Month: March 2016

Our week in Bali was very relaxing. We had no plans before arriving, so we took it day by day. We stayed in the village of Ubud, which is towards the center of the island. I think the biggest surprise to us was how busy it was. When you think of Bali you think peaceful rice fields and zen yoga (both of which you can find), but all of the tourists and motorbikes made it a bit hard to find at first. 

 

   

  
We spent our first day walking around exploring the new place we were in. On the short walk from our guesthouse to the end of the block there was probably 50 shops and cafes (all of which I wanted to go in and try). We walked around looking at the shops and going through one of the markets. 

   
    
   
The next day we went to the Bali Bird Park. We walked around for a couple hours looking at the exotic birds they had there and we even got up close and personal with some hornbills! 

One of the things I was most excited about going to Bali for was the yoga classes (not too surprising as there are yoga classes and retreats and yogis all over!). I tried out 3 different studios and types of yoga. They were all really great and the studios were beautiful, open, and secluded from the hustle and bustle of the busy street. I will say it was extremely hot! I’ve never done hot yoga, but it seemed like this could be hot yoga to the max because it’s just that hot outside. 

   
  

 Tuesday morning we took a walk up to the rice fields. It took us a few tries of back and forth before we actually found the path to them, but once we got there it was really something. Acres and acres of rice fields and they were all at different stages, so some were grown some were being plowed, and some just planted. That path to walk on took us through what seemed like an endless amount of fields and along the way had little cafes and shops fills with art or other souvenirs. We ate lunch at a great little place overlooking some of the fields. 

   

  

     

  
  
    
   
     
Our last day in Bali we took a cooking class. This turned out to be a very cool experience. Our teachers had such great knowledge and pride for their Balinese culture and food that showed in how they described the technique and ingredients we used. We got to try first hand the hard work that goes into the deliciously amazing food we’d been enjoying that week. 
  
    
   

Our time in Bali was filled with culture, beauty, and great food. Ubud was the perfect place to get a taste of Bali, a smaller city that made a big impact. 

Our week in Borneo can be summed up in one word, magical. We spent our time on the island of Borneo in the region of Sabah which is part of Malaysia (I had to do a bit of research to figure out exactly where we were and what parts of the island were part of which country). We stayed at Sepilok Jungle Resort for the majority of our week. It is a beautiful place right on the edge of the rainforest. The buildings are joined by walkways over the ponds and everything is surrounded by trees.  

   
       

The resort was right down the street from the Rainforest Discovery Center. We spent two days there exploring the forest, walking the canopy trail, and of course lots of birding. Needless to say John was in heaven the second we arrived. At one point he got so excited I believe he said “Oh my god! So many fricken good birds!!”. On one of our hikes we had the great opportunity of seeing a wild juvenile orangutan and its mother. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience and we are still in awe of how beautiful they were.

   
  
 

  
On Wednesday we took a day trip to the cave and the Kinabatangan river. On the drive to the cave we saw hundreds of acres of palm plantations used for the production of palm oil. This is the main reason for deforestation in Borneo and other parts of Malaysia. While I was aware of this prior to coming here, seeing the stark contrast of untouched rainforest with the palm plantations reinforced the need to protect what forest is left and the use of sustainable palm oil. (If this is something you want to read more about here is a good article to get started http://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/stop-deforestation/palm-oil-scorecard-2015#.VuOPvdWeqnM ). Once we got to the site of the cave it was about a 10 minute walk in the jungle to get there. This massive cave is home to hundreds of swiftlets and is protected 24/7 by guards from people who try to illegally steal their nests for birds nest soup. Walking around the cave I was a bit nervous. There were cockroaches and giant centipedes everywhere and I thought for sure I’d get pooped on by one of the birds flying around (which I did). Once I got over my nerves though it was a very cool experience to walk through such a large cave in the forest. 

   

     

   
  
Next we headed to the river village of Bilit. We took a boat to the lodge where we had lunch. We got to walk around the lodge and the village a bit before our tour. It was humbling to see this small beautiful village along the river hidden in the middle of the rainforest. While we waited we also got to see some long tailed macaques hanging out in the trees above us and getting into trouble stealing things at the lodge.

   
   

  

We embarked on the river tour in the late afternoon. On a small boat with only 5 other people we floated down the river with nothing around except the forest and a small house now and then. Within the first 5 minutes we spotted some proboscis monkeys on the river bank. The driver pulled over and we got to enjoy watching them swing between the trees for a little while before moving along. As we continued down the river, more and more wildlife popped up everywhere. We saw macaques, an orangutan, a crocodile, and of course lots of beautiful birds. On our way back up the river the sun was setting behind the forest and the world never felt more beautiful or at peace. 

   
    
  

After a busy week of hiking, exploring, and birding we spent our last afternoon in the forest at the pool in the resort. It was nice to relax in the cool water after sweating nonstop from the heat and humidity (Seriously the worst humidity I’ve ever felt!). 

  
 On Friday we headed back to the city of Sandakan before our flights the next day. We spent the day exploring the city and found a great place for lunch on the ocean where I had the best curry I’ve ever tasted. Our hotel had a great restaurant on the roof with a view of the whole city. We had dinner up there while we enjoyed our last Borneo sunset. 

   
   
Borneo is a place unlike any other. It quickly won my heart from the first day here. I can definitely see why John wanted to show me this place after his first visit here 2 years ago and I can’t wait to come back in the years to come!

From the get go the city of Seoul exceeded our expectations (which for John were already pretty high). After getting lost in the airport, getting on the right train, and finding our way to our hostel, we walked around the neighborhood of Hongdae where we were staying. We both agreed it was nice to be back in a city, especially one that reminded us so much of Chicago. 

     
  With so many cute coffee shops and restaurants on every street we walked down, it was a bit of a stimulus overload and made our lunch decision very hard. The place we walked into turned out to be the perfect welcome to Korean dining. Once we sat down the waitress brought quite an array of objects to our table: Two cups, a water bottle, two small plates, two small bowls filled with mystery stuff (turned out to be Kimche, yum!), a big bowl filled with napkins, wet towels, 2 sets of chopsticks, 2 long spoons and a pair of scissors. We looked at each other with the expression of “what did we get ourselves into?!”. Then we looked at the menu that consisted of one item that came in small medium or large size and a choice of thin or thick noodles. We chose small size with thin noodles, seemed pretty safe. Then we started looking around to see what other people were doing with all of this stuff that had just been given to us. First, wipe hands with towels, next poor water into cups, eat Kimche with chopsticks, pretty simple. Then our food came out, it was like a big plate of chicken pieces and noodles in a stew like sauce, really delicious! We soon also saw people using the scissors to cut the noodles (that were otherwise impossible to bite into smaller pieces). Over all it was a fun first experience in Seoul! 

  
The rest of the day we just walked around taking in all of the unique buildings and new things. There is a university very close to where we’re staying so we walked through there a bit. It is a beautiful campus in the city and John even saw his first two new birds here! 

  
The next day we took the metro to the downtown area of Seoul. We visited Bukchon Hanok Village, a Korean traditional village and street, that was full of beautiful old buildings and art. It seemed like people still lived in this village which is pretty cool living in this little gem of history in a huge city. We found a neat coffee shop and got a sweet potato latte which was amazing and a Yuja tea. Then we walked to Gyeongbokgung palace. We got there just in time to see the changing of the guards ceremony which was very cool. The palace was beautiful painted all sorts of colors and filled with history. 

   
    
    
    
    
After lunch we walked around the downtown some more and along the stream that runs through the city. Then we decided to see Namsangol Hanok Village  which was in a beautiful park. Unlike the other village this one seemed maintained for tourist purposes and not for actual living anymore but the buildings were still beautiful and fun to walk around.

   

  

  
  
Saturday morning we went to a coffee shop so John could do some homework. We got the best hot chocolates ever (yes hot chocolate because we’re children). It was nice to take it easy in the morning after a long day before of walking and sight seeing.

It rained most of the day, so instead of walking through Namsan park to see the tower, we decided to try one of the cool ice cream places I had found on Pintrest. They make ice cream in the shape of roses which turned out to be just as tasty as they were pretty!

  

That night we met up with some former Thougtworkers who showed us a great time in the Itaewon neighborhood. We walked around a bit to explore and then found somewhere to have dinner. After that we headed to a karaoke bar where we got a taste of Korean karaoke and of course some Soju (the most popular alcohol in South Korea). We all had a blast belting out songs for the rest of the night. 

   
 Our time in Seoul was short but definitely sweet. We loved the city and the people in  it and will be sure to visit again some time soon hopefully! Now we are off to Borneo for a week with a full day of travel ahead. 

Our time on Saipan has quickly come to an end. Tomorrow we leave the island and begin our journey home in Seoul, South Korea. 

In our last two weeks here we managed to squeeze in a few new adventures. On Saturday we took the ferry out to Mangaha which is a tiny island off the shore of Saipan. Nobody lives on the island, but you can go out there for the day (some people go camp out ther for a night or two) and hang out. With the sun over head and beers in our hands, we spent a great day there with friends enjoying our last Saturday in the Marianas.
On Sunday we took the 20 minute plane ride to Rota, another island in the CNMI just south of Saipan. With only about 1000 people living there it is one of the most pristine places I have ever been. The forest was endless and untouched for miles and the cliffs along the shoreline made for an epic view any way you looked. We only had two days to explore this beautiful place but we saw as much as we could. Going with John of course meant seeing the birds was one of our top priorities. We spent a few hours at the bird sanctuary and saw some amazing new species! We also spent a few hours driving around in search of the Rota Crow (an endangered crow species only found on that island) and the Guam Rail. Our perseverance paid off and we ended up seeing both birds (we even got a picture of the rail which was pretty exciting!). After driving around a bit more to take in the scenery, we headed over to the swimming hole that was probably one of the coolest places ever. It’s pretty much a natural pool right on the ocean but blocked by rocks so you can relax and swim all you want. We couldn’t believe that we were the only ones there and spent the whole afternoon playing in our private pool on the ocean! For dinner we met up with some of the people studying the Rota Crow at one of the three restaurants on the island. It was really interesting to hear about the work they are doing and their lives on Rota versus life on Saipan. 

   
    
    
    
    

 After our two days on Rota we headed back to Saipan for a day to do laundry, pack, and say bye to our friends there before leaving for good. We have made so many great memories and new friends here it is hard to say good bye to such a beautiful place. The only things making it easier is the excitement of our journey ahead and knowing we will see our family and friends back home soon!