what a very long journey home from a very long trip. just glad to make it home safely.

i was pretty shocked to find out my original flight back to hawaii was cancelled when i arrived to japan. this super typhoon was hitting japan and i needed to get out before i got stuck. usually i’d be stressed out but after my long relaxing trip, i didn’t even care what happened. things are meant to be right?

i arrive at kansai airport starving. couldn’t eat on the 7 hour air asia flight from malaysia because the food is terrible. on top of that, you have to pay, even for water. i look around and follow my nose. it lead me to a nice hot samma teishoku. $9 and very good!

omg, i haven’t had hot rice in a while!!!

the miso soup was pretty good, but the lobster miso soup Matsu made for us on the boat was 10x better.

i can eat fish everyday and never get tired of it. to me, samma tastes better than any other fish swimming in the ocean.

and some mochi for dessert with a nice hot cup of tea.

i had 6 hours layover at kansai airport so i ate, checked emails, watched a movie, and ate again. here was my hangout space i had all to myself. sorry to all the people that had to walk around me. haha. there was a reason i was waiting here. it’s because there was the Kamakura Ramen shop right in front. i was waiting for me to get hungry again so i could eat a ramen.

this was my second dinner. oh so good! i was so glad to be back in japan. the best stopover country in the world!

ok, i was in 4 different countries in the past 2 days. so getting a good seat on a fully packed flight back to hawaii was a dream come true. i was prepared to spend the night on the floor at the airport, but spending the night on the way back to hawaii was much more comfortable. i got on, told the flight attendant “i don’t need anything so please don’t wake me up.” put on my eye mask, ear plugs, and slept like a baby.

when i woke up, i looked out my window and seen the most beautiful island in the world! Hawaii!

i haven’t seen blue sky like this for over 17 days! just loving my drive home.

the fresh air and my total freedom was really missed.

then i drive by the beach and see Diamond Head going off! perfect waves with no wind. what a treat!

all i wanted to eat was vegetables. from my experience of being on a boat for 12 straight days, i know that the fruits and vegetables don’t last that long. so my body was craving a fresh green salad. this was my lunch.

then i unpacked. yeah, i bought back 4 bintang beers because i will drink it someday and it will bring back all my bintang memories in indo.
just downloaded over 2000 photos and video today. have some amazing images that will be shared really soon. i’ll probably have some jetlag and wake up in the middle of the night. and if i do, i’m going straight to the beach. have a wonderful evening!

Back to paradise.
And good South swell with perfect conditions.
Sleep or surf?
Both!

just got to kansai airport. landed and found out that my United Airlines flight got cancelled because of the typhoon. omg! going to try to get a flight out of here tonight so i don’t get stuck here. if i do, i’m sleeping on a chair at the airport because i have absolutely no energy to move.
here is my journal of day 2.
day 2. finally arrive at lunch time to Joystick.
waves overhead and hard.
wide swells on the ocean and very vey shallow inside.
first wave, barrel. stoked.
surfed again in the evening. nobody out. onshore one the outside and off shore barreling in the inside. welcome to indo.
Al and Travis goes out to spear some sashimi. good job.
watched a free dive documentary called Breathe. a story about William Trubridge. inspirational and awesome. slept good. no sunset tonight.

Kyle’s an amazing diver and videographer. to follow 4 divers down and up and up and down all day on a single breath is crazy when you think about it. and i know his passion for spearfishing so it must be very hard. especially when we dive down to 60′ together, wait a minute, then i miss the fish. it’s like pulling into a long barrel and not making it out. haha. sorry Kyle.

getting off the boat is always sad. it’s like a family saying goodbye.

and traveling back and forth to these remote areas is tiring. this flight i took out of Sibolga seems like years ago. but it was only yesterday morning and i’m still very far away from home.

we had a layover in Medan so we hired a driver and ate some Padang food. very very spicy hot! but a great meal after being on the seas for 11 days.

and yes, a nice 1 hour foot and back massage for $9 at Medan airport. felt good to get pampered!
can’t wait to get home and sleep in my own bed!!!
have a wonderful evening!