A Bowl of Stupid

Although this is being posted while I'm out exploring the temples at Angkor Wat in Cambodia for a week, I wrote this while I was still in Krabi, Thailand again for a few days before heading up north here to Bangkok.

Although Krabi was great (as usual), I've been a bit distracted from the typical goings on of rock climbing, snorkeling, swimming, laying out on the beach, and getting ridiculously liquored with the rest of the tourist backpacker set (you know it's bad when you've got to head to BANGKOK to detox from going a bit overboard). Regardless, my mind has been elsewhere; and depending on what happens in the next several days, so may the rest of me. I'll explain (in part, at least least publicly).

However, before getting there, I first want to quickly explain something:

Well before I left the States, and even before I started writing this blog, but for a few exceptions, I have tried to avoid like the fucking plague writing about (or discussing) the romantic relations I've had in my life - past or present.

Frankly, the main reason is because I haven't been in a relationship I felt warranted any discussion (either publicly or privately). Moreover, I also don't feel my personal life is worth reading about — everyone since the beginning of time has been though similar things, and one more jackass writing about love and loss and loneliness would be, to say the least … superfluous.

Back to the point — as I've said before, I decided to travel abroad with the two-pronged intention of exploring new places (admittedly, in large part looking for surf), as well as trying to learn something about myself that may allow me to live a happier and fuller life. It seemed like an eloquent enough reason to forgo romantic relationships, which I've recently had little interest in pursuing anyway. Rather, my priority is on the exploration of the world, not people.

No offense, but I really just don't trust any of you fuckers enough.

Maybe it's a mistake to think that way. But quite frankly, it hasn't really bothered me much, since I've never really met anyone that I felt was not worth the trouble. This is something that may or may not come across in my writings as much as I think it does; but regardless, it's always there … abrupt melancholy disbursed in between the sarcasm and searching.

Now, only several short months after I first started this international 'Vision quest', I find myself questioning the underlying precepts which initially led to the journey and its accompanying dismissal of any potential relationship.

Don't get me wrong, Ive met some extraordinary people in those few months. There have been some really great mates –Ozzies, Brits, Dutch — all of whom I look forward to reaching out again to in the future. There have also been one or two women whom, like my past relations, I liked enough that I may have superficially pursued them if I was still living a stable, lawyerly-type life back in the States. Y'know, working the courtroom, driving the Saab, hitting the bars, … being a dick.

However, just as in the women in my past, none came close to having the ''potential" such that they would make me alter my plans - travel or otherwise.

With that being said, there is just such a potential — albeit it involves someone way back in the States. Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony (I know, I know, I'm stealing movie quotes all over the place).

Everyone has had that moment — where you're walking down the street and you meet another person's eyes, and you smile (as much as to yourself as to the other person), and you both just kinda know there's a "connection."

And nine times out of ten, you both just keep walking on to your respective appointments - walking on through your respective lives - knowing there was a connection but never taking the opportunity to find out if that person was … well, that person.

Continuing the metaphor, it seems that, despite having flown to Asia on this little 'mission' of mine, I have been stared down by just such a woman. And while she's still residing halfway around the globe, it would seem absolutely criminal to not at least stop and talk to her over a cup of coffee or 50.

Shit, if I've gleaned anything recently, it's that when you see an opportunity, you do NOT let it pass you by. Make hay while the sun shines.

Now then, … having provided that extremely long (and most probably, final) explanation, back to the matter at hand — as plans now stand, Southeast Asia will have to survive without me for at least the month of October. The next stop on the "Bowl of Stupid World Tour 07′-'08′ — right after Cambodia — will be Boston, Massachusetts. Yes … THAT Boston.

Yeah TK, I know, I know, … God help us all.

Sorry kid, but I gotta go see abut a girl.

P.S. Oscar Wilde paraphrased an ancient Latin dictum, observing that when the gods wish to punish us, they grant our wishes. Er … yep, that sounds about right.

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(The daunting skyline of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

Despite the above picture, I'm now in Bangkok.

I'm here after having visited Railai Beach in southern Thailand … again. I was there at the time the airplane crash only a score kilometers away in Phuket. It was obviously on everyones lips and minds — and feeling a type of kinship to the people vacationing who were on the flight — I feel especially sorry, and would if possible, wish the best for them and their families.

I'll write more about the trip to Railai and Bangkok in a few days when I have some extra time, but before I do, I will say this:

I swear, every time I go to Railai, I stay another day longer. Several of the local guy s have becomes good friends of mine, and it's now almost like a second 'home base' in Southeast Asia. They are real great people, and even after only being in Bangkok for a few days, I'm starting to think the Thais are the nicest people I've met out here so far.

Plus, I've heard that the Laotians are even MORE laid back, and even MORE friendly. And if that's the case, I think we should start exporting them to places like Arkansas and Utah to make those motherfuckers loosen up a bit.

Anyway, back to the original tale — I left Singapore last Tuesday morning (11 September), taking an 8:00 a.m. bus from Singapore up to Melaka, Malaysia, which is about 2.5 hours to the north, on the southwestern coast of the Malaysian peninsula.

I was planning on heading straight up to Kuala Lumpur ("KL"), but I read that Melaka has a particularly interesting history. As a uniquely situated port town, Melaka has been 'settled' (read: 'conquered and exploited') by the Dutch, the Portuguese, the Chinese, and - of course, like everywhere else in the region - the British. As a result, there is a unique colonial feel about the town. While exploring Melaka, at times I felt like I was walking around one of the Caribbean port towns that were also 'settled' by the Dutch and the British.

And while Melaka (and all of Malaysia, for the matter), is nowhere nearly economically advanced as Singapore, the country - and Melaka especially - is not anything near what I had expected (notwithstanding that I've already been here, but on the East Coast to go diving at the relatively secluded 'resort island' of Tioman).

Malaysia is, in my opinion (based on my own limited experiences), a mixture of Singapore and Indonesia. Whereas it appears to be economically (and speeding towards being similarly socially) advanced, the fact that it - like Indonesia - is not a secular state has, in some part, stifled it's development until just recently (unlike Singapore, a strictly secular state).

I will say this, however. If given the opportunity today to invest or start a business (import/export or something akin), I would probably choose Malaysia over Singapore at this point. They are just as forward thinking, yet lower costs for goods services (and tarrifs, from what I've heard). In fact, due in part to the financial and political stability of the country, Malaysia apparently has more annual tourists than does heavily toured Thailand.

Regardless, Melaka itself is a unique town. I stayed in a small guest house in their Chinatown (they also have a Little India with some amazing southern Indian food, just like Singapore). But the charming facade of a small, former-colonized port town - developed over the course of many hours walking through the town - was quickly stripped away when I came across the new 'Melaka Mega Mall.' And while this newly completed mall pales in comparison to even the smallest of Singapores' ubiquitous 'megamalls', it is an ultra-modern facility with ubiquitous Motorola (phone) stores, Quicksilver stores, and of course the parasitic Starbucks coffee dens.

In the end, although Melaka's downtown is historically compelling, it's Chinatown is quaint and fun, and the mostly Chinese and Indian populous are really nice people, after having lived in Singapore for a few months now, it was almost the equivalent to a resident of NYC or Philly heading down to the Jersey shore for the weekend (only I've NEVER met anyone in Jersey - or NYC or Philly - as nice as the people in Melaka).

The same can be said for Kuala Lumpur, where I arrived this afternoon after another 2 hour bus ride north from Melaka (making it about a total 4 - 4.5 hour trip from Singapore). To be honest, and in all humility, K.L. is NOTHING like I imagined.

I thought KL would be akin to Jakarta - a huge metropolis, a boiling mass of energy and drive, yet encumbered by outdated social morays and corruption and little direction or focus. In contrast, KL seems to be modeling itself after Singapore, Taipai, and the other up and coming financial and cultural outlets of the Far East. Obviously, I've only been here less than a full day, so I can't have any true idea of how the city or country is run. However, in comparison, the attempts by Indonesia and the Philippines to integrate themselves into a global economy (while, thankfully, not necessarily losing their own religious and cultural background) seem absolutely primitive in comparison.

Probably also due to the obvious benefits of being in a relatively 'booming' economy, the locals are still pretty friendly and nowhere NEAR as pushy to make a buck as the guys in Indo. However, it's also still more than a little disheartening to see how effectively, and how quickly, Malaysia has been swallowed up into the new 'global community.' Hell, KL has a much better symphony orchestra than most of the major cities in the USA (see Miami, for example).

Nor would I ever suggest that 'poor and uneducated' KL, or its diversity of peoples and cultures, or its well-tended infrastructure (the great metro-rail system in KL is simple and incredibly effective) are even CLOSE to those Americans beleive to be the best in the world. Indeed, I wouldn't dream of comparing KL's effective public transport to similar systems that have been promised and thwarted for years in Miami (assuming they are ever completed after all the corrupt Miami politicians take out their 'finders fees').

Shit, I guess it pays to have a 'democratically elected' leader and a 'rubber stamp' parliament/congress that pushes through public works rather than, oh … I don't know … invading another sovereign country (God, that man's a jackass).

Again, don't get me wrong — I don't mean to suggest that KL, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo or Taipei in ANY way match ANY of the metropolis' in the USA in terms of urbane sophistication.

On the bright side, I'm still pretty sure the USA is leading the world in humility.

P.S. Stick around, big news about the tour.

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Tell me thy company, and I'll tell thee what thou art."
-Miguel de Cervantes

I'm supposed to be using this time providing my loyal readers with soaring tales of the early stages of my travels throughout Southeast Asia — the surf, the islands, the people, my new computer, the food.

But quite honestly, I really don't feel like doing that right now.

Don't get me wrong, it's not like I can keep my mouth shut for 2 goddamn minutes when I'm asked in person about the places I been in the past few months. However, I just can't seem to put pen to paper (as it were) to satisfy my promises to friends and family - describing in detail for them the treasures I've seen to satiate desires both subtle and gross. Indeed, even my love of this very blog has, to some extent, fallen by the wayside.

At first, I promised myself that I would write regularly about my travels — if nothing else than but as a reminder to myself when looking back in later years.

The blog would also serve as a reminder of my initial dedication to take full advantage of this 'once in a lifetime' opportunity. An opportunity which, in my astounding good fortune, the fates bestowed upon me — to travel the world unfettered by significant economic and emotional ties (although I am not, by any means, "rich"; nor have I completely forgotten my friends and family on the other side of the world).

In making that initial promise to myself, I truly believed (and still do so) that taking several years off from life to explore the world, and experience new peoples, cultures, and places … that this will eventually make me a better person — which is ultimately the only thing we can really control in our lives, right?

However, in so doing, I knowingly discarded numerous other equally gratifying 'once in a lifetime' opportunities that may have otherwise been available to me, or which, then unbeknownst to me, may have presented themselves to me at a later time. Primarily, although I consciously decided to travel for several years on my own, I'm now starting to feel the bite of that decision in that, but for this blog and the occasional Instant Message (in large part), I've not really been able to personally share the experiences I've had, especially with someone I care about — which understandably diminishes them on some level.

Moreover, one of the other problems I've faced so far is the knowledge that the closest thing I have to a 'home' is my mate's extra room here in Singapore, where he so generously lets me store my shit while I'm traveling. Indeed, living out of a suitcase, which in itself is fine, may possibly be starting to take its toll after having lived in one place for so many years.

It may be that this will eventually beg the question: 'At what point does this global search for new experiences and spiritual enlightenment devolve into an endless quixotic reconnaissance mission for windmills?"

But then again, maybe not. It could also be that I'm just acting like a little bitch.

Shit, it's only been several months since I left the States in the first place. Perhaps it's just been a particularly frustrating week. Or perhaps it just takes time to grow comfortable living a full-time 'gypsy' lifestyle (since, unlike all the other backpackers who frequent this area, I have no real 'home' to return to if and when I decide to stop traveling).

Regardless, at this stage, my ego alone wouldn't allow such issues to impede the progress of the '07-'08 "Stupid World Tour." As such, I'm heading out for a couple months on Tuesday — sidelining the surfing aspect of this whole venture, and traveling overland up through Malaysia and Thailand, up through Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar on my way (hopefully) to Nepal by mid to late October.

I'll be here still for several more days, during which time, I'll write some more about my last trip to Rote, Indonesia (where, among other things, my hosts lovingly gutted the goat we were having for dinner right in front of us). I also plan to be traveling through places with electricity and internet access - so I can update on a more regular basis than once per month.

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All of you goddamn parasites — just keep yer damn hands off!!! (Cough, cough, gollum, gollum … Gollum, gollum, cough).

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Based upon a variety of factors, my old laptop — a Dell Inspirion — is quite utterly, a disaster.

It's about 4 years old (the same age as my emotional state), it was abused as my secondary "work" computer during the last 3 years I practiced law (uggh, the mere thought of doing legal work at this point just gives me the freaking "willies"), it has been with me across several continents now, and it has been subjected to conditions that one could euphemistically describe as "harsh."

In short, it has seen better days.

Additionally, I have learned the hard way that it's not the best "traveling" computer either. It's heavy as all get-out (in the range of 8-9 pounds with battery), the screen is broken and won't even stand up without the use of books or other items propping it up (much like myself, come to think of it), the outer casing is cracked in various locations allowing me to see more of it's computer guts, and sometimes it simply refuses to cooperate at all.

Action needed to be taken. And I'm back in Singapore, which is the alleged "cheapo electronics" capital of the world. So, when in Rome … uhh, I guess you buy something, right? Riiight.

Oh, I bought something. I realllllly bought something. In fact, I am the proud new owner of this miracle of modern technology — the Sony Vaio TZ.

Holy shit, this thing is the fuckin' mac-daddy, mutha fuckas!!

The thing only weighs 1.2 pounds. It's got an 11.1 inch screen. It's got over 12 hours of battery life. It's got a fingerprint reader so I don't have to deal with any more goddamn passwords. And it's got a shock protection G-Sensor Hard Drive - which is better for traveling (I would have to do a system restore on my old one every time it would take a big bump on an Indo public bus).

Yeah, you women can have yer shoes, and yer handbags, and yer makeup, … or yer whatever — I've got my VAIO; I said I got my VAIO to keep me warm.

Well now, if y'all will excuse me, I'm gonna hole up in my room and whisper sweet nothings into its built-in microphone allllll night. Just you and me, love … just you and me.

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That is a picture taken at sunset from Nemberala beach on the Indonesian island of Rote (a.k.a. "Roti"), looking out towards the Nemberala reef; where I've been for the past month.

Rote is the most southern island of the Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia. It lies about 200 kilometers from the city of Darwin on the northern coast of Australia, and about 20-30 kilometers south of of the island of Timor. As such, Rote is one of the last destinations in Indonesia open to the beautiful long swells of the south Indian Ocean.

(The beautiful left break at Nemberala, Roti, which, when breaking properly, would extend around the reef for up to 100-200 meters)

As with all the islands to the east of the Lombok straight, the hot dry SE trade winds provide for an arid landscape, in direct contrast to typical Indonesian tropical climate of Bali, Java, and Sumatra (Flora and fauna have links to Australia as opposed to Asia). During the traditional surf season (April to October) trade winds are consistent and off-shore, and the climate is very dry and sunny with almost no rain.

As with the people of Timur, the resident of Rote are very respectful, and mostly Christian people. In this respect, however, they are not nearly as low key about their religion as the majority Muslim population, or even the Hindu people that populate Bali. Indeed, as Indonesia is, as you may know, an Islamic state, some of the people on Timur and Rote show are almost evangelical Christians — almost as if they're trying to counteract the image of Indo as a Muslim country (which is ironic, since most of the Muslim's I've met in Indo are very, VERY low key about their religious beliefs). The very first person I met in Timur — my taxi driver from the Kupang airport — asked me almost immediately after I got in he car if I too had taken "Jesus Christ" as my "personal savior."

Riiiight.

It was really very nice of him, actually. Shit, I felt like I was back driving through Northern Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. Ya' really gotta love fanatics, no matter what religion they've chosen to delude themselves and use as an excuse to fuck with other people different from them.

Traditionally, the main activities on Rote are fishing, agriculture (goats and pigs are everywhere), and the exploitation of both coconut and lontar palms — like the one the guy in the above picture is climbing to tap. They use the lontar for everything from building materials, to eating it's palm sap/sugar, to making liquor (including "soppi", a rum-like drink that will get you pissed quicker than you can say "Where's there a fuckin' Taco Bell in this place?")

The town of Nemberala, where I went, is in the south west of the island. It's truly beautiful and, but for the small but never-ending steam of surfers, a nice break from the traditional surf-tourist trail. Unlike Bali and Lombok, nobody offers anything or tries to sell you anything, the smiles are genuine and the traditional arts and crafts were being created not as much for the "tourist" market, but to sell to other Indonesians (although there is the expected "westerner price" as opposed to the price for locals - which I think is fine considering we obviously have more money to spare on such goods than the locals). Well, it's either that or the fact that the locals can't be bothered with the hassle of selling things to tourists. Everything is either "no problem, mister" (well, the Rotean equivalent, "Tidak apa").

Ikat cloth weavings showing flowers, horse riders and crocodiles could be seen, half-finished, hanging from the palm trees by the beach. The shore is lined with bamboo huts where fishermen and their families, not backpackers, lived and work by farming agar (seaweed used in cosmetics), fishing and selling the occasional Ikat weaving to traders who sell them on the beaches of Bali.

Not that Nemberala had no tourists, as there are quite a few. It's just that these tourists are mostly "surf-tourists" like me, as well as the few old school surfers who have been visiting Nemberala for decades — all of whom speak fluent Indonesian and Rotean. However, no real "tourist" industry had sprung up, and most of the people there ‘were staying there for months rather than days. But now, with the huge crowds inundating Bali, Sumatra, and the rest of northern Indonesia, even that's starting to change.

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(one of the many pictures from Nemberala, Roti, that I've started posting on Flickr)

I'm back in Singapore, after spending an interesting day traveling from Kupang to Surabaya to Jakarta to Singapore on Thursday.

I neglected to post anything here on Thursday or Friday, however, as I took that time to order a much needed thin-crust pepperoni pizza, check on necessary logistical matters, talk to some people back in the States who I thought may want to know I was alive (my parents, chief among them), and to shave off that goddamn beard I had grown after having not shaved for over a month.

I swear, Kara had a great idea (one which I squandered in favor of pride and expediency) of taking before and after pictures — one prior to a shave and haircut, and one immediately afterward. Honestly, I do look about 10 years younger after the grooming.

Anyway, one of the other things I've been doing (other than washing my cloths … repeatedly), is posting up to my Flickr pages some of the great pictures I got while I was in Indo this past month. Arguably, I didn't get as many as I probably should have; however, taking pictures tends to lose precedence in light of actually living in the Utopian conditions I experienced.

Regardless, take a look at some of the pictures. Feel free to comment, and I'll start catching up about the trip, my next destination, and whatever other irrelevant nonsense I deem appropriate before I head out in a couple of weeks to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam for a couple of months while waiting for surf season to start up in Papua New Guinea in the late fall.

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