We have arrived home in Northville! We had two surprises that made us smile – a Christmas Tree that warms the house with holiday spirit (thanks Mom) and a shower full of balloons (nicely done Tim and Alex!)

We are looking forward to seeing our family in the coming days. Merry Christmas!

We spent our last day in Tokyo visiting the National Museum before heading to the airport for our flight back to the US. We were able to spend our long layover in LA with family. It was so nice to spend the afternoon with our cousins and we even got to see them sing in their schools Holiday Concert.

Tokyo:

Back in the US!

Our beautiful cousins:

Spent today walking around Ueno, the area around our hotel. We found Ueno Park to be quiet and peaceful, which is surprising considering how big the city is. We spent several hours at the wonderful zoo, visiting panda bears and other fascinating animals, and then walked around a mall and a market admiring the large variety of products for sale.

Miles walked today: 6.4

Complicated subway!

We spent our last day in Bali by the pool and then caught the night flight to Tokyo. My friend Junko from high school and her husband Akihiko spent the day with us. They had the most amazing day planned and we enjoyed seeing some of the temples, wandering the markets in different parts of town, eating delicious Japanese foods (like Okonomiyaki) and drinks (saki!) and we even tried a photo booth! Thanks Junko and Akihiko for introducing us to Tokyo!

Miles walked last two days: 15.6

Oldest temple in Tokyo:

Lunch:

Meiji:

Saki offering at Meiji:

Washing hands before entering temple:

Photo booth experience:

Decorating photos:

Dinner with friends:

Great 1st day in Tokyo:

Back to southern Bali where we are exploring the beach of Sanur.

Miles walked last two days: 12.5

Northern Bali is quiet and low key. We’ve enjoyed watching dolphins, snorkling, hot springs and visiting Hindu and Buddhist Temples. We’ve also spent some time relaxing by the hotel pool!

Miles walked last two days: 10.2

Searching for dolphins:

Into the jungle:

Hindu Temple:

Twin Lakes:

Buddhist Temple:

Warrior in a skirt!

Hot springs:


We LOVE our hotel in Lovina!

For our last day in Ubud we tried something new – a meditation class. Then we continued on to the north coast of Bali, passing through the interior volcano and mountain range to get there. Once in the untouristy town of Lovina, we took a long walk down the narrow black sand beach. We passed some hotels but much of the beach here is still occupied by local homes and small fishing villages.

Miles walked: 6.8

Meditation studio:

Monkey Forest, Ubud:

Despite the heat we headed out on a hike. We started out just the two of us with the goal of doing a loop through some villages and along the river. First we acquired a friendly stray dog who trotted happily along with us for at least three miles. We also acquired a guide somewhere along the way which was quite helpful since the trails were not marked well. We were more than surprised by the lush, green scenery by the river and we also liked walking through the rice fields.

Miles walked: 10.1

Green rice:

Yellow Rice, ready for harvest:

We thought it would be cooler in the hills of interior Bali but it is still HOT! So we spent spent some time swimming before having suckling pig, a local dish, for lunch. We tried our hand in a yoga class. The studio and instructor were great, and it was so hot the instructor kept joking it was more like bikram yoga. We ended the day by going to a place where the herons roost. During the day they disperse to the rice fields to look for food and in the evening hundreds of them fly to a 1km strip of road they call home.

Miles walked: 5.8

Spent the morning relaxing in Seminyak before driving to the beautiful Tanah Lot Hindu Temple. We spent the evening getting familiar with the streets of Ubud, a town in the interior of Bali where we will be spending the next couple days. We encountered some aggressive monkeys while walking through ‘Monkey Forest’ who went after the water bottle Brent was carrying. When he threw it away from us they snatched it and proceeded to twist the cap off and drink it. I guess even the monkeys get dehydrated in this intense heat!

Mikes walked: 7.8

Tanah Lot: