Tag: travel

  • A rice farmer in Ubud, Bali cuts rice with a sickle.

    A Morning Walk Through Balinese Rice Paddies

    I love how this morning unfolded. After awakening to a symphony of creatures large and small, Shawn and I set out to explore the rice paddies that surround our Ubud, Bali guest house. Even though it was just after eight o’clock, the rice fields were already twinkling and sizzling under the hot morning sun’s rays.

  • Women balance spiritual offering baskets on their heads in Ubud, Bali.

    An Offering Basket Procession in Ubud, Bali

    While walking to dinner in Ubud, Bali, we were delighted to cross paths with a procession of women as they gracefully carried offering baskets to a nearby temple. Younger girls used a “training wheels” technique of sort whereby they practiced by holding the hand-woven baskets with both hands. Their mothers and grandmothers, on the other…

  • Lessons From a Balinese Classroom: Our Visit to an English Class in Jimbaran

    As I go through life, and especially when I travel, I am reminded of a lesson from Mark Twain: “We are all alike, on the inside.”

  • A chicken walks past a Balinese temple's statues, in Jimbaran.

    The Flora & Fauna of Jimbaran, Bali

    Bali delights not only because of its splendid architecture and welcoming people, but also through its amazing flora & fauna. From the roosters with no qualms about waking us at 5 o’clock in the morning, to record-size wasps and rats, we’re feeling quite connected with nature on this paradisiacal island. This post is dedicated to the beautiful…

  • Above the Rooftops of Heidelberg: Autumn Views from the Heiliggeistkirche

    With a golden sun overhead, and fall colors all around, Shawn and I climbed up to the Heiliggeistkirche’s platform. I had never ascended the 600-year-old Gothic church’s curvy staircase during the autumn season, so I was pleasantly surprised by the splendid panorama that greeted us at the top. On the sandstone perch overlooking Heidelberg’s Altstadt (Old Town), ladybugs…