The results are pretty impressive…

never the less life needs to be kicked where it needs it most.. and I use music sometimes as a boot..  

Click here to view the embedded video.

Kings of Leon song called closer..  its cool..  go on and see if it fits  ;)

seeyas

Click here to view the embedded video.

The lyrics have interesting meaning to me.. however I really just like the general meaning of it..  I really just associate it with the need to reinvent.

This new year has bought a renewed focus to my life..  more one of prudence and careful planning. I now know what I want to do. Tavelling has been awesome and has re invigorated my soul and given me a new understanding to my past and its ultimate influence in my life. I’m a highly creative individual, of which however, has floundered in recent years. This I intend to resolve.

I’ve begun to write a new game design document which I hope to complete over the coming year. I’m excited about the idea and the promise of a bright and interesting future because of it. Soon to bolster my reputation as a designer Fuzzyeyes Studios will be releasing their game Edge of Twilight..  why is this important? It’s important as I am the original creator of the idea.

I delivered or ’seeded’ the idea in the company after a pitching session open to all employees. Some cool ideas were given but ultimately my idea was chosen. So began pre production.. In remark to the people who have a major impact on the design I give massive credit to Daniel Streetfield who was instrumental in shaping the story more and giving it a more individulistic feel to the idea.  

Of course I have long left the company to pursue interests in South East Asia and the design has been left the good hands of Andrew Chrysafidis and by all remarks he is doing an awesome job of bringing the game into completion…  Go mate go!

Click here to view the embedded video.

This is a bit of a plug to help out the guys over at the Fuzz..   I wish you guys all the best in bringing about a massive game into completion!

Anyhow..  This year I intend to start a whole lot of things anew. And really push hard to bring new ideas forward and also to use different avenues for creative outlets..  I can’t hardly wait!

More updates to follow!

anyhow a quick update from me

hmmm… ok..  last post I spoke about north sumatra..  so the events go along like so

• Medan to Bukit Lawang
• Bukit Lawang to Medan
• Medan overnight bus to Banda Aceh
• Banda Aceh to Palau Weh
• Spend two weeks in Palau Weh doing my Open water Diving and Advanced open water diving accumulating 15 dives in total.. awesome
• fly from Banda Aceh to Medan to Jakarta
• catch a train from Jakarta to Jogjakarta
• Climb Gunung Merapi
• Catch bus from Jogja to Gunung Bromo
• Gunung Bromo to Bali
• Travel around Bali..  dive the liberty wreck.. awesome!
• Go from Bali to Lombok to Gili Trawangan
• Spend almost two weeks here.. now am brown as a nut!

so there you go..  do check out my gallery..   www.jamietelford.com/gallery

cause when I can I upload pics!

seeya!

Friday afternoon..   October 31st..  no material possessions bar the ones carried on my back, all but one bucket filled with freezing salted water and..  beer..

One last look at my home for the past 6 months! Good bye old block 171

Fast forward a few days 2 November 2008. Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia. Riding in a local bus plying the streets of Medan on our way to Danau (lake) Toba. Local roads are in good condition however packed with trucks, cars, and motorbikes where by sheer luck it seems don’t crash in one another.

Rather uneventful trip along the back roads of northern Sumatra where the only time we stopped was to pick up and drop off passengers everywhere, and to change a flat tire. Coming into Danau Toba was I was greeted with spectacular scenery and wished then the bus would stop to soak up the views.

Next was a short ferry ride from the town of Parapat to Tuk Tuk, Pulau Samosir. Where upon arriving checked into a rather quiet place called Anju..  in fact the whole place is very quiet, and its quite clear that its hayday was many years ago..

End day one..  start day two

Today I woke up late after a great sleep in and proceeded  about the days plan..  which was basically  Makanan (food) and then climb the waterfall directly behind Tuk Tuk. Breakfast was Nasi Goreng (fried rice) which was damn good and then set off to climb up to the waterfall.  Walking there was asked where I was going..  ‘Jalan Jalan Air Terjun’ (walking waterfall) I reply..  ‘ohhh you need a guide’. With determination I declined every offer.. how hard could it be hard anyhow?

Well after an hour of taking wrong paths half way up the mountain I finally discovered the way up to the water fall..   The path leads up over slippery rocks to an old irrigation channel clinging to the side of a cliff..  next the path snakes along the top of the channel., to a minor waterfall. The path then climbs up vertically for about 30 meters requiring me to scale the face using the natural ropes.. roots..

The waterfall was cool..  it went about 40 meters up to the top.. and has views off the lake below.
I looked to see if you could climb up further and back out a different way. However was not the case forcing me to climb back down the way I had came up..   Joy..

Back into Tuk Tuk..  swim in the lake…  shower and eat…  I’ve discovered that the vegetables here are fantastic..  organically grown and damn tasty…  so i’ve been pretty much just eating fried veges with some plain rice! Totally the healthest meals in a long time.

Start Day Three..

Up early today.. makan followed by renting a motorcycle. Hammering off down the road the goal today was to explore the road ultimately leading to natural hot springs. Riding the roads was not too bad.. general condition was pretty good except some dodgy log bridges and massive pot holes. The road took me around the north of the island into the small village of Pangururan which has the only bridge leading back off the island.

After a short stop.. proceed across the bridge and took the wrong turn.. left instead of right in my effort to find the hot spring. Not to worry thou this route ultimately was more scenic and interesting road to the springs, taking me through some beautiful villages and views of stunning valleys where the locals grow nasi (rice).

The way I took went around Bukit (hill) Pusuk on some pretty rough dirt roads. I ate a fair bit of dust following the odd truck. I actually smelt the hot springs before seeing them, the smell of sulphur is strong on the wind here. I took my trusty ride to the highest of the springs and went inside to be greated by the friendly local.. ‘Salamat Soya’ (Hello good afternoon).

Behind the small eatery I was lead to the Mens only pool where I enjoyed complete privacy as I was the only one there..  Well it was about 1.30pm and in reality is far to hot of a day to use a hot spring.. but the hell with it.. i’m here and i’m going in. The water was somewhere between scolding and hot. Probably more scolding than anything.

I started with a series of foot dipping and semi immersions in an effort not to boil myself alive. Quickly I was gripped by the need to dive into the pool.. which I did.. and what followed was myself flailing to get out before cooking.

Beer.. Bintang to be exact..  with a beautiful lake view! How else to celebrate my partial poaching.

The trip back was much faster.. I was used to the bike…the roads seemed in brilliant condition after what I has just travelled on, that I managed to arrive back at Tuk Tuk earlier than expected. So I took hour trip up the other direction, south, and climbed up in the moutain.This turned out be the most scenic part of the trip as the road led me past waterfalls, little villages, and vistas.

I got a fair way up.. but the road was blocked and under construction.. so I turned back..  a little way down I ran into a local fella that I had met on the first day..  sat down and enjoyed the view.

Start Day Four

Actually today was all about doing one thing..  nothing. Well actually eating, sleeping, and listening to music while I gazed from the balcony.

Start Day Five – the little waterfall that wouldn’t

Today was an exeptional day., up at 7.30am and onto the ferry from Palau Simoser to Parapat.. fantastic..  breakfast was Mie Goreng and then a short walk up the main road to catch a chicken bus to Porsea.

The joruney on the Bis (bus) was viscurley entertainining, sights, sounds and smells all fresh and new. I spent the trip of approxamiatley one hour sitting at the rear open door peering outside as we  careered down the narrow two laned high way.

The purpose of this outing was to visit Sigura Gura, a waterfall situated north of Posea. After jumping off at Posea I headed up the road, disregarding the taxi drivers and how much they wanted to charge me. Happily I headed up the road yelling ‘Salamat Pugi’ and smiling at everyone I came across…  I had estimated that the waterfall was roughly 7km up the road..  well after 7km there was still no waterfall.

After trudging up a steep hill I stopped at a shop just before somekind of checkpoint. Exhausted I sat and made small talk with the locals.

‘Jalan Jalan Sigura Gura Lah! How far?’
‘20 kilometer Sir’ the reply..
Damn I think.. i’ll never make it.

Usually time is not a problem.. however I have to make the last ferry from Parapat to Tuk Tuk at 6pm. And the time was about 2pm after spending two hours walking.. After some more banter with the locals one of them offers to pillion me on his motorbike to the waterfall. After a short diliberation..  seconds I recall.. I jump helmetless onto the back of the motorbike.

Hanging on for ones life would be an understatement..  hammering down wet winding steep roads in excess of 80km per hour would be a statement.. however strangely at the mercy of a stranger I was cool. After about 7km we stopped at a stall an I proceeded with banter with a new set of locals.

The usual questions to me insued.

‘where your friend ah?’
‘no friend here jalan jalan by myself’
‘no wife? Where your girlfriend?’
‘no no.. just me.. jalan jalan round Sumatra..’

Seems unusual but travelling alone through Indonesia is something not often seen. Anyhow at this point I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be making the distance to the waterfall.. time was running slim.. and most people where completely shocked to see a foreigner this far from Danau Toba.
Which is true. After asking one of the store owners

‘how many foreigners you see here?’
‘never… none…  no foreigners…’

ok.. this is where my one day excursion got a lot better..  I finally got somewhere where fellow tourists like me haven’t been for a few years. Nice! Hopefully a trend to be followed for the rest of my travels lah!

On the note of ‘Lah’..  that is the origin of Lah..  I’ve found that through my habitual pickup of the word ‘lah’ (if it be a word) in Singapore has led to unexpected reactions here in northern Sumatra.
I’ll go ahead and say..  ‘Jalan Jalan Lah!’

After which i’m hit with a quick retort in Bahasa which afterwards i’m downplaying my ability to speak Indonesian. Could be in part to the fact i’ve spent a large chunk of time in Singapore mastering the fine art of speaking ‘Singlish’, or as the locals would say.. it’s all in the ‘Lah’.

Thats right.. the way I say ‘lah’. And if you let the northern Sumatran inhabitants convince you, is that the origin of ‘lah’ actually comes from Sumatra. Specifically Medan, where chinese merchants introduced ‘Lah’ to the Malay peninsular.. and subsequently to Singapore… Hmmmmm.. Food for thought

Getting on with it..  The helpful crazed motorcyclist departed.. leaving me up the top of some mountain wondering how the hell to get down in a timely manner..  Sometime passed as I sat for a local bus.. But increasingly seam less than likely. The helpful owner of the shop stepped in and somehow flagged down a passing motorcylist.. whom she obviously knew. And proceeded to pocure me a ride back down the hill into Porsea. His name was ‘Andy’ and he was cool.. or so he said he was on all accounts of the ‘cool’ sunglasses he was wearing. Nethertheless he was actually cool regards of his fashion selection and the ride down the hill was calm and lesuirely.

I jumped off about 3km out of Porsea and headed again on foot.. again to yell ‘Salemat Soya’ (good afternoon) which I have proudly perfected in pronounciation at the stage.. more like a  Salamat Sorry.. with a weird cheesy twist on the pronounciation of ’sorry’. But hey.. all was good and I passed through rice paddies..  tailors.. and water buffalo.. on the way back into town.

Rather quickly I was on a Bis heading back to Parapet and hopefully in time to get the last ferry. The local buses.. called chicken buses..  although I havent seen any chickens yet, are buses that take their sweet own time. The are loud, smelly, crampt and seem to find every hole in the road, but they are fantastic in experience. Everyone on the bus was interested in where I was from, what am I doing, where’s my girlfriend/wife? How come I can speak good Indonesian.. etc.. Taking a trip on one of these buses is something everybody should do.

Start day six – away from lake Toba

Another relatively early start this morning as I had to pack and prepare to leave. I ditched my running shoes.. as walking around is providing plenty of exercise.. and some clothes to boot. I didn’t want to leave the same way I came in so I hitched a ride on the back of a motorcycle to the main road and waited for a local bus.

Local bus arrives and begins a short journey around the island.. retracing the steps taken when I hired the motorbike. Stopping at Pangururan to switch to a larger bus with the ultimate destination of Berastagi. I began to wonder why I went this way when I was crammed like a sardine onto the bus. Four abreast on my seat with a couple of kids on laps. But however was rewarded with outstanding views of Danau Toba.

Thus began a journey over a little more than 100 kilometers. Two hours you say? No worse.. more like 4 hours being a sardine traveling on ‘roads’ that are in such a state of disrepair that its not fair to call them sealed. Potholes, bumps, traffic.. equating to about a top speed of 40km per hour and perhaps an average of 20km per hour.

Eventually as with most things I arrive at my destination. Berastagi is a small town living in the shadow of Gunung (mountain) Sibayak..and the ever smoldering Gunung Sinabung. I checked into the Losmen Sibayak..  a small but really well presented hotel..  and as it seems at this time.. i’m the only one here.

please note.. I’ll upload more images soon for this post.. I’m struggling with dial up connection speeds at the moment.. so please bear with me!

1999 - 2000 i carried a art book on my journey through Europe.. of which i’m going to share a image/poem that I produced on the Aegean coast..  somewhere near Altinel, Turkey.

“The thought of conscience thought, I think therefore I am, I think…

Something told I thought was true, to bad I forget the truth.

Is something to hard to get? It’s there if you think about it.

but to say it’s there for all of us.. Would be a lie a tragedy.

For me and you, if I knew.. would exist a world & not the truth.

Sad times within your mind.. Not around you but inside.

Therefore I think ‘I am what Iam?’

But are you?”

Diatribe? yeah probably..   something about not pointing the finger without ‘at least’ pointing first at yourself…   

Anyhow..  t minus 2 days and counting.. first up..  evacuate the house..

J

the hell with it..  pimp time for an especially old image.. check my 2d image link for more

Anyhow..  I went off down to chinese garden the other day to check it out for the first time..  I had actually tried before.. but they had some ‘hello kitty’ piece of crap in the grounds and were charging $20 to go and look at it? ‘who would go see a thing like that’ you say? thousands of people..  what losers they must be.

The garden is a really nice place..  you can almost  imagine that your not in singapore.. and somewhere far far away..   the Bonzai gardens were in particular very cool…  and of course really old

As always you can see some more pics by following the ‘Photo’s’ link at the top of this page!

You might have noticed the new look to my weblog..   its getting kinda fancy now.. but all in preperation for my big trip..  

A big thing to notice is the tabs at the top of the page!

please make a note of the ‘photo’s’ tab…   this will be where u can view all photo’s i’ll be taking on my trip around the place!  I hope that you will enjoy it..

This enhancedment to the standard wordpress frontend is the WPG2 plugin.. which basically embeds ‘Gallery2′ inside of the weblog..  in a round about way..  hmmm… anyhow..

other enhancements is being able to embed My Google maps into the blog..   like so  

maps

in this case this is a map of all the places i’ve been in the world thus far..  I’ll update this from time to time as well…

as for me.. i’m tired..  (it’s 2am in the morning)  

goodnight..

My first port of call is Indonesia.. Medan to be precise! I’m planning on visiting the volcanic springs at Lake Toba for a bit of rest and relaxation before heading off into the wilderness for good!

View Larger Map

My general plan of travel is to have no plan.. but I will be spending up to 2 months in Indonesia at first. First in Sumatra, then to Java.. through Bali into Nusa Tenggara.. then up to Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo).. and exit out into Malaysia (Borneo)..

Of course I’m planning to go where the wind blows me.. so expect to find me in a place where i never said I was going!

I’ll be posting my travels, photos, and everything else about what i’m doing here on this blog! feel free to read up!

cheers!

Its always a breath of fresh air however to experience what others have to offer..  people are fascinatingly complicated and intelligent beyond most measure of words… looking forward I’m not so certain about how it will unfold but am certain about what it is i want to do. That is I will do what ever i want to and that is to experience life and see and understand what it is other people present and bring to the table.

Looking back at what has passed I see what could have been but this is only a view of ‘mine’ that probably wouldn’t equal the truth.. opportunity is something that often is created out of ones pursue of what seems right at the time, destiny is the result of letting which decisions ring true.

I always talk about regret. Never regret something that you have done.. only regret the things you did not. its all about ‘what if?’ and if you don’t go and find out the truth this will always be the thing that you ask yourself. This is only true of my self and perhaps a few others, but i feel there is some truth to it.

Today represents a new start and a new beginning..  this is new surroundings, people and relationships. Whatever happens next, one is not to know. But this is what should happen and should never be reflected upon than anything less than a success.

On a post reflection… I’m planning a journey that should occur in the next two years..  that is to cross from Singapore to Dublin..