next up for me… paris! i’m going to be attending a writing workshop in paris for the month of july. i bought a one way ticket there, and it’s going to be an adventure in itself to figure out how i’m going to make my way back home again! so many ways to cross half the globe…

if you’d like to keep up with my travels, i’ve started another blog at maliayoshioka.wordpress.com. this blog is already way too full of memories to pack any more in. =)

the countdown begins again! i leave for paris in 5 days… can’t wait!

and six months later… this was jess and i yesterday after watching the sun set on our last day in fiji, the last of our little trip of a lifetime. some things haven’t changed…

as our plane broke through the clouds this morning, and the unmistakable blue of the ocean around oahu came into view, jess and i looked at each other and smiled because we were both thinking the same thing. WE’RE HOME!

our final flight was a pretty uncomfortable 8 hour red-eye from fiji to honolulu via christmas island. we were wedged into small seats, there was a crying baby behind us, and lots of turbulence. but none of it phased us because we were so happy to be heading home.

for once, i wasn’t spending the precious hours of flight time reading guidebooks or checking out maps, figuring out how to get to our hostel, currency exchange rates, or language basics. there was no need to research our destination this time. we breezed through customs and the warm hawaiian air embraced us as we made our way back onto the H-1 for the first time in six months! phone calls to and from friends and family kept us busy on the ride home, and then it was time to say goodbye (for now at least!)

after almost six months of traveling together, we were heading our separate ways. it’s going to take some getting used to, but i think we’ll both settle back into reality just fine. =)

and actually, i’m hitting the road again soon, this time for paris. so the journey continues… we’ll see what the next chapter holds!

i guess in a way, its appropriate that we’ve landed in fiji. it seems to be where everyone comes to get married, fall in love, and rekindle old flames while soaking up the sun. we definitely feel like the old married couple. in the past six months, we’ve gotten to that point where we finish each others’ sentences and laugh at jokes and stories beginning with the opening line. people asked us from the beginning if we were sisters, but we seem to get that question more frequently now. we’ve found many similarities to strengthen our friendship, and also worked through the inevitable differences, and learned to celebrate our individual quirks along the way. with all the stress of travel, i think we’ve done a good job of balancing things out. when one of us is stressed, the other steps it up. and as much as i do love solo travel, i couldn’t imagine having done this trip without her.

here in fiji, the air is warm and humid, with temperatures hovering in the upper 70′s, lower 80′s. there’s blue sky, sand, surf, sun, and we can definitely feel that we’re getting closer and closer to home… it’s a hedonistic paradise here, and i plan to do absolutely nothing in the time we’ve have left. the rest of the trip was about exploring, delving into cultures and trying new things. the next few days, i’m shutting my brain off and i’m planning to RELAX! leave me alone, i’m on my honeymoon! haha.

see you all back home in a week…

speaking of scenery, most of new zealand consists of rolling hills and lots and lots of sheep:

but we also came across lots of mother nature’s beauty, like the wai-o-tapu scenic preserve:

we stopped to enjoy the polynesian spa in rotorua with its natural hot spring pools:

and while we were in rotorua we made some new friends, like jimmy from “the wall,” a rock climbing gym right below our hostel! jimmy and his friends showed us kiwi hospitality and invited us over for a rack of lamb dinner….

after rotorua, we headed down in pursuit of great foods and great wines in the hawke’s bay region. we did an awesome wine tour with a group called grape escapes in napiers.

we tasted many great wines, and by the end of the day we were just silly:

we’ve gotten to see and do so much here in new zeland, but we’ve always taken the time out of our travels to sit and just appreciate the moment… ahhh, new zeland, it’s been so much fun. we’ll miss you!

we’ve only got a few days left, so we’re heading back up north towards auckland. for now, the road trip continues!

for all of our new zealand pictures, click here.

yes, we’ve made it to the southern hemisphere. yes, australia, new zealand, and the rest of the world “down under” are heading into winter. yes, the toilets flush in the opposite direction down here. and no, we haven’t tried vegemite. we’re definitely not in asia anymore.

sydney was a huge change from bali, and the rest of southeast asia. once we arrived and got over the sticker shock of everything costing what it does back home (or more! the american dollar is so weak!) we realized we’d have to reign in our budgets a little bit down under. we’ve been taking advantage of our hostel’s communal kitchens more often and we sadly had to give up our every-other-day massages. sniff, sniff

but in return, we’ve been rewarded with a whole new culture to take in. sydney was beautiful. we stayed at a little hostel in king’s cross, steps away from the iconic coca-cola billboard. we familiarized ourselves with the efficient public transport, including the lovely ferries. we had a wine and cheese picnic in the botanical gardens with a view of the sydney opera house, and we even got to attend the sydney writer’s festival! (probably more fun for me than for jess, but she’s a good sport!) we watched the leaves turn color on the trees as the city heads from fall to winter. we bundled up and strolled the streets around the harbor, the rocks, paddington (with a wonderful weekend market!) and of course, king’s cross. one day we took a bus out to bondi beach and walked the coastal route all the way down to coogee beach at sunset. in short, we had a great time!

as much as we enjoyed sydney, our next stop was even more exciting – new zealand! and now here we are. again, everything is much more expensive than we’ve been used to, but we’ve definitely made the most of it. jess loved new zealand so much when she visited for the first time that she told me we HAD to stay at least two weeks if we could. it turned out that that was all we had time for, but now that we’re here, i can see why she loved it so much, and i join her in wishing we had made our stay here longer. everything in new zealand is green (well, once we left auckland at least!) and the hills seem to roll on forever. there are tons of sheep and little black and white spotted cows that dot the hillsides like sprinkles! the fall foliage is still hanging on, although the weather is turning to winter. there is so much here to do and see… stay tuned!

this morning i woke up ready to jump into my bikini and… it’s POURING outside. like, cats and dogs pouring.

WHAT? it rains in kuta?!?

kuta is a beach town, not unlike waikiki on oahu, world famous for its white sand beach and endless sunshine. it’s not the most authentic experience you’ll get of balinese life or culture. in fact, as i’m typing this at the internet cafe, there’s techno music blaring in my ear – and it’s only 9am. yeah, it’s that kind of place. but it’s also close to the airport, there’s lots of “comfort foods” for people missing home, cheap shopping, and – most importantly – there’s always sunshine. (except today!)

but luckily for us, we’ve found a new hobby that is also quintessentially bali. cheap bootleg dvds! last night we rented a tv and dvd from a store that sells the bootlegs, and jess and i both went a little bit crazy on the pirated discs! for less than the price of one new dvd back home, you can get around 30 over here. you can even get video games, computer software, entire series of tv shows, and music dvds. we both spent a while picking out titles last night and then settled in to watch walk hard: the dewey cox story and juno.

i guess it was good timing too – since there will be no tanning today on account of the rain, we’ll be making full use of our 24 hour rental on the tv. up next: entourage, season 3!

in the book (which is fabulous, and you should run out and buy it right now if you haven’t read it yet), gilbert travels to ubud, bali – the “love” part of the title – and meets a balinese medicine man named ketut liyer. she returns two years later to study meditation with him, and he becomes both a friend and teacher to her as she spends time in bali.

this morning our friend sunny took us to visit ketut at his home in ubud. we pulled up and outside i saw the sign:

we entered the courtyard and ketut came to greet us. he told us to wait a moment while he freshened up – he’d been up til 1am last night with a group of 10 who’d come to learn to meditate with him! he left us with his copy of eat, pray, love while he went to get dressed. i fingered the slightly worn cover of the book and opened to the first page. there was an inscription from the author herself!

i imagined elizabeth gilbert sitting right where i was sitting, chatting with ketut years ago as she lived the life that she’d later spin into this beautiful book. i thought about the writing classes i’ll be doing in paris in july and i tried to channel some of her energy thinking, “i want to be a writer too.” the first time i’d actually turned that thought into intention, a silent wish, but in this place, it felt as if it might actually radiate out somewhere… no harm in trying, right? =)

ketut came out, dressed in his traditional balinese headwrap and sarong (over a fake armani exchange t-shirt, haha!) and made small talk with us. he said, “i’m sorry, my english isn’t very good, and i’m eighty seventy five years old.” jess and i looked at each other… 80-75? what does that mean? but when i had him repeat it in bahasa indonesia “delapan puluh delapan” we figured out that ketut is 88 years old. he has so much life for his age and his kind eyes radiate a happiness, shaded under graying eyebrows so long that they looked like tiny wings!

when it was time for our palm readings, he started with looking into my ears, my eyes, chin, nose, and forehead (all very good, thank you very much). he told me i have “merry eyes” and that my forehead shows a moon, which is a good sign for balinese. he took my hand onto his lap and began pouring over the lines and creases – health line, marriage line, luck line (i have two!), money line, etc. he told me that when i’m 30 or 31 i will be lucky with money and that i will have all the money that i need. my art line shows strong too, so he said if i want to be a writer that i will be successful, but that i need to study and work hard.

i also apparently have two marriage lines, which possibly means that i will be married twice – he told me that if i get married and my husband isn’t faithful, not to cry, but that i’ll marry again. otherwise, two strong marriage lines may mean that i’ll get married, but that i’ll also have a lover! haha. with all these lovers, i’ll end up with two kids as well, and i will live a long life – he said both jess and i will live to be 100.

i also asked him to take a look at the eczema i have on my right hand (it’s been over 15 years now and nothing i’ve tried has helped much.) he told me that i must avoid eating pork, eggs, and sea fish until it clears up, which is horrible because being on a restricted diet of any kind is profoundly sad for me! i decided that today i’m going to go try a balinese specialty called babi guling (roast suckling pig), and i’ll start my no pork-eggs-fish diet tomorrow. =) he also recommended that jess drink the juice of yellow coconuts to help with her stomach problems, so sunny (being part monkey) stopped the car on the way from ketut’s and climbed up to get her 3 young yellow coconuts so she could start right away.

it was a really great experience to be able to meet ketut in person. he’d come alive as a character while i was reading the book, and i find that gilbert was definitely true to life in her descriptions of him. when we parted, he told us “see you later alligator, we must keep in touch.” what an appropriate ending to our little chat. now i’m off to eat, pray, and (hopefully) to find love someday. =)

in the last four months, i’ve learned so much! about myself, about jess too, about travel, and about the world around us. and it’s a beautiful world out there, people. i won’t ever regret taking this trip. in fact, i’m planning to build this into my life plan somehow. it doesn’t seem so far-fetched being able to save up money while working at a job for, say, five years or so. by then, i’m itching for something new anyway. move on, and take a nice trip in the interim before starting a new job with a fresh perspective. who’s to say i couldn’t do this my whole life? lather, rinse, repeat. but a lot more fun!

i know, i know. what about settling down? starting a family? all that good stuff that a gal in her late twenties should be thinking about. well, i’m not opposed to the idea of putting down roots somewhere, but i also feel that there’s more world out there for me to see! and while it would be nice to someday find a career that sticks (i’ve tried out so many jobs, it’s like process of elimination!) i also feel that it’s not so bad to get experience in more than one field before making that choice. not to mention the life experience you get from travel… in fact, sometimes a big hole in your resume isn’t as bad as it seems – most people just want to hear about your trip before getting into the nitty gritty of what you can bring to the position!

and as for the love for travel (especially long-term travel) and how it applies to relationships, that’s a tricky one. i’ve met a lot of couples traveling, with varying degrees of success in their compatibility as traveling partners. i try to imagine myself being able to travel someday with a partner, but i think that this wanderlust (the type i’m afflicted with at least) may be a recessive gene lodged somewhere deep in the human DNA. sure, many people like to travel, but the stress of being together all the time for months at a time… it takes its toll on relationships, and i think that its rare to find someone who loves this kind of travel as much as i do! even for jess and i – she’s had to put up with me and my love for side trips on my own! but i’ve also seen examples of couples who travel extremely well together – taking on the world together, being flexible in their plans, and supportive of each other even if it means spending time apart. that would be ideal for me… so i’m crossing my fingers that mr. right is out there somwhere with that same recessive gene (or maybe just the ability to put up with mine.) maybe our paths just haven’t crossed yet, and it’s just a matter of time.

leaving asia is, in itself, another adventure for us. the last four weeks of our trip will be spent in sydney, then new zealand, then fiji. we’ve gotten used to functioning in an asian world – bargaining in the local language for anything we need to purchase, adjusting to the sounds of a million motorbikes crowding the streets instead of cars, different foods, the little cultural faux pas to avoid. we’re excited for sydney, but it’s going to be strange to leave this world behind too – it’s been our home for 4 months! not to mention that the weather will be cooler, and aussies have a language all their own… stay tuned for what’s to come, we’re ready! =)

P.S. sorry for the extended period of no blogs… we’ve been busy hanging out with jess’s friend kim – wait, i guess i can say OUR friend kim now! i’m working on getting all the pictures uploaded, and will try to get up a blog or two soon. you can see pictures from our trip to nusa lembongan here.

she’s been to the ubud clinic twice in the past three days, and has mom here (perfect timing, mom!) to take care of her too. the doctors started her on antibiotics and she’ll go back to the clinic next week for another blood test. she’s doing ok, but still feels pretty miserable!

although doesn’t she look like the prettiest sick person you’ve ever seen?

want to send typhoid jessica a get well card? how about a cool one from hipstercards.com?

and for those of you traveling to southeast asia anytime soon, (that means YOU heidi & kim!) you may want to consider the vaccine for typhoid. when jess and i were planning our trip, there were TONS of vaccinations for us to think about, not to mention anti-malarials, immodium, and all that good stuff that the CDC recommends you to bring with you when traveling in countries where hygiene standards aren’t quite as stringent as they are back home… for us, and for most long-term travelers, it’s often a personal decision based on discussions with your doctor, cost, insurance, etc. neither of us got the typhoid vaccine because it was too expensive. would we have done it differently knowing what we know now? (jess might say yes!)

for me, having no health insurance and faced with hundreds of dollars in costs for vaccines and anti-malarials (and no vaccine for typhoid is 100% effective either), i made the decision to just stick with the basics – hep A, hep B, tetanus, etc. and we both got travel health insurance, although until now, whenever we needed to visit a doctor, it was so cheap that it didn’t justify filling out all the forms to get our $15 refund check. anti-malarials can also be purchased cheaply in southeast asia, but some doubt the efficacy of medicines here because they aren’t regulated by US standards… but so far i haven’t needed those either. (knock on wood!)

so basically, it’s up to you. the old adage may be true: it’s better to be safe than sorry. but sometimes in the real world it’s more complicated than that, as being safe can make you broke and can also come with nasty side effects (like those for many of the common anti-malarial medications). so it’s important to discuss your health with your doctor when planning a trip to a (beautiful!!) place like bali – make sure you know the risks and benefits of the preventative measures that are out there, and make an informed decision.

a good forum for health-related travel questions can be found here.

but no matter what, don’t let the horror stories deter you from long-term (or short-term) travel! all the things you get to see, learn, and experience while on the road are so enriching. for me, this trip has been utterly life-changing… the moral of the story is: be careful and take precautions when necessary, but enjoy!

get well soon, jess! =)