Asian holiday

Sunset from our place on Bali

Home is the sailor, home from the sea,
And the hunter home from the hill. 
--Kipling

I lead a charmed life.  Long rides in taxis and "tuk-tuks," through crazy traffic, and never injured.  Lay-overs, going and coming, at Seoul airport, and never nuked.  Hiking under the shadow of Bali's highly active Mt. Agung volcano, and never buried in lava and ash.

Home at last, arriving in Seattle by way of Seoul two afternoons ago, and only now feeling mentally capable of setting down a few thoughts in writing.

It was a great three weeks, both as a travel experience and as a family reunion to celebrate a couple of 70th birthdays.


Volcano Agung seen from temple
site on Lempuyang

I arrived in Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand, on October 18 -- joining my sister at a cluster of stilted cabins called "The Little Village," a mile or so walk down a narrow country road from my nephew Denny's rented home.  We made frequent treks down that road to visit the very comfortable house he's been renting since last June when he accepted a job teaching sixth grade at the same international school his daughter Maury was attending.  We joined him and a couple of other early arrivals, my first night there, to celebrate our Thai experience by visiting a locally run pizza joint, and spent the next three days hanging out with everyone and hearing about Denny's local experiences.

Unfortunately, the school had just been flooded by the tail-end of the monsoons, giving Maury a vacation and Denny the experience of working with fellow teachers to prepare temporary quarters for the school.  A bit stressful for my nephew, but he handled it all with aplomb.


Sister descending Lempuyang

After three days, four of us flew to Bangkok, where we spent a night, and then on to Denpasar, Bali, getting our first view of newly awakened Agung as we flew over the island.  We joined many of the other members of our 13-person group at the airport. Our rental management provided us transportation to our new homes. We drove northward for an hour, weaving crazily through masses of tuk-tuks and bicycles, drawing ever closer to the threatening volcano.

We were delighted by the accommodations that my sister Kathy had negotiated for us.  She had rented all three houses on a large plot of land, surrounded by lush green lawns, and bordering the sea across a channel from Lombok island. Everything about the place was beautiful -- the detailed interior and exterior woodworking of the houses, the palm trees, the infinity pool overlooking the ocean, the nightly sunsets.  I had to summon all my curiosity to tear myself away and wander out the front gate occasionally, where the world of Bali locals existed along a dirt road that lead eventually into the nearest town of Candi Dasa.


Angkor Wat at dawn

Both the manager and staff of our property, and the staff of an adjoining resort whose outdoor café we visited frequently, were overwhelming in their hospitality.  Although the Candi Dasa area is a major tourist area, the publicity about the supposedly imminent eruption of nearby Agung had virtually eliminated the presence of foreign tourists.  We had the entire region almost to ourselves.

We spent one morning driving even closer to the volcano -- although still remaining outside the 12 kilometer "forbidden zone" -- to climb the sacred mountain of Lempuyang.  Lempuyang's summit is about 5,000 feet, and the path to the top leads past seven Hindu temples or shrines.  The climb is one of the major tourist attractions of northeast Bali.  We saw no other tourists while there -- but we had beautiful, unclouded views of Agung herself.  Four of us ascended to the top temple, and the rest climbed as high as the second.


Temple at Lamphun, near Chiang Mai,
where we attended Loi Krathong, a
Buddhist festival of lights.
 

After a full week on Bali, about half of our group left for home.  The rest of us flew by way of Kuala Lumpur to Siem Reap, Cambodia.  We stayed at a small bed and breakfast in the center of town, our units surrounding a swimming pool.  We explored nearby Angkor Wat, which Denny and I had explored ten years earlier. (Photos from 2007) The ruins are very extensive, stretching far beyond the most famous ruins ("Angkor Wat" proper).  They deserve a return visit, and further exploration.

Kathy and I  caught a 5 a.m. taxi to the ruins one morning to watch the sunrise.  The sun rose, of course, but chose to rise behind a cloud.  Nevertheless, the ruins -- while hardly free of visitors -- were more peaceful and especially attractive in the early light of dawn, and we didn't regret missing a couple of hours of sleep.

After three nights in Siem Reap, we returned to Chiang Mai, spent three more nights at The Little Village, and then moved into the central "old city," a square of about 1¼ mile length on each side, surrounded by a landscaped moat.  We spent three more nights in the old city, concluded by dinner at La Fourchette, an excellent French restaurant owned and managed by a superb chef.  The service was excellent, and I don't mind throwing in a plug for the place.

Then, one by one, we headed for home.  I was the last of our group to leave Chiang Mai.  I won't be the last to return for another visit.