What better place for a tree to be, than in the heavenly sunshine of this precious little island of Fiji?

No nurseries around here, but that won’t stop us continuing on our mission. Tropical islands tend to go hand-in-hand with an abundance of coconuts. And coconuts come from the coconut Palm Tree!

Countries we still need to plant for are: Singapore, Vanuatu and here, Fiji.

Scattered on the beaches here it’s possible to find coconuts that have been moistened enough to germinate, but they lack a stable bed where they will not be swept up into the sea. We pick up a couple of these and find them a new home.

The first, for Singapore, we planted on land-edge of the beach directly opposite Dolphin Island, on the South-East tip.

The second (for Fiji) was planted in the Zen garden in the South-West.

This tree is named after and dedicated to Ebru’s brother Savaş. Savaş, of course you now have a duty to visit this point, but don’t worry that’ll be the easy bit. The difficult part will be having the will to leave.

Our Australia trip ends up in Petri, just outside of Brisbane. We lodge here with the Ritti’s, some old friends from Austria – or South Africa (?) for a week before our departing flight.

This is our final week here so it’s time we get going on our tree planting mission. The last tree we planted was in Indonesia. However, we haven’t planted trees in Malaysia and Singapore, due to the short time we spent there, so we do have some catching up to do.

In Petrie, right behind the Ritti’s house, there’s a beautiful park by the North Pine River, called the Mungarra Reserve. So we have a safe location for them to grow up in; now we need to find the trees.

Luckily this is not too difficult either. Just up the road we find Theo’s Nursery and Garden Centre. The ladies there help us identify good, resilient, indigenous breeds, and we buy two Citridora, one for Malaysia and one for Australia.

We pay for the trees and stick around a little while to chat with the ladies from the nursery. We tell them the story of the Planting Around the World mission we’re doing, and they’re so pleased about it that to support us, they refund us the cost of the trees! How generous is that??

Well, we take the trees down to the park and get them planted, both about 10 metres from each other, so that hopefully when they’re fully grown, they will be “right next to” each other, and make a pleasing picture to the eye.

Ebru has a bright new idea and decides it’s time to start naming and dedicating trees as well, so one of these receives the names of, Zülal, her sister.

We’re really pleased that we’ve been successful in another step in our mission. “Grow little ones, grow!”

And thank you to the lovely ladies at Theo’s Nursery and Garden Centre, Petrie, for kindly supporting us in our endeavour. It motivates us and encourages to continue, when people voice positive sentiments about our crazy little idea, so thank you!

Our boat from Bali lands at Trawangan and we get off there as we know we’ll find accommodation and hope to strike a good balance between action and secluded relaxation here. The first impression is pretty good, the sand is fine and bright, the water is clear and deep blue and it doesn’t look very crowded at all. There are a few touts trying to sell us into one accommodation or another but we just sit down on the beach for a while until the new arrivals crowd has dispersed and then we begin our search.

It turns out the island is pretty busy on the Southeast side, lots of people, bars and restaurants competing late into the night. Diving resorts and bungalows packed neatly next to one another. – Thank goodness we’ve come off season! If you walk further inland there are a few more out-of-the-way guest houses with cheap rates, but in a place like this you want to be at the beach!

After about 3 hours walking the coast line and bargaining for room rates, we find a nice accommodation on Northeast side called Beach Bungalow (120KRp/night, quite cheap compared to the centre). The breakfast (included) leaves much to be desired though and the staff are rather lethargic. But it’s away from the party zone, well away from the mosque which threatens to wake us up at inhospitable hours of the morning, and it’s right at the beach front. Of course we have a 15min walk to get to the main market, but this is a price worth paying. (This is confirmed to us several times by other guests that move up to Beach Bungalow from accommodations in the centre, due to lack of undisturbed sleep.)

Not keen to entertain more blood-boiling encounters with Bemo drivers, we decide to spend the rest of our Indonesian stay here and take it easy.

We get up in the mornings, have a breakfast and then commit ourselves to the sea for a few hours, swimming or snorkeling. Sometimes we take a walk to the centre to buy food and drink supplies and drink a good cup of coffee. In the afternoons I generally swim out and go fishing from one of the boats anchored out in the channel while Ebru sunbathes or does more snorkeling. It’s a great pace of life.

The snorkeling is fantastic around the North side of the island where the reef extends over a hundred metres out and depths reach at least ten to fifteen metres. Fish are abundant and a spectacular show of colour! We’re really gutted that we don’t have underwater camera equipment. It’s less spectacular on the East side but even here we encounter lion and scorpion fish on one occasion. Also they have a turtle sanctuary on the island, so sea turtles can be seen almost daily.

Unfortunately I cannot say that much for the fishing. I do all my fishing in the channel on the East side and occasionally off the diesel tanker that brings the generator fuel daily. But all I catch is so small it’s only good for fish food. For anyone going, please note that fishing supplies can be found in a couple of shops just around the back streets behind the night market. (Make sure you go alone so your wife/girlfriend doesn’t see you buying more fishing tackle AGAIN!)

(Mainstream media failed to inform you of the latest threat: the Suicide Fisherman!)

We get to know some good people at the Beach Bungalow as well. As I recall it, each couple moved in next door to us after a rather disturbing episode closer to the town centre (noise, obnoxious guests etc), so they decided to find a place where they could get some sleep. Here they are:

Ruth and Roel from Holland. It was really funny having a dinner with them one night, as it turned out they seem to be undergoing the same interesting behavioural phenomena on their travels: she plans everything and pushes to keep on schedule; he doesn’t care how long it taked as long as the beer is cold and they’re having a good time. LOL!

Cecelia (Uruguay) and Carsten (Denmark)

At the History Bungalows just a few metres down from us we meet a chap called Chaia. He’s from Lombok, a rice farmer, but has come here to earn some extra cash. He’s helpful and honest, and we immediately become befriended.

This is a place where everybody will bargain with you for the last buck but not him, and that is something we really appreciate. His bungalows are pretty quiet at the moment but we spend a few nights over at his bar, hanging out and talking about life in Indonesia and elsewhere, and he introduces us to a local rice wine, which is non-alcoholic but gets its kick from a type of tree bark – lovely stuff! Chaia I hope you read this some day. We were so happy to have met you and really enjoyed spending time with you on Gili. If we make it to Lombok again some day we’ll try to look you up. And thanks for letting us plant our tree for our Planting Around the World mission!

Walking around the rest of the island (about an hour) there’s not much to be found but a few resorts which look rather empty, there is one great secluded bar on the north side and on the West somewhere they have the full moon parties, but that’s about it. The only place we visit in town worth mentioning is a night at Sama Sama where they have live music and a good vibe.

Regarding food, we’re unfortunately still struggling to find something we like, as with the rest of Indonesia, but the our best meals and definitely the best value for money is to be found at the night market. Several stalls are waiting to grill you a fresh fish to serve with salad, and some other stalls sell various vegetable dishes to accompany. I don’t think we ever spend more than 50KRp for a fresh fish meal for two. And aside from that, a must try is the pumpkin curry from the old lady’s shop in the alley just off the market. Just ask around and you’re sure to find it.

Now in truth, there’s nothing much I can muster in words to convey to you the absolute tranquility and awe we felt in this place, waking up to its simple beauty day after day and letting the picture-perfect vistas wash over our optic nerves with the sound of the water rushing over coral sand. Shorts & flip-flops day in, day out (no shirt required). Sun tanning you right to the bone. We were transported away. Hypnotized. Conscious, yet dreaming.

So instead I give you these photographs to explain as best they can. Enjoy….

Tree number 8!

We have come through Indonesia starting from Jakarta on Java, and moved our way East, over Bali, and found a most restful spot on the North-Eastern tip of the beautiful Island, Gili Trawangan.

We spent about two weeks here in total, not keen to move from this spot of blissful sunshine, clear snorkeling waters, brightly coloured coral fish, a bungalow overlooking the bright beach and good company in form of the Indonesian, Chaia, managing the HiStory Bungalows next down the road.

Chaia was very keen to support us in our tree planting mission and kindly allocated us a spot in the garden before the HiStory Bungalows.

Here we planted a local breed called “Magnolia”, according to the local sellers whom we bought it from. They came down the street with these trees and plants in a cart, probably a day-trip from Lombok. A mobile nursery – who’d have thought?!

It should flourish in this climate and hopefully, in years to come, provide some much needed shade to guests of these bungalows.

Our thanks to Chaia and HiStory Bungalows for allowing us to plant in your garden! May the tree grow strong and healthy and grace your space, attracting many good, peaceful guests.

This tree is for Indonesia. May if flourish along with the wellbeing and prosperity of your people. – Something indeed needful, given a painful history (and in part, present) of brutality and exploitation.

Another two trees in the ground!

Once again we are planting two in one country – one for Cambodia and one for Thailand.
Why not Cambodia in Cambodia? Well you see, we only stayed in Cambodia for about 48 hours, barely enough to see the Siem Reap complex and have a good night’s sleep.
But we entered the country so we can’t really cop out on planting a tree can we?

Location: *L* Koh Lanta Island. About 100 miles South of Phuket in the Andaman Sea, Koh Lanta is – as we found out – a real jewel where time runs slow and days are spent enjoying the subtler things in life: resting, eating, drinking, swimming and watching beautiful sunsets.

After nearly three weeks in Thailand we found a little nursery here and decided it’s time to get our hands dirty again. As far as we could gather from the staff at the nursery, we bought a Muang tree and a Lucky Plant or Pusetii which has white flowers. Well as far as I’m concerned, as long as it grows it can be called what it likes!

On our hired scooter, we set off on a reconnaissance around the island, two trees and a large digging implement in hand, search of planting ground.

Tree number one was planted on the South East of the island, on the road side about twenty metres before the Panorama Restaurant. This is a nice isolated little place where people stop by on their scooters to come relax and dine whilst taking in the beautiful view of “Homer Simpson?!” Island and the stretch of sea between them.

Jack the owner is a really friendly chap who believes in making people feel really at ease in his little place and he was even kind enough to offer to take care of our tree for us and put up a little plaque by it so it can be identified when we return in years to come. Thank you Jack!

The second tree found a home a few minutes drive further South. Where the road ends there is a school named Sang Ga U School, where we found a lonely looking patch in need of some vegetation.

There were a few children around, playing in the school grounds, but it must have been a holiday because there didn’t seem to be any other activity at the school.

Once we started planting however, more of them started appearing and soon enough we had a proper little audience. The ground was hard and as I struggled to dig up the ground it started raining, which the children found very funny indeed. However despite getting me soaking wet, it was helpful in softening the ground for me.

Tree firmly in the ground, we waved our goodbyes and set off to a small beach-side bar for a refresher. Ebru, walking in with a large pick-like tool in her hand, looked like she’d just walked off a murder scene. LOL

That’s Six and Seven done! How many more to go? I wonder…

Grow little ones, grow!

Planting Around the World Mission, Koh Lanta Island – Ağaç dikme operasyonu, Koh Lanta Adası

SEE MORE PHOTOS… – DAHA FAZLA FOTO BURADA…

Word on the street is that Koh Lanta dances to a different tune, that things are more quiet and laid back there. Personally I feel I’ve heard this all before and as far as I’m concerned, if it’s in Thailand and you’ve heard of it, consider it crowded and expensive. I’m considering not renewing our Thai visas and heading straight to Indonesia in search of pastures greener. None the less, Lanta is a natural stop on our way and we go to check it out.

The place immediately radiates a calmer feel and as we head down south to Khlong Nin beach, vegetation mass exceeds building mass and crowds are nowhere to be seen. After examining every beach-front accommodation in the area without satisfaction, we find a lovely, clean, spacious room at the Lanta Ala guest house in the village centre, just two minutes walk from the beach for 600THB. There’s a fridge, a TV with DVD player but no antenna and an AC in the room. The family running the place is really nice, very smiley and cheerful. They offer to lend us DVDs as well but we spend so little time indoors we don’t take advantage. They have a little baby which is really cute but cries every time it sees me – I wonder why…

Over on the beach front we find our comfort zone at Jai Dee Home (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jai-dee-home/184037684996020?sk=wall), a guest house / restaurant / chill out pad run by an Irish chap, James, and his Thai wife. James is a drum roadie, who tunes drum kits for bands on tour and he’s worked with some pretty impressive names – Prodigy and Faithless to name a couple –  there’s event passes and signed drumsticks littering the bar area. The food here is lush: lovely big breakfasts and the tastiest burgers

(did I mention I’m going through a little western food phase?)

They’ve got WIFI and we’ve got laptops (one each) and we settle in in the morning, eat breakfast, work on our overdue blog/email updates, and go for refreshing dips in the sea.

The island is pretty large so there are many other beaches to explore (which we intend to do) and here and there there’s posters announcing one or another party taking place in the jungle or elsewhere, so it’s unlikely to get boring anytime soon. Ok, it’s not the stunning brochure-island with white powder beaches and limestone cliffs jutting out of the turquoise sea; but the beach is large and though most accommodations here are near full, there is plenty of space for everyone. (Besides, when I see those powder beaches littered with beer bottles and plastic cups I’d sooner just visit them only in my mind).

We rent a scooter for a few days (160THB/day) and scoot around. There’s a really interesting guest house right on the South side, completely secluded, with a little beach all to itself and rooms in tree houses high up in the trees. Also on the SouthEast side there’s the Panorama cafe, which is a relaxing little place with a view of the sea and islands, where you can kick back and enjoy some good food or drink.

It’s run by a guy named Jack who, I gather, used to work in the IT industry in Bangkok and then decided to make an exit from the fast lane and live island style down here. This is also the location where we plant some TREES for our Planting Around the World mission!

On Christmas day we have a BBQ feast on the beach at the place next door to Jai Dee’s, called Richies: for 240THB I get a meaty rack of pork ribs with a baked potato and for 290THB Ebru feasts herself on a large Red Snapper with the same side. Bamboo table on the beach, paraffin candle – how romantic! After that we settle in at Jai Dee for some whiskies and conversation with James as we watch fireworks and sky lanterns rising up into dark space.

Easy to feel at home here; and we decide that, since our most convenient VISA sun will be South to Malaysia anyway, we’ll head straight back here after the visa run to Malaysia and live in the slow lane until after new year. RESULT!

The lazy days go on and we’re loving it.

We pay the Blue Moon Bar a visit. A couple of English chaps we met on Phi Phi actually recommended it to us. Gang, the owner, started this bar in another location on this beach about 20 years ago when it was still a mere bamboo hut with hippy visitors coming around from far flung places carrying guitars, bushy beards and such. Gang is a pro and knows exactly how to run a chill-out bar. The music is excellent and plays non stop – sometimes quieter, never too loud. Nothing is ever a problem (as long it generates good vibes). And nothing is associated with a time limit – not the time you spend lounging at Blue Moon nor the time it takes to get a drink. Gang acknowledges orders and gets to them when he is ready; or when he remembers maybe… but in a place where time is not of any consequence this matters little.

As host he blends in with the atmosphere like well camouflaged commando trouper. And he’s always doing something: either clearing tables or preparing drinks, taking orders, engaging with guests, combing the beach or adding to the decor around the place to make it more functional or pleasant. Another welcome highlight here is that he has a pizza oven and he and his kitchen staff make a good pizza with freshly made dough – always a winner – and not extortionately priced!

New year’s eve arrives!

We decide on the BBQ ribs & fish option at Richie’s, where we share a large table with a few Germans. They, like us, have planned ahead and brought a stash of SangSom with them, so along with what we order we’re sipping away at the rum with great delight and soon enough are merry as can be. After dinner we move on to Otto’s, one of the larger beach-front venues down here. Otto’s is having a beach party tonight and they seem to be the only ones as that’s the place where the crowd and the loud music are. Otto must be a wealthy man, I think. There’s this bar/restaurant/guesthouse and there’s a travel agent and I’m sure I saw one or two other businesses on the island, all bearing this name. The travel agency is good, we book our Visa Run and Hat Yai trips through them and the staff is very reliable.

The party goes on, the clock strikes twelve (I wonder who decided that though as I don’t recall speaking to anyone with a reliable source of time), fireworks explode and hundreds of sky lanterns rise up into the air, drawing new constellations across the night sky with their yellow shimmer. Beautiful! At some point I go to the bar to get a drink and I meet Otto – or at least so I’m told by the Kiwi next to me. He’s a long-haired Thai, probably in his forties, sitting (seemingly alone) in the corner, the last stool at the bar, drinking away as the crowd heaves back and forth around the bar to the music. Not many words are exchanged – we’re both drunk enough to be able to rely on understanding rather than communication I guess.

Eventually we leave for home via the Blue Moon Bar, Gang is still there with one or two others at the bar but there’s little going on otherwise. Ebru’s not up for it, so I drop her off at the guest house and go back to show my support. Ebru loves me greatly for this. When I get back there it’s only me and Gang, so we kick back for one final beer and have a good chat about this and that. He prepares a good Pizza, we play a round of drunken Ping Pong and we decide to call it a night.

Happy new year 2012 everybody!

Lanta has turned out to be Thailand’s paradise island for us, no doubt about it. Even in the main season we found escape from the crowds and a beautiful environment to just kick back and take it easy. Lanta and all its excellent hosts we will miss you!

Today we decided to make an excursion to the remote Paga Beach on the North end of the island. We started with a long walk up the entire white beach and then around the rock outcrop to the next small beach called Diniwid and from there to the main roan leading vertically through the island. Along the way I couldn’t resist taking a dip with the local men who dived to the sea bed and used thin, sharpened bamboo sticks to catch sea worms out of their sand burrows. Apparetly very good to eat, but the sight of a penis-snail is not very appetizing so I took a rain check on that opportunity.

We took a tuk-tuk to Paga Beach in the end as it was much further than we had expected and did not spend more than an hour there as there was nothing much happening or to do.

On our return journey to our guest house at Angol we spotted a nursery from the back of the tuk-tuk, and thus our job was now clear!

We returned to the nursery and another unusual conversation later, off we went on the back of a tuk-tuk with a little fire-blossom tree in hand. Needless to say, we got a lot of looks from all around.

Finding a place to plant was again a puzzle, but since we noticed the owners of our “LM Residence” guest house were clearly plant lovers, we decided to chance finding an easier solution by asking the owner’s daughter whether she would allow us to plant the tree in their garden.

To our surprise she loved the idea and immediately summoned family members to decide on the right location. She told us about how her father, a lover of plants and gardening, had recently taken very ill and this was the reason why the many plants we saw potted around the garden had not yet been planted in the ground as intended.

So, cameras in hand and smiles all around we dug and planted and patted and watered, the little tree finding its luch new home between a couple of large trees at the front of the garden, just behing the road-side fence. All being well, we hope one day to see this tree much taller and in full bloom, showing its lush yellow blossoms to all passers by and offering more privacy to the guest house’s inhabitants.

To the LM Residence family, we would like to offer our thanks for a wonderful stay, for allowing us to plant a tree in your garden, much pleasure with your new green “family member”, and our prayers for the quick recovery of the father of the house. May you be enjoying the pleasure of gardening again very soon!

SEE MORE PHOTOS

We’ve finally done it! Tree #1 is in the ground and as fas as we know, growing happily in the north Indian sunshine! (Or more likely rain)

Three days to departure  from India and one of our mission objectives had still not been fulfilled: planting a tree. We had seen about two nurseries in India so far, one was between Agra and Delhi somewhere and the other I cannot remember where, but neither in convenient locality to where we’re staying and even if we were to go there and get a tree, to transport and find a place to plant it will be another thing altogether.

It being effectively two days before our departure from India, the whole idea was seeming pretty absurd and unrealistic; but not doing what we set out to do would count as a failure and bring greeeat shaaame to nation.

Well on the 12th of September we leave McLeod Ganj at Dharamshala. We don’t get very far and it starts to rain, rain, rain – not cats or dogs this time but a lot of water anyway. We manage to take shelter outside a little road-side restaurant until it slows down and then move on. On our way Ebru spots a small nursery so we do a U-turn and we pull in. It’s a flower nursery and the owners don’t speak much English but they have some trees and we try to explain to them what we plan to do and we’re hoping to get some advice on where to plant and so on. They don’t really understand us I think, but the way they look and smile at us I get the feeling they thing we’re a bit out of our minds…. I can’t disagree completely.

Twenty minutes later, with our lovely little Banyan tree and a metal gardening implement which we intend to use as a shovel, we saddle up and set off, Ebru clenching the tree between her thighs between us. The surprised and confused looks we got on the way from people are a laugh! It’s not at all unusual seing people carry all things from chickens or sheep to refrigerators on their scooters around here, but a white couple transporting a tree seems to be something noteworthy…

When the second bout of rain hits a half hour later we take shelter in a small tea shop which I recon is simultaneously home to the patron as there is a bed inside, about 30km outside of a town called Kangra. Our is bike parked under a nearby stable with several horses and the tree soaking up the rain in the open. We have some tea, wring out our clothes and engage in some sign language with the other guests. We were informed we have been riding along the wrong road for the last 30km and need to turn around. So, once the rain ceases again and we drive 30km in the opposite direction with our little tree, I think people have seen it all.

About 50km from the tea shop, in a beautiful river valley, through a short tunnel blasted through the mountain rock and in the vicinity of a temple, we spot a beautiful location where three grassy ridges connect into one hill, overlooking the river gorge opposite. Both the left and right ridges have small trees growing on them, but the centre one does not. The perfect spot!

Of course things are not so straight forward in India, so as soon as we dismount and get our tool out a band of Punjabis about 10 man strong comes along the road, 3 passengers per bike, hooting and waving as they pass. As I expected, barely a minute after they disappear around the corner, they return, park up next to us and request a photo shoot with us. LOL   The customary photo session completed, hands are shook and we wave them farewell as they ride off into the distance.

Now we were ready to begin our work. We climb up our little hill, select a spot and dig the stony ground. Some lone Indian guy on a scooter pulls over at the roadside and watches us curiously – even suspiciously – he waves at us a few times, maybe he thinks we’re in trouble. The tree is planted and it looks like it will be happy here. We take a few snaps and head back down. The curious Indian inquires and we explain what we’ve been doing. He doesn’t quite get the point I think so he heads off.