Awakening in Bali 2010

We awoke today to the sounds of early morning as the sun rose in Ubud, Bali: crickets chirping, hundreds of roosters crowing, songbirds calling, and the buzz of thousands of insects. Yellow hibiscus, lush ferns, and palm trees line our porch. We've been plopped into a tropical rain forest after 20 hours of flying from rainy Portland in Winter. Despite media reports, not much has changed in international airline travel since 2009 for us. We faced the same security levels (no "pat downs"), flights were on time, but immigration lines in Bali were a bit longer. However, when Chuck left his wallet at the airline counter, a smiling Balinese official tracked him down and graciously returned it to him. No terror threats here.
So we plan to inhale the sights and sounds of Bali and Taiwan, hoping to return home with a fresh perspective in our privileged country with an apperication of the wonders of ntaural beauty and human life. What a privilege to move in and out of the modern world to this remote oasis whenever we can! If only we could bottle these sights and sounds to replay them in our daily lives in Oregon....But alas..............

Preparing for SE Asia

Well, we are preparing for yet another trip to SE Asia, our third one in five years. Why? Well, Nate lives and teaches in Taiwan so we use him as an excuse to travel to these exotic countries which we happen to love. Right now, rain is pouring down in Portland so the idea of a South Seas trip with summer weather sounds pretty darned good to us! Hopefully, I will return with some stunning photographs of monks and Buddhas to paint back here in the good ole NW. Will write more next week after the plane actually takes off!