Destination Sumba Part 3

This guy was really trippy. His lips were stained red from years of Betel Nut chewing, he just had that amazing look about him. 7 years ago, before digital cameras were prevalent, it would have been a heavy scene for me to take pics like this in the village. The people of Sumba are extremely nice and welcoming, but there is that full on warrior side to them. My friend explained to me that years ago, they really didn't like things pointed in their face by foreigners and cameras almost caused some serious problems (real serious, not just getting your camera confiscated). I think they have become more accustomed to the cameras, but just in the past few years because we can immediately show results to them.
The reason for my trip to Sumba was to shoot some surfing, document the Sumbanese Lifestyle and raise awareness for the Sumba Foundation which has been making good progress in alleviating poverty, bringing clean drinking water and reducing malaria in Sumba. There is a long way to go, but things are looking up.
Some statistics show that only 1 in 3 children make it to adulthood in Sumba due to malaria, malnutrition and other circumstances. Sumba has one of the highest occurences of Malaria in Asia. It's a scene that is improving with help of the foundation. It's really heavy to go into the villages and see sick and hungry children, it makes one feel very fortunate.


Water Buffalo horns.
Check out this guy's shirt, I should sell it to Grenade for an ad.
Maybe if more kids I know had to hike to carry the family water instead of drive to the ski hill in their parents SUV, they would be more appreciative of everything they have.
Sumbanese Village, tucked strategically away in the trees.
Our original flight was cancelled on the way out, so we waited 6 hours till we could find a plane to take us back to Bali. Pelita Air Boarding pass was epic, just a xeroxed piece of paper.
This is one of the funniest photos of the trip. We really were all quite nervous as Indonesian Airlines are notoriously unsafe, especially the small ones. We were flying on a Fokker jet from the 70s and Sal crossing his fingers just about sums up the mood.
Okay, so here we go, to add insult to injury, I get these photos in my inbox 2 days after we left after surfing head high and sectiony surf for two weeks....

Look at Christian tucked deep into the right. What I wouldn't have given to be able to stay just two more days.
Yes, that looks good.

Destination Sumba Part 2

This was our hut at night.
We went to a market which was really cool, we bought Betel Nut and other local necessities.
That's me with the groms at the market, they were so stoked to see themselves in pictures, a rare treat!
The Village, how many of the Sumbanese have lived for hundreds of years.
Entrance.
The kids in the village were super cool. The homes are built raised up on stilts so that all the animals can be stored underneath.
Dry goods, and smoked foods are hung up in the high peaks of the homes. Here is some sort of grain drying in the hot hot hot sun. The only place I have been that was hotter and drier than a Sumbanese village at high noon, was the middle of the Sahara Desert in Egypt, but that's it.
Yet another North American Tee shirt making it's way across the world.
Graves.
Mom and Daughter.
We went and surfed the right which was down the coast a bit and it wasn't great conditions, but fun to go right in the land of lefts.
It was a beautiful set up that on its day would be amazing. The set up reminds me of some of the right handers in Baja.

Funny shot on a little thick one. I tried to pull into a scrappy barrel and paid the price with a reef visit.

Best Marketing Plan Ever?

The official Press Release from the Hong Kong Government pertaining to Red Bull containing cocaine.

I have cut and pasted it below as well incase you can't link for some reason.

Last time I checked, cocaine was expensive. Does Red Bull have that much money that they are giving coke away? Wow, talk about a great plan in the recession to get people addicted to your product.

Red Bull products taken off the shelves
***************************************

Government met with Red Bull Hong Kong Office representatives, importers and retailers of Red Bull products today (June 2). They were informed that Government Laboratory had conducted tests on samples of Red Bull products and found traces of cocaine, a dangerous drug controlled under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, in some of the samples coming from Austria and the United Kingdom.

As Government had all along adopted a zero tolerance attitude towards dangerous drugs, they were advised of the legal position under the ordinance. Having regard to the specific circumstances of the case, including the absence of prior knowledge of the cocaine content in the product, no prosecution is intended in relation to the dealing in such products in the past. However, should they continue to deal in any products containing dangerous drugs in future, they might be liable to prosecution.

Noting that the major retailer chains had already taken off Red Bull products from the shelves, the Commissioner for Narcotics, Ms Sally Wong, advised those retailers who had not done so already to follow suit as a precaution since some of the samples were found to contain the dangerous drug. It was also suggested that they consider returning the products to their suppliers. The retailers were receptive to the advice.

The test results of further samples were available this afternoon. No cocaine was detected. Government would further contact the Red Bull Hong Kong Office for more comprehensive product information, lot and serial numbers and samples for testing in order to establish whether the existence of traces of cocaine in some samples is a systematic issue or whether it relates to any particular lot or serial number.

Department of Health and Centre for Food Safety advised that given the extremely low level of cocaine found in the products, normal consumption of the products concerned is unlikely to pose psychotropic or adverse health effects.

In the case of consumers, all indications are that they are not using the products as dangerous drugs. No prosecution is intended. But as cocaine is a dangerous drug, consumers are advised not to buy or consume the products concerned.

Ends/Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Issued at HKT 21:25

NNNN

Destination Sumba Part 1

Sumbanese traffic jam on the way to Nihiwatu Resort.

Welcome Dance.

This was the coolest thing I have seen in a while, when I arrived, the guys assembled all my boards so I could kick back and enjoy the sunset.
Hunting octupus and fish in the tidal pools. There aren't any supermarkets around here, so you eat what you find.
Bringing home food.
Local fishermen.

Clownfish of some sort, wannabe Nemos
Christian's last name is Sea, he's very comfortable in the water.
Local groms.
The dining area at night.
Dato Daku was our guide when we were there, he had his traditional Sumbanese sword with him at all times which was very sharp. Good protection.
The crew.
Titus pulling into a barrel, we didn't score epic surf in Sumba, but with only a few people out the whole time, there were plenty of waves to go around.
Sal throwing in a hack.
That's OC on a little floater.
I'll take the shoulder high blue Indo glass over Newport any day.

Drive By Shooting: Sumba, Part 1

My latest update from my Drive By Shooting Series: Sumba, Indonesia.

In case you are new to my Drive By Shooting Series, all the photos are taken from the vehicle while it's moving. I often times just shoot right through the glass, so you will see some of the reflections on occasion.

This Drive By Series was taken on the way from the Airport in Sumba to where we were staying. Sumba is an interesting island in the Indonesian chain. Although it's twice the size of Bali, I think we were in the only hotel on the entire island, compared to probably a thousand on Bali. A serious malaria problem, lack of infrastructure and overall rough conditions keep most tourists away. I was there for 2 weeks and never saw another tourist. I was fortunate enough to get invited along on a trip to check out some off the grid surf spots and local culture. These photos were just the beginning.

SNA-RNO-LAX-LHR-LAX-NRT-SNG-DPS-Sumba

Pretty hectic travel schedule right now, those are the airport codes I have been to in the past 10 days. Here are some snapshots from the madness.

Leaving home at the Orange County Airport, some guy with a gun and a tricycle. I never thought I would grow up to see that.

Squaw Valley for a shoot for a couple days, it was off season, so really mellow time.
Jacob Wester killing it as usual.
You got to have a heli in the shot for it to be a legit park shoot.
Breakfast.
Dinner at MamaSakes
Back to LA.
On to London.
Fix gear bicycles are so 2008. Retro road bikes with brakes and gears are way way way cooler.
Triumph.
This cat came walking into my friend's house in London and never left, they call him black cat.
Back to LAX.
Quick stop in Narita, Tokyo for a Swine Flu Scan on the plane before we were allowed to transfer to the next flight.
Squid Row in Singapore.
Singapore for a couple days, tired of all the travel, I got a therapeutic massage.


I don't know what it is with me and getting in trouble for shooting pics in Asian cities, but I thought this building was cool so I took a picture. I didn't know it was the Narcotics building and I was detained and questioned for a half an hour. It brought back memories of my Beijing incident at the Great Wall.
Amazing food in Singapore.
Microphone Building.
Ministry of State
Bali for a day.
Yes, you can rent DVD, Stereo and TV in Bali too.
Such a classic where we are from, but in Bali, it's pretty much standard.
Scootermania in Bali, the roads are some of the craziest in the world.
Finally arrived at my destination. Stay tuned for updates from the wild island of Sumba, Indonesia.

Drive By Shooting LA, a few more

A few more of my Drive By Shooting Series from LA.