An Alphabetical Stroll Through Bali and Australia/+ a Bit of Philippines- H is for: Hanging Out High Up (Treehouse Stay in Philippines) (5/4)

[irene_dsc]

Such a beautiful wedding! Not going to repeat everyone else's comments, but I loved the different shades of green for the bridesmaid dresses. They coordinated so well!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I'm sorry that I have been MIA. We had a non-refundable DVC reservation at the BCV Apr 7-12 followed by our niece's wedding in California Apr 13-18. It has been a very crazy two-week period. It is fun to compare the niece's wedding in Thousand Oaks to your daughter's wedding, although there is really no comparison.

We've had it done a few times here and there. It's pretty common in the former USSR countries I remember. Having said that, it's NOT okay. Passports are needed to do so much including for emergencies... just in case.

I assume you were there because of your then-husband's job.

All told, I don’t think I really got over the jet lag/time difference issue until well into the 2nd week of this trip. From N. America to East Asia is no joke in this department!

My brother-in-law had jobs in Singapore and Tokyo. He never attempted to adjust back to our time zone when they return for a visit. It is a really hard adjustment.

Our room was amazing!!! We ended up in a 2-bedroom suite with a huge shower/bath.

That is an absolutely gorgeous suite.

Suffice to say, it was almost mind-blowing the transformation and effort that went into the ceremony and reception areas! I wandered off several times to look over and see the progress. WOWZA!

Wow! That is a huge transformation. It is stunning!

All gussied up, I asked one of the other guests (no idea who it was) to take a few photos of just me by the pool.

That is a nice picture of you. And your hair and makeup look extremely natural and becoming. Hairdressers and makeup people want to go a little elaborate sometimes.

I was happy that she did choose to have her dad and I both walk her down the aisle. I felt honored and touched. Mikki, I think was totally overwhelmed at the moment and cried all the way down the aisle. But she was an incredibly beautiful bride.

She is beautiful and it was a lovely wedding.

The reception ended with fireworks! I NEVER would have guessed that was going to part of this spectacular gala Michaela had planned.

Wow is all I can say - again and again.

 

[Steppesister]

Heh. More weird if they were video calls.

I’ve heard that when virtual working was at its height, “gentle reminders” had to be sent to you k ow… have clothes on.

That's good. And impressive, actually. It could've easily have been a madhouse.

….loke a lot of weddings.

Maybe she couldn't go, so she wasn't asked?

Definitely a possibility!

But you were invited instead to the big bash. I know which one I'd pick.

Admittedly it was a good reason to travel!

You're lucky they didn't eat you at the reception, then!

Lol!!

The money would've concerned me too. I always want to pay my share.

Exactly!

 

[Steppesister]

Looks like a scene from a movie!! Everything looked just incredible, and I am blown away by all of the flowers. Just wow!!

It really was like a movie scene! Just so lovely!

I remember when you posted this one on FB. You look like a celebrity!! Even if it isn't a perfect crisp image, it's definitely beautiful!

Thanks, Jackie! I love opportunities to dress up and be fancy!

 

[Steppesister]

Such a beautiful wedding! Not going to repeat everyone else's comments, but I loved the different shades of green for the bridesmaid dresses. They coordinated so well!

They looked so great together! Funny story though… Anara bought hers MONTHS before the wedding and posted it to their group to show the others. Then a few weeks before the wedding, one of the other bridesmaids bought the same one which royally irritated Anara. They still looked lovely but… jeez. Especially when the others knew way beforehand.

 

[Steppesister]

I'm sorry that I have been MIA. We had a non-refundable DVC reservation at the BCV Apr 7-12 followed by our niece's wedding in California Apr 13-18. It has been a very crazy two-week period. It is fun to compare the niece's wedding in Thousand Oaks to your daughter's wedding, although there is really no comparison.

Wow! I’d live to stay there someday! And back-to-back with a wedding in the other coast! That’s lots!! Sounds like a special kind of busy.

I assume you were there because of your then-husband's job.

Mostly but I also found plenty to do with teaching English, quilting, cooking, homeschooling….

My brother-in-law had jobs in Singapore and Tokyo. He never attempted to adjust back to our time zone when they return for a visit. It is a really hard adjustment.

It’s a tough stretch for sure! It took me better than a week to get even close.

That is an absolutely gorgeous suite.

So spacious!!!

Wow! That is a huge transformation. It is stunning!

The difference from naked beach to a full-blown wedding venue with tables, lights, dance floor… amazing!

That is a nice picture of you. And your hair and makeup look extremely natural and becoming. Hairdressers and makeup people want to go a little elaborate sometimes.

They often do, yes. I told him right off the hop that I wanted it very natural and subdued. I think he did pretty well.

 

[pkondz]

I’ve heard that when virtual working was at its height, “gentle reminders” had to be sent to you k ow… have clothes on.

Where’s the fun in that?

Admittedly it was a good reason to travel!

 

[Steppesister]

I'm back... well, at least I'm back to the Kentucky home and trying to settle in and make a new routine for myself. I've started my Clinical Rotation #1/3 and so far, it's been far less stressful than I'd thought it might be or could be. I'm sure that could all change, but I'm hopeful and encouraged. I've also landed a job at a Skilled Rehab facility for my weekends that will start June 3rd. Gots to make up some financial ground.


How have you all been doing the last few weeks? Any fun news? Life happenings? Travel plans? Talk to me!

I've done the 2 Case Studies I wanted to get through for the weekend and have uploaded all of my Patient Encounter Logs for the 2 days, so have a bit of free time to look at where I left off and start editing photos again. I'm really hoping that I can get an update posted by the weekend's finish.

 

[Steppesister]

H is for: Hanging Out High Up​

With the wedding gala behind us, it was time to part ways for a time. Waking up in a seriously luxe sorta place was, admittedly, pretty wonderful! But, as they say, all good things must come to an end. Knowing that equally adventurous and luxurious places weren’t too far off made the leaving a lot less painful. I ate breakfast alone in quiet solitude, happy that the coffee didn’t suck and that more yummy Asian options were on the buffet. I never get tired of fresh tropical fruit and congee!

Since we’d stuck with our plan for only using carry-on luggage, packing up was easy. I checked out, settled the last couple of room expenses (a couple of cocktails), and chose a seat in the huge beautiful, open-air lobby area and waited for my shuttle.

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I had made arrangements with Leander’s mom to hitch a ride with them, as my stop, on the WEST side of Lake Taal, was on the way to where they were going for their big family reunion on the NORTH side of Lake Taal. It wouldn’t get me all the way, but close enough…

Anara, Mike (my ex), and his wife Kim had chosen to stay on in the Philippines and were headed to Palawan and El Nido- the top 2 tourist spots in the country. No thanks. They were put on another of the 3 vans heading back north- the one going to Manila with the others who were flying out to other places that night or afternoon.

As I was waiting, I once again heard the loud bird that was making a racket that woke me up the morning before. I headed towards the resort entrance to look for it and the guard asked if he could help me. I told him I was looking for the really loud bird. He cheerily replied, "Oh! That's the "whatever he said" bird, and it's yellow and kinda big... <we looked together>... Hey, there it is!"

Sure enough we spotted the Black-naped Oriole that made sure everyone knew it was around.

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With big hugs and last minute reminders to Anara to use What’sApp and touch base as she traveled to meet me the week after in Adelaide, AUS, I was off. Traffic was the usual nightmare, but the time passed quickly as I chatted with one of Leander’s cousins about Filipino culture and life.

(More hilarious wiring!)​

Two hours later, I was dropped off and with a little help with the Tagalog speakers on my van, I was on a tricycle for the last 15-minute ride to my resort. WHEEEEE!!!!! Yes, they are kinda fun; yes, my arthritis lets me know that I’m not 20-something anymore and bumps hurt. We’d agreed on a very fair price, but I paid more; maybe they'd have some meat to eat that night.

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The “resorts” that are really nice, are definitely upwards of $200/night. As undeveloped as the Philippines is, prices, including hotels and taxis, are not that cheap. I chose the place for my one night simply because now I can say that I have slept in a REAL treehouse. Yes, I wanted to play the Swisskapolka and dance! (Please tell me know where that’s from!)

My view:

The pool (that was aaaaaallll mine for 24 hours):

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Here is the link to the place I stayed. They focus on sustainable tourism, local food sourcing, environmentally responsible stewardship of the property including how they run water, the pool, etc...

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1638807?source_impression_id=p3_1714877395_aBZNXsxS8QbRFdpz​

Brenda, the hostess/onsite manager and person I’d been talking with for months with questions and transportation and meal arrangements, met and welcomed me with a cup of coffee. I was already in love with her! She told me to make myself at home and enjoy the nature.

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The staff (I think there were 3 in the kitchen and a couple of gardeners that I noticed) took my bags up the steep stairway and I headed out for a short walk into “town” for some photography. This was definitely rural and very undeveloped. But the people smiled and waved making me feel welcome and safe. I think it was about 20 or so minutes to the center of the very small village and I was back to the Kapusod (name of the eco-retreat resort) by 5:00PM.

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Brenda and I arranged for a 6:00PM dinner time so I wandered the beautiful grounds and took some sunset shots for the next hour or so. I confess, the warm glow of light over the lake with the greens of the low water of the shore and the fishing stands silhouetted against the sunset and the volcano looming in the distance. The pictures really don’t do the beautiful scene justice at all.

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Soon, my meal was ready: A fresh mango smoothie, some crispy fried Lake Taal Talawis (*** Please make your way to Science Camp with Steppe at the bottom of this chapter for more information on this and other interesting biology topics***), and a bowl of soup. I don’t know the name of it, but basically it was a chicken soup with greens and fresh tamarind making it a lot like a savory but sour broth.

(Fresh tamarind- I'd never eaten it this way.)

(Crispy fried Taliwis fish- found ONLY in Lake Taal)

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The meal was more than I could eat, so I concentrated on the smoothie and asked the rest to be put away for my breakfast (at their suggestion). I was full and it was getting dark, so I headed up to my treehouse bedroom and prayed I wouldn’t have to climb down more than once during the night to use the potty.

Speaking of which…. This was quite possible the most hilarious piece of work I saw on the entire trip. Yes, you read that right: The Throne of Stone. I’ve done a lot of interesting things in my life, but now I can add to the list with having had a Reader’s Digest moment on an artsy loo. I aspire to great things.

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You might be wondering if I got a great night’s sleep. Here is the audio I took around 2:00AM. I repeated the process (and climbed down to use the Stone Throne) around 3:00AM. Apparently, I’m not the only one up at 3 in the morning.

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While the mosquito net was absolutely necessary, I will leave you with this to ponder…. Did it fully protect me? You’ll have to stay tuned for that little tidbit and how the rest of my stay at Kapusod Eco-Resort was. It’d already been wildly adventurous and everything I’d imagined staying up in the canopy might be.



*** Science Camp with Steppe***

In case you are wondering what the LOUD creature was that was making all that racket at night was, it’s called Tokay Gecko and are found all throughout Asia and the Pacific Islands. We first heard and saw them when we were living in Thailand and yes, they are always that loud. I REALLY wanted to see one again as they are incredibly huge and have very nicely patterned skin. Here is the Wiki article so you can read up on them, should you be interested-- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokay_gecko

Another interesting science lesson: Lake Taal was formed about 140,000 years ago, but until 1754 was connected to the sea. AT that point it was cut off and became a freshwater lake leading to the evolution of 2 species:

“The eruption of 1754 also significantly shaped the ecology of the landscape of Taal Volcano. Taal Lake was, prior to the eruption, a saltwater environment, being connected to Balayan Bay through the Pansipit River, which was then a navigable channel. The eruption cut off this connection to the sea, and the Lake and its ecology evolved into a freshwater environment. Two species in particular reflect an evolutionary adaptation to a changing environment – Hydrophis semperi, a rare species of sea snake, and Sardinella tawilis, a species of sardines, are both originally saltwater species that have now evolved, and are only found, in the freshwater environment of Taal Lake.”- https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/6714/

Absolutely fascinating!!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Heading out to watch the Belfast marathon runners but I had to nip in here for a quick comment first. Laughing at “The throne of stone” tagline. Now you have definitely become royalty
The treehouse is fabulous and your hosts sound wonderful. Swisskapolka has to happen when your living like the Swiss Family Robinson and my oh my you really are living it up with your own pool!!!
One final comment before I go, you know I love all your photos ( if you didn’t you do now) but the sunset photos are absolutely stunning. I know you said they don’t do the scene justice but they blew me away. Simply beautiful

 

[Steppesister]

Heading out to watch the Belfast marathon runners but I had to nip in here for a quick comment first. Laughing at “The throne of stone” tagline. Now you have definitely become royalty
The treehouse is fabulous and your hosts sound wonderful. Swisskapolka has to happen when your living like the Swiss Family Robinson and my oh my you really are living it up with your own pool!!!
One final comment before I go, you know I love all your photos ( if you didn’t you do now) but the sunset photos are absolutely stunning. I know you said they don’t do the scene justice but they blew me away. Simply beautiful

FUN! We watched the Derby yesterday. If I'd put money down, I'd have gotten a 9-2 payout. Poop!

Hey, someone's gotta be a queen! ... of something.

This wasn't the most elegant or posh resort, but wow was it ever unique! There were definitely some drawbacks like having to climb down in the middle of the night to pee and the LOUD Tokay that kept me up, but now I can say I"ve done it.

It was SUCH a beautiful sunset! The colors were amazing with the black sand beach, the blue water, green water plants, and yellows in the sky!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Totally 100% worth every step down to the loo. Love it

 

[pkondz]

I'm back... well, at least I'm back to the Kentucky home and trying to settle in and make a new routine for myself.

Welcome... back?

I've started my Clinical Rotation #1/3 and so far, it's been far less stressful than I'd thought it might be or could be.

That's good.

I've also landed a job at a Skilled Rehab facility for my weekends that will start June 3rd.

Whoa! You're gonna be one busy sister!

How have you all been doing the last few weeks? Any fun news? Life happenings? Travel plans? Talk to me!

Trust me... don't ask.

I'm really hoping that I can get an update posted by the weekend's finish.

And apparently, you did!