Bali & Southeast Asia
Travel Blog

Reflections on my travels to exotic Southeast Asian destinations.

My grandson, Lucas Sunday, July 30, 2006, 03:53 PM My grandson is a jewel. Like the Balinese, his little feet never touch the ground, though he is 10 months old now. He is always being passed to someone, who cuddles him, kisses him, smooshes him, lets him eat their cell phone and squeals with him. A smile from Lucas is a treasured gift. "DAH!!" he smiles endearingly. "DAH!!" All the relatives and friends in the room go DAH!! This encourages him ("Hey, they speak my language, even when I'm saying any old thing. They think DAH!! is getting close to saying DA, DA. But really I'm just saying "DAH!!"   |  permalink A Trip is a Trip is a Trip.... Saturday, May 27, 2006, 09:12 AM The Desert - Part I All trips are magical, whether two weeks long, three nights or one delicious night. Whatever the length, a trip allows us to get away from the usual, celebrate the new and literally recreate ourselves. The desert is one of my favorite short stay vacations, and a tour to either Joshua Tree or Anza Borrego Desert is just as exotic in its own way as a tour to Bali. There’s the look and shape of the desert - its weird and beautiful rock formations shaped like dinosaurs or crocodiles, a king’s throne or a woman’s buttocks; the variety of exotic twisty, feathery and prickly plants; the fabulous muted colors - gray green, straw and sand color, mauves, colors you want tubes of. There’s the twittery sounds of uncommon birds, the sagey smells, the still air, and the desert creatures. Part 2 - The perfect spot I admit I have been obsessed with finding and being in the most perfect of spots – anywhere, everywhere – hence the name, Perfect Spot Tours. Often I am successful - not because it pays to be obsessive (I prefer to use the word "passionate") - but because there are so many beautiful things in the world to see, touch, taste and find perfect. And if, for example, the moment, or the hotel lobby, or the beach front isn't perfect (and I can't change it), I am learning to accept what is, and say, “Hey, this is good enough.” In Joshua Tree, our high desert haunt, we have the perfection thing down, and are rarely disappointed. We stay at the Circle C, a charming motel with 11 vine-covered rooms built around a near perfect pool. Each room has a full kitchen and a different view of the garden. To add perfect to perfection, we bring granola, tortillas and cheese, humus and Persian cucumbers, our stovetop Italian espresso maker, and some good dark coffee. Every morning we sit in the garden and have a perfect breakfast with perfect coffee. Then I get out my paints and Roger opens his laptop. In Anza Borrego, our low desert getaway, we also have it down. We stay at the Borrego Valley Inn, another charming hotel, built like an Indian adobe each room decorated with Mexican antiques and Indian artifacts. Each morning we sip our perfect coffee slowly and plan our day. We swim, we eat, we walk, we make tea, we read. After three days of desert delight, Roger is relaxed enough to begin his vacation and stay put in the desert, and I am ready to get on a plane and go to Africa, or Turkey, Italy or Bali. Anywhere but home. But alas, we drive home to Culver City – mapping out a different route for the ride home. Some where in between, we stop in an obscure little town that has an antique shop or two (for me), and a diner (for him) where he will have the perfect tuna melt and coleslaw while reading the L.A. Times. And I will have a salad.   |  permalink A trip is a trip - Highway 101 to Shell Beach and On to SFO Monday, May 22, 2006, 12:45 PM Below are a few pictures of Guadalupe, CA., a perfectly obscure and photogenic town near Nipomo and San Luis Abispo. We stopped here for breakfast on the way back home and ate in one of the town's Mexican cafes that could have been the setting for another "Petrified Forest." We took a walk through the town, up and down both sides of the main street, and I took pictures of intriguing window displays which are a delight any where.   |  permalink Visits with My Grandson - Lucas Fox Tuesday, May 9, 2006, 09:56 PM A blog wouldn't be a blog without pictures of the cutest, sweetest dark haired baby in the world - my grandson. Surely he will be a manager of a renowned hotel - or a leader of tours to exotic destinations. Or maybe he'll follow in his Mom and Dad's footsteps and be in the movie business.   |  permalink A trip is a trip is a trip - Anza Borrego Desert Monday, May 8, 2006, 11:30 AM The Desert – Part One All trips are magical, whether 2 weeks (we wish), 3 nights or one delicious night. Whatever the length, a trip allows us to get away from the usual, celebrate the new and recreate ourselves. A tour to either Joshua Tree or Anza Borrego Desert is just as exotic in its own way as a tour to Bali. There’s the look and shape of the desert - its weird and beautiful rock formations shaped like dinosaurs, or crocodiles, a king’s throne or a woman’s buttocks; the variety of twisty, feathery and prickly plants; the fabulous muted colors - gray green, straw and sand color, mauves, colors you want tubes of. There’s the twittery sounds of uncommon birds, the sagey smells, the still air, and the desert creatures. Looking for the Perfect Spot – Part 2 I admit I have been obsessed with finding and being in the most perfect of spots – anywhere, everywhere – hence the name, Perfect Spot Tours. Often I am successful – not because it pays to be obsessive, but because there are so many beautiful things in the world to see, taste, smell and find perfect. And, if, for example, a hotel lobby, or ocean view, or anything I am in search of is not sublime (and I can’t change it), I am learning to accept what is, and say, “Hey, this is good enough.” In this light, it’s amazing to find how many “good enough” things become, in fact, perfect for the time being In Joshua Tree, our high desert haunt, Roger and I have it down. We stay at the Circle C, a charming hotel with 11 vine-covered rooms built around a near perfect pool. Each room has a full kitchen and a different view of the garden. To add perfect to perfection, we bring granola, tortillas and cheese, humus and Persian cucumbers, our stovetop Italian espresso maker, and some good dark coffee. Every morning we sit in the garden and have a perfect breakfast with perfect coffee. Then I get out my paints and Roger opens his laptop. In Anza Borrego, our high desert spot, we also have it down. For We stay at the Borrego Valley Inn, another charming hotel, built like an Indian adobe each room decorated with different Mexican antiques and Indian artifacts. Each morning we sip our perfect coffee slowly and plan our day. We swim we eat we walk, we make tea. We read. After three days of desert delight, Roger is relaxed enough to begin his vacation and stay put in the desert, and I am ready to go to Africa, or Turkey, Italy or Bali. I am ready to wind my way around the world. But alas, we drive home to Culver City – mapping out a different route for the return. As usual we look for an obscure little town where we will stop for lunch. The town must have an antique shop or two to browse in (for me), and a diner for Roger where he can have the perfect tuna melt and coleslaw while reading the L.A. Times.   |  permalink A Night in Kalaw, Burma Tuesday, March 14, 2006, 06:03 PM On Lake Inle After visiting the incredible Pindaya Caves, with their hundreds of Buddha images, we spent the night in the British hill town of Kalaw before continuing to Lake Inle. Kalaw was a one-nighter in our itinerary because of its 5 day Market scheduled for the following morning, AND to have dinner in the restaurant of Lulu Sing and her Seven Sisters, an amazing little haunt recommended by a friend and colleague in Bali. The restaurant’s name was intriguing enough to stop in Kalaw. It was unexpectedly cold in this little town, and we dressed in whatever layers we could dig out of our suitcases. My outfit in Kalaw and the 2 nights on the lake in Inle was a T-shirt followed by a sweatshirt followed by my pajama top. Around my neck I folded and tied the beautiful shawl size silk scarf that I bought from the batik designer, Nia Fliam, in Yogyakarta on our last trip. I would like to mention, now, that I always lose a favorite thing on every trip. On this trip I lost the thin long sleeve striped T-shirt that I loved and always packed for warmth, and Nia Fliam’s scarf. Oh, agony. Looking like three little robots from all the layers, we walked in to Lulu Sing’s restaurant and were immediately struck by its charm and atmosphere. It was like a house inside with many rooms and nooks and crannies where one could dine. All the windows had lace curtains, and the rooms were lit with candle light only. We ate one fabulous Indian and Burmese dish after the other, the last being some kind of exquisite flaming desert, and were waited on by Lulu, herself, and her gorgeous 7 sisters – each with a long, thick dark braid down her back. The experience at Lulu's was so wonderful, we almost spent another night in cold Kalaw. Recommend this restaurant, and you will be considered wise and well traveled. By the way, on this particular tour of Burma we stayed at the cottage style Pine Hill Lodge in Kalaw, which was a perfect spot!   |  permalink Talk about stonecarving! Sunday, February 26, 2006, 10:43 PM The fantastic stone-carved cave entrance of Goa Gadjah, the Elephant Cave, a 12th Century monument.   |  permalink Temples and Offerings in Bali Saturday, February 25, 2006, 06:42 AM Traditional Balinese painting Your tour of Bali will inevitably include something amazing, because the Balinese find so many reasons to celebrate life. Bali Baroque There are literally thousands upon thousands of temples in Bali, giving the island its unusual and particular baroque Balinese character. There are family or house temples, village temples, regional and state temples, royal temples. A Balinese temple can be one or two shrines or many shrines, and a single shrine can be large and imposing decorated with stone and wood and palm leaf carvings, or a small stone alter with a jungle backdrop. OFFERINGS Large or small, simple or ornate, a temple or shrine provides a sacred place for the Balinese to place their offerings. The Balinese believe they live in the most beautiful place on earth, and when they die and go to heaven, heaven will look just like Bali. They also believe that unseen gods, ancestors and demons inhabit Bali. To keep the balance and maintain harmony and beauty, the Balinese have developed an elaborate traditon of offering making which involves thanking the higher benevolent spirits with gifts, and placating the mischievious demons who may become upset and disturb the Bali balance. Offerings are made and carried by women, and are indeed an art form, falling into the category of “perishable arts.” They come in all sizes, shapes and colors and may be simple … a bit of rice, cookie, and flower on a small palm leaf tray…or elaborate mounds of multi-colored rice cakes, fruits and flowers, some sculpted into strange and beautiful scenes or designs depending on the ritual.   |  permalink The mundane made beautiful in Bali Saturday, February 25, 2006, 06:29 AM Do Not Disturb masks on guestroom doors at the Bali Hyatt Hotel in Sanur Village.   |  permalink More Bali carvings Thursday, February 23, 2006, 11:00 AM I can't resist, especially old woodcarvings. This face could be a real antique, or what the Balinese call an "antique yesterday." Antique yesterdays are beautiful and affordable. Every trip I take, I look for the perfect AY to add to my collection.   |  permalink Next