Cambodia Wat?

The Scenery while driving through Cambodia was everything I was hoping Asia would be, sprawling fields of green, scattered lakes and river and very little human habitation. On the bus from Vietnam into Cambodia, some guy next to me said “Geez look out there, there's nothing” with a tone of voice that sounded disappointed, I didn't pick up on the tone and my reaction was “Yea! Isn't it great.” Cambodia is a country with a deep ancient history, and a sad and torturous recent past marred by internal genocide carried out by Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge regime. Phenm Phen Cambodia's capitol is known for being some what of a depressing city to be in; lots of poverty, people living in the streets which are the definition of disgusting. Outside the city there is a place called “The Killing Fields”, where they killed and buried people suspected of being against the regime. After they killed them, they buried them in mass graves, at the Killing Fields they unearthed many many mass graves containing 10'000's of bodies, some headless. Walking around the grounds you see all the holes and you can see cloth eroding up out of the ground, you don't make the connection at first that those are the clothes of the victims buried there. On the grounds of the Field they have erected a memorial to honor those who died and to remind the people who visit of what happened. The monument is about 80 feet high and inside contains large shelves all the way to the ceiling, on these shelves are the skulls of all the people they unearthed in the graves at the Killing Fields. Walking around there is a heavy experience, not much talking or joking around goes on.

Deciding to get all the truly depressing things out of the way in one day, Myself and Silvia and Eva (two German sisters) went to the S-21 museum which was a school converted by the Khmer Rouge into a prison for torture, interrogation, and death. The school complex is huge and every room was used for horrible, unspeakable acts. They also had pictures of people who had died died there. One could be killed for any thing from: speaking ill of Pol Pot to eating an extra portion of rice. Pol Pot had spies in every small village through out the country, it truly was a cruel reign and it happened only 30 years ago, so walking around Cambodia you see people missing limbs or disfigured in some way or another.

Phenm Phen done it was time to turn our sights to the ancient side of Cambodia, Siem Reap is the gateway city to explore Angkor, a series of temples (Wats). Angkor houses more temples than you can see in a week of running around. Seriously if you spent about 30 minutes at every temple large or small it would take you more than one week to get through all of them. Some temples are as small as my apartment was in Miami and others, the biggest ones, the really impressive complexes that house a huge temple and several smaller ones, the biggest is Angkor Wat and it is large than the neighbor hood I live in, in Virginia Beach. We went for sunrise at Angkor Wat and that was just sheer beauty, walking around with the early morning mist made for great photographs.

Unfortunately at our fourth temple of the morning I was climbing some steep steps, slipped down about 7 feet and upon landing twisted my ankle so badly I at first though it was broken. Luckily Silvia and Eva my two lovely German Nurses as I dubbed them got our guide who got his tuk tuk (motorbike carriage thing) and took me to a clinic. By this time I realized it was not broken since I could in fact wiggle my toes and roll my ankle around a bit, either way I asked the Dr. to take an X-RAY. Dr. No Broken came back and told me in fact it was “No Broken” that was the extent of his command of the English language but he was a first rate Cambodian Dr. and quickly made up a concoction I call medical mud (because it looked like mud and smelled medicinal) applied it to my swollen ankle and wrapped it up for me. Another clinic wanted to sell me crutches for something like 125 bucks, so I declined and used my tripod to hobble around on. I took it easy for the rest of that day (although we did go back to the temples, I just viewed them from the Tul Tuk) and the next afternoon I was back at the temples for sunset and out for dinner and some drinks at the bar tripod in tow. The day after we did a full day of templing as I call it (it's not a word, I know because spell check is protesting it but seriously if you went to Angkor you would use templing too, to describe the activity), still hobbling along with the aid of my trusty tripod. It was the night of our third day that the rest of the Viet Nam crew came into town and we had a nice big reunion session at the bar that evening and I was finally off the tripod. The following morning I went out for a half day of templing and was limping along fine. Right now it has been a week since I busted my ankle and it is almost perfect I even am planning on going for a 2 day hike tomorrow (Wednesday) being that I am now in the north of Thailand. So I have the distinct honor of being injured and not by motobike like everyone else who comes to this part of the world no I fell off a temple. (Note to Family: I don't report injuries until I have fully recovered from them, that way you don't spend any unnecessary time worrying about me, however had it been broken I would be telling you this story from the couch as I would have flown home already.)


Back to the temples, all the adjectives I have ever heard in the English language can not fully describe the temples these people built some 800-1100 years ago. Some of the carvings into the stone are so impressively detailed it's hard to wrap your mind around it. My favorite was a temple called Ta Prom and they actually filmed a part of Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom at it. This complex was huge, 500 year old “Strangler Figs” grow inside, out, on top of and through it everywhere you look. I wen there at sunrise to photograph it with the early morning misty light that works so well for that place. I practically had the place to my self for an hour , it was so peaceful and serene you almost forget the world can be that silent.


My German Nurses and I spent almost a week in Siem Reap and I almost wanted to stay another. If I ever come back it will be for a month and I will go the temples everyday and go to everyone with all the camera gear I can find and just shoot until I pass out. Cambodia is both beautiful and tragic, but I think you need to experience the ugly, dark and events of the World to fully appreciate the beauty that can be found laying under the weeds. I enjoyed Cambodia even though I only spent about a week there, it's place that will force you to reflect on yourself, and on the many levels of life.


Now I am in Chang Mai in the north of Thailand, having spent a day in Bangkok and a day here in the mountains enjoying its nature beauty. I fly home in 20 days and will try to get a post up for both North Thailand and South, Thanks - Bryan

VIVA VIETNAM SOUTH PICTURES UP

Viva Viet Nam (South)

I spent almost twice the amount of time in Vietnam than I originally thought I would and it is all because it is such an amazing country. From Hanoi I went south to Hue with 3 Canadian friends (Jamie, Paul and Adam) the first day we hopped in a car with a guide who took us to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone), where during the war the majority of fighting took place. We saw a church and school just completely riddled with bullets and holes blown through roofs and walls, these 2 buildings were involved in 81 days/nights of fierce fighting. After that we went up into the mountains near the Laos border and visited Ke Sahn a mountain top base held by American forces till the last possible moment, but lost. It was there that I encountered a local man selling medals and dog tags of both American and V.C soldiers. It really made me sick to see someone trying to profit from the belongings of dead men. Later in the ay we went to the coast (this part of Nam is very narrow) there we stood in craters left by bombs dropped by B-52 bombers and got to crawl through the V.C tunnel system and see what life was like underground. Our guide was a South Vietnamese whose father was of high rank during the fight against the north and he was captured and killed by the V.C. He told us that the communist government hates his family and never asked him to join the army post war; because he said if they ever gave him a weapon he would start killing them.

I now realize why there wasn’t so much emphasis on the war and even on communism in the north; they had been the victors and were communists before the war. In the south they are still trying to convince the people to fall in line, still have communist propaganda poster all over on how work together for the country and other imposed ideals. Also the majority of the fighting in the south so it is here you still see bunkers, tanks and lookout towers rusty through the country side.

After Hue we went to a town on the coast called Hoi An which is famous for relaxing beaches and tailor shops and we took full advantage of both. It was in Hoi An that we amassed the largest part of our group of friends by the end of Hoi An there were about 15 of us all, a tight knit family of world travelers. We would all hit the beach and laze around all day in the sun. Jamie and I decided to have suits made, he needed them for work and I well I just thought the tailor experience would be fun. So after beach sessions we would go off for fittings an goof around with the local girls who were in charge of us, they loved us by the end. All we really did in Hoi An was have a blast, we celebrated my 25^th birthday there by going to the beach, dinner, and a night out at the “Club Salsa”. Hoi An was great in total we stayed 5 days and I would gladly have spent many more there.

Our next stop down the coast was a city called Nha Trang, which after Hoi An just didn’t compare but we did have fun. One day we went to the local water park on VinPearl Island and just had a great day of splashing around and acting like kids (never mind we’re all in our 20’s, you’re as old as you feel). The next day we went to the local hot springs and mud bath and sat around in mud and hot tubs or the better part of the day and had a blast there too. I only spent 2 full days there and took a morning bus on the third day to a another town called Mui Ne, which has some amazingly beautiful sand dunes, both reddish orange and white. I only spent a night there and basically spent the time watching TV and recovering from too many fun nights out with the gang. From Hoi An to Mui Ne I did not take a single photograph, it was sort of a nice break just having fun and enjoying the places I was in and the people I was with, but after Mui Ne I was ready to take the camera and get busy shooting.

Saigon or Ho Chi Menh city as it is mainly referred to came last and it too was simply an amazing city, never in my life had I ever seen more people and more traffic. Crossing the street in Saigon takes courage and an almost suicidal approach, you just cross in a straight line at a steady pace and let all the traffic and motos go around you, it is truly an art form. Mike one of my British friends and I toured most of the sights of Saigon together, as the rest of the big crew wasn’t showing up for a few days.

The War Remnants Museum is a place every visitor to Saigon should go, it’s almost like the Holocaust Museum in D.C, it shows the true horrors of war and it is slanted against the U.S side. The photographs and displays at times will bring tears to your eyes when you realize that due to chemical war fare (agent orange) used by the U.S forces, there are still to this day children being born horribly disfigured, the Vietnamese government is not shy about putting two deformed still born babies on display in tanks. In the end you realize its war and nothing good ever comes from it. They also have a room that’s partially deals with journalist and photographers killed in the war with pictures displayed of those who died. It was there I met a French photographer who was picking out and remembering friends and guys he knew who died, he spent 2 years photographing the war and we had a good conversation in regards to photography and war. That’s about the most depressing day you can have in Saigon but everyone should experience it.

We also visited the Cu Chi tunnels where you watch a film on the history of the tunnels made back in the 60’s (the film) which contains a hilarious amount of American bashing and about 2 minutes of history: among my favorite lines were “Like a bunch of crazy devils” and “Hero American killer”, but what are you going to do, it’s their country I’m just passing through. These tunnels were cool; unlike the ones outside of Hue they had not been enlarged and were tiny. I had to crawl on my hands and knees through the majority of them. It’s there you learn and gain respect for how crafty and intelligent they were about their tunnel system. It stretches some 200 Kilometers, they built ventilation opening in the shape of termite nests so as not to be detected and had complex “fake tunnels” dug solely for carrying water so the real tunnels wouldn’t flood. They also devised some seriously sinister booby traps for what they called “Hunting Americans” It was incredibly interesting seeing the war from the other point of view, but you have to realize that this is put on by a communist government and not all of the people as I discovered think the way the government would like them to.

One of the best things about Vietnam I forgot to mention was how delicious all of their food is. For the first tie in Asia I fell in love with every local dish I tried, I can’t complain about one single thing I ate. They use all fresh ingredients and every meal is tasty and good for you, I hope I can find a Vietnamese place when I get home.

From Saigon I tool a bus across the border to the capitol of Cambodia Phnom Penh and stayed a day there and am now in a city called Siem Reap which contains what I believe is the largest and most complex amount of temples anywhere, they stretch randomly across Cambodia and into Thailand, but I will write about Cambodia at the end of the week when I am in Thailand. I hope you enjoyed reading about Vietnam as much as I did experiencing Vietnam. Pictures won’t be up for a while as the Cambodian computers leave much to be desired. Thanks.

Viva Viet Nam!

Viet Nam happened on a whim with my visa up in Indonesia and more than 2 months left in Asia I started to wonder where i should go next (my itinerary only half intact from the days of original planning) I decided to go to Viet Nam. I flew back to K.L to await a visa and in less than a week I was landing Hanoi. As it turns out the only conceptions I had of Nam were misconceptions. Everything I was expecting never came; I thought I might find a country still harboring bad feelings over the “American War” as it is called over here, I thought it might be a bit off the “Travelers Path” , for some dumb reason I thought I would encounter seedy cities, dirty and poor towns. I also figured getting around with English would be a bit of a problem. Boy was I way off.

After days here you learn real quick why no on has any problems with Americans, The Vietnamese have been fighting wars with outsiders since time began. The Chinese, Japanese, Russian, French, Americans all tried to come in for one reason or another. You find that the war museums around Hanoi focus the majority of their attention on obtaining freedom from the French and only a few walls or rooms out of a museum are reserved for the American conflict. No one at all cares when you say your from America, as one friend put it “Why should they care who visits, they won the war, remember.” How true, I mean they endured attacks from land, sea and sky and came out on top, why would they care that after almost 40 years those who attacked wanted to come back and see the culture during peace and prosperity.

As it turns out Hanoi is an amazing city, it’s cleanliness is very un-Asian, the old city area is beautifully dotted with lakes and riversides, trees line the streets they have streets lined in French style architecture, cafes and a beautiful Catholic church set in a square that still holds Sunday Mass. The history is also awe inspiring they have the “Temple of Literature” a “university” founded in 1076 to teach the works of Confucius. also as it would turn out Hanoi has a large Backpacker scene and I finally found where the Americans in Asia go, Vietnam, I have met in one week more Americans than I did in my first 2 months of travel.

There are of course some downsides to Viet Nam, after all you are in a communist country, and they seem to embrace it. There are yellow hammer and sickle emblems on red flags hanging next to the Vietnamese single Yellow Star on a red flag everywhere. I learned after speaking with some university students that the education is very censored, one of them asked me who the president of the USA was, but in all fairness I have no clue who the president of Viet Nam is either. But in Hanoi you do see Fords, Mercedz, BMWs, Porches and Lexus roaming between the motorbikes and bicycles so obviously someone is embracing capitalism.

I fell in love with Hanoi, the secon day I was here, it’s just mind opening. We went to see Ho Chi Menh’s mausoleum where you can view his body preserved under glass, what a trip that is. You have to walk 2 by 2 through the room with his body under glass your elevated above the body by about 6 feet you have to keep you hands at your sides at all times and there is no talking. Lord help you if you smuggle a camera in and get a picture off, you will be taken into a room detained and you must write your name in a log book of international offenders by nationality. The oddest thing about Ho Chi Menhs body laying there,is that he wished to be cremated.

One day we went to the war history museum where like I said the American stuff is no so heavily displayed inside, but outside behind the building they have 2 captures Navy planes (Prop planes) and intact helicopter, tank, missile launcher, jeeps and various pieces and parts of planes they shot out of the sky. Museums are another place you witness communist propaganda being thrown around, exaggerations on numbers and events preformed by “proud Vietnamese” soldiers. We also went to the Hanoi Hilton where John Mcain and other P.O.Ws were held, but mainly again the prison focuses on the prisoners thrown into jail and executed by the French {They built it ), you see many stories of Vietnamese rebels escaping through a sewer, but they do have an American area. In the American rooms are propaganda photos of soldiers at pay in the yard or celebrating Christmas dinners and such which I’m sure lasted just long enough to snap a photo. They do have Mcains Flighsuit hanging up.

I made friends with a Venezuelan named Miguel the first day and then the next we made friends with a Columbian named Jose and we all went about Hanoi seeing things. One evening we sat by the lake with a bunch of college students who wished to talk to us to practice their English skills (you find that all over Asia) one conversation involved them trying to convince to eat dog, it’s apparently a delicacy and not all can afford it. No one in our group wanted any part of it.

Three hours from Hanoi is Halong Bay in which sits about 3000 craggy Islands only a few large enough to be inhabited, the largest Cat Ba is large enough to have cities and a national park. We however had a package where the first night you spend partying it up on a large wooden ship and sleeping aboard as well, that was a blast we jumped off the boat (25 feet) did a bit of kayaking and had a great wild night on the boat with about 25 people on board. The following day half the group goes home after kayaking and the rest of us go on to a full day of sleeping off the night before, more kayaking or as Miguel and I did you can go rock climbing all day. Climbing was cool they have 2 guides and established “courses” of ropes kind of like a rock gym just outdoors. That day absolutely wrecked me and after dinner on Cat Ba I crashed out around 11pm.The next day we went back to Hanoi.

That same day we got back we caught a night train to a mountain town called Sapa about 30 miles from the China boarder. What breath taking scenery, perched in the rice terraced valleys between 9,000 foot mountain peaks Sapa is at bout 4,000 feet and offers a cool climate to tour local villages, swim in cold mountain pools and just all around relax, but you could climb mountains or go on long treks. We however (now Miguel, Nate from Seattle and Matt from England) decided to do a self guided trek through a village and to a waterfall, after which we hiked over a large hill down it’s opposite side and found a large pool f water to swim in, with a large boulder to leap from and other rocks to lounge in the sun and take a nap (night trains are not the best) The rest of that day was spent soaking up the local Sapa town and it’s food. We ate (and yes I tried a bite of it all) wild deer, rabbit, wild pig and chicken (guess who ordered the chicken) The following day we booked motorbikes (scooters) and a guide to show us some villages and waterfalls outside of walking distance. We had a great time with those bikes, they handle any terrain known to man it would seem (except water and mud slicked pavement, mine went down once, not injuring me in the least, as I have a dad who rides motorcycles and was always to wear long pants when riding. Thanks dad!. I did however have to pay a whopping 4 bucks to replace the foot peg that got sheered off.) Once again the highlight of that day was swimming in a huge pool of water with a waterfall and 35 foot cliffs to jump from into pristine and cold clear mountain water. The rest of the day was spent motoring about to villages and a high mountain pass with the most rewarding view of the entire area. At 6pm it was time to get the bus to the train and head back to Hanoi.

All that was about a week ago and now I am in the middle of Viet Nam, I have been traveling with a large pack of people (Miguel, Nate and Matt all flew to Saigon) now I am with 3 Canadians, 4 Brits, 1 Australian (Emily the lone girl puts up with all us boys oh so well), and an Irishmen. I have been neglecting my photographs for fun times around Hoian, beach and bars, had a great birthday party last night, but I will write in depth about the Middle of Nam later. Thanks every one, Hanoi pictures are up.

Bali Hai

I arrived in Kuta beach, Bali on Friday at 10pm via taxi , post ferry and 8 hour bus ride, I had been up since 3am that morning, safe to say I was a half awake Zombie. I had the address of a place to stay but no reservations Kuta beach on a Friday night is slammed packed "Full" was the response everywhere I went. After walking around with no luck, I started to wonder where it was that my buddy Miko worked in Kuta (I had no idea, just a name of the shop) as I wandered down the street I thought I heard my name being called, I thought I must have been delirious from lack of sleep. I turned around to see Miko standing in front of his shop (I hadn't been looking at names, just my feet and the inside of my eyelids as I walked). He said he thought he saw me walking down the street and knew right away it had to be me. So for the second time in a month, Miko saved me from Indonesian Unknowns. He recommended a cheap place to stay, which luckily had a vacancy and I promptly crashed out until 10 the next morning.

My first few days in Bali were rather boring, as I did not have much cash, and had to wait until Monday to get money. Fortunately breakfast is free with the room, and food in general at the right places is cheap. I spent many hours roaming the beach, just sitting and people watching. There was a ton of people to watch. Kuta on a weekend is swarming with vacationing Indonesians and all the other travelers and Aussies, Kuta is teeming with Aussies, so many so that I started calling it an Australian territory. On Sunday I sat in my room and read all day since I was out of money.

Bali is a very interesting place, think of the crowds of Waikiki and the shops and crowds of Miami then throw in the crowds, cleanliness and sales tactics of Tijuana. Every little shop along every little or big street has someone standing out front and they call everyone "Mate" ( Aussie influence) or Boss (no clue who's influence, I never knew I had so many employees) typical sales approaches go something like; " Hey Mate! yes? shopping?", "Yes, Boss you like, 10,000" they never state what is 10,000 it all must be, by the way that is normally to much and 10,000 is only about $1.10. Also it seems that every women on the island is a masseuse because that is offered to you 20 times a day. The beach scene is also incredibly different than anything anyone back in the States would tolerate. The stuff sold on the beach boggles the mind; Sarongs, jewelry, watches, clothes, hats, food, drinks, massage, pineapples skinned on the spot and of course ice cream, a classic.

Kuta was fantastic for getting a brake from the food fare of day to day Indo life, you can find anything you could possibly want to eat. I ate pizzas, burgers with imported Aussie beef, and even Mexican food all for the first time since leaving home. Beer too is also super cheap, I spent almost every sunset at a little bar on the beach (actually it is a guy with a cooler, ice and cold drinks, oh and the cooler is on a stand, that males it a bar?) watching the sun fade behind the clouds and beautiful blue ocean. Most evenings were spent out with people I had met or ran into from other travels, out at bars listening to live music or watching, various Australian sporting events. Although I never did the party scene, most nights I was back in my room watching movies and videos I had stored in the Ipod, don't get me wrong I did have some magical and fun evenings out.

After a half week hanging around Kuta beach I became very restless and had to get out and explore the rest of Bali which is a large but not huge island. I booked a tour through an agency and for a day I go to visit temples (Hindu and Buddhist temples, always found together.) I also saw rice paddies, waterfalls, fruit markets and other gorgeous beaches. It was a great tour, if you go to Bali please do more than just Kuta. Another day my sunset Bartender Wiggy said he would take me around the next day on his motorbike so he could make some extra cash. Who wouldn't trust their bartender named Wiggy to take them around? I did he was a great guide, took me to a huge Hindu statue, with it's pieces still being carved, it will be massive when completed. Wiggy and I also went to the side of the island that houses two famous surf spots. Padang- Padang where they hold a huge contest and a gorgeous beach set in a cove surrounded by cliffs. We also went to Uluwatu which is an amazing break, which can get very large. I took some surfing photos and then we went to the Uluwatu Hindu temple for the sunset and a Fire Dance, a reenactment of a Hindu story with actors all dressed up and an all male chorus of singers who make very simple sounds to make a very interesting song. That too was a very interesting day around the Island, so was Wiggy's night time driving.

I also got to surf while I was there, Miko's friend worked at a surf shop and they rented me a board for the week for about $16 dollars, if you rent a board on the beach it cost 5 an hour. So I was very excited and although the waves weren't great and were crowded most days, there was a morning with good waves and very little crowd. It's amazing how such a simple act like catching a wave (well simple to those who can) makes such a major improvement in a persons mood.

My 9 days spent in Bali were magical, hectic, crowded, calming, spiritual and filled with fun. It is a great place to visit however for a traveler it can kill the adventure in you, you have everything so close at hand you forget you are here to explore this part of the world. It is a well deserved break though for a weary traveler or a great place to end a long trip, for me however I am back on the adventure road. I'm in Kuala Lumpur again, awaiting a visa for Vietnam, I hope to be in Hanoi by Friday. Tons of new pictures are up, thanks for reading and looking.

Awakenings

Not many things in this world will motivate me to wake up at 3am, overhead crowd less glassy surf in the Outer Banks at first light falls in the probably category. However watching the sunrise beside an ancient volcanic mountain is in the definite. Mt Bromo is in east Java and from the view point a cross the valley I saw one of the most beautiful sites I have seen so far in my trip. We were on the top of this look out by about 4:45 it was about 40degrees and I was wearing 4 layers of shirts to stay warm ( I packed no jacket, other than a wind breaking/ rain jacket which I had on as well.) The sun came up around 5:30 emitting the most gorgeous palette of blues, purples, yellows and oranges. I gawked and took pictures amidst the other 100 plus sleepy eyes freezing spectators. On the other side of the view point you could see two active volcanoes, one of which was billowing big puffy white smoke and the other which released every 20 minutes or so a big plume of black smoke which drifted 100’s maybe 1000’s of feet high. After the sun came up, my group and I were taken to Bromo ( the white smoking one.)

You can walk up or take a horse, I walked up until it got steep and then hopped on a horse the rest of way. It was a pretty big crater that billowed white sulphuric smoke which made you cough your lungs out if you got a big whiff. The view of the surrounding valley was majestic, huge area of sand like volcanic debris lay in a valley between lush green plateaus. I would have stayed awake the entire night, to have been rewarded that breath taking vista.

The few days before Bromo I was in Yogyakarta. It is a sprawling city with no tall buildings, just endless short concrete and wooden structures, but all and all pleasant. While there I visited the large Buddhist temple Borbudor it is an amazing structure to behold, it is over 1000 years old, a pyramid like temple with many tiers, depicting in order the life of Siddhartha (Buddha) from birth to Enlightenment and on. The carvings etched into the stones are astonishingly detailed and still very visible. I watched a subdued sunset through clouds and behind a mountain. The feeling you get while walking amongst the walls is one of connection with something so holy, ancient and so revered by so many Buddhist and non Buddhists alike. You feel so at peace looking at the literal hundreds of Buddha figures and carvings. The only problem is like with all the other temples and attractions in Asia, it is a mad house of people trying to sell you everything imaginable that you would never want.

The day after the Buddhist temple I went to Prambanon a huge multi- temple complex built to honor the Hindu Gods ( not all of the countless ones, but the 7 main ones) It too was an amazing site, However it received sever damage due to a big earthquake that hit in 2006. You can walk up some of the temples and into the chamber (one in each) that housed holy sculptures of the god they honored. They are also several Buddhist temples in an outlying area nearby the Hindu complex, mostly in ruins with one being rebuilt Pranbanon too with it’s elaborate carvings is just a marvel of human devotion both to construct and to carving the first place but also to take the time to restore it.

That week was a truly unique look into the other religions of Indonesia, seeing mostly the Muslim side of day to day life, now as I move east the pattern is changing to more ancient religions. Sorry to say that pictures won’t be up for another week or so. The computer time in Bali (Where I am now) is not cheap, and I need lots to get through all these photos, but you’ll know when I do. Thanks for reading.

Mentawai Magic (Part 2/2)

We were staying at a home stay, you basically live with a local family, they have a hut and you have an adjoining hut, they cook your food and kind of tidy up after you a bit. Sounds nice in theory until you take into account the fact that you are on an island 2 hours from the main small island, 6 hours by fast boat from the mainland and any medical attention you require. Also you are on an island where Malaria is native, you have no electricity you bathe from a freshwater spring that has been pooled into a large well and your light sources are petrol lanterns, your food is cooked on a small petrol burning stove or over open flame and oh yea you get to sleep on a one and half inch mat on the floor (I slept on surfboard bags, way more comfortable than the mats) of the hut that is by no means safe from rats, bugs and your friendly possibly Malaria infected blood sucking mosquitoes. Did you bring your pills, DEET, and net? We did.

It was primitive, but if you like camping you would love this, it’s so much better. The Hut had a nice porch in front that was much bigger than the sleeping area, and shaded from the Sun during the entire day, we spent far more time under it than in The Hut, I even put up the hammock in one corner to chill and read in. As far as food is concerned you eat about the same thing everyday Breakfast: Rice, eggs, tea, Malaria pill, if Ade cooked we got pancakes with fruit in them and French Toast once. Lunch: Rice (Nasi) or Noodles (Mei) fish if it has been caught and if not egg some times all of it. Dinner could get interesting, Rice and or Noodles with egg, if Ade cooked we had beef brought in enough for 3 nights so we had a curry two nights and something else another, we even picked out a chicken that was running around the yard (there were nothing but chickens everywhere, interesting animals to watch I swear they are the most dramatic being in the animal kingdom.) I had asked the Aussies not to name it and I personally didn’t want to see it either, but it was brought around for our approval and they quickly decided it looked like a Samantha (turn out it was a male so Sam it was.) Sam was tasty enough when you have been eating nothing eggs for protein (this was before the beef).

Life on an island is so amazingly laid back, being that the Mentawais lack inexpensive land accommodations, and most people opt for crazy expensive boat trips, there weren’t at any given time more than 30 people in our little village of Losmans (home stays) about 15-20 of those people are the locals and the rest surfers. We spent nights and days (when the wind was up) trading surf and travel stories with people from all over the world, playing cards, and drinking Bintang the only Indo brew (I picked up the a new nickname “Bintang Buff” to replace my B.B monicure.) When I felt like it I read books, I killed 3 and picked through a 4^th. Most days were spent surfing for 6-8 hours, I got to shoot from the water a few times, Craig had brought a water housing for his point and shoot camera, I also was able to take pictures from the boat which we had for 5 of our 10 days on the island.

The boat driven by Ade and Dode who stayed on the island with us and cooked us some of our meals, drove us around, surfed with us, hung out and taught us some Mentawai as well and some Indonesian. They both are incredible surfers, one watches the boat while the other surfers when we surf (what a job) then they switch up. The look on Dode’s face when he drops into a wave conveys more stoke on anyone persons face. No fear of razor sharp corals that slice through peoples flesh and then leave a painful infection due to the thousands of bacteria that live in the corals. Why should they fear that’s where they grew up surfing, perfect, never completely flat warm water surf, it’s all they know. They also took us out to some outer reefs to surf breaks that most pros know by heart, and seldom break unless 15-20 feet of swell passes over there rocky reefs.

Most evenings when we had the boat and a few when we didn’t we would go out to a break call “Bang Bang” and surf through sunset. Watching the sunset behind islands in the Indian Ocean with all the colors of in the world presented to me while sitting in the line up are memories that I will daydream back to for the rest of my days.

Transportation out in the Mentawais by far and away is the most hair raising potentially schedule altering experience every time without fail. When it came time to leave (I hate travel days) we were all packed up when I realized I misplaced my passport, found it after 10 minutes in a seldom used pocket in my backpack. Back on Ade’s small boat to Seibarut to catch the ferry and we ran smack into a huge rain squall, fortunately no wind to tip us over or impede our progress. After hanging around Ade’s family’s home for a while Ade went to find us a car or something to take surfers, boards, and gear to the ferry 30 minutes away. He didn’t find anything until 25 minutes before the ferry was set to cast off. 25 minutes to make it 30 minutes away and we had 5 motorbikes (scooters) one for the gear (it had a side car thingy) and the other four for people. My bike, loaded down with the weight of my and all my gear kept stalling out over big bumps in the roads, and lets just say that’s all the roads are, one big bump. Jared’s bike blew a tire, so Miko switched up and waited for Dode to come back and get him (why the only fluent one in Indo stayed behind I have no clue). Craig was the only one with no problems and arrived a bout 3 minutes before the ferry left and I got there with about 30 seconds to spare. So as the boat started to cast off it’s lines, we had all gear and 2 persons missing. After a 10 second panic Craig and I got them to bring the ferry back and wait for Jared, Miko, and boards. Turned out everyone got on safely and thanks to Dode’s dad Dedy’s help. When we got back to Padang at 6:30am we had to pay a little extra for delaying the boat.

Much to my delight Jan and Leo were waiting for us with a car to pick us up. We went back to Substance where it all began (My feet fully recovered) and met Harry (the owner). He took us to breakfast and let us shower at the shop, he arranged our flights with his travel agent and finally everything was smooth sailing again. To kill time around the shop I started photographing some local kids who were skating out front, I think it made there day to see pictures of themslevse skating. On the way to the airport we stopped by a friend of Miko and Harry, he’s the local ding repair dude and aspiring shaper who just can’t get his hands on materials in Padang.

The last few days (sat-mon) Craig, Jared and I have been in Jakarta, the capitol, recovering from the ordeals of island life. Fluffy beds, A/C, T.V and in a real hotel have been a welcomed return to civilized life. We all flew out on Monday to different locales forever changed, and more respectful of Indonesian surfing and the Indonesian peoples.

What I had read that inspired me to go to the Mentawais was completely true, it went something like: “It’s incredibly hard to get to, you have to bring everything with you, spend a little extra time and money, but it will be far and away the most rewarding part of an Indonesian experience” I would most certainly agree and go back.

Now I am in Yogyakarta, writing and getting pictures ready. Yogya is a great city to and I will write about it when I get to Bali on Friday.