Hey guys! I'm just writing this post to let you know that I'm moving my blog site to: www.fromthehorizon.com I'm still getting things set up with the new site, but there are afew posts up there already, so check them out! [View Full Entry]

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On the weekend of New Years Jo, Me, Nerys, Remko and Erica went back to Sabang for some chill out time. I stayed in a slightly better Bungalow than my last visit (Although Jo was adamant that it was merely a hut “Bungalows don’t go on stilts!”). It got me thinking about how much else has changed since last time I was here, only 2 months ago. When I came here last time I had no ties, my life in a backpack. Now I’m back with a job, friends. On New Year’s Eve I thought aloud, “What did I do to [View Full Entry]

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OK, so it’s been a while since I made a Blog entry, what can I say I’ve been busy, it is the silly season after all. So I may as well get straight to the point: Christmas Day. Now I’d presumed that being overseas in foreign lands, Christmas would be a rather subdued affair. I was wrong. I thought that I was on top of things in October when I brought my family Christmas presents in Malaysia and posted them home. I had no idea how busy I was going to be! Little did I know that Christmas would turn into [View Full Entry]

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My birthday (3rd of December for those who missed it!!!) was so legendary, that it warrants 2 blog entries. During the day I received the welcome phone calls from friends and family. It was really special to hear from home. Then I went to the beach with 4 local staff from work, 2 tunas ($11) and a BBQ. It was great to spend a day on the beach; I really love to swim in the sea. It was also cool to hang out with some Indonesian people, to remind me of where I was actually spending my birthday. However going to [View Full Entry]

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Well the first couple of weeks were relatively easy. I wasn’t being given that much to do at work. I was pretty much finding work for myself, learning Microsoft Access, to play with a prototype database they had for all their logistics data. I was enjoying the social side of things as well, hanging out with Oliver who I knew from Auckland and going to parties Sean and Remko from Sabang (Palau Weh). I went to an MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières) party one weekend, A Red Cross Party the next weekend. They were fantastic parties with heaps of interesting people (You [View Full Entry]

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OK, this is where I feel a little guilty, and really lucky. Once I officially got the job, I moved into one of the NGO houses. For someone who had spent the last month backpacking around Sumatra, living in some fairly grotty accommodation just having space to call my own was luxury. But it was far more than just that. I am sharing the house with an older Peruvian doctor called Atilio. He’s great, we’re already planning the first party! There’s a DVD player, Satellite TV, Stereo, Fully equipped kitchen. Everything provided! Every house has its own driver, to take us [View Full Entry]

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Well here’s where things kinda just happened. I returned from my tropical island, and the next day, Nick brought me into the office of the NGO he worked for. He’d already talked to the head office in New York, and they were pretty keen to take me on. In fact they said that if Nick didn’t want me in Aceh, they had work for me in Africa! It was just a case of them checking out my reference - something that I don’t think anyone has ever done for me! Oh yeah and the medical test.... For those of you who [View Full Entry]

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So what does an Australian guy who works in Indonesia, with only 2 days holiday do when there's no ferry - He charters a boat, and drags me along for the ride (and to share the cost). Sure, it totally blew the days budget, but, hey it'd be an adventure. As it turned out abit too much of an adventure. A 6m boat, which the driver pretty much surfed down the ocean swells, a diesel engine right next to my ear, and I got drenched. But at least by the end of it I was on a tropical paradise. There was [View Full Entry]

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The following day I got in touch with Red Cross to see when I could start, and what I could do to help, but unfortunately bureaucracy got the better of me. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent had an arrangement with the local Red Cross, which meant that they couldn't accept any volunteers. Arse. The guy from the Red Cross said he'd look into other possibilities for me, but basically I was back to the drawing board. It's probably at this point I should talk about Hari Raya (or Idul Fitri in Arabic). This happens at the end [View Full Entry]

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OK, this is where things get REALLY interesting. My primary reason for coming to Aceh was to find some volunteer relief work to help people who were affected by the tsunami. It has been quite an adventure. I will be putting daily updates to cover everything, if you're still interested! After getting off my flight from KL, I easily enough caught an overnight bus to Banda Aceh. Arriving in Banda Aceh was one of most challenging parts of my trip so far. The section in the Lonely Planet or Aceh is rather concise, plus I really wanted to find some volunteer [View Full Entry]

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