Visit Bali

Hello! Well, it seems after a couple of weeks of vacation, I needed a week to recoup, get through the jet lag (which is ALWAYS the worst coming back from Asia!) and clean out my inbox and piles of mail. Now that I've gotten all of that somewhat under control, let me tell you about my trip!

First off, let me say, I HIGHLY recommend Bali. It was a great mix of relaxing tropical vacation, beautiful temples, unique culture and and activities for any type of traveler. Yes, the flight is long and not exactly cheap, but once you get there, it's a beautiful, safe and inexpensive tropical paradise.

Since this summer, my sister and I had been talking about wanting to do a trip together. She had a week and a half off for fall break from the international school she teaches at in Korea, so that was our starting point, I would come and join her and we could go somewhere from there. Through personal recommendations of friends and some google searches, we decided on Bali.

I think we figured out the key to a successful vacation. Whenever I leave cold and rainy Seattle for a tropical spot, all I really want to do is soak up the sun, but then I start to feel guilty that I'm not getting out and enjoying all the vacation spot has to offer. For this trip, Stephanie and I found the perfect mix.

We spent the first half of the trip laying on the beach at the Sol Beach House Benoa, which was a pretty classic resort spot. Since we knew the rest of our trip would be filled with exploring, we felt no guilt lounging and reading and taking dips in the pool and ocean when we felt like it. The resort is all inclusive for a very reasonable price, so we didn't have to worry about carrying money or how much things cost. It was lovely.

We spent the second half of our time in a more traditional Balinese setting, out in rice fields in a (very nice) thatched roof hut at Sapulidi, on the edge of Ubud*, where we enjoyed petting monkeys, visiting all of the little shops and checking out the amazing architecture of temples and palaces. Above, are photos from Ubud Palace and a couple nearby temples.

More to come later this week!

*If you read Eat, Pray, Love, Ubud is where Elizibeth Gilbert spends most of her time in the "Love" portion of the book, so as you can imagine, the town is now filled with middle aged women who have come for a similar experience.