Volcano Adventures
Since arriving on Bali in 1990 I was utterly fortunate to discover many aspects of Indonesia’s great culture. Being a Chef, food was obviously the main reason for settling on the island of God, Bali and with it I was blessed to document this delicious cultural aspect in 10 book publications. Bali Unveiled, Step-by-Step Cooking Balinese, Step-by-Step Cooking Indonesia, Street Foods of Bali, The Little Indonesian Cookbook, A Modern Approach to Indonesian Cooking, Images of Bali and Images of Indonesia.
Beside food, three other great passions of mine are extreme sport, mountain trekking, travelling and photography. I honestly cannot think of better place then Indonesia to pursue these enthusiasms than on the countless impressive and challenging volcanoes and mountains throughout Indonesia. Not only do volcanoes dominate the landscape of many of Indonesia’s over 17000 islands with their majestic smoking cones, they also fundamentally alter the size and soil by spewing forth millions of tons of ash and debris at irregular intervals. Of the hundreds of volcanoes throughout the country, over 70 remain active and hardly a year passes without a major eruption, which inevitably bring major destruction and often lots of fatalities.
Magnificent Indonesia
Unfortunately Indonesia is far too often for the wrong reasons in the lime light of the world press. Terror, tsunamis, earthquakes, destructions of rain forest and corruption seem to be the favorite subject of the media. To my great disappointment very few people talk about the incredible cultural diversity of this nation, the enormous size, and totally forget to focus on the unbelievable beauty of this great country. Beside the unbelievable beauty of Indonesia, a nation is only as good as its inhabitants. I cannot think of another place on earth where you would find so many warm and kind people that are always delighted to look after you in a way normally only kings and royalty are treated. Hopefully these many colorful moments will encourage many readers to pack a good pair of quality hiking boots and a backpack big enough to store the impressions of the countless memorable discoveries awaiting one throughout Indonesia. Selamat Jalan and as a photographer always good light. Every trekking journey to these peaks will lead us into different parts and regions of Indonesia, which offer completely unique cultural aspects and traditions. Never would I leave home without bringing at least one camera to document these journeys visually. This gradually resulted in thousands of great images from these rugged escapes, which I enjoy sharing with anyone that likes to have a peak into these very isolated corners of Indonesia. Images on this side are not only limited to magic moments across Indonesia, but also but also a reflection from our many travels across the Globe.
