Here we come!

With sadness we leave, but with excitement we come home. Our departure went great, we met up with the driver from our first home who had lent us his cell phone for the month, and he took us to the airport.

We are on our short layover in Taipei now, it's 10:30pm and the kids have noticed that they missed nap time. Lindsay had a rough flight, the first real case of motion sickness any of us has had. She did admirably, and is feeling much better now. I hope she is OK for the 'sleep-over' flight from here to Vancouver.

It is difficult to say goodbye to a country, especially one that we had just grown comfortable enough with to begin to love. I expect we will see Bali again, though perhaps not very soon. There are many places on our travel hit list...

oh oh... boarding call. See you soon!

Countdown to Departure

It is almost time to come home. Three more full days here, then two in the air. Bittersweet is the word, and though overused, quite appropriate. Especially in a country full of flavor as this one is.

We walked past a restaurant called the Lemon Swastika yesterday. It left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth... I'd apologize for the sorry pun, but the owner of the restaurant likely wouldn't apologize for the name. Think what you will, but to a Balinese Hindu, this is a centuries old symbol of the cycle of life, and should not be abandoned simply because it was mis-used. Regardless, I find it unnerving.

Our last home is lovely, but unfortunately has poor wifi. So here I sit, a few blocks away at a 'M-Mart' Basically a half-size 7-11 store with a little cafe at the back for me and a half dozen other lost tech-junkies. The wifi is slow here too, but at least reliably so.

Though it may take some coaxing, if you get a chance, see if you can get Cadence to perform a Balinese dance for you when you see her next. We've been trying to bolster her confidence on this one because it is absolutely brilliant.

Bali is home to intensive digestive therapy. Even the locals know the short cuts,magic tricks and secrets. Guava Juice, pocari sweat, avoid the lettuce, don't drink the tap water. But the best is the marketing job that the 'spiritual' guides offer. 'Come to Bali and experience wholistic cleansing' Like they invented curry or something. Though I jest, the food here is incredible. Even the kids no longer request chicken or noodles...now its 'Sate'(Chicken and rice) or 'Mie Goreng' (Fried noodles) I'm looking forward to BBQ season to see how well I can re-create these goodies.

Good Night all... I hear it dumped snow in Alberta over the last day or two... I think I got a burn at the beach today... musta been 35! Yup... that is the sound of me gloating... far out of range of your snowballs!

We're through vacation stage... took the better part of three weeks. I now feel like we are living in Bali. For those who have experienced this, it is a fascinating process. I caught myself frowning in distain at some tourists yesterday. It was as though if I had looked at myself in the mirror at that moment, I would gasped at the whiteness of my own skin. I know a little of the language, (emphasis little) and could find my way home if I got lost. I think. These things, I feel, entitle me to no longer be treated as a tourist. Those running the shops at the beach seem to disagree.

We love international life. I love that we live in a world that allows families of four to do what Columbus, Livingstone and Marco Polo did. All in the comfort of an air conditioned van of course. I love the dangerousness and exhilaration of experiencing things in the first person. So much more impactful than seeing a movie about it.

I did a silversmithing class last week. Loved it. I went back to the shop and asked them about making pieces back in Canada. They scribbled an address on a paper and sent me on my way. We hailed a taxi, and with a frown at the address off we went. Definetely out of the tourist zone, he pulled up to a small shop. I popped inside. Tools! It looked like a cross between a museum and a nearly bankrupt Lee Valley. Odd medical looking instruments, bottles of hydrichloric and nitric acid. Really exciting! The staff knew no English, and my pathetic charades skills were no help. I managed to get all the tools I needed, but they did not sell the raw silver. Instead, they scratched another address and sent me on my way.
Not far down the road were two little attached shops. Again in brutal Anglo-nesian, I managed to figure the process. Shop one sells you pure silver, and whatever other metals you want to either strengthen or cheapen your silver. The neighbour forms it into whatever style or type you need to make your jewelry. I went the purist route, what they call 925. 92.5% silver, 7.5% copper for strength. Next door, they heat and mix the two in a clay bowl, and pour it into a bar mold. Then there are a series of hydraulic presses and pulling machines that allow you to make flat, square, or round bar or string. This whole process, including all the tools and enough silver to make a dozen rings cost less than two simple pieces of silver jewelry in Canada would cost. Wow. I'm pretty excited. High hopes, we shall see.

We are now staying at our final destination. Sanur is a quiet beach town and will be a great place to smooth out the kinks in my tan and relax.

Oh yea... the pictures.

The dark one is the spectacular 'moon-rise' on the beach in Sanur. About a half hour after the sun sets... the moon rises. Tonight it was a spectacular full moon, and a glorious red. Pardon the sloppy photography, I'm still learning.

POCARI SWEAT. Brilliant name. When you begin to get dehydrated, you actually stop sweating. This ion infused drink helps prevent dehydration, thereby allowing you to continue sweating. Good ole sweat in a can... wonder if it would be popular in Canada?

Oh yes, Cadence the Alligator. And Shepherd the model, who will no longer allow his picture to be taken unless he is given ample time to prepare his smile.

Goodbye Ubud, Bali Budda and a Song

We leave our little home in Ubud today. And I think I may have tears. Not sappy tears about the beauty of the ricefields or the amazing arts all in one place, but the kind you have when you've just experienced something really great. Like the end of summer camp. We've come to the end of "summer camp" in Ubud.

We are leaving for Sanur today. The lazy beach town and relaxing spot. A good place we feel to finish off our last week in Bali. We don't have internet at our hotel however, so we will try and post when we can find an internet cafe.

Today at breakfast we realized just how much the international culture is affecting the kids. A lovely Chinese family had been making faces at Sheppy and when the Grandmother got up to get something and walked passed the table Sheppy replied, "Nee-how" ( Mandarin for hello) She was delighted! I would like to take the credit, but I know it is from the Canadian kids show "Kai lan"... but none the less, impressive that he put it together. We found a nice little cafe in Ubud called the Bali Budda. It has a kids area with toys and yummy healthy food. The kids always enjoy going. However, it is at the end of a very long street and Cadence always feels it is a little too far when we are hungry and hot. She has started saying, Ïts a long ways to Bali Budda isn't guys?" Even when we are not going to Bali Budda. It is just code for I am hungry and hot- Cadsy style.

We walked around Monkey Forest Road yesterday, popping our heads into numerous bead stores and others that peaked our interest. I was carrying Sheps on my back and enjoying the endless chatter and commentary he was providing. As we passed yet another stray dog, I could hear: " Theres a puppy... we don't touch the puppies in Bali.. no touching the animals in Bali... I use my superpowers to not touch you puppy.... I shu you, shu shu puppy.... I macka macka you, you come near me..." followed by a "Macka,Macka You Puppy song".

Thank you to all who are follwing us, we've loved the encouragement.

Lindsay and Fam

Twirling, Zoos and Beautiful Black Jewels

I walked in on a dance class going on in our living room. Lulu was teaching Papa the basic dances (a mixture of her favourites, she explains) that we all must learn. There is spinning, jumping, twirling and even some somersaults. Lulu gives the example, Papa promptly repeats.
Sheppy and I decided to join in the fun. However, we learned, there are levels to this game. I was awarded a sticker after my first rendition- showing it off to Papa he put me in my place by displaying his "four stickered" shoulder. A level four... wow. Sheppy was content to watch. Enough of this Balinese/ Canadian madness... it's time to brush our teeth.

We went to the Bali Safari Park today. A mix of Indonesian, African and Indian animals. The kids were ecstatic to feed the elephants. It was a little unnerving for me to have these powerful beasts grabbing carrots out of our hands and rubbing their long trunks on us to ask for more. There was much walking and picture taking and a lovely little trolley ride around the park in which you could get a closer look at the animals.

We were all the way over to the East coast and so I asked the driver to pull over at the ocean so that I could see the black sand I had read about. Bali has black, white and regular colored sand depending on where you are.

Andy our driver walked me through a little fishing hub complete with the latest catch swimming in what can only be described as the "sludge of the seas" ice bins. There was everything, large to small. I don't think many tourists ever come there and so they watched me closely and some even held up their prized sea treasures for my viewing and smelling pleasure. I don't think I will eat seafood for a while.

The sand was like black jewels. Pure delight. Jeff laughed when I carried a handful all the way back to the car so that they too could also see the beauty.

The sun has set. There are now bed time stories and cuddles to be had. Bali holds another day for us tomorrow...

Good night all.

International life.

There are several honeymooners staying at the same place as us now. Kuwait, Japan, Germany, France and India all represented. Makes for very fun conversations. There is a fun commraderie amongst foreigners, kind of a 'we're all lost together' thing.

I don't think these pictures require much explaining except for the spider. This is a fairly common, completely harmless outdoor spider, eerily beautiful with an almost 4" wingspan. Eeww.

p.s. For those who have been following the news in South Asia, None of this seems to have rippled this far. Odd that regional troubles seem not to effect us, but a volcano on the other side of the world might.

Drip,drip,drop little April Showers

I sat in an open balinese living room while the tropical rain thundered around me. Safe in my little space the air was warm and humid. The rice field frogs often come jumping in after the last of the pounding stops. They are tiny (by Bali standards around 2-3") and we have found them in the shower as well.

Once the rain stops we are heading in to Ubud market. Will post again soon.

The Rempels