There's More to Life than Surfing

 "There's More to Life than Surfing"

I know, I know, if you know anything about me or have spent time around me you may be surprised by my opening statement, but I believe it is true. It has been a very long since my last post and a lot has changed. Most significant has been the addition of my girlfriend Christa, who met up with me on Bali and has been by my side for nearly the last 2 months. The beginning of our time together was spent on Bali and we managed to find some fun, secret waves on a hidden corner of the Island. Our sights were soon pointed North and it was time to lighten our load and take flight. I left my beloved Dominator (surfboard) in a wonderful spot where a group of awesome Balinese groms will be able to make good use of it and, not being able to give away such a fine specimen, I left my Taj pro model with my friend Ketut for future trips to the Mecca of Surf.

 

Since our departure from Bali we have had an amazing time seeing the sights and stuffing our faces.

 



Singapore

 

Singapore, the New York of SE Asia, is a wonderland of food where Chinese, Indian and Malay cuisines compete for your attention and the durian is truly the "King of Fruit". Unfortunately, much like it's American counterpart, Singapore is a very expensive place to visit and we decided to spend only a week in the country.

 

Chinese crispy duck seems to be everywhere you look

 

Bowl of spicy delicious

 

Durian Mecca

Best Briyani I've had at Tekka Center in Little India

Noodles cut from a large hunk of dough, not rolled

Mushroom Mince Meat Noodles

 

Malaysian Borneo

 

What a shock to go from Singapore's concrete jungle to the amazing jungle wilderness that can still be found in Borneo. The Northern coast of this massive island consists of two Malaysian states; Sarawak in the west and Sabah in the East. We spent nearly three weeks traveling around Malaysan Borneo exploring the natural wonder that abounds on this incredible island.

 

Nightly exodus of 3.5 million bats from Deer Cave



King's Chamber in Cave of the winds

Sink hole in Clearwater Cave

Swirling mist near Mount Kinabalu, tallest mountain in SE Asia



Trail through the dense Rainforest

One of the many pitcher plants we saw in Borneo

Borneo is the epicenter of Durian biodiversity. These are a couple of wild species of Durian





Thailand

Thailand is such a nice place to be. The people are kind and courteous, crossing the street is a lot less stressful than Indonesia or Malaysia. The land is beautiful and fertile and it is spotted with huge golden Buddhas and incredibly ornate temples. Oh yeah, and the food is staggeringly good. There is such an amazing mix of fresh light salads, miraculous fried noodles or rice, rich and thick curries and no end of fruit and desserts to explore wherever you look in Thailand.



With produce this fresh, no wonder the food is great



Dried fish section at Warorot Market



Fermented fish, pastes and maybe some salt crabs too

Spices play a huge role in Thai cuisine

Pad Thai

Spicy glass noodle salad, one of my favorites. So spicy

Penaeng Curry, I made this at a cooking class

Golden Stupa at Doi Suthep, overlooking Chiang Mai

A small Doi Suthep temple

The Road Home

 

Remember 6 months ago when you were buying your tickets to and from Asia and you found out that Philipine Airlines lets you have a layover in Manila for as long a you want for free? Christa and I have been in Manila for 5 days and we are both more than ready to head home. Manila isn't really a very nice place to hang out. It seems to be a huge collection of people living in staggering poverty and filth interspersed with areas where the wealthy shop in their air conditioned super malls. All the banks have security gaurds sporting shotguns at each entrance. It's just not my favorite place on earth, I'll leave it at that. The food isn't bad and we haven't been mugged, just bothered by some very forward and agressive beggars.

 

At the end of every long trip I have ever taken, there is always a let down period at the end when you are just tired of moving around, packing and unpacking, you're running out of money and you just miss your family, friend and your home; your own, personal space. I am sure that this is part of why the time we have spent  in Manila has been kind of a downer. I'm sure that with more money, time and research we could have had a grand ol' time here. It has been an amazing trip that neither of us will soon forget. I hope that my words and pictures have at least entertained you a little and maybe this blog has left someone with a newfound desire to go out on their own adventure. There's a big wonderful world out there just waiting.

 

Paz y olas

 

Shoots!

 

 

 

What a Difference a Year Makes

Treasure Island lives!!!

If you read this blog last year you may remember Kevin (henceforth referred to as Big Kev) and I went on an ill-fated boat trip to the Banyak Islands during our time in Indonesia. There was absolutely no swell, the boat had problems and we had to come home early. Big Kev and I were given a couple of options: half our money back or a free trip in the future. We were split in our decisions due in large part to Big Kevs plans to propose to Jessica a week or 2 later in Bali. I went with the free trip  partly because I knew it was a good excuse to return to the wonderland of waves that is Indonesia.

I just returned from my free boat trip which was, coincidentally, exactly one year after the seemingly doomed trip last year. The boat still leaves a lot to be desired, the captain and crew, unfortunately, do as well. I don't really care to go on that boat again. However, there was a major difference between this trip and the last one: the waves! I was accompanied by 7 Aussies who were good surfers and good chaps. We had plentiful good times and more than enough waves to go around.

Luckily for me, and you all as well, one of those Aussies had a decent camera and took some pictures of our surfing exploits. I must admit regret, however, because these are only just a sampling of the waves ridden and the best waves of the trip live on only in my memories: and what memories they are!

AND GO!!

 

 

Treasure Island is best at this size

Smaller works too

This was on a day that was too big, this one doubled up and went off!

This is starting to feel a little self indulgent...

These are a few shots of Gunthers (not the same wave in the pics)

After the boat I had a couple of days on Simuelue and got to surf a few at Dillons

 

That's all for now folks!

 

Paz y Olas

 

-Genji K

 

 

 

The end of the road??? part 3

Note:(Go read Genji's farewell and parts one and two below if you haven't)

So in closing, the adventure is out there waiting for you. Thats one of the hardest parts of coming home, getting a job, signing a lease, and settling down; knowing that right now there are millions of incredible people out there going on adventures every day, living life out of a backpack. I feel so lucky and blessed to have taken this opportunity. Book the ticket, take the trip. You wont regret it.

I also owe a lot more thanks than just to Neptune and Poseidon. Thanks to my incredible fiance Jess for your patience, love and support, Eric and Kristin for encouraging me to go even though it meant more work for them, Clay for handling Teramar, Dad for handling everything since the beginning of time, Mom for understandingthe long times between phone calls, AJ and Al for understanding my dream, and Genji for helping me make this thing a reality.

Giving thanks during our flat spell stranded in the banyaks.

South African friends Murray and Craig that showed us around Simeulue.

Late night "taxi" ride to the harbor.

With all that said, its nice to be home.  To sleep in the same bed, to take a hot shower, to eat some chips and salsa and be able to talk to my family and friends.  We have a lot to be thankful for here, we have it pretty damn good.    

So while 2011 winds down, I look for a job and I settle back to reality.

My focus shifts towards the future, and where lifes next adventure will take me.  

The road is an addictive place.

This is not the end.

This is the beginning.