Bali Bifurcation

As some of you know, Louisa and I decided to pass on going to New Zealand mostly due to finances.  Even though I have been to New Zealand before, I found myself feeling somewhat guilty for skipping out on such a beautiful country.  However, I truly believe things happen for a reason … New Zealand just wasn’t meant to be (this time around). 

Bali originally didn’t make the cut for the Ferrungu World Tour “travel team”, but left with lots of extra time to allocate, we decided to put Bali back on the starting lineup.  At the time, the only thing we knew about Bali was that Bogan Australians overpopulate the main city of Kuta in search of booze, club sandwiches, McDonalds drive-thrus and surfing.  It didn’t sound like a first round draft pick, but we took the gamble anyway.

Once we booked our flights to Bali and officially abandoned New Zealand, it seemed as if the Universe wanted to show us why Bali should have always been in the starting line-up:

First, the lovely and soulful Chelsea Paget introduced us to Dewa - a local Balinese family man that has turned his passion for foreigners (especially Canadians) into a great tourism business.  Dewa found us accommodation, booked ferry transfers, fattened us up with his mom’s delicious cakes, provided us with a local cell phone and truly showed us the real Bali – all done with a huge smile on his face and many funny stories to tell.  Words don’t express our gratitude for meeting Dewa – if you are ever in Bali please let us know and we will put you in contact with the legend known as DEWA – so good buddy!

Second, we joined fellow corporate-hippie, Greg Clayton, and his 8/10 hippie lady friend, Gen, on an island near Bali called Gili Trawangan, where they were vacationing.  Hanging out with Greg and Gen allowed for many interesting and hilarious conversations – everything from splitting a Kambucha baby to how the moon effects your menstrual cycle.  I guess that is what happens when four new-age hippies hang out for a week.

One thing that did stick out in these hippie conversations was the discussion about a Shivananda Ashram that Gen attended in the Bahamas a few years ago.  Coincidently, we found that a Shivananda Ashram was hosting Yoga Teacher Training in Vietnam at just the time we are going to be there.  We were inspired, and since this is something that Louisa and I have always wanted to do, we booked our spots and are now attending four week Yoga Teacher Training starting at the end of January!

 “There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be...” ― John Lennon

Bali was absolutely amazing – such a beautiful place full of really friendly locals and lots of Zen.  Before going, Louisa and I often thought that everything happens for a reason.  We were meant to go to Bali – not just to have it as a notch on our travel post, but to allow Bali to pave our destined path of the Ferrungu World Tour. 

Forgoing New Zealand, going to Bali, meeting Dewa, vacationing with Greg and Gen and signing up for Yoga Teacher Training in Vietnam were all the best decisions we could have made, but they do beg the question– did we make these decisions ourselves, or has the Universe always had this in mind for us?

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The Ferrungu's Occupy Australia

Before the Ferrungu World Tour, Louisa and I took several vacations a year, usually extended, and like most people(*) we dreaded coming back from them.  We are now on a one year trip, but we decided to treat each country as an individual vacation. 

The Oxford Dictionary defines a vacation as an extended period of recreation or the action of leaving something once previously occupied.  So does that mean that the protestors of Occupy Wall Street were on a vacation? Or was their vacation actually the act of going back to work?  Relevant question but I digress. ..

Our time in Australia has come to an end and it is time for us to take down the tent, walk away from the drumming circle, put away the picket signs and occupy another country – Indonesia.  When the Americans dropped the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima {funny link}, books, movies and even statues were created to remember the events – here is our memory of Ferrungu’s Occupy Australia for the record books:

Our base – our 1.5 person tent and 1.5 cylinder car were where we held our daily contingency meetings, mapping out the day’s actions.  We spent 25 fabulous days in this tent meeting fellow occupiers that shared similar passions – a dislike for showering and a dislike for work.

Our locations – Australia is a massive land with little forgiveness. Even the Koalas would try to kill you if they weren’t always sleeping.   Louisa and I travelled from town to town down the east coast avoiding the outback and finding new places to conquer.  Short list:  Cairns, Mission Beach, Airlie Beach, Hervey Bay, Brisbane, Byron Bay, Sydney and Melbourne.  With a total of 3,500+ KM travelled by car, we are happy to say we didn’t get tear gassed by a Koala.

Our support – like most great conquests, there is always support. The British had the Americans, Michael Jackson had Neverland and the Ferrungu’s had Greek friends and The KPMGers. Our Greek friends gave us endless amounts of food and hospitality to gain strength for our occupation, while Shiermo, Craigo and DarC provided the support and warm showers we desperately needed.  We are forever debit`d (bad accounting joke) – thanks again!

Our fan club – it is always great to have people who respect you and approve of your causes.  Louisa and I are fortunate to have both – the Ottawa Boys and the City of Sydney.  The Ottawa boys traveled all across the world to watch the City of Sydney show their support for Ferrungu’s Occupy Australia – the Sydney Harbour fireworks.  This is unprecedented fanatical act that was reciprocated with ice, vodka and limes (sans knife).

We wanted to thank Australia, especially the City of Sydney for allowing us to Occupy and Conquer.  Our time is done here and we hope two “Dodgy Backpackers” we able to pump enough money into Australia’s economy to ensure house prices continue to rise and a cup of coffee exceeds the $8 benchmark.  You will be missed and forever remembered!

(*)Trevor, this does not include you – I apologize for including you in the category of “People”

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