Retirement Trip Close-out

Tonight marks 2 weeks since I've been back from my trip. It always fascinates me how fast everything goes back to "normal" and I just cue in to this rotating wheel of society that's of course been running without me :) Hello freezing weather. There's some faint memory of me being on a beach not too long ago ;)

So quick recap of the end of my trip, and well, everything... 

Bali. The honeymoon destination. I feared it would be too commercial. Too many foreigners. Ruined culture.

Wrong.

One reason probably being that we steered clear of the very touristy areas (Kuta, Nusa Dua) and got the amazing opportunity to stay at my mom's friends' vacation home a little off the beaten path in Pecatu. Kelly joined us after a day (3 countries total of Kelly time!) and we all fell in love with the island... the abundance of green rice fields, the coffee plantations, the artists' shops, the Hindu influence and temples, the monkey forest, the various types of beaches, the food...

We also pampered ourselves by taking mom's friend's advice on a hotel called Abalone Resort. Pa.ra.dise. Located on a black sand beach with scattered fishing boats and Nusa Penida in the distance, we were given the "apartment" with 2 pristine bedrooms, bathrooms, living room, and kitchen. And there's an infinity pool with cabanas. Oh, and we were welcomed with "Abalone Special" drinks. We had booked for 1 night. We ended up staying for 2.

All in all, a perfect way to end the 2.5 month trip. Relaxing. On the 25th, Kyle and I took a flight to Jakarta and then parted ways. She traveled with me for 2 months in Asia... and I gotta say, the best travel buddy I could have asked for :) Thanks for being awesome. (I miss you!)

So now that I'm back, people have been asking me, "What was your favorite thing?" A near-impossible question to answer ;) But I'll try to simplify it as much as possible to what my favorite thing was about each country...

• Ireland -- The vibe (Er, maybe I should say "craic"). These people know how to have a good time.

• Netherlands -- Family & friends (no brainer here ;))

• Istanbul -- The sights. One city has so much history and amazing things to see.

• India -- The colors. There's color everywhere... the houses, the clothes, the food...

• Cambodia -- The people. They're friendly and honest (something you don't find in a lot of developing countries. Scratch. Any country.)

• Thailand -- The beaches. The most beautiful ones I've seen, ever.

• Indonesia -- The food. Mostly for nostalgic reasons, but I also think I got the most variety here. 

And, of course, over all... all the amazing wonderful friends, new and old, along the way...

I miss it all though. I want to go back. And not in a "Oh, it'd be nice to visit again one day" kind of way. No, I wanna go BACK... be there, live there. Mission Get-My-Ass-to-Live-in-SE-Asia has started. 

School starts in August. They recommend being there a month beforehand. My cousin gets married in Germany in June... I'm thinking (if it's both financially feasible and NOM-business feasible), to just hang out in Europe after the wedding til school starts. That gives me 2.5 months to absorb as much of Cincy and its wonderful people as possible, sell/lease my condo, sell my car, figure out visa crap and housing stuff in France, get a loan (freakin' A, B-school is expensive!), and try to squeeze in some US last-minute trips if possible. Impossible, you say? Maybe. And maybe the cause of why I'm feeling sliiiightly overwhelmed. It'll all work out.

It always does :)