(Originally written January 28th, Wifi has been an issue.)
My first few days on Sumbawa have been the worst but also the very best ever.
To start I decided to book through an agent. Something I never do but a friend recommended as all the flight sites were in Indonesian and I went along. Bad idea.
I thought that Sumbawa was a small island but on arrival on a propeller plane built circa 1945 I realised (by taxi price alone) that the island was much bigger than I ever thought. It's infact 4 times the size of Bali! I landed after my leaving party with friends in Kuta having had no sleep, probably still drunk and on the wrong side of this rather large island. It was only 9am but I was exhausted and I knew that I couldn't get on a 6 hour bus and 2 hour taxi bike ride to Lakey Peak, the location of the organisation I was soon to be volunteering with. The Harapan Project.
After finding seemingly the only person who spoke English, a proper dodgy 'security official' called Henry I agreed to let him take me to his friends hotel. After all he kept saying "trust me I'm an airport security official"... Another bad idea.
Henry took me to the 'hotel' and although it was maybe only 10am at this point I checked in at what seemed like someone's house filled with more aggressive locals than I would have liked and slept the whole day before waking quite late covered in insects trying to eat me alive. This is no exaggeration. I would have taken pictures of this hole of a room with no lockable door but unfortunately they didn't have electricity either and my iPod had died at this point.
I thought showering would be a good idea. Yet again it wasn't. Instead of a shower they had a bucket of water beside the hole in the ground and when I asked, fearing the worst the menacing Muslim woman simply laughed and gave me a dirty look as I turned to walk away. I decided not to shower that night and began to wonder if I had made a very bad mistake deciding to spend the remainder of my Asia trip on this island.
Luckily the next day wasn't so bad. I got up. Got something to eat that I suspect was laced with meat and once more with the help of my only friend Henry I set off for the terminal to commence the 6hr bus and 2hr bike ride that I couldn't face the day before.
The bus was eventful, it was filled with chickens and the bike didn't have any helmet as the sun went down and I feared for my life with the amount of goats, children, cows and other targets that littered the road.
A full 8 hours after setting off from god knows where I arrived.
From that point. The point I seen Harapan founder Carlos and project Wonder Woman Amanda I have never felt so welcome.
I mean my first few days was a mix of storms and finding big spiders then snakes In my ant infested and supposedly haunted room but apart from that I have been very happy.
So far I have been lucky enough to accompany Carlos on his medical assistance rounds around the surrounding villages. I got to start teaching the kids with Amanda and got to meet more and more locals. Each more friendly and welcoming as the last.
It's times and places like I have experienced and seen today that really make you think.
Tonight I will once more sleep with the fear of the snake returning to my room but with a heart full of appreciation for what I have in life. My health, an amazing family and the good fortune to be born into the amazing circumstances that I have been.
Sometimes it takes day like today to really make yourself see and appreciate that what you have is everything and more of what you need in life.
If you read this blog as you travel, from the comfort of your office or even better your house I ask that you take one second to appreciate too. Appreciate that your problems might seem too much but that in comparison to others in the world they very often pale into insignificance .
I'm thankful tonight that I have the education to write. That I can write without pain. That I don't have fever, dengue, malaria or worse. That i have food to eat and clean water to drink and that I'm not in constant danger from others or from all of the above.
Peace and love. Always <3
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