What's over there?
BALI, INDONESIA – Recently I participated in a silent meditation session inside a beautiful domed pavilion in northern Bali.
The introduction to the meditation was punctuated by brilliant lightning flashes, startling cracks of thunder and cascades of torrential rain outside.
Continue reading “Into each life a little rain (or maybe bird poop) must fall”
BALI, INDONESIA – Last week Melanie and I went to a local photo studio to get ‘mugshots’ for our new visa application. The required package included four photos in three different sizes – 12 photos in all – for each of us.
I can only guess why they need so many photos. One of the smaller ones will go on our new ID cards. Another one could be incorporated into the new visa sticker that goes inside our passports.
As for the other 10 pictures, I suppose they will be attached to terribly important paperwork and filed away in various official government archives. How could we survive without bureaucracy?
LOVINA BEACH, BALI – One of the ‘must-do’ activities during our December trip to Bali was to go on a dolphin tour.
Melanie and I had seen dolphins swimming in the wild before – in the chilly waters around Vancouver Island and the not-so-chilly waters of the Amazon River, where the resident dolphins were pink (yes, really!).
Continue reading “Looking for dolphins at Lovina Beach, Bali”
BALI, INDONESIA – Whether going out for a nice dinner, attending a festive celebration or meeting the in-laws for the first time, who hasn’t wondered, “What should I wear?”
I must confess, fashion is not my strong suit. Most of the time I dress strictly for comfort. Shorts and sandals, a favorite T-shirt (worn so thin it’s almost transparent) and I’m good to go.
If I need to be more dressy I’ll switch out my battered Tee for a real shirt with buttons and a pocket.
But when we travel, local rules of etiquette sometimes require me to venture outside my sartorial comfort zone.