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Wow, time spent in Europe was a whirlwind even though it lasted several months. On top of that Internet time was expensive (as with everything else) so writing blogs on Tribe pretty much got cut.

Another set of family issues cut our time in Spain short by a couple of weeks, nevertheless the whole wander through northern Europe and then into Bavaria and Switzerland, followed by some Mediterranean goodness in Greece, Italy and Spain went so very well. Rene sez that she'll finish her blog, so the details will likely show up there.

As for being home, I'm so happy to be here; the homesickness was becoming frequent even though the times were wonderful. We have so much we want to go back to.

I start work again on December 3, this time at Yahoo! It's a really cool position (doing my normal release engineering work) literally under The Demon rollercoaster at Great America. Yahoo is likely to experience some really interesting changes, so I imagine this might be quite a ride.

In the meantime, I've been able to spend some time working on stuff around the house and cooking. Rene found a contract with a former co-worker in Campbell, so I've been relishing the domestic role.

And Then Into Europe

Some family issues saw us with a slightly hastier-than-expected exit from Thailand. We left a week or so early in order to head back to California.

Well-missed visits with friends and family occured and then off we left again for Europe. First stop was London for visits with some friends, some fish and chips, Spamalot show, and other great touristy goodness.

After a visit in Northwich (between Manchester and Liverpool) and my friend Richard (and his sister who bakes a mean last-minute shortbread and cake) we jumped on a train to Belgium and then to the Netherlands and have settled in Haarlem - a gorgeous town not too far from Amsterdam.

We'll hang here for a few days before continuing on to Hamburg, then Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. I've not seen this part of Europe before, so I'm looking forward to all the new stuff.

Pai, Oh My

There's just something about this place. There's nothing particularly Thai about Pai, but there's nothing that really isn't if you discount the large community of backpackers and western expats, but it's got a groove, and a cool one at that. There's this cool mix of typical backpacker stuff, cool rivers, beautiful hills, fascinating caves, some hot springs, and a complete lack of touts, discos, karaoke lounges, and "where you go" tuk-tuk jockeys.

It's a place to get stuck; in fact, I think we might just. Our mildly ambitious schedule that takes us from here to Chiang Dao, into Chiang Rai might have just turned into "fuck it, let's stay here and head back to Chiang Mai when we're done". There's still stuff to do -- wats to see, rivers to gaze at, walks to take, elephants to ride, and some amazingly good food (both Thai and western) to sample.

It's nice and warm here, about 36 - 39 Celsius during the day but pleasantly down to mid-20s at night, with rainstorms frequent in the afternoon.

We rented bikes a couple days ago to ride up to the hot springs. The ride was somewhat uphill but turned into a beautiful, if truly sweaty affair. Some disappointment occurred at the hot springs due to the outrageous 400 baht admission followed by the slightly hotter than bearable temperature of the springs. During the rainy season, the hot springs mix with the cold stuff to make a nice mixture, but now the cold stuff just isn't there. Even still, the ride itself was quite nice, especially when we were turned around and coming back into town downhill.

Rainy Day in Mae Hong Son

We've made a beautiful run up from Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Song; a lovely town in the hills of the northwest of Thailand. This is sortof just a rest stop on our way to Pai, where I expect that we'll be doing all sorts of lovely things, if the weather holds out.

It's the very beginning of the rainy season here. Today, for instance, it has been raining off-and-on, sometimes kindof hard. When its not raining, its been hot-sticky-humid, tapping most of our ambitions. Our guesthouse has complimentary internet with the room, so blogging, travel planning & whatnot has been taking place, which is good since we've been neglecting it for a while now.

It really is a nice town, but the weather and laidback atmosphere really invites laziness, which comes easily to me under normal circumstances.

Coming 'round the bend

Rene and I are starting to see the end to our time in Bali. Our Indonesian visas are finished on June 15 and our ticket to Thailand is on June 12. We've walked, walked, walked, our way around this gorgeous isle with friends Holly and Heather, ate, drank, and indulged in wonderful merriment.

That didn't stop us from getting a little bit sick. Last few days it was me, now it's Rene. However, after nearly 7 months on the road, getting sick twice (for me) and three times (for Rene) isn't really a bad track record. We'll be in Ubud for the next 10 days, then we have a flight to Chiang Mai for some northern Thai goodness, before heading back to Mountain View, for some family-and-friend-time, regrouping, repacking and then heading off to Europe until our funds send us home desperate for income.

I'm looking forward to seeing home again but it seems so scary in some ways. The return of the normal life of a working-guy isn't synching with the love of being a total bum. But I must, so I must. Fortunately, I have a great person with whom and a nice house with which to conduct the process of "normalcy". In truth, I really don't dislike normalcy, I just like to leave it on occasion.

Fortunately, that time is still far and we still have many miles to go. I'm just thrilled about what a great time it has been so far.

There and Back Again

Rene and I have figured out what we think is the remainder of the Asia part of our year abroad.

As it often seems the case, Bali has just made such a huge impression on us that we're back here for another month spent with friends, sun, rice fields, art, music, and great food.

Because of very silly Indonesian immigration requirements, we were forced to leave for a couple of days before being allowed to return for another 30 days. I wish these new requirements were changed to be more like Vietnam's where one need only pay the proper fee to get the passport stamp, rather than to spend money that would have otherwise been used in Bali to fly out and come back.

The most convenient place to fly was Singapore; a place that I'm starting to really enjoy. It takes a while to get past the facade of consumption to understand how interesting the place, the history and the people are. Throw in, naturally, Singapore's world-reknowned cuisine and while not really a destination in itself, Singapore makes for an incredibly fun place for jumping off to everywhere else.

So, onward: our May-June plans leave us in Bali, then off to Chiang Mai and northern Thailand then overland to Laos. After that, it'll be back to the USA in late July for some family-time and repacking for Europe, then off to Europe until November or our funds run out.

Days into weeks into months

Bali does that. The days here flow into weeks and have flowed into nearly a month. On May 11, we need to leave to do our visa run to Singapore, then we come back. Lately, we've parked ourselves (now grown into a party of four with potentially two more to come) in a very pretty bungalow in Kalibukbuk (in the north coast Lovina region) for $18 US per night, hanging by the pool and chatting about life, the universe, and everything.

Yesterday, we went to Air Panas Banjar, which is a local, very pretty, sulphur hotspring. It is holy to the Balinese, so there are always plenty of locals there bathing, as well as a handful of backpackers and other westerners. It really is a great spot.

The only bummer is that I hurt my foot last month while diving in Malaysia. I thought it was minor but something is funny with it; it hasn't been healing properly. It doesn't hurt; it just does not work very well. When we return to Singapore, I might need to have it looked at. I'm hoping it is minor, but it is somewhat troubling. I've also decided to postpone scuba diving until I have a medical OK. If all goes well, we'll be returning to Bali on May 15 and staying on until June.

Bali -- feels like home

Rene and I parked ourselves for a few days at the happy, friendly, Frog Pond Inn, in Ubud. Two days later, Holly comes along and we decide to step upmarket just a little bit and find ourselves at the incredibly beautiful White House Bungalows, just off Monkey Forest Road. I've been here before (but not stayed at White House) so we've been revisiting the parts that I like as well exploring new stuff. Lonely Planet describes Ubud as a place for plans of a few days to end up turning into weeks. There's just so much to see and do and creature comforts like great food, hot water and a swimming pool come at a usually gentle price.

Balinese cremation ceremonies are a well-documented cultural phenomenon. While not rare, they are a little bit uncommon due to the expense. Yesterday there was a medium-sized one just outside Ubud. It is an amazing experience since it is so much a part of the culture and everyone is invited to participate. Getting to be part of such a thing, even as simply an observer, fills up my touristic heart. It is also funny to see how much of the cool stuff that shows up at Burning Man has borrowed from things such as a Balinese cremation.

We still haven't decided when we are leaving here. There's some great beachiness that awaits in Lovina, Tulamben, Amed, and Sanur but Ubud is hard to leave.

Back To Bali

The diving in Malaysia (Palau Lang Tengah) was wonderful. It was a little bit early in the season so the visability was not always very good. But even when it wasn't good, the ocean temperature was bathtub-warm and there was plenty of things to see.

After coming back from Palau Lang Tengah, I took the 10-hour bus ride from Kuala Terengganu to Singapore and hung out for a day until Rene returned from home. We bopped around Singapore (including a return to the Singapore Zoo, which still enthralls me), and then flew to Bali.

We expect to be here until May 11, but may return for another month after that if we feel like it. Otherwise, it'll be a trip north through Malaysia and into Thailand.

Lost In Translation -- Malaysia Edition

When we last left our intrepid traveller, Rene had gone home to Mountain View (and parts north) while I had decided to do some scuba diving in Malaysia.

Today I'm in Kuala Lumpur having a "Lost In Translation" day. I feel like Bill Murray's character just not jiving with his surroundings. I'm staying in the bustling "Golden Triangle" section of Kuala Lumpur which combines Singapore's consumer frenzy (but not its cleanliness) with the frenetic sights, sounds, and often smells (both good and bad) of Indonesia. On top of it all, today is Mohammed's birthday celebration, so some of the things I'd like to do are closed and everything seems dizzyingly different from what we've been up to recently; the quiet of Sapa seems far away.

I'm not complaining, really, just adjusting to new surroundings.

Later, I expect to meet up with some friends travelling in this part of the world, but for now I'm happily typing in a comfortable Internet cafe with Balinese music playing on the stereo. After feeling wacky for this entire morning, I think that I'm relaxing somewhat.

As far as diving goes, I found this place: www.langtengah.com.my -- looks fabulous but will take a bit of effort to get there. I have to figure out today whether a bus or airplane will be the way to get there (each, as they say, with it's own pros and cons).