SCUBA hut hotel 

Scuba Hut- Hotel 

Boat Stop-on our way to SCUBA Hut-Hotel! 

unbelievable!!! 

new friend Chris ;-) 

Yes this is me-- And Kate at the Cabin hotel 

Tioman, Malaysia 

Glenda's Hen Night! 

Tea Ceremony Glenda's 

Tea Ceremony Mark's 

Kids: Get ready for the wedding march!! 

beach BALI 

tables on the beach BALI 

Picking our food BALI 

through rocks to the beach BALI 

BALI 

high tide BALI 

low tide BALI 

Entry way to Villa BALI 

Half living room half swimming pool-BALI 

May 18, 2005

It has been entirely too long for my update on this blog---some of you noticed the picture of me and the Nargille that I put up with no explanation. It is a picture of me in Bali in a Mediterranean restaurant—This was a trip to celebrate my friend Rebecca’s 30^th birthday! Typical Bali restaurants let you pick your own food—literally from a cooler, which is then cooked it on a coconut leaf BB-Q, and all the tables are on the beach! In high tide you can swim, and in low tide the locals come out and farm seaweed (I think that is what they are doing anyways!) You can get a full body massage by two women while lying on the beach. The extra sand acts like a relaxing scrub! It was a little odd being massaged by some local women that just come up to you and ask what they can do for you, but at about US$8.00, how can you go wrong? We explored many beaches, and the most interesting to get to was one that we had to hike through the rocks… Too narrow, steep and long for me to even think of how anyone brings the surfboards, or the kids!!

I got certified in SCUBA diving! This is my second go-around, and Vicki, you may remember, we didn’t like it very much the first time. This time however it was a thrill a second. We had a driver take us up to Tioman, Malaysia for our open water dives. The Driver had a major attitude problem the whole way and drove like a maniac. Here we are driving in the pitch black on a one-lane road—too fast for me through what appeared to be the jungle. I realized that I was VERY far from home—In fact, I couldn’t figure out where I was at all!!! Our accommodations were cabins (yes, lights and running water). I packed too heavily, bringing 4 pairs of shoes---I didn’t wear even one pair from arrival time to departure time. Just beach and boat—no shoes. We saw huge puffer fish, a foot long, Sting Ray, and Trigger Fish, which are about 1.5 feet long and very unkind--They bite. We saw “Nemos” and the list is endless. I’ll put underwater pics up when I get them. I seem to have trouble downloading them. Hopefully there will be another dive trip in the midst.

The most fascinating cultural thing that has happened in the last month has been Glenda and Mark’s wedding. Two friends of mine have tied the knot, and I was a bride’s maid (oh, and also kid wrangler, making sure everyone walked into the wedding ceremony in order—you may imagine, it was a mess!!!). The Chinese rituals are very different than ours (well, yours for most of you ;-). First, we got to the brides house at 8am, and the groom showed up at 9 with his groomsmen. The bridesmaids cannot let the groom in to the house until he pays us money, and until he does everything that we tell him to (groomsmen can help). For example, we made them eat wassabi on crackers, they all had to shave their legs, and we made the groom put lipstick on and kiss all his groomsmen…. And after he did each thing, he had to pay us cash in a red envelope-The money in red envelopes is considered lucky. After we finally allowed the groom to enter the house, he tells the bride why he is marrying her. Then it is a mad dash to his parents’ house for the first tea ceremony (more red envelopes are exchanged). Starting with the eldest family member, this ritual allows the bride and groom to share tea in an elaborate (and lengthy) ceremony. Then off to temple for some chants and religious recognition and then to the bride’s house for the next tea ceremony with her family (more red packets). Then off to the “solemnization ceremony” which is the wedding ceremony. Finally the party begins with about 400 people (typical size of a wedding here)---9 courses of food, starting with Shark Fin Soup (yes, the fin. Quite tasty really, but so sad to think that it is actually a fin). Did I mention that the bride changed her outfit 4 times? Absolutely amazing!! Notice no pictures of me…. My hair was a puff ball, and I don’t look good in pink!

Keep the individual emails coming. They make me feel like I am just a few miles away—and I am in my heart (boy, my heart misses Pizza!). I will be home shortly, but not before I do so much more! Covering Asia is like covering the United States—and I didn’t to that very well in the entire life I spent there!

Love you tons!!