Indonesian Odyssey

The last month of my life has been spent in Indonesia, surfing , travelling, partying and searching for adventures outside of those on offer in Norn Iron. 6 flights and countless boat journeys later im back in Bangor facing a summer of poor weather and familiar faces although im not upset about it, im actually quite excited. Ive missed out on the summer in Bangor the last few years now and although its not on power weatherwise, there is still something special I think about summers here.
Travelling in Indonesia has been my ambition for the last year and just like Africa , Australia/New Zealand, America/Hawaii as soon as the trip came to an end I could feel my desire to travel grow again. One thing ive learn't in my limited travel experience is that when you fulfill a travel desire it opens up a void leaving you even more desperate to travel. Im not sure why it is, I mean before I went I listed reasons why I love travelling but the inherent desire and almost addictive nature of it is something that continues to strike me as nonsense.It seems one can never fulfill the desire to travel. I think of Ran Fiennes here, he is well into his 60,s yet still has the desire to explore and achieve new ambitions, I wander If I will have that desire when Im older.
One thing which struck me on this trip in particular was the how the world is a small place and is rapidly becoming spoiled. Travelling in places like Ozz, NZ, South East Asia etc it is almost impossible to get of the beaten track. When you see a local working in the rice fields instead of selling tourists stuff it is usually a pretty good indicator but it seems harder and harder to find. For the times in Indo when I got away from the crowds and saw the culture I am glad. For the times when the locals snubbed me and were racist to me , I am glad as I wanted to see the culture and I was fortunate enough to see it.
Indonesia filled a hole for me, although as I mentioned it opened up ten more which now need filled. When I look back on a trip I measure it usually by the people Ive met , the culture ive experienced and my desire to travel again afterwards. This one seems to have fulfilled all of those. Travel is about highs and lows, and I can say that I most definently experienced highs and lows heres, I think the extremity of these rates the type of trip you,ve had and in this case it reached both extremes.
Indonesia gave me what I wanted and more. There are things I will remember forever from this trip , there are things I will wander for ever....in fact if anyone has an answer to the following question please tell me...OK in Indonesia when one goes into the toilet there is NO toilet roll. Akk you will find is a bucket of water to flush but also a pitcher. Now people have suggested that locals fill this pitcher with water and throw it at there backside. This is surely nonsense as in which case they would be completely soaked and never have I seen a local anything but dry when leaving the bathroom. This to me and every westerner I have met is a mystery. There is simply no solutions bar they use their hands and I refuse to beleive this, so if anyone knows please enlighten me.
Anyway to all those who made my trip better, thankyou. To all those who I will meet on my next trip I look forward to meeting you. For better or worse this trip is one to remember and truely was the Odyssey I was looking for.