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April 24, 2003

:: On a Lighter Note... ::

OK, so I did lose my phone in Melbourne. But aside from that, Melbourne was the most fun I've had in a very long time - on land, at least. I met the most amazing and insane group of people, and somehow we all clicked so well that by the time we had to start leaving we really felt like family. No offense to my family back home - this isn't a replacement, just an extension.

I've got mountains of photos from our shenanigans to post, which I promise I will do just as soon as I get something to eat and do the 400 other things I have to do today. Then I'll have to write the stories to accompany them - what I can remember of the stories, that is. It's true that my liver has seen better days, and today sitting in Christchurch on my own I do feel a bit lonely, but my heart has been buoyed up by the experiences of the last few weeks (what an excellent birthday everyone gave me!), and I'd like to shout out a big thanks to Taylor/Tanenay, Ashley/Ashliqua, Andy/Antwon, Chris/Chrizzone, Nils, Freek, Rebecca, John and Dave. It was a wild ride, but a great one. Also, many thanks to Brahim and everyone at the Friendly Backpacker for putting up with us!

So what's the plan for Asia, people?

:: Things I've Lost, Part 4 ::

So I make it all the way through Asia - 4 and a half months worth - running around like a crazy person, and don't lose anything important. Still have all my gadgets in hand. And then, my last week in Melbourne, a civilized country where I can take my time and get myself together in the mornings before dashing off to do whatever, I lose my mobile phone.

Sigh.

So any of you who've had updates to your contact information in the past 6 months or so - and any of you who've just given me your contact information while I've been traveling - please send it again. Thanks.

April 8, 2003

:: Flashback: Gili Air ::

It's been too long since I left, and since I'm cold today it'll do me good to think about my time in the sun...

Gili Air, together with Gili Trawangan and Gili Meno, make up the trio of islands between the east coast of Bali and the west coast of Lombok in Indonesia. Surrounded by crystal-clear and temperate waters, drenched in sunshine and forested with lush palms and jungle undergrowth, with not a single motorised vehicle between them (taxis are horse drawn) they may be one of the last true island paradises. I spent several days (but not nearly enough) on Gili Air, diving and frolicking with the fine folk at Blue Marlin.

We all know that I'm a SCUBA junkie. We all remember about the day with the shark out at Chumpon Pinnacle on Koh Tao, right? Doesn't even begin to compare. On our first day out, on my first dive in the Gilis, we went to a little site called Hahn's Reef, just off Gili Air. After descending to about 18 meters, we headed over to examine a large rock - or, more precisely, to look under it, which is always where the good things hide. Hanging upside down, a few fingers on the rock to steady us, we looked and saw not one, not two, but three baby black-tip reef shark. On that first dive, I saw turtle and lionfish and mantis shrimp and every kind of wrasse and angelfish I've ever seen in a book. It was spectacular, and the remaining dives only got better.

In particular, there was the Wreck. Situated just off the Lombok coast in about 45 meters of water, it is a World War II Japanese patrol boat. We all reckon it must have been sunk intentionally, because it's totally pristine and perfectly upright. It's a dive you've pretty much got to do on Nitrox, because at that depth on air you'd have a looooooong time decompressing, and that's nobody's favourite way to spend their time underwater. Even at 28% Nitrox, maximum bottom time is only 20 minutes, so you've got to get down there as fast as possible too. This is one of the best things about diving this particular wreck: you don't see it until you're almost on top of it. Descending along the line, I kept an eye on my depth guage. Around 28 meters I started to squint ahead, trying to make out my destination. By 33 meters I still couldn't see a thing. Suddenly, at about 39 meters, it appeared out of the murk like a ghost ship. Alena told me another diver had once compared it to an old (American) Wild West Ghost Town... after its ghostly appearance, upon closer examination the entire ship is covered in stone fish, lionfish and other poisons of the deep. It's the outlaw center. You half expect a huge grouper to come out of the wheelhouse toting a six-shooter, wearing a ten-gallon hat. Lounging on top of the wheelhouse were five of the biggest lionfish I've ever seen, and on the forward deck Didier spotted a stonefish that must have been well over a meter long. Alena and I swam through an enormous, spiralling school of tiny glassfish off the port bow and the narcosis made it even more psychedelic than it already was. Twenty minutes didn't seem nearly enough, although we did get in a few backflips and underwater kung fu, just because.

So right, the diving was astonishing. On my last dive, we saw 5 shark, 3 turtles, and more of everything else than I could be bothered to keep count of. But that's not all there was. Alena and her family and the staff at Blue Marlin made the week so much more memorable than any fish could. On my last day, the entire family came out diving, kids and all, and everyone spent the night on Trawangan to see me off. I have only very rarely been made to feel so welcome by total strangers, and I cannot thank them enough. I can, however, share the love - just as dear Hein at Buddha View on Koh Tao did for me. So if you're ever in Indonesia and feel like strapping a tank on your back, head for Blue Marlin and ask for Alena Conroy. Tell her Louisa (aka the Junkie) sent you. She'll sort you out.

:: Brr! ::

Okay people. I know I'm wimpy, and I know that all of you who've just had 3 inches of snow (sorry, Chicago) already hate me quite a bit, but I've got to tell you I'm freezing to death. Remember how in the summers in Chicago I whinge constantly about the heat and the humidity and long for autumn? Granted, I'm not as bad as Phineas, what with his annual plea for air tickets to Iceland or a brick to the head, but I never thought I'd actually get to the point where 90 (that's 32 for you Celcius folk) in the shade would be an acceptable temperature for me. Nonetheless, now that I'm here in Melbourne, after some 4 and a half months in tropical climes, 20 (that's about 68 for you Fahrenheiters) degree weather makes me want a parka and mittens. Seriously. I don't know what I'm going to do in New Zealand. I can just see myself now, huddled in my sleeping bag in a tent up on a mountain somewhere, wearing every single piece of clothing in my backpack.

On a slightly less inflammatory note, there is a news flash: much as I don't like jinxing these things with premature announcements, I'm going to go ahead and tempt fate. There is a chance that in the next six months or so I'll be moving to Sydney. For now, let's just say I've met a very interesting person who's got some very interesting projects to work on (many thanks to Eric for the introduction!). So who's coming with me?

April 1, 2003

:: And We're Back! ::

As some of you might have noticed, this site was down for about 36 hours earlier this week. This would be because I am too retarded to remember to renew my domain registration. All is well now, though, even though of course I find myself once again without the time to do a real post. But I suppose a quick update wouldn't hurt...

I'm currently in Noosa, on the Sunshine Coast of Australia. I've been here since Saturday afternoon and am going on to Brisbane tonight and Melbourne tomorrow. We won't get into all the strange circumstances that led me here or their even stranger collapse - suffice it to say I got to spend some more time with a travel friend and touch up my tan, which had been shamefully faded by my time in Sydney. Unfortunately, this might be the last tanning opportunity I get until sometime in June, as it's only in the high teens/low 20s in Melbourne and I don't even like to think about the temperatures in New Zealand.

As for the other stuff I've been promising, I'm still promising.

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