Note: I have been posting a bit out of order, as I want to get my thoughts out on the meditation, but I am also a bit behind on things from earlier in the trip. So please bare with me. Thanks! -------- Vipassana meditation is, pardon my French, a total mind fuck. You are asked to focus your attention on observing your respiration, or sensations on your body, but your mind doesn’t like to focus. In fact, it REALLY doesn’t like to focus. Yup, those voices in your head that may come out … [Read more...]
October 19, 2013 5 Comments
October 15, 2013 2 Comments
9/22 – On a whim, I decide to head to Malaysia
Upon leaving Koh Tao, I had originally planned to head up into northern Thailand, but on a whim, decided instead to head south into Malaysia for a week. That is one great benefit of not setting your itinerary in stone ahead of time by booking flights, accommodations, etc. So instead of heading towards northern Thailand, I caught a ferry in the afternoon from Koh Tao to Chumpon on the eastern coast of Thailand. There I took a bus to the train station and on the way met 3 guys from Boulder, who … [Read more...]
October 15, 2013 Leave a Comment
9/18 – 9/21 – Diving in Koh Tao
For the next four days, I had a whirlwind of scuba diving training. The PADI “open-water diver” course includes a combination of readings from a coursebook, classroom style lectures, “pool dives” (which we did in the ocean, but in shallow water) where we would learn different techniques, and ocean dives (where we went to greater depth) for further practice of diving techniques. Scuba diving may seem dangerous if you have never done it before, but the safety instruction is very comprehensive … [Read more...]
October 14, 2013 5 Comments
A life change in perspective in 10 days of silent meditation
What is the most worthwhile experience you have ever had in your life? What is the most challenging thing you have ever done in your life? 2 weeks ago I would have found it difficult to answer these questions definitively. Well actually, that is not exactly true - marrying my wife was of course an important decision for me (relating to the former question above, not the latter, in case you were wondering :) ). But taking that out of the equation, though still difficult questions to answer, … [Read more...]
September 15, 2013 1 Comment
9/14-9/15 – Lounging in Kuta, Bali
After 2 very active days in Ubud, I decided to take a few days to relax in Kuta. You may have heard of Kuta beach; besides being one of the popular tourist spots in Bali with a long beachfront, surfing, 5-star resorts, and top-notch restaurants, it was the target of terrorist bombing in 2002 and 2005. The effects of those events are seen even today, with many police visible throughout the area and bomb inspections on all cars going into major facilities such as hotels. I walked along the … [Read more...]
September 13, 2013 5 Comments
9/12-9/13 – Day 7 to 8 – Exploring Ubud, biking in rural Bali, … and ending up at the hospital
"Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants." -- Benjamin Franklin // My German friend and I woke up and hired a driver to take us around Bali island for the day. We arranged the driver through our hotel, and it turned out he was the brother-in-law of the hotel owner. Such was our introduction into the importance of family and community to Balinese people, which I'll discuss in a different … [Read more...]
September 9, 2013 2 Comments
9/9 – Day 4 – Amazing temples and a painful massage – Yogyakarta, Indonesia
On Monday I woke up to my alarm going off at 3:30am -- I was getting up early for a sunrise tour of two temples in the area, Borobudur and Prambanan. As Borobudur is one of the few regions in Indonesia with maleria, I was wearing long pants and a long sleeve shirt despite a very hot weather forecast. A German couple I met who was staying at my hostel were also on the tour, and we sat around complaining about it being early until our driver came. Upon getting picked up we drove out to a view … [Read more...]
September 7, 2013 3 Comments
9/7 – Day 2 – Balik art school, water castle, Ramayana ballet – Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Yogyakarta is still under rule by a sultan. So, the next morning I decided to pay a visit to his palace, which is located near the city center and open to tours. Despite it being very hot out, I decided to walk. Along the way I met a German couple who were also there to see the palace. Unfortunately, we were informed that the temple was closed that morning to visitors, but the extremely helpful employee proceeded to spend 10 minutes providing advice on other areas to explore and see during … [Read more...]
September 7, 2013 Leave a Comment
Museums, Kite Festival, and Night Safari — another day touring around Singapore
I woke up Sunday, refreshed and ready for another packed day of touring to see the sites. If you happened to read my previous post, you'll recall that I forgot my sunscreen at home (amateur move, but hey, it was my time out during the day--rather than night--when you really feel the heat of the tropics). I wasn't going to let that stop me from taking advantage of my day off from project work, though, so I decided to hit up a few museums. First, I took the MRT from my hotel over to the … [Read more...]
September 6, 2013 10 Comments
Day 1 – Singapore to Yogyakarta, Indonesia
I departed Singapore last Friday (Sep 6). At my employer, I turned in my laptop and company credit card. At my hotel, I piled up my work clothes in my room with a note -- "I no longer need these clothes; please feel free to keep, donate, or throw out." I took breakfast for the last time in my hotel, grabbing a newspaper to get the latest update on the Syria situation and reading about the flooding that had occured yesterday in northern Singapore (away from but not far from where I was staying … [Read more...]
