"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.
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| Chinese crispy duck seems to be everywhere you look |
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| Bowl of spicy delicious |
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| Durian Mecca |
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| Best Briyani I've had at Tekka Center in Little India |
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| Noodles cut from a large hunk of dough, not rolled |
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| 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.
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| Nightly exodus of 3.5 million bats from Deer Cave |
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| King's Chamber in Cave of the winds |
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| Sink hole in Clearwater Cave |
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| Swirling mist near Mount Kinabalu, tallest mountain in SE Asia |
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| Trail through the dense Rainforest |
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| One of the many pitcher plants we saw in Borneo |
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| 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.
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| With produce this fresh, no wonder the food is great |
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| Dried fish section at Warorot Market |
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| Fermented fish, pastes and maybe some salt crabs too |
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| Spices play a huge role in Thai cuisine |
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| Pad Thai |
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| Spicy glass noodle salad, one of my favorites. So spicy |
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| Penaeng Curry, I made this at a cooking class |
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| Golden Stupa at Doi Suthep, overlooking Chiang Mai |
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| 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!
