palace of winds

When I returned from Bali, I made a pact with myself to transcribe the journal I’d kept during my trip and post it here. It’s pretty rough, just something I wrote for myself, sometimes in a great rush, and I knew it would be hard to not edit myself. (I occasionally get taken with a perverse and driving need to do things that scare me; I’ve found it makes life more interesting to seize those moments, to jump out of the airplanes and strap on the skis and yes, even climb the volcanoes.) I also knew if I let myself rewrite everything I would never, ever finish it, so. I ended up cutting very little of what I actually wrote, and I have a very valid reason for everything I did omit, so I’m calling it a success. The end in particular I thought was boring and probably doesn’t convey what it was really like to be there, so I’m sorry for that, but obviously being so sick was an overriding focus of those days. It was what it was. Gives me a goal for future travel journaling: be less boring. (Also: never get food poisoning again.)

I also found it really interesting to read back through what I wrote and how I wrote it. I was amazed at the things I didn’t convey. The experiences that are so bright and enormous in my mind that were distilled down in some throwaway sentence, or left out entirely. I guess that’s the nature of the beast. Some things are impossible to explain, and while you’re in the middle of living something you never know what will stick in the end, what of it will grab hold of your heart.

Anyhow. For folks who haven’t been following from the beginning, here’s a handy little link list:

Read the rest of this entry »

When we land in Minneapolis at 2:35 pm CST we’ve already had a very long Saturday — over 28 hours of it. We caught a couple hours of sleep on the flight from Denpasar to Seoul, and another half hour or so from Chicago home, but apart from that we’ve been up for nearly 2 days — 46 hours by now.

The airport is full of Christmas music, and outside everything’s white. The air is crisp but not cruel, and the snow is light and squeaky underfoot. There’s a glittering fluff of snow on the trees, and everything is beautiful.

We have a leisurely morning, lingering over breakfast. Masa Inn has changed their menu in the last however-many days (10ish) — no more jaffles, or any Indonesian fare (except on Wednesdays & Saturdays at their buffet). I have a little fruit salad with yogurt, part of a bowl of coco pops, a from-a-box tasting banana pancake, banana papaya juice, and heaps of tea. I feel mostly good after all that, yay!

We suit up for a swim in the main pool. It’s humid and bright, and being in the water feels great but we mostly just bob and float around chatting, not much swimming going on. After we’re all pruney we stretch out on our lawn chairs to read a bit, then back to the room to shower and pack.

Read the rest of this entry »

I wake just before 6 — what I get for going to bed before 9! I spend a while reading and watching the light brighten outside our cottage. After showers (the bathroom here is heaven) we go down for breakfast. I go daring with the banana porridge, plus the usual Bali tea and banana papaya juice. The porridge is good, but I’m stuffed quickly, and bring half my juice back to the room’s fridge for later.

Read the rest of this entry »

We have the Eco Dive people drop us at Aiona Garden of Healing, halfway between Jemeluk and Bunutan, for lunch — only to discover it’s closed. Next door at also-recommended Santai we share chips & salsa and pumpkin ravioli, and banana/papaya juice. The food is good but I manage only a few raviolis, and again feel queasy for an hour afterward. I’m ready to be done with this Toya Bungkah curse now! (Thankfully the rest of the symptoms seem to be gone.)

Read the rest of this entry »