I have been in Lombok for 3 days now, started to sort a few things out with the land I am buying, 5 of us chopped down a whole bunch of trees and bamboo today and nearly started a forrest fire halfway up the hill.

FINALLY Managed to contain it though,.. just!! everything is sooo dry as we are approaching the end of the wet season. Today the wind picked up when somebody I employed decided to burn some of the old bamboo and palm fronds… then whoosh, it shot all the way up the hill. Now I am covered in scratches and small cuts and a few burns  all up my shins from wearing shorts.

Today was chainsaw day…

Ok, Alexa is at work this week and I have about 6 days to fill without surf whilst I am visiting Bandung, I have arrived in the evening and been introduced to a place with a very different feel and vibe to Bali, Bandung feels like a ghetto that is transforming block by block into a modern metropolis. It is very high in contrast architecturally. Rusty corrugated rooftop shanty towns fill the spaces between the newish large supermalls, Carrefour, Makro etc. so whilst online in Bandung Super Mall I decide to type into Google “Bandung tourist attractions” to see what is on offer for me to occupy the next 6 days whilst Alexa is working. This was basically the information that came up.

” Bandung has very little to offer the tourist traveling through Indonesia, apart from Shopping Malls and factory fashion outlets which are popular with the local surrounding communities. Its basic infrastructure is not tourist friendly, the public transport comprises of cramped mini vans, the pavements are appauling and dangerous to walk along, there is a distinct lack of understanding of the English language amongst the local businesses and their workforce. Apart from the volcano 1hr away there is little on offer that compares to other Indonesian destinations, most tourists sidestep Bandung and head directly to Jakarta, Jogyakarta or the increasingly popular destination Bali so called “The island of the gods”

So here I am having just read what I quickly found out to be true, horrendous traffic, lots of shiny shopping malls and ghettos in between, I am staying in the top floor loft room at a hotel/motel “Kos” next to a busy dual carriage way and a Mosque that turns on its loudspeakers for a prayer broadcast at 5am in the morning. Bottom line; It has been great to see Alexa, she has been visiting me before and after her work, the times we have shared have been truly wonderful, I like her a lot and care for her dearly, but I have decided to change my initial plans of staying for 6 days and blowout my prepaid airfares having concluded that 2 days here , a trip to a park, a shopping mall and a museum is enough. So back to sit in the sea in Bali, Johan’s back andthe swell is pumping

So below are some photos of Bandung Super Mall, housing world renowned brands, which to be fair reminded me of being back in the UK at Cribbs Causeway in Bristol. KFC, Honda, Toyota, Mothercare, La Senza, Hugo Boss etc. standard western stuff. The mall also had a small western style fairground which I am sure all the screaming young Indo children from Bandung love, My experience was of their screams as i tried to take advantage of the free wifi, as their screams seemed to get louder with every coffee refill that I drank. Also included below are a few photos taken of the surrounding road conditions travelled along in the minivan on the way. There are  also many cycle taxis in Bandung which are personally and elaborately decorated which is an interesting sight to see,,,

Jakarta Airport again;

So now I am sitting in Jakarta International Airport having sat on a cramped coach for 3 and a half hours waiting to board a Lion Air domestic flight back to Bali. The 6 days I had planned in Bandung were beyond my Indonesian tolerance threshhold. Hot, cloudy, humid and no waves or ocean nearby. Hellish traffic, pollution, smog shopping malls and the Mosque on loudspeaker at 5am. That is my limit, Alexa is a busy girl, If she was more available this week no doubt I would have stayed the full 6 days but she is not, so I have decided to get out of here… However to Bandung’s credit, I spent one afternoon in a big National Park called Dago Pakar, which had some of the tallest trees I have seen, beautiful fauna, some caves and a beautiful meandering river through it that unfortunately housed more plastic bags than the average supermarket. Biodegradeable is not yet in the Indonesian daily thought and action patterns. Apparently years of throwing the palm leaves and coconut husks on the floor that their food is wrapped in, have yet to be broken and the understanding that plastic bags behave differently in the environment is yet to be learned and embraced.. So yet again I am sitting in Jakarta Airport  (4th time in the last 10 months) and my plane is delayed so I am writing this..

Surfed Sarangan on the east coast yesterday as the wind turned then they turned back again today so I surfed possibly for the last time this year Dreamland.. Swell not as powerful long wait for waves. Afterwards I sat in the infinity swimming pool and watched the sunset,..great vibe at Dreamlands upstairs lounge/pool bar. Infinity edged swimming pools seem all the fashion but this really i the only one I have witnessed that captures that idylic lost horizon moment.

have really noisy neighbours in Mekar Jaya hotel at the moment, a whole group of Iranians seem to have group booked and taken over the place, really irritatingly loud, brash, noisy and inconsiderate of all the other guests, If they do not leave soon I will, not a good crowd to be near, seem to be like a whole bunch of real life Ali G’s without the yellow jumpsuits..

Happy Birthday Nathan, Happy Birthday Reece, thinking of you both!

Surfed Uluwatu today, small waves swell dropping off a bit, not a cloud in the sky scorching hot all day, sunburnt bald head!