dispatches from here

It comes in bunches, I suppose. Its somewhat rare to have even a free weekend during internship, and when they arrive they’re called “golden weekends”. But then comes that one elusive month of vacation, randomly assigned, eagerly awaited, and given in one straight chunk. With no idea when my next trip would be after this one, I made sure to maximize it.

I had no real plans in place except for my flights there and back. I took my packed bag with me to work on the day of departure. It had been an unusually busy week at work but at 7pm I was done and on my way out. I changed into street clothes, dumped my scrubs locker room hamper, left the hospital and headed straight to the airport.

The final itinerary? SFO to Las Vegas (for the weekend), then straight to Bali, then Java, Borneo, Singapore, and back to Vegas for another weekend before heading home to SF the night before I had to go back to work.  Pictures and stories to come, as I get to them. Thirty two days of non-stop travel with a camera in hand has left with me way too many pictures to sort through.

Arrived in Bali after a day and half of planes and airports and hopped on a boat for the 45 minute trip to Nusa Lembongan, a small island off the southeast coast. Its relatively under-developed and doesn't have a dock. So we had to jump off the boat and wade ashore, with my camera bag held high over my head hoping for a dry trip. From there I walked a hundred meters up the beach to a little spot called Pondok Baruna and was treated to a room just off the water.

A little bit of afternoon rain, which broke just in time for an excellent sunset. I waded into warm waist deep water for this shot, which was well worth it.

I spent a lot of time scuba diving (lots of underwater photos to come), and with water this warm and clear, visibility was consistently amazing (>30 meters)

Seaweed farming is one of the main sources of income in Lembongan. The seaweed is very sensitive and requires relatively calm waters and consistent temperature and salinity, which are provided by protective reefs.

The seaweed is relatively plentiful, and sells for about 20 cents per pound once dried.

Its easy to walk around the shallows and tide pools, but the smell can be a bit overpowering.

Rising early in the morning to harvest seaweed to avoid the harsh afternoon sun.

Tiny boats meander slowly along the coastline.

Sunrise from Lembongan watching rain drench the Bali mainland ahead.

Sunrise over Dream Beach, Lembongan

A bit of rest on Dream Beach after a long day of scuba diving

The stark contrast between simple dirt streets and elaborate temples all throughout Lembongan

Sunset Beach, Nusa Lembongan, Bali

Sunset Beach, Nusa Lembongan, Bali

My next big trip is around the corner (Bali and Borneo for 4 weeks) and will involve some scootering, scuba, spelunking, and mountain climbing. And lots of photos.

People always ask about the photo gear I take with me and how I prep. Check out the goods below (and this is the lightweight setup)

• Canon 5D Mark II with Kirk L bracket
• Canon 800 IS camera with underwater housing
• Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L
• Canon 35mm f/1.4L
• Canon 85mm f/1.2L
• Sigma 50mm f/2.8 Macro
• Gitzo 0530 carbon fiber tripod and Markins Q-ball ballhead
• Manfrotto Mini tripod
• Filters: B+W circular polarizer, 4 stop ND and 3 stop ND hard gradient
• Spare lens caps
• Wireless trigger
• Lighting: 580EX flash, ST-E2 wireless transmitter, Sto-Fen omnibounce, 12″ collapsible diffuser (for macro stuff)
• Memory: 130 GB of compact flash, 8gb SD
• iPod 160gb for music and photo backup
• Garmin 60cx GPS, loaded with Bali/Borneo topographic maps
• iPhone: loaded with ALL of Wikipedia, wikitravel, and Bali/Borneo street and topo maps
• power adapters, chargers, lots of batteries, and a LaCrosse charger
• bunjee cords and carabiners
• lens cleaning supplies
• Oakley Radars with Rx clear and dark lenses

so there it is.

The Cairo metro region is home to 18 million people, and probably 20 million by the time you read this. Constant activity, noises, smells, and people, people, everywhere you turn. And every front door and curb and street corner is somebody’s workshop or storefront. Just finding a spot to sit or stand in the chaos feels like an accomplishment.

Hop right on the bus, pay whoever is standing at the door, and watch all the pedestrians pass you by as you sit in standstill traffic.

Who needs a workshop? Sit on a tire in the street.

Delivery skills that put hipster San Francisco bike messengers to shame.

Evidence of a hard day's work.

taking a break from carrying boxes and getting a hard time from his friend.

UPS has nothing on this.

I'm not sure exactly what he fixes at this shop, but I think 'everything' would be a good guess.

the busy street of cairo, where sidewalks are as jammed as the streets.

Awnings for sale. On the side of the street at midnight. This place literally never sleeps.

the only way to get around this place, but I doubt you'd survive. Red lights are only for decoration here.

lots of friendly folks, at least, when they aren't trying to hustle you.

there is not enough time for buses to stop, so you need a running start to get on one.

one of the larger traffic circles in downtown Cairo.

when its time to pray, its time to pray, even if you're hanging out in the shade of a coke machine.

Finally back home, resettled, and slowly catching up on sleep. Working on the project, which should be up in a few days.  In the meantime, I came across this article from the Committee to Protect Journalists, CPJ.  They just published a list of the 10 WORST countries to be a blogger.  Coming in at number 3 on the list is Syria, due to government filtering, internet cafe harrassment, surveillance, etc.  During the six weeks that I was there and blogging, I dealt with content filters (easy to bypass), constant passport/ID checks, and 3 days of one on one, around the clock surveillance from the Syrian security forces.  Odd to think that I’ve been in 4 of the 10 worst countries to blog from. Needless to say, its good to be back home, where you can almost taste the liberty.  Enjoy it while it lasts.

Just catching up, and I may not get a good post in until I get back home.  The next few days entail more ruins/temples in Luxor, a relaxing felucca ride down the Nile, then a hectic taxi+plane+bus+ferry that will hopefully get me into southern Jordan.

Some photos from Giza….pretty unreal overall.  Going inside the Great Pyramid was a little bit underwhelming, but at least now I’ve been inside the Great Pyramid of Giza.  The area around Cairo is littered with pyramids, with lots more to see…hopefully I’ll have a chance to update!

A two day trip up the Lebanese coast to Tripoli followed by a quick hop inland for some wine tasting in Zahle. Tripoli is an ancient Phoenician city dating to before the 7th century BCE.  Since then, its been ruled by the Persians, Seleucids, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Crusaders, Mamluks, and Ottomans.  And it is currently Lebanese, despite Hezbollah attempts to take it over.  In May, 2007 there was fighting between the Lebanese Internal Security Forces and Fatah al-Islam, a jihadist militia focused on the Nahr el-Bared Palestinian refugee camp just outside the town.  This resulted in the deaths of 170 soldiers, 290 militants, and nearly 50 civilians, along with the destruction of the refugee camp. And in 2008, Tripoli was the epicenter for a fierce battle between Sunnis loyal to the current government and Alawites (a Shia sect) loyal to Hezbollah.  The Lebanese Army intervened a few days later to put an end to the fighting, but tensions picked up again in July and over 30 people died in the combined clashes. Check out this map of hte city breakdown.

But for now, in a period of relative peace (despite heavy military presence), Tripoli is a quiet, mellow escape from the glitz of Beirut.

The coastal town of Tripoli, contested but beautiful.

In the evenings, the corniche (aka boardwalk) is packed with families and young folks eating cotton candy, and riding bikes. In the background, young guys drive cruise by in tricked out cars blasting hip hop.

Barrels of Lebanese wine being aged in the caves at the Ksara winery, which was established in 1857 by Christian priests.

Cars and carts selling all sorts of goodies line the corniche.

Never too young for some hookah/sheesha/nargela

The view from my balcony. And I'm not sure who that laundry belongs to.

The Lebanese coast...beautiful, with some limited access in parts.

Lebanon is so radically different from anywhere else in the Middle East and pretty surreal.  A small country with only 4 million people, it continues to trudge on despite a 17 year civil war (1975 – 1992), war with Israel in 2006, and tensions with Hezbollah (most recently leading to armed conflict in the north in 2007).  So what does that mean?  A strong military presence, remnants of the civil war, and every Western luxury you could imagine.

After spending 6 weeks in Syria (in a refugee camp no less!), arriving in Beirut feels like I’m in a different universe.  How different is it from Syria?

• Replace all of the donkeys in the streets of Damascus (there are a lot!)  with Ferraris.
• Replace hijabs and chadors with Prada and Gucci.
• Replace mud covered shoes with shiny high heels.
• Replace sputtering 1975 Fiat taxis with shiny new Mercedes taxis.
• Replace the rust stains on the walls with bullet holes, which decorate any building over 20 years old.
• Replace pictures of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, with Hezbollah billboards and pictures of Hassan Nasrallah.
• Replace warm, undrinkable local beers with microbrews and $20 cocktails.
• Replace all of the shawerma with….well, shawerma.  Its still a Middle Eastern country, after all.

A beautiful sunset over the Mediterranean from a balcony in Beirut.

The Lebanese military maintains a heavy presence in the city, with tanks and machine guns on most corners. Its a really bizarre sight seeing a woman walk past a row of tanks into a Chanel store. This is the best shot I could get before being stopped by the soldiers.

Bullet holes in blown out buildings surround the new expensive apartment buildings.

Bullet holes in concrete walls, a constant reminder of the painful civil war that tore Beirut apart for 17 years.

Abandoned buildings converted into an urban canvas.

One of the thousands of armed checkpoints all across the city. Almost as many as Syria.

The southern suburbs of Beirut are essentially controlled by Hezbollah, with yellow and green flags and billboards on every corner and the streets in these poor suburbs are lined with pictures of dead Hezbollah militants.

In the southern Hezbollah controlled suburbs, there are more soldiers/paramilitary forces than civilians it feels.

Remnants of civil war.

The Holiday Inn, which during the civil war was the site of a major battle between Christian and Muslim forces. The blown out shell of this 20+ story building stands right next brand new multimillion dollar condos, modern steel and glass skyscrapers with fancy one word names.

Beirut is surrounded by water on two sides, and the Corniche, a wide pleasant boardwalk provides a hangout place for young Beirutis.

The Mohammad Al-Amin mosque, built next to the burial site of Rafik Harriri, was built in 2008. Ita huge, shiny, new, clean, and feels like it descended from another world. It feels so magical and out of place, almost like a Disney mosque.

Downtown Beirut is all glitz and glam, and Ferraris are a dime a dozen. I almost got run over by one twice! Porsches, Lamborghinis, Bentleys line the narrow streets of the trendiest neighborhoods as moneyed Beirutis drink and party at bars that rival NYC in exclusivity, with overpriced cocktails, hip sounding names like "Copper" and "Rehab", and lines around the block.

The American University of Beirut (AUB) is one of the most prestigious universities in the Middle East.  Established by American missionaries in 1866, this place is completely awesome and feels like any US college campus.  Note to any college students reading this: do a semester abroad here.  All of the classes are taught in English and you hear English and French chatter all over campus.

Modern buildings, spotlessly clean campus, water fountains, the works.

Gorgeous athletic fields overlooking the Mediterranean Sea

Inside the Bechtel Engineering Building...we have a Bechtel building at Cal as well, but its not as nice as this one.

Amazing! It seems like 95% of the Middle East consists of chain smokers. Impressive to have a smoke free campus.

I'd definitely want to do a semester here!

Part of the campus square, with students constantly milling about. The whole campus feels so alive and really indistinguishable from a college campus in the US.

A beautiful mix of ultra modern and classic brick buildings.

Falling a little behind on the blog because life has been moving pretty quickly, bouncing around between countries, and working on the documentary project. But fortunately, I’ve continued the journal, which is really starting to look and feel awesome.

Great party, celebrating, singing and dancing in the hills of Eastern Syria on a gorgeous day.  Exactly what Kha B’Nisan should be about. It definitely felt a little magical to be able to celebrate it here in Syria, especially because my undergrad honors thesis was about the development of the New Year’s Festival (Akitu) throughout Mesopotamia.