Edge of Nowhere

Volcano National Park, Oahu, and final thoughts (pt. II)

zatar21 — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 22:20:00 +0000

Tim and I are in the airport at a self-service kiosk to print out our boarding passes. There is a computer problem not locating our ticket confirmation number, so we ask a nearby Hawaiian Airlines employee for help. Right now is a good time to mention the lack of Aloha spirit in Hawaii. Tim explains the situation to this airline employee, and the man cuts in front of him to get at the computer. This man takes our credit card and swipes it for our flight details. No luck. Then he sees a piece of paper sticking out of a book Tim is holding. He questions if our confirmation number is on that piece of paper. Tim clearly states it is not, and then this gentlemen pulls that paper out of Tim’s book. Tim raises his voice and says “I told you that was not it”, as it had our orders on it. He shrugged and walked off, so then we walk away and proceed to an open terminal check-in. Following this, we take our luggage to the x-ray machine, where the airport staff here are just as rude. Years ago, you used to hear of Hawaii’s hospitality. Other than Traci at the Strawberry Guava B & B, no one else stuck out in our minds as being overly friendly or welcoming this entire trip. We board the small plane and have a 50 minute flight back to Oahu, before boarding another aircraft into Hilo on the Big Island. Without any mention of it, we are airborne before knowing we were taking off. The condensation leaked from the vents throughout today’s flights, which made for a cold chill on board. We were offered either pineapple or guava juice and paper towels for the dripping during the flights. Mahalo. This Hawaiian term typically means “Thank You.” Simple flight back into Oahu. Now for an hour layover. Not much to do. Breakfast shops in the airport were just opening as we landed, so bought a sandwich and waited for boarding. Yes, I was still feeling the effects of my previous sunburn if you’re wondering. The next leg of this flight was a bit longer, just over an hour, and soon enough, we were back on the ground. Flying inter-island, the views were spectacular, since our traveling altitude was only about 25,000 feet. We took several photos in the air. Arriving into Hilo, we go to baggage claim for our stash of luggage and proceed to the ticket counter for our rental car. Our time on this island will be slightly shorter, but still worth driving the island nonetheless with a car. First impression of the Big Island is that it is much flatter than Kauai. As we drive, we stop along the way for photos of a mini-waterfall by the side of the road. North of Hilo, we stop at a bakery for a quick bite before entering Akaka Falls State Park on the Hamakua Coast. The farther north we drive, we more the landscape changes. Becomes more hilly with seaside views. This state park features two waterfalls, the largest being Akaka Falls, a 442 foot drop and Kahuna Falls, a 100 foot drop. This rain forest receives 84 inches of rain per year and is lush and green. The park includes a .4 mile loop trail to view both waterfalls. Hawaii is gorgeous, and places like these only prove just how scenic it is. We stay there for awhile taking photographs of the flora and falls, then continue the drive up the Hamakua Coast. Not many places to stop for lunch as the majority of the population on this large island is either southeast in Hilo or southwest near Kona. The little town of Honokaa was where we found Jolene’s Kau Kau Korner for a sandwich and fries. Not fancy inside, just a simple diner where we sat near the window. Tim and I continued driving until we came to Waipio Valley Lookout. Wow. Known as the “Valley of the Kings”, this area is sacred and historical., as this was the childhood home of King Kamehameha I. Measuring approximately 1 mile across and 5 miles deep, along with 2000 foot cliffs on the sides, this overlook is spectacular. Apparently, there is a very steep drive down into the valley which is strongly discouraged and guided hikes are permitted on certain days. Waipio Valley is home to less than 100 residents, the Big Island’s most impressive waterfall, Hiilawe Falls, which cascades down 1300 feet, taro fields, and a river running through. Panoramic views from this overlook. Enjoying the scenery for about 1/2 hour, we then check our watches. Half the day is over, and still a long drive south to find our next bed and breakfast. Therefore, we get back in the car and take the alternate route south through the craters. This way takes you right through the center of the island. Kauai was consistently lush, green, and mountainous. The Big Island has offered flat fields, lush and green mountainous cliff faces, and now we’re driving through volcano land, where it can’t get any more dry and barren. I have never been to Death Valley, but I imagine it would look something like this. No growth anywhere. Just dead land. Almost eerie. Miles and miles of dark and gray, imagining how volatile this place must have been. We arrive at our accommodation, Volcano Inn, and find this to be an interesting place, very secluded amongst rain forest. The owner asks us to take off our shoes as we enter the door and walk up the stairs to his office for check-in. There are apparently two buildings, so the room with the corner view we reserved is at their other location. Hmm. Secluded cottages set off the road among the forest. There is a hot tub inside a small pavilion surrounded by flora and trees which line the pathway to our duplex cottage. Luckily it is just us for the duration of our stay. We open the door to a cozy room. And yes, there is a corner view of the rain forest which surrounds you. Beautiful! So this place is eco-friendly by capturing the rain water, using solar hot water systems, etc. Okay. Since the owner never brought us to this property, there was never any mention if the water is potable, but there are water bottles everywhere. We’re in the US and no drinking water? Never a dull moment on our vacations. And our “cottage instructions” in the book next to the bed tell us that the floors must be swept or we will be charged. The book was a little much. I am very excited for Volcano National Park. Prior to this trip home, I had been checking the direction of the lava flows. Currently, it does spill to the ocean, and if possible, I wanted to take the hike to see it. Dinner in the town of Volcano is scarce. At the owner’s restaurant recommendation, we go to the Kiawe Kitchen. Very good Italian restaurant. Small and quaint, long wait for food, but the food was delicious. We ordered glasses of wine with our meals, appetizers, and entrees. I am sure dessert was not overlooked. Food in Hawaii is very pricey, bordering Australia’s prices, especially after you factor in tip. After a great meal, I pleaded with Tim to enter the National Park for the lava glow from Kilauea Caldera, which we did. We were slightly confused on how this works. Thinking that it would be a long drive to see the lava glow, he was hesitant to drive us into the park. It turns out that the viewing area for Kilauea is just inside the park, whereas the lengthy drive to start the hike for the lava spilling was what we were misunderstanding. We were also told that you had to be in the park by 8pm to see the lava, which we were. Having not spent any time at the Visitor’s Center prior to us simply going at night is not recommended, especially if you have questions. I thought it was quite interesting staring at the orange glow and looking up at the stars. Tim’s impression was that it was nothing more than a campfire, without actually seeing the fire. We stayed there as long as we could handle the colder temperatures before driving the short distance back to our accommodation that evening. No hot tub for me with a sunburn. We got up the next morning and after using solar heated showers, calling our parents (finally, just a basic long distance call!), we headed back into town at a convenience store for a quick breakfast of snacks and pastries. Today was our only day to enjoy Volcano National Park, so we wanted to make the most of it. We pay the entrance fees and stop off at the visitor’s center to ask about recommendations for the day. Of course, I asked the ranger about the dangers of attempting the unmarked trail to find the lava spilling into the ocean. Highly dangerous and absolutely not recommended. Being an active volcano, the direction the lava flows is always changing. Years past when it was spilling into the ocean at a different location, there was apparently a much simpler way to see it. The shifting patterns make it difficult to plan a trip though! In fact, the ranger never guaranteed that by doing that 10 mile one way hike, you would actually get to see the lava. Apparently, the lava falls below where you would be standing., so again, you would only see a lava glow. Anyway, slightly bummed, we drive back onto the crater drive for a day view of Kilauea Caldera. Hmmm. Very different looking than the night before. You can see its opening and the steam pouring out of it. There is a steam vent hiking trail which offers additional vents in the vicinity, which we did. The faint smells reminded me of a few geysers in Yellowstone. This area is so desolate; you can see for miles. No trees anywhere. We continue to drive the perimeter of Crater Rim Road to locate the Thurston Lava Tube, and the landscape is changing. You are now entering more lush areas of the park on the east side. This lava tube was discovered in 1913 and is just off the Pu’u Pua’i Overlook. It is a 20 minute walk down to and inside the dark tube. Creepy to think that hundreds of years ago, there was a riverbed of lava flowing through. Nice trail down to the bottom passing through forests, listening to birds. You would never think that you were still in Volcano National Park. This lava tube has been altered so that it can be viewed publicly. Dim lighting has been added and flat pathways cut out so people can walk safely. The tube continued on and for those daring to walk in the pitch darkness could do so. I was one of the smarter ones who came out of the main public exit before I kept walking into the darkness ahead. Tim continued on into the tube for a longer walk while I waited for him back at the top of the hill. This entire year I have been deathly afraid of spiders, and being inside that tube was just not something I was comfortable with. He remarked later that he enjoyed the stillness of being away from people. Back near the visitor’s center was an art gallery, which we stopped and I purchased a beautiful pair of earrings as a souvenir. It was time for lunch, so back out of the park and into the town of Volcano, for a cafe serving sandwiches. We ate outside and enjoyed the people watching here before reentering the park. “Discussing” what to do next, I win the battle by deciding to drive south on Chain of Craters Road. Yes, the road is very long and windy, 36 miles round trip, and speeds are slow. The closer you get to the ocean, you get a magnificent view from up high. Again, so desolate. Mountains of nothing but ground. As we drove, the light rain during lunch, is now gone and the sun is coming back out. We get to the bottom of the mountain and park for a walk to view a rock formation of a sea arch. The road is blocked off, because approximately 10 years ago, lava crossed the road and spilled into the ocean here. Now, you must park your car much further up than you originally would have and walk over the hardened lava. That was an experience, especially to see it hardened across the road. We even captured a photo of a speed limit sign mostly buried in the lava as well. Fascinating. It was very windy here, so it would have been nice to have on a hat, even it was warm outside. We hiked on the lava a bit further up and way off in the distance, you can see steam rising up from the ocean. That location is where the lava currently spills, which, again you cannot get to for proper viewing. Otherwise, I would have. Magnificent walk on the lava though. Had to be careful at all times where you step, because there were holes you had to jump over, and with an uneven and rough surface, you could easily fall or sprain your ankle. Well worth the drive down here to the south side of the park. Hawaii Volcano National Park is comprised of 230,000 acres, so there was no way to see all of it, minus the large portions you do not even have access to, but for what we saw today was very good for me. We make the drive north back on Chain of Craters Road for a spontaneous decision to hike inside a crater. With only a short amount of daylight left, we decide to hike Kilauea Iki crater, which is near the Thurston Lava Tube. We visit the overlook and it really is impressive, at a mile long, 3000 feet across and 400 feet down to its floor. Although tired from hiking for the day, we make the trek down the steep trail to the floor. The area surrounding the lava tube is very lush, and so was the hike down inside this crater. Only flattened lava rock at the bottom of the crater. It was after sunset when we got to the bottom for photos, so it was already time to make the trip back up. This hiking trail was 4 miles round trip, so we had to pick up the pace. We followed its rim around until we were back at the car. So glad we did this. Quite a different experience inside the crater versus looking down into it. Pure isolation at the bottom. Anyway, it is dark and we are very tired now, so a dinner at the Thai Thai place in Volcano was just what we were looking for. Tim will always choose chicken satay, where I enjoyed the green curry this evening. The spicier, the better! Very tasty, and the finishing touch to our meal was mango and sticky rice. Delicious. We had an early start the next morning to check-out, return the car, and fly into Oahu for our final night in Hawaii. Went to bed, slept fast, and up again at the airport. Our flight was short, as we landed in Oahu and looked for a taxi to take us to the Hale Koa Hotel. Being here only one day and one night, it seemed silly to rent a car. First impression of Oahu was crazy busy. Kauai and the Big Island were not nearly this touristy. Condominiums, high-rise hotels, and shopping malls everywhere. Traffic congestion, horns honking, not very relaxing in my opinion. We arrive at the resort, and it looks good! This hotels is for government and military employees only, so prices are technically cheaper than mainstream Hawaii hotels. We arrive at 10am before our scheduled check-in time, which we expected, so our room was not ready. Walking the grounds, we realize just how large this property is. Two different room towers, several outside swimming pools, restaurants, coffee shops, and the open-air lobby offers large sitting areas. After staying in 2 previous “no frills” bed and breakfasts, we planned to take advantage of a little pampering here. We settled in at one of their outside cafes for a quick bite to eat, enjoying the sunshine and ocean views. Walking further to the beach, we notice the oceanfront bar before coming back in to the resort to see what else we’ve missed. We waited near the lobby an hour later with hopes to receive an early check-in, as suggested by the hotel staff. Not a long wait at all before a bellhop collects our bags, and we get to our room. A decent side ocean view from our 11th floor balcony. Tim and I relaxed in the sun (actually the shade) for awhile before deciding to take a swim. Why go to the pool, if the ocean is right there? No waves here, so it was a great swim. The water is clear. We met another couple swimming in the water who said the snorkeling here was not that great, so we passed on the opportunity. While we were in the water, a kid lost his raft, and as it floated farther away, Tim willingly offered to get it. He was exhausted when he swam back to me! Felt so good to be in the ocean again. We stayed in for several hours before walking back to the room and changing into evening wear. Tim and I were to meet up with one of his colleagues for sunset drinks, so we headed back down to the beach bar. Loved it. Just set me up with a tab, and I could be very happy here. Sipping cocktails overlooking the water was exactly where I was meant to be. His colleague left after awhile, and with it being Labor Day Weekend, we celebrated with fireworks that night! Unbelievable. Right over the ocean and just to our right. After the display, it was around 9pm, so we were now ready for dinner. Enjoying the warm night, we didn’t walk too far back through the resort to find Bibas for dinner. We ate an Italian dinner outside near the fountain and chatted about our travels this past year. Sipping wine with our meal, we were completely relaxed and dreading a long flight the next day. Going to bed that night, as great as this resort is, the rooms are not very soundproof. At 4am, I had enough of the obnoxious male crowd next door. I called the front desk to sort out the noise problem, and after hearing a knock at their door, with several of the men saying “who reported us”, I thought to myself that, hopefully, they didn’t want to cause anymore trouble. Finally falling asleep around 4:30am, later that morning left us with a few bloodshot eyes. Taking a stroll along the beach was how we spent our final hours on Oahu before having to take a taxi back to the airport. Not much of a beach actually. The Hale Koa Hotel had a nicer and larger beach area than other hotels we passed. I can get used to bellhops too. Anyway, our flight brought us into LAX for a several hour layover before we then took a red eye flight into Baltimore. Tim’s parents had offered to pick us up at the airport; however, the dates got somehow mixed up. Wondering an hour later as to their no-show, we called and woke them up, before they drove to greet us another hour later. We are back home for good. Months later, I still have mixed feelings about that. Hawaii is a great place to visit, if you never get to experience the other side of the world. The islands are bursting with activity and the scenery is absolutely stunning; however, it is very touristy, expensive, and the locals are not overly friendly or helpful. If you are on a budget, go to Hawaii, but if you want a life-changing experience, save your money and take an extended vacation to Australia. You will then understand how Australia had become our home.

The Aloha State (part I)

zatar21 — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 20:12:13 +0000

The international dateline worked in our favor as we flew overnight into Hawaii. Traveling east from Australia, you actually gain a day. Therefore, we left Sydney Sunday night, flew 10 hours and arrived into Oahu Sunday morning. The flight was uneventful, although a typical bumpy ride over the Pacific Ocean. Tim slept a lot better than I did, so my eyes were pretty glazed over once we landed around 9am. Hawaii is made up of 5 primary islands: The Big Island of Hawaii, Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and Molokai. Oahu is the most populated of the 5 and therefore, the most crowded. Flying into Honolulu, where Pearl Harbor was bombed, we then had to go through customs, gather our luggage, and find the domestic Hawaiian Airlines terminal for check-in. The only real way for inter-island travel is by flight, as the faster ferry system was banned due to environmental concerns. Otherwise, you could take a Hawaiian “cruise” around the different islands. Inter-island flights are more expensive, but you get there between 50 minutes – 2 hours. We flew into Kauai in Lihue. Very small airport with only a few gates, and the rental cars are just outside the terminal for pick-up. As I waited for Tim to get the rental car, I noticed the wild roosters in the parking lot. Odd. We loaded up the compact car and were starving. Along the main highway, we spotted a couple restaurants. We parked the car and excitedly found Mexican food. Let me note that is had been 15 months since we had a proper tex mex meal, so yes, we were ecstatic. We walked into Mariachi’s and chose to sit outside on their balcony overlooking the ocean, ordered coke to stay awake, followed by a taco and enchilada lunch. Satisfying! We walked across the street to take in the azure waters in Nawiliwili Bay, a sheltered swimming cove surrounded by a resort. It was a sunny, warm day. Since it was around 2pm now, we decided to drive west to check-in at the Strawberry Guava Bed and Breakfast in Kalaheo. How to describe this place. Wow. This family inherited this small bed and breakfast from their parents and while also maintaining the property, had also added onto it through the years. The drive to get there was incredible. After turning off the main, windy highway, the road becomes more narrow, windy, and filled with potholes. And I forgot to mention the steep uphill drive from another turn-off. It is also a shared driveway among 3 different houses, but we finally made it. We were in the jungle now. Surrounded by ferns, trees, wildlife and an incredible view at the top looking down. Simple accommodations, but filled with nature and personality, which was what I was looking for. The innkeeper told us to arrive before dark; otherwise, we would never find it. Traci and her 3 kids greet us and show us to our room. There is a slight cabin feel in the inside, although there is one other room to the left of us. We are at the end, and there are 2 rooms facing out our front door, with a breakfast lanai in the center of the home. Stunning views below in the Lawai Valley. Our windows are already open and letting in the fresh warm air. We listen to the wildlife in the wilderness that surrounds us. A no frills place but perfect for us. We take a much needed nap and wake up 2 hours later trying to decide what to do at the end of the day. With only a few hours of daylight remaining, we drive west, through the town of Hanapepe, stopping shortly to observe the Russian Fort Elizabeth. This fort is the last remaining Russian fort on the Hawaiian islands just outside Waimea built in the 19th century. Continuing on the only main highway through Kauai, we take the road as far as we can, as it turns from asphalt to dirt. Beautiful countryside, as we drive along the ocean on one side, and views of Waimea Canyon to the right. Our plan was to follow the road until its end near Polihale State Park, but after a few miles of driving on dirt roads slowly in a rental car, decided to turn back around. It was also almost dark, and although we no longer had to be concerned for kangaroos, didn’t want anything to happen in an area we were unsure of. We decided to get dinner at the L & L Hawaiian Barbecue place near Kalaheo, and since dinner options were slim, there was a line to get in here. It is a chain eatery throughout Hawaii (and now has locations within the US) featuring a mix of Asian and American fare. One word: Delicious. Completely worth the wait. There is a standard chinese hot bar near the counter where you pick 2 items, etc or you can order off the menu. Some people came in for cheeseburgers and fries, but we made the best decision by ordering the Hawaiian Kalua Pork. Yum. It comes served with rice and macaroni salad, and we literally could not get enough of its flavor. We had dirty laundry with us, so we decided to go to the local laundromat and chat with the locals. There is an ice-cream shop next door and while Tim and I shared a sundae, we also enjoyed a great conversation with the owner. Driving back to our B & B in the dark was interesting, since no streetlights anywhere, and the jungle looms on all sides of you. The house is dark when we arrive, so we park and navigate our way carefully back to our room. Hello geckos! They are everywhere outside, and a few little rascals made it inside. The house is only so sealed, so you almost have to expect it. We squished a huge roach before we went to bed, which made sleeping the first night questionable. Hello roosters! The sun was not even thinking about rising the hour they started yapping. Welcome to vacation with only wildlife around you! The next morning we had a colorfully presented breakfast of fruits, pancakes, and yogurt on the lanai. Traci handpicks the fruit from her trees, and fills the melons with raspberries, blueberries, and papaya. She also had star fruit, which she placed around the plate. Nice display. Good start to the morning. Traci offered advice on our sight-seeing for the day, to which we thanked her and were off on a full day’s adventure on the north side of the island. If you look at Kauai on the map, you will notice that the northwest side is inaccessible. Pictures of the Napoli Coast are simply breathtaking, but again, unless you’re in a helicopter or on foot on an unmaintained trail, you will not be seeing it for yourself. Certainly preserves its natural beauty. Therefore, we had to drive out the way we came in. We spotted two waterfalls nearby, which our car will always brake for. The first, Wailua Falls, is an 80 foot tiered waterfall which was featured in Fantasy Island. Easy stop off the road for several photos. I enjoyed watching the egrets flying below near the falls. It is strongly discouraged to hike down a slippery trail to the pool and swim, but we did observe two people jump in as we were there. Opaekaa falls is within the Wailua River State Park and is tucked away where slightly visible on the path. Hawaii is as lush and green as we expected. September weather here is about 70′s with moderate humidity. We continue our drive north and realize Kauai is a bit more touristy than we originally expected. You will not find high-rises on this island, and the towns are scattered; however, the main highway is filled with cars. And the convertibles! More than I’ve ever seen. All rental cars, which you can tell by the stickers on the backs of them. We first decide to drive the highway until its end, which is at Ha’ena Park. The road literally stops. This area is crowded with cars, as people have parked not only in designated parking spaces, but also along the dirt path into the park. This is insane. The end of this road also marks the start to the 11 mile (one way) Kalalau Trail, which is the only accessible entrance on the Napoli Coast. Tim and I found a 10 minute only parking space to observe two wet caves within the park. Interesting indeed. There was just enough light that as you stepped down into the cave entrance you can see the crystal clear blue water. Houses just outside the park also designate their yards as parking “garages” for cars and will pack them in for $10 fees. And several of these houses were filled with cars. Can’t believe just how busy this area was, especially during Hawaii’s off-season. Kauai’s North Shore is really spectacular. Much of Kauai is mountainous, so the views of the Pacific Ocean below are really indescribable. Our 10 minute parking is up, so we drive back to Hanalei Bay for lunch and decision-making. We ordered burgers and sat outside enjoying the sunshine. While eating, we eventually agree to go kayaking together for the afternoon. Mistake #1: Didn’t put on sunscreen. #2: We were in a double kayak. After listening to several recommendations from the locals for the best place to kayak, it was unanimous that Hanalei River was more scenic than Wailua River. Therefore, we rented a kayak for several hours and paddled down the river. Tim was seated in the rear and I in front. Aside from the voice behind me continually saying “You’re doing it wrong,” we had a great time. The sun was warming up fast, and my legs were burning that much faster. We paddled under a beautiful bridge, admiring the mangroves, and the lush mountains above. There were turtles sunbathing along the route, and when we weren’t taking photos of the wildlife (yes, there were roosters!), we were taking pictures of the flora. Hawaii has beautiful, vibrant flowers. After traveling down the river as far as we could go before it got too shallow, we turned back around and made the trip back passing only a few other kayakers on the river. Tim got very brave towards the end and suggested that now the river met the sea, we should take our kayak out for a wave or two. Oh, that’s mistake #3. We were soaked and luckily, we had rented a dry bag for the cameras. There was a little time left before we were to return our kayak, so we brought it up to the sand and walked the beach at Hanalei Bay. There is a pier here, which even allows places for swimmers to jump off. A quick stroll and back in the kayak to return our gear. My body has heated up 30 degrees from a severe sunburn and, now it’s beginning to hurt. We go buy sunscreen, which is pointless at this time. Deciding to change into bathing suits, we drive back to the Hanalei Bay parking area for a late afternoon swim. The water feels great! No waves in the bay, so very sheltered and calm. Nice for swimming. And it feels good on my hot burn, so I stay in until the sun began setting. We got out, wrapped up in towels and with a rather large influx of people now, observed a magnificent sunset on the North Shore. Changing back into our clothes, we now drove back to Kalaheo. We stopped at a strip mall which offered a Panda Express. It was late and we were hungry, so this familiar US chain was satisfying. Back to the room, we talk to the geckos and I wince in pain over my sunburn. Sleeping for the next full week proves to be terrible, well actually, walking in general does. Our final day on Kauai, we woke up to a different assortment of fruits and breads. I chose to stay in Kalaheo, because it is close to the entrance of Waimea Canyon. This morning was cooler than yesterday and slightly more overcast. I would be staying out of the sun as much as possible today. Impressive sight, as this canyon measures 1 mile wide, 14 miles long, and 3500 feet deep and is nicknamed “The Grand Canyon of the Pacific.” We have also been to the Grand Canyon, and although that is much larger, the Waimea Canyon offers dramatic views inside. The dynamic colors of the red rock and green grasses were also quite striking. We observed a 3-tiered mini waterfall on one of many overlooks, and the water gushing was reddish brown. At one of the main overlooks, we happily notice a vendor selling fresh Hawaiian pineapple. Yum. Should have purchased another container. Ripe and deliciously sweet. Unbelievable, more roosters. They are everywhere on this island. The canyon is on the southwest side of Kauai, and as you drive further north of the canyon, you are now in the forested Ko’kee State Park. And it is slightly cooler now. We drive the windy road through the park to stumble upon the Puu o Kila hiking trail to its lookout. Steep hike. We hiked for a few hours and learned from other hikers just how muddy it got towards the end, so we decided on hiking a bit further before turning back around. Phenomenal views of the Napoli Coast to our left. The Kalalau Trail takes you through the Napoli, where this trail does not, but still offers incredible views of it from a distance. In fact, we spotted a scenic helicopter tour taking place as we paused to take in the scenery. It’s so hard to describe just how beautiful this landscape is with emerald mountains and the teal ocean sparkling in the sunlight below. I am not exaggerating here. Well worth the exhausting hike. Hours later, we stop for another couple overlooks before taking the other exit out of the park, a more scenic, less-traveled route. Today is what I imagined Kauai to look like. We were starving, so for a late lunch back in Kalaheo, we found ourselves back at L & L for more Kalua Park before turning into our lodging. This late afternoon we wanted to go swimming, and Traci had mentioned that Poipu Beach was worth snorkeling at. As it was getting later, we put on our bathing suits and drove down to Kauai’s south shore. We passed the blow hole, Spouting Horn, which was active, but not nearly as impressive as what Australian blow holes are, and parked at the beach. This town is noticeably more touristy and upscale, with nicer hotel entrances, gardens, restaurants, and people out walking in more dressy attire. Tim thought the water was too cold, and after I got in, asked him to get my snorkel gear as I realized I should have already had it on me. Where there are rocks, there may be fish! He finally got in with me and we observed a few fish where we snorkeled. The sun set, and once again, the water felt good. We showered and changed back at the B & B to get ready for dinner. Our last night in Kauai, we were going to stay simple and drove the 10 minutes in Kalaheo for brick oven pizza. We ordered a medium pizza to split, and it was so good, we should have ordered a large!! Delicious sauce and cheese. We had a very early flight the next morning into the Big Island of Hawaii, so we did our check-out with Traci that night after dinner. A 6:30am flight, with an approximate 40 minute drive, returning a rental car, and checking-in at the terminal meant an early start. And now the next part of this blog takes us to the Big Island and Oahu.

Our last days in Australia–August 2010

zatar21 — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:01:42 +0000

Tim and I spent our last few weeks in Geraldton enjoying farewell parties (including one with a cardboard theme), two fantastic 4wd excursions (through scrub land and on sand dunes) with a friend, and packing out the house. The moving company came 10 days before our flight out, and with only one guy at the house, managed to almost box everything up the first day. With the assistance of a second person the next day, they cleared the house within several hours. Wow. We looked around at the brick house we called home for 15 months, and now it is empty. All that remained were the 4 large pieces of luggage and 2 backpacks to fill our necessities with, and the cardboard gifts given by friends. Our per diem rate doesn’t quite match what Geraldton’s nicer hotels charge, so we decided to stay in this empty house a few of those 10 nights. We chose not to pack out the mattress or box spring, since it was more than 20 years old, so we slept on that until it would be hauled to the tip (dump). There was a special weekend rate for the Ocean Centre Hotel, which managed to fit within our per diem, so we stayed at this oceanfront hotel for 2 nights. Emily was going to miss the beaches incredibly, so she was going to enjoy her last few walks and sunsets. Dome is a popular coffeehouse in Australia, which had recently opened on Geraldton’s foreshore months prior. This coffeeshop became Emily’s morning hangout with friends. Since our meals would be paid for, Tim and I decided to discover Geraldton’s restaurants this final week. Why wait until now? Because, they’re expensive and we refused to pay those prices, so we mostly cooked all year. Checking out of the Ocean Centre Hotel, we next checked into the Geraldton Bed and Breakfast, where we would be spending the remaining 5 nights until our flight. Tim worked until that last day, so I would drop him off at work and take the car for visitations. We turned in our house keys and friends offered to sell our Mazda 323, which we were thankful for. Our Saturday morning flight was scheduled in Geraldton at 8.30am. We got there an hour early (usually only 30 minutes is required for this small airport) to handle all our luggage issues. Welcoming us was 15 of our closest friends wishing a safe journey home. Tim and I were absolutely moved by this outpouring of love. After boarding the plane, Emily cried all the way until landing in Perth one hour later. Besides dealing with more luggage issues and a flight attendant who could not correctly identify our credit card information (month/day/year are switched in Australia), our next flight from Perth into Sydney was quite uneventful. I would like to mention I am no longer happy with Qantas for not serving ice cream bars…who wants a citrus-sicle? Our Holiday Inn hotel in Sydney was within walking distance of the airport (keep in mind, we had 4 huge bags and 2 backpacks), so rather than waiting for a shuttle, Tim wanted to walk. We ate a quiet meal in the hotel restaurant and with nowhere else to walk nearby, went to bed. The next morning, we checked out and I waited in the lobby with all the luggage, while Tim walked back for our rental car. Before we were to drive down to Canberra, I wanted to make sure we got ample time in Sydney and its surrounding areas. We drove out of Sydney, heading northwest towards the Blue Mountains. Their M toll roads are not friendly. They do not have toll booths where you can pay cash, so once you go through the toll counter, your license plate is scanned. You must go online to pay within 48 hours, or you will be sent a penalty invoice. We learned this the hard way, because we missed the deadline, tried calling the number for customer service, explained we were moving internationally and in-between addresses. Long story short, paid a $35 fine for this toll back in the US. Anyway, driving up towards the Blue Mountains is pretty, but not much to stop off and do. We looked into a steam train ride, which was closed that day. The Blue Mountains are filled with gorges and wildlife. “Blue” literally comes from the blue hue you see as you overlook the mountain range. It is caused from oil given off by the abundant Eucalyptus trees below. The “Three Sisters” statue rock formation is very well-known and made easily accessible for viewing. We took a hike to Upper Wentworth Falls, which seemed small in comparison to many other waterfalls we had experienced through our travels. Also, being winter, there was not much run-off at this time. We then drove over to where the “Three Sisters” is and looked for hot chocolate before the hike. There is an additional, massively steep, but short, climb down to where you can step onto the first “sister”, with a handrail to provide more balance. Cool standing next to this statue. Tim had not been to the Blue Mountains before, and I was excited to see them a second time. We stopped for lunch in Leura, a town near the Mountains, and one that I had been to long ago. It was nice to come back and see it as quaint as I had remembered. Getting dark early, the clouds were also coming in and the temperature was dropping. We drove to the Kurrara Guesthouse, where we were staying for the night. Old Victorian house with ornately decorated parlor and breakfast rooms. Our room was the first at the top of the stairs. Upon checking in, we asked for food recommendations, and the owner said that Young’s Chinese Restaurant was good. Tim has been skeptical of “good” Chinese in Australia throughout our living here, since the sauces are mostly bland. If nothing else, it warmed the belly, and after a cold walk back to the car in downtown Katoomba, we went back to our accommodation. We had evening drinks in the parlor with the owner of the property and borrowed a movie to watch upstairs in our room. Since we only rented the car for 24 hours, we had to skip breakfast at the guesthouse and check out early, so we found a bakery instead and kept driving. We returned the car at the airport and took a taxi to the downtown Sydney Citigate Central Hotel. A chaotic itinerary, but we chose to save money on hotel parking and rental car fees. All bags in tow, we check in. Overcast today, and we decide to take a walk. We first stop in Chinatown, which is only a 5 minute walk from the hotel and find barbecued suckling pig for lunch. Yum. Walking on, we step foot into the very ornate and stylish QVB, Queen Victoria Building, a 19th century city block long building which was originally a concert hall, later turned into a library, before its current use of upscale boutique shopping. Heading south, we go inside the Sydney Opera House and research what is on the next couple days. We purchase tickets for this evening’s performance “Of Earth and Sky”, as performed by Bangarra Dance Company. With only a few hours before the show, we stroll around Sydney Harbour through Circular Quay (pronounced “key”) where the ferries arrive/depart. This area around the harbour is filled with waterfront outdoor dining, and street entertainers. An Aboriginal musician catches our eye, so we sit and listen to him for awhile before purchasing his CD. We continue to the impressive MCA building, Museum of Contemporary Art. Sorry, but not impressed with the featured horticulture exhibition. We step outside and and are at the base of “The Rocks”, an area once claimed by European settlers for convicts, now a ritzy arts and shopping district. Walking the cobblestone streets allow you to observe old buildings and gorgeous views of the harbour below. Sydney is a very hilly city. We are now walking towards the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Wow. It never ceases to impress me with its size, measuring 432 feet to the top arch and 3300 feet long. 2000 workers and 8 years to its 1932 completion, the Sydney Harbour Bridge is the world’s largest steel arch bridge and a Sydney icon. We walk across this spectacular bridge, feeling the strong wind gusts and pausing for the stunning views. The sun is now setting and as we make our return trip across the bridge, we choose a terrace restaurant in the Rocks offering fabulous view of the city below. Relaxing meal outside with glasses of wine and a steak dinner, we enjoy the Opera House lit up now. Close to show time, we meander back, noticing the dessert selections in a Belgian Chocolate cafe nearby. This performance requires only a handful of dancers. How to describe what we observed. Didgeridoo and drums, along with other instruments to produce rhythmic dance beats, combining interpretive props and dances, to tell stories from Aboriginal history. The sounds, lighting, costumes, and movements take the audience on this heart pounding journey. As promised, after the show, we find a table at Guylian’s Belgian Chocolate Cafe and order luscious desserts and cappuccino. Sydney isn’t exhausting. As proven by us over the next couple days, you can spend all day and evening in the city and not feel tired. Even the crowds of people that flock to Sydney Harbour just isn’t suffocating as US cities are. Public transportation systems are very efficient and abundant, with buses, trains, ferries, monorails, taxis, and trolleys. On our way back to the hotel that night, we take a detour and walk through Darling Harbour, where Cockle Bay Wharf is surrounded by shopping plazas and waterfront restaurants. The next morning we take a Sydney Harbour Cruise to Manly. We hailed a taxi to Circular Quay, bought our ferry tickets, and board a 30 minute scenic boat ride to the town of Manly. The Sydney ferry systems are punctual, as these boats are used for transporting people to and from the CBD (central business district). Boats run all day, with more scheduled times during “rush hour”, as people are using the ferries to/from work. As a tourist, I am simply enjoying the sights and Sydney’s beautiful (65 degree) weather. A popular seaside surfing village, shops and cafes outline Manly’s downtown main street. We arrived before shops were open, so we chose to eat an early kebab and chips lunch outside at a picnic table by the ocean. Funny story. The seagulls here are extremely aggressive. They are clearly fed too often and have no problems jumping onto your table and harassing you for food. There were people eating at nearby tables, so we were left alone, until we were the only ones left eating. Then it started. The seagulls were on the table, on our benches, calling to us for food. We would try to shoo them away but not one of them minded. Not managing to scare them with kicking or stomping our feet, we eventually moved to another table and were finally left alone. Then it got ugly. A man sat down near the table we recently left and began eating a sandwich. Tim and I watched as he chatted on his cell phone, while casually eating. At one point, a seagull took a bite from the sandwich in his hand before walking away. This man could get no relief from these birds. We were so amused and disgusted by these seagulls all at the same time. The man finally gave up and threw half of his sandwich away, all the while the seagulls following him to the trashcan. Walking on, we took a lengthy nature hike towards the North Head Sanctuary for a few scenic overlooks of Manly below us. Trying to catch the return ferry back (they run every hour on the hour), we picked up the pace for the hike back down. In the off-season, Manly was quiet and peaceful, although I can imagine just how heavily populated this vacation spot for locals can be (only 15 minute drive outside Sydney) during the summer. Arriving back at Circular Quay, we stop for a gelato and sit in front of the Opera House for a break, before a quick stroll through the Royal Botanical Gardens. The fruit bats! They hang upside down from the trees throughout the gardens and talk to each other all day. Tim and I paused to listen and laughed wondering what they were saying. Very comical creatures. Although it is winter in Sydney, there are flowers in bloom all year, which we got photos of. We had hoped that the Government House would be open for viewing, but was closed. Therefore, we walked its gardens instead. The day is coming to a close, so we walk back to Cockle Bay Wharf to enjoy a nice meal outside on the waterfront. Every building near the wharf is lighting up and it’s beautiful reflecting off the water. Cozy atmosphere. We chose an outside table at Baia San Marco Cafe with a nearby heat lamp, ordering wine and bread to start, followed by a kangaroo fillet for me and beef tenderloin for Tim. We then strolled through the Harbourside Mall briefly before the 10 minute walk back to the hotel. Next day, we check out of the hotel, hail a taxi to the downtown Avis location where we rent another car for our drive to Canberra. Continuing on, the more south we drive, the colder it gets. We stopped again at Fitzroy Falls, a magnificent 240 foot waterfall in the Southern Highlands, followed by a few wine tastings at Centennial Vineyards in Bowral. The small towns leading to Canberra do not offer many attractions or food options, especially since cafes/restaurants close between 2.30pm and 5pm, so when you’re hungry around 3pm, you’re out of luck. Restaurants that looked interesting to us only served lunch buffets, which we don’t eat, so instead we found a deli and ordered sandwiches for the road. Getting to Canberra at dark, we parked at the Crowne Plaza, where we would be staying the next 3 nights. After checking in, we walked downtown Canberra a bit to find any restaurant open, until we stumbled upon a noodle house. Sounded good to us and would warm our freezing bodies. Not used to the cold! The next morning, Tim took the car into work, so I had the day to wander. Canberra is easy to navigate. I walked along Anzac Parade (memorials which line this famous street), to reach the Australian War Memorial at the top of the hill, where I spent a few hours touring the grounds and museum. I had lunch at the Memorial cafe, wandered back a different way through Canberra Centre (a mall of over 300 stores), then finally back to the hotel, where I got ready for a night out with friends. Yes, we have friends in Canberra. We had drinks downstairs at a bar before heading upstairs to the restaurant. Although we had made a booking, it was not necessary as we were the only ones there. Good Italian meal and catching up on conversation with friends we hadn’t seen in quite some time, made for a nice evening out. They dropped us back off at the hotel where we crashed for the night. I got a late start the next day wandering through more of the downtown district and the Canberra Centre shopping area again to look for an early lunch. Finding a cheap chinese restaurant nearby, I ate a set lunch menu before heading for the bus station. I wanted to visit the National Museum of Australia today, so I got off the bus and went inside. The museum is situated on Lake Griffin, which on sunny days, would make strolling the grounds more pleasant. Today was gloomy, cold and windy, so later enjoying a tea and cake in the cafe overlooking the lake was a better idea. I spent several hours in the Museum, admiring the Aboriginal artwork and videos clips. From there, I waited for the bus to then go visit the New Parliament Building. I first took an elevator to the terrace for a lookout over the city, followed by spending another hour reading how their Government works, and lastly viewing both their House of Representative and Senate rooms. Another bus ride, I got off at the stop closest to our hotel with first taking a glance through the Canberra Museum and Art Gallery before meeting Tim back in the hotel for a dinner out with another set of friends. They met us in the hotel lobby and drove to a parking lot with many food options nearby. Walking this section of downtown, we laughed at several of the questionably risque statues. We settled on a Korean/Japanese Restaurant downtown and ate outside next to the heat lamps. Although the name escapes me, food is ordered inside, and big plates of stuff arrive at your table for the main following a salad and soup entree. Quite tasty. Later, we went back to their house for tea, dessert, and more conversation. It has been quite a good couple nights out catching up with friends. The next morning, we did the unthinkable. Rather than taking the direct route back into Sydney (which is normally 3 hours), we agreed upon the scenic route, which requires a minimum of 6 hours along the coast. With our early start, we headed southeast on country roads until we arrived at Bateman’s Bay, the popular beach spot for Canberrans. Once you travel outside of Australian cities, it’s amazing just how quickly you are roaming the countryside, especially in Western Australian, the Northern Territory, and even South Australia. Canberra is the capital city of Australia and has a population close to 350,000. Driving just 10 minutes outside the city, you are in the rolling hills and passing through small towns. Along this route, we stopped at a flea/farmers market, Jervis Bay for overlooks and lunch, followed by driving to the summit of Mt. Keira, approximately 1300 feet. At the top of this windy and narrow summit drive, there is a beautiful overlook of Wollongong, and the surrounding areas along the coastline. There is a restaurant at the top of Mt. Keira, which we did not go to. Today was a beautiful day, and the parking at the summit was packed, with cars and motorbikes, so we stayed for about 20 minutes then continued down the mountain. Our next stop was at the Sea Cliff Bridge, which is a windy bridge that juts out from a cliff. Not as scary as we were expecting it to be. We parked the car and walked back along the bridge (yes, there was a pedestrian lane) and took photos. Driving on, we stopped briefly to watch hang gliders literally leap off a section of these enormous cliffs. Quite fascinating really. The sun was now beginning to set, and we still had a while to go before traveling back into the south of Sydney. We finally arrived at the downtown Four Seasons and parked. Pure elegance. I love when you are greeted with music playing and dim light inside your warm and cozy room, not to mention L’Occitane soap and lotion in your plush bathroom. Having learned that fireworks would be going off tonight in Darling Harbour, we headed there next. We found dinner inside the Harbourside Mall at Wagamama, basically an Asian inspired noodle house. Walking back outside, we sat near the water for the display. Only a 7 minute fireworks show but awesome watching them shimmer over the water. Apparently, once a month, they have these short firework displays here. Anyway, Emily still got teary-eyed, because she was already an emotional mess for having to leave Australia, and to have a fireworks send-off on our final night was just too much for her to bear. We walked a bit around Chinatown, ordering a couple appetizers before walking back to the hotel. Our final morning, we slept in, and decided to take advantage of the 12.00pm check out time. Tim had to return the rental car, so he did that while Emily packed the suitcases. We left our luggage with concierge, since our flight from Sydney into Hawaii wasn’t until late evening. Strolling Sydney’s streets once again, we found an internet cafe to send messages that we were on schedule with our travels (no cell phones), then walked through QVB once more to see if there was a black pearl Emily needed to take home, and spent more time this afternoon at the Royal Botanical Gardens. We looked for lunch within the Gardens but the restaurant was absolutely packed so we kept walking. Walking around the Sydney Opera House one last time, we decided to have a very nice outside waterfront meal in Circular Quay with stunning views of Sydney Harbour Bridge in front. How am I supposed to leave this beautiful place? Well we did. After a few final hours walking the Harbour, we came back to the Four Seasons, picked up our luggage, and hailed a taxi to the airport. We checked in with no problems and after waiting to board, we were once again in the air for a 10 hour flight into Oahu, Hawaii. Australia is and will always be home to us. Thank you for the best 15 months of our lives.

Bali: Rice paddies, temples, and a volcano (part II)

zatar21 — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:02:50 +0000

With only a map in hand, Agung turns to us and says “So where to today?” We paid him $30 US for chauffeuring us yesterday, and agreed upon $100 US today, since we would be with him for close to 12 hours. I explained that we wanted to see as much of the island as humanly possible including rice paddies, temples, and a volcano. Throughout this entire trip, time was on our side, because Australia sits in the Southern Hemisphere, which means that in July (when we went, yes I realize the post shows a much later date), it is winter and days are shorter. However, flying up to Singapore, Malaysia, and now Indonesia, we are in the Northern Hemisphere where its summer and days are longer. Hot and humid all year, but slightly more comfortable during these drier months. Anyway, Agung suggested a local itinerary which I did not agree with. He actually laughed and thought what I suggested was impossible in a day, which meant I had to prove him wrong. We were quickly out of Ubud and entering rice paddy country. Agung explained the rice agricultural process (sawah). The fields are laden with cow manure, and the soil is flooded in preparation of planting rice shoots. Keeping the soil saturated, the laborers monitor around the clock for insects and/or mice as the rice slowly turns to grain. Once harvested after 120 days or so, the rice bundles are gathered and either sold in markets or kept for the families. Wearing the infamous wicker sun hats and loose clothing in the heat, the Indonesians walk barefoot through the muddy fields as they work. Men and women here are hard workers, as rice is their staple food, due mainly to their Hindu religion. They balance baskets on their heads as they walk place to place. Agung takes a quiet back road into one of the largest and most popular touristed rice terraces, Tegallang Village. It was lightly raining this morning, and even with the sky overcast, the stunning emerald green colors were still so vibrant. We get out of the car and take photos. There is no one else around so we stopped to listen to the rain and enjoy the view in front of us. The best way to describe what we saw was to imagine staring at a backdrop for a play: A paradise landscape so quiet and still, it did not seem real. We walk back to the car and as Tim and I were shutting our doors, a Balinese woman walks up to us wanting to know if we wanted to buy scarves. Saying “no thank you” didn’t quite do it as she pursued us to talk with her and buy something. Agung told us to shut the door and we drove off. I still remember the words he taught us to say “Tidak Terima Kasih” (pronounced “tee-dyuk, tree-man-ka-see”). It means “no thank you” in Indonesian. Saying these same words in English, allows the vendors to push, figuring a tourist will give in. Using the Indonesian terminology means you have been here long enough to know the basic language, perhaps to them you even live here. Once you use their language, you are immediately left alone so they can find someone else to harass. The sun has now come out! Anyway, we find parking near the entrance of Gunung Kawi (meaning “Carving in the Mount”) in Sebatu, and behold, you’re surrounded by vendors selling their goods. Agung tells us that in Hindu culture, ladies must wear something on their heads, and my ball cap was actually acceptable. We needed a cloth to tie around our sarongs, which Agung trusted a particular vendor here and negotiated a price for us. This sash shows respect to the religion. We actually liked her sarongs and purchased two to wear for the day. Agung said he wanted to get a bite to eat, so he would wait for us there. He was smart, since you reach the temple 300 stone steps below. We paid our entrance fee of approximately $.50 US per person and turned to see this magnificent structure far below us. Along the path, you can pause and observe the workers in the rice fields to your right. Farther down, you can see and hear the river alongside this massive temple. At the bottom, there are 10 impressive memorials which look like burial towers carved into the rock, approximately 20 feet high with the lush landscape surrounding and hovering over them. This temple was created in the 10th century. It is said that these towers were meant for the King, his Queen, their sons, and his concubine. To the right of these majestic towers are smaller memorials that represent the previous caretakers of this temple. There is a stillness here where time momentarily stops allowing you to reflect on past history. We lightly touched the carved rock and paused to admire its beauty once final time before the return steep uphill climb. Agung was right where we left him, and then we drove to a nearby temple he recommended. Tirta Empul Temple (meaning “spring water temple”) is located in the village of Tampak Siring. After paying our entrance fee in the parking lot, Agung escorts us to this temple. Pointing at the mansion on the hillside to the west of the temple, he explained that it is an Indonesian President’s Palace. Unfortunately, there was no activity on the grounds. We walked through this open air temple, noticing the food offerings given and people kneeling before them. To the center of the temple, there is a large rectangular holy pool where the spring water is shooting out from the structure onto those who enter. As the Hindu people wade into the pool quietly, they will dunk their heads or walk forward to wait in line to be cleansed by the water pouring out. The three of us walked the perimeter of this temple witnessing a Hindu call to prayer. We also located the purest of pools, where no person is allowed to enter. You see the spring water gushing from the ground and settling in this beautiful blue pool. Tim and I tried to capture this activity on video but did not quite master the effect. As we were exiting the temple, Agung instructed us to take a detour instead of walking straight to the parking lot. Because he was a driver, he stated he was permitted to do this and that all visitors must exit out the back. Why? We figured out later so that the street vendors outside the temple will walk up to you. Agung, although very friendly, was perhaps also a little sly. He did say before leaving us, however, “you know what to say if you don’t want to buy anything.” I should briefly mention that Balinese temples come in all shapes and sizes. Buddhist/Hindu temples observed in Malaysia and Singapore (except Kek Loh Si) would equal a standard house size (1, possibly 2 floors), where in Bali, these ancient outdoor structures varied from a temple of 6000 square feet on 7 acres of land to a gazebo sized temple on the water. We got back in his modern caravan (yes, he turned on the AC, where our driver in Malaysia had an old car with no AC) and our next item on the itinerary was to see Mount Batur (“Gunung Batur”) in Kintamani. Formed from two different calderas, this active volcano has an expanse of 10 x 13 km from one caldera and a 7.5 km radius of the other. It took more than 2 hours to drive its perimeter. Our first sight of the volcano is stunning. As we steadily climb through more rain forest and town villages, we catch our first glimpse of the volcano on the southeast wall with Lake Batur below. Can Bali get any more beautiful? Agung stops along the road so that we may take a few photos. He has learned by now that Tim is heavy into photography and has adapted quickly to hearing “Stop!” There is no shoulder on this road, so we must be quick and take in the scenery before us. Sheer beauty. Agung figures by now we should be ready for lunch, so he suggests a Kintamani restaurant which are guaranteed to offer stunning views of the volcano. We stop for lunch, sit down at an outside table with a breathtaking view, open the menu and in unison say “I don’t think so.” As nice as this restaurant is, they only serve a lunch buffet. Not happening with “Bali Belly.” We asked if they would cook anything on the dinner menu for us, and the answer was “no.” So now we are creating a scene with trying to explain to staff that buffet food is very unhygienic and why we are leaving, we walk outside and can’t find Agung. His car is parked but nowhere in sight, because he expected at least a 30 minute break from us. Well, somehow, he is tracked down and shocked that we didn’t want to eat there. We learned from Agung that lunch buffet is standard in touristy areas. Driving through Kintamani, Agung suggested another temple, Kintamani Temple (Pura Ulun Danu Batur, where “Ulun Danu” means “head of the lake.”) for us to walk through. As we parked, kids were already walking up to us selling toys, bracelets, scarves, etc. Tim had a much harder time saying “No Thank You” in Indonesian than I did, so they would follow him around longer. The street vendors even tried to convince us that only one tie around our sarongs was not enough. Harassment around all the temples was becoming unbearable throughout today. This temple, although nothing fancier than what we had already seen, houses more than 90 shrines. We learned that this temple overlooks Lake Batur, which is incredibly important (second to Mother Besakih Temple), to the people, because of the underground springs from the lake that are relied on for the farmlands and irrigation systems. If I remember correctly, Bali is 90% Hindu, where I’ve read there are more than 10,000 shrines/temples located on this island. We head in the direction to the car, ignoring the trailing vendors, and continue further into a local grocery for snack. Lunch will be on the light side today. Knowing what temple is next on the list, he to take a road that “just opened.” Not knowing its condition, he chances it and takes us. Certainly the road less traveled and so glad we drove it. We crossed bridges, kept driving through the rain forest with trees and vines hanging low. The road was bumpy at times, where the asphalt stopped and the dirt continued. We drove through the smallest towns with only a local market. One of the highlights of this trip happened on this route. Tim wanted to take a photo of an elder local woman as she walked down the road with a heavily loaded basket on her head. Agung stopped in the road and Tim got out. He walked up to her with his camera and asked politely if he could take her photo. She nodded and smiled. Tim thanked her and as a token of his appreciation, handed her Rp1000, which is approximately $.10 US. He said the look in her eyes was priceless. She was so moved by his generosity, and the whole time, Tim is thinking, “I gave her a dime, which probably fed her family for a year.” This is why you travel, for these moments, these memories. As we were now on the other side of Mount Batur , clouds had come in and hid its peak. The tallest Bali volcano is Mount Agung, which we were trying to get a good look at this afternoon, but it was completely hidden under clouds. We made it now to Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, another water temple surrounded by water. It is set in Lake Bratan near Bedugul and the grounds to it are beautiful. Pathways of gardens leading to the temple, which you cannot step foot on. That cool breeze was feeling really good right about now. A cold front in Bali is only 5 degrees less than what the temperature normally would be. It looked like it might rain again. Walking along the water’s edge, we spotted tourists renting kayaks. Since we wanted to make sure we made it to Tanah Lot for sunset, we kept going. We did purchase a few more snacks from vendors (surprisingly, no one was aggressive here), offering some to Agung once we got back in the car. Over the course of the day, we got to know Agung better and glad we hired him. He has 5 kids, 3 boys and 2 girl twins, which is wife recently gave birth to. I believe he was happy to be taking a break from the house today. We also felt comfortable with him as we would leave items in the car trusting that everything was untouched until we returned. As we left this water temple and made the climb up and down the mountain to head back towards Tanah Lot, the clouds had cleared and the sun was back out. We finally got our view of Mount Agung in full sunlight. Majestic. A few more pictures of rice paddies in different sunlight angles and we continued our drive towards Tabanan, for Tanah Lot. This temple literally means “land sea.” It was built approximately in the 15th century and carved by the ocean tides ever since. Pulling up to the hordes of people (tourist and locals), Agung said that although it would be hard to find us, he will park and after sunset begin looking for us. Hundreds of people everywhere. This temple is hidden, because you have to walk through the endless street vendors, knowing this is a huge Bali attraction. The pathway basically splits and you either head down the steps towards the rock or up for a panoramic view. We had time before sunset (as Agung promised!) and with the help of low tide, walked all the way out splashing in puddles until we got to this massive structure. Only Hindus can go inside the temple, so we gazed from below. We could see spring water coming out the side of an alcove creating a miniature waterfall. Taking many photos from below, we decide then to walk back up for the panoramic view. Stunning. As the sun goes down, Tanah Lot is in shadow and beautifully silhouetted in front. Hundreds of people around you, with everyone sharing this same magical experience. We are now absolutely famished at this point, so claimed a waterfront table and ate a few chicken satay strips before looking once again for Agung. He spotted us in the dark and told us to wait while he went back for his parked car. By this time, we were only 20km outside of Denpasar airport and it was only around 8pm. Our flight wasn’t until 12:30am, so we asked Agung what he suggested. He offered to take us into Kuta (the shopping district of Bali), south of Denpasar, but we opted for an early airport arrival. We were flying Air Asia, and having already flown this no-frills airline from Singapore-Penang, we learned that without specific reasons, they often cancel flights. The problem is, you are responsible for checking in prior to your departure date to see if the airline scheduled you for an earlier flight, not later than what is normally expected in these situations. Well, we had no mobile phones this entire trip, so Agung tried calling his wife to see if she could call the airline. Bali doesn’t offer ways to look up phone numbers, and Internet is nonexistent there. What did we do? Wing it. We decided to kill 3 hours at the airport, which was fine. Agung felt bad to leave us at the airport without knowing if our flight had been delayed or canceled, but we assured him we would be alright however it works out. He helped us with our backpacks and Tim took a picture of Agung and me, shook hands goodbye, and headed inside. What a long night ahead. A dirty, ridiculously humid airport and no air flow. It took forever for the line for Air Asia to open up. There were a few people in front of us with only one attendant at the counter. Waiting 45 minutes in line for 5 people, we were next to check in. There was a problem. The attendant was not going to authorize our tickets because of immigration problems with our orders. Long story made short, after being pulled from the line, questioned, finally confirming that we were US citizens with permission to live in Australia, we finally got our tickets. What a nightmare. So next, we waited two hours to board the plane. I didn’t want anything in my stomach so I found a bench and tried to take a nap. Unsuccessful. We finally boarded and 3 1/2 hours later, we were safely back in Australia, but not without having to get through customs first. Ugh. Traveling can be quite difficult at times. The stress of not knowing if your declared items will even be allowed in is also exhausting, minus the lack of sleep on the plane. At 6am, with bloodshot eyes, our declared souvenirs were in hand while we waited. The silence as each piece was examined. One piece in particular we paid $150 US for, so to see it thrown into the pile for the incinerator would have been devastating. It turns out that all of our pieces (even Tim’s flower carving) were accepted into the country. We breathed a huge sigh of relief after that. Walking outside, we realized quickly just how cold it was! Granted, it was only about 50 degrees Fahrenheit, but that felt very cold right then. We found our car in the international carpark and decided that our 5 hour drive was not going to happen without a nap first. So we reclined the seats, found our traveling car blanket, and slept for an hour before the uneventful 5 hour journey home. Several days later I sought medical treatments and the blood work showed I was infected with the Camplyobacter virus. I am thankful for clean, drinkable, running water. I am thankful for Western toilets. I am thankful to live in 1st world sanitary conditions. I am happy to be home. Tim and I were very lucky to have safely taken the trip of a lifetime and share these, although sometimes unexpected, yet very memorable adventures.

Bali, Indonesia (part 1)

zatar21 — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 00:32:08 +0000

What am I going to remember the most about Bali? The spiders. They are bigger than your entire hand and the webs they spin are right in the pathways where you walk. These black spiders blend in so well with the trees that you don’t see them until you face these huge creatures head on. Very scary. Okay, so we fly Malaysia Airlines, with a layover in Kuala Lumpur, into Bali. The fun begins at customs. We get off the plane and our huge group of people is escorted down the hallway, told to stop and wait so another plane can board, then we may continue walking towards baggage claim/customs. Unbelievable. Luckily, Singapore and Malaysia did not require any prior visa to enter into the country, but Indonesia more than makes up for that. Picture a room the size of a high school classroom and add hundreds of people in it. There are four booths where you are to stand in line to buy your “VOA”- visa on arrival for $25 US (US or RP cash only) per person. Indonesian money is in Rupiah. Once you purchase this slip of paper, you turn around and notice the ridiculously long lines to get through customs. These lines do not move for more than 1 1/2 hours. The people here speak better English than the Malays but there’s no hurry to stamp a passport book. There was no air moving at all in this airport either, so my first impression of Bali is poor. We walk out the door and look for a taxi. The cars are parked in a lot, so the attendants come up and ask if you need a ride., where they then will bring the car up to the curb. By wasting so much time that day in flight and in customs, the day was spent. Our driver was very friendly and knew English quite well. We find out soon enough that most Balinese people know at least six languages, so that they can sell their wares by speaking to almost everyone who comes by. The airport is located in Denpasar, south Bali and our hotel is in Ubud (pronounced “oo-bood”), central Bali over an hour away. We had a great conversation with the driver, as he told us about Bali. Everyone here is Hindu, and there are many villages where communities of people live. Extended families reside in these villages, and it is a privilege for children to go to school. They grow up and take care of their loved ones. As a male gets married, he brings his wife to his village where they will raise children there. Ubud is the arts and cultural district of Bali, as recommended to stay by our friends. We admired gorgeous stone and iron architectural structures, while also noticing the many villages and people during the ride! The streets are narrow here as in Malaysia, and yes, the motorbikes are here too. Our driver warned us that the vendors will harass you until you buy something they are selling. He said to say “no” firmly and walk away. Bali is tourist Asia 100%. The people in both central and south Bali survive solely on the tourist industry. We arrive at the Bali Spirit Hotel in Ubud at twilight. Wow. This resort is set within the rain forest and is absolutely incredible. We enter the open-air lobby and sit down in front of this impressively large desk for check-in. The wood furniture is hand carved. We are handed a cocktail and a warm wet cloth to wash our hands and face/neck. All of the hotel staff are dressed in uniform which looks to be white pajamas, a sarong and black wrapped head scarf. It is dark now and a staff member feels obliged to carry my backpack while he takes us to our private cottage. This place is so secluded and quiet. You can hear the river running below. There are lights which slightly light the pathways, but not more than necessary. Below, we can see the swimming pool and swim up bar. Villas outline the entire hillside. We enter our room and he demonstrates how things work, where light switches are, etc. There is a deck on the front of the cottage, which you step up on to enter the room. The bed makes up the majority of the main room, with Balinese dressed windows surrounding it. The cottage is a dark brown. Now, the wood floors are only so sealed to the outside. so I tried not to think about the bugs we would be sleeping with. To the right of the bed leads to the outside bathroom. Just beautiful. You step down into your own tropical oasis. There is a wooden desk on the left with a welcome flower arrangement and fresh fruit awaiting our arrival. To the right is a gorgeous nice vanity and sink. There is a wall that separates this room from the bathroom next to it. Walking forward, you have the toilet next to the wall with a stone shower very close to your private backyard gardens with another behind you. And the toiletries they provide are all made in Ubud using the freshest ingredients. The floor is tiled, which makes walking around easy. The gardens had everything from palm trees to birds of paradise in bloom. It’s still nighttime as we arrive, so I notice the gardens in color the next day. Before leaving, he explains how to use the hotel phone and shows us the directory and the lists of activities the hotel provides. Famished, so we walk to the hotel’s River Forest Restaurant and sit down for a relaxing meal. The setting is just gorgeous. It’s an open-air restaurant with overhead low lighting, candles, geckos climbing everywhere, the river running below. Incredibly cozy and quiet. I was beginning to take more caution of what I ordered as my stomach was still unsettled, but I was way too excited for the roast duck. Tim ate satay at every restaurant, as this Indonesian dish is the most popular and flavorful, prepared differently each time. We headed back to the room and went to bed. The next morning, we woke up and enjoyed an incredible breakfast back at the restaurant, as they were included in your stay. You had the choice of an American or Indonesian breakfast: an omelet, eggs/bacon, or Nasi Goreng, which is Indonesian fried rice with chicken and egg. Both are served with tea, toast, and fresh fruit. This hotel looks just as beautiful, even more so, during the day. We chose the same table every morning, as we were as close to the river and jungle as possible. We did observe a family bathing in the river below, which is also quite humbling. The jungle that surrounds this place is so lush. We thoroughly enjoyed listening to the sounds of the forest and bird watching while we ate. Using the outdoor shower for the first time was very refreshing. Priority one today was a massage, so I booked one at the hotel spa. As Tim walked with me towards this outdoor spa, I nearly ran into one of the largest spiders I have ever seen and instantly began shivering. He was right next to me. Tim shielded me so I could get by him and continued with my panic attack as I walked into the room for 1 1/2 hours of supposed relaxation. The spa is basically behind a curtain stepping into an area with a massage table and bathtub with another curtain on the other side. The Balinese like to bring the outside in and are really one with nature. Tim left to walk the property a bit while I undressed. For $25 US, I was pampered with a full body massage, salt body scrub, followed by a flower bath with roses and frangipani. These white flowers are so fragrant and are everywhere in Bali! Getting out of the bath, my masseuse actually toweled me off before she lastly applied body lotion, which obviously is a new experience. Feeling completely relaxed once again, Tim got me and we then walked up the steps (this resort is VERY hilly), where more large spiders lingered below, for my facial in this other building. We then called for the hotel shuttle to take us into town. It was fun to take the afternoon and stroll through the artsy center of Ubud before we had to be back for classes late afternoon. Markets and restaurants line these narrow main streets and tourists everywhere, especially Europeans. We were told earlier that although these vendors will sell souvenirs relatively cheap, the quality is not good. Indonesian art and furniture is just so fun to look at. Australian customs is very strict, so we had to be careful what we brought back into country. Wood is usually not permitted, unless it’s of good quality. Along the way, we looked for a decent lunch and after a recommendation from a local vendor, we happily ate at the Cafe Wayan and Bakery. The outside is nothing to boast about, but once you walk inside this restaurant, another tropical oasis awaits. Unbelievable atmosphere. Open-air huts (wood floors with cloth canopies) surrounded by gardens throughout the property. Some huts allowed people to sit on the floor, while ours had a bench with pillows surrounding you. The menu was phenomenal. We ordered everything from drinks to appetizer to our mains, followed by the Death by Chocolate cake. I tried the suckling pig here and very moist. Extraordinary meal all around. Checking our time, we had to walk quickly back to the hotel so that we weren’t late for the shuttle to take us to their sister location, Taman Harum Cottages for our classes. Walking at a brisk pace, we hurriedly walked through the Monkey Forest and its temple. This area is a very sacred place for the people of Bali. It is surrounded by wild monkeys and banyan trees, which not only provide shade but much serenity. This sight is also a huge Ubud attraction, especially if you like monkeys, which I don’t. The shuttle patiently waited for our arrival and dropped us off. Tim signed up for a woodcarving class and I chose a Balinese dance class. There was a small open-air pavilion, where the Balinese dancer met me and Tim waited for the carver. It was just he and I with our instructors. Tim’s master woodcarver brought to him a flower carving, which he showed with his hands and feet how to carve. He didn’t say much, but would say “no” to Tim if he held the tool wrong and “look” when he wanted Tim to watch. The dance instructor pulled out her cassette tape, and we learned the Welcome Dance. I had to put on a sarong and take my shoes off to learn the dance steps. Balinese dancing is very entertaining to watch, because their body language is quite unique. They shift their eyes left to right rapidly and wiggle their fingers, with other times gracefully moving their arms about. The master woodcarver let him take the piece home. With no power tools to speed up the process, Tim was sore and tired from the two hour class. We waited for the shuttle to pick us up, and rather than going back to the hotel, we asked the driver to drop us off anywhere in the center of Ubud. There was a cultural show at the Puri Saren Ubud (Ubud Palace), which we wanted to get tickets for and quickly reserve seats, as this is a nightly star attraction here. Absolutely stunning performance of so many dances, including the popular Barong and Legong dances. Each dance tells a particular story. Their costumes alone are worth mentioning, very festive and colorful. Positioned two rows in front of the palace entrance was the Balinese orchestra. They would play an introduction before the dancers would come out and perform. Fantastic evening. Having to wait an hour before the show started, we were now hungry for dinner afterwards. We were surprised to see so many Western style restaurants, so we perused menus before we stumbled upon an Indonesian restaurant. Presentation is everything in Balinese cuisine as well. For example, we found a place on the main street which brought out the meal with your rice piled high in the shape of a cone. This time I chose the crispy duck, while Tim ordered his usual. Why can’t we eat this good back in the US? Instead of walking home late, we hailed a taxi. Here’s the joke in Bali: “taxi-special price”. It most certainly is not. The drivers are parked on street and will just keep yelling these words out. Yes, you are to barter a price, but their idea of “special price” is just an overpriced fare. Well, we settled on a $5 US fare, with only an 8 minute trip back to the hotel. The driver’s name was Agung, and we got to know him quite well for the remainder of the trip. He gave us his card and offered his services while we were here in Ubud. The next morning, after another fabulous breakfast, we signed up for a lunchtime cooking class at the hotel, which only gave us a few hours beforehand. Rather than taking the hotel shuttle into town, we decided to walk the path ourselves. We walked through the village of Nyuh Kuning, where the hotel is situated, passing locals laying a thatched roof. Continuing along the road, there was a wood carving shop where I risked purchasing two unique pieces (one of a large hand, the other of a man sitting Indian style with his mid-section missing) before continuing our walk. There are signs posted everywhere once in the Monkey Forest to not feed them, or the monkeys will become aggressive. Although, most of them were docile, I did have one startle me. I was carrying a bag that he wanted, so he jumped up and clung onto my leg as I walked trying to get the bag. I freaked and kicked him off. Before this trip, our friends informed us how sick they got when last in Bali with these monkeys. Now into Ubud village, we strolled through several art galleries and outdoor markets. Only bringing backpacks as luggage, our storage space was limited. We hurriedly walked back to the hotel (even though still paranoid, I had gotten quite good at not looking up at all the spiders lingering above my head). Our class was taking place just outside the restaurant entrance in a covered pavilion. Wow!! Just the two chefs and us. Very intimate setting. The ingredients were already setting out in bowls with saran wrap over them and a two burner stove. Tim and I took notes and asked questions throughout the session. We brought back the recipes with us, although several ingredients such as palm sugar, candlenut, and jackfruit, will be impossible to find here. The most memorable course was the chicken satay. As we were instructed to mix the sauce with the raw chicken, the woman told us then that the next step is to taste the chicken and see if it had mixed well enough. Of course, our next question was, you’re supposed to eat raw chicken? She answered that raw chicken doesn’t bother them. We tasted all four courses in this order: Lawar Bali (Balinese boiled vegetables), Sate Lilit Chicken (satay), Rujak Segar (fresh fruit mixed with tamarind and palm sugar), and Kolak Pisang (poached banana in coconut milk and palm sugar). The plan for after class was for them to reheat what we made and serve it on a full plate at the restaurant for a full lunch. We were already stuffed before they reserved each course. From lunch, we decided to call Agung, our taxi driver from the night before, and see if he was available to take us around Ubud for the remainder of the day. He picked us up at the hotel and off we went to sight-see. We asked him to take us into the batik, silver, art, and wood villages. Each village is very specialized according to the trade. When we drive up, we see the children either painting, carving, or sewing, with their families. Each village is made up of large structures where the communities live within the walls that surround them. The Indonesian stone carvings alone are so impressive, that after we purchased two paintings, we watched as the men of the community were repairing stonework on one of the structures. Each village is so friendly and welcoming. We purchased several intricately carved wood pieces of exceptional quality. The art village we attended was where Agung lives. He waited for us as he chatted with his brothers. There was no pressure from him to buy anything, but you could see the generosity in his eyes when we did. Ever since I saw a picture of the Elephant Cave Temple (Pura Goa Gajah) in Bedulu, I wanted to visit. This temple dates back to the 11th century and wearing our sarongs, we walked the grounds to the bottom of the hill towards the temple. I told Agung how deathly afraid I was of their spiders, and he promised to eat them for me if necessary. Emily made a friend that day. Leading through Banyan trees and across the river, we stopped at the stone fountains. Although the water was fed from a natural spring and considered drinkable, we decided against it. My stomach had already welcomed a virus. We walked up to the stone cave, where a huge face with eyes and a mouth carved into this wall. The mouth is the only entrance into this dark cave temple. Being there at sunset was a little uncomfortable at first. I didn’t realize until we were walking inside the “mouth” that we were supposed to. Pitch black. First thought…how many spiders are in here? Then you see a few candles lit and the small shrines inside the carved holes throughout. Indescribable. We also experienced our first bit of harassment outside the temple, people pushing you to buy sarongs, head wear, charging fake entrance fees. Agung assured us that he would inform us when and if this harassment is legal, since we asked him to take us around a large part of the island the next day. Today it wasn’t necessary. After a successful afternoon/evening, we asked Agung to drop us off at the hotel to drop off our purchases, and wait for us to return to take us back into town. We strolled the Ubud center one final time admiring the shops and restaurants. Last time for both of us to enjoy satay, so it was important for us to choose an Indonesian restaurant. We sat outside on the main strip, watching the people walk by. Everything about the meal was good, except for the candle that was burning on top of our table. The owner of the restaurant stood 20 feet away from us in the sidewalk trying to drone up business as we ate. Anyway, a guy with a cigarette walked by looking light, so this owner pointed to our table and offered him to light his cigarette with us there eating. Of course, he did, inhaled, and exhaled the smoke right in our faces. I must tell you, there was an empty table right next to us which could have been offered instead. There were so many things I wanted to say to both of them but kept my mouth shut in a foreign country. Notice I didn’t care to even remember or mention the name of this establishment. We took a cab back to the resort and made time for the restaurant for dessert. Tomorrow is our last day here, as we have planned to be with Agung the entire day and night before he is to drop us off at the airport for a 12:30am flight back into Perth. Back in the room, we packed and went to bed. Over the course of the two previous nights, we did have a few smaller spiders and a worm snake come into the bathroom, but our favorite was the frog who lived here. Above the wooden desk outside there is a large painting hanging on the wall. The way it was hung, there was just enough room for him to sit on the top of the picture frame and literally perch there all day. He would climb down behind the painting and hop off into the gardens. The next morning, as we finished one final breakfast, Agung was ready for us at the hotel entrance. We gave him our luggage, and checked out of this magnificent resort. The perfect ending happened when we were seated at the desk for check- out. The manager handed us a breathtaking painting in black and gold of Balinese dancers as a farewell gift from this hotel. We were speechless. Their customer service surpassed any I have ever seen. Okay, there are so many pictures to post with our adventures today with Agung that we are going to make this a separate Bali entry. With this blog, we only show the highlights from our travels. Tim and I experience so much and soak in as much of the culture as we can, that our entries can be quite long at times.

Penang, Malaysia

zatar21 — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 15:57:00 +0000

Can it get any hotter? The answer is yes. Even more hot and humid. Now, let me inform you that we have now entered into a third world country where drinking water is going to be a problem. Also, bathroom facilities are sub-par. You adjust quickly to only seeing a hole at the bottom of the stall with a hose attached to wash yourself off. Let me back up. After this quick 50 minute flight to the island of Penang (we are not on the mainland of Malaysia), we get through customs and convert our leftover Singaporean money into Malaysian Ringitts. At the time, the US dollar was equal to $1.70 MYR. Our taxi ride is approximately a half hour to where we’re staying. We pass through all kinds of trailers, run-down areas. You can get a feel for just how poor these people are. We continue on into the historic area of George Town to look for our hostel, called the Penang Guesthouse. This accommodation was going to be the most leery of the trip. As the driver turns onto Love Lane, we begin to see bars on the windows and trash everywhere. This city is not near as clean as Singapore. And the Malays all ride motorbikes. Let me talk about the motorbikes for a minute. They are very small mopeds if you will, and will have an entire family riding on them. You will see a child seated on the handlebars. There are no enforced road rules for these bikes. They will come up along side of you on the left or right. We even saw where they would zip in-between each other too. Very noisy and scary. You have to be very mindful of them, as the biggest crime here is theft. Snatching a handbag from an on-coming motorbike is common. The rider will slow down, and the person sitting behind would grab the bag and drive off. The Penang Guesthouse is interesting. The desk with two chairs in front as you enter this hostel is your lobby check-in. No air-conditioning throughout. Old wood flooring, a small tv and sitting area, adjacent to a dining area with tables and chairs for your free continental morning breakfast next to the “lobby”. I had purchased the only private room with the ensuite bathroom here, as others either had only a private room, or dorm beds with all public showers and lockers. At the foot of the stairs, we were instructed to take off our shoes and walk barefoot throughout the upstairs level to our room. This was a new experience for us. Everyone’s shoes were either piled up at the bottom of the steps or in cubbies alongside it. Our room was actually very simple and nice. There was a red floor lamp, air-conditioning unit, bed, and nightstand with another table lamp. No tv or any other amenities. You stepped down into the tile bathroom which thankfully included a Western toilet and shower. Very clean. No door leading into the bathroom. We unpacked our backpacks and sent for our dirty clothes to be cleaned the next day. Everything is pressed and folded, a big bag of laundry for $8 US. We gave ourselves 2 1/2 days in Penang to see as much as we could. We walked around near our hostel and noticed a cruise ship had come in for the day. Not knowing if we were in a safe area or not, we stayed on main streets. We found an outdoor cafe and ate a pork lunch, and proceeded to keep walking. I was very cautious to eat only freshly cooked meats and vegetables during my time here, and to avoid any raw fruits/vegetables. We stumbled across Fort Cornwallis and strolled through the ruins. The Penang Harbor Lighthouse was just outside the fort, so we climbed up. As the steps narrowed, only Tim continued onto the absolute highest point. Funny thing happened at this lighthouse. As I was enjoying the views of the water (cyan blue but murky), Tim was bartering with a British couple up above. Little to my knowledge that he was in a desperate need to find a Singaporean $2 coin, which we apparently never managed to keep while in Singapore. It turns out that this couple had also just come from Singapore, so as Tim was talking with them, he explained his situation. He luckily exchanged MYR for a $2 coin! Everywhere we travel, we like to collect full sets of notes/coins as much as possible. Continuing our walk now along the water, a few street vendors pulled up to the sidewalk and opened shop. Their food is tasty and unique here. The way it works is, since everything is basically sold on a stick, you pay for how many sticks you have and that is the price. So we chose wontons and chicken sticks. Delicious. We continued walking through historic George Town to discover an art center was sponsoring a jazz concert that night. The tickets cost $10 US, so we purchased two seats and decided to walk back to our guest house and change. As we strolled, there was a couple on a motorbike directly in front of us who pulled up to a residential construction site and the person in back of the motorbike, without getting off the bike, began filling up a bag of bricks from this site. Then they drove off. You can’t always see their faces because of the helmets they wear. Tim and I still laugh about this six months later. An hour later, we are back at the venue and realizing the doors weren’t officially open for seating, we questioned a few locals for good food nearby. They suggested the bulk of hawker stations along the water. Think outside food court. The chicken satay is very good here. Not only being cautious of food, but also drink. Water isn’t potable here, so unless you specify, the locals will bring you water from a tap, rather than a bottle. It is twilight now and the wind is picking up. You could see storm clouds looming over, so without umbrellas, we figured that by the end of the show, we would be walking back to our residence in the rain. This center was beautiful inside! White slipcloth chairs, chandeliers, big round windows with elegant sheer window coverings, wood floors. Not expected from the condition of this historic town! There was a stage set up, so we chose two seats near the aisle and sat down. By the looks of this place inside, it is multi-purpose, so this was not your basic auditorium. I am a people watcher, so I was kept busy by noticing how fancy everyone was dressed up for this concert. Few women were in gowns, and many others certainly in black cocktail dresses. Men were dressed in slacks and button down collared shirts, some even with suit jackets. Tim and I felt very under dressed for this affair. The concert was fantastic! A local community jazz band, accompanying 4 jazz soloists. Quite impressed with the vocalists. Only one singer was local, others had flown in just for this performance. Great night out, and especially when finding it only hours before! We walked back to the hostel and went to bed. The next morning we woke up trying to figure out public transportation. There is no metro through the city unlike Singapore, so you must rely on local buses. The Malays do not speak English quite as well as those who reside in Singapore. Therefore, you basically “pigeon” your way through English, so they may understand you. Using short sentences and taking many pauses. We ate a small continental breakfast at the guesthouse and then headed outside for more sight-seeing. What a long day! I was very interested in seeing as many temples as I could, so we searched everywhere for them. The drains throughout the island are worth mentioning. The streets of Penang are very narrow, and the storm drains are very deep and run the entire length of the street on both sides. Therefore, the row houses have just an asphalted slant across the drain to the sidewalk so the locals can walk to their homes. If you are not paying attention, you will fall into these huge drains and at the least, sprain your ankle. The smell is absolutely nauseating and you’ll also find trash in them. I had already begun feeling the effects of this stench by today. As we walked, we located one of their main markets. Food, clothing, everything. Inside the building is 2 levels, and you can find everything from fish to chicken to pashmina scarves. We climbed the steps to the second floor where you could capture an aerial view of the stalls. You can see customers selecting the specific fish they wished to purchase, then watching it filleted before bagging it, followed by observing how the vendors will throw the guts away. We came out of the market back onto the main street, observing temples and other outside markets. The people of Penang are hard-working and simple in their daily activities. They don’t spend anymore money than they have to get by with what they need. We found lunch on the side of the road with a large cast iron stove on the back of a trailer. Not speaking much English, we said we wanted one order of what she was making. It was by far the best char koay teow (pork/noodle/vegetable). There was no seating where she was stationed, so we sat on the dirty sidewalk and ate. You learn to practice patience and acceptance in a world that is not similar to your own. With our map of Penang in hand, we meandered our way to the Clan Jetties. These jetty dwellings were historically for Chinese immigrants who worked on the water and could not afford housing on land. In some ways, it can seem peaceful to live atop the water, but the trash and the lack of proper bathroom/waste facilities would make living here much less pleasant. Each jetty approximately housed 20-30 shacks for families, all sharing the one narrow pier for entering and exiting the jetty. There are mini shrines everywhere you walk throughout the city of George Town, with no exception to the Clan Jetties. After spending an ample amount of time here, next we walked in the direction of the Peranakan Mansion. Beautifully decorated interior which our tour guide offered information in each room of the mansion. This property is situated on a small lot, so there was only the mansion to tour. There were no gardens, etc, which you normally would expect to also see. We purchased two artist pencil drawings in the gift shop. As it was now 5pm and the day was ending for us, many trishaws had lined up inside this mansion’s parking lot. Trishaws are nothing more than a means of transportation throughout the city. A bicycle with a seat behind it for people to sit. If you’re lucky, you will get one with a canopy to block the sun. We walked partway back to our hostel, then finally decided to flag a ride home, as we were absolutely exhausted. The “driver” gave us a mini-tour of Penang as we rode and mentioned a Chinese opera which would be presented tonight at 9pm at one of the temples in town. We kept this information in mind. Looking for dinner, we strolled 2 blocks past our hostel onto the main street, and located street vendors. We picked a cart, where similar to before, is basically a buffet of food on a stick. Again, everything from a spring roll to barbecued pork. This time, each stick has a different color on it, which means the different colors charge different prices. You pay for the number of sticks with those colored prices. We stood next to a young British couple there and chatted with them awhile. They were both living here on medical doctor internships. Both had already been in Penang for 6 weeks and had no previous stomach problems with the food. That was reassuring, but they also mentioned having previously lived in India with no problems either. We told them about the chinese opera at the temple and asked if they would like to join us later. They agreed to meet us later, so as we split up, I continued down the main street for more food options, settling on more char koay teow. It was dark out, so since they knew where we were going, we let them lead the way. En route, there was another Buddhist temple ceremony, which the four of us decided to stop in and observe. The guy we were with was quite disrespectful as he went past the bar (non-Buddhists) and got in their way, talking loudly and laughing during the ceremony. He also took an item from the offering and put it in his pocket before walking out and throwing it on the ground. Tim and I were embarrassed and certainly annoyed. Anyway, we moved on and realized that by the time we got to the other temple at 9pm, the opera was ending. Needless to say, the man driving the trishaw did not understand us and told us the time it ended, not when it was to begin. So, we decided to walk around the city a bit at night and the girl we were with, asked if we wanted to eat at a very good local indian restaurant called Kapitan. This place had also come highly recommended by other locals. Kapitan was very busy and the only seat available was close to kitchen, which is not separated from the dining area. One entire length of the restaurant is open to outside, and if you weren’t next to it, there was no breeze. Very stuffy inside. The three of them ordered a tandoori plate, and not overly hungry, I stupidly ordered a chicken appetizer and mango lassi. My drink came with ice cubes and the chicken was served cold. Two big problems. I ate them anyway, after listening to her reassuring me that I will be fine. Should have ordered the tandoori. The four of us had a pleasant chat and headed back to our lodging for the night. The next morning we got a relatively early start, because I was very excited to visit Kek Lok Si!! This temple is simply magnificent and unbelievably huge. Very well-known Buddhist temple in Malaysia. Well, our experience started with figuring out the local bus system. We finally got on the correct bus near our hostel and didn’t exactly know where the temple was, so wasn’t sure where to get off the bus. Luckily, there were other Americans on the bus with us having the same problem. The bus driver did not speak English, so we stayed on the bus as long as we could taking in the sights of the city. We were in Air Itam, just outside of Penang, with beautiful views of the city below. The bus slowed down, and looking way up at the temple, we assumed this was our stop, so all the Americans got off. Yes, we were at the bottom of the hill, with quite a steep climb to the top. What more could you ask for on a hot and humid day? Chatting with the foursome to the top of the hill, we learned that they were here on vacation from Beijing. They teach English in the school systems there and quite enjoy living in China for free. Anyway, the pictures will not do this temple justice. There is such a peacefulness here that is really indescribable. Water fountains everywhere and each miniature temple inside was so colorful! This is called the “Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas”. The most impressive sight I’ve ever seen. We walk into the bottom of the pagoda and start the climb. Each level is a different Buddha with different decor. You get to the 7th story and enjoy a breathtaking view of everything below you. There is also an impressively large bronze Buddha statue on the grounds, which you can only get to by a funicular. We spent hours here and enjoyed it immensely, taking many photos, as this site is situated amongst rain forests. Today was another huge highlight of this trip thus far. From here, we walked down the hill to find lunch. We were in love with the char koay teow, so we got another order of this. The next part of the day was tricky. Not knowing how to get another bus or when it would arrive, (we learned that buses “get there, when they get there”, no schedule at all), we did the unthinkable. We luckily found a parked taxi nearby, and pointed on the map to the northern part of the island, saying “how much”? This is where pigeon-talk comes into play. He didn’t understand me, and we didn’t understand him. After trying to make conversation for 10 minutes, we paid for 4 hours of time for this driver to literally drive us around a bit of the island, with several stops along the way. We had been in the city for 2 days and really just wanted to see more of the island. A month before this trip, I somehow managed to watch the episode of the Amazing Race where the location was Penang. The “Tropical Spice Garden” was listed as something the teams had to visit. So I put it on my list for the afternoon. We drove along the coast, passing the beach town of Batu Ferringhi, until we arrived at the garden. The driver said he would park and wait for us, since we had agreed on a price for the afternoon, and he gets paid when we get back. We agreed on $40 US. Anyway, slightly nervous that he would drive off, we crossed our fingers and entered the lush gardens. Beautiful!! Tim loved checking out all the native spices. The garden was on a hillside, which three different pathways led you to observing different things. For instance, one path was strictly the spice plants, another was for native flora, and the third was the jungle trail. Several views of the sea were also very picturesque. There was a large wooden swing above a pond on the trail, which we both got on and swung out overlooking the rain forest! That was so much fun!. We stopped for a bite to eat at the Tree Monkey Restaurant, which was located inside the gardens. I craved mango and sticky rice, while Tim ordered satay. Yes, I was hesitant to eat the fruit but took the risk. We didn’t want to stay here too long, in case our driver gave up on us. This restaurant really was incredible, where it really reminded you of a treehouse set atop the trees with a view of the sea below. Here’s the problem: Monkeys swinging above us. Yes, they are cool to see in the wild, until one began urinating below on a table of four diagonal to us. Well, urine splatters. We checked to make sure nothing got on us or our food and finished it quickly. The managers came out and cleaned up the mess saying to that table, “This never happens.” Yeah, right. Interesting experience. The monkeys carry so many diseases that you really don’t want to be around them at all just in case. We found our driver (right where he said he would be!) and continued further up into the island. We stopped off at a reservoir dam for a quick photo opportunity before turning back around to begin the trek back. One main road around the entire island, and its narrow and windy too. Tim and I didn’t press the driver for too many additional stops and prolong the time we set with him before. We did ask, however, for a visit to the Penang Botanical Gardens, near Penang Hill (tallest hill in Penang and usually you can ride a funicular to the top; however closed for renovations when we were there), which we did near sunset. More monkeys! Could not get away from them. Not many flowers growing here but many shaded trees. Popular spot for bikers, walkers, and runners. As we continued our trek, we asked for our driver to drop us off at our airport hotel, Krystal Suites. Hilarious. We pointed at the address, so we didn’t have to explain it to him, and as we got closer, he kept getting more lost and stressed. We finally said, to relax and just let us out anywhere near the hotel, after the third time around the block 3 times. We did give him a tip in addition to our already agreed price as a thank you. He was very appreciative, as they don’t tip here. The hotel upgraded us to a penthouse suite at check-in. Now, before you get too excited, let me tell you that their standards of living are quite different than ours. The penthouse at this place is not that exciting, although very spacious. Still, quite run-down and old. We did have a separate bedroom and living room area. For dinner, we walked around this very bustling trendy area of Penang for food options. We first walked along the highway and realized that the street vendors did not have anything of interest other than seafood. A few restaurants only did buffet style meals, which for obvious reasons, I will not do. So we decided to eat at a chinese place near the hotel which served a chicken teriyaki dish. Next door was a gas station, which we looked for airplane snacks and this Malaysian chocolate twinkie dessert caught my eye. Um, gross. We had an early flight, so we went back to the room, and went to bed. The next morning, we called for a taxi (which was late) and went to the airport. Having to deal with entering and exiting through customs was starting to be a pain. The bathrooms in the airport were horrendous, and if my stomach wasn’t feeling the effects of something I ate, then I wouldn’t have used the facilities. And so the beginning of my stomach virus begins…Flying over the Cameron Highlands on the mainland were beautiful through the clouds. If we had more time, then I would have taken a trip to them. Malaysia is a place we would certainly consider going back to. Penang reminds us of authentic Asia, where Singapore is modern Asia. Great experience. This place is very humbling and to use the knowledge that I have learned here, I would take these experiences and travel the Mainland next time. The final portion of this trip takes us to Bali, Indonesia.

Singapore is a Fine City

zatar21 — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 19:52:35 +0000

Okay, so we had to take on a whirlwind trip of Asia,living so close. A month before we were due to exit Australia, we booked this trip. This crazy adventure included only taking backpacks and choosing what to fill them with. And most importantly, to pack chewing gum or not. Now, the drive to Perth was even more interesting. The flight into Singapore was not scheduled to leave until 12:30am, so Tim decided to work the full day. Normally, this would be fine; however on our travels, something bad always happens. So, as we’re driving in the dark 5 hours to get to the international airport, we finally see a sign that says “Welcome to Mingenew”. For the average person, this means nothing, but to us, this meant we just spent 50 km traveling in the wrong direction. The only turn off on this main thoroughfare between Geraldton and Perth, is the road we missed. So, panicked, we turn around, and continue onward. We were already rushing because we left later than we meant to. At check-in, we realize they have started to board, so we get our seats on a brand new aircraft. Jet Star, in all its brilliance, recently built the most uncomfortable airplane with no reclining seats. Therefore, our overnight 5 hour flight into Singapore has just turned into the night from Hell. The Singapore Changi Airport is beautiful, landscaped gardens inside, the cleanest floors and benches you will ever see, and hand sanitizer stations everywhere. Customs was surprisingly easy, as long as you declare those 3 pieces of chewing gum. At 5:30am with no sleep, we decided to spend a couple hours wandering through the airport. Our first experience of real asian food was in the food court…pork. Delicious. Luckily, we only had our backpacks, which made sight-seeing easier downtown. We got to know the MRT very well while here, and this train is one of the easiest systems to learn. Hopping on the MRT during morning rush hour was interesting. Our big packs were bumping into people, but somehow no one minded. One word about Singaporean people, they are the most friendly people you will meet (as friendly as Aussies!). Everyone has manners and all you hear on the train is “Pardon Me. Excuse Me. I’m sorry for bumping you.” No one was talking loudly on the train either. Whispering to each other and speaking quietly on cell phones. Very respectful country. We used the train a lot over the 2 days we were here, and the ride was consistent each time. Not knowing where to go, we decided to take the City Hall stop and walk through the Government district. Very hot and humid though. From here, we walked along the riverfront for pictures. Of course we stopped by the Merlion sculpture for photos! The riverboats cruises were running, so we took a 30 minute trip along the very colorful city. Modern architecture mixed with ancient. Interesting sculptures along the river as well. At the time we were here, we were averaging $1.25 to the US dollar, so a little discount for us. Singapore can be very expensive, especially for restaurants and shopping, unless you go to a hawker station (food court style) and then you can eat for next to nothing. After our boat ride, we spent some time at the National Museum of Singapore offering Singapore’s history. The Singapore River used to be so incredibly filthy, but looks much cleaner now! Unusual art throughout this building including photography and film. Some displays were very dark, and the biggest Buddha I have ever seen was looking down on you too. We then looked for lunch and decided to walk along the riverfront for to find food. We chose Muchos Mexican restaurant in Clarke Quay strictly for the ambiance. The outside dining along the river is spectacular. There are shade coverings that overlap tables, which make it much more enjoyable away from the hot sun. We experienced a passing rain shower while we ate, and the breeze felt great. Many Singapore restaurants will do a “set lunch” menu, basically a 3 course meal for $15 which includes your drink, salad (mango dressing was delicious), (entree) which here was fajitas or a fish, followed by ice cream for dessert. We had already been up for 30+ hours, so we decided to take the train and find our hotel. Staying in Little India gave you a much more authentic feel of Singapore without the modern city life. You could tell when you got off the train that you were the odd person out, and it was more run down here. Not dirty, let me stress that. Singapore is a fine city. You will see t-shirts of this “saying” everywhere you go in Singapore. Why? Because it is a great place to live, and the government will literally fine you for everything. For example, littering is a $500 fine. Okay. Not flushing a toilet is a fine, chewing gum is a fine, homosexuality is a fine, swearing in public is a fine. Now for more serious crimes, such as vandalism, well now you’ll be caned. Murder? Hanged. It’s up to you to decide if these punishments are too harsh, but with millions of people around me the entire time I was there, not once did I feel unsafe. And the city expects clean streets, which is why chewing gum is outlawed. You will not find trash anywhere in Singapore, no matter what time of day, someone is always cleaning the street, bathroom, car park, windows, etc. Back to Little India and all it’s glorious Indian food smells. We had been craving Indian food for a very long time, and we finally had it! Markets everywhere, and I learned the hard way that Asia is known for its bargaining. You’re encouraged to bargain with them. Oops, paid asking price for a pirated CD. We stayed at the Broadway Hotel, which is only a 10 minute walk from the MRT station. We found our room, which the door was only so sealed. It was a very old place but clean. We instantly crashed for a 2 1/2 hour nap and had to force ourselves to wake up. Showered and changed, and once again, we were off to explore more of Singapore. We strolled Little India’s colorful markets and went to our first Buddhist temple. Let me note that through our Asian journey, we visited so many temples, that I will not be able to list them all by name. However, I will mention that each one is very ornate. It is respectful for you to remove your shoes before you enter and stay behind the bar if there is a ceremony happening. People will typically bring food as a peace offering and light an incense candle before they pray. We did get to experience such a ceremony where each Buddha statue is recognized and almost celebrated. A red flower necklace is placed around each Buddha during the ceremony. Music is played by the drum and a woodwind instrument that has the sound of a saxophone. We next walked to Chinatown. Lights are strung everywhere along the streets and music is heard. There was the authentic section of Chinatown, and then the touristed area. We walked through both to see the difference. The Chinatown where people lived was where the locals were sitting around playing Chinese board games, kids playing in the sidewalks, people taking a break from the heat. The touristy Chinatown was a lot more hustle and bustle, music playing everywhere, vendors trying to sell their items in the streets, the infamous red lights strung. Much flashier. Chinatown is a place where you can’t just enjoy a meal at one restaurant. Here, you had to find assorted things to eat everywhere you went, so we did. Steamed pork buns will always be our favorite food of choice. Second is the bamboo wrapped chicken. Moist and just phenomenal flavor. Pork jerky is sold by the kilo and on every street corner. Well, Tim really wanted to try some, so he stood in line at one of the market vendors asking for a slice of pork jerky. He got a strange look but was in love with the flavor of it. We visited a few more temples on the outskirts of Chinatown, and I must mention the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. This name I remember, and it was one of the most ornate buildings I’ve ever seen. Words really can’t describe the gold in this temple. Just breathtaking. We walked a lot of miles today, and our feet let us know it. Since we were getting tired and wanted a somewhat early night, we decided to walk back to the MRT and retire at the hotel. Sleeping solid, we woke up to enjoy our second day here. We walked through Little India once again, and found the hawker stations where the locals eat. Uncomfortable at first, but no one was rude to us. We were definitely in the minority here. There was a big batch of biryani being made at one of the stalls, so Tim asked for a photo of it. One of his favorite Indian dishes. It smelled amazing and just looked gorgeous! We enjoyed a flavorful Banana roti and a Cheese Roti for breakfast. It comes with a curry sauce if you want to dip the bread in it. Fantastic. Onward, we headed back to the waterfront to see if we could pick up our reserved tickets for the night’s opera, but unfortunately, the box office was closed. So we took the MRT to Bugis in search of Kampong Glam. There was a mosque there, which I was hoping to visit, as well as markets. Many antique shops and other boutiques. A much older part of Singapore, away from the modern buildings, more row houses, architecture. I looked for pashminas, hand bags, and other clothing. We ate lunch across the street from the mosque at another fantastic Indian Restaurant. The curries were just so spicy and full of flavor and the garlic naan was incredible! There was only one table for two outside, and since it was available, we sat here and enjoyed a quiet meal. Through lunch, we heard the call for prayer at the mosque. Luckily after lunch, the prayer was finished, and you were allowed to tour inside. Tim and I both had to borrow full length robes to wear to enter. I also had to wear a sarong over my head and we removed our shoes. The mosque is actually quite plain inside, as opposed to its exterior. The lighting fixtures, glass, and carpet were given to them as gifts from Saudi Arabia. There are two levels, the top floor for the women, and the main level for the men. It is required that women pray upstairs, so that men and women side by side don’t get distracted during their prayers. Our tour guide even finds that funny. Women are also allowed to remove their berkas once upstairs following their prayers. Traveling through Glam, we noticed more street markets. You will find dried seafood everywhere, which to us never looked appetizing. So we found the busiest street markets you will ever see in Singapore. Literally shoulder to shoulder, but again, no one was pushy or unfriendly. But hot and humid days made it borderline miserable. Visited several temples in this area, and found one of the funniest “healers” ever. This bald headed woman caught my eye, as I watched her kung fu her patient to death. Tim was even entertained. In fact, we found a curb to sit and watch this woman hit the back of this man’s head before pinching his arm. All you could do was sympathize for this man as he winced in pain. Whatever she was healing, she ended up creating other problems. But hey, a returning client! We watched her for 45 minutes, and by the time we left, she had drawn quite a crowd of passersby watching as well. There was a line of “healers” near a temple, and she was by far the craziest. Anyway, time to get ready for the opera. We were seeing Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” at the Theatre by the Bay. Excited! We kept dinner easy by eating at the Indian restaurant in the hotel. They also included a $20 voucher since we were staying there, which didn’t make that decision very difficult. Tandoori is always good, and after that, we were on the MRT. Riding the MRT I’ve already explained, but fares I have not yet mentioned. Everywhere within downtown Singapore is a $2.20 fare, which at the end of your ride, you get $1 back for returning your fare card. So riding around all day is quite cheap, no matter if you’re 1-2 stops away or 9-10. Or you can just walk everywhere too (within reason). The walk from the MRT to the theatre was actually quite long. The Theatre On the Bay stop is actually at the end of the mall. Convenient, so you can shop while you stroll to the theatre. Just didn’t plan a lot of time for that extra walking. This theatre is in the shape of the durian fruit, a popular fruit over there which we never felt like trying. Apparently, when just opened, it smells like a skunk. Oh, and it’s a fine if you open one on the MRT!! Anyway, because of their National Holiday coming up and planned activities in effect, there was so much traffic congestion that the opera start was delayed 20 minutes. Very nice theater inside and comfortable seats actually. Usually, theatres don’t provide enough leg space. Anyway, this Mozart opera is quite comical and entertaining. From here, we had to walk the riverfront one last time before our flight into Malaysia the next day. The nights cool off to a tolerable temperature, which is why you see many more people out at night. Everything is air-conditioned over there too. Just too hot. Anyway, there was a concert going on in the distance downtown, so we walked to it. Apparently, the kid who won the Singapore Idol this year was the headliner. Singapore was chosen for the Junior Olympics, and this concert was to support that. Continuing on, we strolled along the other side of the river now and there was a food festival going on. You had to buy a card and charge money to it, and then go to the vendors to purchase your food items. Sounded great but we decided to pass, since there were people everywhere and the lines were long. We strolled further along the bright and vibrant riverfront and noticed a chinese opera going on. Was there anything Singapore didn’t do for nightlife? It was actually a puppet show outside the mall. People were sitting there laughing, but we had no clue what the dialogue was, but we watched it anyway. No subtitles! Nice night for red bean ice cream. Yum!! We got back on the MRT and headed back to Little India. The Mustafa Centre is a gigantic 6 or 7 level store with anything and everything in it to buy. It was recommended by friends of ours to at least check it out. It’s open 24 hours a day, and at midnight, we ventured in. No kidding. It was packed full of people. You can buy anything from a piece of gum to a watch, to a tv, to fabric for sewing to groceries. Didn’t buy anything but enjoyed the people watching. Went to bed late and woke up to catch a morning flight to Penang, but not without another banana and cheese roti for breakfast. Oh, the coconuts you drink from I didn’t care for. Not sweet, more like sour water…So we take the MRT to the airport for our first real Asian experience of flying. If we would have had checked luggage, we would have missed this flight altogether. Check-in was insane. There was one counter open for Penang, and the line was wrapped around twice. Boarding was in 30 minutes. The line never moved. People were checking animals, food, all kinds of stuff. Insane. Boarding was now to start in 5 minutes. A lady came up and said “Web Check-in here.” Well, we weren’t already checked in, because we didn’t think it would be a problem. I told her we had no checked luggage, so she nodded and let us in that line. 10 minutes later, we were heading to the gate. Will only travel to Asia again with carry on bags. It is worth the hassle of taking less stuff. Missing that flight would have been a real pain. So a 50 minute flight and we land in Penang.

South Island New Zealand (part 2)

zatar21 — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 02:23:02 +0000

We had no plans for the day, except that we needed to be in Haast that night. So we drove from Hokitika (yes, we stopped off at a bakery before we left) and continued until we got the first glimpse of Franz Josef’s glacier. Absolutely striking. Have never seen a glacier before, and certainly not one that is surrounded by temperate rain forest. Our original thought was to stop in for lunch in the town of Franz Josef and take a hiking trail to the base of the glacier, but we decided to be spontaneous that day. We asked what the price of a helihike was. Being closed 8 previous days due to inclement weather, they reopened that day, and there were spaces available. Excellent, we’ll suffer the price later. We had 1 hour to grab lunch in the town and meet for an afternoon of helicopter rides to/from glacier and 2 hours of ice hiking. Let me explain. There are other glacial hikes available through these companies, but on the 1/2 day or full day hikes, you would hike a little over 1/2 way up. Why do that?! The helicopter takes you 3/4 way up the glacier, where the blue ice is. Besides, the base of the glacier was very dirty, so we didn’t care about walking through that. Warm day outside, but they still gave us warm pants/socks/boots/coat to put on during our “pre-flight” discussion, etc. I soon realized I had too much warm clothing on and sweat the entire time. This was our 2nd time in a helicopter, but a first for this type of helicopter ride. There were 9 of us in the group, so it took two helicopter runs to get everybody on the glacier. It was a 12 minute ride to the glacier from where we started. Never thought of a helicopter ride being scary, until you experience a ride with the driver we had. He thought it would be cool to turn our ride into a roller coaster. Rather than landing on the glacier, he would do a 180 degree turn so that we were basically looking upside down at the ice before turning us again the opposite direction. Very fun but quite disorienting. Not a good way to start an ice hike mind you. So, we got out of the helicopter and stepped foot on the ice. We then had the pleasure of learning how to put on crampons. Not funny at the time. The idea is to walk naturally and not turn your foot inwards to lose balance. Easier said than done, but managed on the trek. Our guide was great. Tim loved watching him break through the ice with his pick to create pathways. Remember, this is a living glacier, and pathways change all the time. How to describe the colors of the ice. The most beautiful blue color you can imagine. Listening to the sound of running water, as the glacier is melting and ice droplets falling on you as you enter a cave is beyond describable. Also, a glacier hike is not complete without a tasting of that pure water. An experience we both will never have again or forget. Halfway through the hike, I managed to step wrong and land in running water. Awesome. Quite cold if you’ve never done that before. You might ask where my husband was to save me….at the front of the group, while I was in back. My savior indeed. You do get used to wearing crampons, as you step casually over ice pinnacles (the glacier isn’t flat). Our final part of the trek was to hike down a portion of an “ice hill” with carved steps, and our guide offered us a rope in climbing down. Cool. Exhausting but incredible experience. We took a very normal helicopter ride back down to our base and couldn’t believe we had just done something so wild and crazy. Highlight of entire trip for both of us. It was very late afternoon as we got back to the car and still had quite a drive. We stopped briefly at Fox Glacier for a quick look and decided against the terminal walk to the base. Not exciting once you’ve been on top of one of the largest NZ glaciers, especially since there are over 3000 reported NZ glaciers. From Fox, we drove until Bruce Bay. This stop off was recommended by several of the locals for its rock art. Where rain forest meets the sea. Bruce Bay is special, in that almost every available space of beach land is taken up with a sampling of one’s creativity of rock art and shells. As the sun was setting, we used what we could find in leaving our trademark artwork behind for others to enjoy. Not knowing the history behind this tradition, there was still something very spiritual about being participating. We stayed long enough to build our rock art and left before we were eaten by gnats. Haast is an interesting place. Nothing there. We booked a room at one of the only motels in town. Luckily, we got there by 8pm and, although we had already pre-paid for the room, the reception was closing in the next 20 minutes, and we would have been stuck without our room. No hospitality here. Where was dinner? The receptionist said everything was already closed in this small town, that we would be feasting on their ice cream bars, but we took a chance and found the only tavern open and another good night of comfort food by a warm fire. The next morning, we were on the move to look for more jade, and stumbled upon a necklace Tim really liked. Very warrior-like, the one he chose. Anyway, the lady at the gem place told us of a local beach where we could find serpentine. So, of course, we had to stop off! We came back with several handfuls of nice rocks. We then took another scenic drive through Haast Pass stopping for several waterfalls hikes and the well-known “Blue Pools” walk. These pools are glacier-fed and once on the swing bridge, we looked down into the pools and noticed their clarity, seeing all the way to the bottom. Another surreal moment. A barbecue ribs lunch stop in Wanaka for Tim and “Puzzling World” for me! I love any and every kind of puzzle. This outside puzzle’s goal was for you to set foot in every corner tower (there were 4 total). Mostly a ground level maze, but there were 2nd level bridges (which kept you from looking down and seeing the pathways) to use as well. Took us 40 minutes to complete. The bulk of our time was actually trying to get back out. From there, we settled in Queenstown. Tim liked this city very much, and I have to agree that I could live here. Lots of shopping, great restaurants, and very gorgeous views indeed. Bought several souvenirs here and ate at the popular “Fergburger”. The menu is very comical, simply for its bizarre factor, so we kept one for a souvenir. Upscale town with lots of nightlife, and yes, another casino. The one thing New Zealand has, is clean towns. You will not find trash anywhere. The drive from Queenstown to Te Anau, is incredible. We had to catch our boat at noon, so we were limited on how many photo stops we made. The lakes are amazing. They’re so clean that they don’t look real. We arrived in Te Anau to wait for the next part of our adventure. We took a boat across Lake Manapouri, which was relaxing. Cloudy and it looked like it would rain any second, but never did. We enjoyed feeling the wind on the top deck as we ate our gourmet box lunches. It took about an hour to cross the lake until we got to the power station, where our bus met us for transport to where our ship would be. Now we are officially in Fjordland National Park, the most isolated area around. The dirt road our bus driver took us through was insane. Very mountainous and curvy. He did allow us several photo opportunities through the park, before we safely arrived at Doubtful Sound. Milford Sound is accessible by car, Doubtful Sound is not; therefore, much less visited. We settled in to our quad bunks (luckily we had the entire 4 bunk room to ourselves) with warm muffins and coffee waiting. The weather was ominous now and just depressing. Our ship started up and off we went through Doubtful Sound. It started to rain, and rain it did. Blowing horizontally even. We didn’t see the sun again for another 4 days. Anyway, the Sound was still very stunning. We observed a seal colony, blue penguins and endless waterfalls. I have never seen so many, and I can’t believe I was overwhelmed with the amount I did see. Never thought I would admit that. Fjordland averages 200 days of rainfall a year, which makes you quickly realize you are in the heart of a rain forest. 15 metres of rain a year = 45 feet. Did that let us down? Only slightly. Although we couldn’t stand outside on the ship’s balconies, we did enjoy the views from inside. We docked for the night in a sheltered cove, and the activities began. Tim and I decided to kayak in the rain. Cold? Yes, but who cares, when you can kayak very close to huge waterfalls through the fjord. Looking up at the steep cliffs makes you also realize just how small you are. First kayaking experience for us both and we loved it. The rain was steady, but somehow we could still feel the stillness and isolation. Next, the skipper made an announcement on board for those who wanted to do a polar bear dive off the back of the boat. Stupid? Yes, but there’s something exhilarating about jumping in ice cold water and your body becoming instantly numb afterwards. Tim was more stupid, because he jumped twice. Hot showers next and time for dinner in the saloon. We listened to a slide show presentation after dinner about Doubtful Sound, followed by me playing the piano in the saloon for an hour for the guests. We weren’t ready for bed yet, so then we played Scrabble. Tim slept much better than I did. Could still feel the slight motion. The next morning was an early 6 am start. Men and women shared the same bathrooms, so scrambling for space was interesting. You never expect to share a toilet with a member of the opposite sex in a public restroom, but we did. Breakfast was good, and although it was still raining, we stayed outside (no wind today) for many more photos. Still cannot believe how many temporary waterfalls we experienced on this journey. We followed the same course of taking the bus ride back, followed by our boat ride across the lake. I kept laughing at the skipper, since we were inside this time. He was reading a book while he navigated the boat. We grabbed a Chinese lunch in town, went to a version of an IMAX experience on Fjordland National Park and decided that a trek to Milford Sound was a good idea. Wow. Gorgeous drive and many stops, including the Mirrored Lakes. The drive to Milford Sound was scary towards the end. There was so much rainwater, that several waterfalls were spilling quite close to the road. A landslide occurred the week before, so we saw the debris as we drove through. The tunnel into Milford Sound was unbelievably weird and scary but we managed. We got pictures of this. Milford Sound, although half the size of Doubtful Sound, is still very picturesque. We hiked a short trail around the opening of the Sound for photos. The drive back to Te Anau was less than pleasant. Rainy, curvy roads, and getting dark. Nice views of Lake Manapouri from our motel that next morning. We got an early start, since we had another full day’s drive ahead of us. Let me back up. It wasn’t supposed to be a full day of driving, but Tim decided to extend our plans so we drove the entire Southern scenic route (400+ km) across the southern tip of the island, just to see what was there. Lots of hills (reminded us of Britain) and sheep! We expected to see many sheep on this trip, but none until then. Beautiful countryside here. From the historic fishing town of Riverton, we landed outside of Tuatapere, to “Monkey Island”, so had to check it out. Luckily, the tide was out so we walked to the little mound. We continued through to Invercargill for a bite to eat and ventured onward through the Catlins for a hike to Purakaunui Falls. It was very late afternoon, and as we hadn’t set up lodging beforehand (since we changed our itinerary), we kept driving, passing Nugget Point, another scenic spot for fur seals and a lighthouse to find a motel in Balclutha. Not much good to say about this town, especially when dinner was Chinese take away at a fish-n-chips place (only thing open at 7pm). NZ food is very bland. Our best meal on the trip was at a pizzeria. After dinner, I was on a mission to find more glowworms, so we made the stupid mistake of driving 45 minutes to Manuka Tunnel to look for them. Common sense should have told me that the tunnel would also be dark during the day, but didn’t realize that then. In the pitch black in the middle of a forest, I decide quickly that I’m too scared to go searching for a tunnel to find glowworms. We turn around and try again the next morning. Much better. The tunnel’s darkness was still quite intimidating (sorry but NZ has huge spiders), but no snakes) but we managed to see a few. Back in the car after another quick stop at a lakeside recreation park, we prepare for the hardest hike yet on another tunnel trail. This hike was a challenge. Very steep going down but gorgeous coastal scenery allowed you to forget the pain. Once we made it to the large rock at the bottom, a small tunnel was carved out to get from the arch to the beach. Hard to explain but very cool indeed. Warm sunny day to hang on the beach. However, the steep ascent was not fun. Arriving back at the car, we drove rest of the way to Dunedin, a Scottish city with very interesting architecture. The only disappointment was there were no Scottish restaurants, shops, or museums. I was excited to tour the Larnach Castle, the only castle in NZ. The woodcarver carved lizards in his work as his trademark. Exquisite! 3 stories and landscaped grounds overlooking the Otago Peninsula. From here, I made Tim take us to Baldwin Street, the steepest residential street in the world. It’s also recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records. So Tim decided we walk up the 35% grade street, although my plan was to drive it. After we walked back down, I did make him drive us up, which was fun too. The Friend’s Hill Lodge was ridiculous. Hard to find outside the city, and even on the street they were on. There was a side entrance we had a hard time finding. Plus a “For Sale” sign posted outside the property. We opened the gate and drove down the lengthy driveway to inquire as to our stay. Now, we had pre-paid in advance (yes, we’re back on driving schedule again) and as we pulled up to their large house, the man came out and stood inside the other gate which led to the house (they kept livestock). We were standing outside of that gate with our luggage in tow, and he would not let us in. So we talked about nonsense until I finally had enough to say we’d like to check in. After I explained who I was and what room we had already paid for, he let us in. The woman popped out of the house to check on her grandchildren playing in the yard, but never acknowledged us. Our room was a joke. No heat/air-con, tea/coffee facilities, tv, bathroom, etc. I could go on about this place, but I’ll save my word count on the blog. A terrible night’s sleep and ready to get out at the crack of dawn, but not without making a big deal that they got up extra early to serve us breakfast, which by the way consisted of a box of already opened cereal and a piece of toast. Thanks, but no thanks. Oh, turns out he is an accountant. Anyway, we got out of there and checked out the town a bit more. The art gallery was fantastic, the train station was interesting, and we also made time to tour 2 cathedrals within the city. And alas! There was a Scot playing bagpipes! We drove from Dunedin onward along the coast to the famous Moeraki Boulders. These spherical large boulders are located on a small stretch of beach along the Otago Coast. Made of mud and clay, several were already cracked open, so we could see the orange quartz-like inside. How and why they’re there, nobody knows, and for how many thousands of years even. Bizarre. Continuing on, our next stop off was in Oamaru, a Victorian town. Ornate houses and buildings allowed you to step back in time a bit. Very quaint. We stopped for the night in Timaru, settled in early after a spicy Indian meal, and hired a DVD to watch in the room. The next morning, we again changed our plans, and instead of driving the 2 hours north to Christchurch for a day of relaxation, we decided to be much more adventurous. We drove west for a day of sight-seeing at Mount Cook. It was very cloudy that day, so we never actually saw the peak; however, the drive to/from Mount Cook was spectacular. The lakes just got bluer in color. Very surreal, even with gray skies. We decided on two short hikes in the park, which offered views of a glacier which terminates into a lake. Wow. The first of the two hikes was the overlook looking down into the lake (very steep climb to the top) and the second hike we walked to the base of the lake down below. We were tired and hungry after the afternoon nonetheless. The drive back was long, but luckily, there was a non-profit group who was set up on the side of the road offering free food to cars, encouraging a stretch break and lack of fatigue. Sweet! Free lunch. A few other stop offs for photos, then continuing on to Christchurch for our final night in NZ. We did a night driving tour of Christchurch and found nothing of interest actually. Supposedly designed as an old British town, but the architecture seemed very modern to us. Nice thai dinner, then on to bed for an early morning flight. I must address the departure tax issue leaving NZ. After an awesome, although extremely expensive trip, we encountered a $25 NZ departure tax per person in the airport. What?! Not included in our overpriced airfare. Everything in NZ costs money. Tim’s joke the entire trip was “You want to see our tree? $5.” He’s right, unfortunately. We did not expect so much commercialism here, even though their main industry is tourism. They nickel and dime everything. Oh, and New Zealanders are not as friendly as we expected them to be. Food for thought, but overall, a fantastic journey we would do again.

South Island of New Zealand (part 1)

zatar21 — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 07:40:30 +0000

Why has this entry taken so long? We’ve been so busy here in Australia trying to enjoy our last few months, but now as I have the time to enter another blog entry, I remember this island like we just came back yesterday. After arriving to Picton via the Interisland ferry (rough waters for the first half of the journey, breathtaking as seen from the previous blog entry), we picked up another little Hyundai and were off to check in at the hotel. We were complimentary upgraded to a waterfront room, then we set down our luggage, checked out the views from our balcony, and walked through the downtown area. Taking in a few shops, grocery store (had to see what they sell!), and a Scottish meal for dinner, we walked back to the room and enjoyed chatting on the balcony for hours with our neighbors. Glasses of wine and desserts through the night as we also enjoyed watching the large ferry come into port all lit up. Very peaceful night, but chilly! The next morning, we began our first of many drives through the South Island. We drove through Blenheim (overrated town, couldn’t even find a bakery!), Blenheim’s wine region, which had tasty pinot noir, and trendy Nelson, where we stopped off at a pizzeria for lunch and walked through its downtown, browsing many shops and galleries. We still had quite a drive until we reached our destination, so we continued on. Not exactly knowing where our accommodation was, we drove through the port town of Westport, realizing it wasn’t there, although the cottage had a Westport address. Tricky. As darkness was now upon us and no cell phone, we took a guess to go out to Cape Foulwind to see if our accommodation was there. It was! And nothing else around except for a few other cottages, a local tavern, lighthouse, and seals. Dinner was absolutely delicious. It was cold that night, so comfort food by the fire was a great idea. Cozy little place, very open floor plan inside. The next morning, I took advantage of the sunroom and got a laugh out of the wekas. These creatures are brown flightless birds, who are very nosy. I opened the french doors and one tried to come in. There were two on them on the property and neither of them ever made a sound, so if you weren’t careful, they would be right next to you. Rather big though (size of a chicken?). The weather was cloudy, as it rained the night before, but a walk to observe the seal colony was a must. They were right there in front of us! Could listen to them bark all day. Let me back up. Our first impression of the South Island, although gorgeous, was that the landscape wasn’t as lush or mountainous as we were expecting. Many people say to not waste your time on the North Island and only visit the South, but that few days, we thought the other way around. You will soon realize just how much of this island we saw by our driving routes alone. My plan was to zigzag through the south island, through the mountain passes to take in all of NZ’s beauty. So, after the seals, we drove to Reefton and stopped for a short walk through this old mining town browsing a couple galleries and antique shops. It’s funny what our minds have us remember. Reefton will remain in our thoughts for the brightest blue painted courthouse you will ever see. Could not take anything seriously once you come across such a silly building, with the word “Courthouse” written in the likeness of a child’s handwriting. Next, we traversed through Lewis Pass, admiring a few snow-capped mountains of the Southern Alps and hiking several trails through the valleys of Springs Junction. Barren, rocky landscape. Well, I decided we should detour into Hanmer Springs, which turned out to be a very snooty ski town. I was interested in the thermal pools there, and well, pass. Neither of us were happy we drove a bit out of the way, especially since I had been hearing good things about this town. Think Vale but not Vale at all. Anyway, we got lucky in that we settled in for the night at a self-contained cottage on a newly planted vineyard. We strolled through the young vines at sunset. Dinner that night was in the downtown city of Rangiora, a satisfying tavern, with an even more satisfying casino nearby. I’m not usually a fan of video slots, but quite entertaining and if the machine keeps teasing me with small winnings, I’ll keep playing. A hearty breakfast the next morning at the cottage, as we geared up for another full day of driving. Our start led us to “Castle Hill”, in the Canterbury region of the high country. Castle Hill is 700 metres above sea level, an area of limestone boulders giving an impression of castle ruins. Although bees were prominent everywhere and I didn’t like them swarming me, there was a peaceful stillness on the hill walking around. Traveling onward, today’s route led us across the very well-known Arthur’s Pass. Although a sunny, but windy morning to start, the rain kept coming the closer we got to Arthur’s Pass National Park. I refuse to let a little cold and rain to stop me from a waterfall hike. So with a hot cocoa in hand, we set off on a very steep and slippery climb to the 131 metre waterfall, “Devil’s Punchbowl.” Wow. You can see this waterfall at a distance from the road, but the minute you hike close to it, the sound is just incredible. With the rain, this waterfall was massive. Well worth us having to thaw out after we got back to the car. As you can see, the further south we drive, the more lush the South Island becomes. We drove onward and got to our destination, the town of Hokitika, before the shops closed. Tim was on a search this entire trip to find jade, so we stopped in several jade factories in Hokitika. We stayed in a quaint little cottage for the night and enjoyed the woodstove and rocking chair. French doors off the main bedroom led to an outside verandah and manicured backyard. Antique furniture throughout and a window seat in the hallway. Our accommodations after this night went downhill fast. Looking for dinner, we considered the only french cafe in town. Delicious! It had been quite a while since I ate venison, so a nice treat for me. And you can never go to a french restaurant without a delectable Crepe Suzette to end. Pleased that they flambed the crepe at our table. Now, yes it was still lightly raining. Tim absolutely refused to go see more glowworms, but he’s not the only one on vacation, is he? So I decided we must go find this magical glowworm dell. Wow. We walked 3 minutes with flashlights until we reached where they are, and once our eyes adjusted to the light of the glowworms, it really is magical. Just no other way to describe the rich blue colors. They were everywhere. You instantly felt that you were in some fairy tale. We stayed there for a while, listening to the rain in the grotto enjoying the “night lights”. We woke up the next morning to beautiful blue skies, and headed south towards the glaciers. There is so much to share in these next several days, that it’s best to stop here with this entry and pick back up with our unexpected helicopter ride over the Franz Josef glacier. Enjoy!

North Island of New Zealand

zatar21 — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 09:08:24 +0000

After a 5 hour drive to the airport and an overnight nonstop flight into Auckland, we arrived at 5:00am with bloodshot eyes. Although extremely tired, we were thrilled at finally being in a country we’ve always wanted to visit. We quickly got through customs (luckily without a $200 fine for forgetting to declare my hiking boots) and got our little Toyota Yaris. We decided to take a driving tour through Auckland, since this would be the only time on the trip to actually see the city. Drove around the harbor, by the skyline tower, and ended up at the domain. It’s now 8am and we’re wondering where the sun is. Oh, that’s right. Daylight savings is still on, and it’s autumn. Took a stretch break and walked through the park, admiring the gardens, native plants, and sculptures. Driving across the bridge, we kept driving until we could look for a nice overlook of the harbor bridge. No luck, whatsoever. Every time we would drive around a bend for a photo of the bridge, it would end in a private driveway.

From Auckland, we continued eastward, then north to drive the length of the Coromandel Peninsula. Spectacular scenery here. A little white knuckle driving as we had a narrow, windy road with absolutely no shoulders and straight drops right into the water. When you only see a white line and a big drop on a blind curve, you wonder what big truck could be coming around the corner. Beautiful overlooks everywhere.

Every little village we stopped in to view either artwork or pick up an energy bar. We checked into our 3 star hotel (not as nice as a Super 8 ) and asked about a good place for dinner. The lady gave us a local map of Whitianga, and I was curious as to the whereabouts of Hot Water Beach. She looked up the tide tables and said we were okay to go and handed us a shovel. What is this place? The coolest place ever. There is a hot spring fed through a portion of this beach, which at low tide, you can shovel in the sand, and literally build out your own hot tub. We got there, and it was buzzing with people. You had to be careful to not dig too deep, or the water was absolutely scalding. We were there long enough to enjoy our hot tub with many other ethnic people, and once the tide quickly began coming in, it was quite chilly. Once the cold water got you, everyone began shouting out how cold it was in 20 different languages. Absolutely rejuvenating.

10km from the beach, we had just enough time left in the day to hike down to Cathedral Cove. Beautiful sea overlooks and little islands close by, the hike took you through the rain forest around several bends until you got to the bottom for another secluded beach area. The cove offers a steep arch formation which resembles the spires of a church cathedral. It was also a window to look through and see another beautiful formation.

Our energy was quickly wearing thing for the hike back uphill. Dinner was scarce, so we ended up with a very basic chinese takeaway meal. For those that love chinese food as much as we do, need to understand that New Zealand chinese is terrible and unflavored. The sauce is very thin and is very bland like gravy, and the chinese “restaurants” are actually tied in with fish and chip places. How can you make a good sweet/sour pork and fried fish at the same time? After being up for 30+ hours, it didn’t matter tonight how bad the food was or how many bugs were in the room. The next morning we continued south to the well known city of Rotorua. It’s a huge tourist destination, simply because of the geo-thermal activity there. We arrived into the city in a reasonable time to explore Wai-O-Tapu pools. This is the only bit of research Tim is given credit for on the planning of this trip. Fantastic place. Tucked away in the mountains, we walked several km through the park, noticing the many craters and pools there were. His favorite, the ”Champagne Pool” offered beautiful blue and orange hues and it’s temperature at the surface was a “chilly” 74 degrees celsius.

We also hiked through the park and spotted the hot waterfall, which fed into a hot water lake, which was quite unusual. My favorite pool was “Devil’s Bath” for its neon green coloring. We checked into the historic hotel in town, Princes Gate Hotel and got our room. Things got very interesting here. I called Mitai Village for our booking that night of the Maori experience, and checked to make sure their bus was still picking us up at our hotel. They couldn’t find our reservation for the evening and set me in a panic. Luckily, I had a printed email receipt as proof. Anyway, the bus was going to pick us up within the hour. Turns out, the bus was already there and we rushed to catch it, as it was also making other stops throughout the city before entering Mitai Village. Could it get worse? Yes. Tim and I both forgot our cameras. Unbelievable. Once we arrived he asked the bus driver if there was any possible way to take him back to our hotel and pick up a camera? She obliged and then we were fine again. I had been looking forward to this night for months. So, a traditional hangi experience, is when food is cooked underground. As everyone was settling into their tables for the night, the emcee began welcoming us in the Maori language. He requested that one of us become the chief for the night. The emcee then began welcoming our tribe and finding out how many countries were represented. He would then welcome them and speak in their language. We ended up being the “Tribe of 22 nations”. Phenomenal job he did with this. Then they bring us outside to unveil the food.

From there, our huge group of 200 was led to the fairy spring in their village, where the warriors steered a canoe through the spring at dusk and presented their intimidation faces (bright corneas and tongues sticking out).

We were then led to their cultural ampitheater, where our chief was to meet their chief in a ceremony. The maoris performed many song and dance by the fire also explaining their weapons and culture. We sat in the front row for this. Time for dinner! It was a buffet style, which although in the front row for the show, I was the last for dinner. Chicken, lamb, potatoes were all cooked in the hangi and absolutely delicious smoky flavors. Our water was directly from the spring and so good. After dessert and completely at night, we were led back through their fairy spring by torch light to experience their village lit up at night. Beautiful rainbow colors. We saw glowworms!!! Another thing very high on my NZ list. Fly larvae that literally glows at night. We also saw some of the endangered wildlife, such as the kiwi, which are protected there. Memorable night, as their bus took us back to the hotel. The next morning, we decided to eat breakfast in the hotel. Their menu suckered me in with french toast and grilled bananas. As we sat in the ballroom, I noticed the grand piano there and played for a while. After breakfast, another quick stroll through government gardens and a few more hot pools, and then we began our drive into Napier. Being the adventurers we are, we took the alternate rain forest to get there. Little did we know at the time, that it was going to include 95 km of gravel road. Basically, rough roads ahead. The road was so incredible narrow and windy that we didn’t have many opportunities for photos, although this experience of solitude was amazing. Just listening to the birds and driving by waterfalls and a substantial lake was unforgettable. Mokau Falls are 37 meters high.

The landscape changed to rolling hills alongside a river for the remainder of this trek. We arrived in Napier for the evening. A friend had suggested to me prior to the trip, that the black sand is worth a stop. She’s right, it was. Although, it was of pebble, still very cool indeed.

We walked through this art deco town, previously devastated by an earthquake in 1931 and rebuilt. Indian food for dinner (average) and off to bed. Realizing now how difficult it is to wake up with energy to explore NZ before the sun even thinks of shining, we seem to fall into a 9am pattern. Can’t seem to get out the door before then this entire trip. We’re used to traveling and being on the road by 8am. Another quick stroll through the town and into a few quaint shops, then on to wine region, Hawke’s Bay. Known mostly for their pinot gris, we did find a few reds we liked. We ventured into 2 different wineries that morning (yes, morning) and had fun tasting. The first, Mission Estate, was great. This man was British at heart and absolutely hysterical. Tim and I laughed the entire time with him. We walked the grounds, toured the gallery, and bought several bottles for the trip. We drove westward into Wanganui. The drive took a bit longer than expected, since the fastest speed limit in NZ is 100kmh (60 mph). And every little town you drive through, you slow way down to snail speed. Anyway, we arrived in Wanganui looking forward to driving a portion of the well-known Wanganui River Road. As there is always a glitch when traveling, our plan was to check into our accommodation (very historic farmhouse) before driving onto this river road. However, we had to drive 24km out of the way just to get to this accommodation, which after arrived, not expecting the gates to enter were locked. No cell phone, no anything to get in touch with them to ask how to get through this gate. This bird sanctuary/rain forest bushy park residence is set on several hundred acres of land, so you can’t see the house until much farther inside the property lines. Anyway, as we begin driving back into Wanganui, we stop at a local tavern to ask to use a phone. The owner already knows the number for bushy park and tries to contact them directly. She leaves a message asking urgently to contact her since her customers can’t get through the gate. Long story short. We decided to drive part of the river road and then get dinner, followed by calling bushy park from a pay phone and finally getting through. This river road drive, although very scary, was so picturesque and quaint.

The overlook inside the valley was picture perfect and getting stuck behind a huge herd of sheep was the highlight. As we inched forward, they slowly began parting. Otherwise, we’d still be stuck there surrounded by them.

Bushy Park ended up being a fabulous visit. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to explore the hiking trails within the property until the next morning, but the house was just gorgeous. We had a beautiful room with a settee and very high ceilings. There was no en-suite bathroom, but luckily, we were the only visitors that night, so it worked out perfectly. The next morning, we hiked a portion of the property through protected, uncut rain forest, and enjoyed a nice continental breakfast on the large verandah. Beautiful morning it had turned out to be. Then the mad rush down to Wellington, so that we could catch the interislander ferry into Picton, the South Island. We only chose to enjoy 4 days on the north island, so that we could maximize our travels in the south. It has been suggested many times to us to do this. Although, we were happy to spend the 11 remaining days on the South Island, we were pleasantly surprised with all the beauty that the North Island offers. Another day there would have been satisfying. As we drove into Wellington, the rains came and refused to quit. This 3 hour ferry ride was anything but peaceful. 3 metre swells didn’t bother Tim, but they surely annoyed me. I never want to sit inside on any boat ride, but with torrential rain and heavy wind, there was no other option. So we rocked for the majority of the trip. However, this is always a silver lining…as we entered the channel to the south island, the rain stopped and there was partial clearing. So I enjoyed the remainder of this scenic trip outside. How do you describe, in words, one of the most beautiful boat rides you’ve ever taken? You can’t.

What you see for the last 45 minutes of this trip is iconic NZ and every picture perfect postcard is what we saw, even if the sun wasn’t out. This inter-island journey is already what makes New Zealand so magical. The next entry will most likely be split up in at least 2 parts, because we’ve taken 3700 photos, and want to provide as many of them on the blog as possible.