Blogs from Padang, Sumatra, Indonesia, Asia - page 2

I've managed to break down tired into 2 rough categories. The first is the biproduct of sleep deprivation and is what we felt following 36 hours of non-stop travel and transit stops enroute to a wee little surf camp deep in the Mentawai Islands off Sumatra's west coast. Travelling is not an exact science and to paraphrase Steinbeck: "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry". Such was the case initially with our 12 day package to Pitstop Hill. The entire process looked watertight on paper until Steinbeck's line began ringing in my ears as our flight out of Sydney was delayed 5 hours, which in turn negated connecting flights and reservations that evening. Frantic phone calls, emails, the cool runnings of Pitstop Hill management and liberal dobs of smiling co-operation from Garuda ... read more

As may of you are aware, last October 23, 2009, I found myself arriving in the small village of Sungai Gerringing to volunteer my time for Hands On Disaster Response (www.hodr.org). The area of Padang and subsequent villages around the big city had been hit by two earthquakes, which flattened many homes in that area of West Sumatra. I had written a time or two about my time spent there (one can always visit www.HODR.org for more updates and well-written commentary about what we did in and how we helped out the community), so this is just the final synopsis of my final month at the project. In January, we started building transitional houses (t-shelters) for a few select families in the SG area. Breaking up the work into different areas, volunteers were able to ... read more

I hope this finds everyone doing well and staying safe. The last blast I sent a few days ago (Paradise Found....) took me through near the end of my 5 1/2 months I spent in Eastern Indonesia. I realize I have so much more to write about but since it is now January 2010 and I left Indo in August of 2009, I had better catch up by just cutting to what I have been doing the past few months. Many of you -- if not most -- I have met and kept in touch with from past Hands On projects around the world. I realize you understand HODR and what it is the organization strives to do but I thought I'd send a recap of what we are up to these days for all ... read more

After Pacific Partnership 2009, the BYRD returned to Guam, our home away from home, to offload the riders and materials used throughout the mission. Arriving on September 23rd, we knew we'd only be around for a few days, but were ALL so glad to be back for a little R & R. The ship was supposed to get underway and steer towards Japan for the next few months to provide some logistical support to the ships in and around that region. I'm not super excited about going to that area again, but I enjoyed it last time, it's going to be back to normal operations again. I'm satisfied, that's probably the best way to describe it, with what we'll be doing for the near future. I get on the internet, buy some toiletries and essentials, ... read more

Five old farts on surfari. The mean age of 51 was only that low because our 45 year old puppy Jeff decided to tag along. The plan was simple, 5 days wallowing in Bali as an entree to the more serious surfing side of things on an island off the coast of Frank Sumatra. Stretching the memory strings back almost 30 years to my first jaunt to Bali, I began transposing the 1 dollar a night losmen against the 3 bedroom luxury villa in which we were now bunkered down. Were we going soft? Then the food. The "Bali Belly" syndrome is now but a distant memory as the quality and variety of restaurants would make the spruikers of the Parisian cuisine scene blush. Anything else? Well now you mention it, the traffic is manic, the ... read more