Bali | The Java Jive

Bali for 5 weeks

Posted on 14. Jul, 2012 by Brandon.

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I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth – I’ve just been much less disconnected in Bali for the past 5 weeks. I’ll update more appropriately soon. This poor blog turns 10 years old in a couple of months – need to breathe some life back into it!

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Like a morning dream…

Posted on 31. Dec, 2011 by Brandon.

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‘Like a morning dream, life becomes more and more bright the longer we live, and the reason of everything appears more clear. What has puzzled us before seems less mysterious, and the crooked paths look straighter as we approach the end.’

- Jean Paul Richter

Photo taken on Seminyak Beach, Bali, Indonesia

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9 years in Asia in 2 minutes. [all photos by Brandon Hoover]

Posted on 15. Apr, 2011 by Brandon.

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9 years in Asia in 2 minutes. [all photos by Brandon Hoover]

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2009: A year of change, travel, and adventure

Posted on 12. Jan, 2010 by Brandon.

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One of my greatest interests in life is to travel, experience, and learn more about other cultures. There’s nothing like soaking up all that a new country has to offer. I feel immensely thankful that my career allows us to travel extensively (always wish it could be more but don’t want to be greedy).

2009 was a year of drastic, yet positive changes with our move from Indonesia to Philippines. Change is what defined this year.

2010 should be more stable, but still allow plenty of travel – perhaps even more if we return to the States for 8 weeks this summer (tentatively planning a trip to the American West).

How about you? What were some of your major trips this year? How did 2009 turn out for you? How is your outlook for 2010?

A quick list of our main travels for 2009:

February – Manila, Philippines – 4 days
March – Seminyak, Bali, Indonesia – 9 days
April: Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia – 4 days
May: Thousand Islands, Indonesia – 5 days
June/July – Ubud / Seminyak, Bali, Indonesia – 3 weeks
July – Manila, Philippines (uh, still here)
September – Hong Kong – 4 days
October – Boracay, Philippines – 9 days
November – Batangas, Philippines – 3 days
December – Banaue, Philippines – 5 days
December – Singapore – 2 weeks

And a visual summary of 2009. (oldest to most recent) Enjoy.

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In the mood for Ubud

Posted on 09. Jul, 2009 by Brandon.

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I’m posting this from my iPhone so pardon spelling and grammmmatical errrrrors.

We’ve been in Ubud, Bali since early Saturday morning. Early – as in left the house at 4am against Mr. Sandman’s strongest wills to remain on the lovely couch cushions (shipped our bed to Manila).

It was odd saying goodbye to the house I’ve called home since 2002. A home where so many memories were etched into my mind, so many events have taken place, and where life tested my will to remain in this land 13,000 miles from my birthplace.

Tranquility is the theme for this week. We’re staying at a beautifully eclectic place called Michi. I’ll post more about it later but I first recommend viewing the website where you may get a glimpse of what I mean: Michi

It’s nestled in a lush valley with exquisite views of rice fields, Balinese volcanoes, and rushing rapids of a river below.

Unfortunately, I’ve hit a setback this week with one last goodbye kiss from Indonesia in the form of a stomach bug, otherwise known as Bali Belly. A waterfall not unlike that of the river below, followed by a fever, and a quick trip to SOS confirmed my illness. $8 lighter (hint: you can buy antibiotics over the counter in Indonesia), armed with horsepill antibiotics and I’m on the mend.

Not sure how long we’ll be in Ubud, but we may move on to the beaches in the south.

This place is good for the soul. Check out the ‘gallery’ on Michi’s website and you’ll see what I mean.

Oh and I have a two page photo in the latest issue of Kabar / Expat Magazine if you happen to come across it.

That’s all for now; I’ll post again soon or you can follow my updates on Twitter.