still here. food and a roof, bed, air conditioning and a hot shower for the minimal work we’re doing is too good to pass up.

the other day in the heat, the high-pitched mechanical sounding tune of the crickets our soundtrack, covered in a layer of sweat, we followed the power lines and hiked to the non-functioning (the island uses diesel for power) wind turbines and solar panels at the top of the north end of the island. we saw a monitor lizard that must have been two metres long, and scores of butterflies. tom led the way armed with a stick he waved frantically in front of himself to destroy the webs of the army of spiders in our way.

at the top, we stood and looked down at the view (pictures to come): turquoise stretching away to the horizon, lush green, and a huge staircase to nowhere. we descended, and tried to climb the rocks back to long beach. after about forty-five minutes of rather strenuous exercise we turned back, out of water and energy. we stopped at a drizzle of water from a spring that made a natural shower in a crevasse in the rock. deliciously cold and drinkable, it gave us what we needed to go on.

it seems everything needed to go on is here. it’s the most relaxed and beautiful place i’ve ever been.

soon we’ll be taking our open water diving course, enabling us to dive anywhere in the world. snorkeling itself is almost enough: just off the shore there are thousands of fish of every colour and size you can imagine. the other day tom saw a shark, and i saw a squid. the island and the ocean around it is teeming with life.

well, i’ll leave you here. saya rindu awak kawan (“i miss you friends” in the local dialect).

we arrived in the perhentian islands about four days ago. i say “about” because it’s hard to keep track of time in a place like this. culture shocked after our fourteen hour overnight train ride from the bustling sewer-scented kuala lumpur, we accepted a ride from a local to kuala besut. the woman who sold us our boat tickets to the islands unnecessarily apologized for the weather (which was, and has been, perfect) as it’s the off season. we waited amidst smiling locals, hopped on the boat, and were taken here.

the most memorable words spoken as we walked down the dock were “this place would kick most postcards’ ass”.

it’s just what you imagine when you hear the word “paradise”; a sickly sweet but thoroughly incredible cliche of white sands, palm trees, grinning locals, delicious food and affordable, comfortable accommodation. minutes from our room is a beach with, just offshore, a teeming world of fish and coral straight out of a nature program. for just $10 each, we went on a half-day snorkeling tour and saw massive turtles, black-tipped sharks, and every colour of fish imaginable. watching them crowd together in front of our faces, fighting for cracker crumbs we crumpled under the surface, was like nothing i’ve ever experienced.

we’ll be working for maybe a week or two for food and accommodation at shangri-la, the resort where we’re staying. next we push on, up through thailand.

the happiest song i’ve ever written in my entire life

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i’ve got a pair of sandals and they serve me well
i’ve got the sun on my shoulders and a wishing well
i’ve got the ground below and the sky above
i’ve got friends at home who are still in love

and the seconds go by tick tick tick tick
it’s our world and i’m living on it

i’ve got some things to lose and the world to gain
thoughts that bring me pleasure, thoughts that bring me pain
i’ve got the means to stay and the means to go
i could make a choice or go with the flow

and the days go by flip flip flip flip
this is life and i’m living it

there’s a story that i could tell you
might leave you feeling good or leave you feeling blue
it’s the past and future and the now, all one
it’s a dove and a rose and a car and a gun

and the years go by bit by bit
it’s the truth and i’m dealing with it
and as time goes by tick tick tick
i am loving every bit

48 hours of hard work, ha! this is to fill in the gap between sydney and melbourne. i wrote it all at bondi, shut away in my room, sunburnt to hell, emerging only at night to revel in the southern sky… enjoy. remember: only 48 hours.

evergreen

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a steep street down in summer sunshine to the seaside
i’m watching turquoise crash and wash away at my feet

a wad of bills to buy myself some time alone
there’s no one in the world who knows just how to find me now

the summer stretches on and on into the future
a bus roars by as sand is displaced under my feet

i’m crazy cause i’m wanting for a different shade of green
when cold comes it holds on to branches
holds on to me

trains

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i’ll keep it inside
i’ll keep it alive
not letting it go
not letting it show

everything is new
(so i’m) i’m taking it to you
everything is new
so i’m taking it to you
i’m taking it to you.

sunlight
too bright
dirt under my red nails
under
some queen
breathe in stale air tonight

humid
humour
stay dry drink dry don’t ask me why
asking
questions
i know you know the answers to

cut it
leave it
split ends split mind i can’t decide
can’t reach
out to
the people i am closest to

i’ll be on my way
there’s lots to do today
i won’t meet your eye
as i say goodbye

every grain of sand
every line in my hand
is all i have to show
for letting this go
letting this go
letting this go
letting this go
letting this go.

hospital

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the future isn’t now
that place isn’t here
so it isn’t real

you are not my friend
you’ll never know enough
so it isn’t yours

you asked me for too much
you’re not the one i want
what does it take?

i am not okay
someone check me in
someone hold me close
and never let me go

we’ll shut ourselves inside
and turn off all the lights
forget about the world
let simpler things unfurl

if only for a day
chase all my fears away
leave protest for the rest
consider ourselves blessed

and i will whisper words
that you have never heard
i don’t know who you are
but you can have my heart

buy another thing
to make your footsteps ring
so you’ll shine and whir

you’d better not eat those
it’s the choices that you make
that will bend and break

so many ways to think
it drives you to the brink
and there’s no right way
what does it take?

i am not okay
someone check me in
someone hold me close
and never let me go

we’ll shut ourselves inside
and turn off all the lights
forget about the world
let simpler things unfurl

if only for a day
chase all my fears away
leave protest for the rest
consider ourselves blessed

and i will whisper words
that you have never heard
i don’t know who you are
but you can have my heart

flick/thump

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this song is a joke
i’m not even at that party anyways
whatever
i’m going to the beach ch ch ch ch ch …

friends

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goodnight, goodnight to you and me
there’s still a few hours when we both are asleep
sometimes i feel so far away and alone
can’t wait until the days when i am home

but when i come i will bring this summer sun
to light your days
and stories to tell while we sit all together again
my friends

i long for a small town where sun sets on sea
with a score of people that i know love me
and a small flat that’s near everything that i need
why’d i leave? why’d i leave?

but one thing you showed me is how to make the best of what i have
and that’s what i’ll do until i can see your faces again, my friends