Welcome to your fountain of youth. Not too proud for immaturity over here. Life's a journey, not a destination. So follow by example and follow mine. And OCCUPY THIS.
Spent my last day in Bali with none other than Peter Hughes. A survivor of the 2002 Bali bombings and renowned Australian public speaker. The guy's been through more in this life (and technically died 3 times) than you or I could imagine. Speaking with him really puts it all into perspective: Life's short. Live it.
His story is inspirational and his attitude and generosity are even more so. An all around fantastic person, I am lucky to have made his, as well as his friend Rippy's, acquaintance. Couldn't have planned a BETTER ending to this epic Australian and Balinese adventure.
As I prepare for the next port of call in this around the world in 90 days tour (hint: Europe!) my first order of business is to pick up a copy of Peter's book, "Back from the Dead". I'm sure it will be just as thought-provoking as hearing his story in person.
Cheers to staying alive, Peter! You inspire us all to do the same.
For more information, following is an article from the BBC that gives a brief overview of his ordeal.
Bali bomb survivor: How my life has changed
By Duncan KennedyBBC News, Perth
21 June 2012 Last updated at 15:53
A court in Indonesia has jailed for 20 years Umar Patek, the man accused of making the bombs which killed more than 200 people in Bali in 2002. Among those killed were 88 Australians - and among those who survived was Peter Hughes, from Perth.
"I was just ordering a drink at the bar, when the first blast went off. I thought it might have been gas explosion," he recalls.
He said he found himself dazed by the explosion and staggered outside.
"It was a bit like a war zone," he says. "There were people who's hair was smoking and others with their clothing shredded."
But the horror wasn't over.
"Then there was a second blast, a car bomb, I think and that created more chaos. I knew I was injured, but I didn't feel any pain. I just remember seeing lots off bodies everywhere. You don't forget that," he said.
The hours and days ahead would reveal that there would be 202 bodies, nearly all tourists, drawn to Bali on the promise of a few days or weeks in Paradise.
"I'll never forget 12 October 2002," says Peter. "We were supposed to have a few drinks with some friends. I still can't believe what happened, it's like living someone else's experience."
At his new, white-walled, apartment in central Perth, Peter pulls out a large brown book.
It's his Bali photograph album, filled with the images, articles and headlines of the attack and nearly each one featuring Peter, himself, in its aftermath.
In one photo he's unrecognisable, his face bloated by the ferocity of the debris hitting his face during the attack.
In another, the only bits of his body visible are his finger and toe tips, everything else is covered with bandages as part of the hospital attempts to heal his burns.
"I had to be put into a coma for a month," he says. "To reduce the pressure on my brain. It's taken 10 years to get fully well."
At that point Peter lifts the trouser on his left leg to reveal a deeply scarred calf. He then lifts his shirt to show me where a shard of glass lacerated his stomach.
"I was covered in so many cuts and wounds, these are just the worst ones," he says.
"I feel lucky," says Peter, in one unexpected comment.
"I don't get many nightmares, or flashbacks and I don't mind asking about it as I feel it's better to be open about what I went through."
Peter Hughes hasn't been a bystander to the trial of Umar Patek.
At the request of the authorities, he travelled to Indonesia to give a witness impact statement to the judges.
"I didn't want to go," he says. "But I felt I owed it to the families of those killed, to give them a connection between those who lived and those who died."
It was a painful process.
Peter came face to face with Umar Patek in the courtroom, sitting just a few paces apart from each other.
"I just said what I wanted to say," says Peter. "I said that the bombings had left me feeling isolated, depressed, lonely, but, above all, very, very angry."
His opinion of Patek, himself, is equally stark.
"He's nothing, just a coward," he says.
Hughes in Bali for the trial of Amrozi Nurhasyim in 2003
You don't have to spend too much time in Peter's company to feel his intensity.
He admits that he's gone from being a carefree, 42-year-old man who went to Bali as part of his everyday mission to enjoy himself, to being a more introverted 52-year-old, somewhat reflective and much more serious.
"I have changed, but I try to just live my life as best I can," he says.
During his extended period of convalescence, Peter has immersed himself not only in his own construction company, but also in setting up a burns foundation to help people caught in fires.
"I don't have feelings of guilt, like some people who survive horrific experiences," he says. "But I do feel as though I have to give something back and the Burns Foundation helps me do that."
With the end of the trial and the 10th anniversary of the bombing approaching, Peter finds himself in a contemplative frame of mind.
"I try not to be bitter, I try to see the best in people, but I also see the worst," he says.
"I am, by nature, an aggressive person, but the Bali attacks helped make me a more humane person, a more compassionate one. I think the experience has actually made me a better person."
And here he is now... Meet Dewa! Bali's FINEST! Finest tour guide, that is. He's informative and fun. And refers to himself in the third person. An added bonus!! He loves New York. I love Bali. A symbiotic relationship :)
Captains Log. Day 9 in the Outback. 08 hundred hours. Lame Crocodile Dundee Meets Wolf Creek Murderer Incarnate
Day 9 in the outback and it has been determined with unquestionable precision that THIS New Yorker is not cut out for life in "the bush". Post managing to sprain BOTH ankles on hikes through Australia's red center, the only appropriate nickname for yours truly from here on out is "Lame Crocodile Dundee" (with which our tour guide wholeheartedly agrees). Yes, my dear friends, the Outback is unrivaled in its complete and total smack down on Manhattan in what has been an epic battle between big city vs what could be earth's final unexplored frontier (or Mars, depending on your perspective). Yes, the outback reigns supreme with a complete shut out... outback: 3 (killer ants, AKA: assholes + 2 sprained ankles) NYC not even making it onto the board. #epicfail. However, though the outback seems to have emerged victorious in the rugged outdoors competition, New York managed to eek out a victory of its own by witnessing some of the most stunning scenery in the country and possibly the world. In that way, we are both winners (but only one of us is limping)
On the bright side, with the ankles convalescing nicely, the 10k hikes behind us, and the close of our Outback adventure approaching rapidly, we can collectively heave a sigh of relief that we are still alive...for now...For as we embark from Alice Springs on the final leg of our epic (fail) journey, it has become disturbingly apparent that our friendly tour guide may or may not be the "wolf creek murderer", as I've so fondly dubbed him. Not familiar with the movie Wolf Creek? Allow me to enlighten you. There was a dude with long hair and beard who gruesomely murdered a bunch of backpackers traveling through Australia, one of which got away to describe her attacker (who happens to look suspiciously similar to our beloved tour guide) to the police. This formed the basis for the movie Wolf Creek, which occurred in a charming little one shop town called Barrow Creek. Not surprisingly, our guide was questioned in the case, given that he too has long hair and a beard (and may or may not have actually murdered unruly tourists who refused to get up on time or wash dishes). I am merely basing this potential scenario on the number of murder jokes that have arisen over the last 24 hours...(currently in the double digits with no signs of stopping anytime soon) Kinda funny. But not funny like "haha" but funny like "uh-oh". Apparently murder is on many a mind round these parts...dun dun!
As the group collectively wonders whether we will make it to Darwin alive, we continue to take in quintessential Aussie outback scenery...such as the Devils Marbles, quaint roadhouses and miles and miles of not really much of anything (except a sea of termite hills, a kangaroo here and there and the occasional "elusive dingo", which "Murderer Número UNO" continues to point out and I continue to NOT see). Luckily we are tantalizingly close to the maturanka Thermal pool where we hope to avoid becoming crocodile bait while swimming in a lagoon.
Captain signing off. Over and out for now. More updates to follow (unless we are eaten by crocodiles, bitten by snakes, abducted by aliens, or murdered in our sleep at the hands of our friendly tour guide...only time will tell)
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