Slight detour

We had originally intended to spend until the end of February in Malaysia but we've discovered there is very little surf here. One of our trip goals is surfing, for J and snorkeling for me. So we've decided to try Bali, Kuta beach area for the next month. We depart on February 7, 2012. We are staying at Kayun Hostel. It looks decent, is close to the beach, affordable, has a pool and we have a private room with attached bathroom. We had hoped to rent a house or cheap homestay for the month but we found it too difficult to find something affordable with the amenities and location we wanted. The packs are too full so after Bali we plan on shipping back our snorkeling equipment. They are not large packs, 50 liters each, with mine weighing 14.1 kilos (31 pounds) plus our 15 liter carry on packs, which mine weighs 4.7 kilos (10.3 pounds).

As well we had intended on spending sometime in north India but it has proven very difficult to get an Indian visa on the road. Instead we will head to Nepal after Bali and likely spend two months there while also taking a trip to Bhutan during this time.

Melaka has been nice. It's a quaint and historic city and is an UNESCO heritage site. We visited the lovely Chen Hoon Teng Temple. We took many walks along the historic roads and along the river. We ate daily at the yummy Man Yuan Fang vegetarian restaurant

One evening J was mediating along the river (while I was asleep as I was not feeling so well) and when he opened his eyes there was a large (1.5 meters or so) water monitor lizard at his feet. I think they were both a bit surprised! J snapped a quick photo as he was backing away.


We've spent spent quite a bit of time watching the lizards along the river afterwards. Interestingly enough this is not the first time there has been an interesting animal encounter while meditating. Once on a group retreat we were in sitting silent in a circle outside when the peace was pierced with a shriek. When we opened our eyes a hawk took off right beside us with a ground squirrel in its claws. As well when we were doing walking meditation in India, at the Bodhi Tree, a hummingbird just landed for a rest in a monk's hand.

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