PURA LUHUR ULUWATU

Bali has over 20,000 temples and Pura Luhur Uluwatu was my first. There, we learned that it is one of the six holiest places in Bali and that Scott looks surprisingly good in a sarong. 

Mandatory temple garb. Gotta cover up those gams. 

The belt was also mandatory temple wear. Not a quirky accessory.

Not a great photo... but look at that baby monkey!

Built in the 11th century, the sea temple is on a giant cliff that overlooks the Indian Ocean. It's dedicated to the supreme Hindu God Acintya (their main, #1 God), but in his manifestation as Rudra, a storm God who is known as the "the mightiest of the mighty" which is now what I would like written on my grave stone. 

FUN FACT: After the Indonesian War of Independence, the country adopted a political philosophy that allowed for freedom of religion but the religions had to be monotheistic (one God only). Hinduism is a religion with a whole lotta Gods, so from what I understand, to comply with regulation, Balinese Hindus emphasize the monotheistic worship of Acintya, but he takes on various manifestations of their OG Gods (goddess of rice, god of mountains, etc). Balinese Hinduism in general is a bit of smorgasbord of Indian religions and animist (the belief that plants, animals and objects possess a spiritual essence) customs that go way way back.

This makes for many rituals, colorful surroundings and the near-constant smell of incense, everywhere you go. 

SHOTS FROM THE BACK OF THE SCOOTER

Renting a scooter is hands down, the best way to see Bali. We've taken ours on highways, dirt roads, city streets and up mountains. It's bananas maneuvering it in busy areas, as other bikers weave every which way like swarms of bees through traffic, including up onto sidewalks. Luckily, Scott had his motorbike license back in New Zealand so he has the quick instincts needed to drive it so I can just direct him via Google Maps and hold on for dear life. I've also been taking photos as we cruise around, so below are a few I took from the back of the bike if you'd like to see...

Side of the road chicken satay. 

Side of the road sticker stand. 

FACTS + COLORS OF BALI

1. When Indonesia's founding fathers declared independence from Dutch colonists in 1945, the official declaration stated: "We, the people of Indonesia, hereby declare the independence of Indonesia. Matters relating to transfer of power etc. will be executed carefully as soon as possible." That was it. That was the entire thing. (For comparison, the USA's was a bit more long winded.) 

2. I'm currently reading the book "Indonesia etc.: Exploring the Improbable Nation" that explains how Indonesia's been working on that "etc" part ever since. Just roving around Bali, it's obvious that Indonesia is still figuring things out. It's an incredibly diverse country with all of the islands, ethnic groups and languages but those different groups are actually living at different points in human history, all at the same time. Some parts of the country (urbanites in big city Java) are hyper modern. Other folks in mountainous rural areas, exists in much the same way their ancestors did. As the author, Elizabeth Pisoni explains, "Often, the more-or-less ancient and relatively modern co-exist in the same space; farmers get to their rice-field on a motorbike, villagers film a ritual sacrifice on their mobile phones". 

3. Given that ancient and modern Indonesia co-exist, the government has the daunting task of sorting out which Indonesia they should make laws for. For example, on the island of Sumba (a world away from Bali), traditionally people used machetes to slaughter animals, slice open coconuts and sharpen pencils. But occasionally, they would use those machetes to commit terrible human massacres. In an attempt to reduce the latter from happening, machetes were banned from use in town or at traditional ceremonies. Most of the people of Sumba found other tools to do the job of the household machetes (like pencil sharpeners). This makes sense, because, as Pisoni explains "modern life erodes even the legitimate uses that still make machetes indispensable in rural Sumba". The parallel between this and America's issues with gun control is pretty obvious. Sure, guns were a major part of the national culture in the US when we hunted wild animals and fought tribes. But now, we go to Stop and Shop and argue in courts of law (or on Twitter). In many ways, the Americans who assert their Second Amendment rights are equivalent to the people in Sumba who cling to their freedom to use a machete. For context, these are the same people who, when arranging marriages, kill a dog chosen by the brides family, and then have a priest from each side "read the dog's heart to see if the pair are well suited."

4. In Bali, people only name their children (male or female) one of 4 names: Wayan (first born), Made (second born), Nyoman (third born) and Ketut (fourth born). If there's a 5th, they just start over again with Wayan.  Before we knew this fun fact, we asked a mechanic if he "knew a guy named Wayan" when we were trying to find the fellow who rented us our motorbike. We got laughed at. 

IN + AROUND ULUWATU

Scootering 4 deep and still looking fresh to death. 

The other angle, just for effect. 

Probably checking Instagram. 

RUPIAH + YOGA

In Bali, $10 US dollars is equal to about 136,000 Indonesian Rupiah. Therefore every time I go to the ATM I'm a multi-millionaire. 

How you fill up your Scooter at side of the road gas stops, for 73 US cents per liter. Also, someone around here is drinking a lot of Absolut Vodka. 

We decided to come to Bali because: 

a) the surf is good

b) the weather is even better

c) it's suuuper cheap

d) there's decent wifi

e) the above factors make for a pretty nice lifestyle.

Bali actually has some of the most expensive resorts in the world so you can certainly go wild on the other extreme, but I'm doing it cheap-skate style. We have our own villa or bungalow for about $14 USD (so $7 each) a night, meals usually run about $2.50 each ($5 if we're feeling fancy), and our scooter is $2 USD a day with a $1.50 gas fill-up every few days. I often read travel blogs and think "how the hell do they afford this?", so I figure a transparent breakdown of actual costs might be of interest -- especially if Bali is on your list of places to visit. My most expensive splurge has been yoga which at $7 USD a class (100,000 Rupiah) is pretty pricey for these parts but still half the price of what it would be at home.

The setting of Morning Light Yoga in Uluwatu has been my favorite and it is insanely wonderful. The class is in this tree house/bungalow type of thing with jungle on one side and the ocean on the other...

Yoga bungalow at Morning Light. 

THIS is the view from class at Morning Light Yoga. (!!!)

...you actually hear the sound of waves crashing (not a soundscape recording) while you lay there in shavasana. It's such a ridiculous yoga cliche that I want to roll my eyes at it... but my inner hippie is just like "yessssss eat pray yoga OMMMM to everythinggg". Yoga at The Temple Lodge in Bingin Beach is also in this beautiful rock/flower filled temple-like space that's lovely and I've heard there's even cheaper classes held right on Balangan Beach. Ubud is apparently a mecca for yoga in Bali, but I'd say Uluwatu is giving it a serious run for it's rupiah. 

ULUWATU, BALI

Uluwatu is like where you go on vacation, if you live in heaven year-round. It's all turquoise blue water, blood orange sunsets over majestic cliffs, fresh fruit juices and monkeys. Lots of mischievous (and brilliant) monkeys that steal your sunglasses to try and barter them back for bananas. 

Monkeys at Padang Padang beach. 

This was after they jumped off the rock, egging each other on one by one, like a bunch of little dare devils. 

Surfers over Uluwatu cliff. 

Scott under the cove at Suluban Beach. 

Uluwatu ("ulu" meaning "lands end" and "watu" meaning "rock") is on the tip of Bukit Peninsula, trailed by 5 beautiful beaches: Balangan, the aptly named Dreamland, Bingin, Padang Padang and Suluban. The entire peninsula is sunny and mellow, everyone gets around via scooter and the main road (and it's many twisty turn offs) are sprinkled with fresh juice cafes, budget bungalow and villa homestays and epic views of the Indian Ocean. We first experienced the magic of Warung's (serve yourself Indonesian restaurants where you can get a massive plate of food for about $2 USD) here which have become a dinner staple. 

Local banana shop. Bananas are delicious in their natural state, but especially so when they're caramelized and fried, as I've learned here.

Looking up at Single Fin. 

Sunset at Bingin Beach. 

Every morning in Uluwatu we'd wake up and I'd get bribed to roll out of bed with the promise of an iced (!) cappuccino and we'd cruise around on the scooter to look for the best surf spot. The rest of the day would be a mix of reading on the beach, surfing, yoga and stealing wifi to work in a local cafe. My favorite days ended with watching the sunset from either Suluban or Bingin beach with a fresh mango juice.

It truly does not get any better than Uluwatu. 

KUTA, BALI - INDONESIA

It's always slightly alarming when your connecting flight to Singapore lands in South Korea. But after 36 hours and a surprise pit stop at the Seoul airport, I finally landed in Indonesia. 

A QUICK INTRODUCTION: Indonesia consists of a string of 13,466 islands that hug the waist of Earth, covering the distance from Anchorage, Alaska to Washington DC. I've chosen to spend my time here on a little island in the middle, called Bali. The country itself contains 360 ethnic groups that speak over 719 languages and there are 240 million people here, in total.

We had booked 2 nights in bustling Kuta, which is right outside the Denpasar airport, mostly to recover from the flight. Arriving there, you can really feel that Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world. It's super busy and very crowded. But about half the people around are Australian and German tourists. 

I had been to Kuta before on a "WOOOOH Spring Break!" type of trip, when I studied in Perth, Australia when I was 20. Kuta is essentially a Cancun for Australians. Back then I had a blast and came back with a plethora of cheap patterned sundresses and bootleg DVD's, but I wasn't looking to recreate that this time around. To be honest, Kuta is kiiind of a tourist hellhole. It's loud and dirty,  the beaches are filthy and you get pestered everywhere you go ("Taxi! Taxi?! Massage? Massage?! You want sunglass? I sell cheap!") which isn't an accurate first impression of the actually lovely and charming Balinese people.

My first recommendation for someone visiting Bali is to get out of Kuta ASAP. It is however, good for surfing, food and amazingly cheap massages to work out the lingering effects of an extremely long flight. So, we did all of that for 48 hours while staying at the very nice Manggar Indonesia Hotel (for about $20 USD a night) in a quiet part of town. 

These boats will take hardcore surfers (like Scott) out past the reef for the big waves while their girlfriends get the most spirited 60 minute massage of their life by a tiny Balinese woman for the equivalent of $4.50 USD. In Bali, I'm thismuchcloser to my "if i had a disgusting amount of money" goal of having an in-house masseuse. It's superb. 

Ok so the beach doesn't actually look filthy. BUT IT IS. I swear to you. 

I got this Mie Goreng at a beach shack (like actual shack, not just a fun attempt at quirky decor) and I was raving about it until I saw that it was actually just made from a 2 minute noodle pack (to be fair, they did have a limited kitchen in said shack) and then began to question why the 2 minute noodle dishes I often made during college were garbage compared to this one that again, was made in shack.  

Little corner store where you can stock up on one of my favorite parts of traveling: weird foreign candy. 

The hotel came with breakfast and I got an Indonesian dish that's basically like savory oatmeal made out of rice and chicken. I was into it. 

Here is Scott with freshly cut coconut water that cost approximately 10 cents (!). Makes you question all those times you bought $8 coconut waters after a hot yoga class because you thought you really needed those electrolytes.

Super cute neighbors. 

These little colorful baskets, called "Canang sari" are everywhere you step in Bali. They're daily offerings made by Balinese Hindus to their numero uno supereme God, Acintya. The direction which the flowers are placed symbolize various Hindu gods and the idea is that the time and effort it takes to prepare each basket is a self-sacrifice, in gratitude for the peace there is in the world. You'll often find cookies on top too, because who doesn't want a cookie? Hindu God does. 

Going through these photos, I'm noticing that Kuta doesn't actually look so bad. Perhaps it's because puppies and pretty flowers make even the worst of spots photogenic. I maintain that when arriving in Bali, one should exit Kuta and get to the glorious parts of the island as soon as they can. That said, it's certainly not that hard to get a cheap massage (or a Bintang) and enjoy yourself, while you're there. 

BRASS VIDEOS

If you happen to be into dresses, french accents or craft beer -- here are two more videos I did for Brass Clothing: 

END OF THE SUMMER

The last few weeks of August were spent back on the east coast -- celebrating, moving, packing and exploring all around Boston + New England. 

I turned 29 with this good looking group. We had a biiiig night out and I made sure that one of my favorite quotes, "If you aren't embarrassed by what you were doing last year then you aren't growing enough" will definitely ring true by August 21, 2016. 

Afternoon at the Lawn on the D in South Boston. 

Birthday Partner for 17 years straight. 

Birthday fish tacos in Fort Point. 

Trevor and Jay got hitched and it was truly a beautiful wedding in Lincoln. It was super smooth and effortlessly fun -- much like their relationship. 

A night of scalped tickets and Fenway franks. 

Scott's first baseball game. 

Visiting the Vanderbuilt Mansion in Newport, Rhode Island. 

Inside the Vanderbuilt mansion, where they clearly ripped off Versailles. 

Newport, RI. 

Portsmouth, NH.

Jamaica Pond. 

Visiting the Alma Mater. 

Scott's reaction to visiting the Old North Bridge in Concord, where the "shot heard round the world" was first fired starting the American Revolution: "So you Americans have always been shooting people, ay?"

SAN FRANCISCO

Making our way through Monterey (where our bright green and purple camper van got caught right in the middle of a very large classic car parade, but we just smiled and waved through it) and Santa Cruz, we arrived in my favorite American city... San Francisco. 

Monterey

"oh hey girl what up"

Santa Cruz.

Making eggs in Golden Gate Park.

In front of a blurry Alcatraz.

Walking all round, the hills and colors of San Francisco were delightful as ever and we met up with my homegirl (current SF resident) Lisa, for a bbq dinner.  We drove over the Golden Gate Bridge as Scott butchered the Full House theme song and I had my best surf yet in Ocean Beach.

After turning in our camper van at the JUCY office, we had a full day of exploring left so we got a rental car for the day to store our things and make our way around. I was absolutely thrilled about our successful road trip... until we walked back to the car after grabbing a quick coffee at the Ferry Building. Our rental car window had been smashed and half our things stolen. 

Right about when I was taking this photo, our car was getting broken into. 11 AM on a Friday morning!

THAT SUCKED.  I've mentioned this before, but the universe really does have a pesky way of keeping you in check when everything is going a little too well.

Long story short (ish): I was a mix of relieved and insulted to find that the thieves dumped most of my things since they didn't find them to be of any value. Scott however, wasn't as fortunate.  Like any good former Cramer producer, I had all my contact information listed on my external hard drive... and like any lazy person, I didn't have a password on my laptop... so the good citizen who found my backpack called my cell and opened my laptop to post on my Facebook wall. This led to an influx of friends calling and messaging because the post sounded suspiciously like I had been kidnapped. This was really a fine example of humans looking out for each other and was a nice bright spot in an otherwise giant hassle of day. The rest of the day was spent sorting out paperwork at the police station and rental car agency, driving hours to retrieve my backpack and then it was a mad rush to the airport where Scott sweet talked security in order to board the flight without his (now stolen) passport. Lessons to take away from this: the $11 extra car insurance is worth it and travel insurance is always a good idea. 

But, all in all, no real harm done. Everyone was still alive, with just less baggage to check. So, I still love you, San Francisco. You beautiful, apparently crime riddled city. AND since we did get my external hard drive back I was able to edit the video that this whole road trip for! We shot it all with a GoPro and here it is, if you'd like to see:

It was a great California Road Trip, even if the end was a bit more of an adventure than we had planned.

BIG SUR

I was super excited to show Scott the wonder that is Big Sur, but then I was a little concerned that he might actually be completely unphased by it since New Zealand (his homeland) is all dramatic coast lines, plunging cliffs, winding green wilderness over bright blue oceans, etc. Luckily (and appropriately), he was enamored with it as I am.

No photos before coffee. 

We pulled over for the stunning views and a back-of-the-van peanut butter muesli and banana breakfast. I also made sure we stopped at the tiny + charming Big Sur Bakery for a strawberry scone. 

Being from the east coast, I kind of forget that the USA has landscape like this and it's easy to see why it attracted creative folks like Kerouac and Hunter S. Thompson. Big Sur is just so giant and incredible, it's good reminder that it's a big wide world out there -- even in your own country. 

ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY

We met a group of bros who had just graduated from Bible College and they led us down to a cove near Avila Beach. And baptized us. Just kidding. They were Bible College grads though. Real nice chaps.

Precise point this photo was taken. 

Over the Pacific.

Fruit stand stop.

Lake Casitas, the only Lake I've ever encountered where swimming is prohibited.

Santa Barbara street art. 

Santa Barbara Pier.

Avila Beach.

Seals created a Big Giant Bed at sunset. 

Along Highway 1 we stopped at a fruit stand in Guadalupe where I unnecessarily whipped out my limited Spanish ("que es?" "that's a nectarine." "ahhh si, muchas gracias"). Scott also experienced Urban Outfitters for the first time and could not, for the life of him, imagine why anyone would want to live in lovely, gorgeous Santa Barbara ("There's no waves!").  

It was a big stretch of highway up to Big Sur which called for good driving music, so from me to you: here's a mix. Enjoy it on your next road trip, even if it's your morning commute. 

OJAI

Driving North we pulled off at the exit for Ojai because I vaguely remembered hearing good things about the little town. We ended up doing a sweaty trail run/hike in the steep dry mountains, encountering a massive snake and stealing oranges from a local grove for breakfast. All around, a good detour.