Eye Candie

While traveling through Indonesia, I ventured over to the West coast of the island Sumbawa and stayed in a tiny village called Sekongkang, known for its world-class waves and reef break. The first day I arrived, professional surfer Dane Reynolds was out in the water and there were approximately six other people staying at Rantung Beach Resort ($7 USD/night). The second night Jordan and I were the only guests staying there... incredible!

The view from Rantung Beach Resort. World-class surf dead ahead.

In addition to being one of the most beautiful beaches I stayed on and being almost completely deserted, this beach also had an abundance of the best shells I have ever seen. Naturally I spent hours combing through the sand, collected a bag full of the finest shells and promptly mailed them home from Bali to avoid having them all break in my backpack over the course of another six months of travel.  They arrived safely on my mother's doorstep three months later and opening the box in February was akin to opening presents on Christmas day.

I collected the shells from Sumbawa with intentions of turning them into artfully crafted pieces of surf-inspired jewelry. Since I am still unemployed and have copious amounts of free time on my hands, I have had the opportunity to get started on this project. Here is what I have come up with so far...  

Top: shells from Sekongkang, Sumbawa, Indonesia buffed and polished by yours truly with

jade beads from Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Top and Bottom: shells from Sekongkang, Sumbawa, Indonesia buffed and polished by yours truly with

turquoise beads from Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Top: shells from Sekongkang, Sumbawa, Indonesia buffed and polished by yours truly with

jade beads from Chiang Mai, Thailand.

I apologize for the rudimentary photography, but you get the idea. :) Hurray for new eye candie! 

Which one do you like best?

Better Homes and Gardens Fever

While I was in SE Asia, I surprisingly missed very few things about home, but there were a couple of things and I missed them terribly. #1- Family (especially my precious nieces and nephew) #2- COOKING FOR MYSELF!  However the food in Asia was delicious, so let's start there. A few of my favorites included: 


Thailand- Tom Kha Gai! A.K.A. Thai Chicken Coconut Soup. This dish came in slightly different variations depending on which restaurant I ordered from, but it was always amazing.  It is a coconut milk base with lemongrass, fresh  ginger, lime juice, chilies, basil and those are all just for flavor. It obviously also comes with chicken and whatever vegies the cook feels like throwing in. Usually tomatoes, onion and mushroom. This soup is typically served with a side of rice for gut-bursting bliss.  


Malaysia- Masala Dosai! This is actually a fermented, rice/dal crepe-like wrap made fresh on the griddle then filled with spiced potato and onion and served with 2-3 different chutneys or dipping sauces. This dish is indigenous to India, but is also popular in Malaysia which is heavily influenced by Indian culture.

Philippines- Lumpia! This is basically just a glorified spring roll filled with meat, vegetables or both. It was typically served fried, but one family treated me to the Filipino fresh version which even had peanut butter in it. It was surprisingly tasty and very unique.  


Indonesia- Nasi Campur! I ate this at least once, possibly twice, per day and the best restaurant I got it in was in a small surfing village called Medewi on the West coast of Bali. It was $1 per plate. Nasi campur actually means "mixed rice" and is very simple, but extremely flavorful. It typically comes with rice (duh), fresh cucumber, green beans and cabbage leaves, tofu, tempe, a chicken leg, one fried egg, peanut sauce and sambal (a very spicy chili paste). There are many variations of nasi capur and it is often served wrapped in banana leaves on the streets. 


Australia- Nutella! Okay, I realize this is readily available in the U.S., but we were on a tight budget in Oz which meant we ate a lot of toast with Nutella. These were provided free at The Dingo Moon Lodge where we paid $28/night for a dorm bed... I'm just saying. Anyway, this delicious chocolate/hazelnut spread is also extremely popular throughout Asia and goes well with the typical backpacker breakfast: Banana Pancakes. It also goes really well on your midnight munchie en-route back  to your guesthouse: Banana Pancakes.  


Vietnam- Pho! Vietnamese rice noodle soup, with chicken or beef, served with a heaping plate of fresh basil, mint, lettuce, bean sprouts lime and chilies. The broth is what makes the soup special and it takes hours to make. You can tell when it is made with just MSG and water. No bueno. Supposedly Pho originated from Hanoi in the North, but the best bowls I had were in the South in Saigon.


Laos- Sticky Rice! A.K.A Glutinous Rice. Not to be confused with containing Gluten because it does not. Follow? Cooking sticky rice is a long and involved process that includes soaking and steaming in a bamboo pot for several hours and a few more technicalities. It is served in a cute little basket and meant to be eaten using your right hand to roll the rice into bite size balls.  Sticky rice goes well with everything.


Cambodia- Fresh Seafood BBQ! This one has to do with as much with the food as it does with the atmosphere. Picture if you will... lounging in a papasan chair, toes in the sand, ice cold draught beer (50 cents), 20 scallops topped with oil, lime juice, peanuts, fried onions and Khmer pepper ($2) and one whole, small red snapper, baked potato and salad ($3). 


So, since I have been home and, most recently, in my new apartment/kitchen with my own ingredients I have Better Homes and Gardens fever! I never got around to taking a cooking class while I was in Asia, but I think I'm doing pretty good so far with a little help from my friend, Google.  

SUSHI! A couple of mixed rolls, tako (octopus), tuna and salmon sashimi, tobiko with quail egg, sunamono, sticky rice (different than Lao version) and vino. I waited a long time for this meal.

 Thai red curry chicken with potatoes, carrots, green beans and fresh basil served on rice.

Fried garlic, chili and basil with tofu and red bell peppers served on rice.

PTSD? It couldn't be.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is, by definition, an anxiety disorder associated with serious traumatic events and characterized by such symptoms as survivor guilt, reliving the trauma in dreams, numbness and lack of involvement with reality, or recurrent thoughts and images.

Background:
I spent the past 11 months traveling through SE Asia doing anything I wanted and nothing I didn't want to under the glorious rays of the sun and next to sparkling blue oceans . To say I was happy is an understatement. To say I loved it is anti-climactic. To try and describe it is impossible.

I have been back in the U.S. for 11 days. To say I am now suffering from PTSD is accurate. (And on a side note, I am also self-diagnosing hypothermia).

Reasons I believe I may be suffering from PTSD (the traumatic part being that I am back in the U.S.):

Survivor guilt- Okay, this is the only symptom that doesn't apply.  Guilt? Are you kidding me? 
Reliving the trauma in dreams- My dreams are sunshine and sand every night, but 40 degrees when I wake up is extremely traumatic.
Numbness and lack of involvement with reality- I haven't been able to feel my toes in 11 days! How's that for numbness? As for lack of involvement with reality... being stuck in Lynden hasn't done much for me in terms of motivation.  I did see part of Whitney Houston's funeral on EVERY CHANNEL of the television today. FYI folks, the mainstream media's overwhelming focus on celebrity exploits is not reality. Well, not mine anyway.
Recurrent thoughts and images- Beaches, elephants, palm trees, no shoes, motorbikes, bus, boat, train and plane rides. Yeah, I'm having recurrent thoughts and images.

I'll be honest, I don't actually believe that I'm suffering from any mental or anxiety disorder (though Jordan might disagree), but transitioning back from Eastern to Western culture is definitely a new adventure in need of a whole new mid set. One of my favorite things about Asia is that the people are so happy with so little. It was refreshing to live simply.  While I was there I regained my desire to write, which has been a long time coming. So Post Travel Sanity Design, my version of PTSD, is my attempt at dealing with "reality" through writing; an effort to preserve and record. 

More to come soon. :)