After our massive tour of New England and Michigan, we’ve settled in Tennessee at my mother’s home for a while. Her home is on a beautiful lake at the foothills of the Smoky Mountains, about half an hour south of Knoxville. We really love being here – in most ways, it’s the complete opposite of Jakarta or Manila, and is just what’s needed after those mega-metropolitan cities. It’s exceptionally peaceful and relaxing, with the only noises coming from boats cruisingRead more
Posts filed in: Travel and Adventure
Jakarta 2010 recap
After only a week in Jakarta, we’ll head back to Manila tonight at 1AM. It’s been a very different kind of holiday (well, compared to Boracay), but good nonetheless. There’s definitely a different feeling to Jakarta when returning as a tourist. Most of my friends have moved on to other countries, and Novita’s family was quite busy to hang out much. I ended up spending a lot of time in Kelapa Gading simply because it’s the area I know best.Read more
2009: A year of change, travel, and adventure
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 moreRead more
Into the blue
I’ve been away once again – in the Thousand Islands, (Pulau Seribu) – a chain of islands in the shallow Java Sea 50 miles or so north of Jakarta. I’ll write in more detail soon about the experience and some recommended sights to explore. I was courageous enough to bring all my camera gear with me this time, so hopefully I’ll be able to share some of the amazing scenery with you soon. There’s no way images can capture theRead more
Moving to Manila, Philippines
My previous post was titled, “Life 2.0” for a reason; we’re moving to Manila, Philippines in July. This newly created future was unplanned until very recently. Forgive me if some of you feel ‘left out’, but I wanted to make sure everything was 100% before announcing anything. This post has been difficult to compose, as many of you may realize I’ve spent a quarter of my life in Indonesia, and have had more dramatic changes occur in that timeframe thanRead more
Returning to Jakarta; returning to reality
In little more than 12 hours, we’ll be departing for Jakarta once again after having spent 2 months in the States, traveling around six states. It’s been a wonderful summer; a much needed respite from the craziness and speed of Jakarta. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed each and every day, and fortunately, were able to visit much of the extended family. Brief summary: Our first two weeks were spent in Michigan, followed by over a month on a gorgeous lake in EasternRead more