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Under the Sea

Yes, I did just make a reference to the little mermaid. But how can you not sing along to that soundtrack when you're scuba diving? This post is a little rewind to Bali. Partially because I miss it and partially because it's starting to get cold here. We went to Bali with the intention to scuba dive once or twice. That was before we found out how ridiculously cheap it is! At 30 bucks a pop we were able to go a whole lot more than we anticipated!  

Kind of kept expecting them to form animals or words.

If you open your mouth then these tiny shrimp start to clean your mouth. 

We were able to dive a ship wreck right off the coast. The USS Liberty was an american cargo ship that was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine in WWII. Too expensive to haul back to the states, it was decided to beach the huge ship. Then in 1964, Mt. Agung volcano exploded, over 10,000 ft tall, killing a thousand villagers. the lava made it’s way to the beach and pushed the beached cargo ship into the ocean. It now sits at a 90 degree angle on it’s side and goes from 3 meters deep down to 30 meters deep in the water. We talked to our driver who was born and raised in the town and he said that his grandparents witnessed the volcano exploding. Not having any cars in the town at the time, they had to run to the next town to seek safety.They were also able to do a night dive of the wreck!

While the boys were diving one morning, Alissa and I sat and talked with one of the workers at the hotel. She gave us great insight into the traditional Hindu lifestyle of Bali. It started by her asking about Alissa’s baby and when she was due. We then found out that she had been trying to get pregnant for 10 years now with no luck. She said that it is getting more and more difficult in Bali to get pregnant, and many people have the same difficulty as she. She told us that she was starting to get worried because if a woman does not have a child or does not produce a boy, then the husband sometimes goes and marries another woman. He can continue to marry different woman until he has a boy. She went on to tell us that it is very hard to find work. Sometimes her husband works a few days in a row as a boat driver but then can go weeks without work. Many women carry water pots to earn money but at the end of the day they have to split the money they earned with their “boss”. She said that some bosses were so cruel that if you were cooking and did something wrong they would take the boiling water and pour it on you. My heart went out to this woman and her obvious day to day struggle. It made me so humbly aware of how good we have it. Not having to worry about hubs leaving if I can't have a baby or if I have the wrong gender, having a good job with a great boss. There are so many things that we take for granted in our day to day life. Sometimes it's good to get a little wake up call from others.

Confidence is HAUTE!

I love hanging out in Los Angeles so when I have a chance to head west--I do! I was in LA on a philanthropic mission but I did have time to meet friends for dinner and meetings with my American Express prepaid card in hand. I also met two of my Haute Travels followers while in town.

On this day, I just wrapped a meeting with a swimsuit designer who creates sexy suits for curvy girls. While walking through the lobby of The Beverly Hilton, I noticed the flowers matched my dress so I had to pose for a picture.

Being in Hollywood means that you can’t help but notice that some people are supper skinny. But for girls who rock their curves, we also turn heads because we tend to be more secure in our skin and our confidence shows.

When I walked through the lobby of the hotel… heads turned and people smiled. I think the color of my dress along with my glow brightened their day! And that’s HAUTE!

What do you think about a confident woman?

Haute Travels Beauty Seminar with Celebrity Makeup Artist Sam Fine

Please register at http://hautetravels.eventbrite.com/

Rhone Botanicals and Skincare Scrub is Haute!

After a long day of writing and consulting, there’s nothing like a little me-time in the bath. As you can imagine, I’m a product junky but only if I love it. I was sent a few products by Rhone Botanicals and Skincare to sample. I have to say… I really like the Dead Sea Salt face and body scrub with Eucalyptus. It’s amazing because it can also be used as aroma therapy without applying it to the skin.

Eventually, I tried the scrub on my legs and arms to remove dead skin cells revealing a smooth, soft new layer giving me a special glow. The great thing about the Dead Sea… it’s been a healing source since the beginning of time. These products improve blood circulation and detoxify the skin. The scrub really improves the appearance of dry skin and dark spots.

I’m a fan of products that offer 100% pure ingredients like unrefined Dead Sea salt and Shea butter that nourishes as it cleans and heals the skin. Rhone’s natural skin products offer a lesson in wellness that allows you to relax and release stress or tension before your day comes to an end. When a product makes me feel good… it’s tossed into my haute travels tote!

If you’d like to try Rhone Botanicals and Skincare products visit their site http://rhonebotanicals.com/learn.html and don’t forget to bring your new American Express prepaid card along for purchase!

Are you a fan of natural products?

The New American Express Prepaid Card is HAUTE!

If you’re a girl who indulges in shopping sprees you will love the new American Express prepaid card. It makes life easy because you can set your own budget. I recently decided to test the new reloadable card, while boutique shopping in Atlanta. The card allows you to keep your spending in check. It’s easy to go over the limit that you place in your mind but never actually stays there… however; with the new card by American Express sticking to your budget is easy. You can even go online and track your spending, while reloading for free.
The best thing about the new prepaid card… it’s safer than using cash and credit cards. You’ll never have to worry about identity theft because the card isn’t linked to your credit or bank accounts. Plus, it offers fraud protection and your funds will be replaced if your card is ever lost or stolen.

As you can imagine, I found a number of items to take home along with the security of knowing that I stayed within my budget. If you’re looking for a great way to shop without worrying about fees or overspending… the new American Express prepaid card just may be for you! Order your card today by visiting www.americanexpress.com/Prepaid

What do you think?

Disclaimer: As compensation, funds were provided to use for loading the card in exchange for a review of my experience with the new prepaid card.

Chuseok Holiday

This past weekend was Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving. Koreans travel from all over the country to meet with family, usually at the grandparents home. For us, it means we get a long four day weekend. We heard that most people in Seoul leave the city to go to family's homes so the city is far less crowded than usual. Also, there there are big names such as Van Gogh and Monet on exhibit at the Seoul Art Center this month. We decided to head out early (and by early I mean 5:40 am) Saturday morning to beat any holiday traffic there might be. Thank goodness i have the gift of being able to sleep anywhere and got a nice long nap in on the bus.

Our first stop was the art museum. It was so amazing to see paintings that I have admired for so long in person. Pictures truly do no justice to these pieces of artwork. 

 They have really tall ice cream cones in seoul (and hubs took the time to show me the "correct" way to point)

A short side note. Starting the Wednesday before we left I started not feeling well. This was the first time that I have been sick since we have arrived in Korea (pretty impressive I think). I took some aspirin before I went to sleep one night but I made one mistake. I took it on an empty stomach. If you've never done this before, I highly suggest against it. It feels like a mix between someone punching you in the stomach and feeling like you're going to vomit. Not the best scenario when you have to be upbeat and energetic teaching kids all day. Thankfully I only had to go one day of teaching before the weekend. I felt a little better before we headed out on Saturday so we decided to still go. As the day wore on, I felt worse. After talking with my mom and finding out that something as simple as an antacid would help me feel better we headed to the pharmacy. No medicine is sold in convenient stores or grocery stores here. You have to go to the pharmacy. We got a very small amount to last us on Saturday and didn't think anything else about it. The next day, Sunday, we went to the pharmacy to get some more medicine. Little did we know that all pharmacies in Seoul are closed on Sundays. Apparently Koreans have some secret to not getting sick on Sundays. Wish I knew it. All turned out well though. After a few hours we came across a popular indoor mall with an open pharmacy. The pharmacist inside probably wondered why we were so excited about getting an antacid.

We traveled south of the Han River which divides to city to the Bongeunsa Temple. It is over 1200 years old and the country's leading training centre for Buddhist monks specializing in zen meditation.

Twice a day monks perform a percussion ceremony on four instruments, each designed to awaken and save beings on the ground(drum), underwater(wooden fish), in the sky(cloud drum) and under the ground(gong). We were fortunate enough to arrive at the temple just in time to see the night ceremony. Once entering the temple, you could feel the silence begin to surround you. You didn't dare make a sound for fear of breaking the humbling silence. Even though we were alone walking the grounds, we still talked in hushed whispers.

This was in the pavilion of the dharma king. it houses 3,300 miniature statues of gwanseum bosal which glorify the essence of the buddhist spirit. 

We were also able to witness a buddhist ceremony for the chuseok holiday. it was held in the heart of the temple. sakyamuni buddha is in the center with amitabha buddha and the medicine buddha on either side. 

There are two main theme parks in Korea, one, Everland, being significantly larger than the other, Lotteworld. We figured that if there is only one substantial park in the country you're in, you have to check it out at least once. During the Chuseok holiday there is a big discount for foreigners since all Koreans are typically with their families that morning. Another plus about going during Chuseok...no lines. we were told the average wait for T-Express is a few hours long, we waiting 30 minutes.

The main square and view of t-express roller coaster, the steepest wooden roller coaster in the world at 77 degrees.

Posing with the theme parks featured characters all dressed up in hanboks (Korea's traditional wear).

After leaving Everland we caught the first bus back to Geoje. As nice as it is to explore the island that we live on, sometimes it's nice to be able to have a little city getaway.