Sunday, December 23, 2018

Christmas 2018




Ten years ago we spent Christmas in South Africa, three months into our nine month wander around the world, a journey that ultimately led us to North Carolina for three years and then Washington DC. This is the tenth year we have created our collage card capturing a few of our favourite photos from the year - something we first did after returning from our wanderings 10 years ago.  A lot has happened in the past decade. Whether you have walked with us all this time or are a new friend, know that we are grateful for your friendship as you have accompanied us on our wanderings.

Our card this year features photos primarily taken from our Bali trip. To see most of our other cards from past years go here. 


I have lots of thoughts as we end this year, another tumultuous year in this country and around the world, but I'll simply close wishing you peace and hope with this poem brought to my attention from my friends at Street Psalms. For the full link go here.

Our mission is to plant ourselves at the gates of Hope—
Not the prudent gates of Optimism,
Which are somewhat narrower.
Not the stalwart, boring gates of Common Sense;
Nor the strident gates of Self-Righteousness,
Which creak on shrill and angry hinges
(People cannot hear us there; they cannot pass through)
Nor the cheerful, flimsy garden gate of
“Everything is gonna’ be all right.”
But a different, sometimes lonely place,
The place of truth-telling,
About your own soul first of all and its condition.
The place of resistance and defiance,
The piece of ground from which you see the world
Both as it is and as it could be
As it will be;
The place from which you glimpse not only struggle,
But the joy of the struggle.
And we stand there, beckoning and calling,
Telling people what we are seeing
Asking people what they see.

- Victoria Safford

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Vietnam

Some of my favorite photos and highlights of a recent two week trip to Hanoi...There were many highlights - meeting new colleagues, working with my colleagues that went with me, being surprised by how chill and liveable Hanoi is, great food (no pics here though), a trip to Halong Bay which was ok but the caves were spectacular, and finally attending this show at the Hanoi Opera House which was truly spectacular and so well done. Here's one more link. One last fun highlight was seeing the incredibly long and constantly changing beautifully created mosaic wall that runs along one of Hanoi's main roads for four miles certified as the world's largest/longest mosaic. Vietnamese artists and other organizations have each taken sections and created something really beautiful. See this link and a couple video's here and here. Two weeks in Hanoi definitely gave me an appetite to return again and see much more of this country.

A personalized welcome gift
The view I woke up to each morning - the Hanoi Opera House


Hanoi Opera House and Hilton Hanoi Opera





Sunday, October 7, 2018

10 Years - A Decade in Motion

A quick note/update...

Long time readers of this blog will know that ten years ago we began a journey that still continues to this day, for what journey truly ends? It's a journey that in its initial year took us to Europe, South Africa and then Asia over the course of nine months. Of course for me, the journey began many years prior, growing up in South East Asia - a place that still holds my heart - and for Andrea, in 2005 when her heart was gripped by the issue of human trafficking and she dedicated herself to paying attention to this issue. This led to her decision to return to graduate school and three years in North Carolina which ultimately led us both to Washington DC where she continues in that work and I support humanitarians and diplomats who strive to make the world a better, healthier place. 

In our very first blog post, ten years ago, we wrote that  as we packed up our house in Tacoma and drove away in silence, we reflected on our years there and the community that we loved and were leaving without knowing what the future held. A lot has happened in the past ten years...it's interesting to pause and remember and look back on the miles traveled... 63 beds that first year of wandering...three amazing years in North Carolina...internships for Andrea in Geneva and Boston...and then to Washington DC...employment changes and opportunities...lots and lots of travel wanderings...and two weeks ago moving into our new home where we look forward to being part of a neighborhood and community and I can do a little digging in our garden patch.

It's interesting to note that it's been ten years since we lived in a place that that we called our 'own' and now literally ten years to the day we left, we are back in our new 'own' place. Here's to what lies ahead and the continued journey. 

Duncan

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Bali


Bali was not on my list of places I really wanted to visit. Given that I grew up surrounded by rice fields in Thailand, I don't need to see rice terraces. Knowing that tourism is so key to Bali's economy, I presumed that I would find it very touristy and I wasn't interested in that, and I knew I would not find the Bali depicted in 'Eat, Pray, Love.' BUT...Andrea and I had decided long ago that if we are invited to an international wedding, we strongly consider attending. So when we received an invitation to the wedding of one of Andrea's former grad school classmates, and not just a wedding but a three day Indian celebration to be held in Bali, we knew we had to go. And... I am so glad I went! The wedding at the end of June (more on that later) was of course fantastic and Bali more than pleasantly surprised and delighted me.

Pura Batur Temple gate
We flew out on Korean Air with a stop in Seoul, a trek we are both getting used to making as it's now our easiest way to get almost anywhere in Asia. Knowing that we would be at a large resort for the wedding, we wanted to maximize seeing other parts of the island. Almost as soon as we began to do our research we found Taruna Boutique Homestay, on the north shore of the island. It was about as far away from where we were going to be for the wedding and knowing we really only had a eight days, we debated if it was worth the long drive there and back. We looked at other places but kept being drawn back to this place and so we decided to commit and again, I am so glad we did. 

To take advantage of our limited time, we arranged to stop at a couple places along the way with our driver from Taruna. We had narrowed it down to one waterfall, one rice terrace and one temple with others as options in case we ended up driving a different way. Our driver Mango was more than accommodating and though we weren't able to make it to the waterfall, we were more than happy with our long day before we arrived at our home for the next three nights. 

Unsurprisingly Ubud was not quite as picturesque as depicted in 'Eat, Pray, Love.' Although we didn't explore every street, we saw enough to reassure us that we didn't have to come back here at a later date. (Just my opinion - I'm sure others would disagree!)

Driving through Ubud
Surprisingly (given how many tourists there are), most of the roads in Bali are small two lane roads like above whether you are driving through Ubud, the jungle or from one town to another. There are wider roads in and around Denpasar but no real highways other than the toll road leading from Denpasar south. After passing through Ubud we continued on the narrow road until we knew we were at one of the famous rice terrace spots judging from all the traffic, street cafes and restaurants. Tegallalang Rice Terrace was indeed beautiful even in the rain and mud as we experienced it. Clamber down the side of the hills through tall coconut trees that tourists pay to swing on (swings are definitely a thing in Bali - although tragically someone did fall and die soon after we were there) and you can wander through rice fields and try to take photos without other people in them.
Note the swinging tourist




A little past the rice fields we stopped at Gunung Gawi Sebatu, a temple that illustrates how many temples were/are also key in controlling water systems in Bali. I don't think this is a temple that has too many tourists. There are more famous temples that the tourist books say are 'must sees' but we really enjoyed exploring this one. Unlike Buddhist temples in Thailand where you can always find priests living, Hindu temples in Bali don't have priests that live on site. Often (most of the time) priests have their regular day job and live with their family and just show up to the temple for ceremonies - or that is what we were told!

Looking down on Gunung Gawi Sebatu 




Offerings

Spot the dog

We continued driving north stopping briefly at Pura Batur, perhaps the 2nd largest temple in Bali and again, totally empty, to the point of being a little creepy. We felt like we were scammed here as we had to pay an entrance fee and then after paying that told we had to pay to rent appropriate clothing which often was available at other temples. Anyway, when you are a tourist... 

We continued driving along the north shore until reaching the town of Pemuteran where Taruna Boutique Homestay is located. Taruna is more than a homestay, though it was family run but it was definitely boutique. There are many places like it small and large along the beautiful northern shore which is much more arid than other places in the island. For full trip advisor reviews of all the places we stayed in Bali you can go here
Gate into Pemuteran
Our room during our stay at Taruna
Every day fresh flowers and flower petals were put on our bed - this was our welcome the day we arrived.
View from our room with the hills we climbed in the background

We loved our three days here. Taruna is a five minute walk to the beach home of what is billed as the worlds largest biorock/reef rehabilitation. Seeing that it is in need of rehabilitation, the coral is not great here, but the fish were! The fact that you can literally swim five feet off the beach and be in a fish tank was wonderful and I went swimming with the fish every day! One morning we also climbed up the hills behind the town for a pretty spectacular view.  And we made traditional Indonesian pancakes.

The beach at Pemuteran


Another swing...
One of the most picturesque lanes I have seen, heading to the beach next to Mata Hari Resort




Thursday, May 3, 2018

Ouagadougou

West Africa. Check.

A last minute work trip took me to Burkina Faso for a week in March and so I am able to say I have been to a tiny portion of West Africa now. It was a good week with colleagues and one where in spite of the security issues, I was able to experience a little more than just going back and forth between the office and my hotel. I was able to eat at several different restaurants in the evening and went to a gallery of furniture and crafts owned by the son of a man who was the Air France Manager for years in Ougadougou. Mangoes were coming into season and the temperature was hot - 106 F during the day. This of course made me happy as it was not 106 degrees back in DC. 

Of aviation note, I flew there on Air France via Paris. On the return home because of the security situation Air France at the time was not having their flight crew overnight in Ouaga. Instead, they pick up passengers in Ouaga and continue south another hour to Cotonou (another lovely name), Benin, where they switch crew (but don't pick up passengers) and then fly six hours back to Paris instead of the five that it would be from Ouaga. So technically I was in two countries in W. Africa!
Sunset over the Sahara

Ouaga Sunset
My hotel - largest structure for miles

Views from hotel (just a little different than Bangkok the previous month)


Lots of dirt roads




Duncan

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

A week in Bangkok... but mainly a Huahin update



For the first time since arriving in Washington DC, work took me to Thailand as part of a team that spent a week  at the end of January with the USAID mission in Bangkok. It was a good week and I think having a local boy being part of the team was an added bonus to staff there. I was able to take team members to various places for introductions to food and culture.


Hotel room view
Which one is the US embassy? (hint: the one that looks like a fortress)


View of the US Ambassador's house along Wireless Road. To the left is the Dutch Embassy and next to it, out of view, is the US Embassy.
Part of the team, sampling the amazing Marian Plum (Mahprang)
Other team members enjoying last dinner together along the river with a view of Wat Arun


Wat Arun

A brief visit with Fern and Fink (friends mentioned previously in this blog!)


The bonus (in addition to being in Thailand for work) was that we had scheduled a week of vacation for the following week, long before I knew I would even be in Thailand. We decided that Andrea would fly out so we could spend a week at the beach in Huahin at Veranda Lodge, our favorite little hotel there that I have been wanting to return to for almost ten years. Full hotel review can be found here