Hop, Skippy & jump

Well, I arrived in Perth but had to wait a day before heading off to the kangaroo sanctuary as buses do not run every day to this part of the country. I am not in Kansas anymore :).

This may sound funny but after having spent so much time in Southeast Asia, and Indonesia, Australia was a culture shock. Most importantly for me (interesting that is what is most important) was that Wifi was impossible to find. Nepal has it everywhere but none in Australia? One woman at a coffee shop told me they had lost their password. I stared in disbelief as I wanted to say "you know there is a solution for that" but decided better of it. Thank God for McDonalds. The other shock was that everything is incredibly expensive and the streets close down early which feels a little eery when you are walking back late at night from McDonald's :). The next morning, I was off to Boyup Brook, which is the home of the Roo Gully Sanctuary and Australian Country Music.


Western Australia is absolutely breathtaking. You can see land for miles and the sky looks like it goes on forever.


It is fire prevention month so in addition to taking care of the animals, we
needed to do a great deal of yard work, which included whipper snipping (see mates, I am already starting to speak the language). Here is a look at what needed to be snipped. It looks quite pretty but it is a fire hazard and needs to be cut.



Other than whipper snipping, I also helped Carol (on the left), the owner of Roo Gully, work on a DVD on Spoons Perry, who by her name plays the spoons. She was a finalist in Australia's Got Talent.


Now to the animals. Here are a couple of the many kangaroos that hung out on the back stoop where we kept their food and water. Again, I was cleaning up poo! Perhaps I have found my new calling after all.

They call Randy, Stoner because well I think you know why.







And here is Emily with her Joey. So cute!












Here I am feeding this camel and I guess needing a bit of a kiss :)



It seems to me that Noah's Ark landed in Australia, not Mt Ararat as there are so many incredible looking animals. Look how incredibly blue this bird is.


And a Tawny Frogmouth





I never did understand that song about the Kookaburra but now I do because their laugh is so distinctive.




Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
Merry, merry king of the bush is he
Laugh, Kookaburra! Laugh, Kookaburra!
Gay your life must be

And baby emus who will lose their stripes and become black as they grow older.



Well it's time to take off the working clothes and head off to the big city of Sydney

Until tomorrow............


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Bali ha'i

I am not sure how to segue from Nepal to Bali as it is so completely different but the most striking difference for me was going from the noisy, horn honking, chaos to a quieter, gentle, easy going pace. Come to think of it, sometimes a little too easy going. You can take the girl out of New York ......... :)

I started out in Sanur on the beach and ended up in Ubud with all of its traditions and artistry. It was wonderful, magical and paradise, just like in South Pacific, although Bali ha'i was not in Bali - go figure.

The landscape was incredibly beautiful with flowers,












rice fields






and the traditions of the Balinese people who are not only at peace with themselves but with nature.














They even found a way of combining beauty and the beast.



I was lucky to have picked a hotel in Ubud that was run by a gentleman from Holland (after ruling for 350 years, there are quite a few Dutch here) who showed me where the locals eat and drink and the two men who work for him allowed me the opportunity to observe a praying ritual.



Here I am wearing a traditional sarong. As usual, I am quite the fashionista with my white sneakers underneath.




The most outrageous thing I did while in Bali was to try the Kopi Luwak coffee. Although I was completely disgusted by the process of making this coffee, I was spurred on by the movie the Bucket List and because this journey happens to be on my bucket list. If you are not sure what this coffee is, take a look on the Internet but I will share the first stage with you.




It was a short stay before hopping over to Australia with the kangaroos.

Until tomorrow..............









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The Monastery

Well, we are not quite done with the adventures in Nepal, so to continue....

Louise, my new found friend,


and I decided to share a cab to the monastery. When we arrived, they showed us to our rooms. Thank God, or should I say Buddha, for my decision on getting my own room. Louise was originally in a dorm but when she saw her bed was in the middle of the room, sharing with three other girls, she decided to switch. However, she ended up with roommates anyway; mosquitos, geckos and a mouse which of course may be a reincarnation and was not to be killed. Unfortunately, you did occasionally hear a splat and knew someone had just killed their mother from another life.

There was a sadness pervading the monastery and it was soon explained to us that the abbot of forty years, Lama Lhundrup, had died. We were to be witness to the entire process of the cremation and the ceremony to reincarnation. It truly was an honor to participate in such an event.









We were also shown the documentary the "Unmistaken Child" about the journey to find the reincarnation of Lama Konghog. Here is the reincarnated child who now lives at the monastery.



The ten days were quite regimented, up at 5:00 am, tea, meditation, breakfast, teachings, lunch, discussion groups, teachings, meditation, dinner, teachings, meditation and asleep at 10:00 p.m.


Every day the same thing. I started to feel sick as the days progressed just getting in the food line to eat the same food. I waffled (ooh waffles) between gratitude for the food and wishing there was some chicken :).

I mentioned that a discussion group was part of our program. Our teacher, Ani Karen, put together five groups, each with a leader. She chose the leader for each group and in our group, she gave the honors to Mimi who turned around and gave it to me and said, "here, you will do a much better job". What??? You don't even know me! Why is this happening? I didn't want the responsibility and yet the responsibility chose me.


After two days, Louise and I looked at each other and wondered what we had gotten ourselves into (again the familiar theme). We were in silence from 9:00 p.m. until after lunch and we couldn't wait to meet up and dish as soon as lunch was over. It was especially challenging when we were in silence for two full days and meditating 5 hours a day. Of course we had to make up hand signals for hi, are you ok, and just shoot me, which was my favorite.

Well if that wasn't enough excitement with a reincarnated lama, the ceremony of cremation and the collection of the relics from the ashes,


there was an earthquake that shook the monastery. The buildings were rumbling and swaying and it was particularly comforting when your teacher starts to pray and then screams "run" as you watch her slip out the side door while everyone else stampedes to the front door. For a moment it was chaos but we were ok, just shaken up.

So began the countdown. Every day we celebrated making it through another day. There were those in our group that either left early or slipped out to Thamel to party and come back the next day. I had decided that I had made a commitment and wanted to see it through, and even with everything that happened, and because of everything that happened, the lessons learned were invaluable.

Well we finally made it, the ten days were over and it was back to Thamel to make arrangements to leave Nepal. Here are my new found friends who helped me to move on to my next adventure.


So it is off to Bali.

Until tomorrow..............




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To Trek or not to Trek

Well it seems like forever ago that I was in Cambodia and so much has happened. First, my visit to Kathmandu and Pohkara and then the ten day retreat at the Kopan Monastery.

My first introduction to Nepal was when my flight was canceled. I wondered then if that was a sign, especially when I found out that the reason was because there was a mouse on the plane. I guess it must have been akin to "Snakes on a Plane" because it stopped Nepal Airlines from flying for days. When I arrived in Kathmandu and got into the taxi that looked like my 1962 Valiant that I had hand painted red and white, again I questioned my decision to go but it is a journey, right? And I wanted to embrace it.

Another tidbit I found interesting was the time difference. For whatever reason, it was an additional 15 minutes. I am sure there is logic there but after being in Nepal, perhaps not, it's just Nepal.


After going through the noisy, chaotic streets of Thamel, I arrived at my hotel. I, again, wondered what I had gotten myself into. As you can see this has become an ongoing question and will continue throughout my stay. I dragged my stuff up four flights of stairs and when I asked for a fan, since a $10 room barely gives you a bed, I had to hardwire it into the socket. Gee, I wonder if I will get my hair straightener to work :)?

I decided I would go and see the sites and so the next day, spent all day visiting their temples, both Buddhist and Hindu










and then to Pashupatinath where they cremate the bodies. Being witness to that was tough on all the senses.


After a couple of days in Kathmandu, I decided to go to Pohkara.


Most people go there to trek, but I did not have the clothes or the mindset for that kind of adventure so I went to see the Himalayas, but from much further away. This was my view sitting having a cup of coffee.



On the way back from Pohkara, our bus broke down. I stood in the street hoping to catch one going into the city and finally I got lucky. It was like a bad movie. An American with all of her bags trying to get down the aisle, with already too many people and hitting them all in the process. I saw an empty seat and so I went for it. I was happy to see a lovely English girl sitting there and we got to talking. As Life would have it, she was going to the Kopan monastery and we were instant friends.

Until tomorrow..............








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Planes, trains and tuk tuks

Well it did take several modes of transportation to get in from Vietnam, out to Thailand and around Cambodia but it was well worth it. Cambodia was amazing! Of course you take lots of pictures of intricately carved rock formations that are incredible but when you look at them later they pale in comparison to the energy and awe that you feel standing in front of them.

It was a little disappointing that they decided to put scaffolding up in front of Angkor Wat as part of a major renovation project. But really, didn't they know I was coming?




Since we spent every moment we were there just soaking up history, I am dedicating this blog to sharing a few of the many pictures taken with you.



















































Do you see a resemblance?








It will be a long wait for this elephant to cross :). Sorry couldn't help myself.








This is part of the renovation. What do you think? Does it take away from the feeling of history with it's newness?

















The original heart sign using hands.







And the original multi-tasker






I was searching behind some of the ruins and found this tucked away





The roots of this type of tree destroyed several of the structures. Can you imagine how badly the guy felt that planted them. Oops!


















Looking at this reflection, it reminded me that Life is a mirror and reflects back to us exactly how we see it. Some of you will understand what I mean and others are now scratching their heads saying what the ?????









And as the sun slowly sets on Angkor Wat, it is time to move on to Nepal.








Until tomorrow..............













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