple days of pondering "do we go to the next island to party?" we have decided- NO.

We've been to Burning Man numerous times and know how to stay away for multiple days and ingest all sort of manners of craziness, but that's not this trip. Besides from what I hear the day after the full moon party it looks like a bomb exploded on the island and the beach is littered with broken bottles, beers cans, and random bodies of salty, exhausted tourists sleeping. yeah... I don't know if I want to contribute to it this time... Koh Tao will be extra quiet tonight since most people will be off this island and onto the other one.

We are currently staying in the quiet and lovely Bay of Chalok Baan in the southern part of the island. Here is a view of the bay:




Yesterday we rented some snorkelling gear and swam to the next bay over, Shark Bay.



Oh man, that was a bit of a swim!



We were on a mission to see reef sharks, but after our ~2 km swim with a mild current coming around the point (it basically felt like we were swimming in one place forever) and no sharks coming to greet us I decided to catch my breath on the bay before walking overland back to our bay.



Luckily Oliver had strapped 2 weights and a liter of water to himself using a piece of old rope, so we had some water to drink on our walk back!




After a nice BBQ dinner of grilled squid, kings prawns, lobster, veggies and chicken satay (all for $14 at most!) We walked along the darkened beach while the moonlight lit the emptied bay during this starry low tide. Our favorite bar, The Babaloo Bar was one along the Southwestern edge of the bay full of fish in microwaves, fishes in beerc coolers, black light painted nooks, and lanter lit hammocks along the beach! If you ever go here be sure to order the Thai-pirinia. Also be sure to NEVER order the Pina Colada.




...oh and watch out when you get a beer! the fishies bite!



The swim left me exhausted and after the squid, the drinks and the sway of the hammock I slept quite well that night.

Bali -- The Goodbye Interlude

I must admit that while I enjoyed parts of Bali, (its funny memories most of which I haven't even begun to type out here) but I surprisingly did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Here is a place I have heard about for many years, from friends, from books, even now from popular movies! (we all remember Eat, Pray, Love?).... Bali is apparantly a wonderful and magical place where people fall in love; either with one another or with the land, the people... the Gods even.




However this spirit I have heard about did not touch me in the way that it has with other people. While I loved the culture I did not think very well of the cuisine.





"Thailand: 1 Bali: 0 " As Oliver put it on day 3. I slapped him and said to give it time and we'll find better dishes along our travels... but over all Balinese food (ok- Babi Guling* aside), you just didn't rock my world. Food from Sumatra and other parts of Indonesia is another story. I love you Sumatran jackfruit curry!!!!


One of our best, most memorable meals in Bali was actually one of the "BEST" steaks we've ever had.... and boy I mean EVER!!! The sad part was... there was nothing about it.

We encountered some divers on Menjangan who told us to go to KUTA for a night and head to this place called "Rumors" if you would like to "try the best steak you'll ever had." They had been in Bali for 14 days total and had eaten there 5 times.

We were warned to stay away from Kuta, the seedy beach side town full of drunken Aussies and loud nightlife... but Oliver wanted to surf, and I wanted to try this legendary steak so we went! ...and you know what? It was awesome!

Ubud was great for culture, and Bali was nice for beaches, but I didn't feel that I connected with the place partly because I couldn't relax there since every time one walks down the street in Bali he/she is bombarded by people asking you "tranport? transport?" or offering you shirts, tours, massage, or a whole number of things quite aggressively (at least more than what I'm use to.)It doesn't help that when you walk away quickly you must take care not to step on the mass amounts of sidewalk offereings to the Gods, thus creating an obstacle course of sorts.

Now from what I hear a walk in Bali makes a walk in India look like a fucking cake walk (hecklers galor in India) but coming from Thailand, where I am in the lap of luxury with heckler-free zones I found it very difficult to not be on guard of having to force "no"s upon people. This also made me create a self-built wall around myself from connecting with people since the moment someone greeted me with a smile I already felt like they would sell me some if I lingered for too long.

...sigh...

All that said... I'm glad I went. My first days in Bali I will never forget, riding my bike beachside in Sanur taking in the temples, offerings, beaches, and smiles. Sadly though, you have not touched in in that magic place Bali, and it saddens me since you are the Second place** that I have ever travelled where I have not fallen in love. That's ok though... you can't win them all...

Even as I write this I am thinking of even more fond memories we had... like getting to watch a midnight cremation ceremony on the beach in Lovina, making friends and meeting Nung-Ah the owner of Gandra house (he and his smile WAS one of the main highlights of our time there). Our day trip to the Bali Bird park was awesome!...





....and Tanah Lot Temple... and ofcourse, diving that amazing shipwreck at Tulamben. We won't forget that.




(* delicious suckling pig grill on a spit with Balinese spices best eaten with you right hand and a side of rice!)

(**The first place where I have not fallen in love with the land, people place was Cambodia. Cambodia can be a difficult pill to swallow. It is a hard country, full of struggle sadness and all too recent echos of countrymen killing countrymen. Let it be known that it's not that I didn't like Cambodia. -I would return to Cambodia before Bali.- but Cambodia isn't a country to love, it is a country to feel. If no one told you what to feel you would feel her. She is viceral, She is sprase, deserted and a pre-carpet bombed landscape that can leave you breathless... while the hard faces of it's children can leave you shaken and stirred. In short, Cambodia is anything but soft.... it is real, very real though.

...But that's a story for another time.)


As the plane took off we reflected, and Oliver and I found that we were quite relieved to get back to Thailand.

The Return Home... where ever home is...

And so off we sped over climbing mountain crater rims on our little pink motorbike back from Lovina in the north heading south down to Ubud going back on a different route from the way we came.




The weather changed from tropical humidity to cloud forests to just plain cold.... and I mean freezing!




We stopped at a hillside town to fill up a liter of petrol (Benzin) from a used water bottle into our tank and put several layers of clothes on. Brrrr!!!!!





The ride was a truly breathtaking journey that lasted about 4.5 hours. When we finally reached the highest town, Kintamani, we stopped at the towns major intersection to gave up at the oldest Pura on the island. I guess we had stopped a moment too long since a little women ran out to us frantically holding a big plate of offerings and incense telling us she needed to bless our motorbike.

IN one feel swoop (before we really had the chance to say yes or no) she threw holy water on us, chanting while walking a circle around the bike. next she took a square banana leaf plate of flower offerings, folded it in half, then shoved it into the space between the bike and the licence plate. She then lit some incense and stuck it straight through the top of the folded mound of offering. She then stuck flowers in our ears and pushed grain of holy rice onto our foreheads.



She looked like a professional. We were thoroughly blessed.





After some picture taking with the women we asked if there was any hot Soto Ayam (delicious Balinese chicken soup w/ ginger and spices) shops near by, since we were wet and freezing from driving through clouds in the past hour. She made some more frantic gestures, told us to park our bikes and follow her. She then proceeded to run into the building of a small shop across the street, shout a few things in Bahasa, and motioned for us to sit outside.



She then began cooking Soto Ayam for us in the small shop/house/building place while the people who actually lived there worked around her hastily. Soto Ayam appeared in less than 2 mins with sweet hot tea and as we ate we laughed about this whole event, all the while flowers and rice falling off of us as the clouds continued to roll by on the street. All the ladies involved in the operation were very sweet and let us snap a picture before we sped off again, this time warmer!





About 30 mins past Kintamani we rounded a corner and the distant half blown shape of Mt. Batur surfaced from the left to greet us. The view was stunning, (and really cannot be captured in this measily little photo here.)





Shortly after the mountain view we began to decend in altitude and the weather became warmer once again. Thank God! The drive past Mt. Batur was the coldest place in Bali we had experienced so far. I think temp. plus wind chill factor had us driving through 45 degree weather --- we were prepared only for 85 degree weather.





Upon decending we stopped to take off our layers and found ourselves along a hillside town of rice paddies and spontaneously decided to go off the major bi-way in search of a stroll through some lovely fields... and boy did we find a nice walk!




We hit Ubud by about 4:30pm surprised our friends at Gandra house and a surprised Nung-Ah returned our lovely pink motorbike back to where it came from.

Lovina: Hot Springs, Cold Beaches and Everything in Between

The original plan was to head directly to the small town of Permuteran ...a place really only known for being where you take the boat to Menjangan Island -aka- a snorkelling and diving haven for the most part all year round.







However the moment we stopped to rest in Lovina a friendly Balinese man approached us telling us he could make a us better deal on our dive trip to Menjangan than any place in Permuteran could AND he'd even throw in free accomidation. Skeptical I let Olli deal with that situation while I proceeded to borrow the nice man's cell phone and call the dive shop in Permuteran. Sure enough the dive shop wanted around near $80 for 2 dive per person while the man in Lovina offered us a room and 2 dives with meals and transport for ~$55 ...how does this country work?

...and so we tired travellers and our pink motorbike were coaxed into staying in Lovina, the place of the black sandy wind-swept nothern beaches.




Luckily for us it was the lowest point in tourist season there and there were only about 30 foreigners in the whole place. Ultimately the town gave an extra lazy/sleepy vibe.

Unluckily for us it was the lowest point in tourist season because the sea was ultra rough and unforgiving while the cloudy skies poured down heavy rain at least once a day allowing the humidity to rise and eat us alive.





Seas being rough or not Oliver wanted to swim, and nothing was going to get in his way... not even 3 meter waves. As I watched from the black sand shore in a mild panic while beached coconuts periodically punched me in the ankles (thrown ashore by the nasty incoming waves) I watched Oliver get thrown around the washing machine of the surf, finally exiting the waves with exhaustion and a butt full of seaweed.



I asked him if he'd has enough of being tossed around. He confirmed that it was rough waters out there, but maybe he'd try again tomorrow if he could find a make-shift body board... oh boy here we go...my reckless German is at it again! :P




Rain and wind aside our first day of diving was awsome! travelling to the NW coast of Bali is like coming out of a rain cloud. while the rest of Bali is raining it is sunny to Partly cloudy with decent to good visibility.


The original plan was to head directly to the small town of Permuteran ...a place really only known for being where you take the boat to Menjangan Island -aka- a snorkelling and diving haven for the most part all year round.

On our diving trip we made some friends, saw eagle rays, a sea turtle, digging trigger fish, and a variety of fish and coral life all of which I cannot name at the moment since there was just too many...






We decided to spring on the nicest "resort" in town (a whole $40 a night!) and stayed at the Sea Breeze Cafe and Bungalow wow! The place was nearly deserted that we felt like we had our very own private poolside bungalow and beach bar!




So remember that body boarding crack Oliver made which i told you about?




...Well turns out one night on a shopping run at the local night market Oliver managed to buy a crudely made, large, plastic water/gas/liquids container and a length of rope which he then tied to his leg and ran out into the surf again in a half pitiful attempt to body board.




half way throught he hilarious session (so said the faces of the Balinese hotel staff) oliver has somehow mange to rip the skin off his knuckles again!!! (we all remember the glacier sliding incident on Mt. Rainer from last year?)





Oliver definitely took advantage of the pool that next afternoon (by the he had found a delapidated green slime covered surf board which he then attempted to use for morning wave playing only to get more cut up with) and proceeded to nurse his wounds with a large application of beer in the pool outside our bungalow.





Apart from diving, swimming and generally relaxing in Lovina the only other things we managed to do was take our motor bike our to the Air Panjar hot springs (about 8 km west of Lovina) where we spent an afternoon in the jade waters of the local natural public baths taking funny pictures and dunking eachother under water.






Oliver even spent some time entertaining the public while walking upside down.






The hot springs were surprisingly delightful since the weather was cloudy. As I relaxed in the water I reflected on all the nomadic homelessness we were in.






When I first left Seattle I was a little scared, but this small fear only dawned on me once I was tasting my first couple days in Germany. a shock of, "wow, Mel, you're really leaving everything behind now... " I never have felt like I was doing the wrong thing or anything silly like that, but I guess my mind at that moment felt like I should be realizing something, and that the permenance of this ultimate move overseas was nothing like travelling, but instead a commitment to reassimilating somewhere.

...I only trembled a little though....


..because I think my genes for being scared of the unknown abroad is broken. Maybe this is a blessing and maybe this is a curse, but whatever it is it allows me to jump into crazy adventures like "Germany until TBA" with excitement, even with small shivers of fears.... and I guess, yes... I love Oliver.