My first visit to the world’s fourth-most-populous country.
It would take a LONG time to explore over 17,000 islands!
I flew into Surabaya, the 2nd largest city, for the great airfare.
Location-wise it was ideal for me jumping off to the Bromo volcano climb.
That said, Surabaya has little to offer for the tourist. It’s mostly a loud, polluted sprawl. Transportation is difficult.
I’ll leave for Malang as quickly as possible.
I’m moving back to Calgary … or — more accurately — going on the road full-time. In fact, I’m en route to Indonesia today.
Rob & Yvonne sold the house in Parksville where my parents lived their last years.
It was a perfect retirement home for them.
I’d been spending a lot more time in Parksville over recent years helping out my folks.
But Dad died in March.
Dad originally wanted to move to the left coast for fishing.
Mom for the weather, gardening, and … bocce ball.
A few years after my parents, my brother Rob and his wife Yvonne decided to move to Parksville, as well. They bought a 2nd house. AND got married in that Parksville home.
Randy and Val made long trips from Calgary, especially enjoying the annual Sandcastle Building competition and LIVE music at the Park.
I was born and raised in Calgary, the high prairie. Ocean and rain forest were a big attraction for me.
Most mornings, I’d get up for dawn and take coffee down to Rathtrevor Beach.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Evenings, I’d often walk down to Parksville Beach at dusk.
Mom played a lot of tiles. And then cards, as her vision worsened over the years.
The most popular addition to town was Charlie during COVID.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Climate is mild in Parksville, year round. You can walk and cycle every day of the year.
Surprisingly, Dad wanted to get an electric trike in 2019. That was fun. Rob and Yvonne later got 2 electric motorcycles.
We did get a few days of snow each year.
I’ll definitely miss Parksville, B.C.
A great lifestyle.
The McCharles family first came here in the 1960s on family summer vacation. We’d park the homemade camper right on the beach.
I’d taken morning coffee at Rathtrevor beach over 2,000 days over the years. This was my last. Quite overcast after the first hard rain in weeks.
Jo Piazza is a novelist, journalist, and podcaster.
I read The Sicilian Inheritance (2024) mainly because I‘ve never been to Sicily. An unforgivable oversight on my part.
It kept me going. Both the modern day story of Sara, there for the first time. AND the story of her great-grandmother Serafina in the bad, old days when women were treated like chattel ➙ kept me going.
I’d almost place this book in the Romance genre.
Sara Marsala barely knows who she is anymore after the failure of her business and marriage.
On top of that, her beloved great-aunt Rosie passes away, leaving Sara bereft with grief.
But Aunt Rosie’s death also opens an escape from her life and a window into the past by way of a plane ticket to Sicily, a deed to a possibly valuable plot of land, and a bombshell family secret.
Rosie believes Sara’s great-grandmother Serafina, the family matriarch who was left behind while her husband worked in America, didn’t die of illness as family lore has it . . . she was murdered.
Thus begins a twist-filled adventure that takes Sara all over the picturesque Italian countryside as she races to solve a mystery and learn the story of Serafina—a feisty and headstrong young woman in the early 1900s thrust into motherhood in her teens, who fought for a better life not just for herself but for all the women of her small village. Unsurprisingly the more she challenges the status quo, the more she finds herself in danger.
Piazza wrote this fictional novel inspired by the real life murder of her great, great grandmother, Lorenza Marsala, more than a 100 years ago.
Arriving SURABAYA Aug. 19, 2025.
I got a great price on Cathay Pacific out of Vancouver ➙ CAD $512.77 (USD $370.97) including seat selection.
En route to the World Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta in October.
For Indonesia, and beyond — I’m taking less hiking gear. More electronics. 😀
That’s what I’ll be carrying on my back, plus food & liquids.
Two pairs of shoes: city and hiking.
Here’s the full list. Click and scroll if on a computer. Some phones and iPads won’t show embedded PDFs.
Apologies for the format and errors. It’s from my list on PackWizard.com. A great service — but very limited in how you can export your data.
My parents lived in Parksville on Vancouver Island for the past 17 years.
I’ve spent more and more time with them there over recent years.
Sadly, Dad died in March at age-94.
Mom died suddenly and unexpectedly in May at age-96. That was traumatizing.
My brother Rob and his wife owned my parents home. It’s up for sale as I post.
We’ve packed up 243 Hickey Ave. I purged as many of my own possessions as I could as part of my philosophy of Voluntary Simplicity.
Drove the rest of the junk to Calgary on July 12, 2025.
Woke at 4am. Ferry at 6:15am. Passed North Vancouver at 8:20am. Arrived at my brother Randy’s place in Calgary 9:30pm. No delays en route.
About C$270 in fuel. Nearly that much in coffee, as well. 😀
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Weirdly, as executor, my name is currently listed as owner of Dad’s truck. (I’ve not owned a motor vehicle for much of the past 25 years.)
I still consider Calgary to be home.
Of course I’m totally disappointed with recent Provincial conservative governments. Current premier Danielle Smith is too Trump-lite for me. For example, as I post, the rate of measles in Alberta is even worse than in Texas. Smith encourages ReTrumplican misinformation on all kinds of topics.
On the other hand, born and raised in Calgary, I consider anyone NOT born in Calgary to be some kind of vermin. 😀
Unwanted immigrants.
If Trump was in charge of the 51st state, he’d spend a lot of taxpayer money to have Canadians attacking other Canadians. In Canada.
We could round up the invaders and drop them off the other side of the Alberta border. 😀
I’ve watched a LOT of cycling gear videos. This is by far the coolest.
Quek Shio is a director / creator / cyclist from Malaysia.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I was given a one year premium membership to an app called GPSmyCity.
… over 6,500 self-guided walks in 1,500+ cities around the world, featuring the best of each city, from world famous attractions to hidden gems.
Born and raised in Calgary, I decided to first try the Sculptures in Calgary Walking Tour. It includes those walkable from the city centre.
I downloaded to be used offline.
And followed the recommended route as closely as possible.
This installation was closed due to construction.
3) Family of Man
My personal favourite. Family of Man is a 21 feet tall set of sculptures … that reflect raceless, naked and expressionless human women and men. All sculptures are combined in groups and each one of them extend their hands in gesture of goodwill and fellowship.
My second favourite.
Too cluttered in my opinion.
9) Brick Couch
The Brick Couch has been removed. Or possibly moved. The app should be updated now and again as changes are inevitable.
The installation below is NOT in GPSmyCity, but could be included as it’s exactly en route.
10) Hanging Out
The least impressive was this display of frogs, now damaged. It could be removed from GPSmyCity.
I’ve traveled 90+ nations and will DEFINITELY use this app into the future. It’s far superior to have an easy-to-follow highlights walk than to wander randomly through new cities.
Navigation worked fairly well for me.
My biggest recommendation is that the app replace the current voice. It’s hilariously outdated compared with ALL the current realistic A.I. text to speech products.
Interested? The app offers many more travel tips.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
After 20 years having a family home in Parksville B.C., … I FINALLY got to lovely Milner Gardens near Qualicum Beach. It’s open Thursday to Sunday during the good weather months.
Prince Charles and Diana visited 1986. Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth stayed in 1987.
Vancouver Island University acquired the estate in 1996 and converted the private gardens to a public garden.
The highlight today are huge old growth Douglas firs, cedar trees, and rare rhododendrons.
Click PLAY or watch a preview on YouTube.
Tickets $5 – $14 / person in 2025.
Special events are hosted here including: Christmas Magic, Easter Bunny Trail, Spring Solstice, etc.
A few of my photos.
Me fishing bass in Mexico … a couple 😀 of years ago.
There are many software options for upscaling.
The better the original, the better the upscaled version.
I used one that was a FREE website in March 2025 — if you upscaled only 1 photo at a time up to a maximum of 400%.
An amazing adventure.
Mick Turnbull and Danielle O’Hara. Four weeks in July.
Personal stories like this is what I love about YouTube.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Their trip report is posted on Bikepacking.com
