The Beautiful Temples in Bali

31 Thursday Jan 2013

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I was originally pretty blasé about visiting Bali, but Mr. Selfish was quite persistent. He really wanted to visit Bali. Eventually, I started googling images of Bali. This was when I discovered all of the beautiful temples in Bali and was persuaded into including Bali in our itinerary.

Bali is known as the “island of the gods” due to the numerous temples all over the island. While we didn’t make it to the Mother Temple (I figured we could save it for the next trip), we did go to Tanah Lot Temple, which is the gorgeous temple set on the water. Tanah Lot actually means “Land in the Sea” and is one of the seven sea temples in Bali.

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The Delights of Balinese Food

30 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Bali, Food & Drinks

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Bali, Food & Drinks, Indonesia

Mr. Selfish and I didn’t know much about Balinese food prior to this trip. The only other time we had had Indonesian food was in Amsterdam. We had enjoyed a variety of delicious and very spicy small plates, which is known as Padang and is from the area of Sumatra. This type of cuisine is entirely different from Balinese cuisine, so we were excited to learn about actual Balinese food.

One of our best meals in Bali was at Ibu Oka, where they serve roasted pork (“babi guling”). This dish is distinctly Balinese. The Balinese prepare the pork by stuffing and infusing it with a spicy concoction typically involving turmeric, coriander seeds, lemongrass, black pepper and garlic and then the pig is spit-roasted. Yes, it is just as amazing as it sounds.

Bali Food 17

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Monkey Forest? I’m There!

29 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Bali

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Asia, Bali, Indonesia, Monkey Forest, Sacred Monkey Forest of Padangtegal

When I learned that there was a monkey forest in Ubud, I knew that we had to visit it while we were in Bali. Its official name is the Sacred Monkey Forest of Padangtega. Approximately 605 long-tailed macaques live in the monkey forest. It was amazing to see so many monkeys wandering around.

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Living It Up in Bali

28 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Accommodations, Asia, Bali

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Asia, Bali, Bebek Tepi Sawah, Hyatt Bali, Sanur, Ubud

Mr. Selfish and I spent five glorious nights in Bali, Indonesia. We immediately decided that our trip to Bali was too short and that we needed to return later. Not only did Bali seem very untouched by Western culture but the people were the friendliest and nicest we’ve encountered. Plus, the food was amazing, and the prices couldn’t be beat.

We spent three nights in Sanur at the Hyatt Bali. The Hyatt has multiple pools and access to the beach. It was lovely – especially during sunset.

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The Night Safari in Singapore

27 Sunday Jan 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Singapore

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Asia, Night Safari, Singapore

On our last night in Singapore, Mr. Selfish and I decided to do the night safari. We had met a very friendly local who highly recommended it to us. He also noted that it was about 1.5 hours away by public transportation and that we should get there early since it got pretty crowded. Per his recommendation, we left early and made the 1.5 hours trip to the night safari.

The first thing we did was queue up for the tram. It wasn’t yet too crowded but we could tell that it would be packed soon.

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The Sights and Sounds of Singapore

26 Saturday Jan 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Singapore

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Asia, Singapore

Mr. Selfish and I spent three jet-lagged days in Singapore. Since we hadn’t been before, we wanted to hit the highlights of Singapore.

First, we wandered around Chinatown (since the hawker centers are there) and visited the Tian Hock Keng Temple. The temple was built in the 1840’s after the influx of Chinese immigrants arrived. Although the main temple is dedicated to Mazu, the Taoist goddess of the sea and protector of all seamen, the back temple is dedicated to Kuan Yin, the bodhisattva of mercy.

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Flashback Friday – Day Trips from Saigon

25 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Flashback, Vietnam

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Cu Chi Tunnels, Day Trips, Mekong Delta, Saigon, Vietnam

As I’ve mentioned previously, Mr. Selfish and I are currently taking it easy in Saigon. However, when we came here for our homeland honeymoon in 2009, we took a couple of day trips during our short 3-day stay in Saigon.

First, we went to the Mekong Delta, which is where the Mekong River approaches and empties into the sea through a network of streams. It was lovely but quite hot (as it tends to be in Saigon). We were given straw hats for the short canoe trip, which I found quaint but quickly discovered were mostly functional due to the scorching sun.

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Chowing Down at the Hawker Stands in Singapore

23 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Food & Drinks, Singapore

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Amoy Street Food Centre, crispy curry puff, Fried Kway Teow, Hainanese chicken, Hainanese curry rice, Han Kee, hawker stands, hawkers, Maxwell Food Centre, oyster cake, Rafee's Corner, Singapore, Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice, Yuan Chun Famous Lor Mee

The primary reason that Mr. Selfish and I wanted to go to Singapore was to eat at the hawker stands. We had heard tales of delicious and cheap food in government-regulated hawker stands, and we wanted to try as many hawker stands as possible. Unfortunately, we only made it to two hawker stands.

The first hawker center we visited was the Amoy Street Food Centre, which is near Chinatown. We were still jet-lagged so we showed up at around 10:30 am. As a result, there were no lines, and we could eat whatever we wanted.

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Good Morning Vietnam!

22 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Vietnam

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Da Nang, Dalat, Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Saigon, Vietnam

Mr. Selfish and I have been in Saigon for three full days now. Since this is our second time here, we haven’t really done much other than settle into our apartment, made a home-cooked meal, and joined a gym. It has been nice having a routine, and best of all, we don’t leave until Friday.

After that, we’ll be traveling to parts of Vietnam we haven’t visited yet – Nha Trang, Dalat, Hoi An, and Da Nang. So of course, our days will be jammed pack full of activities again.

At this point, we’re starting to get a little travel planning fatigue. So, please let me know if you have any recommendations for us.

Flashback Friday – Halong Bay in Vietnam

18 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Flashback, Food & Drinks, Vietnam

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Flashback, Flashback Friday, Halong Bay, Vietnam

During our homeland honeymoon, Mr. Selfish and I stayed in the Sofitel in Hanoi, Vietnam. The hotel had a French colonial theme and was utterly charming. It is one of our favorite hotels of all time. Since our good friends (Uyen-Minh and Mike) paid for a day trip to Halong Bay as our wedding present, we decided to splurge and arranged for the trip through the Sofitel.

It was a little extravagant but we had a private driver and an English-speaking tour guide to Halong Bay, which was about 1.5 hours away. Along the way, the tour guide made some disparaging remarks about Americans to us, which is fine but we found a little odd since we had just told him that we were American.

When we arrived at Halong Bay, we discovered that we had an entire junk boat to ourselves. It was a two-story junk boat that could probably fit about 100 tourists. There was also an entire crew just for us.

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Flashback Friday – Japanese Food

04 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Flashback, Food & Drinks, Japan

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Aronia de Takazawa, Flashback, Flashback Friday, Go Go Curry, Japan, Kyoto, Ramen, Tokyo, Udon, wagyu, wagyu beef, yakitori

Orlando had limited Japanese food offerings. The vast majority of it was sushi, and there was one good ramen place. So, when Mr. Selfish and I went to Japan in 2009, we sampled all sorts of Japanese food.

First, we sampled plenty of udon and ramen. Each time, the broths were so flavorful that you could tell it had been cooked for a looooong time.

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Continuing Our Selfish Year

29 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Australia, Bali, China, Japan, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam

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Mr. Selfish and I have been in the States since Dec. 16th. We have truly enjoyed our time back “home”. Even though we are technically homeless (since we rented out our house), we consider the States to be home.

It has been wonderful to see so many loved ones and enjoy the comforts of home. I especially loved meeting my adorable three month old nephew for the first time and experiencing Christmas through the eyes of my 3 year-old and 6 year-old nephews. Mr. Selfish and I also appreciated all of the delicious food that everyone has been cooking for us. A home cooked meal with family beats eating out at a restaurant every time.

But tomorrow, it’s all coming to an end. We are continuing our selfish year. We have eight more months and about thirty more cities to go. Here’s the map of our itinerary:

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Flashback Friday – Ghibli Museum Outside of Tokyo

21 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Flashback, Japan

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Flashback, Ghibli Museum, Japan, Tokyo, Totoro

Mr. Selfish and I are huge Hayao Miyazaki fans. Miyazaki is a renowned Japanese director. My favorite Miyazaki film is My Neighbor Totoro. So when we decided to go to Tokyo, we knew that we had to go to the Ghibli Museum, which is in a small suburb of Tokyo.

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Flashback Friday – Inari Shrine Near Kyoto

23 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Flashback, Japan

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Asia, Flashback, Fushimi Inari Taisha, Inari Shrine, Japan, Kyoto

In 2010, Mr. Selfish and I took our first trip to Japan. We loved Kyoto. In fact, we loved it so much that we’re planning on staying there for a month during our selfish year.

One of the most memorable sites we visited was the Fushimi Inari Taisha, which is an Inari shrine a little outside of Kyoto. The Inari shrine was built to honor the Shinto god of rice and is typically represented by a fox.

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Flashback Friday – Rough Riding in Vietnam

05 Friday Oct 2012

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Flashback, Vietnam

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Cyclo, Hanoi, Hue, Motorcycles, Saigon, Vietnam

On our honeymoon in 2009, Mr. Selfish and I went to Hanoi, Hue, and Saigon in Vietnam. Vietnam is a land of motorcycles. The roads are full of them, and there is a constant honking sound at all times. We quickly learned that honking is not to indicate that something has gone wrong but rather it is to indicate one’s presence. In other words, a honk is equivalent to “hello, I’m riding here.” It was definitely something we had to get used to.

In any case, one of our favorite past times was finding interesting items being hauled on motorcycles. We saw whole families, kegs, ducks, and chickens. We also found a huge live pig on its back, but we didn’t get the camera out in time to capture it.