Quite a few years ago I watched a documentary on PBS about a pair of slightly eccentric English brothers who spent two decades travelling around Indonesia in the 1970's and 1980's. They brought film cameras and sound recording equipment intending only to make one short documentary about a trip on a Bugis pirate ship to the Spice Islands. They ended up building a house in Bali, travelling everywhere, shooting hundreds of hours of film, without ever bothering to edit it. The film cans lay rusting in their Bali house for years. Finally it was edited and a four part documentary culled from the footage. The documentary was produced by Ringo Starr and in a part 5 that was made 10 years later Mick Jagger makes an appearance. Weird. Anyway now the whole thing is on YouTube: Part 1 of part 1 below. Hope you like it as much as I did.
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12 comments:
That was really good. Do you think anyone has real adventures like these anymore? I tell you one thing, I wouldnt want to share my cabin with that plump cockroach.
Interesting. The fact that they did barely nothing with the footage for several years makes me think the sole reason for the adventure was insatiable wanderlust. The world needs people like this. Too risky and stark and difficult for me but I enjoy that those who are curious for up front, first hand experience survived and were able to (eventually) share something like this. How in hell did Ringo Starr get involved? Thanks for sharing this...an X-rated version of Adventures in Paradise.
Frankie
I found the idea of the leaky worm eaten bulkheads to be pretty worrying.
Trudy
I have no idea how Ringo Starr got involved or Mick Jagger come to that.
I saw an interview once with the editor who put the footage together and he said that the brothers had, I think, 1000 hours of film stock just sitting in piles in their house in Bali. He and they watched it all and crafted the documentary from the footage. Maybe it was Ringo Starr who paid for him to go and help them?
Adrian, you seem to have more than a touch of the wanderlust. Why did you leave Colorado? BTW, whilst trying to find a blog discussing your move from my state, I read your 2008 blog about the Boulder Bookstore. I'm really sorry they were so shabby to you. You shouldn't have allowed their banana nut muffins to lure you back. Here's an article you might relate to:
http://www.theonion.com/articles/author-promoting-book-gives-it-her-all-whether-its,19985/
Nah. Thats why they carry small childrens on board. Their little fingers are excellent plugs for holes in leaky bulkheads.
Trudy
Love the onion.
We were in Colorado for nine years. It was time to move on.
Frankie
And they did all the cooking.
Trudy
Oh and yeah the Boulder Bookstore? Total assholes but delicious makers of tea and muffins. If I was going to go to Boulder for one culinary treat it would either be for Illegal Pete's or that Nepalese soup place.
Do You mean Sherpa's on Walnut? Wonderful atmosphere and food but difficult for a vegan.
Great stuff. I'll try to watch more of it when I have some time.
I actually would be very surprised if something like it wasn't going on in many places even as we speak. It's kind of amazing, and really sort of hopeful, how many very different cultures still remain. A lot of young women are intrepid in this way right now, and I am lucky to know a few of them.
My own experience of travel is that you tend to play it a bit safe at first, and then opportunities present themselves and you tend to take bigger risks. Not always wise, of course, but often rewarding.
Random Comment: Just finished Hidden River on audio (I am a serious commuter). Really enjoyed it! I listened to the Dead Trilogy and was hooked from the jump. I grew up north of Boston so I particularly enjoyed the Dead Yard. It's funny though, Gerard Boyle will always be the voice of Michael Forsythe so it was nostalgic to hear him as Alexander Lawson but odd since they are such different characters.
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