"Monkey’s Chasing Dragons"

This past June I had the opportunity to once again be a guest on-board a Peter Hughes live-aboard, “The Komodo Dancer.” Being that this was my fourth boat, I was pretty excited, not only was I able to go to Bali, Indonesia, I was able to meet up with my favorite cousin, “Curly Boy Hamilton.” As the plane landed at an airport called Denpasar, in the middle of the night, there we were again in a foreign land "where people wear really funny hats."

We spent our first four nights at the Four Seasons Resort. A very nice representative took us on a one hour drive way up into the hills, to the Four Seasons Sayan. Here we were able to go mountain bike riding, hiking, and spend a whole day river rafting.

Bali is known for its teak furniture, pottery, vases, batik fabrics, and shopping, one of my favorite pastimes. The only problem I find when it comes to shopping is it’s very hard to find a small shirt for a little guy like me, but we did find some cute shorts that say Bali on them. 

After a few days of wondering around we made our way down to Sanur, to board the Komodo Dancer, it’s a big wooden sail boat. The crew was so happy to meet us, "it was like one big welcoming committee waiting on the boat for two little monkey boys to jump on." 

Our host was Carine, she was a very cute French girl! Yes, I had a little crush. It took us 21 hours to reach Komodo National Park, and I just can’t put it into words how beautiful everything was. From the diving, to the land excursions, this trip was amazing!


My favorite part, besides seeing big sharks, and Pygmy Seahorse underwater, was visiting the dragons! Several days into the adventure we got to get off the boat and go to the Komodo National Park where we saw live Komodo Dragons. They were big and scary; I had to protect my cousin Curly because I was the bravest. The dragons don’t breath fire or anything like that, you just don’t see these creatures on a daily basis, so you are not sure what to expect.

 
Our last night on the boat was spent partying. The crew threw a big party just for Curly and me, "well actually it was for everyone." But we were the life of it; everyone wanted to dance with us.

Overall I have to say thank you again to Continental Airlines and Peter Hughes. The crew on-board the Komodo Dancer was great. I loved every dive, from the big sharks to the tiny seahorses, and all the colorful corals. I can’t wait to do it again. Oh, and next time you can do it with me. Sign up now for my trip next September, I am going back to Bali onboard the Komodo Dancer to do it all again, come and join the fun!




“I Survived Vanuatu”

Another trip on Air Pacific Airlines, by now I’m a pro, but this time I got to sit in my own seat with everyone else. I am on my way to the “Island of Fire.” A small group of Islands called Vanuatu , just west of Fiji. It’s a direct flight to Nadi, and from there connect to an Air Pacific plane for Port Vila, Vanuatu.

The sky is filled with sunshine as the plane begins to land. I exit with excitement, another adventure is about to begin. I get off the plane and immediately I am being greeted by cheering people, “wow all that for me, I guess monkeys are new to Port Vila.” Music and friendly faces fill the air; all around people are smiling, welcoming us here to their island. 

A shuttle picks us up from the airport and takes us to our temporary home. We sure moved around a lot on this trip.  In Port Villa we stayed at Le Meridien, and Poppy’s. At Le Meridien there’s a long suspension bridge leading to bungalows that sit over the water. I was pretty nervous to cross the bridge, but I did it, boy I felt so proud. We dove out front another resort called Hideaway Island. Here, underwater, rests the first ever underwater post office. I wrote a postcard underwater and even mailed it. I was a little suspicious at first, but the postcard made it home to my friends and family in the states.

One of my favorite parts of this trip was a visit to the local market, where in front of everyone, I stripped down, “I felt a little embarrassed,” as the market people handcrafted me a brand new purple shirt, my favorite color. 



I visited some local villages; now at first glance this can be a very frightening experience. You see, there were two skulls, “not monkey like” marking the entrance to this village, but I soon learned that the skulls were a sign of appreciation to some high ranking elders, “phew, what a sigh of relief for the monkey boy.”






I played with children, and was even given flowers.  My trip to Vanuatu was a great experience, one I hope everyone gets a chance to enjoy. Thank you to Sue Herrick from Vanuatu Tourism Office, Air Pacific Airlines, and the many resort and hotels that treated us all to a lifetime experience. I had a really great time.

Photos: Monkey Boy Jones Aboard the Peter Hughes Sky Dancer

Photos: Monkey Boy Jones Aboard the Truk Odyssey