Adventures of Living Abroad

I have been obsessed with the Agung volcano eruption since the early signs of it waking up back in September. Then about a week ago the eruption started and ash began spewing out. Unfortunately, work this past week has really gotten in the way of getting closer to the action. I've been watching the live stream video, reading articles, and looking at photos all with the feeling of wanting to know more and wanting to see it in person.  Friday morning, I woke up early and headed to the beach for sunrise. A beautiful sight awaited me as I reached my usual beach spot in Sanur. What a quiet, calm, and grounding way to start the day. I pondered the idea of driving north for a closer look... Since I had the day off from school and Mt. Agung was still erupting, I strapped on my face mask, jumped on my scooter, and drove north to try and get a closer look at the volcano. I wasn't sure how far I would get. I figured I would just take it slow and turn around whenever ...

Japan had never really been on my radar as somewhere I REALLY wanted to visit, but after talking to other people who had loved it there, we decided to go! I absolutely loved our visit - so much to see and do and EAT. I cannot wait to go back again during a different season to explore even more.  I'm going to do my best to share only the highlights from our trip because otherwise I'll be here for days typing. We had 4 different base cities -  Tokyo, Nozawa Onsen, Kyoto, and Osaka. And how was it that we traveled to those 4 different cities in 3 weeks without losing too much travel time - why we road the bullet trains of course!  Upon arriving in Tokyo, I was in complete culture shock from Bali. Tokyo is a huge city and I was overwhelmed with the amount of choices. It didn't even smell like a city - so clean and orderly.  Tips for Exploring Tokyo: -Signs and More Signs Everywhere!       - "No Smoking While Walking"   ...

Our final part of the trip was over to Ratanakiri province in the northeast of Cambodia. I was feeling both excited and a bit apprehensive about this final leg of the trip because it is far less developed than the other areas were in, but I was looking forward to seeing the countryside. We rented a motorbike so we could explore on our own. Our hotel was a bit outside of the center of town, but the view was totally worth it. We spent our time exploring waterfall, accidentally driving through a rubber plantation, and swimming in the beautiful clean and clear Lake Yeak Laom which rests in a 4,000 year old volcano crater. On the bus from Siem Reap to Banlung The view at our hotel Climbed on the bike, wrapped our kromas around our faces to try to prevent the red dirt was getting in,  and rode off down the red dirt road ready to explore the countryside! A view of the road - this was one of the main highways in the province!  No that's not tan lin...