COSTUMES, CRICKETS AND CREMATION... OH MY!

Every morning we wake up to the sound of a gazillion roosters crowing, crickets chirping and all kinds of wild jungle birds cawing and screeching their tropical dawn chorus. After a breakfast of fruit and banana pancakes, we explore the endless art galleries, wood carver's shops, ceramics studios, batik fabric houses, textile shops, and outdoor markets. As evening falls we attend one of the many outdoor dance performances. These shows feature indigenous Balinese style storytelling and dancing accompanied by live Gamelan orchestras. The inner artist is nourished here and thus, so are we.

Travis has quickly made friends with the locals, as is his usual style. Yesterday we were invited to attend a funeral ceremony for an old-money pillar of the community from an aristocratic family. This four day event started with music making and priest sermons, and progressed to 1200 pounds of suckling pig roasting over huge fire pits in an all-community mass feeding. Finally the body of the late lieutenant general was carried to the river on a 50 foot pyre, carried by 60-70 men. The body was burned before the whole community. A humbling experience that delivered us immediately to the age old wisdom that no matter what riches and status you acquire during your lifetime, you can't take it with you when you die.

The Monkey Trance Dance, performed by a cast of 50 Balinese men in traditional sarangs.

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Originally uploaded by migratorynature.

The villagers made us wear these traditional clothes for the cremation ceremony.

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Originally uploaded by migratorynature.

SECOND HONEYMOON TO BALI

Hello from Bali, Indonesia! We flew four hours from Bangkok, via Singapore to the small island of Bali from which we're currently reporting to you. The maps you can buy here portray Indonesia as being the center of the world, flanked by Europe and Africa off in the left hand corner and the Americas in the right hand corner. Quite different from the maps we buy in the states.

First stop, the cultural capital of Ubud, located in the heart of Bali and a mecca for indigenous arts and handicrafts. Seen from an aerial point of view, Ubud is a lush green landscape of coconut palm groves with banana trees, frangipani flowers, and small terracotta tiled villages, their bungalows peeking out from under the jungle canopy. None of the buildings are very big here and no one seems to be in too much of a hurry. It's fantastic.

TWO GIRLS GONE WILD IN KOH SAMET

I'm writing to you from the balcony of a bungalow overlooking the Gulf of Thailand. Koh Samet is an island located about half a day's journey from Bangkok. My mother and I feel like two girls gone wild: spending the last few days of her trip on the beaches. We've been swimming in the warm bathwater surf, doing lots of yoga, sipping banana shakes, hitting up the live music spots, and working very hard on our tans. It appears that, like me, my mother has found a second home in Thailand.

In fact, my mother is handling being a backpacker quite well considering this is her first time. She's already learned how to sit on the motorcycle taxis so as to not fall off of the back. She's a natural at riding the Songteaw, Thailand's public transport akin to a flat bed truck with benches welded onto the back. But I'm most impressed by how she's handled the night train. Cockroaches and all (pics are coming!).

As my mother is a practicing western Sikh, another big part of her trip here has been her exposure to the eastern Sikh community. She was immediately welcomed and well respected in the Sikh temples of Bangkok. Once we passed by a female Buddhist monk in the streets who saw my mom in her traditional all white Sikh garb and bowed deeply to her. Mom smiled at the monk and bowed back. Travis and I are in awe at the way she seems to makes friends with everyone even whilst traveling in a foreign country. It will be hard to say goodbye when she goes back home to Seattle tomorrow.

We've all had a great time together.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

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Originally uploaded by migratorynature.

Travis's 'Very Merry Un-Birthday' dinner at a schmancy restaurant in the city.

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Originally uploaded by migratorynature.

OVERNIGHT TRAIN TO CHIANG MAI

Waiting for our train at Hua Lampung Train Station in downtown Bangkok, dripping sweat on a humid evening. My mother has quickly caught on to the routine for using public toilets: Pay the lady at the counter 3 baht, go through the turn style, squat down over a hole in the ground, take care of business, spray off with a hose and nozzle, shake-shake-shake your booty, and finally drip dry... all finished.

Cramming into a train car with bunk bed style sleeping births, we use our backpacks as body pillows and our bug spray as a weapon of mass destruction (there are cockroaches everywhere). We munch on sour mangos and stir paper cups of instant coffee. Thankfully the view from the window far surpasses the train's dining menu.

Arriving in Chiang Mai, the ancient Lanna Kingdom of one of the former kings of Siam: we immediately take off on rented bicycles to better explore the markets, night bazaars, history museums, and the one-thousand year old Buddhist temples that line almost every street. After all that cycling, we just HAVE to get Thai massages at a posh spa resort. Then on to sample some local fare from the street vendors.

Fast forward a few days (and way too much shopping) later, it's time to board the infamous night train again for the journey back home. Watching the mountainous jungle pass by to the lullaby of a chugga-chugga-choo-choo soundtrack is a highly recommendable way to fall asleep.

Huddling together in a souvenir stall, we enjoy fresh coconut juice.

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Originally uploaded by migratorynature.