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Author Archives: jasminedesirees
- lombok: senggigi AKA how not to renew your indonesian visa
  
  Posted at 10:10 am by jasminedesirees, on December 18, 2014
  
  After Gili T, we took a boat ride over to explore Lombok for a couple of weeks. Our first stop was Mataram, which is the main city, where we stayed for 3 days while we were trying to get our visas extended to stay in Indonesia another month.
  
  I didn’t love Mataram, it’s very busy and crowded, and everything is kind of far away so it’s not really walkable, and the traffic is so crazy that I didn’t feel comfortable renting a moped either, but there was some beautiful architecture and an amazing mosque that was being erected near our hotel.
  
  There are agencies in Gili T, and Senggigi that will renew your visas for you, but we figured we could do it ourselves, so we went into the main government building to try. If you are going to do this, make sure you dress very conservatively. Lombok is a Muslim island (as is most of Indonesia, except for Bali) and covered shoulders, closed toed shoes, and covered legs are required.
  
  I don’t think it would be very hard to get your visa done this way, in retrospect we should have just waited and tried to figure it out, but there were so many people, and the language barrier was too much, we just felt overwhelmed so we decided to use an agency in Senggigi instead.
  
  It seemed like a good idea at first. We dropped off our passports and paid the money (about $60 each) and they told us our passports would be done within 4 days, with the new stamps. So we rented a moped and did some exploring, hung out by the pool, and enjoyed our few days in Senggigi, it’s a really cute area with lots of beaches and good restaurants.
  
  We went back on Thursday to pick up our passports, and nobody was at the office, even though it was well past the opening time. Sometimes things work a little slower over there, so we thought that was fine and kept coming to check in every few hours, but nobody ever showed up.
  
  I had taken down an email address and phone number, and given them my email address in case anything came up, but we never heard from them, and when I tried them, both the email and phone number were out of service.
  
  We decided to check back again the next day, but there was still nobody there, and when we asked the neighbouring business if they had any contact info, we were told that he was almost positive they had packed up their business and moved back to Bali. So that was fun.
  
  We ended up going to the tourist police station which was quite nearby, and they couldn’t have been friendlier, or more helpful. They eventually tracked down the guy and called him for us, and he told us we would have our passports back on Monday (5 days late) and was confused about why we had contacted the police.
  
  We were supposed to be leaving for a 3 day trek up Mt.Rinjani (more on that later) so we had to push that out by a few days. On Monday we went back there to pick up our passports, and still nobody was there. Finally someone showed up, but he had no idea what we were talking about.
  
  We refused to leave without talking to someone, eventually another guy came, an Australian, and he told us that our passports were in Senggigi, ready to go, and they would be there any minute. We waited another hour, until finally the guy we had originally given our passports to called him, and told him that our passports were still at the renewal office in Mataram (where we had originally gone to renew them ourselves) and we’d have to go there to pick them up in person.
  
  We did that, we were super annoyed, but we would have done almost anything to get our passports back by that point. Once we got back to the renewal office, it took about 20 minutes, we went upstairs, got our photos taken again, and got our passports with the updated visas.
  
  I’m not saying you should definitely renew your visa yourself, but it’s more expensive to go through an agency, and you will likely end up having to go get it yourself anyway, since most of the time they need to redo your fingerprints and photographs.
  
  So it all worked out in the end, our time in Senggigi was great, except for that minor hiccup. I’ve never seen so many palm trees in my life as on Lombok, and if you are there and looking for a great place to eat, check out Cafe Alberto, it’s right on the beach, has an amazing view for sunset, and has the best mushroom ravioli I’ve ever had.
  
  Posted in Indonesia, travel | 2 Comments | Tagged beach, Indonesia, island, lombok, mataram, passports, senggigi, travel, visa renewal
- for women who are difficult to love
  
  Posted at 10:00 am by jasminedesirees, on December 17, 2014
  
  Came across some of Warsan Shire’s poetry last week, and immediately spent the next four hours reading everything I could find, and then ordering her book on Amazon.
  
  I have a crush on her, for real. Like, it’s a problem.
  
  Excerpt:
  
  “you can’t make homes out of human beings
  someone should have already told you that
  and if he wants to leave
  then let him leave
  you are terrifying
  and strange and beautiful
  something not everyone knows how to love.”
  ― Warsan Shire
  
  Posted in art, loveliness, poetry, quotes | 2 Comments | Tagged loveliness, poetry, warsan shire, writing
- gili trawangan
  
  Posted at 9:51 am by jasminedesirees, on December 16, 2014
  
  From Amed, we took a boat across to Gili Trawangan, the most populated of the Gili Islands. We bought our ticket the day before, they are sold all over in Amed, and just showed up that morning to get on the boat. It was about $5 USD per person.
  
  The boat ride was about an hour, and would have been lovely except for the wind. The waves were massive, and everyone on board was getting soaked. The woman sitting right in front of me had a brand new baby, he couldn’t have been more than a week old, and they were both getting drenched so we used our towels to make them a fort.
  
  We didn’t have a place to stay booked on the island because most of the smaller homestays don’t have an online presence, but we found a cheap, clean room within a few minutes just by walking around and checking a few places out.
  
  The very first thing we did once we dropped off our stuff was make a bee-line for the fruit smoothie carts, it was similar to Sanur in that you could get almost any kind of fruit smoothie for about $1 USD.
  
  I got mango and dragonfruit, and just laid on the beach pinching myself. These photos have not been edited or filtered, that’s just what colour the water is.
  
  There are no cars on Gili T, just carts pulled by donkeys, so it’s a lot of walking, but the island is so small that it doesn’t matter. There are bikes for rent all over the place, and you can ride around the whole island in like an hour and a half.
  
  The night of D’s birthday we took a donkey to the other side of the island to the Ombok Sunset resort to see the sunset, which is where the swing-set in the water is.
  
  There were a bunch of people lined up to get their picture taken so I kind of didn’t want to do it, but then a cloud came and covered the sun so everyone thought that was the end and started leaving, and right then the sun popped back out, and the sky was gorgeous.
  
  The donkey carts aren’t made for very big people, D kept hitting his head every time the donkey took a step, so we just ended up walking back.
  
  The main area in Gili T where the boats drop everyone off is actually pretty crowded, we were there in late October, coming up on the rainy season, and still it was very busy.
  
  There are lots of good restaurants on that side (try the butterfish!), and if you walk down to the Ombok (there are 2 on the island) on that side they show movies on the beach every night, and it’s pretty much perfect.
  
  But if you leave the main area, and head either way on the island, it’s a lot more chill, with some awesome beach bars, and a much quieter vibe.
  
  We had four days on Gili T, and honestly, that was enough for me. It really was so busy, and the diving wasn’t that great. I kept hearing that it was amazing, but then I was told that a lot of the people diving in Gili T are just getting certified, and so they don’t really have anything to compare it to, so of course they think it’s amazing.
  
  It definitely had nothing on Flores.
  
  I was talking to someone a few days ago who had been to Gili T 20 years ago, and he was telling me how unpopulated it was, how there was only 3 restaurants on the whole island, and they shared a generator, so only one of them would be open on any given night. I wish I could have visited back then.
  
  I would love to go back to the Gili’s though, there are two other islands, Gili Air and Gili Meno, which are much less busy, and more laid back, so that will be my next visit.
  
  One word of caution though, the Gili’s get their power from Lombok, so power outages there are not unusual, and wi-fi is kind of terrible, which is fine because that’s not why you are going to Gili anyway, but just something to be aware of.
  
  Posted in beach, Indonesia, travel | 4 Comments | Tagged beach, Gili Islands, Gili T, Gili Trawangan, Indonesia, island, scuba
- tirtta ganga
  
  Posted at 9:02 am by jasminedesirees, on December 15, 2014
  
  On our way back from hiking Mount Batur, we stopped in to check out Tirtta Ganga, one of Bali’s gorgeous water palaces. it’s up in the NE part of Bali, so it’s perfect to visit while you’re up in Amed, or on your way back from a day trip out of Ubud.
  
  It’s not marked very conspicuously, when our driver pulled over I thought he was just stopping for snacks, because it’s surrounded by walls, with shops and restaurants in front, with just a little gate and a sign over the archway.
  
  Luckily it wasn’t very busy when we were there so we were able to check everything out and take lots of pictures without there being a crowd, or a group of random people in all of our photos.
  
  The grounds was amazing, with lots of sculptures and water features, and a giant fountain in the middle. There are stepping stones all through the first pool so you can walk around it and look at all of the sculptures.
  
  We were told that the waters in Tirtta Ganga were supposed to have spiritual healing properties, and that people were allowed to swim in certain areas, but there wasn’t really anyone to ask, and we didn’t want to accidentally go into the wrong area.
  
  Also, there are huge Koi fish everywhere, and they definitely could have taken off a pinky toe if they felt so inclined.
  
  It was very peaceful, quiet and green, even though there is a more expensive homestay and a nice restaurant along the right side of the property, it doesn’t take away from the ambiance.
  
  Also there was a large pool filled with lilypads and gorgeous purple flowers, so that was my favourite part, obviously.
  
  Posted in Indonesia, travel | 1 Comment | Tagged amed, Bali, culture, Indonesia, tirrta ganga, travel, ubud, water palace
- we were liars
  
  Posted at 12:54 pm by jasminedesirees, on December 11, 2014
  
  I just finished reading We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. The ending wasn’t quite what I hoped it would be, but the writing and the style were so beautiful, I couldn’t get enough.
  
  I started it in the afternoon, and finished it by the next evening. Without giving anything away, here are some of the passages I liked best.
  
  “IN EUROPE, I vomited into small buckets and brushed my teeth repeatedly with chalky British toothpaste. I lay prone on the bathroom floors of several museums, feeling the cold tile underneath my cheek as my brain liquefied and seeped out my ear, bubbling. Migraines left my blood spreading across unfamiliar hotel sheets, dripping on the floors, oozing into carpets, soaking through leftover croissants and Italian lace cookies.”
  
  “I suffer migraines, I do not suffer fools.”
  
  “If you want to live where people aren’t afraid of mice, you have to leave the palace.”
  
  “Someone once wrote that a novel should deliver a series of small astonishments. I get the same thing spending an hour with you.
  Also, here is a green toothbrush tied in a ribbon.
  It expresses my feelings inadequately..
  
  Better than chocolate, being with you last night.
  
  Silly me, I thought nothing was better than chocolate.
  
  In a profound symbolic gesture, I am giving you this bar of Vosges I got when we all went to Edgartown. You can eat it, or just sit next to it and feel superior.”
  
  You can buy the book here.
  
  Posted in books | 0 Comments | Tagged books, E. Lockhart, reading, we were liars, writing
- castello di amarosa
  
  Posted at 10:29 am by jasminedesirees, on December 10, 2014
  
  We spent Saturday being chauffeured around Napa in a limo, drinking lots of wine and enjoying the gorgeous December sunshine. We visited the Castello di Amarosa, a vineyard and winery, and also the most amazing castle I’ve ever seen.
  
  I’ve really only seen the Iolani Palace, and Sleeping Beauty’s castle in Disneyland, so I don’t have a lot to compare it to, but still.
  
  We did the guided tour, so in addition to the public areas of the castle that anyone can visit if they come to the vineyard which includes a ballroom and a chapel, we also got to see the underground portion, including jails and a torture chamber, and many feet of tunnels stacked with barrels of wine.
  
  It took fifteen years to build the castle, and all of the materials are authentic, sourced from ruins of castle in Europe. All of the iron work in the castle was recovered from ruins, and if they couldn’t find it there, they had it made in the authentic style as it would have been in 12th-16th century Europe.
  
  We learned a lot about the wine they produce during the tour, and also about the castle itself, and it was really interesting.
  
  All of the stonework was done by a master stone mason, and different sections of the castle were done in the styles from different centuries, so they point that out to you on the tour, and explain what the differences were, and why.
  
  For the last stop on our tour we stopped in a private underground tasting room that felt a lot like a dungeon, but at least there were bread sticks, and tried a bunch of the different wines that are made by the vineyard. I really liked a lot of them, I used to hate red wine, but in the last few years I’ve really grown to like it more and more, especially Zinfandel.
  
  My favourites were Dolcino, it was a sweet white wine; Simpatica, which is a blend of Muscato and Riesling, and one called Fantasia, which tastes like melted frozen fruit punch juice mix. Our guide said he often uses it as a mix with vodka, which sounds like a terrible/amazing idea.
  
  They have activities at the castle all year round, and every year for New Year’s Eve they have a black tie masquerade ball. It’s expensive, but it sounds like so much fun, so we’re going to try to do that for NYE 2016.
  
  If you are looking for me at any point over the next 12 months, I’ll probably be gluing feathers and glitter onto my mask.
  
  Posted in California, exploring, USA | 0 Comments | Tagged architecture, California, castello di amarosa, castle, napa, Sleeping Beauty's castle, wine, wine tasting
- uss liberty
  
  Posted at 9:52 am by jasminedesirees, on December 9, 2014
  
  The USS Liberty in Amed, Bali was my first shipwreck dive, and it was amazing. It’s a great dive for beginners, or for people who aren’t actually certified to wreck dive (ahem) because it’s a shore dive, and the wreck isn’t very deep, only 18M, so it gets a lot of sunlight.
  
  The water is very clear so it’s easy to see everything, and it’s pretty wide open so even if you are claustrophobic, there aren’t really any places where you feel trapped inside.
  
  There were a lot of little fish, although we didn’t see anything super exciting, but just the feeling of being inside the wreck was enough to make it one of the best dives I’ve ever done.
  
  I was able to do some wreck diving in the Philippines a few weeks ago, and I actually had kind of a scary experience, (more on that later) but it definitely made me look back on this dive with even more affection, because for those dives it was very deep, and the visibility was pretty terrible, and it was so dark that we needed a flashlight inside the ship.
  
  We talked to almost every dive company in Amed, before deciding to go with BLD.
  
  Most of the dives around Amed are shore dives, so it was cheaper than some of the other diving we’ve done, but if one thing to keep an eye out for is that a lot of the companies will only take you to one dive site per day, to do two dives there, and we found out it’s because they have to pay a tax for each dive spot they go to, and they make more money by just keeping you at one site.
  
  It’s up to you if you want to dive only one site, but we wanted to see as much as possible, which is one of the reasons we went with BLD. Our second dive was actually not that great, it was a shore dive down a sandy slope, there wasn’t much to see but we did spot a black baby frog fish, and it looked like a tiny alien.
  
  Our dive guides were really great, they were local guys from Amed, and we ate lunch with them and chatted about our lives, and their lives and learned a lot about Bali. They both thought it was very strange that we had been married for 3 years and didn’t have any babies. They invited us out to see a band with them at a bar that night. All of the people in Amed were lovely.
  
  If you are a diver, or even a snorkeler, and you have some time when you are in Bali, definitely make the trip up to the USS Liberty, it’s so so worth it.
  
  Posted in Indonesia, travel | 1 Comment | Tagged amed, diving, Indonesia, scuba, shipwreck, shore dive, uss liberty
- on coming home
  
  Posted at 9:47 am by jasminedesirees, on December 8, 2014
  
  We’ve been back from our travels for about 2 weeks, and I’m still not sure how I feel about it. I haven’t seen my family yet, so I am still waiting ever so patiently (is it Christmas yet?) for that, but other than that we’ve seen a bunch of Derek’s family, and all of our friends in California, and made a road trip up to Oregon to see my best girl for Thanksgiving.
  
  I’ve drunk my twisted tea, I’ve got my scuffed up leather boots back on (it is probably not normal how much I missed them, I had dreams about them when we were gone), I’m sleeping and waking on a normal schedule again, I’m even back at work, as a temp in the city until we move to Phoenix in January. We’re officially and definitely back to reality.
  
  I am a little sad to be back, but I was worried that it was going to be more like this, and that I was going to be really depressed not to be traveling constantly, and sleeping in a new place every night. To be honest, I never got tired of that. I know some people would have, but I could live like that forever.
  
  The thing is, even though we are back to reality, we aren’t yet back to routine. We are basically homeless, we’ll be moving to a brand new city at the end of the month, and the time up until then is filled with friends and family and Christmas-ness. I am starting to look for a job in Phoenix, and I have some big goals for myself for 2015 as well.
  
  Even though we were gone for six months, now that we are home again, it kind of feels like the whole thing might have been a dream. I just want to hold on to all of the things I learned while we were away, and keep my priorities straight, remembering the things that are important, and the things that aren’t and never will be.
  
  Our trip was an amazing chapter in our lives (and I still have a ton of posts to share), but it’s not the last chapter. Instead of being sad to be home, I’m really just excited for what is coming up next, including starting to look ahead, and beginning to save for our next big adventure.
  
  Posted in thoughts, travel | 2 Comments | Tagged friends and family, homecoming, life, priorities, travel, writing
- the female of the species
  
  Posted at 8:26 am by jasminedesirees, on December 4, 2014
  
  This poem has kind of been stuck in my head since my sister read it to me last year. I like it because it’s funny (also, accurate and factual), and it reminds me of her. The last stanza is my favourite.
  
  The Female of the Species
  
  WHEN the Himalayan peasant meets the he-bear in his pride,
  He shouts to scare the monster, who will often turn aside.
  But the she-bear thus accosted rends the peasant tooth and nail.
  For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.
  
  When Nag the basking cobra hears the careless foot of man,
  He will sometimes wriggle sideways and avoid it if he can.
  But his mate makes no such motion where she camps beside the trail.
  For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.
  
  When the early Jesuit fathers preached to Hurons and Choctaws,
  They prayed to be delivered from the vengeance of the squaws.
  ‘Twas the women, not the warriors, turned those stark enthusiasts pale.
  For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.
  
  Man’s timid heart is bursting with the things he must not say,
  For the Woman that God gave him isn’t his to give away;
  But when hunter meets with husbands, each confirms the other’s tale—
  The female of the species is more deadly than the male.
  
  Man, a bear in most relations—worm and savage otherwise,—
  Man propounds negotiations, Man accepts the compromise.
  Very rarely will he squarely push the logic of a fact
  To its ultimate conclusion in unmitigated act.
  
  Fear, or foolishness, impels him, ere he lay the wicked low,
  To concede some form of trial even to his fiercest foe.
  Mirth obscene diverts his anger—Doubt and Pity oft perplex
  Him in dealing with an issue—to the scandal of The Sex!
  
  But the Woman that God gave him, every fibre of her frame
  Proves her launched for one sole issue, armed and engined for the same;
  And to serve that single issue, lest the generations fail,
  The female of the species must be deadlier than the male.
  
  She who faces Death by torture for each life beneath her breast
  May not deal in doubt or pity—must not swerve for fact or jest.
  These be purely male diversions—not in these her honour dwells—
  She the Other Law we live by, is that Law and nothing else.
  
  She can bring no more to living than the powers that make her great
  As the Mother of the Infant and the Mistress of the Mate.
  And when Babe and Man are lacking and she strides unclaimed to claim
  Her right as femme (and baron), her equipment is the same.
  
  She is wedded to convictions—in default of grosser ties;
  Her contentions are her children, Heaven help him who denies!—
  He will meet no suave discussion, but the instant, white-hot, wild,
  Wakened female of the species warring as for spouse and child.
  
  Unprovoked and awful charges—even so the she-bear fights,
  Speech that drips, corrodes, and poisons—even so the cobra bites,
  Scientific vivisection of one nerve till it is raw
  And the victim writhes in anguish—like the Jesuit with the squaw!
  
  So it comes that Man, the coward, when he gathers to confer
  With his fellow-braves in council, dare not leave a place for her
  Where, at war with Life and Conscience, he uplifts his erring hands
  To some God of Abstract Justice—which no woman understands.
  
  And Man knows it! Knows, moreover, that the Woman that God gave him
  Must command but may not govern—shall enthral but not enslave him.
  And She knows, because She warns him, and Her instincts never fail,
  That the Female of Her Species is more deadly than the Male.
  
  – Rudyard Kipling
  
  Posted in art, poetry | 2 Comments | Tagged poetry, rudyard kipling, the female of the species, writing
- hiking mount batur
  
  Posted at 8:16 am by jasminedesirees, on December 3, 2014
  
  The first thing I will say about hiking to the top of Mount Batur to watch the sunrise, is that it is amazing and breathtaking and gorgeous and you should definitely, definitely do it while you’re in Bali.
  
  The second thing is, for the love of God, wear every piece of clothing you brought with you. People kept telling me to dress really warm, but I am very stubborn and had already decided what would be appropriate volcano hiking gear, and refused to listen to anybody.
  
  I also was thinking of the time we climbed to the top of Pura Lempuyang, and people told me to bring a jacket, and it was not cold at all by my standards so I had to carry it the whole way.
  
  I figured that since I am Canadian, I have a higher tolerance for cold, and since I spent most of my time in Amed wishing it wasn’t so freaking hot out, it would be nice to be out in the brisk morning air.
  
  It was. The air at the bottom of the mountain at 2 am was glorious. And then we started climbing. And during the two hour climb to the top, I was so hot and sweaty I wished I would have worn even less than I was wearing.
  
  But once we got to the top, and stopped moving, I was whistling a different tune. Or at least I would have been, if I’d have been able to feel my face.
  
  We started the climb up the mountain at about 3:30 A.M. It’s pitch black, but everyone gets a flashlight, and it’s mandatory that every group has a guide. It was really beautiful to look back behind you as you were climbing to see the string of flashlights bobbing along in the darkness. I wanted to take a picture, but I know my limits, photography-wise, and I am pretty confident it would have just been a black fuzzy blur.
  
  There are two places where you can stop and watch the sunrise. One is the main area where most people hang out, and the other is the very, very top. It’s another 30 minutes climb past the main area, and it’s a hard and treacherous climb (I would like to note that this was before I had climbed Mout Rinjani in Lombok. Now it seems like a leisurely stroll in the park. But more on that later).
  
  Being me, I obviously decided immediately that we hadn’t come all the way up there to not make it to the very top, so up we went.
  
  The climb to the summit isn’t actually very far, but because the very top of the mountain is coated by layers and layers of volcanic ash, it’s very hard to climb. You sink in above your ankles with every step, and you also slide back a little bit with every step, so it takes a really long time to make any real progress. On top of that, it was incredibly windy, and we weren’t moving fast enough to keep warm so it was bitingly cold.
  
  Have I sold you on this yet? Perfect.
  
  Once you kept to the top, it’s completely worth it. We found a little spot to sit down, and one of the guides brought us coffee. The sun was just starting to peak over the top of the mountain.
  
  And then right at that moment, an enormous cloud appeared, and blocked the entire thing.
  
  Just when I was contemplating flinging myself over the edge since we’d made that journey for nothing, the clouds parted for about 15 seconds. Just long enough to snap a few pictures, and everyone at the top with us jumped up and started cheering.
  
  Then the clouds came again. And this kept happening over and over again. Just when you thought the clouds would never move and we wouldn’t be able to see anything, they would part again and give us a few seconds of complete magnificence.
  
  We were up there for about an hour before we started the climb down. The guides made us breakfast on top, bananas and eggs cooked in the little pockets of volcano steam, it’s pretty cool to watch.
  
  Then we started the trek down. It takes about an hour and a half, and you come down a different way, skirting the crater rim, and then descending into the valley filled with lava rock from all the years of eruptions.
  
  Once we got to the bottom, our driver picked us up and drove us the hour and a half back to Amed.
  
  This hike was definitely one of the best things we did in Bali, and I can’t recommend it enough. But please, please don’t wear shorts. My legs turned blue. It was not ideal.
  
  Posted in Indonesia, travel | 10 Comments | Tagged batur, hiking, Indonesia, mount batur, sunrise, travel, volcano
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