Bali

My hope of adding photos to the blog is decreasing, I'm afraid. My template has now converted to Balinese so please hang in here with me. Our first day was spent exploring the area around Seminyak where we are now. We move tomorrow for a few days to Sanur. We are staying at a lovely little villa and as soon as you walk out of the gates of the garden across stones over a koi pond, you walk through very narrow footpaths. Yesterday to my surprise in the middle of town we met 3 cows! We were on the way to the big supermarket to pick up this and that and again to my surprise, I ran into a woman shopping with her pet monkey! I definitely know I am no longer in Kansas... Just everything is available here in Bali. We also find things (food,clothing,etc.)inexpensive, especially compared to both New Zealand & Australia. Yesterday we had mangosteen and other fruit for breakfast, cheap lunch on the beach and Nasi goreng with fresh prawns for dinner. No weight loss program in force here. Stay tuned...

A long day of travel

Yesterday was filled with flying and waiting. We left Port Douglas at around 9:00 am for our 12:45 pm flight to Darwin. We faced a 6 (growl) hour layover there after the 3 hour flight. The airport is the smallest international airport in Austraila so we placed our bags in a locker and headed to a local shopping center. We thought it cost too much to get all the way in to the central business district,so this would have to do. Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia felt like the wild west. The 4 wheel drive utes and vehicles all had "roo bars" and long poles attached to the front for communication in the outback. The shopping center was like most any other in Australia, we basically just walked and looked. John had good Turkish pizza, I had bad Thai soup. Upon leaving we walked through a waiting area for an urgent care when I noticed a large rat on a chair. As I bolted through the front door, John went back to let them know there was a large rat waiting in the waiting area. It didn't make the ladies in the office happy, needless to say! We boarded the next 2.5 hour flight on to Bali and arrived at this exotic place just before 10:00pm. It has been 14 years since we were here last, can't wait to start this next part of the journey.

Leaving soon

Leaving Australia day after tomorrow. The sun is finally out today after too many cloudy days. We have enjoyed our time here with an old friend from New Zealand. He is a gracious host and fun to be around. Our last few get-to-gethers have been threesomes as his wife and our dear friend was killed 18 months ago in a car accident. We spend our evenings cooking together, and solving the world problems sitting outside in the warm dark nights of Northern Queensland. This side trip has mainly been R&R and very enjoyable. Since our last visit to Port Doulas, over a decade ago, not a lot has changed. Still a small quaint town. The economy here is suffering though like so many other places throughout the world. The trip Wednesday will be a long one. Not that far but another killer layover in Darwin ( 5 hours this time). We should arrive to Denpasar, Bali late night.

Port Douglas, Australia

Monsoon alert in Northern Queensland! Not really, but it is the wettest May in history and it IS the dry season!? What else to do in the rain but visit another rainforest. We took the sky rail yesterday from Kuranda back down to Cairns. A frightful yet beautiful 7.5 kms through bush, forest and mountains to the Coral Sea. We stopped for lunch and the Aussie fare offered was Kangaroo meat pie, Crocodile sausage & chips, along with fish & chips. I wimped out with the fish. Caught a glimpse of several wallaby grazing on the way back up the coast to Port Douglas. Today we will truck on with skies forecasted to clear in the next day or two. Wishing I had room in my bag for gumboots...

Gidday mates!

Made the five and a half hour flight from New Zealand to Australia yesterday. The 4:15am wake up call was not very welcome but necessary. Upon arrival, the time had changed another 2 hours. I am not wearing a watch and have given up on setting any routine. We are in Port Doulas now and it is warm and tropical. We have been before but not for many years. It was raining as we awoke this morning so we spent the day tramping in the Daintree Rainforest. It is said to be the oldest in the world. Beautiful scenery in the forest and along the northern coast of Queensland. I will be adding some pictures once I figure how to upload into the blog from the iPad :( Once the weather clears we will be heading out to the Great Barrier Reef for some snorkelling.

New Zealand

Hi all! I've been almost too busy to write. Since arriving to New Zealand for this very brief visit we have managed to see Ragland Beach-a lovely beach for surfing, bridal veil falls, Haka falls,Lake Taupo,etc. Our friends Ashok and Razia have been such great hosts. They are both working for mental health services here and I know making a real difference. I wish we had the time to visit the South Island where I have so many fond memories of living and working. Another time...

Air travel

The whole "carry on"bag theme started to crumble just before take off. The concept seemed reasonable and we had been successful before...BUT everyone else evidently had the idea to bring along hand luggage plus check their bags so there was no room in overhead to "carry on". Now our enire trip belongings are in the belly of various planes (we can only hope,and our plane at that)...and it seemed so simple.. This situation did not compare however, to the adorable Frenchman traveling behind us through security at LAX when he copped an attitude and threw the luggage cart over the stairway when asked to follow procedure. He,his lovely hot-pink leather shoes, matching bag and exquisite attire didn't make the Paris flight. The security men In crisp blue won.

Kia Ora! Sorry about the delay in posting, but has been a long haul to New Zealand. The first leg was Fort Myers to Dallas to LAX. An early 5:30 am start on Wednesday for the day and a 10 (yes 10) hour layover at LAX. We entertained ourselves at a nearby outdoor mall in California for a $2.00 bus ride then returned for the 12 hour flight across the Pacific. Some funny stuff happened along the way but I am just too tired (it's Friday night here and I still haven't slept)to share...stay posted.

Getting ready to go!

This is my first attempt at blogging.
I hope that you will find my travels interesting and can share in my next adventure.
Departure date:  16th May, 2012  USA - New Zealand-22 May New Zealand to Australia-30 May Australia to Bali, Indonesia.  I am starting the trip with alitte R&R prior to getting to work in Bali.

The purpose for my trip to Bali is for a cultural immersion.

As a Professor of Nursing, I am in the process of developing a new Multicultural Nursing course to teach in the future.  I hope my global experiences will enhance my teaching skills and broaden my cultural awareness.