Beautiful Bombom Boracay

I don't exactly know what I expected from Boracay... beautiful beaches, quiet, relaxing. Boy, oh boy was I wrong... but first, let's start at the beginning.

Several of my friends have been to the Philippines and just rave about how amazing it is, so naturally, I jumped on the chance to spend Spring Break in Boracay with two of my girl friends - Nirada and Brandi. We ended up on different flights and I ended up with a night lay over in Manila first, a city I was less than thrilled to be visiting alone, but I thought I would make the best of it anyway. I arrived late, so I went straight to my hotel and tucked in for the night. The next morning, I got up, had breakfast and walked around the city. I wasn't really in a great area so I wasn't impressed, but I didn't get to see a whole lot. Early that afternoon, I was heading to the airport to catch a small [and I mean, really small] plane over to Cataclan Island. That was when things got a bit tricky...

I flew from Manila, into Cataclan, grabbed a tuktuk outside the airport (if you could even call the one-room building an airport) and asked him to take me to my bungalows. Two minutes later, he dropped me at a ferry station and told me I needed to get on to a ferry to go to Boracay Island (What? Maybe I should have done more research). So I bought a ticket outside and went through the long line at security only to be stopped before getting onto the ferry because I did not purchase the tax and reservation tickets, so I had to go back outside, purchase, and back through security before boarding the boat. This would not have been a big deal if I wasn't hot, tired and carrying bags. So anyway, I get on the boat and take the 20 minute ride to Boracay Island (I hope) and get into yet another tuktuk. We drive down a very busy and crowded road - the only main road on the whole island - before he drops me at some random alley and insists my bungalow is "that way". I walk 5 minutes down the alley before the beach party appears before me. Now, when I say beach party, I really mean a party. The beach front was lined with restaurants, hotels, bungalows, tables, and stages. There were people everywhere running around in their bikinis, and I knew immediately that we were going to have fun!

view from our balcony 

our bungalow from the beach

Bamboo Bungalow was right on the beach front, and we were lucky enough to get a room with a large balcony, hammock and a view of the ocean (through the dense palm trees). It was perfect! The girls were already in the room when I arrived and burnt from the day spent in the sun. The first night was the calm before the storm. I freshened up, cracked a San Miguel on the balcony before we headed out for dinner at a seafood place on the beach (everything was on the beach). While we were enjoying fish, shrimp, calamari and fresh veggies, fire dancers began dancing around us and performing in the middle of the tables. Then, as they walked around, they swing their balls of fire around our heads - SCARY! That night, we called it in early.

The next day was rather low key as well. The girls were a little bit afraid of the sun after getting burnt so we took the day to walk around the little alley ways and do some shopping. We ate more seafood and enjoyed local Filipino food for dinner. That night was our first night at Bombom, a local reggae bar next to our bungalow. We kicked back a couple beers, made friends with the local waiter, Roland, and eventually ended up at the local beach club, Epic. It started off uneventful until Brandi made friends with a lesbian hanging out in the VIP area and invited us all to join them. There were just two people in the VIP area and completely surrounded by body guards and bar security so we were curious to know why they were so important, but whenever we asked, they would just laugh and say, "I don't know." After the bar closed down and we were kicked to the beach at 4:00 am, we came up with our own story that they were some kind of Asian Royalty.

 how beautiful is this place...

The next day, we walked to Station 1 of the beach (we were staying in Station 2) and spent the day laying out, hanging out at a delicious Mediterranean restaurant. That night, the sun had warn me out and we had to convince ourselves to leave our hotel just to get some dinner and not go to sleep at 7:00 pm. We were absolutely exhausted, but we put on some dresses and made our way to Bombom Bar for some calamari and happy hour drinks. We were sitting quietly, listening to the live music when three guys approached us asked, "Hey, do you mind if we join you?" Although they seemed harmless, we all looked at each other with hesitation - I normally love meeting people on holiday, but I wasn't in the mood to entertain, but we let them sit down anyway. This was the beginning of the rest of our vacation.

Three guys: Kory and Justin from Canada, and Stephan originally from Bulgaria with a Canadian passport, but all currently living in Hong Kong as pilots. We all hit it off right away and were never short on conversation (or rum). We eventually got our second wind and perked up! Our two happy hour margaritas turned into many, many margaritas and soon enough, we were dancing our way down to Epic. This was of course after Kory called Nirada "Jackie Chan" (the only token Asian of our group), thought he offended her, so bought her a Boracay bracelet and made a scene proposing to her in the middle of the bar. Anyway, Kory loved drunk dancing just as much as me so we had our fun on the dance floor. That night, we all exchanged numbers and agreed to meet up again.

The next day, the girls and I decided to go island hopping and snorkeling. The day before, I met a random local on the beach with a boat and offered us a good price, so that afternoon, we jumped on his sailboat. We really had no idea what we were getting ourselves into but it ended up being amazing! We were each sitting on the "wings" of the boat on no more than a fish net keeping up from the water. When we crashed into the waves, the water poured over our bodies. After an hour or so of sailing, we anchored off the shore near Crocodile Island (named for its shape, not its infestation) and jumped in for snorkeling. Quickly, the tide rushed us far away from the boat and after only a couple minutes, we all started panicking about not being able to get back to the boat. I started swimming (and I mean SWIMMING) my hardest to make it back, but Nirada really started panicking about not being able to swim (with the life jacket on) and not being able to breathe through the mask. By the time I made it back to the boat, Nirada and Brandi were being rescued by the Sea Ranger and being pulled back to our boat. I know it probably doesn't seem very funny, but it was actually an hilarious series of event that had us laughing for the rest of our trip. Only Nirada would nearly drown herself in the ocean while wearing a life vest. After the near-death experience, we did a bit more sailing before they dropped us off on Puka Beach - one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It's a remote beach on Boracay Island sans all the hotels, houses and bars. It can only be reached by boat or motorcycle. It was nothing but white sand, crystal clear water and a handful of sailboats.

It wasn't long before we heard from Kory and made plans to meet up with them again for dinner. Dinner, of course, led to more drinking at Bombom Bar and another Epic night of rum and dancing. Each night that we hung out at BomBom, we acquired new friends. I attribute it mostly to Kory (who could befriend a tree) and Justin who was in search of girls, girls and more girls. That night, we made friends with a German girl named Rikki, and we had an awesome time singing along to the live band, dancing kicking back bottled of Bacardi like it was our job!

Justin, Brandi, Nirada, Kory, Roland, me and Stephen 

The next morning, the girls were feeling very hung over, but I was wide awake at 8:00 per usual, so I met up with the boys again and hung out at their fancy resort pool. Eventually the girls made their way to the pool and we spent the day in the sun just hanging out, ordering food, drinking beers. By mid day, we decided to go jetskiing. The girls were skeptical at first, but the boys talked us into it, thankfully because we had a blast! It was a bit of a strange set up... we had to get onto a sped boat that took us to a large dock. We got the jetskis there and were instructed to only follow in a circle around a trail of bobs. Nonetheless, it was so fun! Kory and I were on one - he let me drive the whole time because he knew I was a little scared of letting him drive me. Justin and Nirada were together and Brandi and Stephen were lost somewhere because we never saw them!

That afternoon, we parted ways to rest up for the evening - it was Stephen's last night so we had to give him a proper good-bye! Of course, we met the boys at Bombom and started poppin bottled like ballers. Our problem this night was that we did not have a good dinner, so it got drunk out pretty fast! Again, our group of 6 soon became 8 as our friend Rikki and her friend Sebastian joined us. Then the boys made new friends with a couple nurses from the UK on an internship in the Philippines. Next thing we new, we were a group of 20, taking over the bar with our shenanigans. As we were dancing/singing the night away, it suddenly began to down pour, which only made for more fun! We eventually moved from Bombom to Epic and Kory worked a deal with the bouncer about getting all 20 of us in for free... after all, we had spent 4 nights in a row at their establishment and we were bringing our posse with us.

Naturally, as the night came to a close, the best idea we could come up with was a midnight swim back at the boy's resort. Somewhere along the way, Nirada picked up a coconut and stuffed it in her shirt as if she were pregnant. When we got to the pool, the coconut baby was stolen and thrown in the pool.I was thrown in the pool repeatedly by Kory who wore my purse as personal protection from retaliation. Somehow Justin got lost along the way, and Stephen insisted on showing us his best belly flop. I'll try to draw a visual picture of what happened next because it was hilarious.

our friend Rikki 

There was a swim up bar in the pool. Nirada and Stephan stood on the bar top near the pool stools looking for the coconut that Nirada lost. Brandi snuck up behind them to push them in, and I snuck up behind Brandi to push her in. However, after Brandi pushed  them in (both fully clothed with a smartphone on hand), she turned to run but slipped on the bar top and fell 5 feet into the empty bar well. I really don't know how she did not get hurt, but she lie in the floor of the bar with her feet in the air, laughing hysterically.

The night came to a close around 5:00 am, and left us sleeping until 1:00 the next day, our last day in Boracay. Needless to say, we were in need of some recovering on that last day. We agreed to meet up again that day and we took a walk to the other side of the island (only about a ten minute walk) and walked down the beach. Eventually, we found a spot to sit near a bunch of local Filipino kids flying kites and digging for clams. By this time, I was physically and mentally exhausted. Thankfully I was never hung over (don't ask me how), but exhausted from lack of sleep and over socialization. I mean, I live alone and I am used to having plenty of Melissa time... having to be with people, entertain people, and talk constantly was taking a toll on my mental state and I spent that last afternoon introverted. I wasn't sad or mad, just in need of quiet time.

Although it was our last night in Boracay, it was a relatively quiet one, compared to the other nights. I had an extremely early flight (I had to leave around 5:00 am) and was determined to get to bed early. After having dinner on the beach during one last sunset, we meet back at Bombom to finish off two bottles from the night before. I was the bartender, but wasn't drinking very much. We still had fun, made friends, sang, danced, etc, but the night came to a close pretty early. I wanted to head to bed around 11:00 but was convinced to stay out just a little bit later. Nirada had gotten so drunk that she put herself to bed around 10:00 (very odd for Nirada), and when I was ready to go to bed at midnight, the party broke up.

I really don't know what I was expecting out of Boracay, but I definitely did not anticipate the epic amount of fun we had, nor did I expect to strengthen my relationships with Brandi and Nirada, or make new friends that we would continue to stay in contact and travel with. I also did not expect Kory, but he blew me away during our world wind holiday romance, and we are going to try to make it work. After all, Hong Kong is only a hop down south.

Gem of the South

About a month or so ago, Anna and I decided that we needed another trip in China before the end of the year. This was back when I thought that I would be leaving China at the end of the school year so I was trying to soak up the last couple holidays. I was in search of "Lost Heaven" so I set my sights on Shangri-La - an area of south-western China known for it's pure beauty. The area's claim to fame was that it was described in the book Lost Horizon by James Hilton as a mystical heaven on Earth. Unfortunately, that heaven on Earth burnt down just a couple days before our trip - literally just a couple days - and the majority of the ancient Tibetan village was destroyed in a dramatic fire (read about it here).

So a couple days before we rerouted our destination to a place called DaLi. Truthfully, neither of us had even heard of DaLi, but it came highly recommended by a couple of our Chinese friends, so we just went for it! About a week before, we were trying to book a tour (so we could see as much as possible), but it was insanely expensive for Chinese New Year, so we decided to brave the south and dive in on our own (it was better that way).

We left Friday afternoon following school and flew into Kunming for our first lay over. After just a couple hours sleep in a near by guesthouse, we were back to the airport boarding a 30 minute flight north to DaLi. Although it was a bit of a rocky flight, we could not have been more pleased! The beauty of this destination was that we had no expectations going into it. We knew next to nothing about the geography or sights of the location; we only knew that it rest just east of Tibet and was dominated by the Tibetan minority culture. Imagine our surprise as we were descending to the most beautiful region, a huge lake surrounded by mountains! We landed early and made our way to our guesthouse in the Old Town and set out to explore the village.

Our trip honestly would not have been as amazing if we were not staying in the Old Town. It was quant, quiet, clean, beautiful and full of character. The people were friendly and the cobblestone streets were lined with shops, cafes and street vendors. In any direction, there was a back drop of blue skies and mountains. The first day, we just explored. We drank Yunnan coffee, did a little shopping and rented bike to ride up and down the narrow streets of the ancient village.

The two people at our guesthouse were amazing - Lily and David. Both of whom spoke English and were more than willing to give us advice about restaurants, sights, and outdoor adventures. The second day, we decided on a hike into the Cangshan Mountains on the west coast of the giant Lake Erhai. After a hearty breakfast of butter eggs with goat cheese, butter potatoes and butter tea (yes, they really put butter in everything), we were headed into the mountains. The weather could not have been more perfect. The air was cool, but because we were at such high elevation, the sun was strong. Standing in the direct sun would feel like 70, but it was more like 50 in the shade - there was even snow at the top. The hike up was mostly stairs (which I hate), and it was challenging because of the high altitude, but it was only Anna and I on the trail and we took our time ascending the peaceful forest. Once at the [near] top, it leveled out to a path that followed the ridge around. It was beautiful from up there, overlooking the lake and the tiny villages below.

It also found a boulder sticking off the side of the path that was perfect for photos! Sure, it was a mere 100 meter plug to my death with one quick lose of balance, but you know no vacation is complete without a yoga pose, or two.

We followed along the trail and eventually began to head down a more rocky trail following an old cable car. When we ended the hike, we found ourselves in the middle of a construction zone, oddly enough.

On he first day, while walking around the village,  I caught eye of an advertisement for Climb Dali, and immediately inquired to set up a climb for Anna and I. On the third morning, we set out for another short hike and rock climbing session on the other side of the lake near Shuanglong village with our instructor, Adam and one of his employees. The odd thing about Shuanglong was that even though it was just north-east of the lake, and a twenty minute drive from Dali, the climate was completely different. Instead of cold and breezy with lush green forests, it was hot and dry with desert and cactus.

After a short hike, we made it to the cliff, overlooking the villages and the lake - an absolutely beautiful sight. Either way, the trip would have been worth it just for the view! Adam was the climbing expert who set up over 20 courses on the face of the cliff and guided and encouraged us through 4 different routes. The first one was pretty easy - good enough to get us going. The second one was a bit more challenging and I ended up getting stuck on a ledge just before the top. The third one was really cool, but by the forth one, I was going into an extreme state of muscle fatigue. You don't really think about the different muscle groups that you are using during a climb - everything from toes balanced on a tiny ledges, to finger tips clinging on to sharp rocks for dear life. There were a couple times that I lost balance of slipped, but of course, my harness and rope were there to catch me. There were a couple times that I banged my knees and scratched my elbows, but all in all, I came out alive with just a couple well earned battle wounds. It was amazing!

Adam getting the course set up

 There I go...

The view from our climb site

The next day, we were ready for a little bit of R&R, so we decided to rent some motorcycles and set out to explore the different villages around the lake. I was pretty set on getting gas powered motorcycles instead of the electric, but somehow we ended up with electric, and Anna insisted that it would be ok (she doesn't drive an electric scooter). The drive around the lake was really beautiful. Again, the skies were perfectly clear, the air was cool, but the sun was hot.

 It was peaceful, hugging the coast... until Anna's battery began to die. Based on my experiences with my own scooter in the last two years, once you hit the red zone, you are not getting back without a fight. To give the bikes some credit, we did drive about 50 kilometers. We decided to turn around and stop somewhere for lunch and hopefully get some juice into the bikes before continuing back to the Old Town. Somehow Anna spotted a small house washing cars and took a chance in asking them if we could plug in our bikes. Luckily enough, the house turned out to be a guesthouse of sorts, and we were also able to pick some fresh vegetables out of their fridge and they made us lunch - the best lunch we had eaten thus far! I knew that plugging out bikes in for only an hour was only going to buy us an extra 5 kilometers, max, but after an hour, we were back on the road. I was riding nice an steady as to not kill the battery while Anna was a bit ahead of me. We made it back around the south bend of the lake and Anna falling behind, clearly losing batter power. We barely made it through down town (10 kilometers short of Old Town) when Anna called me from the bottom of a hill to tell me that she was dead. I turned around and found her at a Suzuki dealership where she had convinced the people to let her plug her bike in again. By this time, my phone was nearly dead and I was exhausted, but I couldn't just leave Anna at the dealership alone, so we sat and waiting for another hour until they closed.

We jumped back on the bikes and continued again, Anna riding slightly behind at a pretty slow pace. As I crested another hill just before the entrance to Old Town, Anna called again and said that she could not make it up the hill and was finding an alternative route to get back to the rental place. I think I ended up with the shorter end of the stick. I really didn't know where I was going, and the entrance I chose had five steps that I had to get my heavy bike down, only to discover that another block would have been a perfectly safe entrance. I weaved through the pedestrian traffic and made it back.

Moral of the story: Never rent electric bikes!

That night we went to see the Bai Cultural Show. The guy at our guesthouse had joked that we would be the only people in the theater, but really, he was not joking! It was a huge outdoor water amphitheater, framed by the mountains in the distance, and we were literally two of ten people in attendance. The show (all in Chinese of course) told an ancient love story of a Princess and Prince through dancing, singing and props. There were lights and videos and people on all parts of the stage. It was interesting for sure, but incredibly cheesy!

Look at all those empty seats...

Our final day in DaLi was a day of pure relaxation. We slept in late, got breakfast, sat at a coffee house. We did a little shopping, then found another cafe and sat down for some beers and pizza. Anna and I spent time talking and laughing, sharing memories and stories and reflecting upon some of the experiences we have been through together - there have been a lot. Later in the evening, we had a proper Yunnan dinner and drinks before calling it in early for our following day of traveling back to Shanghai.

DaLi really was a gem. The people were amazing, the culture was vibrant and the landscape, to die for. Since I have spent so much time in a big city, I have really come to appreciate the small things nature has to offer - the beauty and tranquility - and the ability to actually be outside and enjoy nature. I will definitely be visiting the Yunnan province again.

Why I always [should] travel with tampons & Imodium

Disclaimer: this post contains graphic content not intended for the faint of heart (or should I say any male). You have been warned.

It's was like a dream come true when I finished my period the week before I set out for a three week adventure. Guess I can unpack the tampons, the period panties and Midol. Honestly, who wants to have that in the back of their mind while basking on the beaches of Bali? Not I!

A couple days into the trip, my travel companion was less than surprised (or excited) to receive her monthly reminder of celibacy, but was prepared for her regular seven day cycle. Life continued per usual as we trucked around Ubud on motorcycles, doing yoga and avoiding the constant monsoon of rain! After a few days in the lush green jungle, we were ready for the beach portion to begin! I can see it now... white sandy beaches, turquoise as far as the eye can see, clear skies and sunshine. Ok, ok, so when we actually arrived to the tiny island off the coast of Lombok after a rough 2 hour boat journey, it was cloudy skies and still raining, but we were on the island and that was all that mattered. After settling into our beach bungalows and reserving our bicycles for the duration of our time, my first mission was to book one of the infamous snorkeling trips around the three small islands. Ten US dollars including everything but your own swim suit... done and done. All set for the following day!

That night, we perused around the island on our peddle bikes, enjoyed some cocktails in a cabana and dinner with our toes in the sand! Back at the bungalow, Ayesha announced, "My last tampon. My period has been ridiculous... on a day, off a day... hope it is actually finished now. Ugh, I need to get back on birth control!" We settled into our shared king size bed in the romantic honeymoon sweet we were given (not per request). That night, I dreamt of sea turtles (if you don't see sea turtles during the snorkeling trip, you get the whole ten dollars back), millions of Nemo's and killer sharks... ok, so I am a little bit afraid of the ocean.

When the alarm went off, I bounced out of bed excited for the day! I head to the bathroom for the usual morning routine when low and behold, who decides to join our vacation... none other than Aunt Flow herself! You have got to be kidding me! I rush out of the bathroom. "Ayesha, do you have another tampon?"
"No, I used the last one yesterday!" She responds
"You have got to be kidding me!" I am practically pulling out my hair. "Thanks Ayesh, I started my period and I blame you!"
"Why me?" She defends herself against my words like knives hurdled at her head.
"Because I already had my period and I wasn't supposed to get my period while on vacation!"
"Well it's not my fault but good luck finding some tampons on this island!" She snorts and I stare at her with repugnance. She knows just as well as I do that I have a better chance of getting eaten by a shark than finding tampons.
"Fucking Muslim South East Asia!" Ok, so that was harsh, but it is true.

Already it is next to impossible to buy tampons in Asia, but add the Muslim factor and you're proper screwed! I don't really know why Asians don't use tampons. It is beyond me while they would rather walk around with a diaper between their legs, and then dispose of the feminine hygiene products in the waste bins of public bathrooms (if it makes it into the waist bin) in the least discreet manner possible [insert image; face up bloody pad laying next to the toilet - visualizing it? Good, because I get to actually see that image ALL. THE. TIME] than use tampon. Muslims, I guess I can understand. Religious purposes. They believe that using a tampon is equivalent to losing their virginity. But what about after they are no longer a virgin, or after they have a baby? They have got to see some purpose in the most amazing cotton ball on a string God-given gift for women!

Anyway, I start tearing my backpack and purse apart, praying that I missed one in the midst of my I-am-not-going-to-be-on-my-period happy dance! To no avail, I was thorough in my removal, thus rendering me tampon-less! Clearly the only option at this point is to quickly go to the store in hopes of finding something to control my situation.

"Of course," I yell from the bathroom, "now we are also out of toilet paper. Let me just jump on my bike and ride God knows how long to the nearest store." Yes, it was a bit dramatic, but I was in a serious state of affairs. So I did just that... jumped on my bike and rode a mile or so down the dirt road clenching my legs together in the process. The first store (this term is being generous to the one shelf of goods for sale in the shack) had a small box of pads, but I was still feeling a little hopeful, so we headed forward to the bigger store further down the road. Just as we expected, pads, pads and more pads. My choices were sizes big, large and extra large. Decisions, decisions. After paying TEN DOLLARS for a package of five adult diapers, I was back on my bike returning to the bungalow.

Again, I dug through my backpack looking for the "bigger" or the two swim suits I had brought - holding them up against the diaper trying to gage which would offer more coverage (of the pad, not my goods). After settling on the older swim suit with polka dots, simply because I did not want to risk ruining my favorite new black bottoms, I declared, "Victoria does not make swim suits for depends!"

After all was adhesively secured in place, and the wings were cut off, my confidence was surely out the window. There was no way I was going to feel comfortable strutting around in a bikini, nor was it going to be fun swimming in the diapers barely tucked into my cheeky VS biniki bottoms.

"Don't worry. You can't see it!" Ayesha assured me. "The idea of it is much worse than the actually ordeal and you stop bleeding when you are swimming in water anyways, you'll be fine!"

"Thank you, but I think that is just something a friend made up to tell her friend right before she jumped into the water, sank because of her extra absorbent pad and was eaten by a shark because, in fact, she had not stopped bleeding." I huffed.

As we loaded the boat of a couple dozens of other people, I did a quick survey. Family, family, good looking guys, good looking guys, ooooh, really good looking guy, family, family. Of course, my luck continues. As we arrived to our first snorkeling destination, the captain yells for us to gear up and jump in the water. People start shredding their clothing and diving in. I thought that I could take my time getting ready so that most of the people would be off the boat when I was ready for my grand entrance. The first time it worked and I was safely in the water without anyone noticing my Little Swimmer (or at least, I don't think anyone noticed... or maybe they did and were kind enough to not bring it to everyone's attention). Once I began swimming, I was only mildly aware of the extra baggage weighing down my drawers. The beauty of the sea below was a nice distraction - sea turtles, tons of bright fish and lively coral!

I had a mini panic attack when it was time to get back into the boat. There was a small ladder attached to the side. Let's be honest, not even Pamala Anderson looks good haphazardly climbing up a boat ladder while it crashes in the water and bobs against the waves. I made a quick dash to the boat to climb up before the queue started. I modestly ascended the ladder in the most lady-like legs-clenched way I knew how, praying that I had not ruined things for the young boy coming in behind me, ran back to my seat and SQUISH. Yes, things were worse in my head [and in my VS] than it really was, but it did not make me feel any better.

I repeated this in and out cycles two more times before we stopped off on the smallest of the three islands for lunch. Although Gili Meno was the smallest and most beautiful, it also had no more than a handful of restaurants and a guesthouse or two on the whole island. I searched out the first "bathroom" I could find to sort myself out and boy, was I in luck! The public porta-potty down the dirt alley had not been cleaned in... well, maybe ever... did not have a light, toilet paper or a waist bin nor did it flush, but at least it was a squatty and was hot enough that nothing could actually survive inside for any lengthy period of time. I took care of business the best, and most discretely way I could (I will spare the details). It was no easy task to secure a new diaper to my now wet bikini, and I was feeling a little bit defeated at this point.

Following lunch, the snorkel instructor suggested that we take a walk down the coast to see the turtle sanctuary. The turtle population is rapidly decreases because of the pollution, people and illegal poaching, so they dig up the eggs, and raise the turtles before releasing them back into the ocean to increase their survival rate. But back to the real story... After visiting the turtles, Ayesha noticed a store and gift shop on the walk back and suggested I give it a whirl for tampons. I headed straight to the hygienic isle and gave it a thorough investigation before claiming yet another defeat. Then as we were walking out, Ayesha caught eye of a small blue box on the bottom shelf under a locked cabinet of cologne. No way. We grabbed the box to inspect it - off-brand, super, stringless, cardboard applicator tampons. SOLD! I may be the world's pickiest person when it comes to my regular tampon purchases (and this little blue box could not have been farther from my normal standards), but I felt my quality of life already improving as I held it in my hand.

I enthusiastically set it on the counter in front of the old man. He gently picked up the box as if he had never seen it before and walked out from behind he counter and across the dirt road without saying a word. A minute later, he came back with a younger (and cuter, of course) man, now holding the box.

"11,000 rupiah." He rambles out the price, now looking carefully at the box, flipping it around and around. "What is this?"
"Tampons." I dig out the 11,000 [11 dollars, seriously? Are these stringless, cardboard inclosed, chunks of golden cotton? 11 bucks for 5 tampons? Doesn't matter] and hand it to the man behind the counter.
"Yeah, but what it is for?" He inquires, adorably.
"It is just for women." I offer a modest explanation as I try removing the box of gold from him hand.
"But what is it?" Seriously?
"They are tampons... for women... like for that time of the month..." He is clueless and still staring at my waiting for me to enlighten him. "Menstruation. Period. Bleeding... and if you don't give them to me right now I am going to bleed all over your shop!" I really didn't say that last part, but I was screaming it in my head. Finally, the light turned on, "Red days" he said handing the box over to me with a smile.

Glad I just had that conversation.

So another walk, another quick stop into my favorite bathroom, and I re-entered the world with a little bounce in my step. I was wearing the most uncomfortable tampon known to man, but I was at least feeling like I wasn't going to die [breaking news: American girl eaten by shark because menstruation leak].

You would think that my day could have only dramatically improved from there, as did I, but I was wrong.

After lunch, one more snorkel spot, and we were heading back to our island... that's when it hit. At first, I thought it was cramping from the unidentified object being rejected from my body. It didn't take too long for me to realize that it was actually my body rejecting the lunch I had just consumed. What did I have for lunch? Oh yes, we had eaten at a local place near the dock. I had ordered noodles with veggies as I was steering clear of meat while on this vacation, but they mixed up my veggie noodles with the chicken noodles of the girl at the next table. She had started chowing down before realizing, and I didn't want to be difficult so I accepted it. The chicken actually tasted good, so I smothered the chicken and noodles with the local spicy saucing sitting on the table and bon apetite.

As I was nearly running back to my bungalow from the dock, I was regretting that decision. "I am not feeling well." I told Ayesha, "You should probably steer clear of the bungalow and give me a couple minutes." Hey, I was trying to be kind as I already knew it was anything but sound proof. Once I made it to the throne, I was huddled over in pain as I experienced the worse diarrhea of my life [would using the words explosive, volatile, or perilous be too descriptive?] Usually with food poisoning, you feel better after ridding the body of the toxins, but I found no relief. I was up all night with terrible stomach pains, running to the bathroom. It continued into the next day and throughout the rest of our stay on the beautiful island - FIVE DAYS! I drank nothing but water, and although I was starving on a constant empty stomach, I was running to the bathroom at the first bite of food. It was miserable (because I am such a foodie), but working wonders for my beach bod and my confidence was back on the rise following the Little Swimmer snorkeling incident.

Towards the end of my stomach spout, after arriving in KL, we had ventured out to China Town to do some shopping. I was feeling optimistic that I could be away from a toilet for an extended period of time (and I just really wanted to go shopping). Our short shopping trip turned in to a couple hours and it wasn't long before I was stopped dead in my tracks with the oh-so-familiar stab of pain in my lower intestines. So I approached the women working at the store we were in, "Excuse me ma'am, can I use your bathroom?" I pleaded.
"No bathroom." Clearly unaware of what is about to transpire.
"Ok, can you tell me where the closest bathroom is?" I am nearly begging.
"No bathroom."
I am on a limit time table here. "If you needed to go to the bathroom while at work, where would you go?" She looks at me with sympathy and directs me to a bathroom around the corner and behind all the tattoo shops at the market. I know that look and I anticipate the worse bathroom scenario possible.

I do a quick jog around the corner and behind the tattoo shops to find the bathroom just how I had imagined it. There is a guy sitting outside the bathroom with a sign that says "0.50 for toilet. 0.50 for paper". I dig out my wallet. "I only have a fifty." He shrugs, takes the bill, and oh so slowly begins to count out my change. one. at. a. time. I throw a pack of tissue on the table, "This too," for good measure, but I am hoping less money back will be less time counting so I can get on with my business.

The bathroom is really more of a stall with a squatty (thankfully) - one for men and one for women - with a broken wooden door clinging on for its life, not conservative with the amount of stall it is actually covering. The man is sitting right outside the door, and although I tried to be as discreet and lady-like as I could, he was no longer sitting there when I came out.

This was not the first of uncomfortable adventures during my travels, and I am sure it will not be the last, but two important lessons I learned was to ALWAYS pack tampons and Imodium no matter what or where.

My friend's take away lesson "Cramps are always better than contractions."

She has a point.

Let This Moment Be Enough

"LET THIS MOMENT BE ENOUGH..." Whispered quietly in an open room, lined with people, silent, breathing, eyes closed. The rain tapped on the bamboo roof and candles flickered against the night sky. In that moment, I am reminded that nothing else matters but my mind, body, heart... I feel like the luckiest person on Earth.

Let me rewind. We left Kuta Thursday morning heading for Ubud. I didn't know much about Ubud except the fact that it was the filming location for the movie Eat, Pray, Love (based on the best-selling book by Elizabeth Gilbert). In the movie, Elizabeth reaches Bali as her final destination in her search of an old medicine man, Ketut. Elizabeth, of course, meets a man and eventually, they fall in love. Ubud is also known for its beauty, layered rice fields and serene settings appreciated by yogis far and wide.

After an hour bus ride through the country, we reached Ubud and found our way to Bening Bungalow. Although we ended up in a room with just one bed and no air conditioning, the balcony overlooking rice fields made up for it! First we rented motorcycles and set out to grab some lunch and explore the new place. In the middle of our lunch, it began to down poor - typical of a tropical island. Optimistic, we set out hoping it would soon clear up. Less than 5 minutes down the road, I tried to pull off the road (because I had lost Ayesha), hit a patch of loose gravel and my motorcycle slipped right out from underneath me. My dad always said to ride motorcycles in pants and closed toed shoes. Had I been following his directions, I wouldn't have scrapped off a chunk of my big toe and bruised up my knee as I went down. As my toes started to gush blood, we decided it was time to turn around and head back so I could clean all the gravel out of my toe.

Unfortunately, the rain continued throughout the rest of the day (and the rest of the time in Ubud), and kept us indoors for most of the time. That night we were able to walk around a bit after dark, and after the rain let up, and grab some dinner at a local diner. The next morning, my eyes shot open just in time to witness the sunrising just outside of our window, so we sat on the balcony and enjoyed the view.

My favorite part of Ubud

That morning, we took a cooking class at Warung Semesta - an organic and vegetarian specialty place near Monkey Forest. It was only Ayesha and I and another couple from South Africa. Our cooking instructor was very informative and knowledgeable with a great sense of humor. He gave us a tour around the kitchen, introduced us to the ingriendents (some familiar and some new) and gave us some information surrounding the Balinese dishes we were going to make.

 We chopped, grated, mashed, sauteeds and wrapped until each paste, veggie, and meat was hand prepared from scratch. Our menu included Jukut Metantok (vegetabe salad with peanut sauce), Tun be Siap (chicken and spices wrapped in banana leaves), Pepes be Pasih (fish with spices in banana leaves), Be Leleng Base Manis (pork in soy sauce), Mei Goreng (fired noodles with chicken and eggs). For dessert, we made Dadar Gulung (crepes with coconut and cane sugar). After the morning of cooking, we got to sit down and enjoy our lunch together.

Surprise, surprise, it was raining again by the time we were finished with the class, but we invested in some ponchos, refusing to let the rain lock us inside, and continued our walk around the city. That day, we discovered the Yoga Barn. Tucked away in the thick of the jungle off the main road, it was an oasis for yogis or anyone looking for a little bit of an escape. One looks, and I was considering staying forever! It was all outdoors with bamboo roofs and open walls to let the surrounding green enclose the large rooms. Later that night, we tried our first yoga class at the barn -Tibetian Bowl Meditation. Now let me just say that meditation is not my strength when it comes to yoga. I can stand on my head all day long, but ask me to lay still for 90 minutes and clear my mind... it is a recipe for a nap! The class came highly recommended, so we gave it a whirl. We lay on our mats in a dark room, lit only with a few candles. We were instructed to get comfortable with pillows and blankets and close our eyes. The instructor gave few directions after that but began to play the bowl instruments and walked around the room swinging the instruments above everyone's head to let the vibrations flow through the body. I think I did pretty well for the first 30 minutes. Then, I started to get hungry, and think about what I wanted for dinner. Then I kept getting bit by the mosquitos that we also invited into the class. Then the guy next to Ayesha began to rumble and snore (there is always one in the group). After that, my eyes were wide open, for fear of being that guy. Tibetian Bowl Meditation, yes, check, but most likely a once in a lifetime experience.

Yoga Barn in the middle of the jungle

The next morning, we had planned to hike Mount Batur for the sunrise. So we rose at 2:00 am and set off in a bus (with two other girls) for an hour drive to the mountain area. After a quick breakfast, we began the hike up one of the active volcanoes on the island in the dark of the early morning. We began the hike inside the large crater of the volcano, now partially filled with Bali's largest fresh water lake (Lake Batur) and villages. The hike only took about 90 minutes or so and was pretty simple, aside from the slippery volcanic rocks and the darkness. Once at the top, it was pretty certain that we were not going to get a magnificent sunrise. As we sat in a cloud, waiting, the air cleared a bit for us to see the mountains surrounding the low crater and Lake Batur. We sat for a while and tried to enjoy the peace and quiet, but there were so many people on the top, and with the sun came the monkeys! Unlike other monkeys, these were pretty tame and placid, used to visiting tourists. As we walked around the summit, our guide took us to serval different craters where steam poured out from the hot volcanic lava below. He also showed us a smaller crater on top that erupted in 2010, covering one of the local villages with thick black lava.

Eventually, we made our way back down the mountain... not an easy task, as the rocks were very slippery, it was beginning to rain, and my injured toe was being smashed against the front of the shoe due to the decline. We got back into the van and headed back to Ubud. Ayesha and I were exhausted, so we took a little nap as it rained, more. After some relaxation, we went to another yoga class to stretch out a bit following the hike. It was a really great class. I really just cannot get over the ambiance of the Yoga Barn, and the natural environment only adds to the calm state of relaxation. During this class, we held a variety of posses to stretch and the instructor talked us through settling our minds and disconnecting from our body. It was a rather spiritual experiences - peaceful and quiet, rain softly tapping on the hatch roof, and the breeze blowing through the open walls. As Tina whispered, "... forget about your stress, forget about your fears, forget about your life racing through your mind... let this moment be enough to comfort your soul..." It was comforting, and again, I was reminded of how blessed I am to lead this glorious life and that I don't need anything more that my mind, body and soul to make me complete. Following yoga, we spent the rest of the rainy evening reading at the Kafe.

On our last night, we were determined to make the most of it, despite the pouring rain outside. We rented motorcycles (round 2) and spent some time riding outside of the city into the smaller villages and rice fields. The rain was relentless, so we took lots of breaks to shop around in the small galleries. After a quick stop for lunch, Ayesha wasn't feeling well, went back for a nap and I continued my exploration. The surrounding villages were very peaceful and beautiful with all of the rice fields, but soon, I surrendered to the rain and headed back.

I had my final yoga class that night, and my favorite of them all! Although the calming meditation yoga classes were interesting and a change of pace from the strength and endurance classes I am used to, I was looking forward to a power class to test my abilities again the real yogis! it was fantastic! Ninety-minutes of stretching, strengthening and holding on to power positions - most of the posses I was used to doing on a regular basis, but not holding them for the extended length of time. When our instructor asked us to get into head stand positions, most of the people in class found their position on the wall for support. I love doing headstands and I can do them pretty well. The few people in class that could hold the headstand independently, we then asked to hold steady for 5 minutes... FIVE MINUTES! It was hard, and I fell once to let the blood drain out of my head, but I was a trooper!

That night, Ayesha and I wanted to go out for a nice dinner and find the popular night club in town, The Jazz Club. We got all dressed up, bought a bottle of wine to drink a little before dinner. The cheapest wine we found was certainly a cheap bottle of wine, for 16 dollars. It was terrible, but we were determined to finish it off! Suited up in our ponchos to face the rain, we headed out. It was raining harder than it had in the last couple of days and the streets were completely flooded. By the time we made it a block down the road for dinner, we were drowned rats! Dinner and drinks were delicious, but we were quickly losing our will to face the rest of the night so we headed back early to drink some beers on our balcony instead... our cute neighbor boy came out and joined us for a little bit, then we called it in early to get ready for our 6:00 am bus the next morning.