Where is Brough?

Cambodia Wat?

2008-10-06T22:35:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-05T22:08:00.001-07:00

Viva Viet Nam (South)

2008-10-01T00:12:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-20T00:18:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-02T04:07:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-25T21:09:00.000-07:00

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)

2008-08-20T04:40:00.000-07:00

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.

Mentawai Magic (Part 1/2)

2008-08-18T07:06:00.001-07:00

Without to much planning I plunged from urban, English speaking Singapore straight into the deep end of Indonesia where dirty busy streets replaced clean streets and where almost absolutely no one speaks my native tongue. Padang on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia blew my mind with how easy it was to feel completely lost. I must have been one frightful looking foreigner, as it turns out I did get bitten by mosquitoes in the jungles of Malaysia in fact I got eaten alive. However unlike most mosquito bites mine did not manifest themselves for an entire week by the second to last day of my Singapore trip I started to have bits appear on my feet and legs, by that night I had severe itching and on the day I flew to Padang I had inflamed, red itchy feet. By the time I landed my feet were at least 2 ½ times they’re normal size.

All the Aussie surfers in the airport were asking me what had happened to my feet at we were passing though customs, I paid for my visa and went through with no real hassles although the customs guy did ask me how I was after he looked me up and down and I just replied “Fine thanks, how are you”. As stated before I had some idea of how to get to the Mentawais, I knew what days the ferry’s left (Monday) I was there on Friday. Turns out that was about all my collective knowledge on the subject. I had no clue where to stay in Padang or in the “Wai’s” (shortened, not an actual nickname). I knew how to get to town and that was to take the bus, I figured I would find a place when I got there. So I hoped on the buck fifty bus and it was there that my trip and my health were saved when I met Miko.

All of a sudden on a packed bus (surprise surprise no white people, turns out not a lot go to Padang, unless you’re a surfer and they charter rides and boats so none of them were on the bus) this Indonesian dude wearing skater clothes and carrying a surfboard(short board) plops on in the only seat left on the bus (beside me). Taking as chance I asked (in English) where he was heading to surf, his reply in pretty good English was he was waiting in Padang till Sunday then going to the Mentawais with some friends. “Cool” I said “that’s my plan too but I’m not sure where to stay once I get out there.” After knowing me for only all of five minutes it was decided I should come and join along and stay with him and his friends. Seizing on what I saw as the opportunity of a lifetime I agreed and that’s where great friends were made and a trip of a life time was about to unfold. I must admit that trusting someone you just met with your life and your money was a little risky but if you can’t trust a fellow surfer who can you trust?

There were things that made Miko trustworthy in my mind, he too had never been to Padang or the Mentawais before either. Turns out that Miko is from Bail and pretty well known there too boot, his friend owns a surf shop in Padang (the only Surf shop in Padang “Substance”) and so we went there because Miko was told that they could help him out. Harry the owner was still in Bali but his employees helped us out big time, they found us a place to stay, gave us a drink, and took us to the hotel on mini-bikes. Jan and Leo turned out to never have met Miko but treated us both like brothers in about 5 minutes (seems to be the time it takes to make friends in Indo) Miko and I shared a room, he threw in for half no questions asked, which is a nother good sign of a trustworthy person in my book. So like I said it seems very little people speak very little English in Padang but everyone was already asking about my swelled up feet. Miko had had decided I must have contracted an allergy so that’s what he was telling everyone in Indonesian who asked, so I would here the world Allergia and just turn to whom ever asked and wave. So about 2 hours in Indonesian and I had already established a new nickname. Ends up that there was a doctor right across the the street from the hotel, who of course spoke no English, luckily for me, Miko never let me out of his sight and acted as my interpreter from start to finish. I got a prescription for two pills and a cream, one of the pills was an anti-biotic and the other I have no freaking clue but was instructed to take both at the same time. Figuring that they wouldn’t try kill the fat footed foreigner I obeyed and used all meds as directed.

Jan and Leo (from Substance) were so incredibly cool, they rented a car the next day out of their own pockets or the surf shops. They took us surfing at a local break Air Manis [Sweet Water=Air(odd ?)] where I stayed on the beach taking some shots and hiding my frightful feet from all the stares I got I must have been unsuccessful. They took us to lunch and around town, me to the Apotek fro meds and cream. We hung around the surf shop a bit, had dinner and called it an early night, seeing as how Miko didn’t try to kill me in my sleep or run off with all my gear in the middle of the first night my confidence in trusting him was solid at this point. The next morning we hit the same surf break for another session, Jan and I stayed in the car and napped. A bit later in the morning I got full on interrogated by a curious local who spoke English very well ( too much in fact, he won’t go away.) He did however know some funny catch phrases, he kept telling everyone to “F-Off man” in a Borat like accent that cracked me up. After lunch the indo crew set off to pick up Miko’s friends from the airport. I hung around the hotel room with my foot elevated to reduce the swelling and read a book (No Country for Old Men, which I can’t wait to see now.) Several hours later (almost half a book) Miko returned with two Aussie brothers Craig and Jared from Melbourne and who it would turn out are both really good guys . After dinner we all crashed out early our ferry the next day leaved at 8pm but there was a lot to do before then.

There are no real stores on the main island of Seibarut, so if you want to eat and survive you bring it ALL with you. Also you stay in what is called a “losmen” ( a local families second home kinda like a B&B.) After a short surf and a quick brunch we had the interesting experience of purchasing every single thing 4 people could possibly need for 10 days. Lots of rice, noodles (by the end I was ready to puke at the sight of a grain of rice or noodle or eggs.) egg, water (we bought 190 litres) and a ton of misc. everything elses. All of our food got packed up and taken to the ferry ahead of us along with out 10, 10 gallon jugs o-agua under the name ADE a mentawaiian kid who was to be our means of transport. The ferry was a trip and a half, there are but so many sleeper cabins that fit 6 some with 4 (our was 6) everyone else sleeps on the first deck, along with all the cargo (and there was a lot) the rest of the overcrowded ferry sleep on the floor(hallway) of the second floor (ours). Lets just say that midnight trips to the bathroom were next to impossible to accomplish with out stepping on someone’s something. The water was just choppy enough to cause some amongst us (not I) to spend some time leaning over the railing on the back deck. The boat was rocking and squeaking all night and around 1am the two things of eggs (60) landed on me and my bed, luckily only 2 broke on my bed and my arm.

Come morning we chugged into the port of Mauraseibarut, it was a circus everyone was awaiting the ferry and all their supplies for a week, it seemed like the only island population had come to greet us (they just wanted their stuff). It also seemed like I had finally made some progress with foot rehabilitation, and we boarded a smaller boat(Ade’s dads or one he rented something like that) and by smaller I mean picture a “vessel” two and a half times a canoe about twice as wide and one and half times the height. Lets just say that it was a wet ride, the gear bone dry, the passengers soaking but we got there no problem.

We had arrived at our small island where the waves were, but the adventures didn’t end with the boat rides, in fact they were just beginning

Singapore Stylin

2008-08-01T02:05:00.000-07:00

Sitting in a Karaoke bar after hours in Singapore listening to a trio of increasingly drunker young Singaporean dudes, with my bevy of British babes; I want to pull my hair out, whats worse I'm out of cash, so no cold brews to help me make it through the audible onslaught of verbal punishment I'm being tortured with. Half the evenings songs were in what I believe to be Chinese, oddly enough we walked in on them signing English tunes, that all stopped when East met West. The one thing about last nights musical maelstrom, is it doesn't get more Asian in my mind than that. Singapore has been a great traveling break, modern enough to have tons to see and do and for Asia it is exceedingly clean and well kept with a wide array of cultures as to not be stuck in any one single identity. Malaysia was mostly Muslim and Hindu. Walking out of the train station within about 2 minutes you start to realize that Islam no longer reigns. The women of Singapore assume a great sense of style, shorter skirts replace full length dresses, blouses replace berkas and fashionable hair abounds in the streets. The guys wear a very Asian/punk mix style with weird t-shirts, shorts or jeans with old school converses and spiked hair.

The food scene is great the best value by far is to fore go the real restaurants and forage in the hawker markets/ food courts. No threat of food borne disease as they are all government controlled and have health ratings. The food is amazingly tasty and cheap, I ate half my meals there tasting the best Asia has to offer.

I did a lot of sight seeing but not a lot of picture taking, I dislike the clutter of modern cities for photographs. It's easy getting caught up in the tourist motif in Singapore shopping for cheap clothes for the women and electronics for the guys. It is hot as hell, being that Singapore sits right above the Equator, you learn real quick to find the shady side of the street and stay there.

I used city life here mainly for catching up with the world, talking to many of you on the phone. Also I nursed bites, bumps and bruises acquired unwillingly from the jungle, and to rest up before heading into the wilds of Sumatra. The other day the ladies and I went to Santosa Island, some touristy resorty theme parky B.S of an Island getaway. Attractions were quiet advanced however no roller coasters but nice clean beaches to stretch out on. Also caught the laser light show, that was so horribly but interestingly Asian.

I stay at a great Backpacker hostel equipped with a pub below it which had live music every night called the Prince of Wales owned by an Aussie expat and run by a great staff. P.O.W as it is called was located in Little India, Little India's in all areas of Asia seem to be my favorite type of areas, people are friendly and the shops are really crazy to walk through. The streets of Little India's always have a very fragrant smell about them also.

Singapore is fun, but greatly expensive, I enjoyed every penny and moment spent here and if someone would pay me to live and work here I would put a lot of thought into accepting. They would have to pay me a whole lot but I would honestly probably do it. I will return to Singapore someday, when I'm a more wealthy man and truly do it up right out here. Well Tomorrow (Saturday the 02 of August) I am off to Sumatra, write you all from there. Check out what few Singapore photos there are.

PICTURES!

2008-07-30T00:29:00.001-07:00

New photos in the Kuala Lumpur Gallery and a New Gallery for the Highlands Islands and Jungles I've seen. Enjoy, comment please!

Welcome to the Jungle

2008-07-29T01:37:00.000-07:00

Taman Negara" The Jungle" more like the tourist version of a jungle. Taman Negara is a huge national preserve / jungle it is the oldest rain forest in the world 180 million years old- at least that's what they say. It contains over 200 tigers, 500+ elephants (Asian), leopards, panthers, tapirs and tons and tons of insects; of course you never get to see anything because they all come out around dark and all the boat traffic and loud tourists and children frighten them off into the deepest darkest nether regions of the jungle. The only thing you see are giants spiders and some insects oh and I did see a kick A salamander.

The Jungle is not meant to be fun in fact everything housed within it is meant to kill you, seriously; The trails are rutted from to much trekking tourists that are are slippery and muddy beyond no end, the roots of trees trip you, the rocks fall out from under you, some vines and trees are spiked with sharp blood drawing thorns and spikes and the heat covers you in sweat with in 10 minutes. But I did enjoy my self once back at the hostel and in a shower (cold, there is not hot water in the Jungle-duh.) I did go on one real hike and two touristy trips. First off Jan and I went to the canopy walk and that was kinda fun except for the loads and loads of tourist waiting in line for a turn, it took us 30 minutes for ours. Also all the tourists get on the raised platform (which you could not fall off of in a million years) and walk like they are on a tight rope. The second thing we did was "rapid shooting" which was more like going up a mild river with some ripley sections all the while the boat drive splashes back and forth to get you wet. The boat driver was actually a cool kid and we spent some time getting to know him and his story. For my real, solo trek (Jan left for Thailand in the morning) I went on a 6k (round trip) hike up and over a good sized mountain, climbing hand over foot at some points and slipping through mud at others. The first km is steep and a good exhausting climb the last k was like walking through a mire of mud 4inch's deep. All that to go to a cave with bats, I did not have a guide like everyone else (you don't need one they just boat you in so you don't have to hike- Cheaters.) Whats more I completely thought I had a torch (flashlight for us Americans) turns out I was wrong. Luckily I was able to buy a head lamp and gloves from an Italian couple for like 10 bucks and did a self guided cave exploration. It was a blast the cave had a ton of bats and guano covered rocks and I even at points had to crawl on my stomach in 8 inches of water to get under rocks (there is a series of ropes going through the cave this is why you don't need a guide you just follow the ropes.) That was where I picked up my first leech, luckily he had yet to attach himself to me and I was able to flick him off.

However later that day came the most rewarding experience I have had so far on this trip. I was asked by a Malaysian guide and school teacher to talk to part of his class in English so they could put what they have learned into practise. They turned out to be about 15 Muslim school girls all about the age of 16. I was asked to talk for about 30 minutes and ended up talking to them for an hour, they asked my questions and I asked them questions it was amazing to hear them say that they didn't get to talk to many "foreigners" (which took me a back remembering that here I am the foreigner, the outsider.) They asked typical question of me through one girl who seemed to be the leader of the group at first; questions like where I had been in Malaysia, what I thought, what I had eaten and things like that. Then they started to warm up and all started top pitch in with questions about the U.S my family, friends, habits back home, what I liked and so forth. I truly was honored to be able to have that experience. They couldn't stop telling me how much they enjoyed talking with me and how they were jealous of my eyes (they only have brown, and went nuts when I spoke of my dad and brother having blue eyes.) After our conversation I watched them play a school yard game involving the whole class and teachers it was really awesome, I took pictures with them and was on my way.

After that it was time to pack up and leave the jungle. 3 Brits (Laura, Emily, Rachel) and myself bored a hour and half local bus to a town where we would catch the 2 am sleeper train to Singapore On the bus ride we watched a huge storm cloud spit lightning over the wilds of Malaysia through the darkening dusky sky. The train ride however was not the greatest, hard to sleep it made a stop like every hour or two, but we got to Singapora(local name) and it is a gorgeous, clean, friendly and green city much different than K.L. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED Malaysia I urge everyone to go, it's a glorious country steeped in culture, sights, and things to go out and do. GO GO GO. I'm in Singapore until Saturday when I fly to Sumatra where i don't know if I will find the net but keep checking hope to have 2 weeks worth of pictures up soon. Love you guys!

From Highlands to Islands

2008-07-29T01:12:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday (the 20th) I made my way to the Perthentian Islands (Kecile) with Jine (my little Chinese friend) in tow. We picked an out of the way "resort" called D'lagoon which sits on the eastern end of the island, in a cove all by itself. The main beach (Long beach) seems over crowed and loud, good for a party but not so good for lounging around in my hammock. D'Lagoon however is extremely hammock friendly. After being shown to my dorm style bed, in a room shared with 16 other people (but you get use to this) I set about to find the perfect spot for my hammock, which turned out to be two perfectly placed palms.

I spent many of my hours lazily hanging around in the hammock napping, reading, listening to music, and sometimes just staring out to sea. Actually one night I even slept out in the hammock under a cloudless starry night with a huge full moon hanging in the deep black sky. The full moon arrived with me and made for great photographs.

During my time on the Island I became friends with most of the staff , playing Volleyball and telling stories. D'Lagoon also has two very friendly pet monkeys male and female, B.J's the male and the females name I did not learn both seem to have a sort of monkey separation anxiety and nip at your heels if you try to leave before they get bored with you. The island is also home to many monitor lizards, some just babies and others seem to be giant dinosaurs, I even got to see a monitor on monitor fight which resembled Sumo wrestling rather than a territorial struggle. Another day was spent snorkeling with "friendly sharks" in the morning and turtles in the afternoon.

At one point almost everyone I had met (and liked) in the Highlands showed up at D'lagoon, we had a dinner table most nights filled with about 10 people. I along with Andy from England and Othman a French Moroccan from Paris hiked over to L.B, not bad but something I only wanted to do once. A few days I did absolutely nothing but laid in the hammock took naps and read. I started and finished a novel in one day ( A horribly crappy Christian book about the world ending and Jesus' return, never name a main character Rayford; what kind of name is that?) But other days I was actually active and a bunch of us kayaked around the entire small island it took about 5 hours which included stopping at various beaches to snorkel or swim around and we checked out a fishing village. It was fun and we stopped by Long Beach (LB) for a relaxing break before returning to the lagoon.

The place I stayed could hardly be called a resort, here I was introduced to my very first squat toilet experience. The bowel is sunk into the floor and you have to place yourself over it, making you wish you had been a gymnast in high school. The food was descent but over priced and so was the beer but the time and experiences were priceless. All and all I only spent about $150 US staying on a private beach eating, drinking, snorkeling and kayaking for an entire week - and oh yea $30 of that was spent getting my bus to the jungle where my next installment takes place.

Ramblin Man

2008-07-19T02:23:00.000-07:00

This is Malaysia! Friendly people, quaint towns set up in the beautiful highlands. I am barely able to express how glad I am to leave Kuala Lumpur behind me. Don't get me wrong great city lots to do but not my thing. The cool mountain air, and hardly any noise, time to sit and contemplate, or just sit and stare out at a gorgeous vista is my kind of travel. I am finding however that although a person could easily spend a week in the city or here in the Highlands, it's just to tempting to keep travelling, seeing and exploring new places. If I was bit by the travel bug before I left home than what I feel now must be the equivalent of "travel venom" racing through my veins. I am leaving on Sunday to go the the Islands (Finally!) and my kind of living, I plan to be there for at least a week. For 40 ringet (about 12 bucks) a night, who can resist a bay side chalet on a white sand beach with sunsets, palm trees, azure blue water, and nothing to do? Quite excited also because some friend from the Highlands will be joining me in a few days on Pulau Kecil which you can walk a clear across in 15 minutes. Well I miss you all, hope all is well and thanks for reading.

Highland Living

2008-07-19T01:36:00.000-07:00

Waking up at 8am to a cool cloudy, foggy morning to join a full day tour through the Cameron Highlands, I had a cup of locally produced Strawberry/Raspberry tea to get in a tea tour type of mood. After my cup of tea it was time to hop in the Landrover with Kumar our very experienced, energetic, and interestingly talkative tour guide. On our tour were an Australian couple, 3 girls from England, Jan a German dude, and Jine a funny little Chinese girl. Kumar took us to the look out tower atop the highest peak in the area (6666 feet) but we could barely see each other let alone the breathe taking view of the region. After that stop off it was time to drive down the road a couple hundred meters and go for a jungle "trek" ( they use trek in place of hike, not sure why or if there is a difference; it's all walking to me.) It was a very informative trek as Kumar is very well versed in knowing what plants are which and which ones are used for different kinds of home remedies. Kumar is also a self taught English speaker (along with 3 other languages) and photographer. Kumar truly was a wealth of knowledge the entire day. Due to the foggy conditions it was the general consensus to cut the trek short in favor of going straight to the BOH (Best of Highlands) tea plantation for a spot of tea and a scone (s-con) not (s-cone) according to the Brits and Aussies.

Talk about a view and truly unique experience, sitting out on a terrace in the bottom of a valley in which are planted 400 acres of tea bushes (which can surprisingly grow up to 20 feet, but they cut them down to about waist high so they can pick the fresh leaves form the top.) After tea we ambled around the smaller town attractions like the butterfly gardens that had a great animal collection. After lunch in town the Brits and Aussies abandoned ship and we collected a French couple for a trip through the jungle to visit a local tribe. Orang- Asle (or Original People, coincidently "Orangutan means " Organ= People and Utan= Jungle.) The oh so cunning Kumar (who by now is a good friend of mine, being photographers can talk shop for hours) parked us at the base of hill and took us on a trek/climb through dense, muddy and wet jungle trail. After about an hour of ups and downs and slipping through mud and ducking under trees we arrived at a small village about maybe 20 huts or so. Now don't get this tribe confused with super aborginal type people, they are modernizing quickly, they don't wear grass skirts or anything they wear t-shirts and wear pants and the kids all go off to school and the parents work in the tea plantation. They do have many pets several dogs, couple cats and a monkey they caught and tied to the stilt of one of the huts. After a demonstration on how to use a blow pipe and an actual go at it (I did pretty well) I walked over to the end of a hill to lookout on the scenic valley only to look down and see our truck parked a minute away at the base of the hill, with a nice worn trail leading straight to it. Sneaky Kumar, I called him on it and he said "it would have been no fun to walk straight up. I agreed and was just very glad not to have to trek back through that jungle again. By this time the rain was coming in and it was time to call it a day. We got back to the guesthouse called "Father's Guesthouse' and sat around drinking beer with the Brits, a few more new Brits, the German, the Chinawomen and of course Kumar until 2am.

Then today I woke up around 9 and went on a self guided trek with my buddy Jan. Going down of course was no problem at all of course about 2 hours down was very pleasant walking on the side of a mountain gorgeous views of farms and small homes. Who would have thought that Jan the 23 year old, chain smoking, beer drinking last one up at night German would be such a damned good hiker. Of course he elected and I followed (lets face it I need to get in shape) to take the steep / way back up the mountain. I died but got better and made it all the way up about 10 minutes behind my German mountain goat friend. On the way up fortunately I ran across a tree branch with literally 10,00's of 1000's of ants carry food and foraging. I got some great shots!

With the rest of my day I will sit and write, which I am finding to be my favorite part of the day; drink hot chocolate while the weather cools, and rain comes. I might go into town for dinner or eat here. I had hoped to edit photographs but I don't think that will happen, these computers don't have editing software.

Mind Expanding

2008-07-14T20:34:00.000-07:00

Sitting in the Malaysian port city of Malacca in their China town in a restaurant called the Geographer, eating Chinese food,watching stomp (the movie) on the television, listening to a British women sing a Billy Joel song, drinking a Danish beer and talking to a German name Michael I came to the realization this is why one travels. The feeling of being a foreigner is an exhilarating feeling, to be the one who doesn't speak the language who gets the stares for looking different really humbles a person.
Malacca was great I went there yesterday (Monday) on a 2 hour bus. The mass transit system here is amazing, I took a 65 cent monorail ride to take a 50 cent train to hop on a 2.60 dollar bus to go over a hundred miles to the coast to visit Malacca. The historic district was really neat, founded the Malays then taken over by the Portuguese then the Dutch then the British then the Japanese and once again by the British and finally in the 60's handed back over to the Malays. On the top of the hill at the south end was a church founded by the Portuguese back in the 1540's which was really neat (of course it had been expanded so it looked nothing like it did back then, but it was still cool.)
I walked across a small bridge over the canal and into China town, narrow streets lined with shop fronts and restaurants Chinese writing and lots of advertisements for any and everything you could want. I was so hungry when i stopped for lunch I thought I might pass out, it's amazing how walking can be come such a chore and a drag when you are hungry. After my meal and my talk with Michael walking once again took on a meaning of fun and adventure. I rounded a corner to find the Malacca Buddhist temple, what an amazing and quietly energetic building. All around the temple are signs asking to be quiet and remind you that this is a place of silent contemplation. I went to the second floor and on the step the separates the outside from the inside I sat and mediated for a bit, while the sun set behind storm clouds and the temple across the street played music (Chinese) I was able to look inward and woke with the most calming and joyous smile across my face. I again wondered how truly awesome getting out and experiencing the world is.
After the Buddhist temple I went across to the temple dedicated to the local deity, it was very intriguing, lots of chanting and offerings were given up. That guy must have received every type of food imaginable. The priest would chant, hold up and offering and then I'm guessing if it was unwanted they would throw it on the floor. I came then 1 ringgit (30 cents) and went on to catch the bus back to K.L
The day before Malacca (Sunday) 4 girls and I took a 30 minute bus to the Batu Caves outside of K.L up near the hills. The Batu Caves goes to show that what is holy for some is to others just a grueling 272 steep stair climb into a cave. It is a shrine to the Hindu god Muruga, and I have never seen so many Indian people in my life, and it a good chunk of Chinese too. We had lunch there which is all vegan, being that the Hindus don't eat meat or so I gather. I had rice with peanuts and carrots, it wasn't bad. Later that evening we all hunkered down in the hostel and watched movies. Sunday was a nice chill laid back day, as today (Tuesday) is panning out to be. I did not make it to the Zoo because of some rainy weather and being that I have nothing better to do today I am gonna head there now. Don't forget to check the pictures, thanks for reading.

Flying halfway around the World and first day in K.L

2008-07-12T19:04:00.000-07:00

Wedged in an aisle seat between a big Indian (India) dude and a chatty German is by no means the best way to get halfway around the world, first class with a fully reclining seat/bed would have been pretty sweet. The only cool thing about being on a 747 jumbo Double Decker jet is that they have "In Demand Entertainment" with a T.V in each seat. Fortunately for me I feel asleep about an hour into the flight for about 6 hours; unfortunately for me when I woke up I still had about 5 hours to go, Yay for "On Demand Entertainment!"
We landed in Taipei, Taiwan about 6:30 in the morning Friday the 11th, weird thing is we left L.A at 2am Thursday morning. I think that means that for the rest of my life I will be a day younger? Landing in what is formally China for the very first time was a trip. Flying in and looking out the airplane window, the island is just gorgeous on the coast big cliffs lush greenery. When you are flying over Taipei it is very different huge industrial areas everywhere! Smokestack billowing white smoke everywhere, cool thing is at least now I know exactly where half the products we buy in America actually comes from. However I saw no actual sweatshops (or maybe I did from the air?) Everyone on board the plane had to grab their carry-ons and disembark the plane, go around through Chinese security and back on the plane. While sitting in the terminal waiting to get on the plane that i just got off of I noticed several signs with classic "anime" figures warning of what not to bring on the plane, this goes great with the sign the read "Welcome to the Republic of China, drug trafficking is an offense punishable by death." Back on the plane and 5 hours of ODE! later we landed in Kuala Lumpur. Just to recap that's about 21 hours spent on a plane.
Customs was as simple as giving a smile and receiving a stamp, good for 90 days in Malaysia. After a 30 minute train ride I got to the main transport hub called KL Sentral and from there hopped on the mono rail and straight to the hostel I am staying at. Friday was a sit around day, and I went to bed at about 6pm and slept until 8am Saturday morning. Feeling nice a refreshed I took a stroll around the market that is right next door and then walked to the National Mosque. I gotta tell ya those Muslims are friendly they let you tour around the grounds and take all the pictures and ask all the questions you like, you are however not allowed inside the prayer hall. After that I walked to the Hibiscus and Orchid gardens. After a lovely day of sweating my butt off taking pictures in the gardens I walked back to the Hostel grabbing a lovely bite to eat a place called "Pizza Hut" it was great tasted just like back home! I ate a P-Hut mainly because my stomach was feeling uneasy after the flight the previous day so I dared not to try anything exotic on the first day. At dark I went to the Petronas towers and photographed the two awesome towers.
It's 9pm on a Saturday and your a Malaysian teenager, what do you do? Well you go to the HUGE friggin mall just like any teenager around the World it would appear and hang out. The mall I speak of sits under and in between the two Towers. On one side of the mall is a lovely huge park area with fountains and there must have been 1000+ people hanging around, taking pictures and the like. The night was a bit cooler than the day and made for great walking around weather.
Well folks that's it for the first two days, today I am off to the National Zoo and Aquarium! Check out the photo galleries!

Getting ready to go!

2008-06-25T09:05:00.000-07:00

I am Bryan a 24 year old recent college grad who decided the "job world" could wait for me a few months. So I am taking off to Southeast Asia for about 4 months. July 9th I fly out of Norfolk,VA and land in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 11. Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore are all on the itinerary with possible couple day romps into Laos and maybe Vietnam. I am on a mission to flow along with where ever life wants to take me.
In the next four months look forward to as many photographs as this blog with let me post, a long with weekly or bi-weekly updates depending upon the availability of internet access.