So far so good!

After 14 hours spent flying, 10 hours in 4 different airports and countless hours awake, I'm finally safe in Mongolia. 

Other than a brief moment of panic when I thought I lost my phone on the plane (no laughing!) the flights were uneventful. 

The drive from the airport into downtown Ulaanbaatar on the other hand was pretty eye opening! Turning left out of the airport parking lot, we were suddenly on a completely washed out single lane dirt track road. No street lights. Certainly no pavement in a long, long time. We crawled slowly through vast empty land, frequently ducking into oncoming traffic to avoid the biggest of potholes. To an outsider it was completely lawless, Mongolians are by far the scariest drivers I've seen (though, they seem to share a love of rainbow flashing LED lights on their cars...even the police van was sporting a pair on the license plate) Despite all that, I still manage to drift off for a minute or two; a testament to just how exhausted I actually am. 

On that note, I'll say goodnight! 

Important travel lesson....

At least I'm still alive?

That was officially the trip home from hell.

I think it's karma...I had a fantastic trip that went with hardly a hitch the whole time. I was bound to be using up all my good luck and due for some bad.  But really?

- Lost my cell.
- Missed my flight in San Francisco.
- Checked my bag on the already-departed flight.
- Had to wait 8 hours for the next flight to Calgary.
- Make that 9 hours.  They lost our plane. No joke.
- Nearly missed THAT flight when they made a sudden gate change clear across the airport while I was having a (very much deserved) drink next to the "correct" gate. Ended up sprinting 10 min across the airport, making it just as they were closing the doors.
- Luggage still MIA.

So anyone who's text me and had no response, sorry, I'm not ignoring you. I'm going later to try and get a new phone asap.

It WAS kind of nice to be in my own bed last night though.


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Currently in: Calgary
Best thing about today: Not dying?  The rest sucked donkey balls.
Listening to: Blalock's February playlist of new indie music. Nothing too outstanding so far?
Where to next: Sleep.  I've been up all night with jet lag. Work is going to SUUUUCK in a few days if I'm still like this.
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Last One

And so suddenly it's my last real day on vacation. How did it come so fast?

Rather than get all sad and philosophical, I'm going to make it count. I'm enjoying a lovely coffee on my balcony overlooking tropical jungles. A bit of shopping and a massage are in order today too, but I think I'm just going to enjoy the moment for now.

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Current Location: Alam Puri villas, between Ubud and Denpassar, Bali
Listening to: Oren Lavie - Her Morning Elegance (oh so fitting, Love this song. Especially since I've been singing the hockey monkey song in my sleep all night!)
Tomorrow: (shudder) the start of 27 hours of flying. And back to reality (double shudder)
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I'm going to miss this place

I leave Candidasa tomorrow and head inland, just outside of Ubud.

It's been absolutely pouring rain all afternoon and evening. (so much for it being the "end" of rainy season) the rain has turned into this amazing electrical storm.

So here I sit, in the dark outdoor dining hall, watching lightening over the Indian ocean.

Just amazing.

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Current Location: Sitting in the dark.
Listening to: waves and thunder (though, I just managed to get "fishing in the dark" stuck in my head too. Awesome)
Craving: Not a damn thing!
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Should I be weirded out...

That every staff member at this hotel knows my every move? Everyone, from the waitress to the desk clerk to the masseuse has known when I have a dive class, what my plans are for tomorrow, even what time I woke up at. (I slept in today till 1130, missing breakfast. I've been asked 3 times now whether I'm feeling ok, if there was a problem with my sleep, etc.)

I'd normally be creeped out, or at least nervous from a safety standpoint about people knowing my day, but I'm trying to relax. Today's massage helped that :)

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Listening to: Gaslight Anthem on my iPod, with the water from the stream that runs through the hotel running in the background. I'm going to miss afternoon tea on the patio, it'll be months before I can do this at home.
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Swim with the Fishes

Ok ok, sorry, I've been lazy. I've been in Bali 5 days now on my own, "relaxing". How is it that I've only been able to sleep in 1 day in the whole time I've been away?

I won't bother going back and giving details about Siem Reap, or Angkor Wat, you can see the photos. The drive back to Bangkok was a long one, and the day was made even longer by deciding to stay out partying with the group till 230 in the morning in the streets of Bangkok, then heading for the airport at 3, for a 6 am flight to Bali. Altogether I was awake something around 33 hours. But that brings you to where I am now!

Bali has been absolutely fantastic! It's hot and unbelievably humid, I got yet another unexpected sunburn and I come home every day absolutely exhausted, but it's been awesome!

The hotel is absolutely top notch! There's only 13 or so rooms, each it's own bungalow complete with king sized 4 poster bed and outdoor washroom. The shower is a treat, about 5 feet long (I took a bubble bath my first day...it's the first tub I've been able to fully stretch my legs in!) and made of marble tiles. If I could find a way to bring it as a souvenir, I would.

My last 3 days have been filled and busy ones! Deciding I was tougher than my fear of water, I signed up for a course teaching open water diving. It's more than the standard intro course some resorts offer. Before the first class I was given a 300 page manual and told to study. It was a lot to take in! Early the next morning I met with the dive instructor and 1 other student and studied more. The standard course is 2 full days of class training, 1 day pool diving and 1 day out in open water. But classroom is boring, so we we agreed to study hard, do half a day in the pool and go for 2 ocean dives instead. It was fantastic! I wish I would have had a real deep water camera, it's so surreal under the water, especially exploring around a sunken US naval supply ship. What a fantastic experience!

I'm babbling. One side effect of being up all night studying, then working so hard on the diving, I'm absolutely exhausted by dinner time. Luckily I arranged for another spa day tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be feeling more human and less mermaid again soon enough.

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Current Location: Candidasa, Bali, Indonesia
Listening to: I completely deny any claims that I may have been singing "Under the sea" at any point today. Nope, certainly not me!
Craving: snack food! I've been so good for almost this whole trip. The time or opportunity to snack hasn't been there almost the entire trip. But what I wouldn't do for a handful of Pringles right now!
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