Jason Lunn.com/ Portfolio of a life…..

any excuse for noise

I have just spent 2 months in Lombok, organising some stuff on my block of land, I have surfed when possible but the internet has been too slow for me to have the patience to upload any new stuff to my blog. All is well I have just spent 3 days in Bali to say goodbye to some friends and have now departed for a a period of time ( I am not sure how long) until I return.

For the first time in 2 years I am on my way back to the UK for the 1st of Dec.. Not looking forward to the experience at all but now I am sat in Kuala Lumpur International Airport in the noisiest Mc Donalds I have ever been in  whilst alive on this planet. Screaming children, babies , people shouting and a whole heap of chaos. I have 3 hours until I fly to Krabi Thailand and spend a week with my brother and sister before heading back to Stanstead Airport UK. I hope to update and backdate my blog during this time for those of you who are following it. I would like to say a big thank you for all who read my blog and take the short time out of their lives to email me feedback, encouragement and comments this is always the fuel for the next upload, thanks again..

Unfortunately I have to leave Kuta Lombok for a while and am not to sure when I will be returning so I have been through my hard drives and rounded up a selection of photos that represent why I love Lombok. These are  moments that helped me decide to invest time choose to buy some land here, with the dream of one day building a home on it . Today I do not know how but somehow I want to make it all work and share the place and experience with all who want to come along for the ride…god willing.

Well a picture is supposed to say a thousand words but here are some words to describe why I love it here,

the waves, Desert point, the women, the people , the culture, the sunrises, sunsets, palm trees, wildlife, snorkeling, diving, fish, turtles, snakes and monkeys, buffaloes, motorbikes, riding with no helmet, the sea, the weather, coconuts, Sengigi Left,chilli, the families, The Gili islands, sitting in luxury by the sea, the views, the mountains, alang alang roofs, surfers inn, Ashtari,waterfalls, the old ladies, Air Goeling, Segar, Grupuk, Novotel, guna guna, Mawi, wells, great times, great flavours, affordable and fun!

Hey put that camera away!

The waves have been working well as we are approaching the wet season, still have dry season trade winds though…

So finally having blogged about this land purchase for 18 months here are some photos. The view from the top is over 1000s of palm trees and a view to see the size of the swell in the sea that day…

The view from my land if I had the money to build a house here!

Here is a photo of  the most fun bunch of people I have ever had the pleasure of doing stuff with..

The great wall of Kuta Lombok..and the people that helped make it

Below are a few photos of my plot of land from the bottom looking up and the top looking down. These are the first photos I have ever posted land size is .71 hectare. The risk hre is high but so far so good it is such a magical place I feel that it is worth. Last year after we did all the soil movement with the bulldozers it was necessary to build a pretty big retaining wall which was achieved in stages.

Now there are some big flat plots ready  for some dream homes in the sun, yehaaa! Problem is cement steel, rocks, sand and stone all cost money and I have been hemorrhaging cash so fast the only way to plug the wound is to fly to England and work again. So I decided to plant 6 coconut trees to hopefully grow and do their thing while I am gone. These photos are from the last week or so where the workers on my Land investment have finished off the retaining wall we started a year ago and the crew necessary when we planted a few coconut trees,..

1 very expensive week in my life!

This has been rolling on for 18 months and here are a few photos from the different stages of its process along the way, from One week solid of bulldozers, excavators, trucks, rocks, concrete foundations and walls..Now Uang Habis (Money Finished) and off to work  whilst, hopefully the trees we planted get taller…

The sunrise looks a bit like this some mornings..

Kuta Lombok Sunrise

Aghhhhh Headache, headache and more headache!!!!!! buying a piece of land here in South Lombok, well I can not even begin to describe the experience…

However it appears the new International Airport and the surrounding roads and infrastructure are all full steam ahead,..

this means dust in your eyes all the way from Kuta Lombok to Mataram because of all the trucks on the road and roadworks…

Booked my flight to the Uk 15 mins ago 1st Dec Stanstead Airport back in the cold and grey again!! bad day today

These are my two friends Ruka and his wife Sema,..An interesting point, Sema has cooked me more meals and made me more coffee than an ex wife and all of my ex girlfriends I previously been with in the UK all put together and never complained once..

Princess Sema Rukas 4th wife to date..

All is good, stuff on land has some hiccups, I am beginning to accept this is the way of life here, learning patience. I am well and healthy taking lots of photos however internet slow and I am bored of computers.. will post when the feeling passes

In Search of the light

1 Corinthians 2:9 (New International Version)

However, as it is written:
“No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him”

Well this is one I read in the Bible when I discovered it, I have been holding onto these words for about 20 years now since the first time I read it alone in bed when I was 19 years old.  It is easy to constantly look and feel about what your life is missing rather than what it contains, when I stop to think and count my blessings,then look back over my life I think the promise has been kept so far,.. as for your life well you decide…

Inbetween building roads and catering to the tourist dollar Balinese communities still take their hindu ceremonies very religously even if its raining..

Love rain down on me...

Rained all the way from Kuta bali to Padang bai Harbour roadworks all the way and Balinese Ceremonies along the road slowing things up, include the fact it rained the whole bike ride and you get to experience the contrasts that take place here in the space of an hour..

Cream Tea Anyone?

My friend Alison Bone, a journalist and writer in Bali needed some photos of a restaurant/ cafe in Seminyak called Biko, once an antique shop but now the realistion and manifestation of an Ex patriot now living their tropical dream. You can relax in comfort here surrounded by an eclectic array of carved  hardwood furniture a whole heap of interesting nick nacks and ornaments that your grandmother would have scattered around. I had a free lunch for the photos but worth a visit if you need a few home comforts without having to do the cleaning or dusting..Here are a few of the shots…

Been raining super heavy every day for a few hours, heavy thunderstorms during the evening,..this means dirty river water in the sea. I have had conjunctivitis for 3 days probably from surfing dirty water. It is all gone now, saline drops and some antibiotic eye drops did the trick, not good felt like having sand rubbed in my eyes for 3days. Still waiting to hear news from my lawyers in Lombok RE land titles, so surfing each day, hanging out with my friends Mick and Troy and taking some photos along the way so I will post some soon,…Not too much swell at the moment,.

2 Dollar Sunglasses $$$$$$

Michael Spiteri Kuta Bali

Its been raining hard nearly everyday, although it is peak dry season, there has not been much swell and I seemed to have caught a really bad flu and cough with a super runny nose,..This seems ironic based on my last blog. When it rains I think there are a lot more bugs in the air here, the night clubs are full and the air con is on full power. A night out in a club with air con appears enough to spread the flu to most people that are in there.  Swell is picking up today, the Padang Padang contest was canceled this August due to not enough swell. This year their really has not been the usual pumping swell through August and early September that all the surfers here have anticipated. I have been doing a few visits to Ubud and some temples the last two weeks and trying to work out what the next phase of my life is. I really need to return to the Uk soon to regenerate some income and organise some loose ends. I would like to repair all my broken camera equipment. However I am still waiting for the paperwork on my land transaction in Lombok, it has taken over a year now to buy this piece of land and if anything is enough to disturb a persons sleep it would be buying following in the footsteps I have taken this year. Well I sold up in the Uk and cleared the mortgage and the routines so that I could step into the unknown again and for the whole it has great. However recently I have been feeling uncertain and unsettled about a few things and feel the urge to generate some routines again,..

Clari is from Bristol I have known her for 13 years now and she has been in Bali for nearly 6 months having previously been in India as her self reward for finishing her fashion degree as a mature student. Super talented in many ways, can write a song and dance about life and dress the characters up in pretty clothes all at the same time. Clari is a social networker of the highest caliber and somehow managed to end up “Villa Sitting” in Seminyak the upmarket part of Bali, for free! while the rest of us pay for hotels.. However as the great friend that she always is she invited me around for a dip in the pool. With such great light and contrast to Lombok local lifestyles I could not resist taking a few shots of how some people live their lives.. Maybe one day this could be me,”oh, today it was” even if for a moment, but hey life’ s the present! enjoy it, unwrap it! thanks Clari all the best….

Life is but a combination of perspectives on the moments we share

The last 3 Black and white photos are some portraits I took of Clari 3 years ago in Bristol, these are some of my favourite photos..

Me and my friend Mick have decided to spend a few days in Ubud as there is not alot of swell about and he has cuts on his feet that need to heal. These are a few snapshots of Ubud Tourist Market,

Mick my Balinese friend Putu and I went for a day out to Nusa Dua, no waves here today however its usually the biggest wave spot in Bali, five star hotels everywhere $200 a night but the beaches are free to everyone..

Page 7 Fella Big M Spiteri

When there is not many waves and no swell for a few days the ancient Hindu temple at Gunung Kawi is a really tranquil place to visit. My Balinese friend Putu and Mick had never been here before so cameras and two mopeds we drove another twenty minutes north of Ubud and arrived mid ceremony, watched for a while then went for a swim in the river in the Temple grounds…here are some photos of the Temple grounds, the people, Hindu offerings and ceremonies,.

you will pass through Ubud and the world famous rice terraces and the restaurants dotted along the crest of the road. Follow the road ahead and you will pass the New Gunung Kawi temples, however at this point you have gone to far and need to do a U turn go back up the hill and take aleft turning at the top.  Then for few km you will see logs and barefoot artisans with chainsaws and chisels and witness more carved wood on roadside display than possibly any other place in the world,..

Rainforest recycling Ubud style