These are pics I took while at one of our suppliers in Indonesia, some of these corals will be coming in later this week.
There are four exporters I regularly visit, each has a different mix of stock. One has all cultured corals, another has mixed Pieces of the Reef and standard corals, and two others specialize in high-end corals. So, each trip brings different surprises.
The trip is about 25 hours of flying time, which means about 2 days of real time. I arrive there about midnight and that means to reset my body clock I stay awake the entire time going there so I can sleep when I get there since Indonesia is 12 hours ahead on my time at home. Often I'm on the ground there just 1.5 to 2 days, occasionally as long as a week, but usually just a couple days. It's a mad scramble to pick and sort through thousand and thousands of corals and prepare them for export. All the paperwork and permits are prepared beforehand, so these trips require lots of coordination and planning. I'm either traveling or planning and preparing all the time, one trip ends while plans are already well in the works for the next, usually a schedule is made up for 6 months or more in advance.
While I'm there its a challenge staying healthy and alert. My body clock is struggling as is my immune system. You can't drink the water unless it's purified bottled, and most of the food is very challenging as well. It's gotten to the degree that prophylactic antibiotics are needed. On the trip back I try to sleep as much as possible because I return in the morning and my body is saying I'm on Indo time 12 hours ahead, it's a whirlwind.
All in all its a challenging ordeal, but something that become a routine. Some think it crazy and others think it glamorous, but it's just what I do.
