Pade Banda Aceh

... Maybe not then...holding onto my bag just incase I head back towards the becak driver, who is now erecting the cover for the side cart as it is beginning to rain. I ask him how I get in but he hasn't a clue what I am saying so I hop back inside and opt to head back to my hotel.

10 minutes later and all I can see out the side of my little cart is torrential rain bouncing up off the floor and splattering on on my feet...it's hot rain!! Not a clue where we ...

... 30 year civil and is now a whole new world literally.

Into the centre and off at the Medan Hotel where I will be spending the night. It is like luxury here...toilet, flush for toilet, toilet paper, shower WITH hot water...wow!!

After my first shower for 3 days I hit the streets of Banda Aceh and have a walk round chatting to the locals about the history of the place and the ignoarance of the western world and then I head down to the Great ...

... do in such a magical place while she avoids the sharks and co of the Indonesian coast. Until tomorrow though I shall be making the most of the rays of sunshine...

As I lay with my I-pod in listening to a variety of acoustic songs, ranging from Cat Stevens to Clapton and James Morrison, my thoughts turned to life. I feel like I have been travelling forever and yet it has only been a few weeks...it's everything I ever dreamt it would ...

... in days, and head for Gabang. What a beautiful picturesque journey. This must be one of the few untouched and unspoilt islands this side of the world. We pull up in a driver way where the driver points down the track and hands us our bags...wow even his 4x4 can't get along here. We stroll along and are presented with clear turquoise waters and plain white sand with no a soul on the beach...I can't help but wonder if this is what Thailand was like 20 years ago before the influx ...

... first goodbye of many but probably the easiest of the lot.

Onwards to the airport and we collect our tickets and proceed through to the departure lounge. We get to security and there is a big sign which we can't read but clearly understand; NO LIQUIDS, NO SHARP OBJECTS AND ONE ITEM OF HAND LUGGAGE!! Ummm well I have 3 bags and Carolyn has 2 and one of them is a carrier bag which contains a 2 litre bottle of water...Carolyn also has a 2 litre bottle of water strapped to the ...

... to spare and took a taxi from the bus terminal to the airport.

The flight to Banda Aceh only took an hour and we arrived during early evening. We bumped into Hannah at the airport and arranged to share a taxi with her to our hotel. As we were only to be in Banda Aceh for one night and would be leaving very early the following morning, we had pre-booked a cheap hotel which we had read in the Lonely Planet was basic but clean, which is all you really want if you just need ...

... factly. Because, after all, when a city loses over 60,000 people in a matter of a few hours, your story becomes the same as your neighbors. No one is completely immune from the loss. It almost escapes comprehension.

Being in a place such as this, if nothing else, helps to reinforce that no matter what country we call home, no matter what religion we practice, and no matter our station in life, we are all very fragile.

Until next time,
Jon and Liz

... she's ok. Not Mamma, her sister runs the guesthouse next door and owns Mamma's bungalow and (awful to say as she's old, but very true) was a grumpy *****. Mamma runs the guesthouse, looking after her customers, cooking cleaning, washing etc. She does all this on her own since her husband died in a motorbike accident a few years ago. Bless, she's a lovely old lady really, just a bit hopeless at getting things done but ruthless when it comes to giving the good old guilt trip ...

... it. The price of the room showed though and the following day han woke up with bites all over from bed bugs so we moved to another room. A few hours later the room was taken again. Laid back here? Not a bit.

We weren't actually going to go to Weh at all until we met a Welsh guy in Singapore who said it was amazing diving there so that was the reason we went. Later that day i signed up to do my advanced scuba course and han signed up for a ...

... good thing about Iboih is that because there aren't many restaurants, and they are all quite small with only 2 or 3 tables each...everyone has to sit together and chat, and after about 24 hours you know everyone who is on this part of the island. and as usual, the local people are awesome and always make me smile. :)

I did 5 dives on Pulau Weh, and they were quite good. Of course nothing can compare to Komodo National Park...but it was still ...