Today’s not quite been the one I expected, but it’s been an interesting one nonetheless. The ‘other half’ has been on day 2 of a 3 day ‘virtual retreat’ via the power of the Internet. This meant Dawn was up early – and so was I, which has given us both some productive time rather than just lazing around thinking “Sod it, it’s a Saturday in lockdown”…

This morning I penned a blog about the latest weapons-grade dishonest about the HS2 rail project. It’s certainly created a stir as no other Journalist seems to have bothered to question the guff about HS2 ‘desecrating’ a children’s memorial.

With that done and the weather having returned to being crap, I stayed in and spent time editing the pictures from Thursdays railway foray on the Harrogate loop as well as continuing to scan more old slides – one of which you’ll see in a minute. I’m gradually working my way through an album of travel pictures taken on the ‘grand-tour’ that Lynn and I took in 1997-99 and right now those pictures are of Indonesia. Looking back 22 years is quite a bitter-sweet experience, not least because of the fact Lynn’s been dead for seven years now, but also because it really was a different age – and one in which we had a ball! Let me explain. In 1998 Asia had suffered an economic crisis that crashed the currencies of many of the countries we were travelling through – Indonesia especially. For the Indonesians it was a terrible time that led to a destabilisation of the country and eventual downfall of the country’s dictator President. It also caused racially based riots as the countries Chinese community were made scapegoats by some. But, for tourists and travellers who arrived once things had settled down, it was very different. I’d been in Indonesia 3-4 years earlier. Then, £1 would have bought you around 3,500 Indonesian Rupiah. When Lynn and got the ferry over from Malaysia to Sumatra in July 1998 the exchange rate was 22,000 rupiah to the pound – yet prices for most things (in rupiah) had hardly changed! You were rich! To say this took the pressure off a couple backpacking would be an understatement. You didn’t have to count the pennies at all and as the pair of us were frugal anyway, money went a loonngg way. It was a vintage time to be travelling through SE Asia.

One place we pitched up at was a magical little place off the North Coast of Sumatra, Iboih on the island of Pulau Weh. Our time there deserves a blog in its own right as we had a fabulous time with a group of people who all really jelled. Because it was hard to get to – you must have really wanted to be there – and that made all the difference to the place. This was in the days before backpacking became ‘flashpacking’ where young people would parachute in and out of places via cheap airlines. Then, you went the ‘hard’ way by train, bus or ferry. So, here’s the picture of the day, the small but beautifully formed beach at Iboih, seen sometime between mid-to the end of July, 1998. We liked it so much our planned week turned into 16 days and even then we had to force ourselves to leave…

Just out of shot to the right is Rubiah Island, which you could swim to (and a group of us once did). The coral around here was gorgeous and it was absolutely teeming with different varieties of fish. Facilities at Ibioh were basic, the wooden bungalows were simple and had no showers. You bathed out in the open with water from the communal well! The group of people we met there had pitched up from all corners of the globe, but formed a community. Looking back at the pictures I’m scanning I realise that it was one of the few places we went to where I took lots of pictures of fellow travellers – some of whom I’m still in contact with today. So it will always hold special memories for me as a perfect moment in time – which is why I’ll never go back…

If you want to see more pictures of our travels, you can find them in this gallery on my Zenfolio picture website. I’ll be adding shots almost daily over the next few weeks.

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