For winter break I traveled back home to Los Angeles, California and it felt great to be home. That was just the start of my travel. I was home in L.A for about two days before flying to Taiwan. It was something new and exciting. I walked downtown in the Raohe night market and it was thrilling because everything was new and the people were so friendly. I eat a soup which tasted fantastic. I enjoyed the local art and music. I love learning about different cultures which I had the chance of visiting a temple next to the market. It was beautiful and the art inside and all over the temple was amazing.

 After a day of exploring Taiwan, I headed back to the airport to make my way to Indonesia, Bali. I landed at 10 a.m. which was great because I had a chance to experience the full day in Bali. I had my entire trip planned out it began in the center of Bali which was Ubud. The reason I started in the Ubud was because I wanted to meet the locals and learn as much as I could about the culture. I didn’t want to be in a resort. Living in Hawaii for over 8 years, I learned that to get the true experience of a place, I needed to surround myself with the culture. One of the first things I did was try the coffee which was a life changing experience. Now I can say that I had some of the best coffee in the world. It took 2 hours from the airport to get to the house in Ubud. The location was beautiful and the people were so helpful and nice. I stayed in Ubud for about four days before traveling Singaraja which is south of the island. But while I was in Ubud I went to the Monkey Forest

and walked in the local markets and

had some local food. The food was great I eat crispy duck

almost every day because it was that good!! I visited the local art painting, wood carving and stone carving masters and towns. They have some very talented arts in Bali. I also had the chance to hug a sun bear and ride an elephant which I didn’t want to do at first because I love animals very much. But the elephant trainer changed my mind after explaining that the elephants were rescued from Sumatra (after the tsunami). The trainer has been woking and caring for the elephants for about 20 years and you could notice how much he loved the animals. It was an awesome experience riding an elephant in Bali. I also took advantage of visiting a chocolate factory which was so gooooodddd!!!! After the second day, I became great friends with a local named Naymona aka the Ubud man. He took me everywhere. He took me to up north to a hot spring

to see a volcano, dolphins

and several temples.

For the second week I was in Bali, I went down south to Nusa Dua

which was great because I missed the ocean (Missing my home in Hawaii). I had the chance to surf and swim

and met new people and also have some great coffee again and again!!!

One of the best things about the trip was the people because they were so nice and cared about family. The Island had a great vibe and I felt at peace. I am happy I am back in Maryland but I am also very happy I had the chance to meet the people of Bali and make new friends in a new place.

(it’s a chocolate shake from the local chocolate factory)