Saturday 25 February 2012

Bali – part two .. travelling cookies !! Huh ?!

Friends from the UK arrived today, to stay at the Villa, I was sooo excited as I have not seen them for about 6 months …  I initially new and had a relationship with them separately before they got together, and now I know them as a couple ..

I love them both dearly, equally and it is amazing to see them together .. I have travelled with friends lots, and on my own ..  I have never travelled with these guys .. and I admit, I was a little nervous about how we would get along 24x7 for 7 days, especially as a couple and a single, I also know, I could only ever deal with me in short doses …  I should not have worried … I loved every minute … my family is sooo small and these guys have without question become family to me, they are my pseudo brother and sister …

Sunday 19 February 2012

Bali the first half .. volcanoes, rice paddies, Ubud, beaches and old flings ...

The first couple of days I stayed local … a visit to the beaches … Kuta / Seminyak / Legian ..  despite it being 30 degrees it is low season and I am struck by the lack of folk on the beach, the beaches are also oddly quite dirty and small, Kuta is famed for being a surf beach and full of Aussies … (and people trying to sell you stuff) yet .. I know this may surprise … from my days of old … Surfers / Torquay / Gunammata offer more beautiful beaches and much better surf …  I guess it is being able to say ‘I surfed Bali’ .. but if you are a real surfer I would stay Australia .. (bali beaches pics) and (kuta, seminyak & legian beach video)

Wandered from the Villa along the beach to Kuta, then cut through and spent some time at the Bali bombing memorial, makes me furious that this little island was bombed, I remember so clearly the emotion that Australia felt at the time, so many Australians visit Bali and Australia has provided Indonesia and especially Bali with so much investment, roads, schools, hospitals that Bali almost feels like an Australian island, I was very moved… 


Tuesday 14 February 2012

Schapelle Schapelle are you home? Bali ..

Until I had my wee flat in London mid 2011, I worked out that in 4 years, I had only had 5 consecutive nights in 1 place 8 times … which makes for a lot of moving about … mainly through work … where I would usually do 3 nights one place and then 3 nights somewhere else … given by the time I arrived in Bali I would have had a few months of 2 night stays in hotels around the world … I opted for a Villa for the period, to have a base ..  I always say .. time by the pool but after a day get bored and usually run from one place to the next … I also new that that once I arrived back in Australia I would be racing around visiting folk and not have a chance for rest … 
 
Not a real fan of the Villa …  but the pool is great … and the privacy is nice, should have expected that I would have been bored though …  have not heard music or seen news for days, wifi not working and nor is the telly  so I can’t even play music through that … and post my tourist stuff I am alone with my thoughts … as you can imagine this sometimes is not a good thing …  !! No need for alarm… 

geckos are everywhere ..  the Villa is traditional Balinese .. only the bedrooms are indoors, so the kitchen, lounge and bathrooms are outside .. which means I regularly shower with geckos too !!  Poor friggin’ critters … video of the villa

Friday 10 February 2012

Nam … Communist ?! Socialist?! Capitalist?!

I have always wanted to visit Vietnam, not bucket list like the Northern lights ... but high on the agenda, images of pristine country sides, terraced rice paddies, bamboo hats, unusual food, cheap massages and service always with a smile, trips up the Mekong, sounds romantic eh?!

Well sadly my bubble was burst … There were elements of course that were amazing, but whilst the country is communist, run by a party calling itself socialist, capitalism has well and truly arrived.  The construction is 10 times greater than Dubai 7 years ago and the requests and expectations to tip is even greater than the states …  don’t get me wrong there are elements that are beautiful, but overall I was slightly underwhelmed.... why ?

Sunday 5 February 2012

Nam – Mekong, Can Tho and Chau Doc..

The areas around the Mekong and seeing life on the Mekong is something quite special ..  I loved My Tho .. stopped for a boat road through the local waterways including time at a local coconut candy factory, horse and buggy ride through a local village, a visit to a local restaurant where I sampled the local fruit, tea and music ..  then back to Can Tho through local Mekong waterways …  overnight Can Tho with massages … yay …  (a few random pics are here) ...

Early morning start to the Cai Rang Floating Markets … the biggest and most bustling markets on the Mekong Delta .. Buyers on the smaller boats, weave between the larger boats selling wholesale products, each of the vendors advertise what is for sale on their boats by attaching a long pole to the front of their boat and attaching the fruit and veg they are selling to it …