Pangandaran Beach

Pangandaran is a small fishing village located on Java's southern coast. Two weeks ago this area was victim to a Tsunami destroying buildings and killing dozens of people. Several months ago I visited this are and was impressed by the serenity and unspoilt surroundings. I was expecting another Bali experience; where vendors scream and harrass tourists to make a sale. Nothing could be further from the truth. I hope this area can recover, it was one the best travel experiences I've had in Indonesia.



The clean and quiet Pangandaran beach at its busiest.










The little bridge woven from bamboo is the only way to cross the river.













Batu Karas. another quiet beach near Pangandaran with a few surfers.














Riding boats through Green Canyon.











One of the best sunsets I've ever seen.

West Java Motorcycle Tour

Last month I motivated myself to get out of Jakarta and ride my motorbike up to the mountain city of Bandung. As I get up into the mountains the vista is dominated by the rolling hills of green from owing to the tea plantations; a welcome change from the sewers of Jakarta.

Kawah Putih: volcanic crater with turquoise lake.

Maribaya waterfall.
Tea Plantations enroute to Situ Patengan
Tea plantation en route to Situ Petangan.
Scenery enroute to Bandung from Bogor.
Rice fields near Ciwidey.

The Liberal-Jihadi Global Agenda

Recent events in The Middle East inspire my first post.

Two groups you wouldn't normally associate with one another: the conservative fanatical muslim who wants to cover women in burkhas and chop off the heads of apostates, and the secular-progressive socialist liberals are actually unified on a single objective: the destruction of the global capitalist market.

For the liberals, capitalism is a great evil because it proves that a person can overcome their handicaps and limitations through hardwork and ambition and become a success. They decry the materialism and excessive consumption associated with capitalism and envision a communist model wherein the citizenry become dependent on the government for their survival... in lieu of man's natural instincts to compete and rise above.

For the radical muslim. Capitalism represents the epitomy of Western imperialism and hegemony. There is not a single Islamic country in the top 20 richest countries in the world (measured GDP per capita.UAE is 21st). The globalizing force of western culture, including capitalism and democracy, has provoked a fierce response from the muslim world because these underdeveloped countries simply cannot compete with the rest of the world.

The secularist pro-abortion, homosexual empowering, salary gouging liberals applaud the WTC strikes.... they can't wait for the coming economic armageddon when the price of oil reaches the point where the world economy will collapse prompting more and more dependence on the government until they've realized a true communist-socialist state.