Log> Easter Island

Easter Island took me for 3 days longer than I'd planned to stay there - the 4 day stay that I had planned initially, thinking it might be too much and leave me bored, would have been way too little. Certainly, the main monuments, the moai, are seen quite quickly in a day, but there is much more to the island to explore, including crystal-clear diving waters (visibility exceeding 40 meters). This is partly due to there not being other islands to contribute to the debris within thousands of kilometres.



But most of my experiences are terrestrial. It was a stroke of luck that I'd arrived during the Rapa Nui equivalent of Carnaval (in Rapa Nui scale, or course), Tapati, which featured nightly shows, parades, and daily competitions in boating, canoeing, sliding down a mountainside with a straw raft, cooking, weaving - all to select a queen from among three Rapa Nui candidates. The whole island was mobilized, and sleep-deprived, I'd imagine, since the parties were busting until 5 am every night. Didn't get to spend time in silence like I'd imagined. Tough luck, as you'll probably agree by these Easter Island photos...



The culture is a magnificent one, the island a perfect compromise between local color and modern services, and though it's clearly more expensive than mainland Chile, you're still looking at one of the most affordable islands in the Western Pacific. It is bare, almost barren in places, but that just adds to the charm. There are a couple of beaches and the reef break in front of the only town of Hanga Roa ranges from accessible to really rough. And it was the people who kept me there as well, of course, ranging from fellow travelers who'd been on the road for 8 years to returning Rapa Nui enthusiasts.



But this tramp is coming to an end. One sign was that I just cashed in some hard-earned miles and got my brother a HEL-JFK return to come and join me in NYC and surroundings for a week. That'll be fun before heading back up north. I'll actually have a few coupons left on my round-the-world ticket, so Finland, looming at the end of another month and a half is another long stopover. And I need to take care of some business at some point.

From The Trip: Eas...

Next, Buenos Aires and some Argentinian or Uruguayan coast or countryside, yet to be seen.

Log> Vlog #3

Hi from Melbourne, still. I'll be taking off on the 10-day Vipassana Meditation course starting tomorrow which includes total silence, so I'll be even quieter than normal. So I'll speak now.



Also, here's some photos from a roam across the outback and the Southern coast with the Belgians. Ta-daah for now.

The Trip: Windswept

 

Sights> Towards Sydney

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Here is the first mow-down in Australia. I meant to spend much longer exploring the north of the country, but the circumstances dictate (read: my shit bank, per below post) that I need to go to Sydney this week. Fine, let's make the most of it then. I've been on the beaches quite a lot (duh, having lived in a beach house), so there's a fair amount of inland travel in the route, and I feel I've been given good tips.

Oh, and here is the tool for the trade - my CBR1000F, as of today legally registered to me. I've put 200 km on it this far and it seems to have been a good buy, and luckily, my helmet, jacket and shoes work really well with the color scheme. :-) The photo takes you through to a small album of dogs, kids and friends.

The Trip: Oz, first week

It's been a good first week down here - trying to skateboard and surf (progress with both but still much practice needed), getting work done and important decisions made, and hanging out with good people. I'm actually a bit weary packing the bag again and heading on the road, I wouldn't mind staying in one place for a longer time... counting in Battlelore's European Tour, I've been on the road for 5 months now, and I'm feeling it. Yes, I'm dropping hints that I'm planning to stay here. I am, after all, dreaming of a lifestyle that would allow 6 months up north and 6 months down south in the long haul - here's a good place to try and figure out how to make it happen.


 

Sights> Log> Sold down on the Mekong

The Trip: Vietnam #2

This comes from Phnom Phen, but here's more photos from the way up here on the Mekong river. We stayed in a little border town for one night on the way, so it took a total of two days on a wooden slow boat.

What made me blog now is intellectual capital and the little value it seems to have in these countries. Sure, if you're getting by with $40 a month, selling counterfeit t-shirts with a multi-billion corporation brand on them doesn't feel like you're doing too much harm. But, as hard as it is, it's the principle that counts.

I'm working on launching a couple of, if not brands, at least branded commercial identities, so I've thought about this quite a bit lately. Arriving in Bangkok at first I was awed by the amount and quality of counterfeit goods sold practically everywhere. The actual department stores sell inferior brands since Polo, Nike, Burberry, D&G, et al. are covered by the stalls in the night market. I thought hell, why not stock up and send some home to the bro and sis while I'm at it - maybe one of those superficially faithful Patek Philippe copies wouldn't look too bad on me. But I didn't, and I won't. I'll wait until I can afford the real thing, thanks very much - if I really feel I need it then.

What really made up my mind were the "publishing houses" in Vietnam and here in Cambodia. There's a row of copiers on one side, and bookshelves on the other side. None of the books are originals. In fact, a fellow traveller told me she tried to buy a book that had just come out, and they'd told her "no no, not for sale, for copy". I would've possible hit that person on the mouth at that point. Seeing this in action finally underlined the bad vibe I've had about downloading music for free (though, yes, I've discovered tons of music I've paid for eventually). I have such immense respect for writers that I could only see this as a great wrongdoing. If I'll ever write my book, get it published and find it in a Cambodia publishing house, I'll burn the damn establishment down.


 

Log> Sights> Kruger National Park and Jane Goodall Chimp Sanctuary

The minibus for the 4-day safari departed at 6 am sharp from Johannesburg after a night at Shoestrings Lodge. We got to Kruger, largest African reserve after the Serengeti, about 6 hours later and were greeted by a herd of giraffe even before we made it to our lodge and luxurious campground. In addition to being in one of the topmost attractions in Souther Africa, we were lucky to have a great group of travelers from the UK, US, NZ, Oz and Canada. And Finland, undersigned inclusive.

We were both lucky and out of luck in terms of animal sightings - out of the Big Five, I saw the ones I wanted to, the rarest ones: lions (and here), rhinos and a leopard. The latter was a huge win, since we tracked him down in the middle of the night, our guide Tim working his whereabouts by an earlier sighting an hour ago and the tracks he found on the sand. The photos of the leopard (and here) are hazy, taken in complete darkness with nothing but a yellowish light pointed at the cat, but better that way, since it might have been hungry. Our group, incredibly, didn't see elephants, the most prevalent of the Big Five in Kruger, but I'd seen them before up close and didn't mind much. It was fun all the way.

The safari drives took place the first and the second day, with the third day dedicated to an educational bushwalk with the guides and an afternoon panorama drive, which was certainly worth it, in no small amount thanks to Bill, an Australian geologist who enlightened us continuously with his interpretation of the landscape, the rocks and the different scenic features, such as these cool potholes. I'm sure I'd been taught a lot of that in high school, but it's not learning until you experience or put it in practice.

The last night was spent at a 5-star lodge in connection with Jane Goodall Chimpanzee Sanctuary. We played tennis, enjoyed a massive snooker lounge and had a brilliant dinner - as if the safari would've been too taxing. The next day we got up close and personal with the chimps (cute one here) and heard their stories (interpreted by the guide, yes). Many had been pets or mistreated tourist attractions in countries like Angola and Kongo, and had been brought to ZA for rehabilitation which takes many years for most of the older ones. Due to the rehab keeping them away from humans on purpose, so they'd learn to live their own lives, we only had to observe them in the enclosures, but it was delightful nonetheless, and highly recommended.

We're sharing photos with the group, so there'll be more once everyone gets theirs uploaded. I just wanted to make sure I was the first. :) Of course, there's loads more photos here.

And this I'm typing from Johannesburg, again, getting ready to fly into the thunderstorms of Hong Kong in style with Cathay Pacific. Lovely.

Log> Thoughts> Dunes of Durban

In today's entry, good thoughts and bad thoughts, time dedicated for more of s.c. chilling out, more good books, more time to think and talk and look and learn.

As far as backpacker's hostels go, I'm staying in a palace. To me, the name Happy Hippo doesn't convey at all the loft-like converted warehouse with massive communal spaces, excellent rooms, brand new kitchen and a roof terrace with a bar. It's on the docks right next to surfing and the city centre. If coming to Durban, stay here, even if you're normally looking for a higher grade of accommodation. I'm here two nights and spent two nights before this at a more traditional, rustic and messy hostel a bit farther from the city, so I can compare. I just love these loft-style spaces.

But what comes to the city, I have not wished to photograph Durban. Something puts me off it. It's a strange city: potentially very appealing with the long stretch of a beach washed with the perennially warm currents of the Indian Ocean. Most of it is clean, orderly and developed, yet it gives off an impression of everything having been abandoned just a few months ago. It's as if a slow decay had just started, colours fading, paint flaking, an abandoned blanket flapping in a street corner. The central parts are bustling with people, but just a few blocks out an eerie stillness pervades.

Maybe I'm looking at the city, and the country, with too much of a Western (or Nothern) eye. Though the framework looks Western, it holds a highly unemployed population with multiple issues of development, health and adaptation. Crime is ridiculously high - it must be, with every single local that I've exhanged more than four sentences with warning me about it. I've dutifully avoided the idle groups of young men, the number one source of trouble in the world.

In spite of a fever that's been creeping along, I went out with a surfboard today and almost drowned myself with it (or below it, rather). For the fever, I got a malaria self-test kit that I haven't used yet, but will go and prick the skin right after this post. The buggers did bite me in Madagascar and Mauritius quite liberally, despite the toxins.

Right now I'm reading Lord of the Flies (last read in 1994), and listening to Kalas.