2011:  A private trip to Amanwana…

Good morning 5:20am.
North shore shoulder high and good.
HIC Pro probably off today.
Ala Moana waist high and soon to be onshore.
Diamond Head chest high and onshore.
South winds at 15mph.
Heavy rain, flash floods, and a very wet day.
Have a wonderful day!

The waves were very slow this morning but if you were patient, you could find perfect chest high waves that will let you do 4 turns on each.  I only caught 5 waves this morning but it was enough to make me feel content for the day.

Laos is probably the most interesting country I visited.  It’s bordered by China to the north, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Thailand to the west.  Basically this country is right in the heart of Southeast Asia.  I was very curious about Laos so I caught a local bus from Hanoi to Luang Prabang that took over 27 hours.  Yes, that was on a single bus.  I will never forget pulling over every 4 hours in the middle of the jungle, everyone getting off the bus, then everyone squatting right on the side to use the toilet.  But no toilet, no toilet paper, or no privacy.  Kids, families, and even grandmas.  It was pretty crazy!  Anyway, once I arrived after that long trip, the first place was to the night market to eat.  I’m not too sure what kind of animals they were selling but I can say that some looked like people’s pets I see back home.  I didn’t ask because I didn’t want to know.  I just chewed carefully.        

This was very interesting.  Blood jello?  I don’t know what kind of animal blood but it had an interesting texture.  

The cool thing about these markets is nothing goes to waste.  They eat every single part of every animal.  That I can respect.  Another cool thing is everybody looks healthy and happy so the food must be good.  

Of all countries I’ve visited, Laos was the most spiritual.  This city of Luang Prabang consists of 3 World Heritage Sites.  I saw some pretty cool temples, statues, and beautiful untouched nature.  This particular statue stood out to me.  If I have a big garden someday, I want to put a statue like this right in the middle.  That would be cool!

This was a couple years ago on a boat trip when we found a spot that housed the biggest lobsters.  We are currently on standby mode to do a trip again.  The waves has to be small, the wind has to be light, the water has to be clean, and there can’t be any surf contest.  In other words, all the stars have to align…

I shot this photo of Gen a long time ago at the Ehukai Sandbar.  Nice air!

Judy is a cool girl to hang out with.  She loves to surf, dive, and everything to do with the ocean.  She took me to a really cool dive spot in Okinawa during a Typhoon when it was closed.  So yeah, she’s adventurous too.

And if I challenge her to do a headstand while surfing, she will do it.  A very talented girl.