DID you know this?

My friend wrote this and I thought is was a creative way to change some of the negative feelings we all feel at times...
"why are you focusing on problems instead of solutions? why are you choosing frustration instead of fascination? why are you choosing irritation instead of inspiration"


Did you KNOW?:
Most people cant replace a darn hotdog with a veggie dog?

Every year in the U.S., more than 27 billion animals are slaughtered for food. Raising animals on factory farms is cruel and ecologically devastating. Eating animals is bad for our health, leading directly to many diseases and illnesses, including heart attacks, strokes, cancer, diabetes, and obesity. In response to animal welfare, health, and ecological concerns, compassionate people everywhere are adopting a vegetarian diet.

Maybe you can practice it for one week....the first 7days of January 2008 may be a good time, especially if you are feeling bloated and heavy lately due to excess....

There are vegetarian alternatives to almost any animal food, from soy sausages and "Fib Ribs" to Tofurky jerky and mock lobster. Vegetarian-friendly menus are sprouting up everywhere—even Burger King offers veggie burgers—and more and more eateries are focusing exclusively on vegetarian and vegan foods. There are fantastic alternatives to every dairy product you can imagine, including Coconut milk based icecreams!, Almond milks, Hemp milks, rice milks, Soy Delicious ice cream, Silk chocolate soy milk, Tofutti cream cheese, Cashew Cheese and more...or just eat massive Fruits for breakfast and lunch, then at Dinner make a huge veggie pizza with Rice or nut Cheese with a special xtra tasty zesty sauce every night for one week.

I was doing this too....

Most of society is all about starving yourself on fruits and veg and then going binging on something sweet and salty. we under eat fruit and then go binge on potato chips (sweet and salty) etc.and then we beat ourselves up about it! and say 'your weak! your pathetic! this world sucks! i hate my life!' lol! all because we just neglected on fruits, water, exercise and sleep/rest.

Fruitarian lifestyle..

RAW FRUITARIAN feels sooooo amzing!! Yes I get thoughts of cooked emotionally linked comfort foods too, but that is why the road to SUCCESS is UPHILL…keep perservering and eating juicy foods with one ingredient!! Not a list of ingredients that I don’t understand….I have devastated my digestive system growing up as a kid in a somewhat healthy family (Thank you sooo much mom, no HOstess or wonderbread or sugar cereals!) compared to others but still had MSG Cambells soup and Top ramen, Partiallly Hydrogenated oil grahamcrakers, animals, eggs, loads of cow puss Milk, cheese, yogurt…..And then I still rebelled and went to convenience stores for Barbequed Beef burritos, 44 ounce ‘rainbow’ soft drinks, fries, cow burgers, cancer sugar candy GALORE…....
not to mention my Stint in India only 3months ago of massive salt, msg, sugar, etc… with a normal ‘healthy’ to most diet of Indian back yard street foods that tasted so amazing, like Crack probably taste like…….

But being CLEAN, and LEAN and pure and noticing how foods affect me is the best for me and I am the Happiest I have ever been in my life when I am eating the way I am designed to eat…...

I love eating less now..that is my new form of passion…studying people that really are lean and survive of very little food and have tons more energy and vitality than someone of normal weight or over weight or obese (which is only 20% overweight).
I get to be around many men over 70 years old working harder than I ever did, leaner than a Rock too…so many good role models to strive to be like around third worlds….so it is quite possibly easier to practice leaner healthier living here than USA, but than again that may be a mindset anyways.

Surfing lots....30minutes of strengthtraining twice a week.....jogging 20minutes twice a week....yoga for 10minutes twice a week...

most common 'staple foods' for me are Papaya and bananas....I know, I know, I can get those anywhere, but they are sooo damn good here so I eat lots of them...many different tastes of bananas too.

Dream livin!

After approximately 24 months of travel I have found the vision of my dream life come true....staying on the ocean, putting on my surfboard leash from my steps to paddle out to 3 different pointbreaks. I always visualized a place that was completely quiet from others, only natures sounds (waves, birds, animals, wind, etc..), ON the ocean (so close I had to evacuate last tuesday for a possible typhoon), Open air type living (several windows with views and fresh breeze coming through my place, View of the point break from my BED!, Hammock on my front porch overlooking the surf, surrounded by young coconut trees and green bushes, flowers, Close to Fruit varieties ...

I am about 10 minute walk to my Durian Dealer (season is NOW: NOv, DEC, Jan ( I also get my fruit delivered to my doorstep: yesterday I received 50lbs of durian, 15lbs of sweetesst papaya ever, 12lbs of rambutans, 8lbs of bananas, 10lbs of Marangs, 7lbs of juicysweet Pineapples, 1lb of Oranges....ALL for $55 USA!!
I am giving much away today and tomorrow for xmas gifts to new people i have met around the village and to strangers..)..

PEACE and SERENITY....reconnection with Nature...totally listening to my bodies needs as far as nutrition is concerned....savouring every juicy sweet flavor of the fruit varieties. Walking around Naked my property if and when I choose....I enjoy the Sunlight daily and get plenty of vitamin D. contributing sooo easily to village kids with my time or giving fruit (which they absolutely jump for joy for, this would be ridiculous in a USA suberb to give a bannana to a kid, they would laugh at my face and say NO, YUCKY!! give me chocolate now, heheheh).

Also in this dream life it will be a bonus to include a special someone to share it with, and I feel I have several options for this person within 4 hours away by bus when and If I choose to go for it...so many Philippino ladies educated and and yet have kept their 'simple' roots, which allows them to be comfortable doing nothing for hours on end, like myself (which takes lots of continued practice to 'unlearn' the need for being busy).

I have felt my self wanting to get more busy with contribution efforts….I started making more “friend not food” t-shirts to give to people ( found a resource here for $3/tshirt, cheaper than BALI), I start planning which fruits I will give to who, I journal about being nicer to people by smiling and saying hello constantly instead of ignoring the unrelenting stares from locals ( I would do the same thing had I grown up here all my life and finally see a white man walk by my village, so I must keep reminding myself this and have compassion. I believe only few USA people will understand this because it took lots of time in 3rd worlds to get this way)…..

How else to I try to keep myself busy: moving from watching the surf in my hammock to sitting on a chair in the grass, to reading in my bed, to eating, to text messaging girls I have met, or my sister in OREGON, HI Shonda..i love to send you random texts that you pay for, hehhehhe! That is a smart company in usa charging people to receive text messages too, here they don’t do this….it costs 2pennies to send one text here and you may see 5 out of 10 people in the text messaging act at any given moment anywhere in Philippines, even a remote village…..It can be easy to keep myself busy with these things I make time to meditate and do nothing daily and will keep increasing this.
These activities are rather harmless and very good comparably.. (granted in the past my thoughts were always about makin money, buying more things I dont need, drinking alcohol, chasing women, making more money, buying new cars, etc.....)

Xmas in the Philippines is very big here….big family times…I have several invites to spend xmas with families here, I may go visit an American guy and his philippina wife and boy and make durian shakes, but I may choose to isolate and be alone and be OK with this, as it is my choice……Many people are ALONE not by choice these holidays. Besides, xmas to me is about being with family and friends, as I am NOT religious….so no church tonight (most go to church tonight at midnight!).

The love for Americans is HUGE in Philippines…this seems to piss off the French the most (or so I have read and believe)! Then the other European countries get tired of being called Americans…but we Amercians are loving it…..They love us (not that there are many tourists in this area, none) and seem to wear USA shirts all the time…I see this in themiddle of remote villages too.

moving to Sibahay on a Point break!!

moving to a place 8km away from my current location. This new spot is AMAZING!!! $18USA/WEEK!!!.....IT is right on the beach, the waves crash into my steps practically, brilliant sound. I am next to 2 perfect Right point breaks and 1 left short break. I am in the middle of palmtrees, plants, birds, dogs, chickens, nature galore....complete isolation and silence. Fresh air in abundance, beautiful scenery to gaze at all day long. I am alittle scared to be so alone, but it will be good for me. I am next to one other house owned by JEFF, and American that moved here 8years ago, married a fillipina and has a 7year old boy now. Jeff Built a huge home on his dream point break location for $16,000USA. Nice guy to chat with and surf with. He is into environmentalism and realizes VEGAN is the best way to be, but has yet been able to convert.

I have been enjoying the surfing each day and am still in disbelief that I can surf EPIC waves SOLO or with one or two others, which are now my friends anyways....Philippines is a secret surfing dream! For all you surfer buddies of mine, you would be amazed at my lifestyle here.

EAting only fruit for about 2months now....I am not missing cooked food at all...if I really wanted it, I would eat it, but All I want is fruit. Living this close with Nature really makes me eat like a monkey, I guess. I found some green bannanas, that are green on the outside, but still sweet and juicy on the inside.....eating lots of papaya lately...I find trees that have ripe papaya and I ask the owner if I can buy some (20cents/lb). Durian is very near my new place, so that will be nice and convenient. I blended durian with coconut water and it made a very rich milky, creamy shake.

I still get Stares constantly from everyone when walking to and from the market or internet or surf..it is challenging at times for me to be stared at so much...i long for some USA time where nobody looks at you.

I met the local nutritionist here in Lanuza. She said the milk companies are teaching mothers to feed their babies 'formula' milk instead of real human breast milk...this is frustrating for me, and what Can I Do? I can keep spreading the word of the vegan message. Never support dairy companies and their corruption....feeding on the ignorant and trusting 3rd world citizens....caring only about their 'bottom line'. Breast milk is the best for babies even up to 2 or 3years old....formula milk is processed poisen that begans to make cancer inside the body.

Joel Fuhrman, MD w/ Mehmet Oz, M.D. - health / weightloss

this makes sense to me

PICTURES: couple travels with 4month old in INDIA

NIce couple from Chile I met in Southern India. They started traveling when their little one was 4months....these are 8month pictures....they said it was challenging at times, but not hard as people would think. I asked what they do differently with a baby than before.

1. shorter hikes

2. cook own food for baby in their guesthouses

3. bath the baby in filtered water, incase she drinks some



People are very welcoming to see them everywhere.

Many parents have no desire to travel with their children, but if you really want to, why let 'fear' hold you back?

article about doing it in Europe.....
http://www.lasr.net/travelarticles.php?ID=1716

SWEETtooth

Why are processed foods so much sweeter than natural foods? It's simple: Humans are programmed to seek out the sweetest foods. This fact is not lost on the processed food industry. If the sweetness of the sweetest fruit is 100 on a scale of 1 to 100, food manufacturers design their "food" to be 150 on the same scale. That's why if you give a toddler a choice between a piece of sweet mango and a piece of sweet candy, after sampling both, he'll go for the candy every time, because that's how our brains are hardwired. And that's how companies take advantage of our sweet tooth. And by-the-way, a sweet tooth is a very normal, natural thing to have, so you needn't apologetically admit you have one. And as long as we've gone off-topic for a moment, you should know that naturally sweet foods such as fruit (simple carbs) are an optimal source of clean burning fuel for us (as opposed to complex carbs which are not naturally sweet to the tongue).


www.health101.org

comfortable doing nothing?

When I did a 10 day silent meditation in Bali January, I learned that I needed to learn how to be comfortable doing nothing. This was intense for me. I always wanted to be doing something: checking internet, reading, writing, surfing, napping, eating, walking, communicating and listening, watching, going somewhere, etc.... Meditation teaches me to be OK with just Being. Being in the moment. Enjoying the moment and not anticipating the next meal or the next thing to do.

Today, as I was meditating on the beach after surfing, I noticed how I wanted to be finished with the meditation. So I asked myself, "Why", And I thought of what I could do next...which was walking 1 mile to a small village to eat some durian with the local kids....but then I said, that can wait and pulled my mind back to the moment of the crashing waves. This happened about 100 times until i was done meditating...hehhehhehe....But meditation is all Practice anyway, so we can only be happy we are practicing and remember that Success equals practice.

Are you always doing something and keeping yourself busy? I predict most of us are 100percent of our lives. Doing nothing each day is good for our mind, body, and soul and for our patience and happiness. Try it for 2minutes NOW. "when is NOW a good time"?

what do we avoid when we eat vegan, organic, plant food diet?

What we avoid when we eat an
organic, vegan, plant foods diet


Pleomorphic pathogenic bacteria - Meat, fish, and dairy are loaded with these organisms whether we cook it or not.


"The Average American meal of animal products contains between 750,000,000 to 1,000,000,000 pleomorphic pathogenic micro-organisms. The average vegetarian meal consisting of only plant foods (i.e. vegan) contains less than 500 pathogenic micro-organisms." pp278: Sick and Tired: Reclaim your Inner Terrain, Dr. Robert Young, Ph.D.,D.Sc.


A rotting body - Through live blood microscope work we can see that the inner terrain of most people leaves much to be desired. We are full of fungus, "bad" bacteria, parasites, and pathogens.


Leukocyte reaction - When we eat foods that have been heated to high temperatures, the body reacts as if we had introduced a poison. In a process called [digestive] leukocytosis, within the body there is a huge leukocyte reaction to deal with the unrecognized elements. This does not happen with uncooked foods (fruits and vegetables).


Trans Fatty Acids - Any fats or oils that have been tampered with are a major burden on the body, clogging up the arteries and leading to heart disease, cholesterol build up and death! Cooked oil, margarine, and animal fats are particularly destructive because they are not miscible in water. Since we are a water-based lifeform, this makes the metabolism of cooked oil difficult at best. Cooked oil, margarine, and animal fats are inflammatory to the tissues, harm the cardiovascular system, and accelerate the aging process. Cooking fats creates highly toxic trans fatty acids (basically rancid oil). Cooked oils are also the biggest cause of free radical damage.


Chemicals from agriculture - Pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and other synthetic (not to mention Genetically Modified Organisms) which are highly toxic to the human body.


Excessive Sugars - To take advantage of a human's natural sweet tooth, refined sugars seem to be added to everything causing mood swings, depression, and energy crashes to name a few. High amounts of processed sugar contribute to an acidic condition in the body which is dealt with by the body pulling calcium from the bones to buffer the acidic condition (which is a potentially life-threatening condition). So add processed sugar to the list of contributing factors to osteoporosis (eating a healthy diet that contains natural sugars from fruits does not pose this problem; a plant-based diet is a very alkalinizing diet).



http://www.health101.org/articles.htm

Do you contribute consciously or unconsiously?

I noticed today that I am very conscious of my contribution. I ask myself a few times per day whether I have shared fruit with enough people. sometimes I share so much fruit each day that I would probably run short of money too soon.
Today I gave the local boys a Very Ripe Marang in my refrigerator. They were sooo grateful as they seem to be each day I share with them. I wanted to keep this Marang as it would be nice a chilled for tomorrow's breakfast, but I knew I had not shared enough fruit today. It feels better to give anyways, but I need to remember this each day when I want to keep for myself.
I hope that one day I will give unconsciously all day long in many ways. I do live on a monthly budget of about $1000 and this includes the fruit I give away. I could easily give much more away and be overbudget....but maybe I should do this anyway and see what happens...maybe nature will provide me when I have no money left to live....this sounds too scary for me now, but I must keep an open mind. Many wonderful people lived their lives this way...I believe Mother Theresa is an example, anymore?

Palin Laughs During Turkey Slaughter !

Can you believe how far away most people are from making a simple connection??

Why did it take me so long to have some compassion and eat something better than animals...it seems so obvious now?

pictures of me with some pretty filippinas

Lanuza is beginning to have many more tourists coming for the surfing festival.
These 3 girls are staying at my guesthouse here in Lanuza. There will be a Bikini contest here Friday and one of these three may be the winner.
My Australian Durian friend Mike and I were eating some durian and shared with them. The Tall one, JUDY, loves it. Mary also enjoys it. Gisele is the one that prefers Mangos, so I suprised here with some on our trip to the Waterfall today...I brought sliced and chilled watermelon for Mary too.

Today I slept in (10hours total).
stretched and jogged 10minutes
surfed 90minutes on a fun head high beach break alone (no crowds)

I made a banana smoothie with 3bigred bananas and one big frozen yellow banana and some water. I enjoyed eating some durian with my banana smoothie. The durian was a bit underripe, so chunky and chewy at times...the smoothie made a nice combination and my belly felt good through digestion as well.

I have been enjoying only fruit for about 25days straight now...cleaner than ever...very energetic, hydrated, happy, peaceful, one with nature. Occasional sadness and lonliness at times but only 15% of my overall time. If someone has found excstatic happiness 100% of the time please comment your secret.

playing with youtube has been a fun thing to do with part of my day....i love it
www.youtube.com ..I posted some videos there too..search VEGANTRAVELOR to find them.

my accomodations in Lanuza

video: durian buffet

Lanuza may be home

I am enjoying this place very much...there is a surfing festival here Nov18-23rd. Many people come to watch surfing, live bands, entertainment, eat food, shop at the local vendors and artists. Last night I went to the opening ceremony and dinner. a very nice presentation and production. many children were doing skits and entertainment on stage. The Mayor was doing some dancing too! Everybody ate a large buffet of Rice, Pigs, Cows, and Fish (very little veggies)...I walked around the dinning hall with my "Friend not Food" Tshirt which displays this wonderful message on front and backside. The Philippinos seem to enjoy displaying a roasted pig head on the Buffet table. IT is scary and sad looking to me to see a large dead roasted pig head and body on the table. I feel that our culture doesnt do this much at all, and if we did we would have more converted vegetarians most likely. Maybe its best to do this, even better would be a restaurant that boasts to have the freshest pigs in the world on your plate. We could show up, and go pick out a live pig in the backyard, slit its throat ourselves, then either gut it or delegate this to the minorityworkers to do and prepare for the chefs in the kitchens to roast for us to eat. The restaurant could claim, "Eat Fresh Pig here from alive to dead and in your mouth in 30minutes or less or your meal is free!!"....
Where was I??

OH, back to my easy life purpose of wearing a friendly tshirt around surfing villages and share with people that pigs have central nervous systems and feel pain too.

video: see highlights of 150mile race!

I was fortunate to race with this guy, David Goggins in 2006 at a 12and24 hour event in San Diego California. Since then David has become a legend. My dad was with me at my 12 hour race in San Diego too. Dad, remember this big black man that was there doing 24hours? He was much bigger then, now he is a LEAN machine.......

copy and paste in your browser.........

http://www.sethigherstandards.com/david-goggins-the-long-run/

Siargao Island surf resort

http://www.ocean101cloud9.com/
Great place to stay for a while....easy life here...$9/night accomodation, many cute philippino girls working here to serve you, restaurant with full menu (many vegan options), fruit and coconuts available, many waves around, snorkeling, boat trips.

I must catch up on my sleep soon since have been sleeping only 7 hours each night due to the anticipation of morning waves...I get woken up at 4:30am by my Australian Surfer neighbors....IT is wonderful paddling out in the 85degree water and 75-80degree morning weather.
While sitting on my surfboard in the ocean I am fortunate to see the sunrise in the morning and the sunset in the evenings. The sky lights up with amazing colors and shapes of various clouds and rays of light.

Been eating about 3500calories per day, all jucicy fruits, coconuts, and durian.
I just had breakfast:
3 cups of sliced ripe sweet papaya with fresh lime juice squeezed on them
6 bananas

another day in paradise...cloud 9 barrels

Incredible pleasurable days here on Siargao Island. I seem to have adapted to a 'routine' or 'daily grind' so to speak...........
--wake up
--surf 85degree perfect glassy barreling waves at sunrise
--eat some fruit: juicy Pineapples, papayas, coconuts, bananas lately
--use internet
--enjoy some relaxing time in the hammock, reading or just dazing
--drink some coconut waters (have a local Philippino boy climb the trees and chop me down some fresh ones for 30cents each plus tip)
--nap and/or massage
--eat some fruit
--surfing evening beautiful sunset session
--drink coconut water and feast on Durian
--sleep by 8pm

Yup, my daily schedule is entirely focussed on pleasure seeking which is wonderful but lacks much contribution. I am quite separated from the local culture here at this surfing resort, and I am noticing I am craving some culture shocking soon and to be around the local villages more.
I am sharing fruit daily with other travelors that call me a "fruit Bat"...many people notice I am eating fruit and nothing else and seem to be very curious about this.
One Nice German girl said, "that was so delicous, papayas are my favorite fruit, I could eat 10 of those!" after she ate some.
And I said,
"but you don't because your tummy is too full of rice and other foods. You ought to try eating all of the papayas you care for sometime and see how you feel."

I have noticed how much cleaner I am feeling with my 100%raw fruit diet (fruit does include tomatos, cucumbers, eggplant, zuchinis....although I am only eating juicy sweet fruits lately).
There are plenty variety of cooked vegan foods available at this resort, and it looks temptin at times. I really want to continue to enjoy the pure, raw, ripe, organic way of eating for as long as I can.....so easy, fun, nourishing, hydrating, natural, Proven to be Best for health, animals and the environment.

Yesterdays meal was mainly durian because we got a delivery of 24 kilos (approx. 30lbs) again....so fun to see a big box of durian arrive!

I sent my Nephew, Josson 20 Pomegranates by "New Seasons" delivery in Portland...he loves this fruit lately....it feels soo great to send him something nutritious that he loves...
Dad!! I really loved speaking to you on Skype for your birthday...sorry the disconnection....so nice to hear you and mom are well traveling the USA..we are all more proud than ever to be American with OBAMA in office soon too!

Video: Darrick and Michael get Durian in Philippines

surf paradise, Siargao Philippines

I am staying at '101', a surf hotel..hammocks, green grass, beach, laid back lifestyle..$10/night...many waves here....4-5 foot swell today...Cloud 9 is heavy duty...Rock Island is nice big carving wave face.

I meet many surfers from around the world here...so many people to speak and connect with here after being a loner for awhile...
I met an AU Durian Lover too....we ordered 50lbs of durian and ate 25lbs together today for lunch..
surfing 6-8am and 3-5pm daily...resting in between.


"The way you think, the way you behave, the way
you eat, can influence your life by 30 to 50 years."
— Deepak Chopra: Indian doctor and mind/body/spirit author

meal #1

fresh pineapple juice, then waited one hour for

1/2lb of tomatos

one small papaya

10 bananas



Meal #2

10 bananas

one cup of durian flesh

4banana smoothie using fresh young coconut water

Philippines, Lanuza....Surf destination, roast some live pigs?

I am stayin at PocToy guesthouse on the river that flows directly into the ocean. The surf break is a Right that reels in very nicely. There are 2 other surf breaks within walking distance also. One is called "Punta Point"..a Barelling Right. Waves have been small here for 5days. I am surfing, swiming, or jogging daily. The fruit is very available here or within a 30minute busride...i currently have many 'marangs', Durians, rambutans, bananas, and coconuts to eat...all are perfectly ripe and delicious. My bamboo bungalo sits right on the river. We have two story lookout tour to see the swell and watch the waves. Another Australian guy is here with his Philippino Wife on surf vacation (many westerners I have met are in love). The Ripe Marangs are soooo amazing...I would bet everyone in this world would love this fruit...so sweet, juicy, and light...I have a blender to use know which is very fun to make banana or Durian smothies usuing coconut water.
The Philipinno diet has lots of dead animals in it...they eat it every day. I see innocent baby pigs strapped down on the back of motorcycles heading for slaughter and SQueeling their brains out in discomfort all the way there...there squealing and screams are very loud. You can be inside a bus going the opposite direction and hear the squealing pig approaching, passing, and continuing on...tied down very tight unable to move whatsoever. The roast the pigs on a big stick that goes through their mouths and comes out their Anus. I hope they are slicing their throats before the roasting begins, but maybe its fresher tasting meat to roast alive?
I wear my "Friend Not Food" shirt everywhere. It has a picture of an innocent pig. I wish we could leave animals alone. Meanwhile my surfer friend is frying up his daily bacon and eggs...I think people forget that bacon is PIG, which is a living breathing beatiful innocent animal with a central nervous system. In USA we have many soy bacons and other bacon replacements that are far superior to health and leave animals to be...we vote with our dollars and the things we buy get replaced on the grocery shelves, so please buy smart!

Davao City, Philippines; runnin with the boys

I have been in this city of approx. 2million for about one week now. If I wasn't hooked on Durian I would have left after one day. I do love to be around lots of people and activity and I feel i can really see a culture in a city with so much going on, but the pollution is intense. I must move on to nature. I did find a park with a hotel nearby and massive durian outside the hotel. IN the mornings I have been jogging at the park and have developed quite a following of little boys. Yesterday there were about 15 hangin with me, jogging, excercising, playing tag, stretching, following me around, modeling me (shirts and shoes Off)...after hour daily routine yesterday i had one guy go purchase some Fruit for us, Marangs and Durians...this was INTENSE for me to handle 15boys (6-12years) trying to eat the fruit and fighting for position after i explained them to 'line up' and I would distribute the fair amounts, otherwise the younger kids would get nothing....truly survival of the fitest!!! And Fruit is such a luxury here, especially Durian...they go 'NUTS' for it...its soo funny to watch....I did the best I could at keeping some order, but they dont speak english so it was challenging. Many older people enjoying the park are smiling and interested at this situation of seeing one white man with soo many kids around him..I havent seen another white person for several days here..Philippines has a reputation of being dangerous I guess. There is some danger here for sure in some surrounding cities, some war and kidnappings going on.

Yesterday Meals:
11am 2bananas, 1cup of marang, 1cup of durian =500calories
3pm durian! 5ups =about 2000calories
9pm durian! 2cups=about 800calories
(i was trying so hard to go to bed early without eatin more durian because i wasnt hungry, but i kept smelling my fingers and it is directly outside my hotel, so like a drug addict i went for it!)

Yesterday exercise:
Running 30minutes
playing with kids in park 1hour

I have been enjoying RAW fruits for one week now...no Cooked foods...i feel amazing now....With Durian around, I dont even have any cravings for rice, chips, vegan cooked foods, etc.... I am grateful i love this fruit.

Leaving Davao to head to LANUZA 9hour bus ride!! to a beach and surfing location....not sure if they have durian there, but I must move on...I will eat more mangos, marangs, papaya, pineapples, coconuts..

INternet is 20cents an hour here!!!
cheapest in Asia

video: D and girl eat durian in penang

Prices of Misc. items here in Philippines..

Marang $1/kilo
Mangos $1/kilo
bananas 2cents/1 banana
durian $1/kilo
pomelo $1/kilo
haircut 60cents
cheap/clean/nice hotel near the park $8/night
excellent deep tissue one hour massage....$5
one litre bottle of water 50cents
taxi ride for 1hour $5
Ride on a 10passenger Jeepney for 30minutes..20cents
Huge meal of Rice, veggies....50cents


BEING WITH 10-15 PHILIPPINO CHILDREN AT THE PARK BY THE WATER DOING VARIOUS YOGA STRETCHES, PUSHUPS, PULLUPS, CARTWHEELS, HANDSTANDS, JOGGING.....THEN SHARING MARANG AND MANGOS WITH THEM...................PRICESLESS

I Was feeling some discontent and lonliness last night after my durian meal, so I went home and watched a movie 'butterfly on a wheel', a psychological thriller, and had a nice escape for a while, but the feeling was still in me after the movie.....Today I am feeling wonderful....could it be the durian gift I gave to the hotel personel? The smiles and hellos I said to the locals, even though I wanted to ignore them and be in my own selfish world? The nice email I send my lovely sister?, could it be the 2hours of physcal activity? Or the excercising with Philippino kids and feeling the contribution? Or all of the above? I am learning each day about myself more and more with sooo much time on my hands to do what every I want....I do plan to make contribution more a 1rst priority as opposed to 'fitting it in' in between my pleasure seeking days.

Photo of a delicious fruit, Marang

"MARANG, or Tarap, is one of the most delicious tropical fruit and beautiful exotic tree with large lobed leaves. The fruit is as big as 10-12", soft flavored, can be appreciated from the first bite and considered superior in flavor to both Jackfruit or Chempedak."

I am loving this fruit....my first time to really experience it is here in Philippines! Very sweet and juicy. small seeds (size of 1/2almond)in the white flesh. Feels very filling...I just ate a 1.5Kilo fruit (3lbs)..I feel pretty full....i estimate it has 250calories per Lb of fruit flesh.

Video: eat cow or eat mango?

What an excellent display of the 'love' and intelligence cows have. Meat or Mango in nature?

VIDEO of Darrick: pre dinner workout..

This was in Malaysia with my good RawVegan durian loving friend, Harley (AKA: Durianrider)

Philippines first impression

JEEPNEYS Everywhere

These are left over American jeeps from WWII. Many of the cities have them here all dressed up as you can see. They are used as public transport. Open air style, carrying about 20passengers, in an intimate type of way. Very cheap and fun. YOu hop in and hop out whenever you wish and pay very little....20cents or so.

I spent the whole day flying from Maldives and having airport Layovers in Malaysia, SRI Lanka. I left the airport in Kuala LUmpur and took a taxi to go on a durian Hunt for 2hours, but we didnt find any. I arrived in Manilla at 4pm and took a taxi for a durian hunt and found some!! we feasted on 3 durian and the taste was excellent. I bought some for his family too. Then I flew to DAVAO City. Took a taxi to the well known Durian area of this city, Magay Park. This Philippino Durian is EXCEPTIONAL...the flavor is very complex and intense and sweet/bitter/ luscious...the price is 50cents per pound! $1/ kilo.......this is cheaper than malaysia, Thailand, and INdonesia for the quality...there is massive quantities of durian available here in Davao City....MASSIVE....selllers all over.....I cant believe this place its amazing....Girls everywhere here in PHilippines (after being in INdia, where the girls are hidden and are considered the lowest of the low, it is refresshing to see female femaninity and 'skin' again). The religion here is dominantly Catholic I believe. The men are very kind and smiling alot... everyone in general seems very accepting of the White tourist and happy to meet you and not overly interested or staring, but definitely polite and interested.

I had some Dental work done today...had to have a filling replaced...very excellent honest dentist....I would HIGHLY recommend him (Dr. Loui Lopez, 227.9330), DMSF Hospital, Medical School Dr., 09062002936)....My teeth have been suffering due to eating more cooked foods, sugars, salts, toxins, etc....... ITs ironic how I need a dentist when I eat cooked foods, but when I eat all raw fruits and veggies my teeth are excellent...Its almost like the whole dental industry is available so I can keep eating cooked foods by protecting my teeth gums and nerves with fillings so the death food can't enter and cause infections...I am grateful for this today, but plan to eat less cooked foods, sugars and salts from this day forward, and enjoy all the fruits and DURIAN.

I had Mangos for breakfast! they are from CEBU island and sent to this area since the season is not around here....they cost 30cents per mango approximately. Everything is Cheaper than other places in Asia here. I went to a huge shopping mall here in DAVAO and bought a hat and a tanktop, i feel pretty sexy in my tank top and funky hat..the materialism is strong in the cities of Asia in general and here in Philippines with all the woman around, I felt I needed to look a little more 'cool', and be cooler in the heat as well (I have been wearing the same 2 shirts for about 1 year now).

I am loving the culture, the fruit available, the people, the prices, the weather is perfect, the 'rickshaws'(bicycle taxis), the general vibe, the availablities of anything you need, the internet cafe speed, the DURIAN, etc....

I plan to enjoy the Durian in this city of Davao for a while then head to surfing beaches...
There is a beach 10minutes boat ride from here, but no surfing....I plan to snorkel there soon....Tons of nature available here near DAvao..Eden Nature park sounds great.

slept 12hours solid after my durian feast last night
have eating 7mangos today 700 calories
(it is 6pm, and I am heading to feast on my 2nd night of Philippino Durian at Magtaysay Park..eating 'Malagkit" bitter sweet durian and "Gold" sweet and bitter and buttery milky flavoured with carmelized butterscotch, chocolaty taste).

Vegan options everywhere in Philippines too.

D

Pictures: Maldives

I am actually leaving These Maldive, exceptional beauty!

Maldives last surf with Greg

GREG from AU

Had my last surf session in Male, Maldives this morning. Greg and I went out for another morning session....5 days in a row of waking up before I naturally would like to. I am excited to catch up on my sleep and get back to my 10hours of sleeping routine....I really love to start winding down and sunset and sleep shortly after this and then wake up with the sunrise. Here in Male, Greg and I were enjoying the restaurants in the evenings and crashing later then normal.

Greg has a sweet business www.astrotours.net IF you are in Broome area of AU, check it out..sounds preety cool..two hour class under the stars. You learn alot about our solar system and how it relates to our selves too.



Yesterdays meals:
wake up 5am
Stretch/yoga 5:30-6am
surf 6-8am
breakfast 9-10am
on the beach with Greg, I ate 3lbs of sweet and juicy ripe Papaya followed by 10 delicious ripe bananas.
relax/ sunbath/nap/internet 10-2pm
2-3pm lunch
2lbs of papaya
6 bananas
Surf 4-6pm
dinner 7-8pm
2cups of basmatti white rice
10ounces of coconut potato curry
4tomatos
1cucumber
DESERT:
2bananas
20dates

Exercise
surfed 4hours fairly active sessions
breakfast
Heading to Davao City, Philippines tonight! Very excited to eat Durian again after two months without! Wow, I can taste the carmelized, vanilla cheesecake, buttery flavor already. 2-3 days in the city near the durian sellers, then heading to the Beaches for amazing uncrowded surfing.

* "Happiness begins by facing life with a wink and a smile!" - Chinese fortune cookie


Waking up at 5:30am..My 47yr old surfer roomate is Australian mate living in Broome, NW area....great person...has long hair and a long beard (he stopped shaving at age 20, he didnt see any reason for it....Greg gives Astronomy tours, his very own business...75bucks for 2hours under the stars with complicated information delivered in a simple form. I may try the beard thing...more sun protection...why do we shave anyways? is it conformity or is there a real reason?

We are using a small motor boat to access the best waves around the Maldives. The waves here are coral reef point breaks. The size has been small lately but still fun long rides in perfect weather and water and beautiful scenery around...I love watching the 'flying fishes'! The Maldives seems to attract a very rich cliental...tons of expensive resorts everywhere throughout the islands with bungulows on the water. My surfing guide is a budget dude that showed us the only budget way to surf the Maldives. Budgetsurfing. I plan to never use boat tour companies again after this because of the polution they create. I will prefer to find a great wave on a beach and stay there for a while, then move to the next beach.

The Maldive diet is highly Seafood oriented....very little vegetarian options here....But I am creative, so its easy for me..I found eggplant coconut red THai curry, tom yum soup, green papaya salad last night.
In the days I eat many Papayas and Bananas and pineapples and Dates...Mangos are out of season now and there are some available for $1/each!
prices are very high in the Maldives.

surfing 3-4hours day...
eating about 3500 calories per day

Heading to MALDIVES!

AFter a couple weeks in India, I am really craving to be back surfing some good waves. I have a 6month visa here in India, so I can come back here as much as I want in the next 6months. Traveling INdia can be like 'looking in a mirror', many travelors say. This is probably because your comfort zone naturally has to be expanded in this country. I have seen my self be impatient, selfish, egotistical, cranky, frustrated, and irritated here in India. I have also seen myself be gracious, selfless, generous, happy, excited, passionate, thankful, loving, learing, growing, giving, etc...
The good comes with the bad for me here.
It can be intense with soooo many people looking at you all the time and asking questions. I have thought of wearing a all black Islam outfit that the muslims wear (not many muslims here in this predominant Hindu country though)...maybe paint myself brown and wear all long clothes...it would be cool to not be noticed here in India and get a sense of the culture too.

Maldives supposed to have amazing tropical waves..I booked a one week trip with a surfing guide for 600 US dollars....should be fun!
Then I have a flight booked to PHILIPPINES for the final Durian season in Davao City followed by a surfing/running adventure with a Rawvegan Friend named Stefanie.

todays exercise:
running with local INDians on the beach for about one hour.
Body surfing shoulderhigh close out pounders on the beach of Kovalam, one hour

after exercise I drank Two coconuts and ate the jelly.
30minutes later I had 2lbs of Papaya
30minutes later I had 11 small bananas
Total calories estimation = 900

Last nights cooked vegan dinner:
12ounces of stirfried eggplant in tomato sauce (SPICEY)
12ounces of white rice
2 whole wheat Chappathis (like tortillas)
6ounces of Yellow Dahl soup
3 tomatos
1 cucumber
est. calories = 1200

Desert:
back in hotel room watching cable tv, listening to the waves..
8 small bananas
8 dates
6 seasamee seed sugar balls
est. calories = 700

I feel emotionally good about my ALL DAY RAW fruits lifestyle coupled with a cooked vegan meal after 6pm at night.
I feel OK physically...nothing like I felt on ALL RAW lifestyle though....WAY more energy on ALL RAW fruits and Veggies....maybe too much energy for me, hehehhe I couldnt sleep through the night sometimes and would wake up wired and ready to exercise....bunch of bs justifications to eat more addictive cooked vegan foods loaded with Salt and spices and sugars to excite my excitotoxins, hehheh

much love,
D

Giving money away in India, would you?

When I am touring around India I always come upon some poor person who is not begging but is doing something like collecting bottles or searchin trash or looking for anything worth money. I would rather not give to people begging because I feel enough people will do this, and many of these beggers are 'owned' by a Pimp type person that keeps most of their earnings....many of them are severely handicapped purposely by their pimps so that we will feel more sorry for them and give them more when we see there legless or Deformed bodies.
I found this lady on the bus with her two kids, I sat next to them and shared my bananas. After we exited the bus I followed them and gave here 500Rupees. She seemed very grateful and sooo suprised (this is enough money for a local person to purchase 100 Meals!!! ONLY $10).....what a natural 'rush' i get to GIVE here randomly.....IF I am feeling selfabsorbed and irritated or lonely or depressed, i find it is because I have forgotten to GIVE money or love or a smile to people....It is win/win to Give...i get happiness and they get happiness too.

Coconuts, Papaya, Bananas and Mangos

Today I enjoyed 3 coconuts. DRinking the water first then eating the 'jelly' texture coconut inside....20cents each.
bananas are EVERYWHERE here in south India...several types....Red ones, small yellow ones, medium yellow ones, big ones, Plantains.....the best ever....My favorite smaller ones are about the 1/2 the size of a normal sized banana in the states...2cents per banana!
Papaya is about 10cents per pound here....I devoured 2lbs of papaya then 8 bananas for breakfast...

Mangos are average here, since the season is later on (March, April)....so the ones that are scarcely available are most likely sprayed (how else do they provide mangos out of season?) They dont tast all that delicous....most mangos that I eat in season I find virtually impossible to stop eating until I am full. These mangos I can eat just one or two.

Havent found Durian yet here.,...I here it can be found if you look very hard, but I dont want to leave the beach areas at this time.

India FOOD LOVERS Show on National Geographic

I was laying in my hotel room today after my morning bodysurfing session (no boards in India, mental note: bring a damn surfboard next time for the waves!).....I was enjoying a show of Food lovers that travel the world to eat different foods. As I am currently eating a Cooked Vegan meal in the evenings, I was very interested. This show was about Southern INDIA, nearby where I am visiting currently! That is a the life, eh?.....watching tv in my beach front luxury hotel ($8/night), hearing and seeing the waves and nature and birds, seeing people eat all kinds of delicious Indian foods, waiting until I am hungry again so I can immediately go eat some of the foods they are showing on TV.....My mouth began to salivitate after 30minutes, so I had to go find some of the cooked vegan drug food to enjoy and comfort myself.

vegan dilema?

As I was doing a morning beach run here in this new place I am visiting called, KOVALAM. I was being waved down by a group of 20 Indian Men on the beach who needed extra help pushing a large fishing boat into the ocean. I excitedly went to assist them. AFter we pushed the fish killing boat into the ocean, I continued my run. Then I thought about the connection. Was I being a true vegan by helping people catch and kill more fish in our already 'fished out' ocean? I would love to here other Vegan opinions. And if they would not help the group of Indian Men who don't speak english, how would they explain?

My First Beach in INDIA..."Arambol"

Walking through a village with many tourist shops selling clothes, books, food etc... and many backpackers from all around the world....down the paved road you see the waves and the sand and the miles of scenic views, The Beach!
After hours on a train and time in Delhi before this, the Beach is a breath of fresh air.....life is slower paced here of course....locals are very used to seeing "White" people, so they let you be. No hotels on this Hippie style beach, only beach huts, and rooms in homes, and 5room type buildings with high ceilings and wood....only the backpacker type of tourist seems to be at this village called Arambol.
After arriving i found a room which was more challenging then any were I have ever been in Central, South America or Asia....many places were 'full'...found one for 250Rupees($5), 50meters to the beach sand. I went for as sunset Jog and swim and breathed all the fresh air and realized once again I am most happy and complete when staying on a beach atmosphere with my shirt off and barefoot most of the time.
There are about 10 restaurants with chairs and tables in the deep sand. They serve anything you can imagine, due to many years of European, Western people visiting....Indian, Italian, Isrealean, mexican, thai, western food......I had fresh papaya juice, tomato./cucumber salad/ Isrealean hummous.
the next day I found the fruit sellers...I saw some Mangos (ate 3lbs of them, sweet n juicy), Pineapple(sweetest ever had!), papaya, watermelon, coconuts, bananas, plantains, asian kiwi (cinnamin flavor, brown color, blackseeds), tomatos, cucumbers, eggplants.
In the evenings they play movies at the Beach Cafe on a bigger screen...several backpackers relax and watch the movies for free and order some food or drinks....They were playing "Click", with Adam Sandeler one night...they have a pool table here too....most of the people I chatted with had been in INDIA for several months...some even live in INdia 6months of every year...I met a Russian Girl and had dinner with her and chatted...very easy to meet people here as the vibe is very relaxed and safe feeling. This place is like an break from traveling India in a way, no hassles whatsoever, no staring and constant curiousity by Indians..kind of a "recharge" if you will so I can go back out to the real world of India and be a smiling face of contribution.

Excercise today:
Run 30minutes with 'fartleks'
Walk 1hour
yoga/stretching/50handstands 30minutes
swimming 15minutes

India: "Stare Hard Retard!", Eating Lots......

When I was growing up, I was taught to never stare at others. Looking at someone for more than a couple seconds was considered rude in our society. In fact, many kids would say, "Stare Hard Retard", if you were caught looking at them for longer than one or two seconds. IN India, The culture is much different obviously. People stare and stare and that is just fine. They mean no harm, they are just curious and interested people. Why do I get uncomfortable and agry inside when I have 100 Indian people staring at me and surrounding me? I guess I am not meant to be a famous person, or I need a ton more self-development. I am getting better at Understanding and accepting this constant staring situation, but not fast as I would like. I purchased some sunglasses today (normally I dont wear them, since I feel it makes my eyes weak). My sunglasses are the 'mirror' type so my eyes are hidden....i love this tricky form of privacy.
DELHI is the capital of India....with very little room for movement and massive numbers of people around...It is absolutely Fascinating to stroll through the city and sidestreets and just absorb this culture. The food sellers are everywhere..vegan food is abundant!!!...It takes alot of work to eat meat here, to find it available (as opposite of USA, it seems to be in everything)..MY addictive personality and strong justification system have decided to eat a cooked vegan diet while traveling with a large amount of Raw fruits (knowing that I feel way less energetic and healthy with all the oils/salts/sugars/flavor enhancers/cooked rancidity)..But in my mind the cooked food addict is better than being a heroin/pot/drug/caffeine/alcohol/smoker addict.........It is dangerous for me to walk around the food when I am not hungry, because I soon talk myself into eating for pleasure, which means I eat until my tummy hurts sometimes..like just now...I already had two huge fresh papayas and 6 Custard apples, then I waited for one hour and walked around watching many many people eating at several foood stalls outside...eating things like fresh popcorn, boiled garbonzo beans with onions/spices/parcely/lemon juice, yellow Dahl, Chipatta breads and other types of wheat based baked and fried breads, popadom, orange slices, Chair tea, peanuts, curries, rice, sweets, samosas, fried potato cakes, spicy eggplant curries, ripe bananas, juices, masala teas, apples, salty homeade chips, It doesn't take long to talk yourself into eating much earlier than you should. I tried some Chai Tea being freeshly prepared on the street and had a group of little INdian boys around me smiling laughing, watching, staring....then I ate some fresh roasted peanuts and some spicy homeade chips...now my belly aches a little and I want it to be better asap so I can eat at a PURE Vegetarian restaurant I found.....most of my eating has been the street vendors..I roam around looking for the vendors that have many Indians eating their stuff, then I go watch the preparation until I began Salivatating....
I was on a sleeper train for 40 hours and it is soooo awesome..fully Air conditioned, comfy bed to stretch out on, nice window view of alll the action in India slums/city/country/ trainstations/......people come abord and walk the isles selling massive varieties of spicy yummy cooked vegan foods...... I had a potato/cabbage/tomato burger, several spicey curries with sooo much flavor you cant think of anything but the taste in your mouth (talk about being in the moment, and meditation its Powerfully addicting in many ways). Bannanas are selling everywhere..masive quantities about 5cents a pound, not the best tasting (Nepal had the best ever) but pretty darn good. Not a lot of variety of fruits available here in INdia so far..I'll keep looking....(Thailand was exceptional, Malaysia and INdonesia too).

Delhi has many tourist attractions to see....I dont seem motivated to see any of them....I just enjoy sitting on a corner and watching the India Chaos much more and meeting the people and chatting with the little kids. I actually have learned that I am not much for the sites: Temples, museums, etc... I am always craving an more natural environment (beach preferrably). I booked my 28hour train ticket to GOA for tomorrow! this is a Beach area and sounds wonderful..It is Southern INdia which means more coconut curries also......I love the train system..its fun to stop at different trainstations and search out the best INdian food (we usually have 15minutes to get some yummy foods and then get back on the train), bowl of currie and 5 chipati breads for 10cents!!!!!)...
..I met an Indian boy, 33 years of age last night on the train...we hung out for a few hours, then shared a hotel together...i learned some about their culture through him...he works for the Indian airforce and trades stocks..he si upperclass....there seems to be 4classes of people here and the lowest is the street sweepers and the women are low too. I am feeling the hunger coming back, maybe since I started doing some morning exercises again after one week of lazinesss due to too much fatty cooked foods. I like to start the day with yoga, pushups, lunges, stretching.....my metabolism is faster now, so I can eat more, ehehhehhhe.
Eating, sleeping, meeting new people, experiencing new culture and massive poverty (destitute women, cripples, and kids grabbing my clothes for money or foood), finding ways to contribute (giving away money to nonbeggars is my new way...I like to look for a poor person doing their own thing and suprise them with enough money to feed them for one month = $4 US dollars!).

Heading towards INDIA...

I may experience some life changing situations soon...have you ever seen 25,000 people living on a piece of land the size of a football field? Slums like this, and many more not so happy situations are what I am soon to witness, along with tons of love, warmth and compassion.

Leaving Kathmandu tonight on a 8hour night bus to the border of India, then a 3 hour bus ride from border to India's first train station, then a 8hour ride to Delhi, India. I don't know much what I am doing in India besides being there and beign present to the moments experiences, eating the fruit and vegan food, yoga, meditation, experiencing the day to day life in the crazy hug Cities and the smaller villages. I am very excited to get back to surfing, so my India visit may be short...I do have a 6month, multiple entry visa to India.
I have been chatting with many other backpackers recently about their Indian experiences. MOst all say it is a love/hate experience and a powerful culture shock. Very Dirty. Very overwhelming culture of people constantly touching, looking, asking you questions, staring, etc... No privacy, unless locked in your room. I got one referral on a Guest house in Delhi, so I'll go there for a couple days then head to Rishikesh area, apparently a more quiet place with lots of vegan food and yoga and meditation.

I was considering visiting Tibet and Bhutan while I am so close, but these countries seem to require that you travel in groups by tourist vans, and are much more expensive then other parts of Asia. As you may know about me, I prefer to be free from groups and vans if possible.

Nepal has been Extraordinary!!
The highlight was staying with a hospitibal local village family in their home at 11,000feet elevation, eating their fresh organic vegan fooods, absorbing the slow paced village lifestyle, experiencing the nature and the surrounding Himalayan massive mountains.

Nepal: I finished 13 days of Treking, Altitude sickness

Glad to be back to low elevation, but a life changing experience is what I just finished. The Annapurna HImalayans....very high mountains I passed about 7000meters high.
I experienced many things: treking for days in flip-flops because shoes hurt to much, traditional villages, diversity in landscapes, endless scenic views, strong Nepalese men that weigh 140lbs and Carry 200lbs on their backs for 8 hours/day up huge rocky hills, no fruit, no traffic, animals, birds, cows, Yak, sheep, goats, other wonderfulworld travelors to bond with, infected foot wounds, altitude sickness, cold relentless weather, snow/ice, sunshine, happy local people living off the land, children playing freely, dirty clothes worn by all, Seabuckthorn juice, Pumpkin soup, cooked Dal Baht twice a day (rice, curries, dahl, pickled veggies), cinnamin rolls, apple pie, chocolate, little boys carrying their sisters up massive hill climbs, negativity, doubt, hatred of treking in cold, love, compassion, understanding, rollercoasters of emotion, Endless endless endless breathtaking views for miles, hundreds of waterfalls, hundreds of plants and flowers, no internet, peace and serenity, etc....

I am back in the warmlands, Pocara.....looking for a yoga/meditation/cleansing place to go relax and let my scrapes and bruises heal.

My healthy clean diet went to a fried, greasy, lack of fruit diet for several days.....not feeling very happy about this. I do find that I am truly happy in anticipation of some cooked greasy salty food, and during the feasting I am very comforted and High from its effects. Soon to be back to what is best for me...I had several yummy bananas today, papaya, pomegranet juice......but feeling like some more cooked food tonight...its yelling my name...maybe some hummous/tahini/ ....indian food... or more Nepalese Dahl Baht.

no excercise today..
averaged 5hours/day of treking for two weeks...no running....some stretching/yoga/pushups some days.

Treking the Annapurna, Nepal......cooked diet

Hello all,
I am leaving on a treking adventure in Nepal. I may go for a few days or much longer, I'll decide on the way. NO internet for 3weeks if I choose to go the whole Annapurna Circuit.
Over 100miles of steep treking at high elevations.
Lots of lodges and places to eat on the way. Very poplular trek. Many backpackers come from all around the world for this.
I will start Alone but may join other trekers on the route.
I am at the last city before I began my trek in a few minutes.

the complete Annapurna circuit takes between 15 to 22 days, depending on fitness, adaptability to altitude and desire to linger along the way. While the trail has gained a reputation for being overrun with tourists, it had quietened with the rise of a Maoist insurgency in Nepal, post 9/11 travel jitters and the massacre of Nepal's royal family in 2000.

I have a link below....................


My diet has been junkfood cooked vegan lately. I havent felt very good about my eating decisions lately. Most of the time bad eating decisions are due to emotional issues...maybe lonliness is something I must admit I have been feeling more lately. I do meet other travelors and hang out with them. A peer group of other Rawvegan/environmentalist friends is soooo powerful for, and makes it easier to succeed on 100%RAW vegan diet. Cooked Vegan Diet is soooo easy for me and I doubt anything could Ever sway me away from this. It is soooo simple to eat cooked vegan, now that I have been 100% raw vegan. Maybe that is a huge take away in itself? Even if my transition to 100% raw takes more weeks, months, years than i ever anticipated, at least I am learning how to be a lifetime success at not contributing to animal suffering and risking myself with heart diseases, cholesterol, diabtes, obesity, cancer, etc...

Yesterday diet:
2 asian pears snack
meal #1
India vegan food: Dahl, spicey cucumber salad, white rice, potato dish, chutney
Meal #2
1/4cup of pumpkin seeds and peanuts
Nepalis food: Dahl, corn flour noodles with tomato sauce, potato dish, cucumbers
1/2cup of dates

exercise yesterday:
NONE

our bus got held up by a 7HOUR Strike!! we were in the middle of nowhere waiting for some mediation...on the way from Kathmandu to Pocara.


here are some links:

http://www.virtourist.com/asia/annapurna/

Nepal is Fascinating!

Kathmandu is the capital city here and it is largely populated, but no KFC or Mcdonalds is here....still not a well developed city, which I absolutely LOVE. Lots of green grass and green plants here too....outside of the center you see all the Nepalese homes surrounded by lots of green grass and open fields, not many trees. Mountains surrounding Kathmandu.
The people are very kind hearted from what I have experienced....they are not shocked to see tourists here at all. I walked around the city for a couple hours and only had a couple people say anything to me. This is far different than INdonesia and Thailand Cities.

I am seeing different fruits for sale here too.
Lots of Apples, Pomegranates, Banannas, and papaya and pineaple mainly....also some oranges, jackfruit, Pomelos....
Many men on bicycles are selling fresh squeezed Pineapple or orange juice for 20 rupiahs (25cents approx).....fresh pressed Pomegranate juice is everywhere too... for about 70rupiahs($1)...sugar cane juice is easy to find for 20rupiahs(30cents)..

Yesterday I had two meals:
#1 meal was
30ounces of fresh squeezed pomogranite juice

#2meal was
6.5 lbs of ripe, juicy, sweet Papaya
(i found a papaya seller at a small market outside and sat by them for my meal. A mom and dad and one son. I bought one papaya and the man peeled if for me, I ate that and two more..they were shocked at how much fruit I ate...Most people eat fruit as a small snack here.....It was different for the Nepalese people to see a foreigner sitting on the dirty street by the sellers eating fruit...I got tons of looks...I think they may think i am a Mentally retarded person or some sort of mental problem to eat on the dirty street...Many times I like to sit down and absorb the market and busy culture of a place while eating my fruit..Other times I like to take my fruit in my Hemp Bag to a quite natural location to eat.)

Lots of homeless poverty here in Nepal....young boys in groups that are begging and stay together with each other and sleep on the dirty sidewalks....some defigured people begging for money..women with children begging for money...This is pretty intense to see and many people may not be able to emotionally handle it. I believe we are all here on the earth together, but many are less fortunate than others, but we cannot Save everybody. We have to find a way to help people and focus on this and not let other negative things get us down or make us dramatic....if we are helping and serving or contributing in some way we are most likely helping more then most of the world is helping.

I found a local Nepalese work out gym in the middle of a village away from city center...I stopped in for one hour work out...did some weights and enjoyed exercising with other Nepalese (cost was 50cents!).

Do you think about food too much??

I want people to share about their relations with food and eating. Sometimes it seems that I think about eating most of the day.
After I am done consciously eating a meal, I think about how long until I will be hungry again and what my next meal will be. From the time I just finished eating until I am eating my next meal, I catch myself planning, visualizing, and fantasizing about what it may be.

I really admire the people that are active/fit/healthy/lean and only think about the food when they are truly hungry and then they are done thinking about food all together until they are truly hungry again.....I would love advice on how I can change into this type of thinking.

I believe that most people who are truly living their passions and purposes in life are more likely to not think about food much....maybe I must be patient to this process more.
Currently, I am traveling SE Asia, surfing, treking, eating tropical fruits, exploring new cultures, and spreading the vegan message, But I still find time to obsess on food.

any thoughts on this subject and personal shares would be wonderful to read!
Darrick

Leaving Malaysia

This has been a fun place for me, Penang in particular. I spent about 5weeks here, then left to Indo for about 4 weeks, then returned here to Penang for a few more days. Returning here was amazing after having so many Indonesian experiences. I really like how I can witness so much culture and not have many people approaching me with questions and comments all day long. Bless their hearts, as they all have loving intention......its just I need more practice with patience and unlimited smiling happy responses no matter what.

Heading to Katmandu, Nepal in the morning...flying from Penang to Bangkok to Katmandu....I plan to get my India visa there which may take one week. I suggest anybody that plans to come to India to plan ahead and get it early, I didnt.
While my visa is being prepared I will enjoy some Treking around Nepal...I believe they have 8 of the 10 Highest elevated Mountains in the World!
Mt. Everest is not on my list, but some safer distances are surely.

EATING
20 ounces of fresh pressed sugar cane juice
Vegan Laksa (noodle soup)
Vegan Tom Yum soup
1/2cup of rice
small salad
1cup of stirfryed veggies
(felt majorly dissatisfied and wanted more salt after this, so I went to the movie theater to eat popcorn and maybe see a movie, but they didnt have salty popcorn only sweet, so I left thankfully)

about to eat 2lbs of durian chunks

excercise today:
walked up penang hill briskly 5km, 2300feet elevation, 1hour
100 pushups
10minutes of muscle flexing

The Sumatra Bus driver did not let me bring Durian on!

Several people were loading on a shuttle bus from Medan to the ferry port to head to Penang, Malaysia....I had my small backpack and my bicycle. I had a durian straped to the rack on my bicycle. The bus driver told me i could not bring my durian on cause of the smell, so I pulled out my 'trusty' fruit knife and opened the durian up, squatted on the street and devoured it while they waited, ehehehh...it was awesome......
We Can't bring durian on the bus, but we can bring a smelly bag of grilled dead cow burgers and potatoes fried in cancer oil that smells up the whole bus, supports deforestation, global warming, animal cruelty and death, human suffering, etc.......
I crave a world where the bus driver says, "If you don't have a durian, then you cannot come onto my bus!"....
Today I am loving the RAW life....come join anytime for the journey..currently in Malaysia..maybe India next.......

I rested yesterday, with very little body movement...lots of traveling....Bus, Ferry.
Today I got some movement in:
cycled slowly one hour
hiking barefoot one hour
100 pushups
100 lunges
10 pullups


I found delicous mangosteens here in Penang (way better in Malaysia than sumatra)
ate 4lbs for lunch.

snack
8ounce of sugar cane juice
snack 2
one coconut water

I plan to eat
2lbs of durian chunks soon then maybe some Rice and veggies(I hope not)
The durian is very good here in Malaysia....I would have to say that Sumatera and Malaysia are pretty similar in taste and quality. The price for Durian in Sumatera is about $1/2lbs....the price in Malaysia $2/2lbs (double the price!!).....HOWEVER, if you get to try some of the 'name brand' durians in Malaysia like "ang Hair", "D2", "D11", "D24", "Capri KING", "Horlor", etc.....these are all Exceptional and much tastier than Sumatera in my opinion....Even more than Thailand Durians like "monThong', "Chanee", "Pomanee".

paying $$ to Indo children so they run with me

amaaaaaaaazing feeling I have now...wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
the story goes like this...
I was walking back from purchasing my ferry boat ticket from Medan to Penang, Malaysia. It was this morning around 10am....I was debating whether to excercise today. I was feeling lazy with no good reason, since i had not excercised the last couple days besides some walking. So I decided to just go to the big open grass field and decide when i get there. Well this always leads to success for me because once I am in an environment good for running or doing something active i usually 'Just Do It'....i believe getting there is harder then starting...
Anyways, some indo children noticed me running some laps (1/6mile laps around a field). The kids where around 6-10years of age and asked me for money. I said run with me and showed them the money. 3 boys ran one lap with me so i gave them each 1000 rupiah (10cents). Then they ran again for 2000 rupiah (20cents). then I had about 8 kids running loops with me and I was paying them each about 4000 rupiah average (40cents)...4000 Rupiah purchase a Large Meal here in Sumatera of Rice, veggies, tofu, tempe, meat, hot sauce, drink. I kept paying the kids to run laps with me for one hour. They would substitute with their friends and rest every other lap or so. Many other parents and adults were watching us. IT was raining today too which felt very nice on my shirtless skin. I would even explain that if they ran faster they earned more money. It was soo fun, that i didnt even realize I was excercising at all!!! I must do this very often in my life....I must find ways to run and contribute all at the same time....maybe next time I can get a shirt made that says "LOVE animals, don't eat them", OR "vegetarian is cool", OR "Friend not Food", OR something wonderful in their Indonesian language....Maybe "NO Smoking please".....Then I can run, contribute with money, wear a wonderful meaningful message on my shirt...WOW that is called LEVERAGE...I used to only think about how I could leverage myself financially to make the most $$$$ possible..now I think about how to leverage HEALTH and Veganism! This is a wonderful LIFE...I am very fortunate....I am very HIGH on life now..its like a drug to excercise and contribute together...powerful...so easy..it takes no motivatin for me to run laps when I am helping little kids and inspiring them to run more and telling them I am vegetarian and American ........

Last night my motorbike taxi took me to a durian market....we ate together and I was sharing my durian with his family and others and he was asking questions about veganism, and he told me on the way back he has never met an American like me with a good heart and easy to be friends with...that most are snobby types. I told him that most may appear to be snobby but are most likely afraid of something..maybe the Muslim culture here.

today is the biggest most important MUSLIM holiday of the year....this country is mainly muslim.....all are FASTING all day today and celebrating with food after dark...it is a huge deal here..they are setting up all kinds of signs and food booths and concerts and MOSK praying opportunities..its amazing to happen to be here today on this famous day of the year.....I think its called Mantaramm or something close to that.

I watched chickens get their unlucky innocent throats slit at the meat market yesterday....then they are thrown in a big cage while they run around bleeding to death for 3 minutes!!! IT takes a while for them to die..then they are thrown into a heated element that whirls them around and burns the feathers off...its a bloody, dirty place to be and work...the workers are all bloody and looking unhappy as they slit throats and watch the chickens die (but I am sure they still have chicken fried rice for lunch).....one chicken got loose after its throat was slit and started running around bleeding until they caught it. We support those types of jobs....people may say..what about human rights? why worry about animals? Well I believe we create nasty death jobs in slaughter houses by purchasing dead animals to eat, so we contribute to many negative things for the taste of animals in our mouth.....its proven we dont NEED them to survive and Thrive......infact how can most people justify eating animals when they are Sedentary, heheeeheh I was thinking about how 90percent of the world is not excercising, but they most still eat animals....shouldn't we have to earn the right to eat animals by chasing them down and killing them....don't most carnivores have to work very hard physically before getting their dinner...?? something to think about...


Today:
Running 1 hour
walking 1hour

yesterday food intake ALL RAW BABBBBBBBBBYYY!!!
20 small bannanas for meal number ONE
snack--one coconut water
meal#2
1 cup of fresh pineaple (sooo sweet here in Medan!!)
2lbs of durian chunks

From NIAS to Medan 24 hours of travel

Wow, I am in Medan finally.....took a taxi for 3hours, then overnight ferry boat to Sibolga for 8hours, then waited for minivan to transport 8 of us to Medan. All indonesian men in the van smoked of course (90% of indomen smoke cigs). Cigarette companies market to kids at school events here and they are very successful in getting boys hooked. Men say that smoking makes you more of a MAN with more sex drive, Its fu____ing ridiculous to see huge cigarette billboards and banners around highschool soccer games here, and boys 10years old selling cigs. If we smoke cigs we are supporting this corruption.

Found delicious durian n MEDAN tonight....$1/kilo...creamy and more sweet than bitter.

Saw how they treat the chickens for sale here..they tie 3 chickens together by their legs and leave them out on the road flapping around in the hot sun, starving of thirst and hunger. When you approach a chicken seller they grab up the bunch by whatever they hold onto (wing, throat, feet, holding them upside down)..they show you the chickens feathers and then throw the bunch of chickens back down on the pavement and grab another 'squawking' bunch. As the chickens lay there, they periodically peck each others eyes out due to frustration, heat stroke, pain, etc.... The people treat the chickens like they would a plant, veggie or fruit (actually they treat the fruit much nicer)....Our slaughter houses are most likely as bad and worse, but we dont see it. Anyways enjoy that chicken taste as much as you can if you really have to continue supporting this violence simply for Taste, OR try a Tofu or Tempeh Burger for the chickens sake.

I am eating mostly RAW fruits and veggies, but now I am eating some cooked food each day. I know this is not the best for me but it is my drug addictive behaviour kicking in when I eat salty coconut veggie curry, I get all HIGH i guess....my transistion to 100% raw is a journey and I forgive myself for taking longer then i planned.

Today I ate some unhealthy food:
stirfried rice noodles
one cup of white rice
one cup of boiled in salt cabbage
1/4cup of roasted peanuts
one fried cracker

Felt yucky after all this and didnt eat for 7hours, then I ate 3lbs of RAW Organic, sweet, carmel flavoured Durian!!!

excercise:
walking briskly 3miles


leaving INDO for a while to recover from a bruised RIB cage from Surfing......I decided to go explore some NONsurfing part of the world while i recover...not sure yet...I will go to the airport and decide at last minute...maybe INDIA!

MEDAN is a major busy cluster of unorganized Chaos and pollution that somehow seems to operate effectively, not sure how its all done...crazy place to walk all around...the people are more friendly than any other big city I have ever experienced by FAR.

These kids are fruit deprived, salt sugar deathfood

In this small Village, Sorwaki Very little fruit is available. I do drink many coconuts here and find bananas and pineapples and papaya all fresh from local gardens and trees. The nearest fruit market is 12kilometers from here. I have two boys that I pay to go to the market for me each day by bus. It is very fun to create a fun job for the younger boys here. I always have them buy me enough fruit, so I can share with the local villagers here. I only share with all the kids to hopefully inspire the parents to buy their kids more fruit.
Today I walked down the street with my bag of "rambutans", which are like 'gold' around here. I was handing them out to all the kids I would come upon on my walk. Each kid gets a about 4 rambutans from me. They are very gracious and excited. Whenever the adults ask for some, I say, "this fruit is for the children". I can see they really want to eat some too and taste the wonderful taste of fruit. They all could find a way to eat more fruit, but they get into their RICE routine and keep eatin it because it is easier and cheaper. The kids are so young they don't have choices, so i like to give it ALL to them and turn down the adults.

Latest meal was:
2 large coconuts
one 8lb watermelon

last night dinner:
tomato and cucumber salad
2small boiled potatos
huge plate of slightly steamed cabbage, beans, carots, cucumbers, tomatos
peanut sauce to dip the veggies in made with salt, peanuts, msg, and sugar (death cancer condiments, the pleasure of eating it, overiding the health and environmental disasterous pain)
(High water content food, but not all raw, on the "transition back to raw " path for a while)

ACTIVITIES:
surfing twice 4hour total
reading book in hammock
1hour nap
1hour internet
strolling around village
meditation 30minutes

Surfing Again in NIAS!!, ate cooked food, Rawvegan wannabe

This is a wonderful Surfing location.....in NIAS, a large island 4hours by speed boat from Sumatra. I am in a village called "Sorwaki". There is a perfect Right hand Reef Point Break here that is very consistent. The locals are calling it "Flat" today, but I just finished a 3hour session of Shoulder High waves. The water is about 80degrees, the weather is always perfect around 80degrees. Massive Coconut trees line the beaches here. About 10 guesthouses (Loseman's) here that are $3-6/night, all facing the perfect point breaking surf. Hammocks to rest in and read and watch the beautiful scenery. The guesthouses are all family owned and an interesting way to get to meet the local people. They get upset if you go eat at some other house for dinner, so be prepared to eat their dinners or be a RAWVEGAN and eat all the Tropical fruits you care for and watch them be Suprised.

I am loving this place!! After a long bicycle ride through Sumatra for 3 full DAYs of pedaling through Miles of villages and jungles and cities with such diversity. I was the first white tourist that most people had ever seen before. Feeling like an Alien from another Planet did get a little Old. Even when resting by a stream in the countryside I had kids finding me and coming to stare at me while I rested in silence. I had to be very selective about where I stopped my bicycle, rarely stopping in a village for more than 5minutes due to MASSIVE swarming of friendly local Indonesian children and people swarming me and looking at me.

I had some Local Police come to my room one night in a city in the middle of nowhere...I was getting ready to sleep and they pounded on my door demanding identification and questioning me...Very scary...I was cooperative...I realize they probably thought I was some SPY or something not a tourist. Most Tourists go to touristic places only, so it was too shocking for them to understand. All went well and I moved on in the morning.


FOOD intake lately:

meal #1
7 bananas

snack
Coconut water

meal #2
5 bananas
1cup of steamed white rice
2cups of stirfryed veggies (with possibly MSG)
2cups of roasted peanuts in a shell, salted too.

(I was Fruit deprived and lonely and wanted some 'Comfort' Food, completely uneccessary emotional eating).
RAWVEGAN Wannabe lately.
I justify some cooked vegan food if no delicious fruit available on the roads....now I am constipated and slight headache for 3days due to dehydrated cooked foods when my body is normally so 'clean' from many months of JUICY fruits and veggies.


ACTIVITIES:
surfed 3hours today so far!!! feel wonderfully nourished by water and nature and movement

VIDEO: Harley and I cycling through fruit orchard

Video: candlelight dinner at Malay Market....

Harley films part of the outdoor night market in Teluk Bahang. He finds me there too.

Harley talks about cooked food cravings.....

I film Harley and ask him about cravings on Raw. We are on a fruit farm in Penang.