I woke up this morning to the sound of the call to prayer and roosters. It is just starting to grow light. This is my last morning in Amed. As I think about moving to Candidasa, I realize that I’m tired of being “a vacation consumer.” Five or six days of that is lovely—but now …
Virtual Vacation: Goodbye Amed, Hello Candidasa! Day 12 Read More »
I was restless last night. I couldn’t fall asleep and was up again at 5:00 AM. I went out to the beach to see the fishermen taking off in their boats, but the beach was silent and the jukung remained on the shore. It is not a good day for fishing apparently. I went for a walk …
On My Own… This is the first time in my whole life that I’ve ever been on vacation by myself. I’ve traveled for business, gone to conferences, and gone to visit relatives and friends, but setting out for an unknown place without an agenda, a plan or a purpose—that’s new, and definitely outside my comfort …
I dove this morning—wonderful visibility and a great variety of corals, many of which I’d never seen before. Even better, when you haven’t gone diving in a while (in my case a year), it takes time to remember how to be underwater. Today, I felt like I got my groove back. I was no longer …
Virtual Vacation: 2 Dives and a Hike Through the National Park, Bali Day 9 Read More »
I woke up early this morning to the sound of torrential rain and thunder. It was a huge storm. By early morning it was still raining, but more a drizzle. Since some of our plans today were outdoors, we weren’t sure what would happen, but ever since I lived in Ketchikan, Alaska, where it rains …
Virtual Vacation: Markets, Temples, and The Secret of Balinese Cooking, Day 8 Read More »
This afternoon while I was getting my massage I began to feel tired of being the pampered tourist. I don’t like being in the tourist bubble surrounded by local people waiting on me. It makes me feel too much like the ugly American. And although the luxury of our accommodations and the care taken at …
Virtual Vacation: Chance of a Lifetime, Bali, Day 7 Read More »
My first morning in Bali, as I was awakening, the first thing I heard was the call to prayer at the local mosque. The sound in person is so different than the pale imitation I’ve heard on TV. The sound was riveting, haunting, compelling. It reached right inside me and touched a place that a …
Virtual Vacation: Awakening to Bali: Pemuteran, Day 6 Read More »
Today was a very, very, very long travel day. It was the day I said goodbye to Australia: We left the house at 5:45 AM. It took us two hours to drive to the Brisbane airport. We waited an hour to board, then an hour on the tarmac. The flight was 6.5 hours. We sat …
Virtual Vacation: Goodbye Australia, Hello Bali! Read More »
Walking the beach this morning, the day was pure sunny and clear. Striding through the water at the edge of the ocean was completely comfortable temperature-wise—not chilly like Santa Cruz and not tropical like Hawaii. The cloud formations were once again amazing. Allison says she’s been walking here every day for four years and every …
Virtual Vacation: The Junjarri: Australia, Day 5 Read More »
After my walk to the beach, I came home to write. Allison and I were going on a bike ride and suddenly the weather report was for rain so it was, “Let’s go right this minute.” I closed my laptop, put on my Keens and met her in the garage. Kevin loaned me his very …
Virtual Vacation: More Than A Tourist: Australia, Day 4 Read More »
Once again, I woke at 4:30 AM. Yesterday, I took an Ativan so I could go back to sleep and slept another five hours, until 9:30. This morning I decided I was done with drugs and that it was time to start following my body’s natural rhythms again. It was pitch black out; I was …
The Virtual Vacation: Sunrise in Causarina: Australia, Day 3 Read More »
Allison and I started the day at the local fish market and bought some of the largest most gorgeous prawns I’ve ever seen, some local glistening tuna, and something called a Moreton Bay Bug, which is kind of like a lobster, but it’s all tail and all meat. It’s a specialty of this area. We’re …
Today is my first full day in Australia. I arrived at 6:30 AM after a six-hour flight from Singapore, and my main agenda for today is staying awake until it gets dark. To that end, I’ve found it’s good to keep busy. Every time I stop my momentum, a wave of exhaustion sweeps over me. …
Virtual Vacation: Beginner’s Mind: Australia, Day 1 Read More »
After an all night flight, I stumbled out of the cramped coach compartment at 11 AM local time into the shiny megacity that is Singapore’s Changi Airport. The size and scale of the place is staggering. Think of the biggest mall you’ve ever been in and inflate it ten times in size. This sprawling shopping …
Virtual Vacation: A Day In Limbo at the Queen of Airports Read More »
When I woke up on Singapore Air Flight #001 out of a drugged sleep, it was 10 AM by my watch, but pitch black outside the window. After a very cramped night’s “sleep” (if you can call it that) in economy class (any semblance of sleep made possible with the help of two Valium, two …
