Exploring Lombok on a motorbike is perhaps the best way to get around. Weaving through traffic in Mataram, bee lining through small lanes and stumbling upon a treasure trove of a quiet pottery making village – Banyumulek.  Located north of Mataram, the city center in Lombok, Banyumulek is lined with shops selling terracotta and clay pottery. Venturing further in, away from the shops, we found the ‘heart of the workshop’ – ladies sitting in their verandahs busy molding, shaping and forming pots and vases. A parade of vases and pots lined the narrow roads sunbathing in the glorious warmth.

Men bicycling down tiny lanes with stacks of pottery tied at the back heading toward the smoking furnace of haystacks where the pots and vases are fired. Children help their mothers strap on stacks of wood for the furnace. Ladies at the furnace keep their eye on the heating pots occasionally flipping the haystacks to release the heat. Others squat around exchanging stories around the neighbourhood.

Villagers eyed us from a distance as we exchanged courtesy smiles. It was pretty evident that we were visitors and they were villagers. Perhaps not much tourists have ventured that far beyond the row of pottery shops. I chuckled under my breath because this would be an ideal a scene of “desperate housewives” in an Indonesian village setting.  Everyone had their chores, each to its own work, and each shared a bond – a bond that comes from being part of Banyumulek, the quiet pottery village.

We made our exit back to the shops to hunt for a pottery or two and gladly settled for four instead! We compared prices at different shops and realized that everything was cheap. Just as we thought it wouldn’t get any cheaper, Annan Pottery came along – a wholesale shop with a wide range of displays in a spacious warehouse. They even had a range of cookware from pots to kualis to tagines! I’ve been scouting around for a tagine ever since I watched the episode of Kylie Kwong where she whipped up a Moroccan meal for friends. And who would have thought I’d fine a tagine in Lombok, Indonesia?! I was squirming with excitement and proceed to ask how much it was. The lady explained that it is a fast selling item and it is slightly more expensive. I pressed on to ask her to reveal the price and she replied – 24,000 Indonesian rupiah for the small one and 30,000 Indonesian rupiah for the big one. My jaw dropped! That’s only RM8 and RM10 individually! Beyond my wildest dreams that I found a tagine in Lombok that costs close to nothing!

From then on, it was a shopping spree. We chatted up with the lady, she introduced us to her sons who were hard at work decorating pottery pieces. We drank coffee, picked up two more pottery pieces, exchange a few travel stories and a big hug. She told us to keep in touch and said that if we ever saw a piece of pottery we liked in a store or magazine; take a picture of it and send it to her, as she makes customized pieces as well. What a find!

If you are in Lombok, this is a place not to be missed. If you hire a guide, insist that he takes you here instead of other designated pottery shops where they make a big commission from your sales.

Annan Pottery (Wholesale Center)
Jalan Raya Banyumulek Kedin
Lombok Barat – NTB 83362
LA Akhsan Tel: 08175760337
Nanik Tel: 081803628480
Email: ananpottery@yahoo.com

At the sound of Bali, a few words instantly pops up – surfing, massage, culture, mystic, rice fields, babi guling, shopping and the list goes on. With so much to do and only 8 days to explore, it was an impossible feat. So we set out to do just what a holiday is meant to be – rest, relax and stumble on finds wherever our feet (or in this case) our bike takes us.

We arrived after sundown to a chaotic airport filled with touts offering taxi services. Rescued quickly by our driver, we were whisked away into a private car and off to Candidasa, east of Bali. Shocked by the change in atmosphere, we checked into our resort with a symphony of crickets and the gentle lapping of waves to greet us. Quiet. Stillness. Almost to the point of eeriness.

Originally Candidasa was a small fishermen’s village quietly tucked away from the limelight of Kuta, Denpasar and Sanur. Now this sleepy village is a well-known stopover for divers who are heading to Padang Bai, Amed or Tulamen. Dotted along the streets are cafes, restaurants, homestays, beauty parlours and local gerai’s (stalls).

We wasted no time in exploring the village, heading up to Amlapura the capital of Karangasem district. Buzzing with life, the local market is a must see. Vendors, fisherman, craftsmen and farmers display their items in baskets, trays and wooden planks. Children sit around twiddling their fingers or helping to sell an item or two. Tiny potholes fill the market floors creating little puddles of germ infested water, fish flopping frantically in shallow pails and meats hanging on hooks are all a norm in Asian markets. We bee lined pass the local crowd and quickly made our exit.

Biking past paddy fields and rolling hills, we arrived at Taman Ujung, a dated floating palace where the late King of Karangasem and his family lived. Literally elevated on a platform, the entire complex sits on stilts where water runs below. Royal pools adorn top of the palace overlooking a stunning sight of water and greens. Dainty huts along the platforms serve as shed. We basked in the splendor of ancient where Balinese women adorned in their sleek kebaya like dresses walk around this compound as servants or maidens of the king. A certain mystique lingers on.

So we have left on our 2 month adventure and I haven’t had the slightest free time to blog before I left our home country – good ol’ Malaysia. Lots of spring cleaning, washing, packing and meeting up with family and friends – by golly it seems as if we are migrating but we will be only gone for 2 months!

A snapshot of our journey – “Our Europe trail starts from London where we will celebrate our first white Christmas and experience the irresistible Boxing Day madness to Edinburgh for the countdown into 2010, then moving west to Germany, Austria, Hungary and finally to gorgeous Greece. The next half of our adventure takes us to South Africa traveling from Johannesburg to Cape Town in hope to steal a peek and be in the company of the magnificent Big 5’s and (possibly) camp in the open plains – (that’ll be our ultimate camping adventure!)”

And since we can’t afford to buy everyone a ticket to join us on our great adventure – we came up with this brilliant idea of sending you postcards from our destinations… Visit http://travelpostcards.posterous.com to learn more!

The last 2 months took me by storm. My initial thoughts were to scribble my work trips when I started in August but that became a far cry with events steadily lined one behind the other. I will attempt to take a beeline backwards (without boring you) – the last two months have been good – in fact it’s been GREAT!

As part of my work, I am required to travel to selected destinations around Southeast Asia to verify s document called the Responsible Tourism Checklist. These destinations we cover have demonstrated outstanding practices in responsible travel, hence earning the title “finalists” of Wild Asia’s Responsible Tourism Awards.  The trips have been a huge eye opener for me since traveling is my passion and this was my golden opportunity to go behind the scenes to witness what resorts, hotels and home-stays do to make a positive difference by minimizing impact on the environment, contributing back to local communities and protecting the culture and heritage of the place. Noble indeed!

This year there were 8 finalists on the list – and I personally visited 4 of them.  Watch a slideshow and read more on these destinations below… My personal favourite (as a traveler) would be Soneva Fushi at the Maldives. It was pure luxury mixed with Maldivian charm and hospitality.

• (Hospitable & noble) Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa, Sabah, Malaysia
• (Ooh la la & awe inspiring) Soneva Fushi, Maldives… More photos!
• (Quaint stay in the middle of no-where) Lamai Homestay, Thailand… More photos!
• (Adventurous & truly Thai) Andaman Discoveries, Thailand

It’s not over yet… the Awards will finally be given to the deserving winners at the Award cocktail happening in the last week of October. Since August, I’m a reformed traveler on personal lookout for responsible tourism operators. Where’s the next stop?? Stay tuned…

More than 6 months of planning, weeks of meetings, hours in prayer and footprints of faith is what it took to make Camporama 2009 a reality. 10-12 churches and 700 people from all over Malaysia participated in this awesome experience. If there were more bunk beds, there wouldn’ve been more people! Kudos to the camp committee for making Camporama 2009 a lifetime experience.

I’ve grown up in Rangers for as long as I can remember and Camporama is one of those camps I look forward to whether rain or shine. There’s almost a 100% guarantee that it’ll be mind blowing, this time it’s no different. 700 people made up 4 cities – Australia, India, China and Japan.

Since we were team India we spent 3-4 months reading about the country, culture, culinary spread and people. We visited Indian Street in Klang several times and made umpteen trips to the Global Indian Fair at Mid Valley. We went on a shopping spree for bangles, bells, oil lamps, lanterns, sarees, punjabi suits, jeepas, Bollywood movie posters and tupperware full of Indian sweets. With professional help from engineers and self made architects we build an archway made of steel and screws, lined it with hand drawn posters and wooden boards and lited it with running bulbs. We even had our very own lifesize Taj Mahal made of frigde boxes and pipes. The energy and life in our city was contagious – dance broke out every minute or so, food was served to every visitor, laughter roared as “Indian” stand up comedians took the stage.

Above all, at camps like this – the night rallies are always filled with a sense of expectancy. When I was a Ranger my very real experiences with God were always at camp. Now as a leader – it is undoubtedly so that I pray the same prayer for rangers who come. God showed up in a very real way to many of the young ones. I have been extremely touched to see God being real to the Adventure Girls (the ones under my care)… at 13, 14, 15 they’re being filled with a relentless pursuit for God. And I know that this experience will last them till eternity.

Seeds were sown and a declaration of faith was made – that this NOW generation will recognize their position and destiny in Christ and they will do greater things!

Pictures on the life and pulse of Camporama 2009… here!