Indonesian Photo Album

Instead of just posting all the remaining Indonesia photos in a long album, I decided to finish up a post that I've been playing around with since August on the contradictions in solo travel and use it as filler around the photos.

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There have been a lot of interesting and remarkable experiences I've had while rambling around for the last few months, but I have to admit that some of the most interesting things are the travel skills I'm learning about living out of a backpack, the things I'm learning about myself, and especially the contradictions I'm realizing about taking this break from "real life", i.e. steady daily life with a routine and a job and a set location. Let me set the stage with an early realization I had after leaving DC: I'm traveling by myself with no set itinerary or schedule or destinations, which means I can do literally anything I want with my time for a year. My only boundaries are my budget (pretty hefty by most location's standards), local laws (don't worry, I'm talking mostly about visas, not smuggling) and my imagination. Just take a moment and think about that idea: you can do anything you want for a year, bound only by your imagination (you can do this too, by the way, but this post is about my realization, you'll have to work on your own). Once you realize that, the logical next question is "Well, what do I want to do?"

Rice paddy on Lombok

More clown fish and anemones

The dragon's tongue is nearly a foot long, yellow, slimy, and very disgusting

Mantis Shrimp! The cutest little psychotic killer you'll ever see (http://theoatmeal.com/comics/mantis_shrimp)

Of course, I had decided that what I wanted to do was travel, except that after a few too many afternoons sitting bored in cafes, I realized that "travel" is the action of moving from place to place, not what I would do when I got to those places. Fortunately, after a little pondering, I was able to fine-tune that goal into seeing wild places and wild animals that might not be left on the planet by the time I leave it, with a preference for those sights that stop me in my tracks, drop my jaw, and prevent my brain from thinking about anything but what I'm seeing. So far, I would say I've been pretty darned lucky, judging by the number of times I say "wow", "that's incredible", or just "ooooooooohh" on a daily basis.

Mantas in line at the cleaning station

Fish spa!

Coming in for a cleaning

We saw up to four mantas in a line, but I only got photos of two at a time

Now, on to the contradictions:
 #1 - I started this trip with more money in my savings account than I've ever had before, and yet I'm on a strict budget for the first time in my life... and it's been great. I've always been a bit of a spendthrift (understatement), but trying to stick to a budget on travel has actually opened up new options for me in terms of the way I travel, and some of my most memorable moments have come from trying to save a few dollars, such as taking the cheaper/longer bus or staying in the funky guest house instead of the hotel. I'm always entertained when I tell people I'm traveling for a year and they look at me like I'm Bill Gates, yet I'm staying in cheaper places than I ever have before. By the way, other people who are traveling for a year also look at me like I'm Bill Gates, but it's because I'm not squeezing every penny like a 19 year old backpacker, but hey, let's be honest - I'm not a 19 year old backpacker and I prefer to have hot water and a tasty meal at least every couple of days.

What are YOU looking at?

I love to see mantas in profile - so sleek

They obviously don't have much fear of divers in Komodo, which is a great thing

Fish heaven

#2 - I have few (if any) outside demands on my time or a set schedule, yet I often think "I don't have enough time!" Whether it's working on this blog, going to another destination, or just catching up on emails, I end most days getting back to my bed and immediately going to sleep. I've talked with a couple of other long-term travelers and they've all said the same thing; I feel like I have less "free time" to take care of errands than when I was at work for 8 hours a day. Of course, the reason is that there is so much more to try to fit into the days when you're journeying around, but it's also a matter of prioritization. When comes down to paying my credit card bill, researching the next destination, organizing photos from the last destination, or going down to the pub with new friends, going to the to pub is always going to win out...at least until the final day the bill is due. So, if you ever notice that I'm posting a lot of Facebook or several new blog posts come out in succession, you can be sure I'm somewhere I'm not very interested in or I've spent a lot of time on planes recently (or on a bus, like this post).

On a flyby

At least it's not a manta ray! My other favorite, spotted eagle ray

Back to the mantas

White tip reef shark, relaxing on the bottom

#3 - When I feel like I can do whatever I want all the time, I actually get a lot more selective in what I choose to do. Take ice cream, for example; I can have ice cream every afternoon if I want to, but I rarely do (when I'm by myself) because it quickly looses its appeal. I love spending an afternoon in a cafe drinking coffee and people-watching, but it's no way to spend weeks at a time, so I realized that I have to actually plan variety into my schedule so I'm not "just" doing whatever I feel like doing at that moment. As the saying goes, "All play and no work makes Chris a dull boy." Of course, by "work", I mean camping or hiking or getting up early to see a sunrise, instead of sleeping in and eating pastries all day.

Similarly, I never thought it would be possible to overdose on epic stunning scenic landscape, I would have thought by definition these once-in-a-lifetime sights would  yet if I don't have some downtime between experiences, I can get a little jaded toward the next incredible place and begin to tune out the very thing I've traveled to see. That's when the iPod and Kindle come in handy; after a little music, reading, or playing a game I can appreciate the experience much better. I'll admit that I feel a little ridiculous playing Candy Crush on my phone in the middle of the Komodo National Park, but it's actually so I can reset my brain and enjoy where I am more. It's just one more way that long-term travel is the opposite of a vacation - you have to build in time to do "regular" things, and I love it that way.

Several dive site had these almost vertical coral walls that made the dive feel like underwater mountain climbing 

Find the moray eel in the coral

This is the brightest nudibranch I've ever see, like a slug painted in racing colors (In case you can't find it, it's the sideways s-shape just off center in red, blue, and black)