From the middle of one country, to the middle of another...

It seems I am more Nebraskan than I thought. Growing up among cattle pastures and cornfields, miles from any sort of coastline, I always assumed I would spend the rest of my days making up for lost beach time by residing as close as possible to the sand and sun. Yet, after six months in Australia of morning beach strolls and splashing in the salty waves, I have found myself back in-land, right smack in the middle of the Aussie Outback. Perhaps growing up in the Midwest has ingrained itself in my subconscious, an intrinsic pull to the center. As in yoga, we are told to find our core in order to balance ourselves, and in the hectic days that have passed with all the issues afloat in this world, it doesn't seem far fetched that I would need to find some balance of my own. And, as crazy as it may sound (particularly when said aloud), a balance is presenting itself to me one blazing hot day at a time...

So here I am in Yulara, Northern Territory, just 20 kilometers from the infamous Ayers Rock (a.k.a. Uluru) and I am quickly learning that the middle of Australia has little in common with that of the US. Nebraska's sprawling fields of beans and corn are replaced with uninhabited red dirt and dried desert shrubs that stretch as far as the eye can see. Raccoons and skunks are replaced with venomous snakes and scaly lizards, while the sticky humidity is swapped for a dry, moisture sucking, heat. With temperatures regularly reaching 45 degrees Celsius and a lack of clouds to cover the fiery orange sun, there is little one can do to beat the heat. Although Nebraska is far less dangerous than the rugged desert life, I must admit that I feel well equipped to battle its extremities. After all, you never know what to expect in the Midwest...does anyone remember the 1997 October storm?

안녕 (goodbye) and hello...

After a blundering final week in Seoul and a race out the door to Incheon airport, I was finally on my journey back to Australia. Forty-two hours of planes, trains and automobiles left me with enough time to finally finish my book and catch up on in-flight movies. Air China mistakenly left my luggage in Beijing, so when I finally landed, I found myself stranded in Sydney with minimal belongings and a desperate need to shower. Numb to it all after such a hectic travel itinerary, I set off to explore the city and soak some much needed sunshine. Then, after a fun night with friends at happy hour I awoke just in time to catch my train up north to Ballina where the weather is warm and the sun, oh so bright :)

Classic literature for thought...

"Man is primarily a creative animal, condemned to strive consciously toward a goal and to engage in the engineering arts; in other words, to be eternally and continually building roads for himself, leading somewhere, no matter where."

-Fyodor Dostoevsky, "Notes from Underground"

Beachy Ballina, a surfer's paradise

Melbourne

Sneak preview; we've only just begun...

Kangaroos and Oversized Objects

When thinking of Australia, one of the first things that springs to mind for most is kangaroos. And, true to form, kangaroos are everywhere... In front yards, in parks, at the beach. Everywhere. Kangaroo roadkill is as ordinary as the lifeless raccoons often seen along highways in the American midwest. And while they are more heavily concentrated in specific areas, they are easy to spot more times than not. Another easy-to-spot entity is the "oversized object". Ranging from an oversized pineapple to an oversized whale or lobster, there are an estimated 150 oversized objects to be viewed across the Aussie countryside. So far I have witnessed, in all their oversized glory, the Big Banana in Coffs Harbor and the Big Prawn in Ballina.

OZ

After a lengthy stint in Asia, it was finally back to Western society. Perhaps among the most laid back and easy going of western countries, Australia is a land of surfers, coastal living, meat pies, wild animals, deadly snakes, rugby, beer, beer, beer and a no shoes policy. With enough space for every Australian citizen to have their own kilometer of land, it was a spacious change to the crammed sidewalks of Asian cities. A change I readily accepted. First stop was the cruisy surfer town Byron Bay near the northern end of New South Wales. Famed for being the most easterly point of Australia, the beaches were beautiful and the night skies were filled with stars...

Bali Highs...

The final stretch of our motorized adventure consisted of winding, hilly roads through thriving green rice fields and small villages. Among the many stops we made, my personal favorite was at one of Bali's highest peaks, Mount Batur. Batur is an active volcano that last erupted in 1999 leaving the locals to believe that ghosts and spirits are trapped inside the crater. Spending a night in a small farming village at the base of the volcano, Elaine and I met two local guides that affably agreed to take us on a hike the next day. We woke at 3:30am the following morning to ensure we were at the top for sunrise. Although the sky was hazy as plump rain-filled clouds hung among the peaks, the site was breathtaking nonetheless. The trek then continued well into the afternoon as our tour guides led us up and around smokey craters. At one stage we buried raw eggs and after just ten minutes unearthed them naturally hard boiled from the heat trapped in the ground. From there it was on to a sandy beach town for dolphin boat rides and further on to snorkeling with schools of jack fish. We decided to spend two days in the small village Tulumben, which is famous for housing a sunken US military ship off its shore, we quickly met many of the locals, children and divers alike.







Tulumben children on the way home from school, Elaine and I on the volcano, volcanic shadows, Mount Batur

Shelter from the rainy season

At one stage while cruising around Lombok island, the rain started to pour down so insanely we were forced to dismount our trusty transport and take shelter at a random garage we found along the backstreets of the rice paddy fields. To our pleasant surprise, a very friendly family lived adjacent to the garage and they invited us in to their home to hide out and wait for the rain to pass. The mother and father didn't speak English, but their elementary-aged daughter had rather polished English and served as a translator between the family and their foreign guests...







the kitchen, Elaine and the girls, hanging in the living room

Vroom, vroom, vroom

After a week on the island of minimum transport, Elaine and I thought it best to rent a motorbike for our remaining two weeks together to see as much of Lombok and Bali Islands as we could squeeze in. Luckily the islands are fairly small and covering a large distance in a short amount of time was completely doable. It started with a weekend on Lombok where we were perpetually stuck in rain, and after a painstakingly complicated journey via public transport back to Bali, we rented another motorbike for the week there...

Ferry rides and Gili Isles

On the ferry over to the Gilis, I was incidentally invited up to the captain's quarters for a tour... it was random, so obviously I went for it. The captain and crew were very nice and answered all my nosy questions about running the ferry and sinking in the channel. Even with this slight break in monotonous water scenes, I was happy to spot land eight hours later as we neared our final destination. With no cars or motorbikes allowed on the Gilis, the small chain of three islands are famous for their quaint peacefulness as the locals use only bicycles and horse-drawn buggies. Originally planning to stay just a few days, Elaine and I ended up staying a full week, reveling in it's historic bizarreness...






the captain's quarters, a land view from the ferry, a small shop on gili, a young boy buys a steamed egg on a stick from a local vendor

Moving on

After a week of lounging, running on the beach and getting to know the Kuta area, I decided to venture out of the particularly heavy tourist zone to a smaller chain of islands, the Gili Islands. Fortunately, I met a spontaneously sweet Swedish girl who was traveling alone as well, and the two of us teamed up for the trip. First stop was a small porting town where we waited to catch the eight-hour ferry. As we arrived to the docks early, I went for a walk around through mazes of stoned alley ways and crumbling temples to eventually stumble upon a traditional market where women carried baskets on their heads and were lining up with fresh fruits and veggies...

Kuta

The following photos were taken at Kuta beach and the surrounding areas, where I initially arrived on the majestic island of Bali, Indonesia...








Beach, colonial statue, myself with two Indonesian friends and a Scottish surfer, sunset, local fishermen

Taiwan Treasures

Remotely located off the coast of China's mainland is the rather small island country, Taiwan. My lack of knowledge and the intrinsic obscurity of the island drew me to visit not once, but twice, to discover what treasures it might have to offer. To my satisfaction, Taiwan is fantastic. For an island so small, it has so much to offer: an energetic capital city filled with clubs and shopping, beautiful beaches and lush, green countryside, good food (with the exception of "stinky tofu") and overwhelmingly nice people. Perhaps because foreigners and tourists are not as high numbered as in other Asian countries, or perhaps because it is just their natural etiquette, but the Taiwanese people were consistently helpful and endearing. While in Kenting, a coastal town in the southern tip of Taiwan, a charming little grandmother that helped run the guesthouse I stayed at couldn't speak a word of English, yet everyday she invited me down for lunch and dinner and would sit and watch me eat with a moon-sized grin across her face. Knowing only a few survival phrases in Mandarin, I could only mumble a basic thank you but wished to express how sincerely touched I was by her warmheartedness...






Kenting beaches...The 101 Building (tallest in the world for some period of time)...an adorable Taiwanese girl running an accessory shop in the streets of Taipei

Korean Times

I really began to appreciate Korea once I ventured outside of the hustle and bustle that is Seoul. The countryside truly has a lot to offer: mountains, fresh air, tasty cuisine and hospitable folks. Taking advantage of Korea's efficient and cheap bus service, I made a point to see as much of the peninsula as my time allotted. Often on my own, I ended up in lesser-known places, meeting some rather interesting people along the way...

Jeonju and Moaksan...

Where past meets present (see the gentleman pulling an old-school cart while chatting on a new-school cell phone) and statues are painted gold. The three men sitting in the chairs gave me some good tips on where to eat in Jeonju then conversationally interrogated me on life as a foreigner... they appeared to have been drinking all afternoon as well :)

Soeraksan...Soerak Mountain

Soeraksan translates to "snow rock" in Chinese and is famed in Korea as one of the most beautiful places to hike, especially in the fall and winter. It is also home to the big Buddha. Whilst there, I stumbled upon a small Buddhist temple tucked in a crevice of a mountain wall. I stopped for a tea and bought a trinket from the sweet old lady running the show. Her and her husband hike to that spot every morning with their tea and trinkets. What a gal she is...

Frolicing around Korea...

Bosung:Green tea region, Sokcho beach, drying fish