It is 4.30am on Monday morning here in Jakarta, and the combination of the sound of the mosque across the road and it’s blaring loudspeakers, coupled with our Buddhist neighbours loud chanting and clashing of bells on the other side of our bedroom wall, has driven me from my bed and forced me to start my day somewhat earlier than I should have liked. As I put the kettle on, I did a bit of chanting myself but it was rather unchristian so I decided to shut up and embrace the wonderful diversity of the place that I am living in and to try to love my neighbours as myself.
On reflection now that I’ve calmed down, it’s probably not such a bad thing that I’ve had to get up so early as I have loads to do today. This evening Irishman and I leave Jakarta for Hawaii where we will be staying for 6 days. My clever and talented Irishman has co- written a paper that is going to be presented at The AIGA, (Professional Association for Design, Design Educators Conference) in Honolulu and shall be presenting the paper titled ‘Transformational Design, Art and Media Education in the Asian Century’ as one of the first speakers.
After our little adventure in a police cell in Dubai airport 6 weeks ago, I’m slightly nervous about our 8 hour transit in Manilla Airport beforehand so I’m hoping that we can go and explore Clark for a few hours and try not get into any sort of trouble before we arrive in Hawaii.
When the conference in Hawaii has ended, we fly off eastwards to LA where we will pick up our rental car and drive the 3hours to Joshua Tree for 3 nights. It is here that the wonders of the world of blogging and the ‘intraweb’ really will come to life as I shall be meeting up for the first time with a lady whom I’ve met through Triberr, an American blogging community that we both belong to. I’ve already put a link to Intricate Knot’s site on my ‘Happy Birthday Blog’ post, but here it is again if you haven’t already seen it – her stories and her imagination are wonderful and she does great drawings. To say that I am excited to meet her is an understatement.
| Intricate Knot http://intricateknot.wordpress.com |
Finally on the 20th December we fly to London for Christmas! 10 glorious days to be spent with our children, family and friends before the long trek back to Jakarta on January 1st 2013.
It’s probably a very good thing that cartography is not my trade because this map that I’ve drawn, is very out of perspective but, if I’ve done my maths well and added up all the miles and distances correctly, by my reckoning this means that in the next 3 weeks, Irishman and I will have travelled right around the world. That’s quite a long way and quite a few adventures to be had. I’ll keep you posted!
Lottie Nevin - The Red House Diaries 
But not to Australia! Great pictures as always Lottie. Have fun on your travels and how nice to be meeting Intricate Knot.
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Hello Trish – sadly not to Australia, but hope to soon. We have to find a way to get there before we leave Indonesia since it’s practically on our doorstep! As you can imagine, I am pretty excited about meeting IK. The next 3 weeks are going to be an adventure and I still have to get Christmas all wrapped up before I get back to London…it’s going to be fun!
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Wow! Lots of traveling, my friend. Safety and peace throughout your journeys. Looking forward to more tales. xxxx
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Thank you for your kind wishes Martha 🙂 It’s going to be quite a ride, but what an experience. I can’t wait to see the children and spend Christmas with them – just the small matter of finding suitable presents along the way…! I’m sure that there will be some tales! xoxo
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You have one monumental jet-lag coming! But you’ll be moving so fast it may not catch up with you until you’re back in Jakarta! Have a wonderful holiday!
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I’m hoping to have a wonderful holiday! If I think to much about the jetlag it makes me want to crawl into bed – but there’s too much to do! It’s bonkers but it will be great. You have a wonderful holiday too 🙂
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Lord have mercy on you and The Irishman. That is one h— of a trip and I am so glad it is you and not I. But let me not put a damper on your travels. The best part Lottie is being back home in England where the two of you can see kiddos and all the kin. Dont’ forget to being back as many of the good eats that you like so much. I think you should have 1-2 extra pieces of luggage just for food items- that is if the airlines don’t charge and arm and a leg. Merry Christmas, Lottie
PS- It is really nice that you will be meeting your blogging friend. Hope that we can read all about it in the future.
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You’ve got me sussed Yvonne! Thanks for your nice comment and I will write as much as I can whilst I’m away. There’s still the Merry Christmas post to do and I have a few others up my sleeve! I’m looking forward to meeting my blogging sister, we share the same birthday too! It’s quite something to have the chance to meet someone who you’ve met through blogging on the other side of the world – it’s fantastic!
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I think it is fantastic too that you have made a blogging friend with the same birthday. If she writes as well as you, then I will have a double treat of reading each time one of you publishes a story or photos or what ever. I look forward to reading about your trials, travels, and travails. I know the postings will be so interesting with some funnies for good measure. Thanks for the reply. Now carry on and you need not asnwer this since I think that you have your hands full both- speech wise and for real.
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Bon voyage!
Don’t forget your camera, waiting to see all your photos and hear about your travels
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Thanks B 🙂 I’ve heard it’s freezing in the UK so I’m going through the cupboards looking for jumpers and tights and things that I can layer. I think Hawaii is hot and Joshua Tree less so…well at least with an extra layer of Lottieness around me that will keep the chill out! I’ll be taking plenty of photos!
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Love the photos, Lottie. Especially the ones that show the results of your painted walls. I haven’t seen them before. I’ve told Malcolm the dates of your stay here and, hopefully, you’ll be able to meet up again. He’s off travelling himself on 7th January. He’s off to see his brother-in-law in Thailand. Definitely wrap up well when you come home. It is chilly and we had snow last Wednesday. A clear blue sky here at the moment though. I hope your meeting with Intricate Knot is everything that you expect. Very exciting for you. Enjoy Hawaii too. Love to you both. x
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Thank you Pam! I’ve only just seen your message – my laptop packed up when we got to Hawaii but it’s now fixed and I’m raring to go!
Looking forward to seeing Malcolm when we are back X
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Dear Sister, how do I love this post? Let me count the ways…
“un-Christian chanting” this now tops my list of best lines EVER. Seriously. I could actually see (and hear! haha!) you chanting away!!
Love, love, LOVE your photos. I am most especially fond of your “Working at the kitchen table in Bali”: the warm, vibrant colors of the garden walls and the peaceful intimacy of your kitchen table.
The batiks are A. MAZE. ZING.
Your globe painting. It just makes me smile.
And thank you so much for including me in this post. I am soooooooooooo excited about meeting you in “real” life I’ve been beside myself!! We are going to have a blast for certain. AND I cannot wait to hear about all you and your Irishman’s world-travelling-adventures. xoxo
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Lucky you! Beautiful photos – I love batik! And what a place to work. 🙂
Safe travels! You should be able to pick up some great gifts in the US.
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Lovely art work Lottie. Best wishes for you and Irishman
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