Tag Archives: Bali

Being in Bali Makes you want to…


Get a tattoo – Maybe it’s a natural result of seeing so many people wearing so little clothing – but the number of amazing tattoo’s is hard to believe. Vines on feet, flowers on wrists, entire arms, chests, legs, if there’s visible skin – it often sports an amazing tattoo. One guy actually showed me the map of Indonesia on his arm. Handy if you get lost I suppose. I think I’d prefer a GPS or a good compass.

Fast – As in not eat. Overheard at the Yoga Barn in Ubud – “I’m on the third day of my fast – and it’s not so bad. I’m a bit dizzy – but it’s ok”. My idea of a fast – missing lunch!

Drink incredibly great coffee – Yes this is the home of the Civet Cats that eat the coffee beans and poop them out – which apparently makes for a coffee you must try to believe (haven’t tried it yet) – but even the normal – $4 a kilo coffee is incredibly yummy. Guess what friends and family are getting as gifts this year…

Take most of your clothes off and DANCE – I think this is a Yoga Barn/Ubud thing – but the Estatic Dances and Sunday Dances are pretty incredible happenings. 150 to 250 people crowded into a large – but not infinite space in order to jive to the sounds of a DJ. no partners, no talking, just dance. If you try to partner, or break the rule of silence, you can expect to be quietly and quickly corrected. This is a seriously no talking activity. My favorite part – lying down afterwards and relaxing to the sound of a gamalin.

Drink delicous Iced Tea with the sugar syrup on the side – It’s hot, Ice Tea is cold – so of course this is going to work. But the tea is particularly good here – brewed and iced, not instant junk – and having the sugar syurp served on the side makes it super eady to control your sugar fix.

Really listen to the words of John Lennon’s Imagine.

Eat Gado-Gado (vegetables in peanut sauce) in a different restaurant every night to compare recipes. This is possible because food here in Bali is very cheap – $3 to $4 for a main dish if you steer clear of restaurants that look fancy. Even a fancy duck dinner (and I’ve yet to try Duck – bummer) goes for about $30 for 2 – so it’s pretty challenging to run up a bill that requires using your credit card. Just don’t do buffets (so dangerous in this climate for our poor western tummies), and steer clear of a hotel brand you recognize and you’ll be fine!

Talk to strangers – I don’t know what it is about me and traveling – but I’m constantly chatting with strangers – and they get right to the nitty gritty of what is bothering them. I promise – this happened – a woman starts telling me about her hike up Mount Batur to see sunrise, and the fact that she missed it because her son’s tummy wasn’t doing great. I asked – is your family brushing their teeth with bottled water? Answer – No. Well – says I – try that. Might help your son’s tummy. (sigh – imagine – medical advice from the uninformed to the unwary on a walk thru the rice fields. Really?? Only in Bali.)

Get rid of your aggression by having your incisor teeth filed down. This is a traditional rite of passage for Balinese teens – and while I’m not sure it works to get rid of agression – it does go a long way to explaining why food here is so often served in tiny chunks of intense flavor. No Incisors – no cutting the meat off the bone with your teeth!

Ride a Motor Bike Taxi – Again – I haven’t quite worked up the nerve to do this yet – but everyone else does it. If I’m truly brave – I might work up my nerve – or get desperate enough to do it. That almost happened the other night – It was late, I was facing an hour walk back to the Pink Lady’s Palace – and the first taxi offer was a motor bike. Saved by the guy behind him! But it was a close call.

Stand out in the warm rain – just because you can! It’s hot here – and the rain doesn’t always cool things down. So risk of chill for us northern types is pretty well nil. On the other hand – locals wear long sleeves and even sweaters at night. I’m still in shorts and a t-shirt – and sweating! What a difference getting used to a climate makes.

And most importantly – Buy a stone statue of Ganesha (elephant headed Hindu God) to bring home in your luggage – but be sure to learn the story first. Ganesha is the God of protection – and all traditional homes (and most homes are traditional) have one. He sits just inside the front gate of all compounds – and his important job is to keep out those evil spirts. And he does a pretty good job! I really wanted to buy a statue – I was hoping for a Monkey King – but Diane – source of all local info – decided that I absolutely needed Ganesha first. He’ll look great guarding the entrance to my garden at home – just hope he doesn’t find the winters too cold!

Signing off to go White Water Rafting – another must do in Bali – The Soup Lady

Manta Rays – the B-52 Bombers of the Pacific Ocean


Manta Rays are cool. And huge. Seriously huge. They act like they own the seas – and I suppose in a way they do. I can’t imagine a shark taking down a manta – I can’t even imagine them wanting too!

And Manta’s don’t eat divers – I’m not actually sure that they eat meat. Which brings up one severe lack on this dive boat – no one with a background in fish behavior – at least no one who speaks English. So I don’t really have anyone to ask. And the fall back solution for lack of knowledge – Google – is definitely hors de combat – No internet here – there’s barely cell phone coverage. Ok – actually – there isn’t cell phone coverage in any of the protected ancorages we’ve been in – even if you can see a tower – and there are towers – it’s still a challenge.

Anyway – back to the dive at Manta Point.

Because Manta’s need space – no protected reefs for them – the dive starts on a rubble field. The challenge – find the mantas! We’d seen several on the surface from the boat – SC actually threw on his fins and mask and snorkled out to get a good look – but now we had to find them in their element.

Good news – Denny has a 6th sense for this – and with only a few twists and turns – got me to exactly the right spot. The trick is to get up current from the Manta’s – so they swim towards you against the current. No problem for the Mantas – but us poor humans don’t swim up current very well. So we have to go in above where we hope they will be hanging getting a nice cleaning from the cleaning crew, and then drift down towards them. We catch a glimpse in the gloom of these large triangular shapes, and sink to the bottom and hold on for dear life. The current tries to pull us down stream – but we want to stay here in hopes the Mantas will do a ‘fly by’.

And surprisingly – the magic works! Denny and I hold on to the rubble at the bottom – and the Mantas arch and curve and glide their ways towards us. There are 2 at first – a Giant Black Manta, and then close on his heels is a smaller – but still huge – Devil Ray Manta. Like Giant vaccum cleaners, their open mouths sweep in all the algae they can devour, and they continue swooping and swerving around us for what feels like several minutes. After these 2 leave – 2 more appear – Wow. That’s 4.

They are so close you can see their eyes, their mouths, the fish doing the cleaning – litterally B52 fly bys underwater.

They eventually are above us – and we release our hold on the rubble to continue the drift dive. We come across 4 turtles – each more adorable than the last, and a small shark asleep on the sand. Among the rubble are coral mounds with lots of fish – but between the Mantas, the turtles, and the shark – what more do you need? Apparently Nudibranches and Lion Fish!

The first dive of the day was also glorious – a fish market or Aqurium as you will. The funniest moment of the dive – we pass a group from another boat who are surrounding a turtle taking pictures. And one diver takes a SELFIE with the turtle. He has one of those long stick remotes – and is holding it out in front of him while he poses near the turtle. I almost swallowed my regulator laughing!

Huge Porcupine fish, huge morays, lots of micro stuff, huge Sweetlips, and of course a shark. My favorite moment – well aside from the turtle seflie – was later in the dive when Benny and I found a turtle on it’s own. I was above him, Benny below – and he swam right up to me – so close I could have kissed him! Imagine – me nose to nose with a turtle – very cute.

Signing off to get ready for my 200th dive!

The Soup Lady

Best Dive EVER!


Actually – I’ve had two of the best dives EVER so far this trip. Dive’s so outstanding that you will remember them forever – Dives that had everything. And we’re only on dive 8 of 18. What will they pull out of their hats this afternoon, tomorrow, the next day.

Castle Rock and Crystal Rock are comletely amazing dive sites – with the one we just finished – called Shot Gun a very close second.

I’m not going to bore you with a list of the types of fish we saw – lets just leave at a zillion and all be happy. These sites rocked because of the close encounters of the fishy kind – running into multiple turtles, 10 sharks, unknown scazillions of fish. And they rank amazingly high on the topography mark as well.

Let’s start with Castle Rock. On the surface, there is nothing to see, it’s all hiding below on an exposed rock mound that is teaming with fish and corals, both hard and soft. Because it is so exposed, and because the tides here run in and out – there’s a lot of current around the rock. This makes it an ideal place to see schools of fish darting in and out of the coral, or swimming idlely around and around the rock. Sharks of course love to see circling fish – so we get treated to several circling sharks! Denny, my dive master and buddy extraordinare – shows me how to hold on to a dead piece of coral in order to watch the show over/above/around us. It was awesome.

Crystal Rock – similar name, simlar geography – differes only in that there are actually 2 reef areas – separated by what Denny calls ‘The Fish Market’. I’m guess that is because it is here that Sharks come to pick up lunch. We enter with a fast decent to get below the surface current – and stablize at about 70 feet to enjoy the show. Denny is an expert at spooting Nudibranches – there are lots to see too. Brightly colored, these reef dewlers makes for nifty micro diving. We swim over the rubble to the Pinancle, circle it admiring all the brightly colored inhabitants – then swim back to the main rock to accend. Denny says we’ll do this dive again – and I’ll thrilled.

Crystal Rock – 2nd Time. This time we do Crystal rock first thing in the morning. Timing matters because different fish are active at different times of the day – with early morning seeing the most activitiy. I love the slanting light in the early morning better too. The Sisters convince Sarif and Denny – our 2 dive masters – to schedule this dive at 7:00 am – with the briefing at 6:30. Remember – these are all boat dives so after the briefing – we have to board a small boat, drive to the dive site, then get wet. Denny and I head off in one drection, the rest in another. Back roll off the boat – and we immediately spot a black tip shark, who is as surprised to see us as we are to see him. He makes one lazy circle between Denny and I – giving me a hard cold stare. Am I breakfast? Do I look yummy? Or too bony?

Fortunately, he decides against a taste – and swims off into the blue. Whew.

We continue our decent, round the corner of the pinnacle – and there’s another shark asleep in the sand. Ok – asleep is good. Further on – two small baby sharks are there to be found, also lounging around doing nothing much. But that’s not the end of it. We continue to circle the mound, and come upon 3 more sharks – in hunting mode! Denny grabs me and pushes me on his back. I get it – this is not about thinking I’m cute – this is about making like a really really big fish – so the sharks will decide to try for easier game. They criss cross in front of us twice – and again decide for easier stuff – and make for the blue.

Ok – that’s a lot of shark sightings for a dive that isn’t a ‘shark dive’. For once I’m going to be lowish on air. Lowish for me means coming back with less than 1000 lbs – and I’m already at 700. I signal Denny that we need to do our safety stop – and on the way up to 15 feet – there’s a gigantic turtle – stuffing his face. He’s using his front fins to hold the food, and munching away. Honestly – it’s so human – it’s scary! The turtle is probably 1/2 my size, and comletely un-interested in us. So we get the best decom ever – 5 minutes of turtle watching. And for the icing on an already over the top cake – a unicorn fish – large of course like everything here in Komodo National Park – swims right by. 5 Stars!

Oh yes – and somewhere in amongst the shark and turtle sightings – Denny also finds a Pgymy Seahorse, 2 huge Morays, 2 star fish, green coral packed full of little fish that poke their heads out – and dodge back in as soon as I wave at them.

Our 2nd dive of the day is called Shot Gun – and I’m thinking – how can you possibly compare with Crystal Cave. And yet – it does. This is one of those cool topography dives – where the briefing takes 30 minutes to cover all the different things we need to think about. The dive starts on a zen voyage thru a sandy field spotted with sea eals, coral mounds, and the occasionally huge Sweetlips (that’s a type of fish). But we gradually are swept by the current into a funnel between two island peaks – and the current picks up steam. A ring around a ravine and we can look up to see dozens of difenent schools of fish swimming in all directions. We climb up the ravine, and then grab a hand hold at the top to prevent the now extremely strong current from sweeping us further away. After a time admiring the schools from the top – we let go – and are swept away over the coral heads. It’s like flying surounded by water! At the end of our wild ride, we decom over a field of soft corals larger than I’ve ever seen before. Stellar dive.

Signing out because we are diving again in just a few minutes – The Soup Lady

Life on a Live-aboard in Komodo National Park, Indonesia


I would SO be voted off this island. Not that I’m either surprised or upset – mostly just wish things could be different. But it’s the risk you take traveling alone – no friend to cover your back!

But I’d be here again in a shot anyway – so I guess it’s not that bad an island.

Ok – The Mangguana is an Indonesian style live-aboard dive boat. That means there’s no dive platform – you dive off dingys that take you to the dive site, and then in theory the boat circles around for an hour waiting for someone to surface. Must be boring – and hot – and rather dull – but I guess the kids that do this make a living – and that makes it worth doing. The Mangguana itself has 4 ‘guest’ cabins – each of which has 2 bunk beds, a bathroom (sort of), a sink, and an all important Air Conditioner. You definitely need AC in this climate – that’s even with the breeze.

The bathroom has to be experienced to be believed – It consists of a shower and a toilet – no seperation. And only a shower curtain to separate the bathroom from the bedroom part. So you can sit on the toilet to shower – or just stand and shower. If you do either – use the towel to dry the seat – or you are going to be wet bummed for the day! On the good news front – the shower works fine, and they supply shampoo. So getting rid of the salt water – a natural result of doing an hour long scuba dive – isn’t a challenge.

There are 2 main areas of the boat that are for guest use – in the front is the ‘dive preperation’ area – benches, boxes for gear, places to hang wetsuits. On the upper deck behind the steering house is a huge covered area that serves 5 or 6 times a day as a feeding ground. There’s a giant wooden table – 8 chairs, a fridge for holding drinks (free except the beer – $2,50 each on an honor system), a serving area for misc. food – coffee, tea, sugar, plates, silverware, 2 boxes of cereal (yum), a toaster – and the all important fish books. What’s a dive boat without fish books. They could seriously use a better library though – a reef creatures book would have been so great.

There’s no segregated photo table – so photographers wouldn’t be in love with this boat – and the toilet would definitely disaude my husband from being here – but I’m a happy camper.

There are 6 divers on board – and 8 staff. 2 dive masters one of which I think doubles as captain, the chef, the waiters, the prep cook, the guys who drive the 2 tenders, and then miscellaneous people who appear and disappear without much guest contact. I’m guessing they fill the tanks, clean the dishes, keep the boat ship-shape. I’m not even sure where all of these folks are living – although the below deck portion of the boat must be huge – it’s completely off limits to the likes of us. There’s also the portion directly under the open area living space – maybe that has crew quarters, although I’m guessing it might be the kitchen from the delicious smells.

Ok – so on to why I’d be voted off.

6 guests – to protect the innocent – I’m giving them fake names.

There’s SC – Stalwart Canadian. He’s a Montrealer, formerly helping businesses set up ERP systems – who gave up his job and decided to scuba dive until he ran out of money. This boat is just one stop on his extended trip. He’s actually also my room mate – and a better room mate you couldn’t get. He’s so quiet – yes, even asleep – I often don’t even know he’s in the room. And he’s neat – his clothes are carefully put away – and his bed is MADE. And he’s a good diver. Practically Perfect in every way.

There’s the German – he’s an extremely experienced diver – over 800 dives – and he probably the nicest person among the guests. I don’t know much about him, other than he comes from a small village near Stuttgart – and like me is on a limited time holiday. Although his is not only including this dive boat – it’s including 4 days at this incredible diving resort in the park. I later found out that he’s 52 (surprising that), has a girlfriend who doesn’t care to dive (how sad), and works in a company that makes Headlights for BMW among others.

There are the Sisters – 2 gals from Switzerland – one of whom is a dive instructor. They find me annoying – to say the least – but hey – they are young, beautiful – and there are no eligible guys on board. Must be hard on them. They spent the last week at the above mentioned fancy resort – and now they are here. Great figures, awesome bikini’s, perfect tans – They have been there – seen that – and as far as I can tell find the dives ok – but not great. It’s hard to tell for sure, they tend to sleep or read when they are not eating or diving. But then – so do I.

The last member of our group is the Vegetarian. She’s from Amsterdam – owns a flat there – but seems to not call Amsterdam home. Her mom is Indonesian – and she grew up here in the Island – I’m not sure what she does to afford diving – but she’s tall, thin, wears a different bikini every 3 or 4 hours – and she’s the reason I’m bunking in with the Canadian.

I arrived first at the dive shop in Laboun Bajo – but they had problems fitting me into a wet suit. They had to order one from a different shop – that one too didn’t fit – so a third was ordered. Bottom line – I ended up going to the boat last. By the time I boarded the boat – each guy had taken a cabin, the sisters had a cabin, and the Vegetarian had a cabin. The crew suggested that we share – being both girls and all – but she made a fuss. “I was promised my own cabin – I need my personal space.” Well, don’t we all dear.

But – color me flexible – I don’t mind sharing with a guy – and the SC said he was ok with it too. So we are room mates. And as I said before – he’s the best room mate ever. I literally never see him in the room – I go to bed before he finishes drinking beer at night – and he’s been gone before I’ve gotten up every morning. How he can brush his teeth in silence is a mystery. I even asked him this AM if he slept in our room! (Yes – he did).

Diving is always done in a buddy team. So – the Sisters are one team, surprisingly SC and the Vegtarian (who is actually not nearly as bad as she first appeared) is a 2nd team, the German is paired with one dive master, and I’m paired with the other. When we get in the tenders – everyone gets into one tender – except me and Denny – my dive master/buddy. This is not a bad deal – doing every dive one on one with someone who loves pointing out the fishes, the nudibranches, the reef animals – and can find pgymy sea horses – is never going to be a mistake. But it does mean a lack of comradery with the rest of the guests – hence my certainity that I’d be voted off!

Ok – enough about the boat and my fellow divers – It’s time for out 8th dive of the trip – and it’s only day 2.

Got to go suit up!

Signing off – The Soup Lady

Mosh Pit Party – Balinese Style – Getting High Naturally


Getting high – Naturally is the subtext – Enjoying yourself the point. This was totally way fun.

Tonight The Lady in Pink and I went to an Ecstatic Dance party held at the world famous Yoga Barn. This is a not to be missed experience that I’m going to attempt to describe – but trust me – seeing is believing.

The Yoga Barn is known for it’s incredible number of yoga related offerings – but it also has something happening every night. Monday night is movie night, for example. And Friday night is Ecstatic Dance night.

The rules are simple. No talking, Move freely, Leave electronics outside. No Alcohol. This is about getting high naturally – and while I’m not sure about high – and I definitely tell you it’s about getting hot.

There were over 250 people (unlimited is the that the gal taking the entrance fee used to describe the attendance) in a magnificant space – high ceiling, glorious wooden floor that I would love to take home with me, and shelves along the side for stuffing back packs and water bottles.

Average age – maybe 30, could be younger. Fitness level – high. Clothing – for Bali – very revealing – bra tops only were the norm for woman, bare chested the norm for the guys. The abs on display were ourstanding. Women wore loose fitting, flowing pants, yoga pants, or short shorts. I actually watched one woman go commando! Hair – loose and flowing – and that was true for the guys as well as the girls. I saw guys with such glorious long hair – every girl had to be jealous.

The dance started with dancers warming up in their own individual ways – one woman was even dancing with a hula hoop – and she knew how to use it. Once the serious music started – the crowd got larger and larger – and the temperature got higher and higher. There was actually a wall of heat around the core group of dancers – i couldn’t go there – although the Lady in Pink had no issues joining in and staying in.

I found a cooler (maybe 100?) spot – and danced my little heart out. The music wasn’t completely familiar – but it felt familiar.

After 90 minutes of non-stop dancing – people collapsed on the floor -formed a circle for the final meditation and hand holding. This is the Yoga Barn – you have to expect a spirtual aspect.

Then we pounded the floor to thank the dance master and headed home – tired but inspired.

I loved it.

Signing off – The Soup Lady

The dance started with dancers

Morning One in Ubud, Bali – Roosters, Ducks and Fish – Oh My!


I wake in my over the top comfy 4 poster bed to the sound of rain splashing gently on the ground outside my room. We’re just at the end of the raining season – early March – and rain is a relatively\ constant companion to most day trips – but it’s not a sit at home rain – it’s an on again/off again rain that is gentle and warm. Totally brightens the colors.

What – besides the rain – woke me? I hear the clacking of ducks outside – with the occasional loud cry of the local – and apparently in good voice and not in a good mood – Rooster.

I grab my iphone – it’s also my camera – and dash outside. The colors are completely stunning. The lush greens contrast with the reds and yellows and oranges and purples of the flowers. I’m dutifully impressed. Our house overlooks a rice field – sections of which are flooded and provide a perfect breeding ground for a local flock, carefully tended by an elderly, but still very capable man. I’m going to try for a photo op – but I think he needs to see me as someone friendly first.

Our rental home – found by my friends on VRBO – which now I can see clearly around – contains 2 bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms (and the master bathroom is even nicer than mine – with an indoor and outdoor shower), a long and thin main room with a work desk, a TV and a sofa – and what passes as a kitchen. There’s a full sized fridge – a 2 burner stove top, and a tiny toaster oven. But there’s plenty of storage, a giant sink, and since water in the pipes is not potable – there’s a dispenser that holds those plastic 5 gallons water containers. The main living area is the back porch – and it’s huge. At least 40 foot long – with 2 comfy sofas and a wooden dining table that is totally Balinease. Perfect.

The thatched ceiling is vaulted and at least 25 feet high at the highest point. Since the living room is not Air Conditioned, the tops of the walls don’t meet the roof. Instead there is room for lots of air circulation – even if the glass doors to outside are closed.

But the coolest part of the house are the water ways. You enter by stepping on huge stones that are sitting in a pool of water. All around the ouside of the house is flowing water in narrow streams – several sections of which are wide enough to house fish that Liane feeds every night. You are always surrounded by the sound of flowing water – but it is a bit ‘watch your step’ when exiting the house. You don’t want to miss the edige and fall into the water.

There’s a lovely infinity pool that drains into a white rock studded drain – a wooden resting platform with a roof for relaxing out of the sun – and sun chaises to relac in the sun.

Rumor has it that the place is for sale – $200,000 buys you a 28 year lease – at the end of which time – the home goes back to the owner of the land – who can sell it again. hmm – Not buying in Bali I guess. But hey – I’m not even the rentor – just the guest of the rentor. It’s perfect.

I’m sitting on the desk, typing my blog, when a young woman rounds the corner of the house. She owns the land (houses in Bali can not be owned outright by foreigners – instead they get a lease on the land), and has come to bless the house.

I’m going to repeat that so you’ll know it’s not a typo. Yes – she’s blessing the house. Every exit – and every stair case (just one – but if there were more, she’d be keen). She is carrying a large tray with flower baskets and Incense on it – and proceeds to go to the 2 stone altars on the property. She uses a flower placked from one of out trees to waft the smoke from the incense into the altar. She repeats this process again and again, at the edge of the pool where you would exit it, on the stairs leading up to the porch, on the porch just above the stairs, at the front door and the back door – Keeping this up until every entrance to our house is protected and blessed.

I discover in walking around that all the women have been doing this today – and there are tiny baskets with flowers and the remains of incense sticks everywhere. More popular sites have piles of baskets – as each woman did her personal series of prayers.

What a lovely introduction to Bali. Birds flying everywhere – flowers everywhere – and the protection of the spirts.

Great coffee too.

I might stay here a long time! It’s perfect.

Signing off to enjoy the peace and quiet and to commune with the spirts of the house who are feeling very warm and fuzzy – The Soup Lady

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Bali First Impressions – Wow!


It’s Hot here – no really really hot. Not like St. Croix hot – more like steambath hot. Just 15 minutes of exercise and my heart is pounding like a kettle drum. Definitely going to have to be careful.

But it’s also Glorious. Ok – way past Glorious in absolute fact. My friends have rented a 2 bedroom palace on a rice paddy close to downtown Ubud. And I spent most of the morning just amazed at the birds, the sounds, the smells, the place. I’m not mystically inclined, but I can see how vistors and locals alike would start feeling the presence of a greater spirit. Of course it could be sleep deprivation – the roosters wake early!

Backing up – I arrived in Ubud – and after several false starts – missing papers, old US money (not acceptable – sorry), and a very casual search of my backpack – managed to clear the airport security and exit into the airport of Bali.

After getting my luggage, going thru the ‘nothing to declare’ line, and still getting searched – I folowed the exit signs thru automatic glass doors to the outside world. A wall of amazing heat, noise, and excitement immediately hits you. There are litterally hundreds of signs with the names of incoming guests being help up hopefully by travel agents, taxi drivers, friends, friends of friends – and amongst the clamoring thongs – my friend The Lady in Pink. Whew!

She guestures me to continue walking – you have to say hi and then cross thru the duty free shop to get outside – and we exchange greetings. Movement to my right alerts me – someone is grabbing my suitcase! I whirl around – to say stop – as The Lady In Pink introduces me to our driver – Diane. (it’s a guy – I know – probably not quite the right spelling). He was just being helpful – I need to get a grip!

We walk out thru the most beautiful airport I think I’ve ever seen – open to the air – and packed even at 10:00 a night with throngs of people. Loading the car is fast – despite my packing issues – I didn’t in the end bring very much stuff – and head out towards Ubud.

It’s compeletly dark of course – which is probably a really good thing. Cuts down on the ducks, dogs, and mopeds on the road. We drive along past dozens and dozens of shops – shuttered for the night – but clearly lit to reveal thousands of hand carved stones. My favorite at first glance are the stunning ‘monsters’ that are captured with painstaking intensity in frowns, smiles, grimaces, and yawns. I absolutely have to buy one. A big one. Like entire suitcase sized. Can anyone see overweight in my future?

We meander our way out of the airport, out of Denpassar, past town after unnamed village and eventually reach Ubud. If there are highways in Bali – I didn’t see a sign of one – it was narrow 2 lane for 95% of the trip. Diane drops us off at a car park – from here it a dark walk of about 200 feet to the door of our house. After a quick tour of the house (it’s beautiful), a taste of Snake Fruit (kinda like an apple that’s a bit soft), and a long drink of water, it’s time for bed.

My bedroom is a palace. Seriously. Huge 4 poster bed hung with mosquito netting, a simple sheet (it’s hot – so just a sheet is ideal), my own private porch with a garden view, and a bathroom that honestly requires a picture to describe. The sink is one of those craved Stone bowls, the shower has no walls – just a huge cedar ‘deck’ that drains down to the pipes below. And – nice bonus – a large multi-shelved unit for storing towels, toothpaste, and various lotions and potions. I do love a nice bathroom. But it’s late, I’m wiped out – and I want bed.

Want more news – you’ll have to wait – I need my beauty sleep. Signing off – The Soup Lady

Business Class ROCKS – or what a difference a Plane Reno Makes


I knew that they had changed something about my long leg – the flight from Paris to Singapore. When I went to print my boarding passes – my seat assignment was different – and when I went to change it back – the seat map was completely different.

So no surprise that there were changes – but I was still stunned by the difference!

But before I get to my flight – a quick review of the Charles De Gaul Hilton. I arrived in Paris at 8:00 AM – and had to fly out at 7:30 PM – and I can’t sleep on airplanes. So I knew I was going to need to find a bed when I arrived in Paris. My husband encouraged me to stay at the Hilton – he’s used it before on these airport stays – and thinks of it quite fondly.

So – expensive reservation made (I opted for the room that gave me access to the executive lounge, figuring I’d grab breakfast before hitting the sack) – I arrived in Paris – terminal 2E. There’s a shuttle every 15 minutes from 2E to the hotel – but who knew. Despite telling the hotel when I was arriving – the only instructions they gave me had me on the airport metro – a short 4 stop metro between Terminal 2, Terminal 1 and 3, and a parking lot.

So – I got off the plane – walked thru passport control and luggage claim, out to the airport, back towards the center of the airport, got on the metro thingy, go off 2 stops later, then walked around that building until I spotted the Hilton. It was a huge problem – but the entire thing could have been easily avoided had I known to grab their shuttle from terminal 2. Good news – used that on the way back – dropped me right off at my gate.

Breakfast in the Executive Lounge was ok – but not worth what I paid for the upgrade. Message to self – next time don’t bother. I got to the room – nice comfy bed – great bathroom – and collapsed. 4 Hours later – I awoke – really to boggie. Had a very refreshing shower – took the shuttle to the airport – and found the Air France Executive lounge. All good!

On to the flight.

On January 1, 2015 – Air France introduced brand new seats in Business Class on several of it’s long haul flights – and mine was one of the lucky ones. Oh – what a seat. I’ve walked past these egg shell shaped curved seats many times – this was the first time I got to press the buttons!

My seat was awesome. No seriously – really amazing. It was a full Flat bed – which means that it goes completely flat – so comfy for sleeping. The TV screen is huge – and close enough to my face for me to see it easily – and it was clean. And touch sensitive. They provided a fancy touch sensitive remote – but I never actually used it. One part of the egg hold the TV, and a shelf that becomes part of the bed when the chair is extended. Super large – super handy for my purse and back-pack. On the other part of the egg – the part with the chair – there was a very large area for putting stuff – and a cabinet that opened. It held the provided headphones (dearly wish they were more comfy – my ears were in pain by the end of the 19 hours) – and was large enough for me to tuck in my ipad. There were 2 plugs – one a multi-plug outlet that accepted not only my US connectors – but also the connectors for a multiple of other countries. The other plug was a USB port – which would charge my iphone – but not my ipad. Oh well.

So – I sat down – and my neighbor quickly realized I was new at this – and was very happy to demonstrate all the bells and whistles! Up down, into a bed, into a chair – move the back of the chair – what fun. Only thing missing – built in massage!

Standard amenities (how many cheap toothbrushes does anyone need), little slippers – and those socks that fit no one. Nice blanket, big pillow – I was in heaven.

And the food was pretty darn good too! I loved the amuse Bouche of peas and cream, the shrimp was ok – but the winner was the Cod with black Rice. It’s a celeberty chef’s dish – and it was yummy. And the fish was properly cooked – amazing for airline food. Standard cheese course (and great bread), plenty of water – this time wihout needing the constant reminders, and a very light dessert completed the dinner portion. The staff passed several times during the night – and if you were obviously awake (ok – I slept a total of 5 hours – which is probably some kind of record for me) – they gave you little bowls of rubarb-apple sauce. Very refreshing.

Entertainment – watched 3 films – Magic in the Moonlight by Woodie Allen – great film – you have to watch it, and 2 smash ‘m up films – Milifcent and Guardians of the Galaxy. Not sure why I watched the Guardians of the Galaxy – it’s quite silly on a tiny screen. But it is what it is.

Breakfast was a waste – terrible coffee (I forgot to ask for the hot chocolate – and they didn’t offer it either), and unlike the flight from Montreal – the bread was cold. I did enjoy the Broiche though.

Fussy about breakfast aside (I think the big problem for me was the abundance of fancy mushrooms on the omlet. I love omlets – hate mushrooms), I was dutifully impressed. Absolutely worth every penny to get that seat and that food for that long of a flight.

We were a bit late departing from Paris – which put us in late to Singapore – but I had no issues with the transafer – in fact the new gate was directly accross from the old one. One thing surprising about Singapore – the gates are all encloed in glass (floor to ceiling), and the security check is INSIDE the glass. So about 40 minutes before departure – the gate opens and you must go thru security at that point. This despite the fact that you had to have cleared security before getting on the plane you just got off. I guess they have decided that having 2 machines at every gate is more efficient that having one big line at the spot where people enter the entire gate area. Interesting.

Ok – enough of this – I’m waiting for my flight to Bali – making good use of their free internet here in Singapore. It’s 30 degrees C outside – that’s 50 degrees WARMER than what I left 2 days ago in Montreal. But you can’t tell that from here – the airport is of course air conditioned – and people don’t look much different from how they’d be dressed for a Montreal summer. Sandles and flip flops are the norm – but only one gal is wearing a tank top – everyone is pretty conservatively dressed for that hot a climate.

Moving on – The Soup Lady

I’m Flying Tomorrow – and I’m nervous. My stomach is killing me…


I’m leaving my safe and warm nest tomorrow for a 35 hour flight to another crazy adventure trip – this time to Bali. I’ve always wanted to go to Bali – ever since I saw the movie South Pacific, it’s been on my ever expanding bucket list of things I have to do some day.

And finally – I’m going. The trip is mostly paid for – I’ve gotten some Indonesian Ruples to pay for the Visa when I arrive – and I’m about 3/4 packed.

My packing issues are probably the source of at least part of my stomach concerns. Bali is just a very short stone’s throw away from Komodo National Park – home of some of the best scuba diving in the world.

I can’t go to Bali and not go scuba diving in Komodo Park – that and not seeing the dragons would be an expensive mistake. If you go that far – at least do the highlights!

In the book and susquent movie “Eat, Pray, Love” – the heroine goes to Bali – and doesn’t see the dragons. Loser. Silly movie. Monkeys are cute – and I’m sure that healer was a lot of fun – but when are you ever going to see hundreds of living, breathing, moving, and apparently ill tempered dragons? Get a grip. See the sites.

So – what does this have to do with packing issues? Well – if you are going diving – in a serious way – you need to bring your own regulator, BC, Mask, Snorkle, Fins, Dive Computer, Dive skin – etc. with you. And instead of just easy to squeeze in bathings suits and a few shirts – I’m now trying to figure out where to put stuff that really was never designed to be packed.

To add concern onto worry – apparently luggage has a habit of not making it to Bali. 3 changes of planes, 35 hours of travelling – just too many opportunities for even clearly labeled luggage to go off on it’s own and visit some other city.

So I’m doing carry on for the critical items – unfortunately – that’s my regulator, mask, Dive Computer, C-cards, and Dive tables. Plus bathing suit, shoes for the boat, hats for the boat, my toiletries, and my clothes. If all of that’s carry on – why am I checking luggage I’m wondering? Oh yes – fins and BC – truly bulky and not dive killers if they go missing. So one mostly empty suitcase in the hold (that is probably getting lost), and one over loaded and super heavy (for me) suitcase to carry on.

If you can’t lift it over your head – can you really call it a carry-on?

Well muttering about my packing concerns is not getting the stuff into the suitcase.

Signing off to go be nervous nearer my suitcase – The Soup Lady

Life in the pursuit of Happiness


Saw a wonderful commercial this morning on TV. It was done for the Cheese marketing board here in Canada – and it argued that doing things that give you Pleasure makes life worth living. I think the actual caption was “Cheese – an Excellent Source of Pleasure”.

I was intrigued – not so much by the cheese – it looked like Brie wins hands down – probably because it’s so easy to cut – but by the concept.

Life lived in the pursuit of Happiness.

I guess it intrigued me because I just did a series of personality questionnaires for a study at my local hospital on how certain personality types handle stress – and the questions generally asked for me rate a series of statements from Totally Disagree to Totally Agree.

The questions were not generally upbeat. I feel like Killing myself appeared at least 3 times – and there was an entire series devoted to issues related to handling overwhelming emotions. As my daughter-in-law quipped – I’m probably a huge outlier in their study. But hey – they invited me to continue for 3 years. I don’t think they would have done that if my results wouldn’t be included.

Back to the pursuit of Happiness.

So what makes you happy is the first question. If you know what gives you personally pleasure – it’s much easier to figure out what to do to get more of the same.

For me – travel (well not the TRAVEL part – but the being somewhere new and different part) is hugely enjoyable. I love seeing new places, visiting new museums (or even old ones with new exhibits). And you know what totally makes my day – exploring new transit systems.

I loved it when we were learning how to use the metro system in South Korea – it was a hoot to see the different stations, to observe how people in South Korea behave when doing their normal getting from here to there routines. Particularly fun – sitting with the older citizens in the reserved seats – and seeing how they knew each other. And watching them compete for least infirm. You take the seat – no you take the seat – no, I’m clearly in better shape then you – it’s yours. Too funny!

All of which leads me to the subject of my next big trip.

I’m going to Bali – Indonesia. And I’m already loving it – because in Indonesia – I’m a millionaire – a 5 millionaire to be exact. And it only cost me $500 Canadian. But my friend says it’s easy come, easy go.

Well – I’m going to revel in my new status for at least a few days, thank you.

Signing off – The newly minted millionaire – The Soup Lady