#350 Bali, Indonesia

It has been since over three months since my last blog entry. Thanks to my friend Greg for encouraging me to post an update ! By way of excuses, the internet in China has been excessively slow in recent months which makes it difficult to upload pictures.

We just returned from a spring break trip to Bali, Indonesia. Our original plans were to go to Koh Samui, Thailand, but Thailand was hit by a wet weather emergency. On the day we were scheduled to travel, Koh Samui was flooded and tourists were being evacuated by the Thai Navy ! It was stressful for a time as we figured out an alternative and fought with Expedia for a refund on the first tickets.

In the end, Bali was perhaps a much better vacation that we would have had in Thailand. We did a lot of fun things. The boys and I tried to teach ourselves how to surf, Maria got a swimming lesson at the hotel pool, I bungy jumped for the first time, and we all went horseback riding along a remote beach and through the countryside.

On our last day, Joseph and I hiked up Mt. Batur, a semi-active volcano at the north end of Bali. We did started hiking at 4 AM to reach the top before sunrise. The guide cooked us breakfast on the hot rocks at the volcano summit.

In the final picture, Kathleen and I are enjoying happy hour during sunset at the beach resort. Bali is a beautiful place and we really enjoyed this location in the beach town of Seminyak.