Favorite Photo From Bali

This photo ended up being my favorite (as in I put it in my favorite pile because who can really choose a favorite?!).

My Mom and I were walking along the rice paddies when I realized we were perfectly silhouted over the bright green. 

So naturally I stopped....and we struck a pose.

I've got my skirt hiked up on one side with a palm tree on my left and my Mom's got her arms up vogue style. 

Mom and I strike a pose.

This is a scheduled post to keep you company in case I'm incommunicado while I'm Going Nomad!  Thanks for your understanding!  xoxo

Greetings From Pokhara, Nepal

Namaste Nautie Friends!

The past few days have been extreme. Epic to say the least.  

I'm enjoying a cocktail in Pokhara while sitting near Fewa Lake - today I got a full body facial - cleansed, scrubbed, valued, moisturized- and I can barely walk...limp and stroll - forget grace up and down stairs - because yesterday I completed the Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek. 

I saw the Himalayas.  

Epic.  

You all deserve photos, and stories and maybe there will be some of those later.  

For now, it's time to reflect on what Epic actually means.  

xoxo, 

Megan

Arrival in Kathmandu

I woke up yesterday morning in Kathmandu which I must tell you felt quite surreal.  Surreal on so many levels.  I sat in a well appointed kitchen iMessaging with family.  I ate muesli and drank french pressed coffee.  I could hear mopeds honking, bike bells dinging, dogs barking, birds chirping and neighbors hawking loogies.  After being in Bali it all felt strangely familiar but, having creature comforts like delicious coffee seemed almost out of place.

I had the day to myself and I must tell you, I'm not the best solo traveller.  I get nervous to leave the house.  I literally put on my clothes and shoes and then laid back down on my bed with my face in the pillow.  Just laying there thinking about stepping out the door.  I had to talk myself into it.  Think about the photos you'll take.  You can have a snack.  Coffee!  If you go outside and you don't like it you can turn around.  The thought of leaving the safety of the house and courtyard made my gut clench.  After awhile I start to feel ridiculous and it's usually this point in my solo forrays into the unknown when I begrudginly leave the house.  Give me an hour and I'm like, 'yep, look at me - total badass - foreign travel - pssshhh...piece of cake'.     

The fact I left the house before 1030 was a major victory.  On day one in Bali I didn't talk myself out of the house until late afternoon! 

Off I went, stepping over dogs on the side of the road.  My iPhone out like a shield talking photos of my surroundings.

My hostess (a friend of my cousin who is teaching at an International school here) had drawn me a map to a coffee shop.  It fittingly featured a mural of coffee.  Eye on the prize.

Walking past colorful houses and clothes drying on the line is always a reminder that people live here.  While I walk down the street taking photos, Moms are making dinner, Granmas are bouncing babies, Dad is off to work.  This is just a regular day.  

I found myself on a little dirt lane wandering behind peoples houses.  Mopeds zoomed past me and I had to back into a wall to let a truck pass.  I was just on the brink of thinking, 'my map is broken' when I spotted my coffee shop.  It always amazes me what you can find in an alley.  If I think about my own home town my favorite restaurant is down an alley that must be very unappealing to tourists!

It's sometimes strange to me how quickly I can go from feeling out of my element to feeling precisely in my element.  From a dirt lane in Kathmandu to writing blog posts in a coffee shop.  I think in all my adventures the thing I've found the most universal is a cozy coffee shop or jumbled bookstore.  

Here's to new adventures!  Here's to putting on your shoes and getting out of the house!  Here's to street art! 

Travel Within Travel

We're packing up camp and headed to another part of the island for an overnight. 

I feel ridiculously excited.  

My Mom and I have both cracked up about how excited I am. Here I am, far from home and sooooo excited for an overnight! 

We're headed for white sand beaches and I'm doing a happy dance! 

I'm a fair amount behind in the blog - I'm thinking about how best to catch up - I'll come up with a plan soon.  

Toodles! 

Nautie Randomness Bali Edition

These things used to have Roman numerals but honestly, I didn't know what came next so now they get names.  I kinda like it better like this anyways.  This is the Bali Edition - things I meant to tell you before I left for Bali - things I meant to tell you when I got to Bali - things I just want to tell you!

Balinese Man working in the rice paddies in early this morning.

Can someone who reads this blog on a comupter tell me if the above photo (and well, the photos below) are gigantic?  I've been having minor difficulties resizing the photos on my iPad and because Squarespace is right ontop of optimizing posts on mobile devices I can't tell if that photo a) takes forever to load and b) is distorted due to being very, very large!  It's also possible that the flipside is true - are these photos small?  I realize that this makes no sense but the bottom line is:  Do the photos look okay on your viewing platform?!

Morning light in my little yard.

I haven't ventured too far from my nest since I've been here.  There are a couple reasons why but, one major reason is that I was really behind on 'life'.  There were so many long overdue emails to write / reply to.  Organizing data.  Organizing my schedule.  I didn't quite realize how much I had been going, going, going.  Being here, typing on my iPad, looking out the window, journaling and taking photos has been just what the doctor ordered.

Rice Paddies, A Camera, A Coffee.  Bliss.

So far, my morning routine has consisted of waking up really early, finding a mug of something warm, grabbing my camera and strolling along the edges of the rice paddies.  This morning the ravine on the Eastern edge of the ridge was full of mist and thanks to a light rain through the night things were extra dewy.

Rice Paddy and Morning Light.

Just so I don't leave you confused, I wrote some blog posts and set them up as 'scheduled posts'.  I was worried that I wouldn't have enough time to blog on the road and figured thought I'd share some of the photos I took while I was at sea last to keep you company in case of my absence.  I hope this doesn't throw anyone for too much of a loop! 

Here's something random for you.  When I was driving from the airport to Ubud I saw a really, really big lizard cross the road.  Big as in, if we hit it we would have felt it.  When my hosts were showing me through my house I asked them if I should keep the doors closed sometimes.  I mean, I'm down with geckos but that thing was bigger than a rat!  My hosts say, 'nah, you should be okay, we only had a snake in the house once!'.  *Gulp* I might be at one with the tropics but....we don't have snakes in Hawaii!  Then he says, 'that's why the houses are tiled - snakes can't slither on tile!'.  What?!  Good to know?!  Whew?!  Snakes?!

Thanks for tagging along with me! 

Soulful Sunday :: New Orleans Street Musicians

Hands down my favorite experience in New Orleans was wandering around the French Quarter just after dusk listening to the street musicians.  Man they had style.  It was a quiet moment among the hustle and bustle of Bourbon Street.

I figured I better share.  I took this video right near our hotel on our way back from dinner.  

The gents didn't have a sign up with their names so if someone would like some credit please let me know!  I'd LOVE to give it to you!