Desert Island Distractions

New Years 2011 on an uninhabited island...

How did this come about? Well: During the time spent volunteering, there was a lot of work done in collaboration with other organizations, one of them being an Indonesian NGO called the Ibu Foundation. Over the months we formed some fantastic friendships and they invited us to spend new years with them. A plan was set in motion to spend two days on a set of uninhabited islands off the southern coast of Pariaman.

Widhie was my closest friend from Ibu and he helped us organize transportation and logistics. The plan was fairly simple; hire some fisherman/boats to take us to the islands on new years eve and bring us back late in the day on new years day. Supplies required: beer, small amount of food and something to sleep on/in. We rushed around grabbing weird and wonderful varieties of cheap alcohol, ranging from beer to weird flavoured mixtures. Food was mostly snack food as other stuff was being brought wish us as well.

We all met at the IBU Pariaman headquarters and then set off down for the docks. It was nice to get away from the volunteer base for a change and have a bit of freedom, as well as spend some time with some local people. After a fair amount of faffing around, we set "sail" on our mighty voyage.

The sun was fast setting over the islands but they were only a few kilometers off shore. The journey was a little choppy but everyone was in a fantastic mood and very jovial. Within an hour and a half we were coming up to a tiny jetty that the fisherman had built to take shelter in rough weather. We grabbed supplies and jumped off. The rosy sky had all but vanished, leaving a fantastic silver like veneer to the clouds. The other islands were visible in the distance as well as a large portion of the Sumatran coast line. Ibu had a large tent to sleep in, we pithed up my small tent and my jungle hammock just inside the shelter of the trees.

A large bonfire was lit and we started our festivities. The view was spectacular and the company was even better. It was difficult to believe we were really there. The fisherman brought us some fish they'd just caught and we cooked them on sticks over the enormous fire. I'm not a fan of fish and rarely eat it but this tasted fantastic, I even used a knife to cut out its eyes and slurped them down; delicious! Everyone else seemed less keen to try this....

The later it got the more merry people became. As it neared midnight, we were a little spread out. Some people had stayed round the fire and others, like myself, had spread out into the ocean. It was the perfect temperature, lovely and warm. You could see all the lights down the coast of Pariaman and Padang from where we were sitting. The waves occasionally lifted us up and down on the spot and I allowed my beer to float around whilst i relaxed. When the fire works started we were able to see every single display down the coast. This magical moment lasted about 15 minutes and was a great way to bring in the new year. Exhausted, I head off to my hammock for an amazing nights sleep, the sounds of the waves the only noise for miles.

In the morning, people woke up in a staggered fashion. Having no schedule, this was not a problem. Some of us had yogurts for breakfast and others had more fish. We relaxed and took in the sights and sounds of an island on the first day of the year. The sun was bright but not too hot and the sky was cloudless. We decided to play around for a bit on the beach, climbing logs and swimming around a bit, before we headed on to our next destination.

Widhie pointed to an island in the distance and told us that we were going to get on the boats again and head over there for the day. Three of us decided that this would be a fantastic trip to make in a dug out canoe. I will admit it did get towed across but it was still a great experience. Three blokes in a tiny canoe with a couple of beers, every wave nearly capsizing us.

It took about 40 mins but we arrived at another incredible island. Not another person in sight. There was no jetty at this island so a few front flips were performed and a swim was required. The sand rose up at a very steep angle to form the island, it was almost as if it had been dropped there. The water was as clear as I had ever seen it and there were fish everywhere. There was even a decent sized reef on the back of the island where i saw a turtle!

The day was spent between two groups of emotions, utter awe and extreme excitement opposed with a serene sense of calm and solace brought on by the sheer beauty of the place we were sitting. A fantastic quote from the book "The Beach" sprung to mind:

"The only downer is, everyone's got the same idea. We all travel thousands of miles just to watch TV and check in to somewhere with all the comforts of home, and you gotta ask yourself, what is the point of that? I just feel like everyone tries to do something different, but you always wind up doing the same damn thing."

This was definitely not just the same thing. We had traveled to the other side of the planet, to help people we'd never met before and our reward was a well earned break on an uninhabited island. Jackpot.

Alternative Inca Trail - A "road" to Machu Pichu

So i'd decided to walk to Machu Pichu....

The map I had was simple to say the least, it looked like it had been drawn by a child. The verbal directions were a little easier to follow. How hard could it be.... I was going to walk from Ollantaytampo to Machu Pichu; you can see the Inca Trail in red below.

I arrived in Ollantaytambo, grabbed a drink from a cafe and then asked for directions to the rail way line. Obviously, not really thinking about it, everyone directed me to the station. Lots of guards and big fences told me that this was probably not the best place to start the journey. I walked about 2km outside of town along a dusty road and found myself conveniently near the railway lines, this time with no fence! woo!

I started following the rail way lines, which was a bit awkward to say the least, I kept tripping over the sleepers for starters and the gravel was pretty hard going as well. I trudged along for a few hours in some of the most breath taking scenery that Peru had to offer in this area, the best thing of all was there wasn’t a tourist in sight. In fact there was hardly anyone in sight at all! The odd farmer or the odd water buffalo ambling along in the distance and rice paddys in every direction. The blissful silence was idyllic, I drifted off into an almost trance like state whilst listening to the sound of my walking poles clink on the rails. Just as I’d got a nice rhythm going there was a god awful noise. It pierced my soul it was so loud and I dived off the track into a ditch behind some bushes with barely centimetres to spare as the train shot past me. My heart was racing like crazy. That reminded me that what I was doing wasn’t particularly high on the health and safety list and I concentrated for the rest of the trip, ESPECIALLY on blind bends.

The sun was fierce due to the altitude and I regularly had to stop and reapply sun cream to diffuse some of the lobster colour. I had food with me for the journey but when I came across a town I decided to pop into a shop (they always have a plastic bag on a gigantic stick so people know where they are) and see what they had. I stuffed myself with bread and Inca Cola (Iron Bru equivalent) and chatted to the somewhat surprised locals. We exchanged some words in Quechua and English which made everyone laugh due to poor pronunciation by both parties (you try and pronounce Imaynalla kashanki?/How are you?) After a good laugh I set off again as it was mid-afternoon and I wanted to try and get as far as possible.

Tasty rucksack burn!

As it started to draw towards dusk, I decided to look for somewhere to pitch my tent. The only flat ground seemed to be near the train track which would have been stupid so I kept on looking. Every time I saw somewhere that might have been just passable, I would go on looking for something better but remember where the last place was just in case. This happened for about an hour or so until I started to get a little worried.

I saw a man and a woman in a field so called out to them. The man came over and once again looked surprised to see a westerner in the middle of nowhere. He asked what I was doing and where I was going etc. I told him I needed somewhere to put my tent up and could he suggest somewhere. He said he'd ask his wife if she knew anywhere and went to talk to her. Then they came back with a suggestion that surprised me. "Why don't you come and stay with us?" I was a little taken aback by this offer but also tired and wary of the time so agreed.

They told me I could sleep outside but underneath a roof which sat between the door buildings. I dumped all my stuff down and they beckoned me inside. Dinner was served and consisted of my two least favourite foods on the planet, sweet corn and fish. Not wanting to be rude I ate it all as fast as possible, desperately trying to hide the taste with more Inca Cola! Seconds were offered but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. After a few hours of entertainment I decided to hit the hay. I collapsed onto my roll mat and fell promptly asleep.

I woke up early morning to the sound of people stirring in the house and realised to my great surprise that I was covered in Guinea Pigs (a South American delicacy) I was obviously somewhat warmer than the ground. I really do wish I could have freed my hands to take a photo but the second I sat up they all ran for cover squeaking.

I offered a bit of money to my hosts but they wouldn’t accept it, so we agreed on me giving them some luxury food instead; tinned peaches!!! I slyly slipped some money under the tin as I stood it on the table and said my thanks.

The second day was a little more exciting if that is possible. Not only did I come running out of a tunnel screaming my head off as a train gained on me with the driver frantically waving for me to get out the way but I also arrived at Piscacucho, the start of the famous Inca Trail.

This travel blog photo's source is TravelPod page: Dream accomplished

There was a fence... a BIG fence... from the top of the valley, to the bottom and up the other side. There were also lots of guards at the train station itself. I did a little visual reconnaissance and thought I saw a possible route further up to the right of the town. I caught a child watching me, he came up to me and demanded chocolate in exchange for showing me where there was a hole in the fence. Peru never ceased to amaze me by this point so I parted with valuable resources and accepted the help of “Le Resistance”. We walked a fair bit up the valley and came across a ravine that ran alongside the fence. It was probably 8 meters deep but he climbed down into it and I followed on after. The other side was shockingly steep and he told me to take my bag off. He boosted me onto a ledge, handed me my bag and told me to climb up and out where id find a gap. True to his word, at the top, I was free.

I start to hurry the pace as it was getting late again. I crossed some very precarious wild west style train bridges whilst trying not to look down and having to leap between the supports and then was once again back in dense jungle. It got dark very quickly and my mind started to play tricks on me. Fire flies kept appearing across the path ahead of me. This looks exactly like someone carrying a torch. For good reason I’d shoot off into the undergrowth like a rocket and this eventually led to me dropping and breaking my only source of light. I now always carry two....

I passed a false finish in a hydro electric dam complex which was more heavily guarded than the whole rest of the route but easy enough to bypass. After several hours of walking in pitch black, more or less feeling my way by keeping one foot on the rail, I heard music. I kept on walking for a bit longer and the music became steadily louder. I was suddenly mobbed by a gang of dogs which was terrifying in the dark! I fought them off with my walking poles and the owner came to my rescue. He apologised and assured me that Aguas Calientes was only a km down the road. I walked as fast as I could given the conditions and finally arrived, collapsed on a large flat rock outside the train station and went to sleep.

Although it had been a much harder way of getting there, I was helped by the local people and gained a unique insight into their way of life, their traditional culture and their language. They didn't seem to mind that I was cheating the system by not paying guide fees and trail passes. They were just happy someone had taken the time to pop by. I was happy to have met them.

Sumatran Disaster

After whats just happened in New Zealand i thought id write about my volunteering experience and encourage other people to do the same.

On the 30th of September 2009, there was an earthquake that measured 7.6 to the North West of Padang. The effect devastated local communities with everything from government buildings through to small houses getting ripped apart.

Photo copywrite: Netaholic13

I volunteered with Hands On Disaster Response who have since been renamed All Hands Volunteers. They are a fantastic organization that really promote the truest ideal of volunteering. They are currently working in Haiti and have been there since the major earthquake last year. They offer free food and accommodation to all volunteers and also several internship opportunities to those wishing to pursue disaster relief as a long term career.

Accommodation was basic and food was always red, white or orange, but you cant really complain when its free!

The devastation was something that is going to haunt me for the rest of my life. We went past houses that were totally flattened and some that were just merely damaged. I was overcome with emotion at the plight of these people, yet they were still smiling... waving... and retorting the usual "HELLO MR!!!!!"

Work was hard, every day getting up early and straight onto a truck loaded with tools and other volunteers. The heat was fairly extreme at times but it was the humidity that really brought it home. You could hang something up to dry and unless it was in direct sunlight, it would contain more moisture than when you hung it up!

My first job was to clear rubble off a houses foundations so that they had a flat surface on which to rebuild. The family were in good spirits all things considered and provided us with tea, coffee and cake! yum! This first house was not particularly big but the mortar was solid and was difficult to break up. The idea being that you break the mortar away from the bricks in order to salvage and recycle as much of the original materials as possible! Some of the people erected tents inside their houses, despite the fact that whispering would have probably made the entire structure collapse, they clearly had nowhere else to go.

The local people were incredibly happy for us to be there and be helping them out with something that they didn’t have the money to accomplish. We were saving on average about 20-25% of the brickwork from a house and then also the majority of the tin and wooden structure from the roof. if you look at that in terms of a house in the uk that costs 400,000 pounds, that’s 100,000 we are saving them on the cost of rebuilding their homes. In terms of Rupiah, we were saving them a few years’ wages.

During my time with HODR, my role as a volunteer progressed and my responsibilities expanded. I led various teams on clearing sites and also got involved with deconstruction teams, constructing temporary shelters, I became the tool re-handler and I also got to go and work in an IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp which is basically a refugee camp in one’s own country.

This was by far one of the most rewarding experiences of the trip. We lived in the IDP camp during our stay there and helped construct a guttering and water collection system to ensure that people were provided with clean water. I also got down and dirty and helped plough, make a machete and got involved with some of the traditional cooking. The people were so friendly towards us and helped us as much as they could. Their hospitality knew no bounds and amounted to more than I could ever express in gratitude. This particular IDP camp consisted entirely of Minang people and is where I learnt the majority of my Minang vocabulary. They were very helpful in learning new words and it seemed to bring great joy to them to hear you use their own language.

We finished the water collection system with a minimum amount of problems, although every project has its hiccups. I was at one point pushed aside by a man claiming to be in his 90's and more adept at sawing then I was! He proved very quickly that this was indeed the case.

The work part of the trip aside, I really enjoyed the atmosphere. New volunteers would come and go as the months went by and I met a lot of fantastic people that I will hopefully stay in touch with for years to come. The amount of interaction with the locals was fantastic. I regularly used to go and play dominoes with the people who lived next door and developed a taste for Gado-Gado (peanut sauce with noodles) I also learned Indonesia to a standard where a conversation was possible! What a bonus!

Overall HODR taught me a lot of things about volunteering that I hadn't really thought about before. This was and still is a totally non-biased organization. They accept anyone from any background and put you to work. Yet they also encourage you to grow as a volunteer. If you think something sounds interesting but you don't know how to do it, someone will show you! When you first arrive, you may have never held a tool in your life, by the end of your stint, you will be adept at plastering, chiseling, shoveling, fixing, labouring, constructing, building, demolishing and you will also be a better person!

This video really sums up how fantastic the project was and what an experience it was for me:

Like I said at the start, this company is currently out in Haiti along with a few others I'd recommend, like Grass Routes United. So if you are on your gap year, out of work or generally just bored, why not go do something that will stick with you for the rest of your life....

Thailand - A spiritual journey

Thailand is supposedly the land of smiles. I found this to be true in some respects but it was clear that their culture had literally been raped by the influx of western tourists. After spending some time there and cutting through the standard tourist garbage, I managed to find the old Thailand. A Thailand that few western people bother to go and see.

I had always been fascinated by monks that had tattoos. In the western world this would be a complete oxymoron, but to the monks of Thailand it is something that is highly prestigious. I set off to the famed Wat Bang Phra to find out more about the process behind the tattoos and the meanings associated with them.

After managing to find Wat Bang Phra, written in Thai on the Internet, and getting someone Thai to write it down for me, I set off on a mayhem of public transport. The temple is located about an hour or so from central Bangkok and was not THAT difficult to find, my tiny scrawled bit of paper seemed to do the trick! The final bit of my journey was by tuk-tuk. The temple was not really as I had imagined. It was very open and modern looking but also had an air of antiquity. I assumed that it had just been very well looked after.

Almost the first thing I ran into was a monk sharpening his tattooing stick, so i knew I was in the right place.

As my Thai is fairly shocking, it was difficult for me to ask him where to go or what to do.... So i walked around a bit more and tried to find a Monk that spoke a little English. Eventually I found what I was looking for. I was greeted with an enormous smile and beckoned inside a large room, filled with statues.

In my broken Thai and the monks broken English, we had a brief conversation about why I was at the temple and what I wanted to get out of it. I said that I was interested in the tattoos and their meanings and hoping to get one myself. He then asked some interesting and personal questions about me, I really felt like i was being scrutinized, almost like an interview. Eventually he said that I should get a tattoo that protects travelers. This for me was a thrilling response and he showed me an image of it:

It is a Buddhist compass called Paed Tidt. The three tiered oval shapes represent a seated Buddha and there is one for each cardinal point. This means I gain protection from Buddha in which ever direction I travel.

I was overjoyed as this was exactly what I wanted and the fact that he could tell that from my persona made it even more special. Preparations were made and we began. Firstly I had to present an offering to the monk, some flowers, a packet of cigarettes and a fiscal donation were hastily got for me by a lay person and then I made the offering. Some time was needed for reflection and the monk to prepare the implements.

He sharpened up his tools and we began. The pain was immense. For some reason I found this even more painful than that of the tattooing sticks in Borneo. Maybe its because it was a double pointed and fairly large stick, or maybe it was because it was right on my spine, but I was certainly aware of how much it hurt.

Unusually, there was no outline done, no markings of any kind, he just went straight on with it. It became obvious later on that he knew every single tattoo off by heart and didn't need any templates for any of them. You can see the various stages below.

In the video, right at the end you can actually hear him sharpening mid tattoo.

As soon as he had finished (the pain stopped which was nice haha) he flicked oil onto the tattoo, said a prayer and then exhaled onto my back. This is supposed to install the magic of the tattoo under your skin so that it remains with you forever. As he did this i felt an odd tingling sensation around and on the tattoo and felt very relaxed.

He then insisted that he got a monk higher up in the order to come and bless me again. The process was similar, more oil, a prayer and then exhalation into the open skin. Again I felt a calming effect and knew that I had received something special.


I then helped someone else get theirs done, by having two people stretch the skin out, it makes the tattoo clearer and also helps the monk to sit more comfortably. I ended up staying for a third person as well. It fascinated me the lengths these people would go to in terms of having mantras tattooed on their body. Some of them were totally covered. They both got several done at once as opposed to just the one. They asked me if I wanted another one and I thought about it for a while, but then decided that the one I had was special enough for the time being. Below you can see the devotees back and also (if anyone needed clarification) the monks chest:

I eventually decided it was time to be on my way. I thanked the monk from the bottom of my heart and went to leave. He stopped me mid stride and handed me the tattooing implement. I thought it was another ceremonial act, bowed to it and then handed it back. He turned me round, opened up my bag and slid it inside and then winked at me. I felt extremely privileged as, from seeing the others getting theirs done, this was not customary. He then led me out and into a room where the mummified remains of the famous Luang Por Phern rest. He is the person that made religious tattoos so famous in Thailand. I was encouraged to say a little prayer and then was walked to the nearest bus stop.

This again had been a journey that had taught me not only about a different method of tattooing, it had also taught me about other things too. I had learnt more about myself, but had also gained a unique inside into a world that is (once again) a far cry from anything we have in the west. I finally felt attached to Thailand, the real Thailand.