Dedication

Thanks Bret and Cynthia for the cool link from your weblog.

Independence Day Dive

Happy Fourth of July to everyone at home!

The Taiwan dive season generally goes from mid-May through September. For the brave and well insulated you can extend those times. Today we headed over to the northeast coast and found some interesting little creatures to share the water with. The water temperature was comfortable yesterday (28C/82F), but today we managed to find some cool spots (24C/75F). The coolest spot was around 24 meters; the water warmed up once we were around 15 meters. Some parts of the surface were a bathtub-like (31C/88F) ahhhhhhhhhh.

Here’s a little of what we saw.

Large nudibranch. They are a photographer’s friend, because they come in huge variety of colors and are slow enough to photograph.

Another large nudibranch posing for a photo.

UNO! Laura loves these little plastic Uno H2O cards and bought them on her last trip to the States and assured me that I would like them too. I was skeptical and kept making fun of her and these ‘really cool’ playing cards until she showed them to me. They really are perfect for vacations when you’re sitting around the pool. So to prove that I like them also, I brought one on our dive today. You’ll have to pardon that rude little fish that decided to swim right in front of my regulator as my friend took the photo. Sneaky little thing.

This three spot domino damselfish is only about 2cm long.

These little underwater scooters were a lot of fun. They make swimming in current much easier.

If you are ever interested in diving in Taiwan I would HIGHLY suggest contacting McGill at Taiwan Dive Buddy. McGill has become a good friend and is an excellent dive instuctor and guide.

*Like all the other diving posts, if you see that I’ve named an animal incorrectly please let me know so that I can change it.* Thanks, Steve

Back from Paradise

Surya, the manager of Komaneka Resort at Tanggayuda.

One of the dozens of cafes and restaurants in Ubud.

Laura picking up some new salt and pepper dishes.

Ubud was a worthwhile excursion from Seminyak. It has a lot of the same attraction that Seminyak has except that it is in the mountains instead of on the beach. If you’re into hiking you would probably enjoy Ubud even more since there are numerous trails to follow in the surrounding forest and fields.

All good things must come to an end. Bali was perfect again, with a perfect mix of people, food and style. I think one of the biggest exports Bali has to offer is their sense of style. Every hotel, restaurant and shop has a very appealing ambiance.

Ubud’s a good place to find hand-crafted art and furniture.

There’s just something about the rice paddies that I was drawn to. Laura thinks it’s because it’s in my blood…

We found a few new favorite foods: satay with peanut sauce, nasi goreng and mei goreng. Basically it is fried rice (nasi) or fried noodles (mei) with vegetables and chicken. This particular dish was from Komaneka’s room service menu. We enjoyed this meal a few times during our stay.