Christmas in Bali

This year I spent Christmas in Bali! It was wonderful! Lena and I journeyed to the inland part of Bali this time to enjoy some of the great activities on the island. We stayed in a Villa owned by a really nice couple. The wife Trisha is from Australia and her husband is a local. Our villa had a view of the rice patties so common in the area. Though we were rural outside the town of Ubud, we were well taken care of by the owners and the locals.
We spent Christmas Eve on a great bike tour Lena arranged of the Ubud area! So fun to bike through the local villages and have children run out and say "Hello" as they watch a group of 10 westerners pass by. The people of Bali are so welcoming and kind to everyone. The views of the hills, rice patties, and temples were beautiful. We visited a local coffee bean farm and tested some of the drinks and local chocolate (so good and it doesn't melt!). We started with breakfast at a restaurant overlooking the holy lake and volcano (which we later climbed!). Then we biked around 25 km to end up at the bike tour group owner's own where his wife cooked a wonderful Balinese lunch. We also learned about how families in Bali live - all live together on the property in different buildings. They only cook one meal a day in the morning and eat it throughout the day when they are hungry. Also they pray each morning and night at their family temple. The Hindu religion is so much a part of the day to day life in Bali.
For Christmas Eve dinner, we headed to Ubud and joined in the fun at the Cafe Havana. The salsa band was playing and the crowd dancing. Also the restaurant served yummy turkey dinner! So it was Christmas Eve dinner Cuban style in Bali with American food - perfect!
For Christmas Day, we headed out with our great driver to visit one of the original villages of Bali. Here the first Balinese lived. This is a protected region. Next we headed to the Blue Lagoon Beach area where we got a captain and a boat. Our boat was just a small wooden boat with two seats that took us to a beautiful reef where we snorkeled for a couple hours - the fish were colorful and everywhere! After singing some Christmas carols we headed back to the beach for our ride back to town. For dinner, we eat in at the villa cause on the 26th we had an early start to the day - 3am pick up for the volcano trek!
On the 26th we started our trek to the top of the volcano around 4am. It was a fun hike with our flashlights. We were lucky to have a great Canadian family with us - they are currently living in China. Meeting so many great people from around the world! We made it to the top as the sun rose over the mountains! Perfect start of the day. Though it was a little cloudy - there were breaks of clear skies to allow us to see the amazing view. Also our guide cooked eggs and bananas in the steam of the volcano - and after the hike they were yummy! Then we hiked down the mountain with amazing views of the lake, mountains, and volcano lava from past explosions.
After the early start to the day, we came back to the villa and watched the Packers beat the Bears (YEAH!) in the pool. The slingbox on the ipad is so great! Then we want into Ubud to do some shopping and eating. Ubud is a great little town with lots of shops and restaurants.
What a great trip for Christmas! Can't wait to come back to Bali again! Merry Christmas to All!
Here are some pictures!

My room

Our villa

View from the villa

Batur Volcano we hiked at sunrise

Our bike tour

Lena on our bike tour

Biking through a village as they dry the rice in the sun

Kids playing in a village

Our lunch after the 25 km bike ride

Christmas Eve - Lena with the Salsa band behind us

 Start of our hike

Rain falling during our hike as day light breaks

At sunrise

Sunrise with Mount Agung

Clouds coming in on Mount Agung

Mount Agung and the lake

Lena and I after the Mount Agung and sunrise

Me with Mount Agung

Mount Agung and the holy Lake

A temple on our hike

Marathon in Taipei!

Wow! What a great weekend in the amazing city of Taipei! Taiwan has some really great people! I arrived Friday evening in preparation for my marathon Sunday. The hotel crew was really nice - I learned quickly that English isn't as common here but the hotel was helpful. They booked a sightseeing tour for me Saturday so I could see some sights of Taipei without walking too much. We visited the national memorial for Taiwan's heroes and watched the changing of the guard. The we visited some beautiful temples - most people in Taiwan are Buddhist. The most interesting stop was the national palace museum where it contains all the historical artifacts from China. Apparently the Communists didn't want any of it when they took over so they boxed up all the "stuff" in the Palace and sent to Taipei - now it's a beautiful museum with items from the Ming Dynasty and others. Very nice! We also visited the memorial to their most famous president - it reminded me of the Lincoln Memorial in DC. Taipei is a really city. Since I was getting ready to run, I only got to try the food Sunday afterwards but it was yummy! Chinese with a special Taiwanese kick!
Sunday I got up early to run 26.2 miles or 42km! It been raining for three weeks but not on race day! It was a perfect day -16 or 65 degrees. Of course I met two Americans at the start line from NC! They have been living in Taiwan for a couple years. Fun running buddy! The course was very nice too- flat, along the rivers in the city with mountains in the background, and lined with cheering fans. It was a tough and slow marathon for me but its my own fault. Lack of sleep and not focusing on my training become clear at mile 19! But I just pushed through and promised myself next time not to drink so much Chang and be focused! Haha
A couple things I learned running a marathon in Asia... Learn before hand how to say water in the local language, even porter pots in Asia are squat toilets so make sure you really need to go cause squatting after running 16 miles is really hard, be prepared to get your picture taken alot if you are the only westerner in the race, have a post race food plan if a meal that requires chop sticks isn't going to meet your hunger needs, and finally be prepared to be blown away by the generosity of the Asian people - they love sport and will cheer you for 42km and give you thumbs up all day!
So now I cross off on my list running a marathon in Asia - next up running one in Africa! :)
Here are a couple pictures- I will post more soon.





Picking up my packet!






Enjoying the Taiwan beer after the race!

The Finish Line - Preparations the day before

The changing of the guards

At a Temple

In front of the President's memorial

 At the National Shrine to their Heroes

Lions at every Temple

The culture - temples every where!

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Location:Taiwan

Christmas with the family!

I was so lucky that due to a work meeting, I got to spend a day with my family in WI to celebrate Christmas! My parents, my brother and sister in law, my sister and brother in law, my Aunt Patti, my cousins Megan and Jim and even cousin Matt on leave from the Army! And don't forget the five nieces and nephews and cousin Grace- kids make Christmas perfect! So wonderful! We spent the day at the hotel pool catching up and watching the kids play. We are eagerly awaiting Megan and Jim's new little one, another girl. Any day! Grace will make a perfect sister. My nieces Abby and Natalie love to play together- they remind me of how Megan and I were at their age and well we are still that close today. It was great to see the nephews spend time together - the boys are getting so tall and growing up so fast! I loved hearing from Matt how life is in Belize and making plans for his visit to Asia to visit me! Enjoyed hearing about the customer Jim has that loves John Deere! Laughing with my sister! Talking about the Packers! Preparing for the Johnson family cruise in April! Oh and the family got to meet and spend time with Shelley from China - the kids loved asking about China. Just so fun to spend time with the family during the holiday season. I am looking forward to skyping with them from Bali on Christmas Day.
Here are some great pictures from the day!



The family in the pool


The five nieces and nephews in the hot tub!


Abby in the pool!



Sweet Gracie!



Grace, Aunt Patti, Megan, and I and baby #2



The girls!



I love being an aunt! Timothy, Nicholas, Ben, me, Natalie, and Abby!

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Peeps visit Singapore and Thailand

Having friends come visit is always exciting but when you live in another country, it is pretty much the greatest thing ever! For American Thanksgiving, I was so lucky to have 7 friends visit me in Singapore and then we all headed to Thailand for a week of good times!
Even though 6 of them were a day delayed due to a flight cancellation, we still had a blast in Singapore. We did some sight seeing around town including visiting Chinatown, Clarke Quay, and visiting the top of the Marina Bay Sands hotel. But the highlight was having turkey at the pool in the rain! Even though the weather wasn't great, we still had a lot to be thankful for as we celebrated everyone enjoying Singapore and more importantly Erin's third clear c-scan! We ate turkey and brats and enjoyed the hot tub as the rain continued to fall!
Then we fly to Bangkok for some fun in Thailand. The first couple days we explored Bangkok including the river, visiting some temples, and seeing the life of the people as the floors continue to impact the city. We also journeyed north of the city to the National Park for some hiking and seeing the largest bats in the world. As we know, I hate bats but I enjoyed the hiking. Well until I fell into the mud when trying to cross the path. Of course I would fall into the mud and everyone enjoyed the laugh! The resort we stayed at was really nice and the pool was afternoon! On the way to and from the National Park we saw some of the flooding in the city. Hopefully it continues to improve and people can recover from the damage.
The best part of the trip for me was when we flew to Trat and then took the ferry to Koh Chang - which mean elephant island. It was AMAZING! The island is perfect! We spent the first day (and Thanksgiving) learning about our kayaking trip, playing beach volleyball, enjoying the beach, and having happy hour in the pool. Then we headed out on an amazing 20 plus mile kayaking trip to Koh Wai island and then back to Koh Chang. We stopped at small islands along the way for lunch and some beach time. The night on Koh Wai was fun. Always love sleeping on the beach and hearing the waves outside your window. Of course on the final day of kayaking I got sea sickness but recovered quickly to celebrate the last night on the island with the local band! Had a blast dancing with the crew and our fun kayaking guides! The last day we enjoyed a local waterfall and spending some final quality time together. Can't wait for our next journey! Here are some pictures from the adventure!

Cindy, Erin, and I enjoying the pool

We loved our white robes! I am celebrating pushing the camera button and swimming through the pool and getting to my spot!

I am enjoying a beer in the ocean as sunset on Thanksgiving!

Our kayaks during a lunch break!

The crew at a Thai temple

The ladies in the National Park

Jumping at the waterfall

Our kayaks!

Loved the outdoor Trat airport with the Changs!

My shoe after the fall in the mud during the hike!

Another waterfall!

So getting ready for the holidays in Singapore!






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