So, it's no secret that I am very vegan with my weekly contest and constant feed of delicious delicacies that are void of animal products but recently it gave me a slap in the wallet.

I've made it very far down south! Over 20 hours of travel later, I am no longer in the tropical island oasis that is my loving, affectionate home, Bali and have now arrived to the cool, picturesque wonderland of NZ. I love NZ, I lived here for 3 months before I ever moved to Bali but here's the thing... Bali is a vegan dream with more vegan restaurants than I can keep track of. Vegan culture there is mainstream, where most people I meet, all share my same dietary preference. The vegan movement is so popular there that we even just had the Bali Vegan Festival! (Can you tell why I love it there yet?)

New Zealand on the other hand, didn't appreciate my vegan lifestyle so much. Before I explain how and why I got charged for my dietary infraction, here is my initial story of getting here!

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Wooooooo-eeeee ladies and gents, that was a hellova a long journey to get here! Luckily, I have recently conquered my extreme phobia of flying and now, seem to pass right out whenever the fear starts to shake my bones!
I left the glazing golden sunshine on Monday with threateningly reddened skin which my unpadded straps to my backpack aggravated each step I took. I left my dream oasis to a woman I met only the day before who promised to keep my fishies fed and kitchen clean. I had to surrender Luna, my animal soul mate back to her original 'owners' the local shelter to be permanently homed. I had to drive away, far away from my ripening tomatoes, peppers and pumpkins which I had been waiting patiently for months to see come to fruition and plop myself on a plane which was first flying 3 hours in the opposite direction before turning right around and flying back over where we had just left from.

I had a camera catastrophe before I left, asking you all for your expertise to help me revive accidentally deleted photo files from my recycling bin. The truth is that although you gave me wonderful advice, I ran out of time and needed my computer for my daily life so, I gave up on the retrieval believing it was part of a material cleansing process that I am quite clearly on right now.

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Recap of the last week:

My live-in, camper van got infiltrated with rats and as far as I have been told, given that the NZ's 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation' team needed to clean it, ummm I would say, is not in the same state that I left it. Next, in trying to clear space on my drone, I accidentally deleted my saved photos of my adventures on my computer. To top it off, Luna had grown big and strong enough to go in for adoption, severing our nighttime cuddles. That seemed like a lot of loss happening. But, I'm fortunate to live in a spiritual environment and as such, I practice gratefulness and mindfulness and I was not about to let any of that negativity or perceived loss to get me down!

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When I was in Thailand back in November 2016, by complete chance I met a couple on the streets of Bangkok, the one day I was out gallivanting the busy streets at night. I had just put my puckered lips to a fully blown up red balloon filled with 'laughing gas' (you know the stuff the dentist gives you) and inhaled as the frantic salesman on the corner instructed. I stood up, fearing immediately that it was a bad idea, my body was overwhelmed by this new sensation and wait for it... all of a sudden I was filled like a pinata of giggles!

I whipped around, dazed by the quickness of my movement and knocked myself into this man! He responded with a very sincere sounding "I'm sorry!" I was feeling rather vocal and responded quite obnoxiously "You're sorry? What the hell? Are you Canadian or something?" I was thoroughly confused as to why he was apologizing when clearly I was the one who ran into him. Half an hour later he and his partner had their own balloons and we were making plans for me to visit them. Sure enough, a couple months later, I did!

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That started the whole New Zealand bit. I bought a van, which I ended up leaving here with a business partner while I went off to fall in love with my beautiful island Bali. During that time, it got moved into by rodents while I was away so I needed to come back to check on it, have it repaired and dabble in a bit of business before I could continue lounging around in paradise.

My body is a temple

I only have one body and that body has been through enough crap in the past that I am now impeccable with my care of it since I have learned the error of my past ways, this means I spend hours getting the food situation for travel under control. I made 1 powerbar concoction, 1 superfood chocolate protein dish, I ordered 4 dishes from a local restaurant (I was traveling for over 20 hours and I don't eat anything in airports or on airplanes) and grabbed some dried fruit (all travel friendly) but as the lovely yoga instructing, vegan blogging lady was moving into my home, she asked me about the orange cherry tomatoes in the fridge which I decided to shove into my purse instead of leaving for her to enjoy!

20 hours later, I had gone through most of my food but hadn't touched any of the dried fruits or nuts on the bottom and was sleepily moving my way through the line-up to get into New Zealand. I declared my food and as I was picking through my bag listing off everything inside it to Mrs. Customs, she told me to relax and go ahead through. Well, low and behold, a little puppy came stiffing my bag. Knowing I had nothing illegal, I was calm and collected assuming the doggy was smelling Luna on my clothing.

Come this way

"Do you have anything in your bag that you didn't declare?"
"No, I told the lady everything as I was going through it and she said it was OK."
"Can you pass me your bag?"

Goes through the entire contents
"What are these?"
"&^%$! I completely forgot those were in there..."
"Here's a fine for $400 for lying on your customs card."
Trying to explain but no one is even listening to my story...
Annnnnd there goes more money than my return flight. All because I refuse to eat the chemically laden, over-processed foods that I would have to pay for on the plane and in the terminals.

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Ahead of the curve, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia offers a veg, organic restaurant in the terminal!

I dream of a new day for food

I am not fond of getting such a steep ticket for something that was so negligent and an honest mistake but more than that I hope to see organic, vegan options in the airports in the future. Give me a way to succeed. Help me help you. Don't isolate me and give me no option than penalize me for trying to do right by my body, mind and spirit.

Food Revolution!

I am always revved up to start a food revolution! This is something that needs to happen as more and more people wake up and tune into their body's needs. I don't want to pack my body full of sugars, antibiotics, chemicals, you name it. I was a fresh green smoothie from an organic garden or a chocolate bar made from actual cacao. I don't want to have to pay $400 to have a little lunch on the plane so I don't starve. Let's reinvent this system! Kuala Lumpur is a perfect example to start from!

I have a huge project that I am working on and will be sharing bits and pieces with you over time. I believe in soul food, real food or as I always say food that loves us back!

I'll keep you updated and can't wait to share with you my adventures of New Zealand! I get to take a little gander at my van today so wish me luck! Personally, I am praying for my vegan recipes to be safe and sound in my notebook! But if not, it's a small lesson to me to remember not to be so attached to my things that are all over the world and in the possession and care of many people who have their own lives to live.

I am grateful and I am filled with love to be here! I have missed my Steemit fam while I've been in transit!

Sending you love!

XO,
😘

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