good afternoon. gosh, it feels good to stop over here in japan. as soon as i got off the airplane, i headed to lawson and ate oden and sushi. it was great! now i have to jump on another flight back to home. this one should be much more comfortable because i’ll be sitting up front in business class sipping champagne. can’t wait… see you all in hawaii!!!

what’s happening to the dollar? gosh, it’s the weakest i’ve ever seen it. in bali, it was pretty much worthless. the yen? strong as ever!!
88.50 rupiah = $1
109.00 rupiah = 100 yen.
i’m sure the japanese in bali are pretty happy shopping around and getting deals. yesterday, i woke up and decided to eat every kind of cheap street food there was to offer. i ate pork satay, grilled corn, suckling pig, indonesian noodle soup, and all other things i can’t even explain. it was good, it was cheap, and it was interesting. i’m just glad i didn’t get sick. i wouldn’t recommend doing that unless you know what the consequences are. for me, i chance it.
well, i wish i can say that my yearly travels are done but i have a few more trips to take before the year comes to an end. my body is tired but all i need is a good wave to fix it…. see you in the water….

the first boat trip for a surfer is always the most memorable. the things you take for granted in the real world is no longer a necessity. you learn how to get along with others, you learn how to live a simple life, and you learn how to go with the flow. i’m on 16 years of boat trips and every time i go with surfers who are on their first one, it’s equally exciting for me. i can see their eyes glow at every thing around and i can feel exactly what their feeling. this boat trip, we had 6 first timers…

taking time away from her hectic work schedule, angela maki vernon joined the crew for her first ever boat trip. before the trip, she was asking questions and questions. malaria? hospitals? insurance? emergency contact numbers? ect…. i think she was excited, but at the same time, nervous. but as soon as we boarded the 120′ floating palace, the questions turned into, shells? waves? islands? then after the boat trip, the questions turned into, “when is the next boat trip?” haha….

on day 5, maki caught the best wave of her life. she took off on a 6′ left with her longboard, and rode it for a half a mile, or about 1 kilometer. when she paddled out, we all knew that she will never forget that wave for the rest of her life. as for this wave on day 7, maki took off, bottom turned, and pulled into a nice clean barrel with her short board. i got the 25 shot sequence that will probably be published so i can’t show it to you. this was the last shot and by the look of her expression, you can imagine the wave she just rode….

and last, check out the maki shell collection. we all tried but nobody could beat her to the beach… haha….

Street food.
1 bakso.
1 corn.
1 satay.
All for $1.30 or 150 yen
Itadakimasu!