Welcome to the jungle: Part 1

A jungle can be defined as both ‘A dense mix of vegetation, usually in south tropical geographical locations,’ as well as ‘something made up of many confused elements; a bewildering complex or maze’. The latter definition is my current analysis of my human brain. Welcome to the jungle part 2 is the last half of this entry, as Simone and I have decided to go explore South America. We arrive in Brazil tomorrow, and will be living there indefinitely, or at least until we do what we do best; change our mind. We are professionals at this- unofficial world champions, perhaps.

Those look delicious, I want both. Thank Morpheus that I wasn't "The Chosen One"

The writing strike ends, and the Journey of a lost Indian, continues.


Two weeks ago we were in Freeport, Bahamas, and we thought that we were going to move there.  Little did we know, Freeport happens to be the most boring and uninviting city in all of the Bahamas 680 islands or cays.  Sure, the fishing is amazing, but that’s the only appealing thing about Freeport. I won’t go into detail of what exactly gave us the idea that moving there was a great plan, but I will say that it involved an enticing job offer for me, and an opportunity for Simone to be reunited with her equine love, Pace. We soon decided that neither of these attractions was worth the sacrifice of abandoning ourselves on this near-desolate island. In hindsight, it’s possible that we were trying to be responsible and convince ourselves that we needed to “settle down”, but what is certain is that we went there by planning and thinking, and not feeling… and this is never a good idea for us.

Take this guy for example: He felt that his boat was not moving fast enough, so he decided to powerwalk across the finish line. 

Sometimes you just can’t fight a feelin' ... and right now, these 2 forwards just feel like playing Tetris.

  

We are two of the same, Simone and I. We do what we FEEL is right. It took Simone less than 24 hours to feel that Bahamas was a mistake. I tried to find the light in our situation for a couple days, only to realize that Simone’s feeling was spot-on, and Bahamas was not a place that we were ready to call home. Six days later, we were each on a plane to Miami. Only Simone made it to Florida that day, but this, I will explain a little later.

As usual, an obstacle is what you make it. Where some see a problem, others could see an opportunity, and I believe that all of life’s issues, problems or challenges are simply a perception, and a state of mind. 

Facing predictable and severe injuries in about one second, Pedro choses to execute a flawless, almost majestic soaring position while thinking to himself “I should have stayed in school.”

With extension that even a Bulgarian gymnastics coach would be proud of, I’m sure Pedro feels that the sound of his collarbone breaking will be overshadowed by the adoring applause of the crowd.

Please excuse the darker tone of this blog- it might seem misleading, because I am in fact 'higher on life' than ever before. It's just that the past 3 months have been a massive shift for myself, and most of the world. This shift has manifested itself in various ways for different people, and although I believe that a 'shift' is actually constantly occurring, as in, we are living this life through a shifting level of consciousness, the past 3 months have registered as 'highly significant', and have confirmed to me that the way I chose to live my life is exactly as it should be. The doubts that enter the mind throughout the way are tests (or choices) to see how strong you trust the way of the 'path'


So I may have been reading the Tao Te Ching, again. It's a good reference guide when things start to build up and get a little funky, I highly recommend it.

I’m going to jump back a month or so and talk about some notable events that occurred since we left Bali. Most of our time from then until now was spent in Mallorca, and we also spent time in Liechtenstein and Zurich, and I even returned to Montreal on two separate occasions. Our first experience in Mallorca was late July, and was a grand mix of emotions and personal challenges. We were coming off of a 3 month journey through Asia, which, although unplanned, was a deep spiritual passage for both of us. Returning to ‘normal life’, would have undoubtedly felt strange, but the life we lived in Mallorca was anything but normal. It’s impossible for me to complain about any aspect of my life, but I recently encountered a number of obstacles thrown my way that posed significant “tests’.  My/our obstacles included crashing a BMW in Spain, which was not fun, a disagreeable outcome to a Bahamian vacation rental , which was a major upset, and being denied entry into the US- both extremely inconvenient and emotionally stressful. However, thanks to the angels in my life that guard my body and my brain from destruction, I am able to take all of these events and appreciate them for the lesson in them, the experience gained, and the relationships strengthened through the trials and endeavors overcome.

 As for the car crash, I can tell you that it was truly an event which was strategically placed as an obstacle in my life/our relationship for reasons that I only understood months later. Trust me, if you had seen the situation, you would agree that our car and this unfortunate, un-suspecting woman’s car just NEEDED to collide. It would otherwise be impossible for 2 cars to be in this same place at this same particular time. Impossible. Nobody was physically hurt, but the emotional toll it took was temporarily substantial. It came at a time when our mental state was blended in a vortex of spiritual acknowledgements and undeniable feelings, mixed with environmental influences and ego-driven reactions and insecurities to our adaptation of the ‘normal’ life that we were returning to. What a crazy period in time. It was amazing to overcome it, and now I am able to appreciate the opportunity to have consciously experience it. Crisis averted, and life again flows as a river of peace, adventure, and appreciation.

After all the tests of the past 3 months, many that I didn’t even mention, do I harbor hard feelings for certain people in positions of power who lack integrity and compassion? 

Yes, I do. But I try to remember that forcing a negative energy towards something rarely reaches the “thing”, yet always surrounds the ‘enforcer’, and in this, I find the strength to release this bad energy and embrace it as a lesson learned. But I would like to say this: John and Barbi (real names), you suck. You're sheets feel like plastic, your "million dollar home' is ugly, and you are both dishonest people. Ok, moving on

On that lighter note, Simone and I are now engaged, and that is awesome. It’s fun to have an official title, such as Fiancée. Since I no longer know how to answer when people ask me what I ‘do’, I reply to them, ‘I’m a fiancée.’ A wedding is nowhere in the near future, however. We take things step by step, as we have proven to ourselves that planning the future is futile.

I don’t want to talk too much about Homeland Security, because I don’t have anything nice to say about them. Yes, them. A collective attitude of shortsighted views on National security and a blind attempt at immigration law enforcement that is destined to fail because it is governed by fear, insecurities and force, rather than awareness and power. My over-stay in the US was overlooked by a human in Montreal, but was deeply analyzed by a robot human at the US immigration in Freeport. A robot human, by my definition, is a person that was born as all of us were, yet somehow separated his/herself from the essence of our creation at some point during their life. If someone ever tells you that they are just ‘doing their job,’ it could be fair to tell them that they have chosen a shitty job. One that furthers the world from it’s potential for equality and peace. Not always the job to blame, necessarily, but more so the attitude of the person who takes the job. Occupy Wallstreet? I say occupy the Whitehouse… because that’s where the big picture of these problems are being created.

Ok, i'll move on again.

So Simone is currently in Miami looking for a dog crate for Bailey’s airline trip to Rio, and I’m currently in Panama City looking for a meal without meat. I think that I’ll have to adapt my diet to what the land has to offer, as I suspect that South American culture will not have as many nutritional options as North America. I actually look forward to cycling back to more “opportunist” style eating, as it is more in line with what our bodies were designed to function with. I'm scheduled to land at 1:25am, while Simone & Bailey are landing at 730am. My current game plan is to spend the 6 hours sleeping and practicing my Portuguese in the airport so that I can greet them as they arrive.

We booked a week in Santa Theresa, in a Favela neighborhood that costs 40$/night… this should be interesting. We vowed to get more in touch with local cultures like we did in Bali, and not make the same mistake of isolating ourselves like we did in Bahamas. Although Favelas get a bad wrap, some areas can actually be quite charming and safe. Our area is a more ‘upscale’ (not a shantytown) than many in Rio, and is known for its music and art culture. We are told that live music and dancing will be a major part of our landscape all days of the week, almost all hours of each day. This means that I need to add local samba and salsa lessons to my list of foreign cultural practices to familiarize myself with, in a short period of time, as my current dance-moves rank me with these party-goers right here:

'Cause this is thriller, thriller night
and no one's gonna save you from the beast about strike
You know it's thriller, thriller....

In current Rio news, the major drug dealers and the militia’s favela territories are being busted up by the Brazilian police and army, in preparation for the 2014 World cup and the 2016 Olympic games. Our timing to visit this city seems quite good, as the action is ever growing and security is becoming more of a priority around this major city. As with the threat of Pirates in the Flores sea, the reported violence in Rio is not something that deters me from freely roaming and enjoying the local scene. And no, It's not my yellow belt in Judo that gives me this confidence. It's more the refusal to allow fear to dictate my actions. Yes, it's exactly this mentality that got me deported- but hey, I had a good run;) ....wouldn't take it back for anything. And no, i'm not crazy or saying that danger is a state of mind. Trust me, if you wear a rolex and go out to a bar in Santa Teresa, you're not coming home with that watch. Danger is very real, and something that needs to be considered. In areas like this, you just have to act smart and sensible, keep your head up and trust your instincts. If you've ever seen City of God, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317248/  or City of Men, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0870090/ 
 you've seen where we are currently living. 

This is an actual picture of Santa Teresa. The ocean is to the right about 5 miles away.

Our plan to travel Brazil just recently came to us, partially due to my inability to access the States for the next several months, and I am so very happy that this opportunity came up.  Obviously, it would be even more ideal without a temporary American exile, but alas, it shows that we continue to be able to make lemonade when life throws us lemons. Also fortunate for me is that the manufacturing business that I started with my partner in Bali can be operated from anywhere on the globe, so I have no other restrictions on places that I can be. Simone is so amazing for her unbelievable attitude and infinite support as we overcome this challenge together. What an angel of a partner in life, truly a blessing to have a relationship with a foundation that is unmovable by anything except love. Her battles are remedied with my unconditional support, as are mine with hers- and this is something that I can only describe as a state of being that is like heaven on earth. To know that you are happy to give everything that you are capable of to someone in need is a very special feeling, and to feel the reciprocal blessing of having that counterpart wish to give to you everything you could ever desire, can put you into a state of bliss. More so, to know that who you are is exactly who your partner wished you to be, is a rare blessing in itself, and one that we are proud to know that we share. 


Rio update:


We landed in Rio yesterday- Simone 8 hours after my arrival. It turns out that sleeping in the Rio de Janeiro airport is somewhat of a popular thing. An armed guard patrols and periodically asked you to change benches, but there is no issue other than that. Brazilian coffee is amazing, and Brazilian bread seems to always be filled with cheese- just an observation.


Today we went to Ipanema beach, which is a dream in a weird way. There is a section where dogs are allowed- Bailey appreciates this very much. There is a place to fish, a place to hike, great surf, great sport games to pick up with locals, and it’s essentially the complete adult playground for a fitness minded, nature appreciating population. In every way, the sights are amazing and diverse, and some form of action is happening in all directions.


Our host, Carlos, is so much fun, so energetic, and is very genuine and humble. I don't think he works often, and it seems like many Brazilians don't. What many Brazilians do, is appreciate and take advantage of their lush and gifted landscape. There are thousands of people in the parks (which are mostly equipped with fitness equipment and dedicated running trails) and the beaches are packed all day, every day.


Tomorrow we will check out Copacabana beach and the surrounding area, then we are looking into a reputable hang gliding center to get our adrenaline fix.


I'll try to post some photos soon- Brazil is beautiful and the pics should be quite stunning. The place we are staying is as basic as advertised, and living in this area is pretty wild. Homeless people are spread out along the streets, driving is almost as dangerous as Bali, and yet it feels strangely peaceful and relaxed here. I can't compare this area to anything i've ever experienced, and I look forward to exploring more and learning more about this amazing land.


Tchau!

See you soon, Bali. Part 1

The elusive final blog from Bali… here we are at last.

My lost/stolen blog is now a mere memory, once lost somewhere in cyberspace, it’s now (according to the local police) most likely in Jakarta or perhaps even as far as Kuala Lumpur. I will try my best to remember its content as I write this first installment of my final blog(s) from Bali. I’m currently in the air, en route to Singapore on our way to London where we will spend 5 days before leaving to Palma de Mallorca, Spain, to spend 2 weeks in Simone’s new home on the coast. Before reaching London, there is a convenient 6-hour layover in Amsterdam- again. We plan to purchase a new camera at the Singapore Airport so that we can document our European adventure (part 2) as it begins, and share the pictures with you along the way.

Between acting in, performing stunts for, and directing a thriller movie, Simone also spent the past 3 weeks recovering from a parasite. With all this on her plate, she was not able to make it to the remote-island celebration of life with me. The deserted island psychedelic party that I attended with Sandesh was a combination of a celebration of life, and a birthday party for a guy named Osman.

Again, this is a "You had to be there" story, but I’ll do my best to paint the picture- sadly, without any of the pictures that I had taken during that trip.

The island is called Gili Nanggu, a 1.5 hour motorbike ride to the coast from our inland home, followed by a 5-6 hour ferry ride away from Bali, followed by a 1 hour outrigger ride from a cargo ship harbor. You arrive on the island soaking wet and with a very sore butt- courtesy of an underpowered wooden boat that was not designed for inter-island voyages, or carrying passengers- and a captain that has no intention of maneuvering away from the waves created by 150 meter long cargo ships. When you arrive on the shore of Gili Nanggu, you'll soon discover that there is no running water on the entire island. It's just sand and palm trees. But the party was built up to be quite a scene, so these were only minor discomforts that were accepted as part of the experience.

Somehow, Osman managed to arrange the delivery of a natural-gas generator to power his speaker system and DJ equipment- he even had strobe lights and a fog machine... This party was scheduled to last 4 days, although I had committed to only 1 night, as Simone had to stay in Bali for work and to nurse her parasite.

I show up at the island at 2pm, after a total of 9 hours of traveling, to find approximately 60 people on the beach who were in full-on party mode. By full-on party mode, I mean that they were already 24 hours into the celebration, and were in an entirely different dimension than myself. Along with the eco friendly generator and professional speaker system, a large shipment of LSD had managed to smuggle itself onboard and decided to join the party. I've been to raves before, and I’ve been to trance parties with over 20,000 people attending... I've NEVER seen people as far-out as these 60 people on Gili Nanggu. My word of the day became "Full-on" as there seemed to be no other way to describe what I was seeing. These people were just full-on celebrating.

I guarantee that this guy will lose his glasses before the party is over

I knew that these people were serious about psychedelic- But one guy really stood out… he was moving in a way that no sober human could, and he was wearing an outfit that glowed in the dark from head to toe. I called him Electron. Mostly because he could glow in the dark, but also because he appeared to be getting electrocuted from invisible currents of energy- it was his dance-move of choice for a solid 5 hours.  Also, his outfit had its own battery powered L.E.D lighting system. Sadly for me, the L.E.D lights had died hours ago before I arrived on the island, so I never got to see him in his full getup. It appears that the energy supply of the batteries for his L.E.D system couldn't compete with stamina from the LSD that was IN his system.

Over 18 hours after I first saw him, Electron was still going- but barely.

After a night of enjoying the events of this celebration of life as the only lucid human on Gili Nanggu, I awoke at 730am and exited my tent. At this time, there were over 100 party people; some ‘originals’ were still going at it full-on. Suddenly, boatloads of family vacationers began to arrive from surrounding islands. We discovered that Gili Nanggu was a popular place to day-camp for those who liked 'peace and quiet'... well, that was not to be found on this island today- or tomorrow. The party was now only 36 hours old, and had at least 24 more to go. It was really entertaining for me to watch as unsuspecting tourists were approached by members of the psychedelic celebration, and were offered to join our party with complimentary hits of acid or mushrooms.

It's now just before noon, and I was about to wave goodbye to the party people and head home to planet earth. But I noticed a man in snorkeling gear, wearing leopard print underwear... so I decided to stay a while. Although this site was far from the strangest I had witnessed in the past 24 hours, I was still very interested in what his intentions were, and I was planning on standing guard in case he decided to venture off into the ocean. Luckily for both of us, this was not his plan... and it became clear to me that he thought he was already IN the ocean. Well, I rushed to my bag and got out my camera, knowing that something document worthy was about to occur- and it did.

At one point, the man in snorkeling gear found himself in the middle of the dance-circle, where it appears that he thought he was underwater, surrounded by a large school of fish. He proceeded to laydown in the sand, and with a surprisingly effective breaststroke motion, he traveled about 6 yards and almost made it to the DJ booth- I knew this was his targeted destination, because the DJ booth was where the LSD supply was kept.

I wish I could have had this on film, and I intended to narrate the event that unfolded using the photos I took, but we all know what happened to those…

Looking back at the events from the island, I realize that I’ll really miss Gili Nanggu. Electron and dry-land scuba man, thank you for the entertainment. I’ll never forget you.

 I returned home from the island to find that Simone was feeling much better, and had found out that the local movie studio she worked with over a year ago here in Bali wanted to partner with her to film a short from the movie concept that she had created.

We had to postpone our voyage at sea with Captain Ignazzio, as he had arrived in Bali several days too late for us to complete our trip. He had spent over a week battling unfavorable winds while crossing the world’s deepest channel that separates Bali from Lombok Island, so with our trip no longer possible, our connection with him was a simple dinner where we discussed plans to sail to Papua sometime in the near future.

Simone and I performed the stunts and ‘acting’ for the film, and we were lucky to have eager and motivated friends who wanted to experience the opportunity to work for several days on a movie set. I personally loved the stunt work. Riding motorcycles off-road and in the complete absence of police is a passion of mine, as is jumping off high things and executing controlled ‘tuck-and roll’ landings. My role as ‘Bryce Dawson’ involved crashing stuff, jumping really high and really far, and carrying a small Asian woman through waist deep water in a jungle river- basically my idea of a perfect day. After having the filming completed in about a week, we were only left with 5 days to complete our Bali adventure.

The last 5 days for me were spent mostly with Sandesh and Stefano, as we worked together on several business ventures and completing a sightseeing tour of various notable elements, including local architectural structures that were built entirely accurate to sacred geometrical designs. Simone was completely dedicated to finalizing her filming and editing details to create her teaser. With this completed on our final night, we all went out to dinner at ‘The Five Elements Resort’ which is a built on holy grounds in Bali, and is architecturally stunning, with it’s concept is grand and beautiful in every way. Operated in conjunction with the enlightened teachings and practices of ‘Green School”, these are 2 establishments that are making massive forward steps in humanitarianism and equality progression, while providing holistic health education and permaculture techniques to benefit all living beings.

Currently, we are at the Amsterdam Intl. Airport- and have decided to stay here… there will be no express adventures and certainly no wandering into pubs or ‘Coffee Shops’ during this 6 hour layover. Not because it’s 8:05am, but mostly because during the goodbye dinner party for us last night, I inhaled something that our friend had recently hand-picked in the Himalayas… I don’t know what it was, but I didn’t want to break the flow of the rotation as it got passed around the dinner table, and my curious nature demanded that I experience this exotic herbal delight. The natural ‘remedy’ rendered my body completely useless for an hour or so, while my brain proceeded to function at full capacity in some other dimension. Good times…

So, we didn’t find a camera in Singapore. We hope that London’s electronic prices won’t be as outrageous as we have been told they are. We shall see…

As far as the home-invasion goes, there's not much to report other than Simone and I now probably fit into the class of 'Ultra-light backpackers' here in Europe. Thanks to our midnight visitor, we were saved the inconvenience of having to pay overweight luggage charges at the airline check-in counter. 

Now we are in our hotel In London. I'm excited to be able to see my mother in her mother country! The food here is as bad as I remember it, but luckily we found a grocery store up the street from our hotel, and the numerous Pret A Manger's here have decent vegetarian selections. 


I'll be posting more from Spain, and assuming that we don't get robbed and I don't lose the connector cable to our future camera, many pictures will be posted with the next blog.




Love & Light to all!

I was about to post a different blog, but it appears that we lost a cable that connects our camera to the computer, again. So, here is something i put together from my memory of the 'lost blog' - the one I erased last month...

I will post the new blog within the next few days.

I'll explain this in a minute...

This is a short and unofficial introduction to the people of Bali- for those of you who are planning to explore this part of the world, it can give you an inside look at some of the things you will learn after spending 3 months in a Southern Asia country.

One thing you will soon notice after arriving in Bali, is that the women here perform the hard-labour work. This is amazing to watch, and very humbling. These women work for under 3$ a day, and many women work for just over 1$ a day. I've seen women carrying everything from bundles of 25 foot long bamboo trunks on their heads, to baskets of agricultural harvesting and even livestock.

 One woman, who is particularly amazing, has discovered that the mud at the bottom of a particularly fast-flowing river is in demand from the local construction companies... so she spends her days jumping off a riverbank with a bucket on her head, collecting this mud one handful at a time. Literally, she jumps with an enormous basket on in one hand, while holding a smaller bucket in the other. She holds her breath as she enters the water, and then disappears into the river. When she surfaces, she has scooped up a handful of precious mud in her little bucket, and she then places this mud in the larger bucket that sits on top of her head. She will continue to dive down to the river bottom and repeat this process until her large bucket is filled to maximum capacity, at which point she exits the river, climbs up a hillside path that she has worn into the landscape from these repeat trips, goes up a steep and wet rock staircase, and deposits the mud onto a pile at the edge of the bridge. She fills her buckets for about 8 hours a day, almost every day of the year. (Photos courtesy of Sandesh Poin)

She literally throws the last bucketful into the air and makes it perform a perfect flip. That's truly maximum capacity 

I weight lifted and tried to "bulk up" for years- and I couldn't get back muscles like this woman.. 

I remember thinking to myself after watching a woman balance over a dozen construction bricks on her head "And what do the Balinese men do that's so special"

To answer my own question, the Balinese man can do EVERYTHING. Or at least he will try. If you ask a Balinese man if he is able to perform a certain task, he will say 'yes' before you even hint at what it is. You see, a Balinese man cannot afford to turn down a potential source of income. Since they have not yet figured out how to clone themselves, the Balinese man has become omnipresent by forming a conglomerate of 'friends' in which they network and share 'clients', taking a commission off any sale that they potentially 'booked' for their colleague. You can say to a taxi driver "I need help building my spaceship, all I need is carbon-fiber and ____" before you can say 'Unobtanium', the taxi driver will say "Yes!" with certainty and confidence that will leave you almost considering the possibility that he could somehow manage to locate the Unobtanium. In fact, you actually have to be careful what you say, because if you mention that you want or need something, a Balinese man will pick up on it and take immediate action.

A few weeks back, I looked at my phone and noticed 4 missed calls, all spaced within a minute of each other. It was our driver, Nyoman. Days before, Simone had mentioned that she thought there were Chameleons in Bali, and would like to find one if it were possible. Well, its not possible. There are no native Chameleons in Bali, and its illegal to sell exotic animals here- punishable by very serious prison sentences. Regardless of the dangers, Nyoman had put the word out to his 'friends' that there was urgent need for a Chameleon, known locally as a 'Boomlong'. When I return Nyomans call, he answered the phone- completely out of breath and sounded excited.

 Nyoman said: "DAVE! I climbed up all the stairs to your house- are you and Simone home?"

I said; "Um, yes. Why?"

Nyoman: "I have Boomlong!"

Wow, I did not expect that to happen.


So I walk out the front door to welcome our exhausted taxi driver/exotic animal dealer, who is holding a cage that contained one very distraught and aggressive reptile- which was not a Chameleon. A friend of his had managed to capture a reptile that looked like a Kimodo Dragon mixed with a crocodile, while clearing a field behind a local resort hotel. The only characteristic that this lizard possessed that resembled a Chameleon, was the fact that it was indeed a reptile. Other than that, no similarities whatsoever. This hissing dragon has a tail that was about 2 feet long, and it had a head like a snake and the body of a salt-water crocodile. It really was quite frightening. I exclaimed our disinterest in adopting this ferocious dragon, and our taxi driver actually took it quite well.

NOT a Boomlong... but it's surprisingly obedient with the pink leash/mouth bow tie combo

It's really quite amazing to see how efficient these men are when it comes to networking and multitasking. Just recently, I had a Fedex package that went MIA somewhere in Indonesia, because it required payment of import tax and did not have a complete address. Naturally, I called Nyoman and told him that i have a job for him. I only gave him my tracking number and my name, and less than 24 hours later, the package was hand-delivered to me, from him. I have no idea how he got this package, but I had no doubt at any point that he would accomplish the task. He is also the man who helped us get our local Balinese drivers license. That was a fun experience... It took a 20$ bribe to the police chief to ignore the fact fact that we were not here with business Visas, and the test we took (in a local restaurant outside the police station parking lot) already had all the correct answers circled.
My favorite part of the experience: Question #15 on the license test.

As much as the answer D sounded tempting, I really needed this drivers license so I circled A and handed in my exam.

Another thing that you will learn about Bali, is that there is a very limited vocabulary used here. The Balinese dialect of Indonesian language is quite pleasant sounding, and relatively simple to acquire. A great example of its simplicity, is that there are only 4 male and 4 female names in the Balinese culture. Literally, if you call out the name "Ketut!" in a room of 100 people, on average, 25 people will say "yes"

Names in Bali are simple;

Wayan, Putu, Gede for 1st born male child
Wayan, Putu, Iluh for 1st born female child

Made, Kadek for 2nd born male child
Made, Kadek, for 2nd born female child.

Nyoman, Komang for 3rd born male and female children

Ketut for 4th born male or female children.

The 5th born reverts back to the list for 1st born children.

That's just a fun fact for you.

Well, since I have no access to my photos, I will save the best for last... I figure that I will post 2 more blogs after this one, before I leave Bali. The next will be full of pics, with stories surrounding most of them.

Thanks for checking in, I'll be back soon!

Love and Light to all 

5 days in Malaysia

Right now, we are on a bus that's leaving Singapore, heading North on a 13 hour road trip to the N. East coast of Malaysia. Our destination is a city called Kuala Terengganu. From here, a quick powerboat ride can take us to over a dozen secluded tropical islands, including Palau Tioman and the Perhentians. These islands are known for being the breeding grounds of endangered sea turtles, and it's suspected to be the resting grounds of stashed gold and stolen jewelry that was abandoned here by pirates centuries ago... Both Simone and I are PADI scuba certified, so we plan on renting our own diving equipment and jumping off a boat to explore the underwater world in search of marine life and buried treasure.

Scuba Simi- Always ready for action

... And I like to go with the flow

 *Update: While crossing the border at the Malaysia/Singapore Immigration checkpoint, I was almost abandoned at the crossing- on the Malaysian side. If it weren't for Simones persistence and powerful speech to the driver about respect and common courtesy, I would have been left there for certain... with all my belongings on the bus.

... but we made it, and the adventure continues...

 Coastal Malaysia is a very tranquil and tropical location. Full of beautiful beaches and landscapes with exotic animals and rare wildlife that can be seen in their natural habitat. 

Rarely a single person on the beach here, it's a great place to go if you like privacy

As visually appealing as it may be, Malaysia is not the place to visit if you are interested in healthy eating while on vacation. MSG is in everything- I wouldn't be surprised if there was MSG in household products like hand lotion or even laundry detergent. Its been on every menu and food ingredient label that I've seen since arriving here. The other major issue is that the service here is not flexible. Substitutions or modifications to an order will be ignored or become miscommunicated, so don't bother asking for a custom dinner- because if its not exactly as described on the menu, you cant have it. Just point to a picture on the menu to make your order. You'll get exactly what you see in the photo- flies and ants included. 
Dinner on the island can be quite good, you just have to select the right location. Almost every establishment along stretches of a beach will offer a coconut wood grill which they fire-up nightly at 7pm. Seafood is displayed either on tables or in canoes (seriously) and its quite a sight to see- very similar to a marketplace layout. You can have an entire 3lb Red Snapper with a salad, white rice (brown rice is not an option) and fresh fruit, all for less than 5$ U.S.

 Tip: Search for the restaurant that displays their seafood on a bed of ice. Since arriving in Asia, I have come to peace with the fact that natural eggs do not need to be refrigerated. That was a tough one for me. However, I am at a loss for words when I pass displays that are simply layed out on a wooden table in 80+ degree heat for hours, featuring chicken, beef, shellfish and fresh caught fish.  One evening, after passing a 3rd seafood restaurant that displayed its 'catch of the day' as if it were a used book sale, we arrived at our favorite safe-spot at the end of the beach.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any crazier than what I just witnessed, our waitress took our order and proceeded to blow my mind.

Waitress: (To Simone)  "How would you like your chicken cooked? Medium, Rare, or Well-Done?"

Simone: "Um, cooked like a REGULAR chicken... You can have a chicken cooked rare?"

Waitress: "Oh yes! Or medium if you prefer"

Simone: "I'd like mine cooked like a normal, safe to eat chicken. Not rare at all- fully cooked please"

That really happened. If i wasn't there, I would not believe it myself

so....

Breakfast for me everyday here is 1tbs of Maunka honey, about a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, a bowl of watermelon, and a coffee (or 3) ... Malaysian coffee, prepared correctly, is world class.

Lunch is vegetables and a Malaysian version of Thailands famous Tom Yum soup, and dinner is grilled fish, salad and rice. (kingfish, red snapper or dorado has been the best choice this trip)

I have not eaten meat, except fish, for a good portion of this Asian adventure (sorry Sanjay;)... And now its decidedly my diet of choice. I've seen too many locals and tourists with parasites and food poisoning from cross-contamination and improper food storage- my body doesn't have any vacancies for an Amoeba to call home. Plus, I had a special moment of clarity while driving the streets of Bali, behind a motorbike transporting baby pigs to their certain death. I feel it's best to keep my diet as un-denatured and light as possible, and always (where possible) organic. Maybe in a couple years I'll have balanced all the time I spent over-consuming animal products and protein supplements in attempt to become un-proportionately muscular. I have no idea of my body weight these days- I haven't stepped on a scale since leaving Los Angeles. I'm guessing that I'm under 165... which is 50lbs less than I weighed during the peak of my lifting days. When I return to Bali, I'll try to find a pic from my earlier years and compare it to now, over 4 years later. These days, my not-so-little younger brother has taken over the title of biggest and strongest Catudal. Well, he's probably always been the strongest;)

Arriving on the jetty at Palau Perhentian, the 'small' island

    



It's now day 4 in Malaysia, this island we are staying on is about 15 miles off the coast, less than an hour from the Thailand border, and about 2hrs from Vietnam and Cambodia. Last night there was a tropical storm that sounded like a war was going on... Lightning and thunder mixed with a heavy rain that felt as if we were standing under a waterfall. Apart from that, the weather has been sun and blue sky all day, every day.


We went scuba diving today...
Simone and I went diving  2 weeks ago in Bali. It was stunning and peaceful- and uneventful. I guess I got spoiled with that being my first deep-dive experience in open water. The conditions were perfect, and we were guided by 2 'Divemasters'- one of whom has been running his own school for over a decade.
 In Malaysia, I learned that there are less strict safety standards for scuba diving. Our boat driver seemed intoxicated, and our guides were both very nice girls, but looked about 16 years old. On the ride out to the dive site, the boat driver knocked over his fuel tank and filled the rear of our boat with gasoline... While he was turning around in circles looking for a solution, our guide declares that we have reached the site and instructs us to gear up. Good, just get me out of this floating time-bomb...  Entering the water using the James Bond-style backwards entry, Simone was the first off the boat. As soon as she hit the water, I noticed that she was rapidly floating away from where we were anchored. Keep in mind that we had taken a 30 minute ride away from the island into the ocean... We were FAR offshore. So now we have Simone in the water getting sucked away by strong current and a boat filled with gasoline. Simone manages to fight the current and swim back to the boat, where the guides call an impromptu group meeting to discuss the logistics of the dive.  Now all of us are in the ocean, and we're clinging to the side of the boat to avoid getting swept away by the current. The plan was to make it to the anchor line and pull ourselves down the rope with our hands, to the ocean floor. Getting underwater was a relief, because this was a surface current and it became only a mild pull at 30ft deep.

Looking upwards while diving is my favorite part. It'sa feeling that you can only truly understand if you've been down past 60'

The rope climb downwards was creepy... every foot deeper became darker and colder and quieter.  

About to reach our depth, one of the girls loses her flipper. We are now at 60' depth, where the current picks up again... She manages to tether her vest to her 'buddy' and they continue the dive with us. Meanwhile, Simone is struggling to maintain a consistent depth, and continues to float towards the surface at a dangerously fast pace. (Going upwards too quickly is the #1 no-no in scuba diving)
Simone has to fight and power-swim just to stay at a safe depth... It turns out that fighting the surface current had used a large supply of her air, making her oxygen tank light, and she was not wearing an appropriately weighted belt for this dive- possibly my fault.
The guide aborts the dive (using panicked hand-signals) and instructs us to follow her to a rock ledge that would become our shelter.
So Simone had to hold onto an underwater coral ledge at 25' while her guide kept her from floating upwards. I did my best to anchor Simone at that depth by using a free hand to grip the rock wall, and Simone gripped my forearm while I deflated my BCD vest to create the heaviest possible weight underwater. After a mandatory 5 minute decompression rest at the 20' depth, we were ready to safely swim to the surface.

Our dive that was scheduled for a 50 minute bottom time ended up lasting only 20 minutes from start to finish- we were all about to run out of air. On board, the driver had managed to bail out most of the gasoline, but the floor still had a layer of slippery petrol residue. After we were all in the relative safety of being out of the ocean, one of the guides exclaimed that she needed a cigarette... Did nobody else realize how dangerous it is to have a fuel leak on a boat??

 The girls looked worried that Simone had a scare underwater, and asked her how she was feeling. Simone replied; "I'm just upset that I couldn't take good pictures of the fish," and scheduled a dive for the next day. It's really hard to scare this girl.... If the boat had caught on fire, she might have been a little worried- maybe.


These picture were taken 3 weeks ago in Bali... there was not much opportunity to snap underwater shots this time... Diving in Malaysia really tested our nerves and our scuba skills.

Getting a close-up on a white-eyed Moray Eel

Exiting the wreck- It was a US cargo ship sunken by a Japanese submarine in WWll

Simone loved being in the middle of things

      
So now we are in a new hotel that has wifi. Our power goes out every 1/2 hour or so, but the Internet connection is solid. Malaysia is beautiful, but the service standards are extremely low. While living in Bali, we came to discover that it was not by any means a clean or sanitary place- but we loved and accepted it because it's peaceful, magical, and very friendly. It's very clear that the Hindu people are content with tourist activity and they are accepting, outgoing and respectful. So far, Malaysia has left us feeling slightly uncomfortable and unwelcomed. Questions and requests go unanswered, polite suggestions and comments are ignored or interpreted as slander, which leads to even more unfriendly interactions. Maybe this sounds worse than it actually is, but the truth is that there is a massive discrepancy in friendliness between local and tourist here in S.E. Asia, when it comes to the Hindu or Muslim dominant regions.

On a lighter note, we have a great adventure coming up. In Bali, we became friends with some very interesting people who have been traveling the world for many years. Sandesh, who has been living mostly in India and Asia for the past 30 years, once traveled on a ship through the Indian ocean all the way down and around to the south Asia seas, living on islands off the Indonesian coasts. The captain whom he lived on board with is now returning to Bali and will be taking Simone and I on his boat, the 'Wanderer V'. This is a classic wooden ship that was built  in New Zealand for the famous world sailor and Author, Eric Hiscock. 
Eric died (on the boat) in 1986. Years later, Ignazio Mannu, who is our captain, purchased the boat for his own adventures and sails as a private chartered captain around the world. We are privileged to have this opportunity, and we will be at sea for 2 weeks as we travel from Bali through the Komodo islands, towards Australia on the Flores Sea.

Simone is concerned about pirates. Being a caring boyfriend, I asked Sandesh if there is any worry of pirates in the seas that we will be sailing. He replied; 'Well, yes, there could always be pirates... But be assured that the man you are sailing with is more of a threat to the pirates than they are to him... The man is crazy-  the ocean has been his home from the time he was 12 years old, you'll be safe with Iggy... He wouldn't let anything happen to the Wanderer V."

We anticipate quite an adventure coming up... This has been a dream for both of us for a long time. I'll keep you posted!

Love and Light to all