had a wonderful time with this wonderful crew. want to thank the staff and crew on The Dream, and also want to thank my family of friends. now we are much closer and we built relationships that can’t be broken. To: Kimura-san, Toda-san, Takami-san, Kyle, Cathy, Kekoa, Al, Travis, Tiare, Maki, James, and Matsu, i will never forget all the precious memories we had. I love all you guys!!!

on any trip, i just wait and wait for a barrel. it’s always been my dream to be in the barrel as much as possible. all that barrel time made me a very happy person. this is treasure island. a perfect right hander with 3 barrel sections. what an amazing wave. photo by Ryan Robson.

i was walking along this long white sandy beach. a wave broke on the shore and came up to my feet. i look down and see something. i pick it up and was amazed to see it was a baby nautilus shell! OMG! a Treasure from Treasure Island! so happy!

super typhoon 18 hit japan hard. Toda-san and Takami-san got home safely the night before, and woke up to this. crazy!

mother nature never stops. from volcanos, to typhoons, to tsunamis. please enjoy every precious moment of your life.

i watched this movie on the way home from malaysia. it was amazing! i passed by Robben Island 15 years ago when i was in south africa. i didn’t know who Nelson Mandela was back then, but i do now. watch it and learn what this amazing man did for his people.
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
at the end of the movie, here was Mandela’s words. it was very touching.
No one is born hating another person.
People learn to hate.
They can be taught to love.
For love comes more naturally to the human heart.

Hong Kong Demo: Mace in your Face!
Good morning 6:20am.
North shore 2-4′ and clean.
Rocky Point looking really good.
South shore chest high.
Diamond Head best at shoulder high and clean.
No wind so perfect conditions.
Super sunny and another very warm day.
Going surfing!
Have a wonderful day!

i woke up early and didn’t feel like surfing. i washed the truck and thought i’d drive to the beach to check the waves anyway. it was absolutely perfect! even coming back from a surfed out boat trip to indo, i wanted more and more. i surfed Bowls with my friends and had a wonderful time. felt so good to be back in paradise. yes, i went to Treasure Island, but Hawaii is Paradise Island.

i’m so fortunate to have such good surfboards. i think that’s one of the main reasons why i love surfing so much.

getting to the Banyaks is pretty hard from hawaii. just so many flights and layovers. and riding these small airplanes makes you tired. but i guess that’s the fun part of traveling because once you get there, it’s all worth it! Kekoa, James, and Travis all getting ready to board their tiny seats.

this is Sibolga Airport. very small but i can see it getting bigger really fast, just like Padang Airport. thanks to the millions of surfers like us that flock there every year spending millions of dollars chasing our dreams.

the drive is 1 hour to the boat but a very interesting drive. just pure untouched culture.

no helmet laws here. a father taking his kids to school the old fashioned way. if this were hawaii, this father would be arrested. and if this were hawaii, this father would be considered very irresponsible. i think this is cool. i think this is part of third world culture. who needs a Mercedes Benz? not these happy people. i love it!

religion is big in indonesia. mostly Muslims with mosques and prayer rooms everywhere. if you asked any person which way is Mecca, they will point it out. and if you are looking for suckling pig, forget it. i didn’t eat pork in 11 days and i felt guilty when i asked for it once.

who needs an ipad or xbox when you have a fishing pole and friends. these kids are enjoying life the way i did growing up in hawaii before this crazy digital world ruined this kind of quality time.

fishing boats in the port ready to go out.

and squid boats with the bright lights to attract the squid. Kyle and Tiare fascinated.

we finally arrived to our boat called “The Dream.”

the second crew heading over in the rain.

this was one of our first real dives on the trip. we had no idea where to go but found some amazing grounds. just trial and error. all us divers were super excited to get into the water and find our sashimi for the week.

then coming back, everybody on the boat looking to see what we caught. sometimes a little, but mostly a lot.

right there in front of you is a lot of fish worth a lot of money. imagine eating fresh sashimi, fresh poke, and fresh grilled fish every day? well, if you come with us, there is nothing to imagine. this is reality! thank you Takami-san for taking these photos.