Photo by johnstanmeyer | While working on a story on piracy in the Malacca Straits, I visited Mendol, a remote island in Indonesia's Riau region. The population on Mendol is small. Very small. Google "Mendol Island," and you'll discover the only mention is a rice mill, with a photograph of a shed that looks to be from the '40s or '50s. It's as if Mendol doesn't exist. I was told to visit the pool hall in Teluk Dalam. That afternoon I spent a few hours in this hall, as milky-green light poured in on the few tables, occupied continuously with serious players. Instead of enduring another disgraceful loss (I enjoy billiards, but I'm terrible at it), I drank coffee and talked to men who were laborers on nearby islands or farm their land. Everyone was kind—the beauty of Indonesian culture—and extremely welcoming. There was an energy of desperation, though, as if everyone was waiting to go somewhere else, to do something more. To see more of my work, please follow johnstanmeyer. #indonesia #r...