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Hello friends,
I hope all is well with all of you. It appears that the blog emails are not automatically sending to you folks. That is a shame. I will try to fix but I am sorta clueless as to where to begin. Anyway, let it be known that this blog post will not be full of extreme adventures and cultural shocks. So if you are only reading this to see pictures of me wading through piles of bat poop or dipping my head into whales mouths, you will have to wait for a future edition. I DID finally sucessfully kite-surf though! It took a week of the daily ritual of waiting for corrrect tide and wind conditions and then patiently repeating the same mistakes over and over, but it all resulted in a pretty wonderful last day in Bali with me skimming over the water under only the power of finely controlled wind and a properly angled board. The feeling is immaculate. At first it feels like trying to juggle an apple, a watermelon and a chainsaw at the same time. So many different sets of muscle memory and techinal considerations with some less than pleasant repurcussions for mistakes.
But eventually the huge 14 meter kite flying on miles of rope connecting me to this thin plank on my feet temporarily becomes extensions of my body that let me unite with the wind and water! Of course most rides would end with me swallowing gallons of saltwater and my kite takes a humiliating and dramatic crash into the sea. But it is soooo worth it. And I can see the path to a more controlled ride through more practice. I am definitely taking this up in LA.
The rest of the past week I have chosen to explore Extreme Relaxation! I went to the Gili Island's of Lombok. Since Indonesia is made up of many islands, each leg of the journey is confronted by a plethora of transport options. I can pay for comfort and take a flight. I can spend considerably less and take a "fast boat" and it will only take a few hours more. Or I can spend virtually nothing and take the public boat to get to my next destination. I decide I am not in any big hurry so I opt for the slow ferry. I am told it shoud take somewhere between
4-6 hours. No problem. Waking at a crisp 6am, I take a "bemo"(essentially a minivan that packs as many people in as possible) to take me to the ferry terminal in Padang Bai. I arrive in plenty of time to get my ticket and enjoy some breakfast. There are actually a surprising number of western backpacker types with requisite surfboard and flip-flops that are also opting for the cheap slow journey. But this is definitely a local affair as there is a long line of motorcyles and cars full of Indonesians waiting to drive abord what must be a large ferry. 3 hours later and our ferry finally arrives. A mad rush for entry through a shoddy platform zigzags around the directly opposite mad rush for exit by cars, buses and other pedestrians. It is quite a scene. I suspect there are limited comfortable areas on this old industrial vessel and we are in for a long ride. I do my best to hustle and squirm my way through the sweaty masses while smiling and being polite all the while. Of course my politeness makes me just slow enough to miss the chance of having a seat. Crap! But then
some crazy shouting guy is carrying a blue body length pad and saying "40,000 rupiah!" This is about 4 dollars. Sign me up! I chuck my pad in the half shade and plop down for a long voyage. It turns out this was a vey wise purchase as the ride is almost 8 hours long. Spending that time on awkwardly propped against the sun-hot steel would not have been in line with my plan for Extreme Relaxation. I arrive to find out I am not really there yet but I need to take another bus to the north. Ok fine. The sun is setting now and I just want to get there. The bus takes another 3 hours to make this journey. The most annoying part is that they keep stopping the bus at random middle of nowhere shop to try and sell us a "return ticket". We are told we cannot go onto the island without this ticket. After some whispery rebellion conversations with my fellow passengers, we decide thismust not be true and demand we move Onward! They finally realize we called their bluff and finish the bus trip...which takes us to 1 final pitch black boat trip
to the islands. What was suspposed to take 4 hours took 14 bringing us to our new island home around 10pm to find a hotel. Although a bit frustrating and tiring, it was still an unexpected adventure and sometimes those are the best kind. That being said, I probably will not be taking the slow ferry back.
My days on the islands have been deliciously relaxing. Again I am tickled by the freedom to do exactly what I want at anytime. I wake up late or early. I take a nap or 3 throughout the day. I eat a big tasty lunch and skip dinner altogether (or vice versa). I watch every sunset for many days in a row and many sunrises too. I have met people from an endless stream of new countries. Amazingly they all speak pretty decent English. Each day blurs into the next to the point where I truly do lose track of time and days. No obligations or deadlines. I don't think I have felt this way since summer break as a kid. It is good therapy for any busy big city USA soul.
But my restless thirst for adventure cannot be held
back forever. Yesterday I booked a 7 day live-aboard boat trip around Komodo islands. This is the home of the worlds largest lizard...the Komodo dragon! But our trip will focus on the pristine and protected creatures under the sea. I hope to scuba dive with some of the largest schools of fish and sharks in the world. Whooopeee!
Hugs and kisses to all!
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Donnie
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Hello from Los Angeles USA
Brad. You are a fearless and tireless warrior! Glad to hear about the adventure in progress, it sounds and looks amazing. Keep on, my friend!