We are off to the Great Ocean Road today. It is cold and grey outside, but at least it isn’t raining (yet). Melbourne does go through the 4 seasons in one day, no, make that one morning. Which is nice when it is raining, at least you know the sun will come out soon. Crap if it is the other way round.
Francine and her boyfriend Jackson kindly picked us up at Melbourne airport. So nice to see her again!
They live in St. Kilda, a really nice (“trendy”) part of town (or suburb; Melbourne is made up of suburbs as far as I can figure out). To celebrate our reunion we went down to the beach and enjoyed a glass of wine. At first we were lolling around in the sun, chuckling to ourselves that this weather wasn’t that bad after all. But then the clouds obscured the sun and a sharp wind reminded us that winter and the indicated 13°C were true fact. Brr!
I have taken to wearing at least 6 layers of clothing, without counting my coat. To add insult to injury, the houses here DO NOT have central heating. No wonder Francine bought those two little stoves!
Melbourne reminds me a lot of England. The street signs, the people, the reddish- brown brick,... if it were not for the accent (and the cold) I could believe I was 12 again, on my way to a Camp Beaumont summer camp. Architecturally it is really interesting: old buildings and brick churches stand side by side with glamorous new glass and concrete high-risers. With the abundance of English bakeries, quaint French cafés and traditional pubs I can best describe it as “cosy”.
Making an effort to be a good tourist (and get out of the house), we took a guided tour of the Rod Laver stadium, home to the Australian Open. The most interesting room was, as you can imagine, the Men’s locker room! All nice brown wood and cream leather sofas. As true Swiss, we took a picture of Roger Federer’s (and Nadal’s) locker. As soon as the guide’s back was turned, I took a dip in the Men’s Jacuzzi... (no water, of course!).
We went out to Rye for the weekend. Was nice to be out of the city and get a feel for the countryside. The views and beaches were amazing. The area (Mornington Peninsula) is also packed with wineries, so we enjoyed a very liquid Sunday lunch on our way back... bliss!
Met up with Jess, an Emergency Nurse I had met travelling in Hanoi and then again in Bangkok. After a tour of the ER (could never work there!) we went out for a (surprisingly) good pizza and then on to the Casino for some nightlife.
Thursday 24 July 2008
Wednesday 23 July 2008
Singapore
We are now in Melbourne. It is freezing cold and not a day goes by that we do not curse the (almost) universal absence of central heating.
Mark arrived safe and sound in Bangkok. On the taxi ride in, he lost to time declaring that his main interests were eating and shopping. No surprise there. We rose early the next day and after the obligatory sightseeing we hit the malls. His disappointment over having wait two months before he can actually buy stuff (we have 2 days in BKK before we fly back to CH) was soon dispelled by ample amounts of chocolate milkshake and satay.
Now after Manuel’s bad experience with Thai massages, Mark was intrigued but wary of this widely renowned manipulation. Luckily enough, I had discovered a place that offered an amazing foot & Thai massage some weeks earlier with Jess (Australian girl). As it was raining, I led him there.
We had the place to ourselves, so there we lay, side by side, with these tiny Thai women twisting us this way and that. Now at the beginning he was fine, joking away, until they started on his legs (the massage began with a foot massage). Suddenly he got progressively paler. On alarmed inquiry if he was alright, all he could manage was a strangled (and slightly hysterical) “yes”. After a while, it got to the point that he looked like he was praying! But he was alright in the end. The next day he actually claimed that he felt really good! Phew! A weight off my mind! That’s the last time I pull such a trick on him!
Just as we were getting bored with Bangkok (it kept raining), we found ourselves on a plane off to Singapore. Aunt Dolly and Uncle Edmund met us at the airport. Just like when we were young! J We had already switched into Singapore mode, which means “food, give us food”. And eat we did! From satay, to carrot cake (white radish omelette) and chilli crab we stuffed ourselves to the brim. Lovely! Uncle Edmund wowed us with his skills at the pool table and karaoke bar. Aunt Dolly took me out shopping and we made a beeline for semi-precious stones... great protection for the traveller!
The next night we saw the Pereira family: Richard and Christine picked us up and took us to the East coast, where we marvelled at an automatic wakeboard training lake. Dionne & Calvin with the two little rascals joined us, with Cara and her boyfriend. Food, food, glorious food soon appeared on the tables. After checking out the Singapore nightlife with Cara, we spent the night at Dionne’s place and were treated to sushi for breakfast and a demonstration of Calvin’s anti-snore device.
Thank you all for your generous hospitality!
Tuesday 8 July 2008
Lombok, Bali, Bangkok
I'm back (home) in Suvarnabhumi International Airport (Bangkok). Waiting for my darling brother to arrive in a couple of hours.
They seem to be waiting for royalty or some sports team in the arrival area: everything is cordoned off and masses of police are strutting around in orderly fashion. Doing their best to get in the way of emotional homecomings, not to mention my unwieldy cart. Tss, tss!
Mark and I will be spending two nights in Bangkok - one day for shopping and one for sightseeing (no prizes on guessing which day he will prefer) - before we fly down to Singapore for a few days. Beware dear relatives, the Swiss posse is coming to town!
But I left you just before leaving for Lombok....
I am afraid that I will have to continue my raving, because so far, Lombok was one of the best places I have been to! Didn't expect it after Ubud, to be honest, but surprises seem to lurk around every corner!
Spent one week soaking up the beauty of empty beaches, black sand and clear green waters before I went back to Bali to join a friend.
At 6am I said goodbye to everyone in the losmen with a heavy heart (they were all up and about, their day usually starts at 5am) and boarded the local bus which would take me to the port at Padang Bai.
We had to wait for over an hour, before we could board the public ferry. The first ferry of the day had been late, so in consequence all ferries were subject to heavy delay (after seeing the difficulty certain huge trucks had getting on and off the delays were fully understandable!).
To pass the time I chatted to the locals selling all kinds of snacks (thank goodness no fried tarantulas!) and was told I am 'gado-gado', that is 'mixed'. As gado-gado (veggies with peanut sauce) is one of my favorite Indonesian dishes I thought the term quite fitting!
Took a bus to Senggigi. (Un-)Fortunately the bus driver forgot to drop me off at a strategic point as agreed. Luckily there were no further passengers, so he was so kind as to drive me all the way back to her place as a way of apology. Yes! My backpack is now 18kg...
On the way we got caught up in a wedding procession. Bride and groom were on their way to their new house, which turned out to be a shack. From their get up however, you would never have thought that they were so poor... all rich clothes and a huge crowd (ca. 80pax) not counting the numerous musicians. The driver told me that weddings are so important that families generally go all out (as far as possible) to create a magical day, irregardless of the cost.
My Internet time is running out... so here a short version of what came next:
1. Senggigi was beautiful.
Met a photo-journalist who took us around the Northeastern corner and saw fantastic landscape, jungle, monkeys (so tame they eat out of your hand - yes, family, i have had a rabies shot!), many empty beaches with sparkling black sand and clear green waters.
2. Took the boat over to Gili Air, a beautiful place where there are no dogs, no scooters and no cars. People get around by horse and cart (as they also do on the mainland) or walking. Was invited on a tour of the three Gili islands for free (yippee!) and saw huge turtles. Spent the evenings on the beach in a hammock with Australians... still don't like beer.
3. Didn't get over to Kuta, Lombok as time was running out. Went back to Kuta, Bali instead and this time with the help of Marine (she lived in Bali for a year - we met in Cambodia) and Arie (local woman) I really enjoyed it. They took me off the beaten track to more secluded beaches and we feasted on fresh fish and local Balinese cuisine at night.
As soon as I manage to get more credit I'll post a few pics.
They seem to be waiting for royalty or some sports team in the arrival area: everything is cordoned off and masses of police are strutting around in orderly fashion. Doing their best to get in the way of emotional homecomings, not to mention my unwieldy cart. Tss, tss!
Mark and I will be spending two nights in Bangkok - one day for shopping and one for sightseeing (no prizes on guessing which day he will prefer) - before we fly down to Singapore for a few days. Beware dear relatives, the Swiss posse is coming to town!
But I left you just before leaving for Lombok....
I am afraid that I will have to continue my raving, because so far, Lombok was one of the best places I have been to! Didn't expect it after Ubud, to be honest, but surprises seem to lurk around every corner!
Spent one week soaking up the beauty of empty beaches, black sand and clear green waters before I went back to Bali to join a friend.
At 6am I said goodbye to everyone in the losmen with a heavy heart (they were all up and about, their day usually starts at 5am) and boarded the local bus which would take me to the port at Padang Bai.
We had to wait for over an hour, before we could board the public ferry. The first ferry of the day had been late, so in consequence all ferries were subject to heavy delay (after seeing the difficulty certain huge trucks had getting on and off the delays were fully understandable!).
To pass the time I chatted to the locals selling all kinds of snacks (thank goodness no fried tarantulas!) and was told I am 'gado-gado', that is 'mixed'. As gado-gado (veggies with peanut sauce) is one of my favorite Indonesian dishes I thought the term quite fitting!
Took a bus to Senggigi. (Un-)Fortunately the bus driver forgot to drop me off at a strategic point as agreed. Luckily there were no further passengers, so he was so kind as to drive me all the way back to her place as a way of apology. Yes! My backpack is now 18kg...
On the way we got caught up in a wedding procession. Bride and groom were on their way to their new house, which turned out to be a shack. From their get up however, you would never have thought that they were so poor... all rich clothes and a huge crowd (ca. 80pax) not counting the numerous musicians. The driver told me that weddings are so important that families generally go all out (as far as possible) to create a magical day, irregardless of the cost.
My Internet time is running out... so here a short version of what came next:
1. Senggigi was beautiful.
Met a photo-journalist who took us around the Northeastern corner and saw fantastic landscape, jungle, monkeys (so tame they eat out of your hand - yes, family, i have had a rabies shot!), many empty beaches with sparkling black sand and clear green waters.
2. Took the boat over to Gili Air, a beautiful place where there are no dogs, no scooters and no cars. People get around by horse and cart (as they also do on the mainland) or walking. Was invited on a tour of the three Gili islands for free (yippee!) and saw huge turtles. Spent the evenings on the beach in a hammock with Australians... still don't like beer.
3. Didn't get over to Kuta, Lombok as time was running out. Went back to Kuta, Bali instead and this time with the help of Marine (she lived in Bali for a year - we met in Cambodia) and Arie (local woman) I really enjoyed it. They took me off the beaten track to more secluded beaches and we feasted on fresh fish and local Balinese cuisine at night.
As soon as I manage to get more credit I'll post a few pics.
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