Jason Lunn.com/ Surfing and life in Indonesia

A few shots from my small CanonD10 in the sea at Sarangan….Johan and Toby

Was 16500 a while back this is making Indonesia an expensive place now compared to before.. Englands economy really seems to be in the slumps right now English pound is really losing value worldwide at the moment… have a balance to pay on my land in Lombok when the certificates are ready,.. this drop makes about 4 000 pounds difference!!! Sucks

Surfing every day with Johan Pontell, Dan Johnson and Toby Millwood. Three surfers I spent I got to know well last year. Johan is  skateboarder , we went and skated an amazing backyard boel in Sanur a few days ago, have a a few shots. The bowl is owned and built by a frenchman who has been here surfing and skating and living the dream for a long time now. amazing bowl he made it himself. Concrete hurts, knees wrists and bones all felt how harsh concrete is again…

after skating all night body shut down got flu, non stop runny nose, aches and pains all over and a big cold sore on my lip. I have forgotten what it is like to get ill,.. aghhh.

5 days have passed still surfing every day Sarangan most afternoons with the boys. Nose is like a non stop river. Surfed at sarangan near the city dump and there has been a lot of floating debris in the water including a dead puppy which floated up to me in the line up for the waves.

Went to atm other day and my card was rejected!! It seems to have expired today, so no access to cash!!! not good and HSBC said it will take min 10 days to get a new one out to Bali. Post here is bad I can feel it will not happen smoothly. Not a major problem credit card to hand but money problems here are a quick reminder of how vulnerable you are in a foreign country if you have no cash!!

2 weeks here mow have been surfing most days, Many people from the uk have all come back out so there has been no shortage of people to hang out with, so blog still has not developed much so I will try get some  more shots on soon

Gili Trawangan, Party Island Diving Island,..

These are a few photos from Gili Air, which appears to be the least developed and quietest of the 3 Ismall Isles

Road to Bangsal Lombok from Mataram is truly a pleaseure on a motorbike, these are the views I used to see every time I would ride to the small public harbout to get the boat to Gili Trawangan,.

5 or 6 places are offering internet services her in Kuta Lombok, however all of them are operating on dial up speeds shared between 5 to 6 machines.. tooo sloww fro me to do my blog plus the price is twice that of Kuta Bali. Lots of different experiences and meetings with friends and new places have happened since the last update however the internet here is beyond painfully slow and frustrating. Blog is in backlog  now, I will be returning to Bali in a week or so and will update my blog hopefully then..

Ok Xmas dinner was rice and chicken on an Air Asia flight from Bangkok to Bali. Met up with Hanna and Eugene Tollemache for a drink in Uluwatu xmas night. They are back here travelling and surfing Indonesia for about 4 months.

Went back to Gili Trawangan for New years Eve, Party Island met up with my girlfriend Darsi Miranti, Eugene Hanna and Grishka Roberts who is also Back in Indonesia again. (see Lakey Peak Blog entry)

Started doing some work on the retaining walls for my land the last three days. Woke up last night vomitting blood and diorhea like a chocolate river, head feels like it has been kicked around by a football team. The rain is here now for a few months. Feel tired and sick today have been told I might have dengue fever as the mosquitoes all come out in the rain. Have been working on my blog photos ad will post soon

Dropped in Visa application at Indonesian Embassy, which opens an hour late then closes bang on time, just like Indonesia.

Having teeth cleaned polished and whitened as the dentists here are good easy to get an appointment and about 1/5 of the price of the UK. I need some work  resulting from when I decided to to some self dentistry last year and killed a tooth filing it down with wet and dry sandpaper. The dentist wanted as much as a secondhand Motocross bike so I bought that instead..

Feet blistered and sore from walking every where.. Xmas day in 3 daystime weird feeling as Bangkok has all the commercial shopping centre trimmings, Santas, trees, lights and xmas carols that the west has but its only in the big shopping malls. Bangkok is not a christian city it definitely seems that religion is definitely focused on money worldwide and not faith. I spend a lot of time evaluating life here and in the UK, I like the warm weather, still in shorts and still dread the thought of living and working there again..

Dentist again later, then want to try and upload some photos to my blog backdated through the relevant posts..

I have really enjoyed living in Lombok in the jungle, Bangkok has reminded me of this..

Today 17th December back in Bali for two days to collect a new 10 year passport from the British Embassy (done with 5 mins to spare) In two days I will be flying to Bangkok for five days for a new Indonesian visa for next year. I want to use my time in Bangkok to update my blog with pictures of my time in Lombok and the people I have met. I have not had time to do this for a few months plus the internet in Bangkok is up to speed..

-I spent the last week with Darsi again all going well looks like I am starting what seems to be a caring, loving and fun relationship! She came to visit me and we spent 4 days again in Kuta Lombok together, we had some fun and she has agreed to me putting a few photos on my blog of her and us for my friends to see. She wasnt happy at first due to the quantity of females that have posted pictures of before but as we are getting on well she seems cool with it now. I really like Darsi and we have a lot of fun together, I learn a lot from her and she is pretty mellow so happy days so far. It would be good if she was coming to Bangkok but no can do..

Today I woke up at 5am and took the ferry from Lembar Harbour Lombok to Padang Bai harbour in Bali.. I just rode to the port (approx 1hr) and onto the ferry with my moped, easy enough a lot cheaper than flying 80,000 IDR approx 3 GBP instead of approx 500,000IDR for flying and taxis to and from the airport. (ferry is a bit boring though (4 -1/2 hours) It is good to have my own moped here in a Bali for a change though. It is unbelievable how Bali has changed a lot in the last two months since I was last here a great big motorway is under construction from Keramas to Kuta which was not there before and looks as though it will be finished in the next 6 months, new shops new restaurants and new staff in all the existing ones..Wow its all change here right now.

Bali feels less crowded as it is no longer peak season and I am hearing a lot more English accents than before. Kuta Bali now feels diferent to me as I have moved my heart over to Lombok and somehow I feel a little empty inside now I am here, difficult to articulate maybe I will try another time. It just feels that compared to Kuta Lombok, Kuta Bali is such a transient place the capitalism has really got a grip of the place. Kuta Lomboks natural beauty still remains in large doses, Bali feels super chaotic and busy to me now. It is low season now and also the beginning of the wet season. Many of the surfers appear  a bit lower in spirit and the locals are looking tired. There has been no swell for a month or so, maybe that explains why.. Strangely enough I have surfed once in seven weeks but I havent thought about as I have been enjoying being occupied with my land and Darsi at the weekends..

Although I know need to get surfing again soon, maybe tomorrow

Right handed wave close to Kuta Lombok, good fun, tweaked my neck and shoulder as they are out of practice,. Spent time going through my laptop hopefully, good photos of many things to come soon.

Oh yeh I just remembered, I had a local lorry driver try and attack me on my land with a machette yesterday, for no apparent logical reason, luckily I had a crew of locals there on my side yesterday so no harm done. To cut a long story short, I had approx 16 truck loads of rocks on order to build a retaining wall on my hill side. This local guy heard  that I needed rocks and started to deliver his rocks on my land and then charge me for them without prior negotiation with me, he was trying a scam and make out he was part of the my original order and delivery working for the same company which I knew he wasnt. I told him I didnt want them as they were yellow and I had 16 trucks of red rocks all from the same quarry, his truck was also smaller which he denied so I pulled out atape measure to prove it and when I returned from measuring it, he went nuts and tried to attack me with a machette!! all good fun here though Im still alive and the crew working for me made it very clear to him they would have cut his head off if he had gotten any closer, so I felt safe as I could in that situation.I just do not want any angry idiots in my life that communicate with machettes.(Which I am not exagerating is how many disagreements in Lombok are settled! I am fortunate apart from the odd idiot all the people I have met have been great so far, which is why i want to live here, he is the first local that has caused or tried to create a problem so far, but no problem now he was told what will ahppen if he returns

.. as they say “there is another one born every minute!’

Returned back from Gili Trawangan yesterday, had 5 days together with Darsi Miranti, looks like the female conveyor belt running through my life is on pause for the moment, which hopefully will come to a standstill while I get to know and spend more time with Miranti…

Spoke to my brother Nathan in Thailand today and he alongside a few friends have informed me that lately my blog is reading like a continuous stream of different women coming and going in and out of my life, airport rendezvous here and there blah blah with me being a womaniser somewhere in the middle. I have also had a few comments from the uk it has been reading like a Mills and Boon Novel.

Ok here goes i will offer  a brief explaination. One year ago tomorrow I left the Uk on a journey into the unknown to Indonesia, I took a passport, a debit card, camera equipment, malaria tablets and an open mind and an open heart to all that was to come my way. I ended up in many different airports, cities and surf breaks, numerous restaurants, hotels, bars and clubs. I left the Uk as a single person and I was aiming to follow my heart. As a result I have met many other people also following their hearts and living their dreams, communication in such situations is often open, caring and honest. Many of the barriers people hide behind during normal daily routine existence are non existent. Strong experiences and bonds are easily created in this emotional environment, however I know and understand people are travelling, many are not in a final destination so many of my encounters have been brief. Especially with women. I have met wonderful inspiring women and if situations would have allowed I could easily have spent more time with all/ any one of them and developed stronger emotional bonds. However geographical circumstances and individual paths through life so far have not delivered such circumstances. I am living as a stream flowing through the rocks, just following a path that life takes me on. I have remained in contact with many people I have met and they have firmly planted roots in my heart. Physical experiences through my life are important to me, surfing, skateboarding, gymnastics, bmx, motocross, making love, having sex,.. all of them are situations which make me come alive, make my heart beat faster. All carry risks which I always assess in advance and calculate whether or not I am prepared to take them..

A barreling wave broke my friends neck in Panama on a shallow sand bottom and a different one broke Christophe Frats  neck at Lakey Peak Sumbawa last feb, there is always a risk for the rewards life has to offer ( see Lakey Peak Section on right side menu for more info

Eugen Tollemache Broken Neck

Christophe Frat and Eugene Tollemache Lakey Peak 2009

.,  .Motocross paralyses many people at the top of their game my friend Jamie Squibb damaged his spleen this year backflipping a 75ft gap on his fmx bike. skateboarding and bmx has put me in hospital most of the adult years of my life. Working on my land has cut my palms and shins to shreds and each cut has become a puss filled sore lasting two weeks. Even surfing safely a person experiences reef cuts which always develop into sea ulcers  quickly. Life for me is always been about taking risks, assessing risks and enjoying the rewards that follow, My most important lessons and education has been learning from the pains and mishaps along the way. Pain is a living proof that you are live and feel alive, the ability to feel has always been my route to the truth. If I follow what I feel in my heart and combine my decision making process with all the information I have gathered in my head so far, I can make decisions with a clear conscience. This clear conscience has been a good thing to live with..

The greatest risks I have taken always involve my heart, the very core of me and I have found to offer it to other people piece by piece brings some of life’s greatest rewards. However the price is high when my heart is injured and love for all its rewards has the greatest price to pay when it comes and goes. When traveling love comes in different ways and different experiences, it is delivered in brief encounters, small moments that alone do not appear to be a lifelong relationship. However all these moments amount to something quite wonderful when they are totaled and added up. For now that is my life and one that  I am very grateful and appreciative of. I aim to value all who pass through for the moments where we have shared, loved and learnt together. I have  moments that will last in my memory forever now, these experiences have left me feeling fully filled and satisfied no matter how brief.

If my life today was a  book then it most definitely would have a contents page, that is my life now, full of content and content, the root of contentment. Yes “Content” I know how it feels, no longer frustrated and empty, feeling unsatisfied and dreaming, my life has become a dream come true every day I step into its direction. I just thank God for every woman that has passed through this year, every city I have visited, every wave I have ridden, every flavour I have tasted every sunset I have witnessed. I stepped into my dream with an open mind and open heart and met others who had too. I have discovered love is experienced through giving and sharing and that has been all I aim to do give and share,  my blog is just one small way of sharing this experience with anybody who wants to know, its is that simple I  am just keeping an open diary along the way..

Ok 9 trucks  full of rocks have arrived for retaining walls today, so that is this weeks project. Woke up feeling odd this morning, somewhat at a loss having spent 5 intimate days with Darsi Miranti on paradise Island again,  a mix of emotions spinning inside but I remembered later that this week happens to be the Anniversary of when my Dad hung himself about 12 years ago, and I think my spirit reminds of this inside, so it’s an emotional time subconciously for me at the moment although all is going well on the surface…..

Ok, all good here in Lombok, had a crew of men and machines carving two levels into the side of a hill, all good then heavy heavy rain, a whole heap of earth has moved back down and filled up the foundations the digger has dug for the retaining stone walls. It had to be all re dug out by manual labour. Had some ups and downs organising steel and ready mix concrete due to my limited bahassa Indonesia language knowledge but we managed to get 8 cubic metres of concrete poured 4 days ago and the steel is in place for the concrete posts. All good here many great pictures to come on this project soon..

I am now in Gili Trawangan with what appears to be my girlfriend that apparently is turning into a relationship (Ooo La Lah!) I shall not speak too soon, her name is Darsi Miranti we have fun together.. Gili is a little pradise island and I am relaxing here now for  a few days before we start building retaining walls. I have bought myself a Honda 125cc moped secondhand to save money as I have been renting a bike for ayear.

I just booked my tickets to Bangkok for 19th Dec for my next visa run and looks like I will be returning to Bali on Xmas Day, was planning on visiting my brother and Sister in Thailand but the flights were too expensive as it is high season.Sorry Nathan and Natalie, gonna plant trees instead..

Been busy with a whole bunch of heavyweight earthmoving equipment rearranging some of the land I have purchased, lots of people have been helping, fun times very tired but have some great photos soon to post.. Decided not to return to the UK on the 14th November and just decided to blow out my return flight so I can spend some more time here. England is just not feeling like a place I want to be right now.. Expensive week diggers and trucks do not come cheap, house equity fromsale of my house has taken a sizeable hit,.. Have not surfed for a month and moved into a new place to stay in Lombok which is less expensive bigger and cleaner. Decided to buy a secondhand moped today instead of renting one like I did the whole of last year. Life is still good,..Darsi Miranti visited me in Lombok for a few days this weekend which was fun. Relationships as much as they are fun always feel like a potential nightmare aboutr to happen dont know why, I guess its having losely based plans and dreams and hioping they tie in with someone else’s. But I shall keep trying as per usual, want to surf again soon but swell has dropped off, but all is well today..

Gili Trawangan Gili Meno and Gili Air, 3 small yet beautiful islands with white sandy beaches, turquiose aqua water, wonderful coral reefs alive with exotic colourful fish and huge sea turtles, all the clocks are on rubber time. No cars, no motorbikes just bicycles, horses and carts, dining tables along the waters edge and the sea lapping at your ankles as you stroll along the beach with the sun scorching down on your  back. If you can share such a place with someone you care about, bliss can be the only word to describe the experience. Trees draping over the waters edge as you drink fresh coconuts and eat ripe mango and pineapple. Luxury villas pools and luxury cuisine to keep your mind occupied with choice. Time stands still every day here as the sun kisses the waters edge,  leaving behind a bright orange curtain accross the horizon each night. A small piece of paradise I have found and today I have left to go back to Lombok. A small boat ride back to the mainland and I collect my moped from the secure parking in Bangsal Harbour. No stress a 40 minute ride along the palm lined cliff faced coastal road through Sengigi and I am now sitting in Mataram Mall  in an internet shop. Things to do, flights to cancel, visas to renew,.. I am not returning back to England on my flight Nov 14th I can notdo it, my heart will not let me and I am following my heart. Its that simple..so Indonesia I will stay a little while longer. I read Alexas comments on my blog yesterday and they are stirring me, she has been on my mind today, can’t post her/our story here but goodbye is never an easy thing to say or do..

Spent the afternoon swimming as deep as I could amongst the fish and coral, drank and ate fresh coconuts. Found a bakery that makes great croissantas and black coffee. Simple things under the blue skies and bright light of the sun,.. chickens in the street and horses pulling carts, “when reality becomes a nightmare it is time to live the dream..” Now every new  reality each morning is born again and has been a dream come true for a very long time now.. I feel inside that my God is real and all praise and credit is due,…

Still here, spending time with my new female companion from Gili T, Darsi Miranti, 29 years old makes me laugh non stop!, having some fun and then some..

Gili T has great snorkeling and a very steep coral shelf. The island has a very busy diving culture and there are many Padi courses available. I love the deep water and have been practicing my free diving as i want to get up to 20 metres approx 60 ft with just a mask and snorkel and a lungful of air. We have been snorkeling together and yesterday were swimming in what seemed like a fishtank/ aquarium and I was swimming within 2 feet of two extremely big sea turtles that were slowly munching away eating along the coral reef..Warm water glorious sunsets and someone to share it with OOh la lahhh! life is being so kind to me at the moment…

1. I have been working on my land, with a local called Ruka. works like an ox and we have been clearing all the small trees so we can see where to get a bulldozer and digger in to get some levels for building at a later date. I havent surfed for a while and my hands have blisters and my shins scratched to pieces but life is good…

2. In what appears to becoming a habit I met a woman called Darsi Miranti in Bali airport when I was flying to Lombok, Not particularly in the frame of mind to meet any new beautiful women at this stage, however our paths crossed accross the runway and well the rest is history. It appears that we get on well and we have spent some time together for about a week on the Gili Isles just off Lombok,.. If romance had an address it would be here. I feel lke I have been given a free honeymoon without a wedding and all the hassle that goes with that, Wow Ooh La Laahh! life is good.. After my previous encounter in Bandung with Alexa I felt it necessary to steer my life in a different direction based on some integrity and deceit issues I felt she had at this stage of her life that I could not get entwined and involved with. This was not easy as I am very fond of her, however, I feel as though life has rewarded me for making a very difficult yet necessary decision to steer away from investing any more time in that direction.

So the relationship conveyor belt once again continues,.. however I am having a wonderful relaxing time, some quality loving and have taken some wonderful photos of wonderful places, whe possible I will try and post here soon.. No fresh water here on the Gili Islands, Internet is not so great!

I have a return flight to England on Nov 13th, I do not want to go back Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhh! we shall see..