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April 22, 2006

How our packing list held up

If I could impart one piece of wisdom to everyone planning a trip like this, I would say: don't spend a lot of money on stuff. I know, I know, you're all excited about going and there is a lot of special stuff out there geared for the traveler, but you don't need most of it. Truly you don't. A good quality bag (I love my travel pack), sturdy shoes that are already broken in and clothes that aren't rags are really all you need. You can spend an enormous amount of money on synthetic fabric clothes for every activity, silk sleeping sacks, the latest in footwear suitable for trekking and water purifiers that you'll never use. But you really don't need them.

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Posted by Amie at 10:40 AM
View/Add Comments (1) | Category: Miscellaneous

September 26, 2005

Indonesia Recap

We can hardly say that we went to "Indonesia" since all we saw was a lot of Bali, a tiny bit of Lombok and a lot of unidentified islands along the way to Komodo. Bali was a bit of a disappointment at first. It is extremely touristy and coming from Malaysia where tourists were less common, we encountered a little bit of culture shock. Once we got away from the crowds a little and caught glimpses of the heart and soul of the island, we learned why travelers have always loved Bali.

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Posted by Amie at 05:36 PM
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August 05, 2005

Quick note

No, we haven't gotten around yet to finishing the blog yet. Yes, it's all my fault. It's funny how the daily grind of work and everything else we have to do just zaps all the energy from me.

But I did want to share some good news with everyone - we found Beer Lao in Portland! We were having dinner with our good friend Shauna the other evening at Esan's Thai Restaurant in NW and took a peek at the beer selection. Pearse's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw they had Beer Lao. It's not quite the deal it was in Lao but it's definitely a taste for sore tastebuds. Surprisingly, Pearse isn't quite the cheapskate here as he was in Asia: he paid $7.50 for two 330 ml bottles. And he thought they were well worth it.

Posted by Amie at 09:36 AM
View/Add Comments (2) | Category: Portland

June 24, 2005

The last hoorah

After 5 days in Amed, we decided to move on to Lovina in the north of Bali. We hired a driver and chose a route that passed by the amazing Gunung Agung with a stop at Besakih, aka the Mother Temple, where I was made to wear a sarong even though I wore long pants for the occasion. Luckily there is no evidence that implicates me in this unmanly behavior. The temple is on the side of Mt. Agung, which last erupted spectacularly in 1963 and has amazing views of southern Bali. We also stopped for lunch at a restaurant that had stunning views of Lake Batur and saw the jaw dropping Gunung Batur, which is Bali’s most active volcano. When we arrived in Lovina we were very picky about our hotel and checked out a number of places before choosing Nirwana Seaside Bungalows. Lovina was not very busy considering the amount of accommodation available and most places were offering large discounts.

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Posted by Pearse at 01:35 PM
View/Add Comments (3) | Category: Indonesia

June 21, 2005

Basking in Bali

The boat dropped us off right on the beach in Nusa Lembongan (Lembongan Island) and we left Bobbie sitting in a restaurant next to the beach while we went in search of accommodation. We were back less than 5 minutes later as the first place we looked at was nice and cheaper than we expected. Nusa Lembongan is known for its seaweed farms and the whole beach in front of the hotel was full of people loading and unloading boats full of seaweed all day. It was amazing to watch but unfortunately it meant that the beach was not great for swimming. There was also no electricity between 8 am and 4 pm so it got warm in the afternoon without a fan to cool us (and no blender to make fresh lime juices). Amie and I took a walk to explore the island and after climbing one of the hills we were treated to a nice view of the seaweed beds spread out in the water before us. On our way back, we booked a dive with World Divers for the following day while Bobbie relaxed with a good book. Lembongan is known for its swift currents but I was still confident after our dives in Sipadan so I was not worried.

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Posted by Pearse at 11:39 PM
View/Add Comments (0) | Category: Indonesia

June 17, 2005

Throw Momma on a Plane

We arrived in Bali around 8 PM and took a taxi to Flashback’s in Sanur, a place we had heard was nice. They only had available a room that shared a bathroom and we thought about going elsewhere but after taking one look at the room, we fell in love with it. The room was nicely decorated and the bathroom was beautiful with amazing stonework. The whole atmosphere at Flashback’s was so relaxed and they had a nice pool in the courtyard where we just sat around and let our feet dangle in the cool water. They also served a good breakfast with very civilized hours so we could sleep in and wake up to a nice cup of tea. The staff there were amazing and were so friendly that we knew Bobbie (Amie’s mom) would love it there. We stayed two nights and booked it for a further three nights the following week when Bobbie was due to arrive.

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Posted by Pearse at 12:57 AM
View/Add Comments (2) | Category: Indonesia

June 12, 2005

Dragon hunt

After a rough crossing on the boat over from Bali we were both a little anxious that we would be spending the next 5 days and 4 nights on another boat. It did not help that there would be 22 other passengers, 12 of them sleeping on the deck. Besides us, the group consisted of 8 French nationals, 6 Belgians, a couple from Wales, a couple from Switzerland, a Brazilian, and Australian, a Dutch woman and a rather loud American. It was strange with so many people in such a small area but it was only at meal times that it felt a little crowded. We all had our little groups, usually broken down by language, and it was even possible to find some alone time. We started with a 2 hour bus ride across Lombok and then got on a boat and were shown to our cabin. Our cabin was really just a closet with a thin mattress on a bunk and another one on the floor. Once we were settled we set sail for Komodo Island with Perama, which offers a Hunting Komodo Dragons by Camera tour.

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Posted by Pearse at 12:36 AM
View/Add Comments (5) | Category: Indonesia

June 09, 2005

Malaysia Recap

Religion & Races

Malaysia is a polyglot, multiracial multireligious society. The majority of Malaysians are ethnic Malays but there are sizeable minorities of Chinese and Indians and of course, the many indigenous tribes of Borneo. During our first three weeks in Malaysia we stayed in Chinatown and ate in Little India wherever we went so if you had asked us what ethnicity most Malaysians were, we would have answered Chinese. For many years, especially under British rule, the Chinese merchants held the economic and educational power in the region but in recent years programs of affirmative action have been put into place for Malays and indigenous tribes of Borneo in education and job placement. This quota system is not popular with the Chinese and Indians but Malaysia’s current economic boom has allowed them to prosper so for the time being racial tensions are not boiling over.

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Posted by Amie at 12:53 AM
View/Add Comments (3) | Category: Malaysia

June 06, 2005

A long way to go for a beer

The bus from Sandakan dropped us off right outside our lodge that looked out onto Mt. Kinabalu, the highest mountain in Southeast Asia. This was the mountain I was planning on climbing the next day while Amie relaxed and enjoyed the view. I had an upset stomach so I figured an early night would do me good. The next morning I took off for the mountain, still not feeling 100% but, hey it was barely over 4000 meters (13,000 feet). The climb is normally a 2 day event and is over 8.7 km from the start to the summit and would you believe, it’s uphill all the way? You spend the night at Laban Rata where there is accommodation at the 6 km mark before making the push for the summit early the next morning. I was sure I would be able to make the summit in one day and at least make it back to Laban Rata if not all the way back down before nightfall.

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Posted by Pearse at 10:28 PM
View/Add Comments (6) | Category: Malaysia

June 03, 2005

Jungle living

After our diving in Sipidan we decided to stop overnight in Semporna, the mainland town which is the gateway to the islands instead of heading on to our next destination. We had seen the lovely over-the-water hotel in the harbor and thought we'd stay there. The rooms were basic enough but comfortable - or at least they were comfortable until about 5 am the next morning when the rats came to steal our Pringles and brushed against my leg along the way. But prior to that, we set our stuff down and headed into town in search of internet, excited about the prospect of comments on the blog (this was 2 weeks ago and there were none).


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Posted by Amie at 12:16 AM
View/Add Comments (3) | Category: Malaysia
Latest Comments

debbie fisher: Fun to read your blog, even though you've been hom... [read]


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Amie & Pearse: Hello all and thanks for the comments. The trip m... [read]


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