Indonesia Underwater

Southeast Asia has a reputation for good diving, and being that I once desired to be a marine biologist/dolphin trainer, I decided to take a lesson.  This 1-day lesson became 3 days, then became changing plane tickets and, later, entire itineraries to travel to dive destinations...oh boy, another expensive hobby.  It's addictive: once you know what amazing things hide below the water's surface, you thirst to see more!

I learned to dive on Gili Trawangan, where the reefs were mostly destroyed from local dynamite fishing techniques, but the turtles and nightly antics held the attention for 3 days.  Plus, I saw a cuttlefish, which might be the coolest animal in the entire ocean.  In amazing Pulau Weh, nightly ' family dinners' and singing with locals complimented amazing underwater fields of sea fans, octopi, barracuda, sharks, and so many schools of fish!  Ah, combined with the fact the I was hot for dive master and had a sea-front bungalow, this counted as the perfect dive destination!

But in the middle of these destinations, a place that caught me by surprise: Nusa Lembongan.  While not for beach lovers due to the thriving seaweed farming industry, Nusa Lembongan has a low-key vibe and the most amazing sunsets! Underwater, the main attraction is mantas, as the island has both a natural cleaning and feeding station, almost guaranteeing a manta sighting (almost=I saw one, but boy was he/she awe-inspiring).  

Being enamored with the ocean's bird since childhood, I attended a manta talk given by a local nonprofit.  I learned that mantas have distinguishing birth marks making them trackable via photo, and that photos of the same manta in Bali and the Kimodos were used as evidence, along with calculations valuing a living manta as worth $1 million to Indonesia's dive shops alone (excluding hotels, food, etc), to convince Indonesia to protect mantas along its coastline. Of course, enforcement is another matter, but in races for survival (in large part due to fishing for a cause too often associated with vulnerable species, Chinese medicine!), every step for protection seems a step in the right direction.

As for me, I (altruistically) do my part to support mantas by voting for them with my tourist dollars.  Saving the oceans one dive at a time!

Hello hairy cousin!

As soon as I began researching Indonesia, I became hooked on the idea of volunteering with or, at least, seeing wild orangutans.  Through online research, I learned that orangutans inhabit only 2 islands in the world, and that habitat loss on both the island of Sumatra (Indonesia) and Borneo (Malaysia/Indonesia), largely due to the palm oil industry, has led the Sumatran orangutan to be listed as critically endangered. 

Wondering how my consumer choices impact the orangutan, I found websites detailing products with palm oil, and I realized my favorite candy bars, tooth pastes, and shampoos topped the list.  Long story shorter, for the next 3 months as I traveled southeast Asia I searched in vain for a shampoo not containing some palm oil component--a search which included most major labels.  My fruitless search lasted until Australia, where I found a product in an organic grocery. Thus, early stages of orangutan fandom showed me the incredible uphill battle for habitat in the face of such an ubiquitous resource.

It became clear that any ' volunteering' with orangutans would likely be expensive, based on the popular model of raising funds via volunteer fees. Thus, I decided to simply go see the orangutan in the jungle, thus creating local monetary incentives for jungles filled with orangutans. 

My choice of jungle: Bukit Lewang!  On Sumatra's tourist trail, this is a small river town with a thriving jungle trekking industry.  Located near the town is an orangutan rehabilitation sanctuary, where orangutans are re-introduced into the wild from, often, illegal pet situations.  The center's model is that the orangutan can always get food at the center, but the diet is monotonous, thus encouraging the animals to search for variety.  This leads to a decline over time of dependence and visits to the sanctuary. 

The orangutans near Bukit Lewang are, thus, mostly 'semi-wild'.  As a friend of mine put it, an orangutan in the trees who will pose for photos is a pretty perfect orangutan.

Indeed, I saw not one, but several of my hairy cousins, and it was a humbling experience to see such a magnificent, large, inquisitive, and beautiful creature in its jungle environment. As the jungle was teeming with monkeys, toucans, and monitor lizards, the experience offered a glimpse of what many a jungle should be, once was, or could be again: such a bastion of life!  

However, the experience of researching and visiting the orangutan made me realize his dire situation, and I am convinced I saw an animal that may be extinct in my lifetime.  Thus, I am becoming a smarter consumer and figuring out what I can do to be part of a solution for the orangutan.  It's not too late...yet.

Balinese Hinduism

After visiting the predominantly-Muslim islands of Lombok and Sumatra (and Istanbul), I can honestly say I am not a fan of the sunrise call to prayer. While I get that in the old days the masses would need the mosque to inform the correct time and sun position for prayer, it seems unnecessary to continue the tradition in the current age of smart phones.  One "call to prayer" app could not only increase property values near mosques, but allow tourists to get more than two hours' sleep after their late-night partying!

Balinese Hinduism, however, is the colourful, incense-smelling and flower-laced darling of Indonesian religious life.  In Balinese Hinduism, which differs from its Indian cousin, each family has a temple and each temple has 7 shrines oriented toward the sacred volcano of the island.  On a bike ride through the Ubud countryside, I saw fields of flowers to be used for offerings and visited temple manufacturers:  religion remains, as always, big business, as not only are offerings given daily (and really all over-in your car, at your house, in your temple, in your business), but any wealth the family accrues is typically used to improve the family temple first and foremost.  This last point was given as a reason the Balinese don't travel more often.  Hmm, by similar logic, perhaps those travelling have more money for it as they are irreligious hedonists...at least on Gili T!

Indonesia!

The travel writer Pico Iyer described why we travel as follows: "We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again- to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more."

And this, dear reader, is my eloquent but plagiarized excuse for tardiness in posting about Indonesia.  In every country I visited before during this adventure, I was able to keep some order to my habits, but Indonesia was intoxicating (in a myriad of ways), and I found myself caught in the flow, the currents between the islands like nations, and desiring only to be swept along.

Indonesia, the sleeper hit of my southeast Asia journey, is the world's 4th largest country by population, comprised of over 13000 (albeit many are small, so let's say more like 8) islands.  Visiting Indonesia is like visiting multiple countries under one visa, as often each island has its own local language and religion.  Indonesia was part of the spice route, and the islands were colonized and influenced by different countries who left their mark on culture and religion.  This means a boat ride can transport you between a Muslim, Hindu, or Christian island, each with its own way of saying "thank you."

I think one thing that really made Indonesia shine was that, after 7 months on the road as a solo traveller, I have managed to hone my skills in meeting fellow travellers for adventures, and I did so with such a natural rhythm that the 28 days flew by.  I caught my first waves on Kuta's epic breaks with Dmitri who I ran into on the plane.  At a restaurant in Ubud I met Teona using the "sit at a table adjacent to a solo diner" technique, and she and I went dancing, where we found ourselves talking with two very attractive French firefighters.  2 and 2 seems like destiny! 

Onward to the Gilis, where on the boat ride over I met Caitlin, whose 30th birthday was that very evening!  We teamed up for birthday dinner and dancing, and remained travel pals (and roommates) for my entire Gili stay.  Indeed, at every turn, with every new destination, it was just so easy.  In Nusa Lembongan, I went dancing with a solo Australian traveller and a half-dozen French kiddos, and as I ventured on to Sumatra, I encountered one travel pal then the next, with a rhythm to match to movements, ending in Pulau Weh with Hester and Chano, an adorable couple who didn't mind a third wheel for a few days.  Of course, my guest house host had nightly "family dinners" where I met fellow travellers, mostly divers, and we spoke of beautiful places whose underwater worlds are unparalleled: the Maldives, Egypt, and of course, Pulau Weh! ;)

This movement, this rhythm, it went beyond the flow between acquaintances.  As the waves upon the beautiful shores of verdant green and rugged islands, Indonesia pulses--with beautiful and friendly people, religious and cultural fervor, spicy cuisine, biodiversity (for now), and volcanic energy.  As the days ceased to exist in weeks but rather in the movements of the sun and tides, for the first time in forever, I let go and drifted with the ebb and flow...and I began to forget about previous lovers.  Oh, Indonesia!

Australia

With cheap flights and proximity in my favor, I decided to give the land down under a try!  I admit I've long viewed Australia as a drunk America, but best visit to see if I'm right!

I centered my time mostly with Kate, Scott, and their 2 children in Australia's government seat: Canberra!  We saw some of Australia's crazy animals including platypus, koala, and my favorite by leaps and hops, the kangaroo, commonly known amongst Australian toddlers as 'roos!  This animal is crazy, with little t-rex arms and huge hinged legs...honestly sometimes evolution is just goofing around. They also treated me to a weekend canyoning the blue mountains, which are deep sandstone slot canyons full of narrows, slides, pools, and...swim-throughs of caverns filled with glow worms--magic! 

Additionally, I spent oodles of time reading children's books, one series of which hit close to my southeast Asian journey home with the illegal pet trade: it features a monkey swiped from his jungle home by a man with a yellow hat. Despicable that we read this to children!  I found hanging with kiddos to be a huge learning experience and loved every minute...that didn't involve two simultaneously-screaming children. :P

I did some other Australian things including drink beer, get addicted to flat whites (it's a cross between a latte and a cappuccino), eat jaffles, watch ' game of thrones' downloaded via torrent, say 'crickey' (ok not really), and lather on some SPF 50 to protect myself from the ozone hole!

I spent some time in Sydney as well, taking photos of the opera house over a myriad of lighting conditions and angles.  Bridget, a friend from high school, let me crash at her pad (sweet!) and took me on a walking tour of the old town, markets, and historic bars.  As it was raining a bit, we decided to see the Sydney contemporary art museum, which features an exhibit that lulls you into bliss as you lie on the floor under a two-story screen featuring waves, leaves, and other nature-y things like turtles...er, no wait that's a penis.

So, how did Australia measure up? Is it a drunk America?   Well, they do have a national holiday, Anzack day, which appears to exist solely for playing a heads-tails drinking game, so perhaps.

Being that it many ways the landscape and culture are similar to the states (and yes this would include treatment of indigenous peoples, as Aborigines and Native Americans have been contrasted often during my travels), I thought I'd indicate some of the differences that struck me. I'll start with the birds. When I first saw cockatoos and laurakeets I was convinced everyone was releasing their exotic pets into the wild, but turns out the wild birds here are splendid! Second, Canberra and Sydney might be some of the cleanest cities I've ever encountered, and without the pervasiveness of guns as we have in the states, felt safer to me.  Third, apparently minimum wage in Australia is something like 20 dollars/hour, which means food and drink are much more expensive than in the US, where the server and the fruit picker are both well underpaid.  Of course, being paid a living wage is good, but prices in Australia create almost a closed system ($20 for a 6-pack of microbrew!) where it's difficult to spend when you don't make money locally.  Fourth, they don't seem to pronounce r's in Australia.  And, finally, you will know you are in Australia and not the US when you are being offered toast with...vegemite!

All in all, visiting friends in the land down under was great, and I vote that Australia is different enough to not simply be a drunk America!

The beach of my dreams

I decided to wrap up my Indochina journey at Thailand's world-renowned beaches, and I can confirm these are the beaches people dream about: beaches with soft white sands and shades of green and blue that could convince even the most pessimistic skeptic that world peace is attainable. 

Ton Sai beach, near Railey and known for world-class climbing, is where I spent the better part of a week climbing, deep water soloing, slack-lining over the softest sands, and meeting some great people.   If they sold an "I left my heart in Ton Sai" t-shirt, I would own it, for in just 5 days I fell in love.  Ton Sai is surely where backpacker-climbers go when they die.

How to pick a bungalow in southeast Asia

Ah, the bungalow: rudimentary, nature-y, bamboo, scarcely secure...Backpackers in Southeast Asia will encounter this accommodation at some point, and, as not all bungalows are created equal, it helps to know what to look for when choosing your humble digs!

Let's go over the basics.  First and foremost, it's important to note that no bungalow in Southeast Asia was ever built to "code", so if you think your potential abode might fall over in a gust of wind, you might be right!  Second, bungalows are anything but soundproof, so confirm if generators are located nearby, whether your neighbors are multi-orgasm honeymooners, etc etc.  Third, bungalows are the opposite of fire resistant, so if you notice some aspiring fire dancers near your bungalow, you might want to choose a different town altogether.

Now to some finer points.   Bungalows will likely have a bed, windows, door (confirm it closes, as humidity warps wood...), and perhaps a bathroom.  Make sure you have a nice net and a fan in the bungalow, and ask what hours the power is on: When the generator goes off at 3am, your fan stops, and it's still 35C, you'll wish you'd inquired!

Bungalow security is a top concern.  When inspecting bungalows, be sure you can secure yourself inside at night and your stuff inside during the day.  Of course, staying at a place which offers a safe box is ideal, as I never saw a bungalow you couldn't break into with a screwdriver (door lock), a knife (bamboo walls), or a monkey (hole in the floor).  

A few other notes you might not consider:  If a bungalow is under trees, and especially if those trees bear fruit in monkey country, make sure the roof can take a beating, as monkeys have throwing arms and apparently hate bungalow roofs!  Also, you can see the sun through a bungalow's walls.  Thus, don't be surprised when you find the largest cockroach you've ever seen and decide it's best to treat it like a chihuahua you are begrudgingly pet-sitting rather than attempt to eliminate said creature.  

Once all things are considered and you've chosen your bungalow, take a cold shower, hang up your damp swimsuit, and marvel that for less than $10 you have your very own bungalow mere feet from ocean/river, and life ain't so bad.