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Being A Temple Instead Of Visiting Temples-My Visit To An Orphanage In Sri Lanka
For those of you who have followed along, you know that my visit to Sri Lanka has not been the greatest. It has been unsafe to travel here as a single woman, and many unfortunate things have happened to me along the way. This is a sad country with an even sadder government, and the people who I have met have talked about their feelings of repression, and how they envy my freedom as an American. The person with the most moving story was my driver, Michael. Michael told me the story of how when he was 28 years old, he traveled to the Philippines. He happened to fall in…
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The Best Beach In The World-Spellbound On Belitung
Sometimes the earth spills into the sea. The boundaries become blurred between earth and water and sky, and there is so much splendor there that you are left stunned, speechless, and spellbound. And you catch your breath because the moment you have been waiting for is here. You have found the best beach in the world. He doesn’t even know it, but it was Scotty Graham who brought me here. I saw his stunning photograph of Tanjung Tinggi beach and decided that I just had to go. Yes, I am like that. Show me a beautiful picture of a place and I will start formulating a plan about how to…
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Trapped in the Mosquito Netting-More Adventures From Raja Ampat
Well, there’s not much going on here in Raja Ampat. Well, besides getting circled by sharks. But I already told you about that. I mean, I could write about how I moved from the front porch to the hammock, but there’s no hammock. Which is really a shame, actually. I could also tell you about how I am missing a flip-flop. The thing just disappeared right off the boat jetty. Only one. Left the other one behind just like that. The people at the resort said it must have been the wind. My response to that was, “What wind?” The fan in my room is about the most wind I’ve…
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Being Circled By Sharks-My Adventures In Raja Ampat
Papua. Raja Ampat. Just the names of these places conjured up dreams of adventure, the unknown, the unexplored. When I found out that it was home to some of the best marine life and the best diving and snorkeling in the world I knew that I had to go. I am here now on this jungle beach, a saw-toothed palmetto plant that is taller than me towering over me, the waves gently lapping on the shore at my feet. Getting here was quite an experience, although not as hard as some of the other remote places that I’ve been in this world. I flew to Sorong where I took a…
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Going Outside Of My Comfort Zone On The Spice Island Of Kei Kecil
I write these words to you on the front porch of my bungalow, waves gently lapping down below. Butterflies as big as birds fly around me, and I stop for a minute to gaze at the crystal clear waters, the sunlight dancing on them, as a boat gently glides past. I now see why when I would tell people on my plane ride here, that I was coming to the Kei Islands, people would stop and say, “Aahhh, the forgotten island.” This Spice Island feels very forgotten, like the last place on earth, and here I have witnessed extraordinary beauty and gone way beyond my comfort zone to do so.…
