From Malaysia, October 30, 2000
(The post below is from a group email I sent to my friends and family while traveling years ago. I include it in this blog as an archive to my travels. It remains in the the raw state that I originally sent it, foolishness of younger years intact, typos and sics untouched.)
it's just a week i've been in malaysia, but what a
throw back! quite different from theoz world, but
thoroughly exciting. i flew into Kuala Lumpur, the
capital, and spent three days there. it's a hectic
city filled with bustling people holes in sidewalk and
craziness throughout chinatown where i was staying.
everyone was so nice, but i can't even tell you how
many double-takes i got as this lanky blonde white boy
stumbling around carelessly... and how about this:
this fashion stylist i met offered me a gig modeling
for a shoot for FHM magazine of Malaysia (Maxim in the
states)... too funny eh?! but, i turned it down...
there's no way i could hang around that city a week
when the jungle is just next door.
so i split. and headed to Taman Negara National Park,
the oldest rainforest in the world! sooo much better.
little cabins with large hornbillbirds squaking about
and monkeys swinging from trees... to get into the
park you must take this 2 1/2 hour boat ride up the
muddy-brown tahan river in this beautiful long boat
40' long by 4' wide holding 12 passengers. so i hit
the resort and decide it's time to chill. i figured
i'd spend my b-day there rather than in transit to the
next stop (which is what i'm doing now...). so i
figure what the hell i'll do this right. none of those
handbag trails for fat out-of-shape tourists, no i'll
do it proper. i decided to head up north about 10
miles to these limestone caves where i'd spend the
night and head backthenext day. by myself of course.
youknow a rite of passage gone cavemanthing...
so i catch i ride up the river the day before my bday
and head out on on this ambiguous trail. i had a map,
although it was virtually useless and my trusty
compass. the trail meandered north but was extremely
difficult to tell where it was (at some points it just
consisted of some worn leaves and completely overgrown
ominous looking jungle plants) or which one to take.
its a trail that's used no more than once a week...
so somehow i do that all right, dodging the sketchy
looking plants, climbing over huge fallen trees,
crossing streams (24 to be exact, kind of bizarre...),
and jumping at the rustling noises coming from the
bush. it was truly amazingly beautiful. and dense.
but i finally reach the first cave. it was nice.
stalagmites. stalagtites. (which is which, can someone
remind me?) bats. that was nice, but i was restless to
see more and find a camp before the sun went down. i
hiked on. to the next cave...gua kepanyang besar. the
biggest of the region and truly a natural cathedral!
it was huge! the ceiling at least 50' high with two
huge openings. i had been told by local guides that
elephants and tigers often stayed there (the same
guides told me not to do it without a guide,
especially alone. they just wanted me to hire their
services!). and indeed i found elephant dung amongst
other types of dung as well. i decide this is where i
will camp. so i set out to find some firewood as the
smoke and flames will keep the large animals away. let
me tell you, it is damn hard to find firewood and
start a fire in the rainforest. my attempts at
lighting a fire in the cave were slow and frustrating
(even though i am a raging pyro) and i started to get
freaked out as it started to get dark, the rains set
in, and the unidentifiable jungle noises started
hitting my ears. and no joke, i heard the elephants!
in my desparation i had to use the first 70 pages of
the book i am reading ("The Power of One", sorry Bryce
Courtney!) to get it started but once i did i felt
safe. for the rest of the night i chilled out, ate
dinner, reflected and reminisced, and dance around the
cave nude...
the next morning i woke to a feeling of invincibility.
it was this unbelievable sense of confidence and
comforting isolation (if that is possible). i
regretfully broke down camp and set out again, back to
civilization and drinking water (which i was running
low on...). all in all it was unreal. definitely one
of the stupidest (although i prefer to call it crazy)
yet mosty rewarding experiences.
in the end i saw monkeys, boars, lizards, countless
types of butterflies and mushrooms, a poisonous snake
(don't worry i didn't pick it up this time), and
leeches, lots of them... and i came out of the jungle
today with a variety of rashes, bites, a dozen leech
holes and a year older. not bad eh?!
so now after the 2 hour boat ride out of the park, the
1/2 hour taxi, and the 9 hour wait, i will jump on a
train to kota bharu at 1:30 am hoping to reach the
perhenthian islands and some of the best diving in SE
Asia...
more later,
jef
Monday, October 30, 2000
Friday, October 20, 2000
the latest and the greatest...
From Australia, October 20, 2000
(The post below is from a group email I sent to my friends and family while traveling years ago. I include it in this blog as an archive to my travels. It remains in the the raw state that I originally sent it, foolishness of younger years intact, typos and sics untouched.)
YES I'M STILL ALIVE! i seem to be getting that
question quite a bit these days. but i'm doing fine,
really, besides the index finger i almost chopped off
the other day... don't worry though, a little
splurting blood followed by a quick ride to the
hospital and four cute little stitches on what i now
call 'franken-finger' (and it really screws my
typing/pecking skills...)
i've just come out of the bush after five thrilling
days in Kakadu national park and Arhemland, some time
in Darwin, and then a jaunt down to alice springs and
ayers'rock/olgas/king canyon. i've been traveling with
my mate fran (from binghamton and studying in perth
now...in case you don't know.)
but anyway... i wrapped up prot douglas about a month
ago now with a week long diving trip out on the great
barrier reef and the remote osprey reef aboard the
'Undersea Explorer' (check out their webpage:
www.underseaexplorer.com trip photos from sept 22nd.
to catch a glimpse of what it was all about and check
me out in my full scuba gear 20m down holding a
nautilus...) it was absolutely out-of-this world. i
got in 18 dives all over the place... 4 night dives,a
shark feed, reef, reef, reef, and countless types of
fish, sharks, moray eels, turtles, etc. it's actually
a research expedition/advebture diving boat and had a
bunch of cephlapod (you know octupus, squid,
cuttlefish, nautilus) and marine biologist
reseasrchers on board. i learned a lot and had quite
a few 10th grade biology flashbacks...
then fran came into town and we did it up grand.
drove up to cape tribulation and saw the rainforest,
chilled on the beach, got a couple of sails in, one
last blow-out sunday session and the few final ragers
with my flatmates kirsty, ruth and gareth and of
course all the la marina crew. we then proceeded to
fly to darwin and make our way out to kakadu national
park for five days with a madman for a guide... amidst
the grungey state of living (no showers and limited
swimming possibilities in croc country) we went out on
a croc cruise spotting and feeding 'em. one tried to
take a bite out of the 18' aluminun boat and came more
than close enought to jumping in. spotted 10 or so
which is quite a few for this time of the year...
the trip was filled with 200 meter water falls,
cathedral gorges, bush pigs and spunk rats, sunrises
and sunsets, 10,000 year old aboriginal rock art,
camping out under the stars 20m from croc-infested
waters, crazy rockclimbing, countless types of
animal-life, and the usual jungle sideshow element of
danger. so, our best story?...
it's gotta be one morning while we were breaking down
camp. fran calls me over because a 3-4 foot snake had
just crawled over his foot while he was standing
there. i go over and check it out. it seems docile
enough. i pick up its tail a bit, still chill. i pick
up a stick to handle its front half in true steve
irwin style and pick it up. it seemed no big deal as
i'd watched our guide pick up a 2+ meter python the
other night and this one wasn't 1/3 the size. so fran
calls ou guide over, he looks at it, freaks out and
tells me to put it down. get this- it was a western
brown, one of the top 5 deadliest snakes in the world.
so needless to say, i put it down. my judgement wasn't
complete idiocy though, because shortly after i put it
down it slithered away slowly and started to behave
quite stranglely. we go over and check it out. it
turns out its really messed up. someting's sticking
out of its side, its in pain and it will inevitably
die. so i picked it up, laid it in the coals from the
fire and put it out of its misery.... it also made a
fun game of
chase-the-other-tour-company-down-and-throw-it-on-their-windshield-as-they-freak-out-and-drive-away.
and in a close second (i just can't help but tell this
one...) is our dingo story. it was the fifth day and
we were driving down this dirt trail in arnhemland
when our guide slams the landcruiser to a quick stop.
he points out a little dingo pup running away. it was
probably about 2 months old (think of a puppy) and on
its own. i ask our guide Vanni if we chase after it,
and before he can get 'yes' out of his mouth me, fran
and alex jump out the back and chase after this pup
full speed thru the bush. we chased it down finally as
it yelped and thrashed its little teeth. i started
kicking it around gently just to keep him off his feet
and stop him from running again. it was SO cute and i
wanted to pick him up and take him home more than i
have any other animal i've ever found (talk about
childhood emotions running through you again...'mommy
can we keep him, pleeeaaasssseeeeee!!!'). the problem
was he was wild, who knows what it could have been
carrying, and i just knew his little puppy teeth and
claws would have been as sharp as razors. more
importantly, where was the mother. so we let him run
away, definitely in fear, probably its first human
encounter. Our guide thought it wierd that the mom
wasn't around, which means it was probably on its own
and most definitely wouldn't survive it as a hawk or
croc would get to it. it was so sad...
so kakadu was a sensational experience. one always to
be remembered. and i vowed i'd go back some day in the
wet season, as this was the very end of the dry.
but from there we flew down to alice springs and ayers
rock with a bunch of handbags( are there beds in these
tents???). but the rock was cool. just a huge piece of
rock sticking out of the arid desert. beautiful
sunrise and sunsets. its phenomenal, but i don't have
too much to say, and not too many exciting stories (at
least no sober ones).
and from ayers fran and i flew back to perth (while
getting plently of free drinks and flirtations from
the flight attendants... ;) ) where i've been for the
past week. i've had a killa time hanging out with him
and his mates, swimming in the indian ocean. but now
its weekend and the usual activities will pursue.
All good things must come to an end, and so too will
oz for me. it's been a year to the day this sunday
when i fly out. i had many a crazy times, met so many
interesting friends, and seen so many breath-taking
sights. (or was it crazy friends, breath-taking times,
and interesting sights???)
So sunday i fly off to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. don't
ask me what i'm gonna do there. all i know is that
i'll buy a new camera (anyone have any insights on
35mm SLR nikons, minoltas, canons, or pentaxes?) and
head north, maybe/probably through thailand, vietnam
and laos.
so keep in touch (seriously, send me your address and
i'll get you a postcard...at least it'll be a bit more
tangible than my sparse and fleeting emails) and keep
your couch free as who knows when i'll vagabond it by
your neighborhood...
love and good times to all...
jeff, SS, jungleboy, etc...
p.s. please forward to anyone you know i may not have
included (and benji and patrice to the team, please)
best wishes to all my oz mates: the cmc crew for
countless nights of slavedom, the pink trev parties,
dylan the overly energetic partner in countless
crimes, the east coast migration run-ins, kirsty,
ruth, g-spot, la marina et al, all the other
douglas-ites holding up the roof..... HAAAAA... until
we meet again.
S.E.Asia anyone?
how about a mexican christmas?
(The post below is from a group email I sent to my friends and family while traveling years ago. I include it in this blog as an archive to my travels. It remains in the the raw state that I originally sent it, foolishness of younger years intact, typos and sics untouched.)
YES I'M STILL ALIVE! i seem to be getting that
question quite a bit these days. but i'm doing fine,
really, besides the index finger i almost chopped off
the other day... don't worry though, a little
splurting blood followed by a quick ride to the
hospital and four cute little stitches on what i now
call 'franken-finger' (and it really screws my
typing/pecking skills...)
i've just come out of the bush after five thrilling
days in Kakadu national park and Arhemland, some time
in Darwin, and then a jaunt down to alice springs and
ayers'rock/olgas/king canyon. i've been traveling with
my mate fran (from binghamton and studying in perth
now...in case you don't know.)
but anyway... i wrapped up prot douglas about a month
ago now with a week long diving trip out on the great
barrier reef and the remote osprey reef aboard the
'Undersea Explorer' (check out their webpage:
www.underseaexplorer.com trip photos from sept 22nd.
to catch a glimpse of what it was all about and check
me out in my full scuba gear 20m down holding a
nautilus...) it was absolutely out-of-this world. i
got in 18 dives all over the place... 4 night dives,a
shark feed, reef, reef, reef, and countless types of
fish, sharks, moray eels, turtles, etc. it's actually
a research expedition/advebture diving boat and had a
bunch of cephlapod (you know octupus, squid,
cuttlefish, nautilus) and marine biologist
reseasrchers on board. i learned a lot and had quite
a few 10th grade biology flashbacks...
then fran came into town and we did it up grand.
drove up to cape tribulation and saw the rainforest,
chilled on the beach, got a couple of sails in, one
last blow-out sunday session and the few final ragers
with my flatmates kirsty, ruth and gareth and of
course all the la marina crew. we then proceeded to
fly to darwin and make our way out to kakadu national
park for five days with a madman for a guide... amidst
the grungey state of living (no showers and limited
swimming possibilities in croc country) we went out on
a croc cruise spotting and feeding 'em. one tried to
take a bite out of the 18' aluminun boat and came more
than close enought to jumping in. spotted 10 or so
which is quite a few for this time of the year...
the trip was filled with 200 meter water falls,
cathedral gorges, bush pigs and spunk rats, sunrises
and sunsets, 10,000 year old aboriginal rock art,
camping out under the stars 20m from croc-infested
waters, crazy rockclimbing, countless types of
animal-life, and the usual jungle sideshow element of
danger. so, our best story?...
it's gotta be one morning while we were breaking down
camp. fran calls me over because a 3-4 foot snake had
just crawled over his foot while he was standing
there. i go over and check it out. it seems docile
enough. i pick up its tail a bit, still chill. i pick
up a stick to handle its front half in true steve
irwin style and pick it up. it seemed no big deal as
i'd watched our guide pick up a 2+ meter python the
other night and this one wasn't 1/3 the size. so fran
calls ou guide over, he looks at it, freaks out and
tells me to put it down. get this- it was a western
brown, one of the top 5 deadliest snakes in the world.
so needless to say, i put it down. my judgement wasn't
complete idiocy though, because shortly after i put it
down it slithered away slowly and started to behave
quite stranglely. we go over and check it out. it
turns out its really messed up. someting's sticking
out of its side, its in pain and it will inevitably
die. so i picked it up, laid it in the coals from the
fire and put it out of its misery.... it also made a
fun game of
chase-the-other-tour-company-down-and-throw-it-on-their-windshield-as-they-freak-out-and-drive-away.
and in a close second (i just can't help but tell this
one...) is our dingo story. it was the fifth day and
we were driving down this dirt trail in arnhemland
when our guide slams the landcruiser to a quick stop.
he points out a little dingo pup running away. it was
probably about 2 months old (think of a puppy) and on
its own. i ask our guide Vanni if we chase after it,
and before he can get 'yes' out of his mouth me, fran
and alex jump out the back and chase after this pup
full speed thru the bush. we chased it down finally as
it yelped and thrashed its little teeth. i started
kicking it around gently just to keep him off his feet
and stop him from running again. it was SO cute and i
wanted to pick him up and take him home more than i
have any other animal i've ever found (talk about
childhood emotions running through you again...'mommy
can we keep him, pleeeaaasssseeeeee!!!'). the problem
was he was wild, who knows what it could have been
carrying, and i just knew his little puppy teeth and
claws would have been as sharp as razors. more
importantly, where was the mother. so we let him run
away, definitely in fear, probably its first human
encounter. Our guide thought it wierd that the mom
wasn't around, which means it was probably on its own
and most definitely wouldn't survive it as a hawk or
croc would get to it. it was so sad...
so kakadu was a sensational experience. one always to
be remembered. and i vowed i'd go back some day in the
wet season, as this was the very end of the dry.
but from there we flew down to alice springs and ayers
rock with a bunch of handbags( are there beds in these
tents???). but the rock was cool. just a huge piece of
rock sticking out of the arid desert. beautiful
sunrise and sunsets. its phenomenal, but i don't have
too much to say, and not too many exciting stories (at
least no sober ones).
and from ayers fran and i flew back to perth (while
getting plently of free drinks and flirtations from
the flight attendants... ;) ) where i've been for the
past week. i've had a killa time hanging out with him
and his mates, swimming in the indian ocean. but now
its weekend and the usual activities will pursue.
All good things must come to an end, and so too will
oz for me. it's been a year to the day this sunday
when i fly out. i had many a crazy times, met so many
interesting friends, and seen so many breath-taking
sights. (or was it crazy friends, breath-taking times,
and interesting sights???)
So sunday i fly off to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. don't
ask me what i'm gonna do there. all i know is that
i'll buy a new camera (anyone have any insights on
35mm SLR nikons, minoltas, canons, or pentaxes?) and
head north, maybe/probably through thailand, vietnam
and laos.
so keep in touch (seriously, send me your address and
i'll get you a postcard...at least it'll be a bit more
tangible than my sparse and fleeting emails) and keep
your couch free as who knows when i'll vagabond it by
your neighborhood...
love and good times to all...
jeff, SS, jungleboy, etc...
p.s. please forward to anyone you know i may not have
included (and benji and patrice to the team, please)
best wishes to all my oz mates: the cmc crew for
countless nights of slavedom, the pink trev parties,
dylan the overly energetic partner in countless
crimes, the east coast migration run-ins, kirsty,
ruth, g-spot, la marina et al, all the other
douglas-ites holding up the roof..... HAAAAA... until
we meet again.
S.E.Asia anyone?
how about a mexican christmas?
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