Wattup.

Bury your gold.

Shutter your doors.

Hide your men.

Quiet your babies.

And pray that the Pirate Captain doesn't hear you sneeze.

Cap'n Miffy's got her groove back, bitches!

Whahahahahaha.....!

To Bali.

I just came back from Bali for yet another unforgettable wedding, and I'm starting to think that I might have already seen perfection after basking in Viv and (and now) Jess' happily wedded bliss. :) You can always find me at a wedding reliably wiping away tears, steadily and surely turning into a scary (and snot faced) panda before the ceremony is over. I cry because these are my friends, and I am so damn happy for them. I know that it wasn't easy for any couple to reach this milestone, and that this a giant victory. WE. ARE. THE. CHAMPIONS!!! I feel blessed and honored to be able to witness such an important milestone in my friends' lives, and rejoice in their personal success. 

Jess & Chris, their first dance.

There are two topics that I wanted to write about after this trip to Bali. I just got off a Skype conversation with my mom, and she asked me about the details of this wedding, how I felt about the style and choices. My general rule of thumb about people is -- to each their own. Just like how each individual is different, their choices in an ideal partner, concept of success, measurement of happiness, personal and life values, tastes and preferences will always be different. There is no "good" or "bad", "better" or "worse" -- even if someone throws a poorly planned wedding, the point is to celebrate this moment with the newly wed couple (who have bad planning skills, oh well). Jessica's wedding was not poorly planned, in fact it was like a fairytale, grander and more perfect than anyone would have imagined. That's Jessica. And she deserved it.

I haven't given much thought to my own wedding since I'm not quite there yet... there are several key criteria missing. ;) And I surprise myself when I say that I'm really not worried one single bit. 隨緣 (sui2 yuan3), follow the flow, grow organically. I believe one day I will meet and marry the love of my life, and the only thing I will care about is our journey after, not the wedding.

==============

Another thing I wanted to write about was how strange it was that Bali was such a weird hub in my personal life over these two years. I've been to Bali four times already over the last two years. I've been to Bali three times over the past one year. The rest of Southeast Asia has sadly gotten the silent treatment. Each of my trips have been quite momentous, defining a different stage of my life.

My first ever trip to Bali was with G. We were in a pretty good place in our relationship, and wanted to get away from dirty Nanjing for a real vacation. I was happy to be in his company, and optimistic about our future. I was quite content, and I thought that he must be too.

My second trip to Bali was right after we broke up. It was the most excruciating experience, but the shock dulled the pain of how it all unfolded. However, over the week I trained and steeled myself against any bouts of weakness, and promised myself to never look back. I am very proud of my resolve.

My third trip to Bali was to celebrate Viv and Howie's wedding, a most spectacular affair with my closest friends from Shanghai. When I arrived in Shanghai, I barely knew anyone besides my boss. I threw myself into this very lonely and strange environment, but was somehow was lucky to get adopted by this second family of ours. It was only then that Shanghai felt like home, and so being able to go to Bali with all of my wonderful friends was a testament that life was good. Very very good.

My fourth and most recent trip to Bali was celebrate Jessica's wedding, which was like watching a dream materialize before our very eyes. This time I think the connecting theme was forgiveness. There were quite a few mended fences, and I am so incredibly happy to have this chance to reunite with old friends. Even though I was only able to stay in Bali for 48 hours, all of this was expended on positive energy. Also, a few days before this trip, my curiosity finally won me over and I finally decided to take a peek at the dedication. It was almost exactly one year after the second trip. The message was clear, but reality still remains. I delved into this thinking that I really wouldn't feel anything, but ended up mourning once again. I thought about it during Bali, asking myself whether this acknowledgement even mattered, whether it changed anything?

No, it doesn't.
It's stupid to waste energy on unconstructive thoughts and actions.

To Bali.
To life.
To love.
And to my future. :)

Snapshot

Umalayas, Bali Island, Indonesia.

August 14th, 2011.

7 Days of Changes

Shanghai - HK - Bali - HK - New York.

Rough beginnings, from a typhoon that hit Shanghai that threatened my departure...

to facing the impossible facts, introspection and support while Eating Praying Loving...

and finally reaching self-absolution, immediately rewarded by a surprise free upgrade to Business Class at the gate on my 15 hour flight back home (I seriously cannot go Economy again, Business is bliss!).

God does exist! :) Thank you for showing me the signs and for surrounding me with true friends. You guys know who you are... thank you from the bottom of my heart.

And that's the end of this chapter.

劇終。

Bali: Believe the Hype!

HNC gives us a week off for Thanksgiving but no break for Christmas or New Years. Go figure. So Gene and I took advantage of the school's creative scheduling and went down to Bali for a low-season vacay and free ourselves from Dirty China for just a bit.

It was my first time in the Southern Hemisphere! Cookie? :)

We stayed in Kuta Beach, which was your go-to area for cash-strapped beach bums -- there are a lot of what I can only describe as packs of Australian frat brothers roaming the streets, all wearing Bintang Beer tank tops and sporting tattoos. Perhaps Kuta is to Australia as Cancun is to the United States. Although we contemplated skipping around different parts of the island like Ubud, we ended up anchoring here for the whole week out of pure laziness (which is allowed in a real vacation!). Bali is also a pretty big island, and it takes about 3-4 hours just to drive from Kuta (in the south) to the northern shore. We spent most of the time by the beach just relaxing, but we also did three days of exploring/adventuring -- biking, diving, and just cultural touring. I really like Bali's community structure and spiritual devotion... it probably explains why I feel the people I met there are the warmest and most open group of people I've encountered so far throughout my travels.

Hawkers were quite aggressive at Kuta Beach, but Gene was really good-natured about chatting them up and allowing to employ their trade skillz.

Don't get used to it, buddy. :p

A pineapple lollipop for 20,000 Rp (~$2 USD)

Hindu cleansing ceremony by the beach.

Bali supposedly has 20,000+ temples on the island. Each village has 3 community temples , and each household compound has their own temple as well!

If you stay at the beach for an entire day you'll notice that Westerners dominate the scene during the daytime, sunning and surfing away. Once the sun starts to set, these people leave to grab dinner or hit the bars. By this time, all the Indonesians come out because it's not as hot and sunny out (they don't like dark skin, like all other Asian groups)... and before you know it you're the only one still sporting a bikini on the beach. And you feel strangely indecent. :p

After 3 days of pure vegetating, Gene and I went on a bike tour through Bali's lush mountainous countryside. It was a FANTASTIC experience, and got to learn a lot of about the Balinese culture... and drink poop coffee. Haha yes, Kopi Luwak, aka Coffee Made Out of Civet Poop (that normally costs $10+ a cup).

Caged civet.

You'd be pretty bummed too if all you had to eat was coffee beans all day. Poor dude must be so wired, which is probably why he was still up during the day (they're nocturnal). :(

The top two baskets are Civet Poop coffee beans (unroasted/roasted). You can see that compared to the bottom two baskets the Kopi Luwak beans look superior. Their explanation was that the civets are really choosy and only consume the top-notch beans, and then as these super alpha beans become even more awesome as they are broken down through the civets' digestive system.

Cocoa drink, Kopi Luwak, Balinese coffee, Ginger tea, Lemongrass tea.

I paid 30,000 Rp (~$3 USD) to try out the Kopi Luwak, which honestly was O.K. for all the hype.

Harvesting rice.

Rice paddies are everywhere in Bali, but none of the harvest is exported. Apparently most families cultivate their own fields purely for their own personal consumption, and take other jobs on the side as well in order to support themselves.

We did 2 wreck dives off the shore of Tulamben, which was soooo cool! So cool. ^_^ The wreck was the USS Liberty, a US Army Transport ship torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in 1942. The whole skeleton of the ship was covered with all sorts of coral and wildlife, it's amazing how fast an ecosystem can grow under the right conditions. :) The first dive we just skirted around the ship, but the second dive we got to swim through the hull... I thought the whole thing was quite worthwhile even though it took 3 hours to drive from Kuta Beach to Tulamben.

Brushed by some fire coral. That stuff hurts. :( Next time I'm wearing gloves.

Earl Grey Martini at Ku de Ta. Posh place.

We spent another day just touring the eastern section of the island with a private tour guide, stopping by the Bat Temple, Elephant Temple, Central Ubud, the Monkey Sanctuary, and Jimboran Bay.

The only time you'll see Gene in a sarong (which is why I'm posting this online, muhahaha!), only because it's required in Hindu temples.

Hello cousin!

We actually came back to Jimboran Bay for dinner twice in one week because the seafood was so freaking delicious. I usually find it distasteful to manually disassemble crustaceans, but I totally shred my Jumbo Crab into little pieces with my bare hands like a Neanderthal. It was so nice to sit on a nicely assembled dinner table right on the beach, enjoying a beautiful sunset and delectable food. The service was amazing. It doesn't take much to live a luxurious life here in Bali....

Final lazy days at Kuta Beach -- life is good.

Yes, life is very good. :)