Surfing Sumba

by Erik Olsen on

I asked a buddy of mine recently to tell me one of the best places he’s ever surfed. Sumba, he told me. I’d never
heard of it. So, I googled it and sure enough, there is was:
Sumba.

Sumba is an east-Indonesian island, located south-east of Bali. It used to be known as the Sandalwood Island because
of the ample presence of the odiferous wood. The people of the island are known as Sumbanese.  There are two main
places to stay on the islanjd: Manggudu Island and Mr. David’s.

Give this site a look. What a paradise this is. Surfing, excellent
waves, great food

“Forbidden” Niihau

by Nino Marchetti on

Have you ever had the chance to explore Niihau? This most “forbidden” of the Hawaiian Islands (usually seen only at
a distance, like the photo on the right) is virtually untouched by tourists and developers, mainly due to the
influences of the island’s owners to keep it pristine and shelter the native Hawaiians who live in the only village.
This leaves people like the San Francisco Chronicle’s Jeanne Cooper
“eavesdropping at
the edges of Niihau” through a handful of organized tours.

Angkor Wat Getting Robbed

by Erik Olsen on

There are few places as amazing as Angkor Wat. I was
there two years ago, and vividly remember coming upon the ruins there for the first time, how they seemed to rise
out of the mist and transport me back 500 years. The place took my breath away. And so it is with profound sadness that
I read this article on the looting
that is taking place at Angkor today. Cambodia is a very poor place. Happily, it has overcome the horrors of its recent
past, and there is something that might almost be called a vibrant optimism in places like Phnom Penh today.  But
it is still third world, and so the resources to protect the countries’ amazing antiquities is just not there.

The Big Texas

by Erik Olsen on

Compass Magazine is a new site that come to my attention recently. It calls itself “The Tiniest Magazine to Cover
the Globe”, a rather ambitious task. Well, keeping things a bit closer to home, this
article on Texas was kinda cool. It captures nicely the
spirit of the state, it’s BIGness, its bombast, it’s aburdity. Where else can you have a 72-ounce steak that is free so
long as you eat the whole thing…alone?

Outdoor Mysteries

by Erik Olsen on

From Crop Circles to Sasquatch to the Mothman, mysteries abound in the
outdoors. Outside’s Bruce Barcott and other writers
delve into some of the more
perplexing and enduring mysteries and puzzles…for example, my favorite: what happened to
DB Cooper? Did he live to spend
his millions (was it that much?). Well, you won’t get the answer here, but it will refresh your memory of some of these
perplexing occurences.