you live, you learn 7

- Although I'd already been in Southeast Asia for over a month, I didn't need to use a plug adaptor until I got to Bali.
- The most expensive coffee in the world is made from animal feces.
- On my flight from Bangkok to Denpasar, you could watch the runway in real time during taxi and take-off on the entertainment monitors.
- In Bali, some restaurant menus include tax and service charges in the pricing while others don't.  The percentages charged for tax and service are not consistent from one place to another.
- Herpes B infects 80-90% of adult macaques.  This is the type of monkey that lives in the Sacred Monkey Forest in Ubud, Bali.
- It's easier to find a tongue scraper than it is to find dental floss in Ubud.
- Some birds naturally give themselves colonics using their beaks.
- People who get botox injections feel happier as a side-effect because they can't physically make their faces into a frown.
- Termites eat wood twice as fast when listening to heavy metal music.
- The ideal amount of food to eat in one sitting is what fits into your hands cupped together.
- I was in Bali for 46 days and I did not get Bali belly :)
- The man in line in front of me waiting to use the washroom on one of my flights was barefoot.
- With the exception of adding a link, all posts to this blog while I was on this trip were done on an iPod.
- Birmingham has more miles of canals than Venice.
- In order to thrive, a butterfly needs to struggle through the process of emerging from the cocoon.

and i quote 9

"Do you smoke?" - Ketut, my tour guide on the hike up the volcano for sunrise.  Although I'd just finished a month of intensive yoga, I was struggling...  Think I've realized that my MBTs, which I love to run in because they make it more of a challenge, are not the best hiking footwear... particularly on unstable, steep and rocky grounds in the wee hours of the morning when the only light is that of the moon. Good to know :)

"Happy marriage!!" - Kirin, a yoga friend I met in Bali, after telling her about my session with a palm reader.  Despite no concrete path to get there, she was really excited for me about an event that was predicted to be in my not-so-distant future... ;)

"No change given. Overpayment accepted." - Payment machine in a parking lot in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, a charming little town that happens to be Shakespeare's birthplace.  The machine has outlined the consequences of not providing change - how thoughtful!

"But you and I, we get on well don't we? We've known each other for what, an hour already? And we've gotten on well for that hour!" - Kris, a 21-year-old man I met at a bar in Birmingham, who was trying to convince me to take him home with me that night.  I'd just told him I was looking for something more meaningful.  Turned out he thought this was meaningful!..

"Your breakfast will be in your room at 8:35." - The owner of the B&B in the Lake District in England that my friend Lorna and I were staying at, to both of us at check in.  This place was supposed to be four stars yet it didn't allow any choice in the timing or location of your breakfast.  It also didn't have an ensuite in our room, which wasn't specified when we booked a room last minute.  I feel like the rating was a bit off...

"You can't live your life around Pringles now, can you?" - Lorna to me, as we were watching a guy dressed up as the Pringles man and his team set up for some sort of promotional event at the shore of Lake Windermere.  We were about to embark on a hike and stopped for a second to see if any samples were forthcoming.  They were taking their time so we decided to proceed without any further delay.

"Dietary information: Suitable for Vegetarians. Gluten free." - Label of a bottle of still spring water from one of the UK's largest bottled water companies, Shepley Spring.

"I'm home!" - Me, earlier this week. For the first time in a long time, I have no upcoming travel plans...  For now ;)

view from the top 2

...of a volcano at sunrise :)