Here we are, back on Gilli T after having tons of fun biking around the mellow and stunningly gorgeous beautiful shoreline of Kuta Lombok, fulfilling serious missions like where to find good surf and good restaurants. And of course, both of us getting a brief intro to the sport of surfing, for the first time ever, and also experiencing our first ever tropical storm on Gilli Air. When Stan and I were on Gilli T earlier this month, our focus was entirely to get our Open Water Dive Certification, which we did. The intent for our return trip was to start logging dives, and get more comfortable with the sport. We were also excited because we would now be doing family dives, as our son Tanner and his partner Annie are both certified divers, and quite ... read more

This was our predetermined destination at which to hook up with our surfer son Tanner and his partner Annie, who were arriving from Canada to spend some time in the Indonesian sun. Being the amazing parents we are, we took it upon ourselves to do some research last year in our travels, looking specifically for the best surfing waves in a laid back setting, and voila! Here we are again in beautiful Kuta Lombok, with amazing beaches and surf that extend for miles in a still undeveloped landscape which also offers stunning higher elevation rides into a countryside rich with lush green rice paddies. It was a tough job, but we took it on, and delightfully, one year later, here we are again to share it with Tanner and Annie. This was the place I cut ... read more

Banda Aceh, and the nearby coastal town of Muedula, were at the epicentre of the Tsunami that hit this part of the world on December 26, 2014, just over ten years ago. As such, we made a point of spending a half day touring a number of key areas in the city. In addition to the Tsunami Museum, we visited the fishing boat that had been launched on to the top of a house about 4 kilometres from the sea, where it subsequently served as a lifeboat saving fifty nine lives. We also visited the huge ocean freighter that was launched inland kilometres away from the ocean, testifying again to the strength of the tsunami. It was powerful and touching to be in the heart of the vibrant fishing village today, and realize that this same ... read more

In case you don't already know her name, allow me to introduce you to my new travel guitar, Ramblin' Rose. Although I have taken her predecessor - a Martin Backpacker guitar - with me for the past two Dreamchasers adventures, this year I upgraded to an oh-so-beautiful, elegant, rich sounding Baby Martin, so this is really Ramblin Rose's first big trip. Of course I watch her like an overprotective mother, wrapping her carefully, always keeping her in sight, and never ever letting anyone else carry her around, etc. etc. You do remember that I mentioned recently about the roads of Sumatra being particularly rough? Well, I have been a little rough myself for the past month, fighting off first a sore back, followed by a head cold and then a bout of traveller's you-know-what, so I ... read more

I believe our guide told us there are over one hundred and sixty volcanoes in Indonesia, several of which are found in Sumatra. According to Lonely Planet, the two most accessible in Sumatra - Sibayak and Sinabulu - found in Northern Sumatra, attract the majority of volcanoe seekers here. However, our guide informed us that hiking Sinabulu is not allowed, because the climb is very dangerous, and because of the possibility of the volcanoe erupting. I'm no expert, but when we passed by Sinabulu on a clear day, that steady flow of smoke clearing coming from the top of the mountain looked pretty ominous and live-volcano like to me. But I digress. We climbed Sibayak. For us, it wasn't so much about the climb - or we might have considered the full day hike. It was ... read more