Denpasar - Gili Meno: Paradise Found

A current "day in the life" of Dewi and Josh:

Wake up to the sound of waves, bird song and the occasional gecko. Open up the mosquito net, step outside and brush our teeth overlooking the ocean only a few dozen feet from the door of our beautiful little bungalow. Make our way to our favorite cheap breakfast spot where we lay in little open huts overlooking the ocean - this morning we each ate banana pancakes, fresh fruit salad and omelettes for under 1.80 CDN each. Swim in the salty water, lay in the sun, drink litre upon litre and make friends with the locals. The water is crystal clear and snorkeling is unreal. Once the sun sets, maybe take a nap and then head out for dinner as the night gets darker. The stars here - on an island with hardly any lights at all - are unbelieveable. Some of the island residents light a bonfire on the beach, some kids spin fire and everyone joins in for a sweet rastafarian-tinged sing-a-long complete with a jammin' version of "Leaving on a Jet Plane." Try to find our way home after dinner in the darkness, encountering the occasional horse and cart combo on this haven free of cars and mopeds. Fall asleep grateful for everything (except the crab climbing loudly up and down our walls) and wake up happy to see another day.

Dear friends and family, do yourselves a favor and come to Gili Meno.

Love,
Dewi and Josh

Greece - Cairo - Kuala Lumpur - Singapore...

Long time, no entry. So long in fact that I've chosen not to look at the last date we posted anything, knowing only that it was in Greece and - looking over the title of this entry - a continent back. We are in Changi Airport, Singapore. The time is currently 6:00 and in thirty minutes we will be Indonesia-bound. We've been in a few airports by now, this is by far the best of the lot. Sleeping over here would be unreal (the airport in Cairo, for the record, is an entirely different story) but our next 'port of slumber will be Denpasar. Come morning, we're off to search for a deserted island beach and slowly make our way to Ubud; this is where we will meet with a prospective organization in hopes of finding a group of like-minded people who keep their profits aligned with their intentions. Wait and see, wait and see. It sounds good on the surface, though - so good in fact that my heart is a little attached to the idea of living with a Balinese family; teaching rural villages of women and children English; exploring Indonesia on by backroad on a rickety motorbike; worshipping goddesses named Dewi in some of the 20,000 temples. Yeah, I like the way it unfolds in my mind. But as time has served to teach, things are never really what you expect - veering left and right, up and down, turning themselves inside out like grand contortionists, changing our minds by re-arranging their contents. It feels right to be traveling again.

Love,
Dewi and Josh