Leaving Bali

The last photo I shot in Bali, of the Negari rice fields and the mountains after the rain.
My time working and living in Bali has come to an end, at least for the time being. I hope to call the island home again someday, but it's time for me to take my adventures elsewhere. Both the near and distant future are unknown to me, but for now I'm going with the flow and taking everything as it comes.

Gratitude

A Balinese offering
Tonight my brother arrives in Bali to spend a couple weeks with me, and I couldn't be more excited to see him and grateful to have family close for the holidays. The last year of my life has been simply astounding, and has brought me so many new and profound experiences I never could've imagined. I'm endlessly grateful for what I have and proud of what I've accomplished. Here's to an incredible year, and an off-the-charts spectacular 2012.

Singapore

Cityscape from the top of Marina Bay Sands. We had to sneak in.
I recently spent a weekend in Singapore, eating all sorts of delicious new foods and spending an inordinate amount of time ducking into shopping malls to dodge rainstorms. Singapore and Bali could not be more different, but Singapore's orderliness and luxury was a welcome change for just a couple days.

Singapore's powerful economy in action.

At the Louis Vuitton flagship store

Preparing ramen

Guerilla Poetry

I hope to come across Robert Montgomery's provocative street poetry some day. What's beautiful in photos would be staggering in person.

Go Everywhere

One amazing photo is all it takes to put a new destination on my must visit list. This photo is what first got me seriously thinking about coming to Bali, and today I call the island home. Now whenever I see a photo that makes me want to jump on a plane, I carefully file it away in my head and on my hard drive. These are some current favorites.

Amalfi Coast, Italy	Oahu, Hawaii
Skógafoss, Iceland	Prambanan, Indonesia
Meteora, Greece	Yangshuo, China
Kauai, Hawaii	Phang-Nga Bay, Thailand

Sources available on Pinterest.

Cosmos

_{In an oscillating universe, the Cosmos has no beginning and no end, and we are in the midst of an infinite cycle of cosmic deaths and rebirths. If the universe truly oscillates, still stranger questions arise. Some scientists think that when expansion is followed by contraction, causality will be inverted and effects will precede causes. First the ripples spread from a point on the water's surface, then I throw the stone into the pond. First the torch bursts into flame and then I light it. We cannot pretend to understand what such causality inversion means. Will people at such a time be born in the grave and die in the womb? Will time flow backwards?}

_{- Carl Sagan, Cosmos}

I've been reading Carl Sagan while (impatiently) waiting to borrow 1Q84 from a friend. I thought this passage was lovely. Reading it immediately evoked moments from the past I'd love to live again in reverse.

Pura Tirta Empul

Saturday in Bali was a holy day for the goddess Saraswati.  She is the goddess of knowledge, so all the students went to the temple to pray on Saturday.  According to the Balinese, the energy manifested by praying can become either good or bad energy, so it is important to cleanse your spirit the next day, so that the energy from praying is manifested in a pure spirit.  Even though I didn't make it to the temple on Saturday, I accompanied my friend to Pura Tirta Empul, the temple of the sacred spring, on Sunday for some ritualistic cleansing.

The sacred spring.
Water is fed from the spring to pools below, where worshippers bathe and pray.
Visitors move down the line, saying a prayer or making an offering at each fountain.

Conformations

I love seeing photographs creatively combined with another unusual medium.  Shaun Kardinal's "Conformations" series features oversized postcards with beautiful geometric embroidery on top.

Infra Africa

The people and landscapes of the Congo shot on infrared film, from the Infra Africa series by Richard Mosse.

Kuala Lumpur

Recently I spent a weekend in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I wasn't expecting much but in the end I loved the city. I spent hours wandering with little agenda, through massive shopping malls or back alleys of Chinatown. I was drawn in by its pull between old Malaysia and modern metropolis, the way it was covered in chrome and mold, Starbucks and coconut husks.