More from Bali

This shirt says it all.

(note..these are all Dawn's pics...this comp
refuses to upload mine right now)

Word to anyone planning to travel here...
DO NOT do the tourist day trips.
They will just cart you around in a tight minibus
and bring you to overexposed places with lots of
people trying to sell you things.

Your best bet BY FAR is to just hire a driver
(about $5 an hour total) and plan your own
itinerary...this is a superior choice for those
traveler's with a difference taste.

We found the best driver ever yesterday too.
Ill give more info about him on the next post when
I upload his picture.

A very common site around Bali...part house, part temple.

Check out the details in EVERYTHING here.
Its really inspired me. I have a flood of ideas
rushing through my head at all times now.

The ideas are everywhere...just have to tap into them.

More inspiration...this is behind Yoga Barn in Ubud.


The Balinese Minivan...you really think
you need an SUV???
100mpg...think of the savings.

The daily Balinese offering...placed in front of every
home and business. The dog and monkey's favorite morning snack.

Here's another pic of the 63 year old
climbing the coconut tree. Upping the ante
of what is possible once we get older.

Happiness can be found HERE.
Just your average road-side stand in Bali.
I had the best durian of my life yesterday.

I saw this rice terrace in the outstanding film "Baraka"
and it was a total joy to see it in person. Really jaw dropping.

More to come once I get my pics uploaded.
We visited Big Tree Farm's vegetable farm
and cacao plantation yesterday and it was great.

Choose.YOUR.Reality.

Anthony

Bali Pictures...

Massive Jackfruit at the Holy Spring Water Temple...YES!

We just met two new friends while eating at Bali Buddha,
Alexandra, from My Goddess Life, (good friend of Angela Stokes)
and Jody, a Naturopathic Physician who has been working
in Thailand lately. This place has so many cool people living here!

Ok...so onto the pictures.

We visited an organic cacao plantation a few days ago,
and I was just totally geeking out about it.

I think the Balinese get it about agro-tourism.
So many people are getting into this...
This is where the LIFE is. Temples and Churches
feel dead to me. Markets and Gardens are teaming
with life. Museums...kind of in the middle.
About one hour into a museum and my back starts
to ache...I don't know if thats some mind body thing or what,
but I could spend HOURS in a garden and not even think about.

So...I ate cacao fresh for the first time.
The verdict??? Drumroll please.........
Um...whats the big fuss? I wasnt blown away.
It was kind of sweet and sour...same texture
as a firm mangosteen maybe...but the fermented
beans are way nicer I think. They told us not to eat
the bean inside because it might be too bitter,
but it was just fine. I loved that it was purple.

I still loved the durians the most. The roadside
stands offered them for about half as much as in town.
Dawn prefers the mangosteens far more,
but Im a creamy durian fan for life.

The ones here right now are similar
to the ones I had in Borneo...smaller and sublime.
No big pillows. Overall though, Cambodia in late December
still has my #1 vote for seed/flesh ratio and taste combined.

They taste better here, but the seeds are big compared to
the pillow...anyways...onto the next pic.

I filmed this guy climb a 30 foot coconut tree
while we did a wild herb walk.
His age?
63 times around the sun.
Look at those arms!
Can you imagine what rich (in money terms) men
would pay for those arms?
Lesson? Use your body or lose your body.
If I can climb a 30 foot coconut tree when Im
30 Ill be ecstatic...not to mention 63.

Massive young coconuts here...Thailand has NOTHING
on these babies...so much water and not sweet...
the way it is supposed to be.
When you have a super sweet "thai" coconut,
think about how much selective breeding it took
to get a coconut that sweet. Better to go for the
wild ones...of course.

Me eating spinach from Sari Organik
and watching the Discovery Channel.
Just give me some greens and Im happy!

Here is the back area of Yoga Barn and the Kafe...
the Kafe is a raw food spot created by Leah Rinaldi.
I am getting SO much inspiration for the permaculture
project in Minnesota. I have a good sized slope
on the front of the property and I would LOVE
to do something similar to this.

Here is a custom beehive we randomly saw on the
wild herb walk. Again...lots of ideas and inspiration.

Here is a tip...if you are getting the mature coconuts
with the hard shell...be careful not to cut
your hand while cracking them into smaller pieces.
Use a towel!! Im glad I had the hydrogen peroxide
and Dawn to fix me up...use a towel!


Our original frugivore buddies at the Monkey Forest.
Not shy at all.


Note: Dont walk around with Cherimoyas
in your hand unless you want to get VERY
close and personal with a monkey.

Ok...gotta get off the computer!
I hope this was enjoyable for everyone reading.
Bali is really great, you would all love it.

Peace,

Anthony

Bali...BALI!

Ok..everything I said about traveling getting old...
Ive got to take it back.
If you are ever headed to SE Asia,
I strongly recommend stopping here.
The wonderful village of Ubud is a raw foodie
paradise...yoga studios, raw friendly restaurants,
and organic farms with LOADS of greens.

We did a wild herb walk yesterday too!
And the day before we visited an organic
cacao plantation! Ive now eaten fresh cacao,
and even NONI! They grow noni here!

I felt like a kid learning about Halloween for the first time.
We went to an organic restaurant called Sari Organik
that is situated in the middle of a rice field.
They grow all their own vegetables and when you order
a salad...THEY PICK THE GREENS RIGHT AWAY.

It is the model of an organic farm-restaurant.
Everyone that grows should look into this...
the returns can be so much greater if you have
a restaurant on site. I was blown away.

Durians and coconuts all the time,
the way they should be in Thailand.
Bali is what Thailand could be.

Our friend Leah from DC came here for two
weeks last year and ended up staying for 7 months.
I now know why. Its really feasible for a conscious eater.

Ive been filming lots for everyone, and we have taken
tons of good pics...its going to be really informative.
If anyone is planning to come here, shoot me
an email and Ill get you started on the right foot.

I really appreciate everyone's comments too.
Its hard to gripe about travel...I mean, its great to be out there,
but its amazing how different the mind feels once
the greens are out of the equation.

I ate 2lbs of greens the other day like popcorn.
BLESSED!!!!

The more I travel...

...The more I realize how amazing the USA is.
Let me be straight here....
I have been pretty harsh on US policies,
mostly reflecting the past 8 years,
and actually the past 60 years of America.
So much wasted potential...so much needless
suffering that just creates more suffering.

BUT...
Ive been traveling around lately, and Im
coming to realize just how great we have it back home.
I speak for Europe too.
Especially as conscious eaters, we are so fortunate
to live in countries where we can actually buy
healthy stuff. If you travel to SE asia,
you pretty much have to throw your organic standards
right out the plane window before you land.

Its just not going to happen. Ive had to really
make adjustments here, and I cannot tell you
how great it will be to drink green smoothies again.

We went to a juice bar today, and their idea of "juice"
was blended carrots with water in a half-assed blender.
We talked them into making an avocado-mango smoothie,
but had to tell them TWICE not to dump sugar in it like
they usually do. Seriously. We had a coconut water
at a restaurant today, and you could totally tell
that they put syrup in it. WHAT THE HELL???

I dont mean to nitpick, but yeesh....we've got it good back home.
The idea of them blending up a coconut with a mango
is totally lost on them. They want to dump some carton
of juice in it, or add water or blend in ice.

In thailand, they werent even using fresh coconuts
in some of the dishes, they were using canned coconut milk.

Am I alone here? Dawn had a pasta yesterday,
and they dumped cheese all over it when she asked them not
to, and when she asked for "tomatoes" instead,
they gave her a dish of ketchup. GOD!!!

It was funny and not funny at the same time.

When you travel out of your element, you
have to expect that things arent going to be perfect.

These places COULD be tropical paradises,
clean of garbage and covered in tropical fruit trees,
but until then...I just dont know when Ill be back.

I think Im going to stay home for quite a while
and just focus on making the garden better,
and visiting California in June for Raw Spirit,
and maybe make a road trip out of it.

Traveling is great and all, but I feel like the money
and sacrifices involved might be too much if you are
trying to stay pesticide and carcinogen free.

What do you think? I know many of you travel on here.
There is a balance that you have to be comfy with
if you do intend to leave your raw organic comfort zone.

I wonder what David Wolfe does... Would he even come here?
Would he eat the mangosteens if he wasnt sure they were organic?
Would he just live on superfoods as he traveled?
He doesnt even drink bottled water anymore as far as I know,
so then this place would be totally out of the question unless
he located a spring somewhere.

Maybe I need to go to Hawaii instead?

I miss the raw high. I miss it so much.
I had moments where I was so blissed out
and clear, I couldnt believe that I wasnt on
some sort of mood-elevating drug.
It was that intense. I havent felt that way
for a while, and I cant even describe how I
yearn to get back there.

So for all of you lucky ones out there
close to your vitamix and your abundant source
of organic greens...BLEND ONE FOR ANTHONY!!!

Pics coming soon...

Oh yeah, I had a durian today, and it blew my mind.

12 months since a fresh one...the creaminess is unmatched...

Now to find some GREENS.

Anthony

Some Thailand Pics...

Ok...so the fruit is alright. Lots of citrus for sure.

Its taking a while to upload, so just a few for now.

Its January 20th...Inauguration Day.

Lots of Hope in the air.

I feel that many of us in the raw communtiy

are a bit ahead of the real issues when it comes

to what is important and what is simply not.

I was really emotional when Barack won in November.

I couldnt believe it was real...I mean,

at least he wasnt an old white man from the

Military Industrial Complex like McCain.

We can ride Obama pretty hard about some things,

but come on...just think of what we would be facing otherwise.

My biggest issues are this...this is what would convince me that

Barack Obama is a force of light.

Legalize and tax Marijuana and Hemp,

and push hemp like never before.

I want to see Iowa covered in hemp

instead of GMO corn and soybeans.

Hemp produces so much oxygen and absorbs so much carbon.

It needs no fertilizers, and can feed us all.

Marijuana can be legalized and taxed.

This way we are not wasting taxpayer money

on persecuting and jailing peaceful individuals who wish to

use this NATURAL plant and the country can

actually make money by taxing it like tobacco

and alcohol. This would be HUGE.

Another big issue for me is a monster push

towards chemical free, GMO free, food production.

If Obama openly supports this and sustainable energy,

Ill be pretty convinced that he is not a corporate tool.

These may seem like trivial issues to some,

but they would actually solve SO many problems.

Both social, ecological, AND financial.

You would think that the greed monsters

would want this. Why do they persist in trashing

our only home? They and their families live here too!

Of course there is Iraq and Afganistan, but

we should look at the numbers.

TENS OF MILLIONS of us are dying from disease.

How many people died in 9-11? 3000.

Not to diminish those lives, but many other people

are suffering in silence, and because it is so ingrained

in our culture to eat dead food filled and covered with toxins,

no one seems to be noticing anything wrong.

Well...almost nobody.

We are awake to this, and because of that,

many of us are living fuller lives than ever imagined.

Free from sickness,pain, mental fog, and sadness.

How little it takes to completely change our life.

Nature set it up so easy for us.

Our bodies do nearly everything on their own.

All we really have to concern ourselves with is

eating clean food and drinking clean water and being around clean air.

And 99.9999% of us can't even get that figured out.

Sometimes I feel like some alien observing human behavior.

It completely amazes me...the trash, the self-destructiveness.

Do we really feel, DEEP DOWN, that we dont deserve better?

Do most people actually hate themselves or their planet?

or are they just brainwashed by the culture that awards greed?

Wow...I really went of on a tangent there.

Anyways, no matter who is in power, we at least

still have the right to choose a healthy life for ourself.

We must choose to re-create paradise.

Its our only option. Heaven can exist here.

Many people have brought hell to this Earth,

but the force of light is so much stronger, and the

truth can simply not be hid for much longer.

Plant trees and wild edibles wherever you can.

Show that living foods will eliminate almost every problem

facing humanity and the planet. This is so true.

Its hard to believe, but raw veganism could fix everything.

We are so fortuate to have what we do.

Lets use our gifts to bring heaven back to earth again.

Gotta run...

Anthony