Singapore and Bali

We're taking a (very short) break from our regular schedule of skintrack stoke and deep powder skiing updated for a little photo gallery from 9000 miles away. Don't worry, I'll post more pictures with snow tomorrow.

Andrea goes to China somewhat regularly for work but has never taken a picture or really mentioned anything about it because she hates it there. A different project took her to Singapore last week, and she actually enjoyed it! I asked her to write up a few thoughts about her trip...

Singapore is a pretty nice place to be for a work trip. Although I'm not a big fan of large cities, this one ranked pretty high on my list. There are places to run, safe, eco-friendly, great food, clean, etc. Work is work, but traveling to a place that is not totally dreadful (aka Shanghai) makes it a lot better!

Because we were already on the other side of the world, my coworker (and friend!) Shannon and I decided to take advantage and go somewhere new. We decided on Bali, Indonesia and stayed in the town of Ubud which is known as the cultural center of Bali. We only had two days to take it all in so we squeezed in as much as we could!

Saturday - 

-Ran along the Campuhan Ridge through the terraced rice fields and with views of Mount Agung - a stratovolcano. 

-Massages and pedicures (for $5!)

-Visited the Ubud Arts Market. We noticed a lot of people dressed up and offerings at every business and residence. Turns out it was a traditional Balinese holiday called Saraswati to celebrate the day when knowledge is given by God through the beautiful goddess Saraswati. 

- Lunch at a Balinese restaurant. Coconut drinks were amazing!

- Went to the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary - a nature reserve with three Hindu temples. We probably saw 100 monkeys. Shanon and I were both relieved to get out of there without one jumping on us!

- Pool relaxing in 90 degrees :-)

- Out to dinner then watched a Hindu dance at one of the temples. 

Sunday - 

- Ran along the rural roads through more terraced rice fields. It started POURING as soon as I left for the run which was actually pretty fun. 

- Went river tubing on the Penet River,

- ELEPHANT RIDING at the Bali Elephant Camp

- Local coffee and tea tasting. Our favorites were the coconut coffee and lemongrass tea.

- Dinner on Kuta Beach 

- Pretended we were staying at a fancy resort on the beach and laid by the pool until it was time to go to the airport.

There are so many fun things to do in Bali...I am hoping that I will have another work trip to Singapore to take a side trip to Bali so I can visit the volcanoes, go canyoning, snorkeling, etc.