Exploring the world with Bob and Lana

Where are we now

2010-02-23T10:47:00.000-08:00

Ok, it has been a long time since I posted anything and its probably because what I have isn't very interesting.

Lana is working in the Toronto area managing a homeless shelter for youth and I am in the 1000 Island region, on the St. Lawrence River, developing a Science Centre. That is just the way the jobs went and we do see each other but just on weekends. Our intention is to actually have jobs in the same locale in the next year sometime. Whats a four hour drive to see each other when we have circled the globe.

At the moment our travelling days are limited but you never can tell. A little cash boost and we could be on our way again. For you potential travellers out there don't think about it just do it. The more you think the less likely you will ever go and if you don't go you will always be a smaller person then you could be.

Now get off the computer and GO.

Where the hell are we?

2009-06-20T20:22:00.001-07:00

OK OK OK

I am sorry to have not updated the blog since we were in the middle of London. The emails have been pouring in asking where we are or if we have fallen off the face of the planet.

Actually we had a great time in London and saw a lot of the sights. The Tower of London is a lot more than a tower, the Parliment buildings look just like they do on TV and Westminster Abbye is really cool. Especially if you like walking over the final resting place of some of history's most famous people.

After London we flew into Toronto (on the same model aircraft that went down in the Atlantic two days later). Once there we stayed with Lana's Dad for a couple of weeks trying to figure out what is next.

We now have decided that since our kids seem set on staying in Ontario for the next few years we should be there as well. As I write this we are staying in a friend's house on a ranch in BC while we start to make preparations for the move to Ontario.

Where in Ontario you ask? Depends on where we can get employment. I guess the auto plants are out so we are open to suggestions. Hopefully somewhere near Kingston but you never know.

The trip was really different and I am glad that so many of you enjoyed the blog so much. (Well at least a couple of you did.) I can't say it was always fun writing it but it did give me an interesting challenge.

If any of you have any questions on the trip or if you might want do the same thing then let us know.

It is always sad when you reach the end of a particular adventure but at least it gives you something to talk about when meeting new people.

In answer to a few common questions that we have gotten.

The best spot we went to? They were all good in different ways but if we had to choose one spot to settle in then it would be New Zealand followed very closely by Scotland.

Are we still talking to each other? All the time.

Would we do it again? Absolutely

Now the adventure continues as we are still living out of backpacks - and looking for work.

Thanks very much for following along. It has been great to have the company.

Bob and Lana.

England

2009-05-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

May 25th, 2009

London

Spent a few days zooming around the English countryside. Saw the remains of a Roman fort (part of Hadrian's wall), a lot of sheep and Stonehenge. Got used to the roads and saw more cameras on both the highways and in the local towns then I would have thought possible. How many people do they have watching all those anyway?

Finally hit London and gave up the car. Now we have four more days before the flight back to Canada. Damn.

What in god's name does the dog have in its mouth?

2009-05-25T11:28:00.000-07:00

Scotland

Having completed a week in Ireland which saw us drive south from Dublin, along the east coast and up the west coast we felt that we had had enough. Ireland is really charming but seemed to be lacking 'Irishness'.

Over the last 10 years the country had been riding high on goodwill and property speculation and has now hit the wall harder than most. With local and European parliament elections coming up the roadsides are covered in election posters and the airwaves are filled with commentators lamenting the state of the economy. Throughout the countryside we pass large suburban style homes that seem to be vacation homes for expats or Europeans. Since they are miles from any sort of industry or city they certainly aren't for the working class.

Of course everywhere in Ireland there are old monasteries and churches. Old walls and narrow lane ways but it somehow seems like we are still in Europe.

We flew from Dublin to Glasgow, rented a car and explored Scotland. Now here was some serious character. From the castles dotting the landscape to the single malt sold in the pubs it was really what I imagined. Up in the highlands there was still some snow on the hills (they call them mountains but by BC standards they are just big hills) and vast landscapes with nothing but grass. In the lowlands the hills are filled with sheep but the rolling nature of the landscape makes it anything but boring. At least here some of the roads are over 10 feet wide so the driving is not too bad. (For me at least - Lana's fingerprints are now embedded in the dashboard of the rental car).

I even visited the distillery of the best whiskey on the planet - the Macallan. Not as well known as some of the other single malts even the distillery is somewhat hidden in the hills. The other ones like Glenliviet have big signs on the road but you have to look for the home of Macallan. I couldn't even get on a tour since they only take 10 at a time but at least they gave me some whiskey. (the 10 year old from the sherry oak casks - if you are interested). Now at least I am content with my life - no other mountains to climb now.

Edinburgh was great but the lack of hotel rooms (due to the rugby championships) limited our time there. We mostly stayed in B&B's and have gotten used to massive Scottish breakfasts with eggs, sausage, toast, cereal and slabs of bacon. One night we stayed in a farm B&B since we couldn't find any other spot near Edinburgh. Turned out to be the best place that we stayed the whole trip.

Big fluffy beds, our own bathroom, green landscapes out of an 18th century painting and even a friendly Labrador retriever to come and lay its head on your lap. I spent part of the afternoon watching another guest trying to fly fish the small pond next the house while the cattle mooed in the nearby fields. Guess he didn't want to try for the salmon in the small river below.

Guess you can tell that we really liked Scotland.

Oh and the dog. I was in the house with the owner and we saw the dog happily trotting by with what appeared to be the leg of a calf. The owner's face went white and he dashed out the door. Guess there were some cows calving in the next field and one of them was still born. Nothing like the country life.

Didn't we already go by that?

2009-05-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

May 14, 2009

Kenmare, Ireland

On the spur of the moment we decided to take a cheap flight out of Helsinki to Dublin. Landed and got a car and headed out after a lecture on the huge number of accidents in Ireland.

Spent the first night just south of Dublin and enjoyed a country where the menus were all in English. First impressions is that Ireland is really green. The second one is that it is really expensive. The third is that the roads are way too narrow for cars. Maybe for motorbikes or bicycles but not cars.

Spent the second night night in Midelton in a hostel run by a very nice lady who taught Gaelic and had opinions on every thing else. By chance we stopped at the Jameson Irish Whiskey distillery as we drove by. (It was by chance - honest). I know have a certificate saying I am a qualified Irish whiskey taster.

Spent a lot of time racing by on small roads with no names looking for connections to other places that may or may not exist.

A friend told me that it takes a long time to get anywhere in Ireland and he was right. When it says that your objective is 150 km away you better plan on a three hour drive. Of course it might be better if we quit taking the scenic route all the time. Maybe if we found a road without a village every fifty feet or so.

Stopped at little Irish villages to have hot soups and cold beer. Spent a good 30 minutes in one just trying to get out of town and we kept ending up at the same place.

Anywhere else in the world the streets we were on would have been one way with no parking. In Ireland they have parking on one side and allow two way traffic. That means that you have to peer down the street and give way if anyone is coming your way. If you are already on it then you have to hope that they will be pulling over for you. Reminded me of driving narrow mountain paths where there is only room for one.

Tonight we had a drink at a pub with a little Celtic band in one corner. I even had a pint of Guinness. It is Ireland after all.

What dock are you at?

2009-05-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

Helsinki Finland
Turku Finland

After a long 91/2 months we finally saw our son again.

The ferry ride over from Estonia took two hours. The ship was more of a cruise ship then ferry and it was full of Finns bringing back cut rate beer and liquor.

As the ship neared the dock David called on the cell and asked if the ship was delayed. When I told that we were docking he said that was impossible since he was at the dock and no ships were coming in. Turns out he was at another dock about two kilometers away. After a period of us waiting and him trying to walk there we just decided to meet at the central train station in Helsinki. After a 20 minute wait for a bus (in the rain) we finally got there and of course didn't recognize him until he was right in front of us.

I haven't felt that good since my daughter came back from a year in Katimavik.

We took the two hour train back to Turku where he was living and then spent two days trying to meet all three of his host families. We stayed at the third host family and spent Mother's Day morning and afternoon with them. The first family we had dinner with and the second family we played salibandy (floorball - a kind of floor hockey) and had dinner. At both places the men had to go into the sauna a number of times (oh we also had to drink beer as part of it). At one place we also jumped into the small pool outside (9 C - 48 F) several times.

Sauna is a very important part of Finnish culture and I thought it was great. Not the same as a North American sauna at all. Certainly if you had any inhibitions before doing sauna you didn't after.

All the families were incredibly nice to us. They all asked why we were spending so little time in Finland and couldn't we stay longer. I had read that the Finns were a quiet reserved people, and maybe they are, but certainly not with us. After five months on the road it had been a long time since we had spent time with anyone but strangers. Now we have a lot of friends in Finland.

I think when we actually have a house again we would like to invite everyone in Finland for a visit although I will have to build a pretty damn big sauna.

Spent the last night in Helsinki with David. He has changed a lot but it is good to see that we can still drive him crazy with very little effort. Very hard to let him go again - even if it is only for a couple of months.

If Disney could see this

2009-05-14T12:18:00.000-07:00

Tallinn, Estonia

We made it to the fairy tale old town of Tallinn, Estonia after a 17 hour bus trip from Warsaw. If you have never done that trip (and the chances are slight) then let me tell you that there are few flatter places on the earth then going north from Warsaw through the Baltic Republics. The highlight of the journey through Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and then Estonia was watching the colour of the brick farmhouses change from country to country. Good thing that they sold food on the bus (big two level bus) because nobody was carrying the four different currencies necessary to buy anything from the tiny little stands at the different bus stops.

Got into Tallinn (capital of Estonia) at about 11:00 pm and then tried to follow our google maps printout through the dark streets of the new city into the walled old section. Lana really wanted to stretch her legs after the bus ride and I barely stayed with her as we did the three kilometers. Eventually, despite people who kept trying to help us (the assumption being that no one with a backpack should be wondering around at night), we made the old city and found the hostel just as the cafes where closing. Fortunately the hostel staff knew of the Hell Hunt, a cool bar in the heart of the old city. Beer never tastes as good as it does after being on a bus for the last 17 hours.

The old sections of Tallinn are really old with the first fort being built there in 1050 AD although people have been living in the area since 3000 BC. It is all very colourful and, thankfully, very small so that getting around is not the same as a Prague or Veinna. There are the remains of the fortifications left by the German knights and lots of cobblestone streets. All the houses are stone and nothing runs in a straight line. You have to think that the knights would have appreciated all the cafes and pubs that have survived them. If Disney built an old city it would look like this.

We spent the one day here and then we are were on the way to Finland! Long way to come just to see a son - don't you think?

Onward and northward

2009-05-08T11:40:00.001-07:00

Warsaw, Poland

Yes, in response to hundreds of inquiries our laptop is still in a coma so my posting have to be short.

Took a ten hour bus ride to Warsaw and ended up renting a room in a guys apartment. Kinda of creepy but at least it was clean.

Walked to older section of Warsaw and saw all the sights including the Presidents Palace where they signed the Warsaw Pact. There were a few public displays of photos of what the city looked like by 1945. Over 90% of the buildings were destroyed in all the fighting. The medival section was completely gutted but yet somehow the citizens rebuilt it all. You would swear the old section had been there for 600 years.

There are lots of square and ugly apartment blocks left over from the communist days but the newer sky scrapers sort of cancel them out. The land outside of Warsaw is flat as a board and doesn't make for interesting viewing from the bus. Food and beer are cheap for Europe and the resturant selection (for those who can avoid such things) is pretty good in the downtown.

Went to a movie in a really upscale mall and saw lots of big box stores on the outskirts of the city.

It may, at times, look a little drab but they are coming right along. With the possible exception of the Palace of Sports. It was a gift from Stalin and is a huge skyscrapper with lots of socialist statues and dynamic posing. Has to be the ugliest thing I have seen in a long time.

And, for those of you who are wondering, the perogies are tremendous. On the other hand, after drinking lots of Czech beer (the best in the world) the local stuff tastes like Labatts.

Prague no - Praha yes

2009-05-01T11:34:00.000-07:00

May 1, 2009

You would think that city names would stay the same where ever but not so. In Europe Prague is Praha. Not sure why except that it does make you feel like an idiot when you are trying to explain where you are headed for.

Prague, sorry Praha, is a beautiful city that somehow escaped the destruction visited on most European cities for the last few centuries. The old town has magnificent churches and buildings some of which were built in the 1300s. If you like baroque then this is the place.

We made another late night arrival on the train from Vienna. Getting good at figuring out metro and tram systems while being dead tired. Our hostel is in a neighbourhood a little away from the overcrowded tourist district but it is only a 30 minute walk away.

The food here is heavy on the dumplings and of course beer is everywhere. There seems to be a small bar about every 20 feet and the drinking is serious. Of course this may have something to do with them having some of the best beer in the world, but then again maybe not.

The old parts of the city span the river and there is a castle and palaces on one side with the old city centre on the other. Prices here are less than in Vienna but they use their own currency so we are trying to do the currency rate thing in our head. At times it would be nice if we were back with the euro.

A fair number of people speak some English but it is amazing what you can do with a few frantic hand gestures and carefully watching the total on the cash register. Thank god that the numbers all look the same.

Lana thinks that Praha is the most beautiful city that she has ever seen and the old town certainly fits the bill. If Disney was going to come up with a European city theme park they would build something that looked like this. Things are crowded but I can't imagine what it is like during the height of the tourist season. It is bad enough on the old cobblestone streets as it is.

Talked with David in Finland a couple of days ago and he is, as we speak, somewhere in Russia. At the time we told him our travel plans (Praha, Warsaw, Tallinn and Helsinki) and he talked of his trip. It is going to be awful boring when we get back to Canada and start talking about Vancouver or Toronto.

By the way it is Spring here and the lilacs are in full bloom. Hard to stop Lana from leaping into the blooms to "smell the roses" so to speak.

We are in Spain - no France - no Austria - whatever

2009-04-29T00:28:00.001-07:00

Computer is still dead so I will try some updates from internet cafes.

We stayed in Barcelona for a few days after an all night bus trip. The bus trip was terrible but the city was awesome. Lots of pictures (which I am still uploading to the same place as before) but really cool. Great subway system and beautiful weather. Nice fort on the hilltop with one of the best collections of swords I have ever seen. No sign of General Franco.

Had to fly to Paris because the train trip would have cost a mint. Made our way through the Paris subway system (which looked like it was using the medieval tunnels still) with no problem and to the over priced hostel. Actually for Paris it was cheap but everything in Paris is expensive except the wine and beer in the stores. Saw all the sights. The Tower is bigger than it looks. Versailles is pretty big for a cottage and the traffic is not as bad as I thought.

Small world item. While in the line for Versailles a woman screamed 'Lana' and it turned out to be her old friend Jill, who had been maid of honor at our wedding. Haven't seen her in 20 years or so.

After Paris we flew to Vienna. Great security at the Paris airport by the way - best of the trip. Vienna is also great and much cheaper than Paris. Nothing like bottles of wine in the store at 1.50 Euros. Spent four days here and loved it all.

Now onto Prague for five days before heading to Poland.

Sorry this is lacking the normal wit but time is short and I gotta go.

Sorry folks we have a technical problem

2009-04-24T00:06:00.000-07:00

April 24, 2009

Yesterday our little laptop stopped working. It was the key to doing the blog. Write off line and then post it up.

I am afraid that, until or if I sort that out, the blog postings will be very skimpy if they happen at all.

Currently we are in Paris having just left Barcelona Spain. Saw the Louve yesterday - Great

Tommorrow on the plane to Vienna

The Last Kingdom

2009-04-21T07:06:00.000-07:00

April 16.17, 2009

Granada, Spain

Did you know that, for awhile in the 1200’s or so, the part of Spain ruled by the Moors was the most civilized in Europe? They had Universities, built beautiful buildings and in general had a prosperous thing going. This was at a time when most of Europe was in the dark ages. In the 1300’s the last Moorish kingdom fell to the Christian armies and their final stronghold was Granada.

La Alhambra sits on the hill that dominates the city. It is a vast complex of palaces, walls, gateways and forts all in various stages of ruination or restoration. Touring the area is not always easy since they only sell 2,000 tickets a day to the public and you have a certain time that you must be at one palace or you can’t get in at all. We had to walk up the hill, in the dark, at 6:30 am to get a ticket when the office opened at 8:30.

I have to say the Moors really knew how to live. The palaces all have extensive systems of fountains, pools and channels of water throughout. There is even a staircase where the banister is open at the top and water runs down the inside of the railing. The gardens are amazingly intricate and there are enough fruit trees to keep everyone stocked up on their Vitamin C. The fort looks like one out of a young boy’s adventure book - complete with dungeons and towers. Starting to get the picture?

Washington Irving, the American writer, lived here among the ruins for a few months in the 1880’s and wrote a number of books and stories based on it. There is even a little plaque on the wall of the one room commemorating it.

The old city beneath the fort is full of narrow cobblestone streets and buildings dating from the period after the Moors when the Spanish Court was based here. There are tons of restaurants, statues and plazas to make it picture perfect. On the other hand, it can be expensive and there are many tourists.

Nice place. Glad we stopped. Didn’t mean to originally but the bus trip to Barcelona was going to be too long by itself and we ended up taking two days here. Now we get on an all night bus trip to Barcelona. Love in sleeping in my clothes.

Back to Coronation Street

2009-04-20T05:17:00.000-07:00

April 14.15, 2009

Tangiers, Spain
The Rock, Iberian Peninsula

Nothing like a first class overnight train. Sounds good doesn’t it? Really, it is more like a very small den with six Lazy-Boys and not nearly enough ventilation or legroom. It would be somewhat entertaining watching everyone trying to get comfortable except for the fact that you are trying to do it too. After the night in the desert, that is how we spent the next one while on the train from Marrakech to Tangier.

We got into Tangier and headed for the ferry over to Spain. We took the high-speed one and it really was – making the crossing in only 35 minutes versus the standard four hours. Followed an Australian fellow from the train over to the bus station and plopped onto a local bus to La Linea de la Concepcion - the gateway to Gibraltar. An hour later, we were following the big silhouette in the sky towards the border crossing.

At the border, a bored Spanish cop glanced at the inside of our passports and then a nice British gentleman only glanced at the Canadian cover before waving us through. No customs check, bag check or forms to fill out and we were in. Must have known we were coming. Took the double decker bus (really) to the centre of town and found the Cannon Hotel – on Cannon Lane.

For the last two months, we had been in jungles, deserts and strange cities where any English we heard was a bonus but not expected. We couldn’t drink the water and the culture was always a learning experience. For the last three days, we had been in the same set of clothes and smelled a little like those camels. After all that, we found ourselves on the set of Coronation Street. Gibraltar has to be more English than anything in England is.

For two days we drank pints of beer, ate Shepherd’s pie, shopped at Marks and Spencer’s (whose chocolate cookies are really good), watched soccer games in pubs and walked around the narrow old part of the colony. Of course, we went to the top of the Rock for the view and the monkeys and we shopped for a new camera since the last one was broken when Lana’s camel fell on it. (Apparently, camel damage is not covered by the warranty.)

Going to Gibraltar was great. There was even hot water and TV! Had a great time and were sorry to leave. Left for an early bus on the Spanish side and had to walk out of the colony at six in the morning with a light English drizzle helping us along. Not a lot of space in the colony so the last little bit was crossing the airport runaway and hoping that no early morning flights were scheduled.

When a Camel falls over does it hurt?

2009-04-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

April 12.13, 2009

Zagora, Morocco

The Sahara Desert

What would a visit to Morocco be without seeing the Sahara? We decided that a quick visit to the land of camels and Berber tents would be fun. So at 7 am, we loaded into a van with six others and headed toward the Atlas Mountains looming in the distance.

Eight hours later, after winding on a narrow two-lane road up and over the mountains, we pulled into Zagora. Just like everything else on the way the buildings are all made of thick mud walls. Zagora has a small river passing through it so the palm trees and crops around the city are a splash of green at odds with the greys and browns of the rock we have been looking at all day.

Our driver, who spoke rarely and then only in French, stopped the van next to a bunch of camels and motioned for us to get out. The Berbers with the camels, all kneeling, motioned for us to grab our gear and stand next to a camel. I have to tell you that, up close, a camel makes a moose look good.

We crawled onto the blankets on top of the camel and eventually one of the Berbers would come along, bark a word at the camel and up it went. (Word of advice here – when they get up hold on tight).

We spent the next hour riding into the desert. The swaying isn’t bad but there aren’t any stirrups and a camel is pretty wide Lets just say that you feel stretched by the time you get off.

We stopped amidst some small dunes out in the desert. One tent for all of us. It is a wide low tent made of old rugs with a small table inside along with sleeping pads, tough cushions and itchy blankets. No water and the toilet facilities are as close as the next dune but it sure feels authentic.

At dark the sky is filled with stars and a Berber brings us some “Berber whiskey” (Berber tea). A little while later soup, bread and Moroccan stew follows. We sleep through the desert night in the clothes that we came in, huddled under the blankets as the desert night gets colder.

We are awaken at dawn for a breakfast of bread and tea and the ride back on the camels.

Close to the end point we had a small problem. Lana had mentioned, before the ride, that she would probably get the camel that would run off into the desert since something like that always happened when she got on any kind of animal. I asked what could happen with a camel?

What happened was it fell over.

Right in the middle of the group, her camel suddenly went over like it had been hit by a truck. As it fell she hit her leg on the ground with the camera in between the ground and her. So now, she has a really enormous bruise and we need a new camera.

The camel is fine.

Another eight hours to Marrakech and directly to the train station for the overnight to Tangier. Still in the same clothes.

So this is what they were singing about.

2009-04-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

April 9.10.11, 2009

Marrakech, Morocco

Crosby, Stills Nash & Young had a song a long time ago where they sang about the “train to Marrakech”. Now I know what the hell they were talking about.

Marrakech has been a market and trading town for maybe a thousand years. Sure there seem to be a lot of new developments on the outskirts of town but the old Medina looks much the same as it did 500 years ago. Of course, I am overlooking the continuous stream of motor scooters racing down the narrow passageways but they still have to stop for the burro carts blocking the way.

We stayed in a B&B that was in the old city. The directions were to enter at one of the old gates and then take the first right and the second left. Stop at the door with the 70 above it. The passageways were only eight feet wide (no names of course) and I felt that we stepped back into the movie set of some biblical epic.

Through the occasional open door, we could see tiled entranceways but mostly there were solid wooden doors with embedded steel rivets that wouldn’t have been out of place in a medieval fortress. We had a bad moment with a swarm of kids that wanted money to guide us, followed us there and demanded payment. Insulted by the paltry change we offered they eventually stormed off in search of wealthier prey.

We spent the next few days wondering the old city (and getting lost on a continuous basis). The souks, or markets, are narrow passageways crowded with vendors selling everything from clothes to lamps to spices to produce to antiques to rugs to pharmaceuticals. Most of their customers are locals not tourists and the bargaining can be furious. Of course, if you are a tourist the initial asking price triples but that just gives you more room to bargain.

The passageways can be more than crowded with burro carts, motor scooters, bicycles, the odd small truck and hundreds of people. If you are hungry then lots of vendors sell the local round flat bread to nibble on. The vendors are not as aggressive as those in Turkey are but once you start to bargain getting away without a sale can be a serious problem.

The real heart of Marrakech is the Djemaa el Fna. In a ritual that is hundreds of years old the huge square is filled during the day with snake charmers and vendors (like the guy selling the teeth – a whole table of human teeth). For a few Dirham you can have a poisonous snake draped on your shoulders or take a picture of a cobra swaying in front of a charmer playing a flute.

At night, the square really comes alive. Half of it is filled with musicians, storytellers and speakers. The other half (set up only at 4 pm and gone by the morning) becomes a vast restaurant with kitchens and tables selling kebabs, snails, fresh orange juice, fresh sheep’s head (really) and a dozen other things. With the lights, the smoke from the grills and the hundreds of people it is a truly unique sight. I have never seen anything like it. Really one of the world’s really cool places.

That CSNY song was always one of my favourites but now it’s magical, just like the Djemaa.

Rick where are you when we need you?

2009-04-11T12:56:00.000-07:00

April 7.8, 2009

Casablanca, Morocco

Hmmm. In a town made famous by a movie there is no glamour to be had. Rick, from the movie, wouldn’t like it. Drinks are hard to find and then very expensive when you do locate a place willing to sell them.

Nowadays it is primarily a port and industrial town with its only cultural claim to fame being the world’s second largest mosque (after the one in Mecca). It has room for 100,000 people at one time. Other than that it has an airport (which we came in at) and a bus station (which we used as soon as possible). Not one of our favourite towns.

Welcome President Obama. Meet my new best friend Muhad.

2009-04-07T08:49:00.000-07:00

April 5.6.7, 2009

Showing that he can’t be out done by us, President Obama decided to visit

Turkey

while we were there. He was not only visiting the country but exactly the same places that we had visited the day before.

Of course you would have to be blind to miss the preparations. Blue police barricades suddenly appeared around the Hagia Sophia (for 1000 years the largest church in the world – built 537 AD) and the Blue Mosque (built in 1616). Large men, wearing sunglasses and nylon parkas, appeared in local coffee shops and the waiters at the cafes all knew which rooftop bars had been taken over for sniper posts.

Our concern was just getting out of the city since he was coming to our area as we were trying to get out. In the end it all worked out except that we had to detour an extra couple of kilometres to catch the tram for the airport. Not fun while carrying a large pack and walking uphill on cobblestone streets. Interesting to pass police, soldiers, water cannon and armoured personnel carriers with machine guns while walking out. If the Canadian PM came I don’t even think he would get a private tour.

Now back to Istanbul. Spent our last full days there touring attractions (see above), getting lost in the narrow twisting streets and trying local cuisine. I particularly like the Turkish tradition of the hookah – the water pipe. We spent one evening in a traditional style bar, with the cushions on the floor – no chairs, with Lana watching me smoke a hookah. Apple tobacco I think.

The last afternoon we went to a traditional Turkish bath. I developed a close personal relationship with a large gentleman, named Muhad, who was wearing nothing more than a towel and a big moustache.

In a Turkish bath (this one was built 500 years ago) you lie for a while on a huge piece of marble in a steam house atmosphere. Eventually, when they think you are ready, an attendant comes to exfoliate, massage and soap you down. Eventually they douse you with buckets of warm water. It was great right down to the moment when Muhad learned over me and said “you come back with tip”. I knew then we had a connection. Besides no one had ever touched me that way before.

On to Casablanca.

My friend, please take my card.

2009-04-04T11:33:00.000-07:00

April 1.2.3.4, 2009

Istanbul, Turkey

Everyone has friends in Turkey. Specifically everyone who runs a restaurant, a street stall or a booth in the Grand Bazaar is your friend – your good friend. How do I know? They have all told me – repeatedly.

We flew into Istanbul, in a very comfortable Turkish Air jet, on the overnight from Bangkok. With the nine and half hour flight and the change in the time zone we had a fun time getting onto the metro and making the connection to the tram to get to our hostel. After that, we wandered the streets with our heavy packs on and at the mercy of a bad map and the equally bad directions of half a dozen locals.

We are staying in the oldest part of the city and there is an ancient (500 AD) city wall down the street. The bulk of the Blue Mosque rises in the near distance and the roof of the hostel offers a view the Bosphorus – the strait separating Europe and Asia. Istanbul is located on both sides of the water.

Many of the structures that you see here date from 500 AD or were built during the glory days of the Ottoman Empire. It is unusual to see an 800 year old wall with a new building using it for support.

Since Istanbul is the largest city in Europe (did you know that?) we plan to only see a small part of it. The Grand Bazaar and Spice Markets were a hoot for me but a bit of a strain for Lana. Every shop or stall has the owner standing in front of it and they are like, shall we say, a little aggressive. Did I mention that they are all men as well?

At the better shops, they are quite polite and will be happy to get you a cup of tea to discuss business over. At the small cheap stalls, the only English words they seem to know are “Hey Lady”. Many of them will try anything to start a conversation usually based on where they think you are from. Wearing my hat from Australia seems to generate some interest in my non-existent horse or perhaps just the hope that shouting “Cowboy” will prompt me to buy everything in the store.

The failsafe for them and us is the business card. If you find yourself cornered just ask for one of their cards and say you may be back later. If they can’t get your attention any other way they may force a card on you. I have quite a collection right now.

The aggressive salesmanship aside, the Grand Bazaar is really one of those places you have to visit to believe. Just finding your way through is an exercise in navigational expertise akin to being dropped blindfolded into a shopping mall parking lot at Christmas and trying to find someone else’s car.

Have toured two Sultan’s palaces and think that they knew how to live. My favourite was seeing a basket of emeralds from the old royal treasury. Each of them was half the size of a chicken egg. Have to get me one of those.

Travelling in Thailand (and Southeast Asia)

2009-04-04T11:29:00.000-07:00

March 2009

Ok so if you want to follow in our footsteps but have never been to this part of the world before then here are some travel tips. If you are planning on staying at western style hotels and taking only managed tours then skip this. Best Westerns are the same all over.

• Driving – stay alive and don’t drive. Maybe rent a scooter in a nice safe place but don’t even consider driving here. This is from someone who enjoys driving in Montreal or Detroit.
• Hope you like rice and noodles. If you are eating cheap then those are your options. Western style food, especially pizza and spaghetti, cost two or three times as much. In the bigger cities, you can find any kind of Western food that you want but you won’t pay Thai prices for them.
• Buy only bottled water. I don’t drink bottled water elsewhere but I do here.
• Take only clothes that hide it when you sweat. If you do any degree of walking or trekking you will sweat. If you sweat a lot at home this will be a lot worse. Wear colours that look the same way wet and dry. Take only clothes that don’t need any special care. Be prepared if the laundry has ironed your socks and bleached your favourite beige blouse into something that looks like a hospital uniform.
• Learn how to walk. In the towns and cities there are many open drains, broken tiles, unexpected drops and curbs. Your feet have to have eyes of their own if you want to avoid a twisted ankle. (The concept of liability is not one that rules the day here). Walk a lot on rough ground before you come here and your feet will teach themselves (or spend all your time looking at the ground).
• Everyone knows someone who can help you. Every guesthouse or hostel or hotel already has a suggestion for how to book a tour, do the laundry or find a business. Usually it is owned by a family member or friend. Thailand runs on what we would call kickbacks or commission. This doesn’t make it bad and in fact it can be very convenient at times. For expensive stuff always check around. The more expensive the accommodation the more likely you are paying more for the extras.
• Toilets – a traditional Thai toilet is one where you squat over the hole in the floor (which is probably hooked up to a modern plumbing system). A typical en-suite in a guesthouse has a western style toilet, a sink and a shower all in the same space. If it is a shared bathroom, wear your sandals. Expect, in some areas, to have no handle to flush but rather a small cistern in the room where you can ladle water into the toilet. Toilets in train stations, etc., usually have a small charge to use them. Oh and if you are wondering what that small hose with the nozzle is next to the toilet it is connected to the fact that there may be no toilet paper in the room. I'll let you figure it out.
• Thai don’t sweat much (generally not at all) and go to great lengths to look good in public. Do what you can to match that.
• Beer is everywhere and pretty cheap. Wine is not cheap at all and is very hard to get in budget places. The more westernized (and higher priced) the restaurant the greater the chances of getting wine. Street stalls never have it. Don’t expect it to be on a budget restaurant menu.
• Learn to love 7-11 stores. As amazing as it seems they are the great equalizer for pricing on beer (the cheapest), cigarettes, pop and water. They are everywhere in all mid to large sized towns.
• Air Conditioning – always ask for it when you stay somewhere and pay the dollar or two extra. Be prepared that many businesses (and subways and buses) set their units at about 16C (62F). For example, when I step out of the monorail cars my glasses fog up. On the other hand, 7-11s are a great way of avoiding heat stroke.
• Many people in Thailand know 5-10 words of English, are genuinely nice and just want to help. Their English is just enough to do some business. Try to talk simply and without using vowels (i.e. pay bill) until you know how much they understand. Do not assume that since they are smiling and nodding you are getting through. They may just not want to embarrass you or themselves. And, please for God’s sake, don’t talk loudly. Their hearing is just fine. Your lack of Thai is the problem – not their lack of English.
• Thai writing. Many things are written in English letters in Thailand but most aren’t. Thai script is indecipherable to most English speakers. Their street numbers and names are a completely different system than the one in use in NA and many streets have no markings. Always try to get a map or specific directions if you can.
• Taxis and Tuk-Tuks. Always settle on a fixed fair beforehand. Most Thais take the bus and that is always preferable if you can figure it out.
- Staffing – expect there to be at least two Thai staff, and maybe more, in every tour bus or truck or at every desk. Sometimes it maybe the whole family. That doesn’t mean that they are all there to help you. They may just be hanging out, catching a ride or doing something else. Don’t be mad if they aren’t all trying to solve your problem.

Dogs – last but not least there are dogs everywhere in Thailand. “Mixed breed” is an understatement. Some may belong to people but most don’t. They won’t bother you if you don’t bother them. Don’t make the mistake of trying to pet them or play with them. Think of them as more of an urban coyote. They help keep the streets clean and won’t beg for food.

Bangkok, Thailand -- again

2009-04-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

March 29.30.31, 2009

Ah to be back in Bangkok. Oddly enough, since we have been in Bangkok a number of times, it feels like we are coming home. Booked in to the same hostel we know how to get around the city and what things cost. There is also nothing like Bangkok air. Once you taste it nothing else tastes the same.

At the airport, where we first arrived in Asia at midnight a month ago, we relax while waiting for the express bus to the area that our hostel is in. We grin watching backpackers from all over the world try to figure out which bus to take to where. Every now and then it is nice to be smug.

For two and half days we do not do much. We went to two of Bangkok’s famed shopping malls. One of them was very high end with white coated doormen and the other was best described as a giant street market crammed into a six storey mall. Both had massive food courts and movie theatres. The Department store at each had large numbers of staff who basically shadow your every move hoping to get the commission from the sale. If you happen to be my age it is somewhat unnerving to buy a pair of underwear with three young Thai women trying to show you samples of everything that you look at.

Went to a movie in a huge theatre with the best seats I have ever seen. (In Thailand and Malaysia, by the way, they sell you a specific seat even if there is nobody else in the theatre.) Of course, at the beginning of the movie we had to stand for a video of the King while the national anthem played. Good video too. Made Ghandi look like some kind of scumbag in comparison.

Had two late night discussions with a very interesting group of travellers. There was the retired English professor of psychology (neo-Freudian but I tried not to hold that against him), the snake biologist from Australia, the farmer’s son from India, the would-be English teacher from Ireland and any number of others who dropped in and dropped out as the night went on. Of course, the depth of the discussion seemed to vary in direct proportion to the number of Chang beers that were consumed. Nevertheless, I think we would have stood a fair chance of solving the world’s problems if we had a few more nights. If any of them read this – thanks. It was one of the more outstanding times that I had on our travels.

On March 31 we bid farewell to Bangkok, and SE Asia, and got on the 11:35 pm flight to Turkey. We were sad to go.

Singapore, Singapore

2009-03-29T20:14:00.000-07:00

March 27.28, 2009

I have heard a lot about Singapore and it was all true.

First of all the City is clean – really clean. I don’t think I have ever been in a big city that was so clean. The traffic follows all the rules. There are skyscrapers everywhere and malls in between.

We stayed in Little India, which, oddly enough, is full of Indians. Singapore definitely has specific areas where different folks are expected to live. We didn’t mind since the area was teeming with life at night. It was amazing to watch the temples overflowing and the shops selling saris, tires, shoes and anything else.

Lana went to the art museum (which she said was good) and I went on a tour of the “Battlebox”. This series of tunnels and rooms was the British command centre during the siege of Singapore. There was a series of dioramas on what happened on the last day of the siege, which, for a student of history, was really fascinating.

We wandered among the high-rises and along the river. Even though we had lived in the Toronto area for many years, I felt that Singapore made me feel like a country bumpkin. I would challenge anyone who thinks that North America is the most developed area on the planet to visit somewhere like Singapore (or Kuala Lumpur).

Of course, the cost had also increased along with the buildings. Actually the cost wasn’t as bad as we feared with things (once you had done the currency conversion) costing about the same as Toronto. Still for me it was a shock since I had gotten used to the much cheaper prices in Thailand and Malaysia.

On the other hand we did splurge on food. We had Indonesian, French, Italian and Indian all in two days. Had a nice visit over dinner with an Australian maritime engineer who was in town to convert a super tanker. Nice guy.

Definitely a city to visit and be awed by.

Mashed potatoes at the movies, buttered and fried coffee but not roasted.

2009-03-29T20:05:00.001-07:00

March 25.26, 2009

Melaka, Malaysia

We made a short (2 hours) trip down Malaysia to Melaka. For hundreds of years Melaka was the centre of adventure in this part of the world. A logical port for the ships waiting for favourable trade winds there were, at times, 2,000 ships in the harbour. For 500 years local kingdoms, the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English and Japanese fought over it. A Ming Emperor even sent one of his daughters (with 500 retainers) to wed the local ruler.

Nowadays the biggest thing in Melaka is the mega-mall. To be honest it is a really big mall that seems to stretch for miles and it is air conditioned (a big plus in this part of the world).

There is a little left of Melakan history with a few old buildings and a little section of the original fort. There is a chapel that was built in 1540 of so and some really old tombstones but the town has changed. The fort site, which once guarded the harbour now looks over shops and business built on land reclaimed from the sea. There is a cool Chinatown with narrow streets and small shops. Unfortunately, my search for a kreis, the traditional knife of Malays, didn’t find anything that I could afford.

Wondering about the title of this entry? Well we went to the movies and one of the treats you could buy was mashed potatoes. Caramel corn was there along with a nice tub of lite and sweet corn.

How about the “buttered and fried but not roasted”. Well the coffee in Malaysia tastes a little different. Coffee beans here are not roasted but are fried in butter. Actually a lot of coffee is a blend of coffee, chocolate and sugar. Not bad once you get used to it.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

2009-03-29T19:53:00.000-07:00

March 23.24, 2009

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

I had expected the capital of Malaysia to be just another Bangkok but it’s not. First of all, there aren’t people living under tarps next to the high rises. Secondly, it is a lot cleaner than Bangkok. Thirdly where most of Bangkok’s charm comes from the mass of people continually moving around the streets downtown KL feels much more cosmopolitan.

One of the indicators of wealth in Asia (I think) is the number of scooters on the street. KL has far fewer than Bangkok and there are far more SUV type vehicles. Secondly, people actually seem to pay attention to the traffic laws, in the downtown area at least, it is a city that I would consider driving in.

I counted at least 14 large construction projects in and around the city. Large cranes were everywhere and the feeling was one of a “world city” if you want to use that term. The people aren’t quite as friendly as Thailand (but that might be an unfair comparison).

We stayed in 3rd floor walk-up guesthouse that was right in the downtown core. The street was lined with restaurants with a variety of non-Asian fare. This would include German, English, Russian, Indonesian and many bars where English was the language of choice. Of course a block over you could find a good roadside open-air restaurant serving Malay, Indian and Thai food. (Funny there are few Malay restaurants in Thailand but tons of Thai restaurants in Malaysia).

There was a huge shopping mall down the street and we wandered the streets comparing the two cities. We found our way to the Malay national museum, since our trip up the twin Petronas towers was a no go because of rain. The museum was well laid out and, to my delight, they had a temporary display on the traditional weapons in Malay culture. I am pretty sure that Lana enjoyed it as well although I kept losing sight of her amidst the swords, knifes and spears.

We walked a good piece of the city although the temperatures and humidity were high. I was hoping that I would be used to this by now but I still generate enough water for a good-sized reservoir.

Splurged on a really good tapas meal in a great restaurant one night and ate at a local street food stall on a side street. Overall, we were impressed with the city and would love to come back.

Penang Island, Malaysia

2009-03-23T18:19:00.000-07:00

March 21.22, 2009

The trip from Thailand ended in a dirty bus terminal in Georgetown Penang sitting underneath a large shopping mall. Penang is an island (although that is also the state name) which had been colonized by the British East India Company back when they were battling against the Dutch for the spice trade. It now has over a million people in the area.

At one time, it was kind of a mega-open port and trading centre for the whole area. Consequently, there were Arabs, Chinese, English, Indians (Tamils), Burmese, Japanese and even Armenians (I am really not sure how they got there) and many others that settled in the area along with the resident Malays.

Most of the population is about evenly divided between those with Chinese ancestry and those with Malay (or other local inhabitants). Since there are little similarity between Malay and Chinese languages many of the locals have learned some English as the common language and many of the signs and street names are in English. This does not mean that you can have a conversation with everyone but it does make it a lot easier to order beer and ask when the bus might be coming.

The old town, where we stayed, is a series of small narrow streets with crumbling buildings and street vendors like you see in Thailand. There wasn’t quite as much garbage however and it seemed cleaner. Remember that is cleaner on an Asian scale. If you are clean freak or abnormally concerned about germs it is best that you stay in your condo in Toronto or wherever. The buses ran regularly and you got the idea that everyone gets along – sort of.

My personal favourite thing were the open storm sewers on most the streets. They were about 18 inches across and 18 inches down. Just the thing when you are wandering around without a light or with too much alcohol in your system.

There were lots of old Colonial buildings and since the weather was balmy (34C) Lana and I did a walking tour of the old area including the local museum which was quite good for its size. With me leaving sweat puddles along the sidewalk, we breezed past a BMW safe driver course on the waterfront and then passed hundreds of closed shops since most Chinese shut down on Sunday. We did stop at a very cool Chinese clan compound.

In the old days, the Chinese and the Malays formed societies to help themselves. Eventually these became warring factions. The clan house is notable because it was used in the movie the King and I since they were prohibited from filming any of the movie in Thailand. The carvings and decorations in the main temple were extremely ornate and worth the visit.

By the way we were in the New Banana Guest House on Chulia Street and, if you like sweet things, there is a street vendor just up the road who makes a really tasty banana, sweet corn & coconut pancake thing. Five small ones wrapped in a banana leaf for 2 ringgit (about $0.60 CDN).

If you stay in the New Banana the rooms look new but it is noisy. They didn’t brick over the old windows or shutters but just put up office dividers so it is dark but you think you are right in the heart of the activity outside. Not bad if you want to keep track of what is happening on the street below. We had a private room with A/C but shared toilet & shower. Actually, it was a water closet with toilet along with a shower head and heated water unit attached to the wall. We wore our sandals while showering!

Malaysian Border

2009-03-23T18:17:00.000-07:00

March 20, 2009

Hat Yai, Thailand

Another nine hour journey (with the bus and the waiting) down through Southern Thailand. The overnight stop was Hat Yai.

Hat Yai is know for a number of things. It is frequently a place where Muslin extremists and others clash. There had been a terrorist bombing here in 2006 and the Lonely Planet Guide doesn’t recommend it to everyone. It is also the pleasure city for everyone coming out of Malaysia who is looking for cheap booze and even cheaper women. (That sounds good but it is probably the other way around).

We didn’t get in until 10 p.m. and, after taxi drivers trying to rip us off at the bus station, wandered up and down the downtown looking for a guesthouse. Finally took a room in a hotel with a big lobby and rooms that needed more then a little maintenance. Had a burger at a western style pub and tried to count the number of working girls on the street.

I, of course, thought it was a wonderful place but Lana wanted to go so off we headed to Malaysia the next morning.

This was the first border that we crossed which was a serious one. Barbed wire fences, machine guns on the military (MP5s I think but I thought it would be in bad taste to ask to hold one) and a lot of serious looks. On the other hand, we just breezed through and it was all very efficient.

Once you get over the border, I immediately saw some differences with Thailand. There was less garbage, more heavy equipment and the road was marginally better. Unlike the Cambodian border, we got to keep the same van and driver for the whole trip as there is a lot more trade between Thailand and Malaysia than Thailand and Cambodia.

Ko Lanta, Thailand

2009-03-19T07:27:00.000-07:00

March 17.18.19, 2009

Ko Lanta is a small island in the Andaman Sea. Most of it is long and narrow and, for many years, it was an undiscovered vacation paradise. Now it is kinda of discovered but it hasn’t suffered from the massive development and crowds that afflict Phuket.

The rule here is that no building can be higher than the palm trees and the resorts are all small and family run. Our place, the Andaman Sunflower, has about 15 bamboo huts with room for a bed and a bathroom. The size of the bathroom determines the price of the room. The cheapest ones have a toilet and a showerhead in the same small room (very common in Southeast Asia). Ours has the shower and the toilet in separate cubicles with a sink in the middle.

All of the washrooms have a roof but are open to the outside air meaning that you might meet a small gecko (small lizard) there at night. The roofs are made of woven palm fronds. The beds are covered with large mosquito nets since the walls are meant to let in air and the bugs come along with it. This resort isn’t on the beach but that is only a one minute walk away.

The owners name is a German named Norm, who was raised in Brazil and Nigeria, and who used to run a multi national. Norm is an interesting guy and, most of the time, can be found manning the small bar and talking politics with the guests.

Right now it is really slow here so the big open common area/restaurant (made of bamboo and palm fronds) is empty most of the time.

Life here is slow and without distraction (except for the guys building a house on the next lot). We went snorkelling on the reef one day. Laid on a beach the next with the beach bar in the background. Took some bikes down to the town area one morning just to see if we could survive in the traffic. Chatted with an Austrian couple who work in Islamabad and who come here all the time on holiday.

One night Norm made everyone dinner and, despite being German, made a noodle and pork dish that was excellent.

The staff don’t speak much English but they are extremely helpful. They know where all the guests are and any request from doing your laundry to bringing you a beer is done right away. You never have to tell them the hut number or give them your name. It just appears.

Because it was the slow season we got a really good rate and were able to do this for a hut rate of $20 CN per day. That doesn’t include the beer of course.

The single road down the island is littered with “resorts”. All of them small and with their own bar and restaurant. Of course the staff that clean the rooms also work in the kitchen or the bar but that doesn’t matter. The are a lot of tourists here so the main road has a every kind of food you could name. Irish, German, Swedish etc etc are all represented. Many of the places are run by the Germans, the Irish or the Swedes but it the same Thai chef in the kitchen. I can only imagine the first time someone told them how to cook beans on toast.

Of course the best food and the cheapest is the Thai food. For about $4 CN you have order a main course that will really fill you up. Order a pizza and its twice that.

Going to miss this place.

Looked at the weather in BC and Ontario and see that the highs are back to the 3-9C range. Everyone there should be breaking out the swim suits there soon. Here it is about 30C but, if it is any consolation we did get some rain overnight.

Leaving for Malaysia tomorrow.

Krabi, Southern Thailand

2009-03-19T07:23:00.000-07:00

March 15.16, 2009

Flew out of Bangkok, on a cheap flight with Air Asia, to the town of Krabi on the southern coast of Thailand. This was one of the areas where the tsunami hit a few years ago but whatever damage there was wasn’t apparent to us.

Stayed in Krabi one night just as a stopover. Our real destination were the islands in the Andaman Sea, Ko Lanta in particular.

The next morning we were picked up at our guesthouse by a guy driving a pickup. We hopped in the back and, with a few other folks picked up along the way, headed for the ferry. At the ferry terminal I saw pictures of a big air conditioned boat and thought “Great”. Unfortunately, that boat must have been out of service for the day as they crammed us on a couple of old narrow boats that felt like we were riding a school bus across the waves. Only two and a half hours to Ko Lanta. (No bathroom on board but the window next to me looked big enough to lean out)

Fortunately, since I hate big swells, the sea was calm. It must stay that way often as our boats couldn’t have survived anything bigger then a metre high wave. (We found out later that those boats only ran for part of the year anyway).

On the way to Ko Lanta we had to make a couple of drop offs at some smaller islands. There is no jetty or pier or anything for these. A couple of Thai long boats show up (long boats that have a long movable propeller attached to the engine that is both propeller and rudder) and they get kinda of close to the boat and you make a jump for it. Your luggage is thrown in the long boats general direction and you are off. I was hoping we were going to get a pier and eventually we did.

Bangkok, Thailand

2009-03-19T07:20:00.000-07:00

March 13.14, 2009

Ah, to be breathing the unique air of Bangkok once again. Back at our “usual” guesthouse we feel right at home. We did nothing of substance for two days.

Went to Soi Cowboy – which is a street in Bangkok famous for its go-go bars and go-go girls (and also for the large number of old foreign men found on the street). Lana and I had a few drinks and watched it all like some kind of spectator sport.

I have never seen so many Dallas Cheerleader outfits or prom dresses or very short school girl outfits in my life. The neon lights are very bright and only some of the clients are shy.

Wondering around Bangkok (looking for a snake farm) and met an older gentleman who started to ask us questions and then said he was going to the temple across the street and insisted that we go with him. He took us to the different buildings, explaining how things worked (where the head monk lived, when the monks do devotions etc).

He pointed out that even through this was a very large and visible complex that it was not listed on any of the tourist maps. According to Thom (the gentlemen) this is a temple that many VIPs come to (like head of the Army) and tourists are not directed there. He talked us through making a small offering and then we were blessed with holy water. According to Thom one of the gods comes into the temple each night and renews the blessing on the water. He said it would make out lives happier and better so who were we to refuse.

He then took us to a little hole in the wall restaurant that had excellent food although don’t ask me what it was. I suspect that Thom was, as he told us, retired but I also suspect that he was also a “finder” for a travel agency. There are many of them in Bangkok and they will help you with directions or whatever and pretty soon you find yourself on the doorstep of the “cheapest travel agency” in Bangkok.

Thom directed us a place and we went in to make him happy. He had already spent the afternoon with us. When we came out he was gone. We didn’t buy anything from the agent but enjoyed the afternoon and I hope that Thom got something from it too.

The temples of Angkor Wat

2009-03-14T20:35:00.000-07:00

March 9.10.11, 2009

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Aranyapathet-Poipet Border Crossing

Siem Reap. Cambodia

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

After another day of wandering through Chiang Mai and drinking beer at the guesthouse, (it is cheap after all) we took the overnight train again to Bangkok. It was another “shake and bake” ride with the train rattling throughout the night. We were on the end of the car and every time the door opened (to the next car) we got a breeze and a whiff of the toilets across the way.

Arrived at the Bangkok train station at 7 am and waited two hours in the heat for the bus to pick us up for the trip to Cambodia. Must be getting better at waving away taxi drivers as they don’t bug us as much as they used to.

After some interaction with the guy on the motorcycle (who always precedes the bus) we were picked up and were on the way to Cambodia. Until recently there was no through bus to Siem Reap but we were lucky enough to do this after they started it. You used to have to negotiate something at the border with a taxi driver for the four hour drive but we were booked through and anticipated no problems.

We had a nice air conditioned bus to the border but then found we had to unload everything and, through a tropical downpour, went through Thai border control and then through Cambodian border control. In between, carrying all of our bags, were the casinos which the Cambodian’s have erected, for all the Thais who want to gamble (illegal in Thailand). For the biggest land crossing between the two countries there was not much truck traffic. Most things were carried across by hand cart and reloaded on the other side rather than by any kind of semi-trailer or pickup.

After a long wait to get our passports stamped we were across and shown to a bus which was a slight upgrade from a school bus. No A/C but at least the windows opened. The ride in Cambodia was through a flat area of dry rice paddies with almost no hills or forest. The road had been recently paved (for most of the way at least) and was relatively smooth.

Cambodians, after watching the Thais drive, seemed to be very cautious and courteous drivers. The local farmers had a strange form of tractor where the driver sat on the cart he was pulling with long handles leading to the engine which was on a separate chassis.

Another four hours later and we were in Siem Reap. It is Cambodia’s second largest city (approx 150,000) and the gateway to Angkor Wat. The guest house was very clean with marble floors and walls, A/C in the room and even a heated shower. A small restaurant was located off the courtyard, which was good since we were not in the main tourist district and there was little of interest to walk to.

To see Angkor Wat you typically hire a driver who takes you to the various temples so that is what we did the next morning. Our driver’s name was Poe and he was 27 years old. He wanted to become a registered tour guide, not just a driver, and, as he put it, he had “no money and no honey”.

Cars are expensive in Cambodia and so the tourists are transported via a motorcycle trailer. There is a bracket on the motorcycle seat to which a covered trailer with seating for two is attached.

Poe took us first to the temple at Angkor Wat. It is reputedly the largest religious structure in the world and I have never seen anything like it. Built in the 12^th century by the Khmer Empire as the state temple it was originally dedicated to Vishnu (much of the Khmer culture comes from India as they were located on the trade routes from India to China) but in the 15^th century it was re-dedicated to Buddha. It has been in continuous use, more or less, since then.

The main complex is bounded by a huge moat (150m across) and a wall that is 4.5 m high and 1km by 500 m. You cross a bridge over the moat and then enter the first of numerous buildings. Some are long galleries with scenes of old battles carved on the walls. Others show the different torments and pleasures that await you in hell or heaven. The level of detail is astounding and the structures just keep going on and on.

We watched a troop of monkeys make their way across a stone railing and I was firmly requested by several monks to make an offering of incense (and some money) in various dark grottos. The only fly in the ointment was the heat and humidity. At 35 C (95F) it was a tad warm. I soon found myself finding quiet places where I could wring out the shirt and slip it back on before I was found out. Even Lana was perspiring.

Angkor Wat is only the biggest temple in the area. The area was once the huge cosmopolitan capital of the richest and most powerful kingdom in Southeast Asia. Poe took us down the road to one of the five entrances to the old capital. The walls are still there and, if you walked them, you would find that they are 8 m wide at the top (26ft) and run for 12 km (7.5 miles).

Mostly the walls now enclose only the jungle since most of the buildings were wood and have long since decayed. Stone structures were considered appropriate only for the gods (and apparently walls).

We walked around the kings palace area which was 500m by 250 m. His private chapel still towered in the middle. There were the remains of the elephant walk – a vast central square where troops would parade – and you could stand where the royal family used to and image war elephants and cheering crowds.

The final temple we went to is one that has had very little restoration work done on it. There are huge trees growing out of the buildings and it looks much like it did when the first French explorers came across it.

That night Lana was tired and catching up on some sleep so I stayed in the little café and drank beer with several of the Cambodian guys who work for the guesthouse. We talked about their feelings about the countries around them and about the Khmer Rouge and the aftermath of their madness. This was prompted by them putting the movie called the “Killing Fields” on the café’s TV. Seemed a strange choice to me.

They were happy for the break since their day usually starts at 5 or 6 am and goes until 11 pm. On the other hand, if they are taking you to the temples, they will catch forty winks in one of the hammocks that hang everywhere.

Nest morning back to the Thai border on a bus so overcrowded that they stacked the backpacks in the aisle. To get out for the lunch stop you had to walk over the seats. Then a quick three hour hang up at the Thai border waiting for our bus.

Met a retired professor of English from Cambridge University with whom we ate dinner with and shared a cab in Bangkok. Fascinating guy who now lives mostly in Asia teaching post graduate students.

Back to our old hostel in Bangkok by 9 pm and then to sleep.

Elephants and Bamboo Rafts

2009-03-13T21:06:00.000-07:00

March 8, 2009

Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand

Off in another van today with a different group of people for a fun jaunt in the Chiang Mai area. First stop is an elephant camp.

The number of elephants in Thailand is rapidly declining as their usefulness in various industries lessens. There are still some used in forestry but not as many as there used to be – better equipment and the deforestation of much of Thailand has not helped.

Unfortunately, this is not like riding horses where you just saddle-up. We are riding two to a metal platform strapped to the elephant’s back. Most of the animals have a handler riding on the neck except for ours. It’s attached to the animal in front by a fraying bit of rope loped around its ear. Hopefully enough to stop it should it decide to rampage throughout the jungle.

The skin of an elephant is tough yet amazing cool under our feet. The steel platform is slippery and, if not for the rails on the side, we would have slid off while going up and down the hills. When an elephant goes up and down the whole elephant goes up and down. With a horse there is a little give, with an elephant it is like a ship on a side of a big wave.

Our elephant tried several times to scoot around the lead one and, amazingly enough, a couple of harsh words from the handler on the lead animal was enough to send it back into place. A safety hint here for you boys and girls out there – keep your hands and feet away from the outside of the elephant – when they go by a tree they like to scrape along the tree and you would hate to leave some body parts behind.

After an hours ride through the bush we got to feed thembananas which they suck down like beers on a hot day. It is a little odd being searched by a trunk looking for more.

After the elephants we trekked to a waterfall near rice paddies and cooled off by the stream. Then the really fun part of the day. We went bamboo rafting.

They cut a bunch of thick bamboo to 30 ft lengths and then tie eight or so together. Then place three or four people on the raft, along with a poleman to steer. The raft promptly sinks about an inch under the water and off you go.

Now this was Sunday and the small river was full of Thais doing the same thing as us. Of course, we had a professional poling us along while most of the teenage Thais on the river were pretty hopeless at manoeuvring. The river was small with lots of rock and channels where rafts would get stuck or crash.

The tradition is that you splash all the other rafts and anyone along the river bank so within five minutes we were hopelessly wet (hence no pictures as our camera is not waterproof). It was a blast going down the river. Thais and tourists were laughing hysterically at the antics in the water. A fellow traveller we met had gone rafting the day before and told us of a snake in the water which her raftsman killed and wrapped around the raft pole to take home for dinner – they eat just about anything here!

We got out of the river at the equivalent of a picnic ground with lots of little platforms at the edge of the river filled with Thais eating lunch and chatting. We would have loved to do it again but the night was coming and time to go to the guesthouse.

That night went to the Sunday market that literally fills the old city to overflowing. Hard to imagine the number of vendors, musicians and people in the streets. Every time you think you have seen it all another street opens up filled with people and stalls.

The White Temple and the Golden Triangle

2009-03-09T00:42:00.000-07:00

March 7, 2009

North of Chiang Mai, Thailand

Today we were booked on a tour to the north and were picked up by van at 7 am. By the time the pickups were done the van was full (17 including the driver and guide). The first stop was the White Temple.

The White Temple was, and is, being built by a famous Thai artist who wanted to dedicate a temple to the King. The King in Thailand is revered and it is taken very seriously if anyone says anything bad about him. Serious as in they put you in jail. The King and Queen’s picture is everywhere. Not just in post offices and offices but everywhere including huge billboards on the side of the road. If you are in a public place, like a railway station, at 6 pm policemen start blowing whistles and everyone stands for the national anthem facing a portrait of the king. For those of you in Canada imagine what Stephen Harper probably dreams about and you’ll have it down.

The White Temple is made of concrete with pieces of glass embedded in it. The carvings (or castings) are all of figures from Buddhism and are amazing. The Temple is not large but is really impressive. Nearby was a gallery with some of his works in it as well and they were very powerful. Like most temples in Thailand they ask you to not take pictures inside out of respect. Unfortunately one guy with our party was doing that while trying not to be seen. I gave him one of my happy looks and he stopped. What a moron.

After the temple, we drove for another hour to the Maekong River at the famous Golden Triangle. The triangle got its name from the opium trade. The sandbars in the middle of the river are a no man’s land and don’t belong to either Burma, Thailand or Laos. Perfect for trading.

Now the triangle is changing. The Chinese are financing an airport on the Laos side, the Burmese already have a casino and Thailand is supplying something I’m sure. The river here is huge – far bigger then I ever thought. We are in the dry season now and were told the river will rise by another 6 to 7 metres (about 21 feet) in the wet season.

A quick boat trip over to a Laos market let me try some unique whiskey. It is rice whiskey but then they put cobras in it. The jar I sampled from had a snake in it about 2 metres long. Tasty. Supposed to be good for the libido.

Next was the depressing city of Mae Sai on the Burma border. We took some pictures across the border but declined the high visa price just to cross to get our passport stamed. The street vendors here were extremely aggressive and only ignoring their existence let you get through the crowd at all. Didn’t see the big military presence here that I thought there would be but it was clear it was not an open border. Traffic was flowing but Detroit – Windsor it was not.

After that then another long ride and a sad visit to the “long neck” people. They are a tribe from Burma that has been forced out due to the ongoing civil war there. For some reason the women of the tribe place heavy brass rings around their necks as they grow. This elongates their necks and gives them a permanent weight of about 15 pounds of more on their necks. The area were visited was just for them to sell a few handcrafts but mostly they were on display. Very sad.

Afterwards we did the three hour drive back to Chiang Mai. There is a drought in Thailand this year and it has compounded the dry season. We drove through a grass fire at the edge of the road and I could see others in the hills. Back by 9 pm. Long day.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

2009-03-09T00:41:00.000-07:00

March 6, 2009

We took the overnight train (14 hours) to the northern city of Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is the second biggest city in Thailand and is kind of like its cultural capital. Lots of tourists go there as it is much less busy than Bangkok, the climate is a little better and beer is cheaper.

The overnight train was interesting. We were travelling 2nd class which meant we had a seat facing each other and, about 9 pm, the seats were converted into an upper and lower bunk with a little curtain separating you from the aisle. Unless you are lying on your bunk, with the curtain closed, there is no privacy. The washrooms are a couple of steel lined rooms at the end of the car. You have your choice of whether to use the Western style one or the Thai one.

The Thai one is a steel hole in the floor through which you can watch the tracks go by. There is a convenient garden hose there to wash the room down and a sink the size of a beer mug for your hands. On the Western side, they have mounted a toilet seat over the hole. (I made a mental note to never walk the railway tracks in Thailand).

You can buy over priced beer and food on the train if you want but they don’t have a problem if you bring your own.

When they were building the railway line they must have had some problem matching up the rails because it was a bumpy ride. I was on the top bunk with no window and barely enough room to move from my head to my toes. Afterwards I felt a bit like a piece of shake and bake chicken. Lana was quite comfortable on the bottom bunk with a window, reading light and shelf.

Got into Chiang Mai around 9:45 am and was picked up by the guesthouse’s very modern van. When we booked this trip with a Bangkok agent we were told that our room was an en suite which turned out to be sort of true. There was a toilet and a sink but the showerhead was just mounted on the wall. Once you got used to taking the toilet paper out of the room before turning on the shower part it mostly worked.

The guesthouse turned out to be clean and, like most guesthouses here, it has a common area that is also a restaurant, it sells beer and you can book any tour in town. It is common for the staff’s children to play around the place and the pool table is used mostly by the staff. Still it is a good place to stay and we don’t have any complaints. It is a bit like staying with a friend of a friend.

We spent the rest of the next two days wandering around the old city, which is surrounded by an old moat and wall. The streets are narrow and the street vendors everywhere. We visited some of the big temple complexes and watched the monks go about their business.

One night we went to the night market in another part of the City but only a 15 minute walk away. It is an entertaining nightly collection of vendors selling everything from cheap silk to fake Rolexes to wooden carvings. The smaller the stall the more negotiable the price. If they are really desperate then they will start shouting lower the prices as you walk away. One Canadian dollar is worth about 28 Thai baht and the majority of prices were in the 100-200 baht range. If we were just visiting Thailand then we would probably have purchased some of the carving and things but no room on the backpacks. Beside they were probably made in China anyway.

Had dinner at a nearby place that was owned by a Thai woman with an Australian husband who gets pressed into service as a helper each night. We talked with him a bit and he told us how they had relocated to the Chiang Mai because they didn’t like Bangkok. Dinner by the way is about 100 baht ($4) each not counting drinks.

Most Thai’s, and most visitors, end up drinking Chang beer. A large bottle is usually 60-75 baht and most places keep them very cold. Not many Thais drink Singha beer or the other brand. They sell that to the tourists for higher prices.

Bangkok, Thailand

2009-03-09T00:39:00.000-07:00

March 4.5, 2009

Spent another couple of days wandering around the inner part of the City. It is amazing how some people make homes in small little hovels just down the block from modern condominiums. Overall the people are very friendly and certainly we haven’t felt at all uncomfortable.

The city is, by NA standards, dirty and smog filled but everyone seems to get along somehow. Traffic is fierce with lots of new cars and trucks on the road. Most people seem to ride scooters or motorcycles however they don’t seem to be bound by any of the traffic laws. Many of the curbs are very high – partly to channel rain water (this is the tropics) and, I would guess, to keep the scooters confined to the road.

By the way, when you are riding the transit system you can not but be impressed with the majority of Thai people. In massive heat and humidity they all look like they just showered and changed. If they have a uniform or if they work in an office then they are always immaculate. I have no idea how they do it in this climate.

If you don’t want to ride the transit system then you can take a taxi (looks just like a NA taxi) or a tuk tuk. A tuk-tuk has one wheel on the front and two on the back. It will hold two passengers in the back under a low roof and the driver sits in the middle front. They are everywhere in the cities and can be a source of irritation as they follow you down the street. If you take a tuk tuk always negotiate the price before you get into it and pay no more than that when you get out. Many tourists get ripped off because they assume there is some standard rate which there isn’t.

Bangkok, Thailand

2009-03-09T00:38:00.000-07:00

March 3.4, 2009

The 7 hour flight from Perth didn’t leave until 5:50 pm so we didn’t actually get to Thai soil until almost midnight. Passport control was quick and the airport was very large and high tech. Bangkok has 6 million people and is such a regional transportation hub it has two major airports – one for international flights and the other for domestic.

We had booked in with a hostel near the downtown commercial district and supposedly an express bus from the airport would drop us near there. I couldn’t get any internet access in the airport to confirm the address so we just showed the address that we had to some of the staff standing near the bus pickup. Hopped on a modern express bus after some really brief conversations with staff there who, like most Thai here, seem to know at least 10-15 words of English. Whether they are the right words or not is what makes the night fun.

Our bus driver took us over massive freeways and onto busy streets for at least 20 minutes with us as the only passengers. Eventually he started to pick up some more locals but no other tourists. After about 30 minutes, he turned and made a motion for us to get off.

We got off on a main road running under the overhead monorail tracks. A gloomy sight if I ever saw one. What made it more comforting was the fact that the street signs were in Thai, the temperature was 28C and the humidity was about 80%. Perfect weather for carrying heavy bags down a dark street that you aren’t sure is the right one.

When you first see Bangkok at night it looks like a giant slum. There are skyscrapers built next to decrepit three story apartments with tarp covered shanties filling the alleys. The street lighting is sporadic and the streets seemed to be full of people not doing much of anything.

Hauling our backpacks we walked a short distance down the street and found the hostel. Got up to the room and, not being able to sleep just yet, wandered back down the street to look at some of the food stalls in the street.

Part of Bangkok only comes alive at night and the street vendors lining many of the streets is an essential part of that. The street we stumbled onto hosted any number of mobile carts that would be gone by 3 am and magically reappear sometime in the afternoon the next day.

Most Thai’s seem to have two or three jobs and, when they aren’t working, they seem to be eating or shopping on the streets. You can get everything from your groceries to takeout to whatever there.

Spent the next day walking around parts of Bangkok. They have an excellent monorail and subway system with the station signs in English and Thai. Once you get your bearings it is not bad. Once you get off those lines the challenges are a little significant.

You realize quite quickly that everyone connected with the tourism industry is looking to make money from you. It is just not the ones that overcharge you directly but also those who will not tell you the “whole” story. For example, we needed to take a river ferry down to the old market area but the staff at the ticket desk just kept pointing to a sign that described the whole day ticket. Thinking we had no other option we eventually bought it.

Once we were on the ferry we watched Thais get on and off and just pay for a ticket from a woman walking down the length of the boat. Quick lesson learned for the next time we take a ferry ride!

The pressure on you to buy (anything) is directly proportional to your distance from a known tourist area. The more tourists the more aggressive the vendors can be.

Australia vs. New Zealand

2009-03-04T23:51:00.001-08:00

Australia vs. New Zealand

We have been asked by some of our New Zealand friends to compare NZ and Australia. Hmmm. Ok here goes.

New Zealand Wins in the following

Better food
Better drivers (except for idiots on motorcycles)
Nicer people (by a hair)
Shorter distances to drive
Bigger mountains
Nicer museums
Great staff at tourist centres (really really good staff)
No snakes (although personally I like snakes)
Able to buy beer and wine in the grocery stores in most places
A reality based view of the world and their spot in it
Almost no traffic lights
Much cleaner cities
More consistent climate overall
Their coins are not as massive as the Australian ones
All pay phones accept any credit card

Australia Wins in the following

Cheaper in general
Real Pubs (almost all the ones in NZ have become upscale bistros)
Lots more wildlife (although much of it is motionless on the roadside)
Better shopping choices
Smoother roads
Big city hustle and bustle (if you want that kind of thing)
Really wide-open spaces
Most of the people on the roads are not tourists driving on the wrong side
If you are lonely, Australians will not let you stay that way
If you like long road trips then Australia is the place
Authentic bush is a very long way from anywhere

Ties

No Tipping!
All prices shown include taxes
They both have plastic money that flips out of your pocket.
Many things are more expensive then Canada (even taking in the exchange rate)
Way too many US based fast food places
Not nearly enough free wireless access (at least five years behind North America)
Many things like pay phones are massive bulky things that look like something from the Dr. Who TV show

There I hope that helps everyone.

Australian Road trip

2009-03-04T05:04:00.000-08:00

In case anyone is interested, we clocked over 8,000 km in Australia. We did over 7,500 starting from Sydney then to MacKay then back to Sydney and then along the southern coast and up to Adelaide.

We clocked another 800 or so in Western Australia. All in about 30 days, in case you are interested.

I am a little tired of driving but we did get to see a lot of great parts of this country. (Lana added the bit about seeing the country - as full time navigator I am sure she is exhausted.)

Perth and area , South Australia

2009-03-04T05:03:00.000-08:00

February 28, 2009

Landed at Perth at 8:30 a.m. Picked up the rental car and headed for the City centre to pick up a package sent by our daughter Charlotte (did I mention that she is really a good daughter – handling all of our mail etc while we are gone).

If you didn’t already know American Express will let cardholders have mail delivered to their offices worldwide for later pickup. This was a lot more important 20 years ago but still has its place especially if you are always on the move – like us.

Perth seems a nice City with a small pedestrian mall downtown. Seems to be lots of construction going on around and in the City. Someone told us that if we liked Adelaide (which we did) then we would like Perth. Not sure if that applies but it is a smaller town then Melborne or Sydney and seems to have an independent streak. Of course, it is a really long ways from any other big city so maybe that is justified.

Spent the first night in a caravan park near Freemantle (a beach style suburb of Perth). Freemantle is really quite interesting with lots of small shops, street musicians and over priced restaurants. However, anyplace with three used bookshops is fine by me.

Glenelg, South Australia

2009-03-04T05:02:00.000-08:00

February 27, 2009

Spent the last day in South Australia in a hotel (pub to you un-travelled types). Actually we spent the night in a room over the pub since we had to be up at 4:15 am for our flight to Perth.

Glenelg is one of the seemingly endless beach areas that cover the coast around Adelaide. It has a nice beach, a number of high priced restaurants and zealous parking police (don’t ask).

But since it was close to the airport, and we didn’t want to be folding up a tent that early in the morning, if seemed OK. The organic pizza across the street was pretty tasty if pricey.

Adelaide, South Australia

2009-02-27T11:34:00.000-08:00

February 25.26.27, 2009

Adelaide is a city of over a million but it has a small town feel. The brilliant folks who laid it out made sure that there was a big chunk of parkland all around the central core. The downtown is an easy to navigate grid with a big pedestrian shopping mall near the centre.

There are no pretentious fashions here. Everyone, except for the odd guy in a suit, looks comfortable. We found an amazing Scout Outdoor store that was on a level with Mountain Equipment Coop for outdoor gear. (I have to stop taking Lana to these outdoor stores – all of a sudden she likes them and it is getting very expensive).

We did the South Australian Art Gallery, the South Australian Museum and the Botanical Gardens (part of that greenspace I mentioned). One day we went up to Mt. Lofty, which is the highest point overlooking the City. Our planned bush walk was cancelled due to a high fire alert. (When that happens they close all the trails.)

We did, however, go to the Cleland Wildlife Park near the summit. Run by the government this is really a great place to go. Basically, you walk through different fenced natural environments and interact directly with the animals. Nothing like having an emu peck the feed (purchase at the entry) from your hand. Or you can have a grey kangaroo grab your hand to make sure you hold it in place while they chow down.

The areas that you are walking through are big paddocks and most of the animals in there keep their distance. On the day we went it was too hot but on other days you can even cuddle a koala (with a keeper standing there). We saw a talk with the koalas and they showed that, despite sleeping for 20 hours per day, they can move fast when they put their minds to it.

The place also has lots of snakes (no interaction there) and lizards and birds. Very different park and very neat.

Adelaide, South Australia

2009-02-27T11:33:00.000-08:00

February 24, 2009

So let’s say that you are in Australia and you suddenly have an urge for real German strudel. You could ask the multitude of German tourists to make you some but that is assuming they can. You could have some shipped from Bonn or Berlin or somewhere or you could visit the town of Hahndorf which is a German town in the Adelaide Hills.

It was founded by German immigrants in the 1800’s and they still have an Oktoberfest, a variety of German taverns and several German bakeries that serve, you guessed it, authentic German strudel. Try Otto’s on the one end of town and get the cherry strudel.

Toured the Barossa Valley, which is the biggest of the wine regions, and saw thousands of hectares of vines. (According to one figure I saw it was over 7000 hectares – that is over 15,000 acres). Makes the Okanagan look pretty small.

Stopped at the Wolf Blass vineyard and, considering how much of their wine we have drunk over the years, I expected some kind of brass band. Instead we got stuck behind a bus tour group and had to wait but we still got to sample a variety of wines. The band must have had the day off.

Went to another small winery for lunch. There signature wine is from vines that are over 100 years old. It doesn’t make a very big batch but what they do make sells for $160/bottle. Its called “Old Bastard” and is all sold before its bottled. Oddly enough they didn’t include it in the free wine tasting.

Stopped for the night at the Levi caravan park just 5 km from the Adelaide City centre. Had a nice site overlooking a ravine with walking paths through it – much like the ones in Toronto – complete with ducks and birds coming up out of the ravine to clean up after the campers.

McLaren Vale, Southern Australia

2009-02-27T11:32:00.000-08:00

February 23, 2009

Camping in part of the great Australian wine region it is hard to believe that we spent most of the day rocketing along the desolate Coorong peninsula.

The highway (speed limit 110 km with no shoulders) runs parallel with the coast. Just close enough so that the vegetation is scrubby but not close enough to see the water. Even when we went through areas of grazing land it looked like it hadn’t seen rain for years (which it hasn’t).

Stopped at the town of Goolwa to see the mouth of the Murray River, Austalia’s biggest river, empty into the South Ocean.

Finally came into patches of grape vines. At least they were green.

In a caravan park with a lot of out of work grape pickers. Normally they depend on foreign travellers to pick the young vines but not this year. The heat has fried much of the crop but someone forgot to tell the marketing department. The government is still advertising for the young travellers to come down and work.

Robe, Victoria

2009-02-27T11:31:00.000-08:00

February 22, 2009

After finishing the Great Ocean Road we settled on a campsite overlooking the ocean as we contemplated the sunset.

That sounds pretty good doesn’t it? Probably should stop there.

Truth was it was David’s birthday in Finland and we had a hell of a time trying to call him. The pay phone wouldn’t take credit cards (all the pay phones in New Zealand do by the way) and we couldn’t get internet access so we only had three minutes with him before the balance on the cell phone ran out. Sorry bud.

By the way Robe is one of the capitals of the lobster trade but a couple of tails still cost $45.

Port Campbell, Victoria

2009-02-27T11:30:00.000-08:00

February 21, 2009

Have you ever been airsick on a road? If not then I invite you to drive the first half of the Great Ocean Road along the bottom of Victoria. Make sure that you stock up on paper bags for the passengers and a harness for the driver first.

The road was built by out of work veterans of WW1 as a government make work project and it must have been a bitch of a job. The road is mostly carved into the cliffs overlooking the sea and it follows the cliff contours pretty closely. I was too busy hanging onto the steering wheel to look but from Lana’s helpful commentary I don’t think there was much room to spare.

Occasionally it flattens out enough for a beachy resort style town but most of it just kind of hangs out there – if you get my drift. From my occasional (death defying) look I think that the views were great.

Tented in the booming town of Port Campbell with a population of 500 and with all the local food establishments priced to take advantage of the weekenders from Melbourne. The “port” itself was one little dock but I guess that, in the old days, the very small bay was the only break in the shorelines limestone cliffs.

Camped next to a younger couple from Ontario in a site right on the small river there. Nice camp kitchen where I watched a team from Geelong kick the crap out of a team from Adelaide in Aussie rules football. Haven’t a clue what the rules are except you apparently get to hit anyone that you want to at any time. No pads.

Melbourne, Victoria

2009-02-21T02:00:00.000-08:00

February 19.20, 2009

Came into Melbourne in a lot of traffic so we found a caravan park and took a cheap tram into the city the next day. I must admit that my previous experience with Melbourne hadn’t been really favourable but this trip changed my mind.

We walked all over the Central Business District, went to an Eco Fair in Federation Square and visited the Melbourne Museum. The museum was well worth the visit and a very nice woman at an Aboriginal booth at the fair suggested that we visit the Koorie Heritage Cultural Centre.

The Koorie were (are) the tribes that were based in Southeastern Victoria. The centre was smallish but great and we learned a lot.

When you go to Melbourne make sure that you walk around see what they can do with an alley. Most other places they would be full of dumpsters and dope dealers. Here they are called Arcades and are full of people, shops and cafes. Cool.

Bob - Where are the pictures

2009-02-21T01:57:00.000-08:00

We have recieved hundreds of emails asking what has happened to the pictures in the blog. Unfortunately we have not been able to get any up on the blog for some time due, I believe, to a technical problem on Google's end.

You can still follow the link on the blog page to look at all the pictures we have put online from the trip. Hope that helps.

February 18, 2009

2009-02-21T01:52:00.000-08:00

Phillip Island, Victoria

Made Phillip Island today after more and more driving. Currently we are over 5,000 km since we left Sydney in only two weeks or so. Since we seem to have finally outrun the rain maybe it’s worth it.

Phillip Island is connected to the mainland by a big causeway and is a mixture of agriculture, beach resort and nature reserve – in that order. We looked at the beach (not bad), looked at the souvenir shops (T-shirts are on their way to someone) and saved the nature reserves for the next morning.

Went to the Nobbies, a rock formation on the coast, to look at the seals and bird colony. By chance we saw a penguin hiding under the boardwalk (probably moulting). It was a blue penguin - the world’s smallest.

Next we went to a Koala sanctuary and saw lots of koalas. These were the southern Australian sub species and they were huge. Instead of the grey fur of the ones around Sydney they were brownish and the big males weighed up to 11.8 kg (26 pounds). Amazing.

Snowy River Country

2009-02-21T01:51:00.000-08:00

February 15.16.17, 2009

The last time I was in Australia I worked on a sheep station, caught kangaroos, collected crocodile eggs and met Lana at Ayers Rock. One thing that I didn’t do was get to the Snowy River country.

Back in 1982 a film was released called Man from Snowy River. My parents just had gotten cable at that time and I had the opportunity to watch the film a lot since I was kind of using their house as a base at the time. The film was one of the reasons I went to Australia. Now it was time to see the area the film was talking about.

There aren’t many places in Australia that get snow but the Snowy River area is one of them. Some people call it the Australian Alps but, having just been to the Southern Alps in New Zealand, I think that title would be a gross overstatement since the highest peak (Mount Kosciuszko) is only 2,228 m (7,310 ft).

The Snowy River starts up on that mountain so that’s where we went.

One the way there we took a really quick detour through Canberra, the national capital. Somehow it didn’t really appeal to us. The Parliament building itself is really, uh, different. Not exactly what I would have built but then again it was built in the 1980’s.

The mountain roads took us up into the alpine highlands that look so familiar to someone used to popping over the mountains in BC. We finally made it to the town of Jindabyne and stayed at the Banjo Paterson Inn. (Banjo being the man who wrote the poem “Man from Snowy River” and also “Waltzing Matilda” but you already knew that didn’t you).

The towns up here are based around the ski business but nothing like on the scale of what you would get anywhere in Canada. We drove up to Charlotte Pass, which has the distinction of holding the record of the coldest temperature ever recorded in Australia (−23 °C (−9.4 °F) – HaHaHa – Sorry, I have slept outside in colder weather than that).

We planned to walk to near the summit of Mount Kosciuszko but only made it about 2/3 of the way to the emergency shelter hut at the 7 km mark. On the way we walked over a very small Snowy River as it started its journey to the sea. The cold, rain and high winds finally turned us around but it was a great hike through the high alpine.

The next day we lost a lot of altitude in the car as we made a run for the other end of the Snowy River at Marlo near Orbost in the state of Victoria. On the way we passed a lot of brown grasslands and also a few bush fire sites. The recent bushfires here claimed over 200 people and a couple of towns last week so we kept a good lookout. There was a haze in the air as we drove and, we found out later, we drove fairly close to one of the out of control fires.

Camped that night in Orbost on the banks of the Snowy. Much reduced from Banjo’s day, with much of the water diverted for various uses. From the signage on the bank there is a group fighting to restore the river. Hope they get there.

Goulburn, New South Wales

2009-02-21T01:49:00.000-08:00

February 14, 2009

Left the Blue Mountains as we found them – shrouded in fog and rain. Since we aren’t staying to walk there we are back to the endless driving. Today the objective is to cut around Sydney and pass through Wollongong to the South.

Drove through the rain around Sydney and stopped long enough on a Wollongong beach to watch some surfers looking for some big waves and a competition of lifeguards swimming into the surf. All in the rain and all knowing that there had been two shark attacks in two days in the area. Got to give them credit.

Decided to keep driving and made it to Australia’s first inland city – Goulburn. It has some amazingly large stone buildings from the 1800’s. Now the city seems to be facing some tougher times and the grand old facades are housing discount and fast food shops.

Still raining so we took another motel room instead of tenting it. As usual we took all the shampoo bottles and coffee packets with us. Got to save money somewhere.

Since it was Valentine’s Day we did eat out at the only Thai BYO in the city.

Katoomba, New South Wales (The Blue Mountains)

2009-02-14T23:38:00.000-08:00

February 13, 2009

In an effort to find some great walking tracks and see some koalas we have headed for the Blue Mountains. They are called that because eucalyptus trees emit oil that can cause a blue tint in the air on a clear day. Koalas eat only eucalyptus and this would be a great spot to see one.

Besides I once almost got bitten by a very poisonous snake and fell off a cliff near here so I have some fond memories.

Of course, by the time we get there the rain has followed us and the fog is so thick we can’t see the road much less then the famous views. The high temperature has plunged to about 13C (55F). The outlook for the next five days is the same.

Really disappointed now we find a cheap motel, that will let us dry out our stuff, and plan for the next day. Had pizza and watched TV in the room if you are interested.

Dubbo, New South Wales

2009-02-14T23:37:00.000-08:00

February 12, 2009

Long day driving through dry open grassland. At one point I stopped to listen to the silence and smell the smells. I could easily live here but I am not sure that anyone would visit me. Stations out here are anywhere from 10,000 to 50,000 acres in size so I would have plenty of elbow room.

We saw lots and lots of emus on either side of the road along with a few kangaroos. Once we stopped for some of the birds at the side of the road and a mother and two “chicks” (only 5 ft tall) walked right in front of the car.

Made it to Dubbo, a very big regional centre, by nightfall and planned to go to a big zoo there the next day. That night was very pleasant so we set up our tent at a local caravan park and settled in for the night. Shortly there after the sky opened up with thunder, lightening, high winds and lots of rain. Very considerately it stopped just before dawn except for a steady drizzle. Nothing like packing a wet tent to get your day off to a great start.

Went to the zoo but found the price of $39/adult to be too much for our price range so we were on the road again.

St. George, Queensland

2009-02-14T23:36:00.000-08:00

February 11, 2009

The road south wasn’t as bad was we thought with only one section under water. With our little rental car we have virtually no ground clearance. The local trucks all can do at least three feet since when it rains here every other kilometre on the road is a “floodway”. Translated that means that the government doesn’t want to build culverts or bridges so it is simpler to just let the water run over the road. Since it doesn’t rain that often it is a compromise that most people can live with.

About two hours out of Springsure the rain stops and we leave the clouds behind. The land starts to open up with vast landscapes on either side. Sometimes there are fences and huge (500+ acres) cultivated fields and sometimes there are just grass and trees. It looks like an African savannah. The only thing missing is the elephants.

We wanted to do something in Springsure before we left the area as there were some cool sounding gorges and walks “nearby”. In that part of Australia nearby is often only 30, 40 or 60 kilometres away which isn’t that bad. What was bad is that many of the gravel roads are impassable to a vehicle like ours after a rain. This is not the tourist season around here. Everyone waits until there is less heat and less rain. When we got to St. George we found out that the temperature was 41C (106F) two days before. For us they lowered it to 30C or so. Nice of them.

Found an interesting winery in St. George and spent an hour doing the wine/port tasting (it was a slow day). We tried all the reds and then all the whites and then some liquors and then the port. While we were doing this customers would come in and ask for the FGP port. Having tried all the port, and not having seen one like named that, we asked. It seems that the owner had one label for the tasting room (St. George Port) and another one for the regulars. If I can get a picture up of it I will but, just in case I can’t, then be sure to ask for the “Fucking Good Port”.

We don’t pass through many towns. Some are a few buildings while others are big regional hubs with 2,000 people or so. The stations that we see on the side of the road are only known by their mailboxes.

Springsure, Queensland

2009-02-14T23:32:00.000-08:00

February 10, 2009

With the difficult decision that we won’t be going for the Great Barrier Reef behind us, we are faced with making up a lot of kilometres to work our way back down the country.

The rain was still falling as we left MacKay and the rest of the day was much the same with overcast skies and wet conditions. When we hit Emerald, we were going to try to stop and see some sights (Emerald is the largest producer of sapphires in the world) but then the skies really opened up.

For anyone who has not seen a tropical downpour it is hard to explain. Let us just say that we kept our sandals on as we had to almost wade around town to find something to eat. With such a large amount of water in such a short period of time the streets, parking lots and walkways were all ankle deep.

Our route for the next little while will be what they call the “Great Inland Way”. It is considered by many to be the outback but I just think of it as being in the bush. It is one of those places where you carry extra water in the car and fill up the tank whenever you hit one-half empty. This is really rural Australia.

We make it as far as Springsure since we are not going to risk driving at night. The roads here are littered with hundreds of dead kangaroos and it is no coincidence that most of the trucks here have heavy duty bars across the front. Hitting a 30 kg (80 lbs) roo at 100 km/hr can do some awful thing to your evening.

When the nights are nice we try to find a caravan park to set up the tent in since they are so cheap. When it is raining, we look for a hostel or a cheap motel. In Springsure it is a small motel with just a few units that caters to the various mine workers moving through the area.

Springsure is a booming town of 300 people who provide services to the surrounding stations (ranches). We had the small deal meal for $10 at the local pub where the beers were cheap and some of the locals ogled Lana. I think that she liked the attention but not the flies or lack of air conditioning.

It rains hard the whole night and we wonder what the roads will be like tomorrow.

Gladstone to MacKay, Queensland

2009-02-10T18:23:00.001-08:00

February 8.9, 2009

Made our way up the main coast road (which is nowhere near the coast). Drove over 800 kilometres in the last two days through a lot of nothing. The scenery changed from hills to grass lands with scattered trees.

The number of dead kangaroos on the road increased the farther north we went as did the isolation. Stopped at a few small towns and found only the pub, a school and the police station. Good thing for us that we weren’t in trouble – the police stations all had a closed sign on the front door!

Made a very tough decision today in MacKay. The plan was to go to Townsville (about another 500 km) and then out to Magnetic Island on the Great Barrier Reef. I hadn’t made the Reef the last time and was really looking forward to it.

The reality was that most of northern Queensland is flooded. The road between Townsville and Cairns had been cut off for days and the road from MacKay to Townsville supposedly had only one lane open. Since we are driving a Kia Rio that has maybe six inches of water clearance it didn’t help matters.

For the last 400 km, we have passed lots of signs that warn of the roadway flooding. On the helpful side they do put measuring posts on the roadside so that you can see how flooded it is. Starts to make you understand why a lot of the trucks have their exhausts re-routed to the roof.

It has also been raining non-stop for the last five hours and the forecast is for continuous rain for the next week. Guess the Great Barrier Reef will have to wait. We will start back down the interior toward all those fires raging in the south (did I mention those) near the border of Victoria and New South Wales. At the motel, we are staying in tonight we heard about a woman who was stranded in Cairns because of the rain while her home burned to the ground in the bush fires of Victoria – quite the irony!

Noosa Heads

2009-02-10T18:21:00.000-08:00

February 6.7, 2009

Did you know that nudists seem to get upset if you aren’t nude when they are?

Stayed two nights (in a caravan park) outside of Noosa Heads. Noosa Heads is a popular resort town that Lana and I stayed at 23 years ago. (if my kids are reading this it was in separate rooms with locked doors).

At the time it was upscale but still quaint. Sometime in the last 20 years a developer from Miami got a hold of it and turned it into a tasteless collection of high end chain stores and expensive cars.

We wanted to walk again in the National Park there again since we had seen a Koala Bear there the last time. We couldn’t get near the main entrance since their was a surfer’s festival on and the place was full.

We did get in the back way and had a nice two hour walk in the high humidity and heat in our hiking gear and boots. Good way to sweat off those pounds.

Part of the track led down to an out of the way “informal” nudist beach. It is amazing the looks that you get when you walk through a beach like that. Somehow, they can make you feel dirty for having clothes on. I almost expected them to make a phone call to the local police. They probably would have, if they had had a pocket to put the phone in.

The Commune

2009-02-10T18:17:00.001-08:00

February 5

If anyone wants to know what happened to the spirit of the 60’s we found we its hiding place – in Bryon Bay in New South Wales.

Bryon Bay is one of those places that was full of surfers and hippies 25 years ago but is now dominated by those rich enough to pretend that they are returning to the simple life while staying in a million-dollar apartment and wearing some kind of strange amulet around their neck.

Right outside of Byron Bay is the Art Factory. It says that it is a hostel but it is really a sixties encampment with a better reception desk and a little bit of beach resort thrown in. Some of the hostel is built in a standard fashion around a pool (very rare at hostels) while others stay in the converted bus, the tepee or the tent encampment.

We tented, with our little tent amongst a lot of bigger tents. This was not a standard campground. We were led out to the site and various empty places in the mess of tents were pointed out as promising. The staff told us that many of the people had been on the site for months. We later found out that the tents (and contents) were often offered for sale by the current occupants to those wishing to stay longer.

The site was shared with a large number of large lizards (very nice but not talkative), bush turkeys and lots of loud birds. The bathrooms were covered with colourful drawings straight from the 60’s. The men’s washroom was designated as the Warriors – with “of love” in small letters.

We spent the evening at the adjoining bar where we met some of the locals. Two that we met were a dive instructor and a tree loper (cutter). They were riding their bikes around town to try to have a drink at every pub in town. I am pretty sure they didn’t make it although I did discover that I could still roll my own cigarettes – and that was before the shots of tequila (long story but it started with the dragon tattoo). All the while gigantic bats (flying foxes) flew overhead looking like black 747s against the sky.

Coff's Harbour

2009-02-07T00:58:00.000-08:00

February 4, 2009

Drove up the still unremarkable highway, which seemed to be in a complete state of chaos as they were expanding it or something. Detoured when possible into the “tourist” or scenic routes to catch occasional views of the coast and the odd kangaroo hopping across a farmers field. We did see a pod of dolphins playing off the coast and that was kinda neat.

Splurged that night because it was my Birthday! Hope Brenda mentioned it at Rotary and thanks for those thousands of emails from readers of the blog. (If you didn’t send yours its not too late.)

Spent the night at Coff’s Harbour at the Caribbean Motel. Air conditioning, Jacuzzi tub, a balcony overlooking the ocean and clean towels. Dinner at the Scoffe Seafood Restaurant across the street was great.

The maître d' had a great dry wit and, having spent a career as a mechanical engineer repairing amusement park rides around the world, would have had a lot of interesting stories to tell if I had let him get a word in. I was charming though.

Sydney and then North

2009-02-07T00:53:00.001-08:00

February 3, 2009

Picked up our rental car this morning and navigated out of the City, over the famous Harbour bridge and bang – right into a traffic jam in North Sydney – which appears to have as many people and tall buildings as Sydney dees.

Despite the traffic, I am glad to be gone. The CB Private Hotel or the Maze Backpackers Hostel – whichever you want to call it – was a dump and I was glad to see the last of it. Guessing what the new stain was in the hallway each morning wasn’t as much fun by day three. Counting how many people might be sleeping on the floor in the games room was a challenge every day as was finding your food in the crammed fridges. If you go there anyway have a good time, many of the guests apparently do, but just keep your sandals on in the shower.

Headed north we took the totally unremarkable main highway. The only thing memorable thing about it was the occasional sign warning about koalas or kangaroos on the road.

That night, however, we did something that I never expected us to do. Sometimes you have to push some boundaries and that isn’t always something that everyone is comfortable with. Lana was more willing then I was. I can’t even blame what we did on alcohol. Nevertheless, we did it – and I have the pictures to prove it.

We stayed at a Caravan Park. (That’s a trailer park for you slow folks out there.)

Yup we did it. Pitched our little tent up among all those large trailers, big pickups and mammoth circus tents that some people sleep in. Our tent, by comparison, was completely hidden behind our little rent a car (nicknamed the chipmunk for its incredible Kia engine). I could see the pity in the eyes of those around us but we put on a brave face and tried to stand proud. In the background you could hear small children try to ask their parents about those poor people but parents would just shush them up and say that not everyone was as fortunate as they were (to have the 28 ft deluxe model).

In the morning, it was nice to see that some people had tossed coins at the foot of the tent. People will never cease to amaze me with their kindness.

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

2009-02-07T00:37:00.001-08:00

February 1.2, 2009

After the relative calm of New Zealand, the noise and activity of Sydney are a bit of a shock. First impressions of the City is that it has grown along the American model with tall generic office buildings and lots of chain stores. It also seems a lot dirtier than we remembered it. As we walked around the first morning there I was astonished to see private security guards, carrying handguns, patrolling the main business and shopping streets.

Everywhere downtown there were signs saying that the area was under video surveillance. If being under surveillance makes a place safer then Sydney should be right up there at the top of the list.

Over the course of a couple of days we walked all along the waterfront, saw the bridge and opera house, the Botanical Garden (which is huge), the entire Australian navy (tied up in port), through Kings Cross (now a very upscale area instead of the interesting place it used to be), around Paddington and into Chinatown. We walked a lot.

The village areas, like Paddington, were great and as we remembered them. I tried to find a pub that I remembered spending a great deal of time in a long time ago but it was probably condemned 20 years ago. Either that or they went broke after I left.

One day we went to Manly on the ferry and walked the park track up on the big natural reserve on the harbour’s North Head. Great park and walk until I reminded Lana to keep an eye out for snakes. After that, she made me go first. Something about insurance. Oh and thanks to Norm at the Visitor’s Centre for talking about the fight to get the land declared a park after the Federal Government declared it surplus and was about to sell it. (Gee that sounds familiar).

Found a nice pub (called Scruffy Murphy’s) on Gouldburn Street near George St that night. Great meal deals like steak and mashed potatoes for $5.95 (if you buy a beer to go with it). Open 24/7 they have lots of drunken Irishman in the place all the time and a good breakfast special for $5.95 but only if you buy the beer to go with it. Good for that quick pick me up before work.

One night we watched a big parade to celebrate the start of the Chinese New Year from their outside tables. The floats were all lit from the inside and many of the dancers and performers were wearing lights as well. Pretty cool.

Another night we went to an amazing BYOB Italian restaurant called Bar Reggio over about 10 blocks on Crown St. Outstanding food but the watching the staff and the customers was even better. If you get to Sydney, you have to try it. Really.

Fashions in Sydney are certainly more variable than either Toronto or Vancouver. We saw more types of summer dresses/frocks or whatever you want to call them in an hour thae you might in a week in Canada. I, of course, was watching only in my capacity as a unpaid amateur travel blogger. There are some downsides to the job after all.

Christchurch to Sydney

2009-02-07T00:29:00.000-08:00

January 31, 2009

Washed everything and packed it up for the flight to Australia. Spent the morning at a small but phenomenal organic market in Lyttleton, which the deepwater port for Christchurch. They carved a long tunnel under the hills to get there so everyone could avoid the steep ascent and descent over the hill separating the two. We did both just to cover all the bases. Toured around a bit with Bruce and Carolynn and the Beast – as we have fondly named the 4x4 they had loaned us for our travels.

Finally said good-bye at the larger then expected Christchurch airport and flew four hours to Sydney. Went with Air New Zealand and was really impressed (again) by everything – the plane and the crew were amazing and the drinks were still free. They make Westjet look shoddy (which is hard to do) and there is absolutely no comparison to the crap that Air Canada offers.

Surprised at how lax security was at the airport through. Lana had a big stainless steel water jug (empty of course) on the outside of her carry on but no one even glanced at it.

Landed in Australia and took a shuttle to the Maze backpackers hostel (previously know as the CB private hotel) right in the heart of Sydney. We had stayed there before (23 years ago) and I was of the opinion that time could only have improved the place.

It is amazing to me (but not I assume to the readers) how wrong I can be on occasion. The CB Private Hotel was one of those times.

Driving in New Zealand

2009-02-07T00:19:00.000-08:00

Driving in NZ

I have mentioned a number of driving related matters in the blog but I thought that I should mention some more before we moved onto Australia.

First driving in NZ is based on the premise that you actually trust the other drivers on the road. For example, in the rural areas most of the bridges that you would cross are single lane ones and you have to trust that the guy, coming the other way, will read the yield sign and follow it. Just like he has to trust you. It is embarrassing to meet someone in the middle of a 100-metre bridge who has right on their side.

North American driving is the based on the premise that you can’t trust the other drivers. We are overrun with traffic lights, stop signs and other directional indicators that take away the whole concept of self-determination on the road. Mostly because we can’t be trusted to do it on our own. The “rules of the road” that we are all supposed to know have degenerated into “survival of the most maniacal”.

In NZ, there are very few traffic lights (only in major towns/cities) and almost no stop signs. You could spend a whole vacation in the rural areas and not see more than one or two.

There is however, lots of things called roundabouts (the one in Vernon is not really a functional one) which operate solely on the principle that what is to the left of you is not important. That concept escaped me on the first few hundred roundabouts that I drove into. I was watching the cars to the right of me, the cars coming in on the left and frantically subduing my urge to just panic and stop somewhere in the middle. Since there were no stop signs that meant (to me anyway) there was roughly the same amount of control as one might get jumping out of a plane or falling into a whirlpool.

I eventually gave up and plunged into the “chaos” of traffic while only looking to the right and fully expecting that I would be blindsided by one of those maniacs on the left. (Nothing like clenching your teeth and expecting to meet your maker at every intersection.) The weirdest thing happened. The system worked

Since NZ has hundreds of traffic cameras and a very determined stance on speeding almost no one does it. That is except the motorcyclists. Apparently, the traffic cameras can’t read their tiny plates and the helmets cover their faces so they, as a group, seem to do anything that comes into their heads. Watch out for them.

As far as drinking and driving goes they do random spot checks with ALL drivers having to speak into the “machine”. If it glows green then on your way but if red then into the nearby van for some more conclusive testing.

One other assumption is that drivers are paying attention all the time. This means that when they change the speed limit that only post it once. After that you may have to wait a long time to see a reminder. They also assume you know what the main roads are when you reach them presumably in the belief that you saw the sign when you turned on it. The concept of putting up both road names at intersections hasn’t really taken hold here (although it does prompt some interesting conversations with your in car GPS unit or spouse).

One more thing. Don’t laugh at their police cars. They get sensitive about that and they are quite colourful after all.

Christchurch

2009-01-31T16:07:00.001-08:00

January 30, 2009

On our second last day in NZ we didn’t do much. Spent some time in used book stores (you read a lot when you travel) and then we thought we would take our friends to a very nice restaurant.

This brings me to a topic that I have been meaning to mention. Screens. Actually it is the lack of screens. Since most of NZ doesn’t have any bugs to speak of they don’t have screens in any of their windows. Now this might sound like a good thing but you need to know that there are dangers associated with this.

If, for example, someone (no names of course) decided that it might be a better thing if the toilet window was open and if (just if) someone’s cat jumped in the window and set off a house alarm while everyone was at dinner in a really nice restaurant then the obvious conclusion would be that the particular someone would be blameless. I mean I don’t know how anyone could come to any other conclusion.

So anyway if you are ever in a really fancy restaurant in downtown Christchurch called Tiffany’s, with a waiter who doesn’t know what a mojito is, just remember that being thoughtful about ventilation can be cancelled out by the odd cat.

Enough said. Don’t you think?

Christchurch South Island New Zealand

2009-01-31T16:05:00.000-08:00

January 28.29, 2009

Spent some lazy time sponging off of Bruce and Carolynn. They rent a house fronting on a waterfowl sanctuary and the views out of their kitchen are great. Went into downtown Christchurch and screwed around for a bit. On the 29^th all four of us went up to the hot springs at Hanmer Springs and spent some time in the sulphur pools. Took years and years off our bodies. We left there teenagers (for the most part). Lana, in particular, looked no older than 14 when we left. Probably will be had to explain when we get back to Canada but we can only hope that the effects are temporary.

Oamaru to Lake Tekapo

2009-01-31T15:58:00.000-08:00

January 26.27, 2009

Decided at the last minute to detour into the interior again to see Mt. Cook from the eastern side. We saw it at a distance as we went down the West Coast but thought a closer view would be in order. Turned away from the coast and ascended up into the high alpine as we got near the southern alps.

For a few hours we could have sworn we were back in BC with the high hills covered in short brown grass and the snow covered ranges rising in the background.

Entered into Mt. Cook national park with the ranges looming overhead. Great views of the front of the glaciers in the mountains. Walked most of the way into Hooker Valley to get a better view of Mt Cook (largest mountain in the Southern Alps). Went over the suspension bridges across the glacier fed river. The water had that peculiar colour that comes only from melting glaciers.

Ended up at Lake Tekapo which has the darkest nights in NZ. So much so that there are a number of observatories at the top of the hills.

Drove the next day through a rain storm to Christchurch where we were due to return the “Beast” (our faithful Land Cruiser) to our friends Bruce and Carolynn. The rain was welcomed by the locals as it had been a very dry summer. Kinda of funny however to look through the pouring rain and see all the fire danger signs warning about the “extreme” danger.

Stopped to change the oil and wash the beast before we returned it. It seemed the least we could do for them loaning it to us for the last three weeks.

Dunedin to Oamaru

2009-01-31T15:52:00.000-08:00

January 25, 2009

Quick look at the picture (remember to double click to enlarge it) and see if you can find the penguins in it. There is a prize involved and there is a bonus if you can tell me what species they are. No luck huh. Too bad.

Left Dunedin by way of a trip up to the summit of Mt. Cargill which is the big hill overlooking the city. Other than being crowded by a plethora (nice word huh) of antenna and telecommunication that masks the view of the harbour and the area was fabulous. Headed up the coast road (the scenic route of course) to Oamaru. Stopped for a really nice burger at the Seaview café (which was in the middle of nowhere) except that Lana didn’t really like the three or four generous pieces of beetroot on the burger. Hoped for some views of dolphins but had to settle for the famous boulders of Moeraki.

As far as I was concerned, they looked exactly like large dinosaur eggs that had been laid on the beach and of which some of them had hatched. Look at the picture.

Oamaru itself is a town that time passed by. They had some of the best Victorian/Empire type buildings from the day when they were an important shipping port but since then things haven’t been going quite as well. On the other hand they were the site of the last whiskey distillery in NZ and all of the last stocks are stored at a beautiful old limestone building called Whiskey. If you go there try the 20 year old cask unfiltered stuff. Knocks your socks off.

Oamaru is also the site of a blue penguin colony although you have to pay to watch from a grandstand as them come in from the sea at sunset. We decided instead to go to a beach nearby and waited for a few hours (in perfect weather mind you) to wait for the yellow eyed penguins to come ashore. They eventually did and the way they just pop out of the waves is nothing sort of magic. The beach is empty and then it isn’t.

They spend all day out catching fish and then come home to a bunch of people on the cliffs watching them. Made me think that we were in a suburban neighbourhood watching a bunch of autoworkers come home, chat with the neighbours and then preen their feathers before they gathered up enough courage to face the family. In this case they eventually made their way to their burrows up in the scrub behind the beach.

Had a drink at the local pub with one of the locals who had spent a career in the bush cutting timber but who now whips off oil paintings (which are pretty good) when the mood strikes him. He was an interesting guy, who was missing a few teeth, and who thought that Canadians were the same as Americans. When I asked him if that meant Ozzies (Australians) were the same as Kiwis he got very offended at first and then apologized to all Canadians.

When we left the next morning we checked under the car for penguins as they sometimes get lost and end up around town. Always better safe then sorryl

Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula

2009-01-23T22:28:00.000-08:00

January 23.24, 2009

With the City Centre nicely confined, and the farmlands visible around the water, Otago Harbour has to be one of the most beautiful in the world. Big ships can only get part of the way in (through an incredibly narrow headlands) and maybe that is the reason it has kept its charm.

After driving the water level lower road to the end of the Otago peninsula in the hopes of seeing a Royal Albatross we took the high road back. Now there is a Royal Albatross colony at the end of the peninsula but the price of $39/person was a little out of our range. (What a shame for a country with so many free museums to hold the birds up for ransom like that).

Anyway, we did get close to a fur seal on the rocks and I did catch a couple of glimpses of the big birds as they soared over cliffs. Out around the “narrows” leading into the harbour was the strangest fog bank I have ever seen. It was thick enough to seriously delay one of the cruse ships from coming in on time but it was limited just to a specific area. It also stayed there for the whole day. Bizarre.

Stopped at NZ’s only “castle”. Really just a big mansion but it and the gardens had been restored. It wasn’t worth the $25/person for the castle tour but the $10/person just to wander around the grounds was a good price. For those of you who have been to Casa Loma in Toronto it has a history sort of like that except that this guy had three wives and …. never mind.

The real fun part was taking a number of the single (and I mean single lane) gravel roads that cover the other side of the peninsula. The views of beaches, salt flats and bays are really tremendous and well worth the extra driving. The roads are frequently steep and we did have one close call with another car on a blind curve (must have been his fault because he didn’t curse at me) but the areas are windswept and seem very remote for all their proximity to the town.

The next day was strictly walking as we went down the long hill to the historic railway station. Since it is, reputedly, the most photographed building in NZ we didn’t take a picture of it but enjoyed it nonetheless. Had breakfast at the Farmer’s Market there (I recommend the Bacon Buttie) from a stall and then went on a walking tour of the downtown and shopping areas. Visited the museum (once again a very good one and free to boot) and tried to avoid all the American tourists in town from the cruise ship.

Had an overpriced beer at a side walk café in the Octagon, which is the circle like plaza/park that is the heart of the city. Since the temperature was a little cooler than yesterdays 27C (80F) the hill back up wasn’t as bad. Had a nice talk with one of the hostel owners about her four month old baby (she was from Chicago) who wasn’t wearing a diaper. Some kind of theory about reading the baby’s feelings and knowing when it was going to “go”. Sounded dangerous to us but then again there weren’t any accidents as we were sitting there.

On the road again tomorrow.

Bluff to Dunedin

2009-01-23T22:20:00.000-08:00

January 22, 2009

Ok the first thing is that I didn’t get sick on the ferry on the way back. It was a calm day, I had eaten the ginger extract tablets that they sold on the dock and I also took advantage of the free earplug they give you if asked. Apparently one earplug lessens motion sickness. I didn’t care as long as it would help prevent me from reliving the fish and chips from last night.

The clouds were racing high overhead (actually they are always racing here) but the seas were pretty calm for this section of the world. We would miss Stewart Island but I wouldn’t miss the ride.

Next, we headed up the east coast of the south island heading through green fields full of sheep. We out ran the rain in Bluff and the weather got noticeably warmer as we drove. Slammed on the brakes at one point and did a U-turn as we passed a sign proclaiming that Niagara Falls was to the right. They were right. Here is a picture.

Up the coast farther through twisting roads and, since we followed the scenic route signs, about 30 km of one and half lanes of loose gravel roadway. I use the term lanes loosely as it means that two cars should be able to pass. Should be anyway.

Saw some great coastal scenery and buzzed through a lot of small (really small) towns that were anything but tourist traps. Finally rolled into Dunedin (Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh) in the late afternoon. The City was once the financial capital of NZ, and the centre of a gold rush area, so there are some amazing colonial stone structures about all looking like the very essence of the British Empire.

Found, to my horror, that much of the City is built on steep streets and that my skills with the stick, brake and clutch were to be tested once again. (I thought this was supposed to be relaxing.) Having arrived here by bus the last time I had forgotten that.

We did walk down to the City centre to buy groceries and then back up a really large hill. Nice hostel through, as long as you don’t have to leave. Of course we could have taken the car but then we wouldn’t be getting “in shape”.

Stewart Island

2009-01-23T22:08:00.000-08:00

January 21, 2009

Our second day on Stewart Island started out clear and calm. Our first stop was at a local bakery (and health spa) run by an expatriate American by the name of Britt. She came to Stewart Island 10 years ago to do her PhD thesis in geology and never left. Now she works 10 hours/day (every day) for six months and travels for the rest of the time. She makes really good scones and soups in her tiny one person bake shop. My advice would be to have the cranberry scone but ask her to skip the pound of butter on top. She also offers cheap wireless access and is very nice.

Today’s trip is to Ulva Island, which is a protected reserve inside of Paterson Inlet. Before people showed up in New Zealand, it was populated almost completely by birds. They filled all the niches normally filled by mammals elsewhere. (The only native mammals in New Zealand were the bats). They are still worried about rats coming back. See the sign.

Ulva Island is only about 250 hectares (roughly 500 acres) in size with a really nice series of paths from one end to the other. The interior is very jungle like and it echoes with lots of birdcalls. We did see some of the species on the island. One, a weka, kept trying to get into our packs at one of the beach stops. Another, a NZ parakeet, wasn’t to be seen on the walkways but turned out to have a nest right over the hut on the wharf.

The only way to get there is by a water taxi ride. This being the “roaring 40’s” the water taxis are all capable of riding out three metre (10 ft) waves. (That is in the protected waters of the inlet – you don’t want to even think about the ocean side). While we were waiting for the taxi to take us to the island we watched some of the park staff and a couple of locals take a stretcher out of a boat with an older woman on it. Turns out that she broke a leg “up a creek” as one of them put it.

After four hours on the island we walked, in the rain (because it rains almost every day), back up and over the hill (because there are always hills on the island) to the pub. After the pub, we had some fish and chips with the local specialty blue cod at the (only) fish and chips stand.

That night it rained – all night. What a surprise! If you are thinking of going to Stewart Island you should, as it really is a magic place. Just be prepared for 17C maximum (62F) and take lots of quick dry clothes. Oh and the ferry is $60/person each way but that does include as many of the little paper (vomit) bags as you can use.

Stewart Island - South of Everything

2009-01-20T12:46:00.000-08:00

January 20, 2009

Stewart Island is the “other” island of NZ. In Maori legend the North Island was a big fish caught by a hero and the South Island was the canoe that he was in. Stewart Island was the anchor that they threw out to stop the canoe. The island has a year round population of 360 people with another couple of hundred visiting as tourists during the better weather.

The good news is that there is never snow on the island. The bad news is that it is located in the “roaring 40s”. That means that it is almost always windy and rain can come at any time.

Most of the island is a national park and this is a place where the kiwi still thrives. Some of the off shore islands around it are predator free and for many of the native birds this is their last refuge. The deluge of rats, pigs, dogs, cats, mongooses and more have devastated them on the two big islands.

To get to Stewart you generally take a ferry. Now I am not a good sailor especially when you don’t have anything to do but look at the waves. This ferry held about 100 people and was designed for this route. It was also a catamaran and that means it floats like a cork on the top of the waves.

Today wasn’t a bad day for this trip with about two to three metre waves and a 30 kilometre wind. Personally I hated it. The ship went up and down with the waves frequently well above the window level. I spent half the trip clutching the rail on the back deck and getting soaked by the rain just because it made me feel better.

Finally got to the tiny settlement of Oban on Halfmoon Bay after an hour that felt twice as long. It is the only settlement on the island with a couple of pubs and a small store. Walked a few of the local roads and trails before bunking into the hostel. Heard some stories of the ferry where it literally left the water in rough weather. Not looking forward to the trip back.

Queenstown to Bluff

2009-01-20T12:44:00.000-08:00

January 19, 2009

Took the scenic route from Queenstown cutting across the western part of the Southland to Te Annue (the gateway to the fiords). At first the road was your typical winding narrow one hanging on the edge of a mountain overlooking big lakes. It then turned into a gentle wide one that presented us with views of big paddocks (fields for those of you who are unworldly) filled with thousands of sheep. Apparently we were in an area where the cattle hadn’t yet eaten all the sheep although there were fields were the two coexisted, for the moment.

Some of the paddocks had higher fences and contained herds of red deer and one of them had a herd of elk.

After a few hours of driving we reconnected with coast close to Invercargill. The weather went from sunny to cold and wet with increasing winds. This is the southwest corner of NZ and the weather patterns that hit here come directly from the Antarctic.

Had lunch in Invercargill but decided not to stay the night but rather to head to the port town of Bluff where we would catch the ferry to Stuart Island. We did walk around a tremendous central park in town that was laid out in a very formal manner with a central band shell, rose gardens, museum, wildlife park and, of course, the croquet club. It must have covered 30 acres at least and was in immaculate condition.

Pulled into Bluff after some really high winds off the water. Our faithful land cruiser has a high profile and, on some of the curves, felt like it wanted to fly.

The town of Bluff used to be a thriving one, shipping southland products and fish, but a big plant closure in 1991 destroyed the local economy. There were more empty storefronts then occupied ones on the main street and the gloomy weather didn’t help the impression. Stayed in the hostel located in the old grand Post Office in a private room with ten foot ceilings. Bluff is the end of all the roads in NZ. Look at the sign.

The last time we were in NZ (separately of course) parts of the South Island had been wet and cold. The lack of central heating in NZ didn’t help. With the wind blowing through the crack in the window our memories came rushing back. By the way don’t drink the water in Bluff as it has to have more chlorine in it then any place I can remember.

Queenstown South Island NZ

2009-01-20T12:43:00.001-08:00

January 17.18, 2009

Queenstown is one of the premier resort towns of New Zealand. Oddly enough, it is not on a coastal beach but on a big inland lake. The setting is similar to Salmon Arm BC, for those of you who have been there, but the mountains are bigger.

There are, of course, lots of houses and small developments that have sprung up around it but they are still small scale by NA standards. Still freeloading at the Glass’s for a couple of days we drove into the Queenstown, parked the car and then climbed the nice trail to Queenstown hill. The vertical lift was about 500 metres (1500 feet) to the top from where we started and the trail, while wide and well packed, is really up all the way. The day stayed cool, with just a little rain, while we huffed and puffed our way to the top.

(On trails like these I always want to kill the people you pass coming down. They are always laughing and joking and having a good time while you feel like the guy at the beginning of the anti-perspirant ad.)

The view from the top was worth it. In the year 2000 they placed a sculpture at the time to symbol eternity or inner/outer strength or personal achievement or something. I found that it made a great spot to hang my shirt to dry.

Back to the Glass’s that night and then out to dinner at an Indian restaurant in nearby Arrowtown. Arrowtown was once a golding mine hotspot and the main street is still preserved and picturesque. The food was great and the entertainment was Brett and I wrestling at the till for the bill. His arms were longer and he won. Thanks Brett.

Next day was Barbara’s birthday so we did a two hour walk around nearby Lake Hayes and then off to a nearby café for lunch. Back to the house for gin and tonics and the end of a nice day.

Have to tell you that these are interesting people. Brett is an aircraft engineer, who used to work for Air New Zealand, and who now flies tourists into the Milford Sound area. Barbara, who is from England originally, used to be a nurse to the bush stations around Alice Springs in Australia. They had done a lot of their own design work on the house and the results were great. There was even a line of motion sensitive lights along all the hallways that lit up when you were looking for the washroom at night. You have to like that in a strange house.

We were told that the actor, Sam Neil (Jurassic Park), lives right down the road. Must be a nice neighbourhood.

By the way, in case you are wondering, Lana and I skipped the Fiordland area including Milford Sound. I had already done one of the treks (the Routeburn track) and we had both seen the area the last time we were here. Since it is on a road that just goes in and then just comes out we decided for the sake of time to skip it. We didn’t think the that fiords had changed much since the last time.

Fox Glacier to Queenstown

2009-01-20T12:42:00.001-08:00

January 16, 2009

Left the really small settlement of Fox Glacier and continued down the west coast highway towards Queenstown. This really is an area that has lots of similarities to the interior of BC. At times you couldn’t have told the difference (except perhaps for the people driving on the wrong side of the road and all those one lane bridges – oh and maybe all those sheep as well).

Went through some spectacular alpine country with rushing streams pouring down and the roads twisting up, which was to be expected since this is the heart of the Southern Alps. Very high hills (even by BC standards) although they didn’t have the tall BC forests but more of a mixture of scrub and a variety of different pines.

Cruised through Haast and then followed the road away from the coast and into the hills. While in Hasst we saw again the big red truck for the German tour group Retel Tours. Their concept is a little different. By day you ride on their bus but at night the bus and the truck convert into a 30 or so little sleeping compartments. Kind of like a movable hostel since you do your own food in the portable kitchen.

Stopped at Wanaka, which is a nice little resort and had a cheeseburger right next to the starting line of the triathlon they were holding in about 10 minutes. Spent some time in the little shops but more to stretch our legs then to buy anything. Although we haven’t been doing any big driving by Canadian standards we are usually doing 4-6 hours of driving a day so a break isn’t bad.

After Wanaka it was mostly high grasslands with sheep and cattle. The road we were on kept following a valley that got narrower and narrower until the hills on wither side were almost touching. Only the road was keeping them apart. Of course there was road work right near the top which gave the guy behind me a near heart attack as I was sliding backwards trying to get it into gear (driving a stick - remember) after we had to stop on a steep slope. That will teach him to get too close.

From there it wasn’t too hard to get to Queenstown but we did have to come down one of the tightest series of switchbacks I have ever driven. It said 5 km on the curves and they really meant it.

Pulled into the driveway of some more friends of Bruce and Carolynn who had offered to put us up. Brett and Barbara Glass (and their son Matt and Brett’s mom Nan) turned out to be really nice people. Matt promptly vacated his room to sleep on the couch (although it was a nice couch in a very nice room – still) and we settled in to sponge off of another group of first rate New Zealander’s.

They had a great single story house (like the vast majority of New Zealand homes) on an acre of land over looking a small lake. Not only did they let us stay but they made us dinner as well along with wine and conversation. Both the conversation and the wine were great.

New Zealand coffee

2009-01-20T12:33:00.000-08:00

If you are going to NZ, from North America, and you want to fit in then you need to know some things.

The first is that coffee, as you know it, really does not exist here in NZ. What we buy at Tim Horton’s or Starbucks is called “brewed coffee” and is not offered in restaurants or coffee shops. (You can, I know because I have seen it, do it in your own home but only with close friends.) Somehow, in the last 20 years NZ went from bad instant (last time I was here) to an espresso based culture.

Your choices in a NZ café are as follows.

Short Black

Long Black

Flat White

Latte

Tea.

If you like lattes then you are in luck because they are the same. If you don’t then you better like espresso in one form or another. Short or long blacks mean a single or double espresso. A flat white tastes to me just like a latte but I am assured that there is a difference. Since it is cheaper and stronger than a latte I am happy about it.

Don’t try ordering a double-double or demanding “real” coffee because it is bad manners and they call the police.

Other things you should be aware of.

A “chilly bin”, my most hated NZ expression, is actually a cooler (as for pop or beer). Even the newspapers use that phrase. There was a story about a guy, who survived the sinking of his boat, by holding on to his “chilly bin” and floating to shore.

Any word in English can be shortened and a “y” added on it. A Steinlager beer, for example, becomes a Steiny.

The police do random checkpoints and have every driver talk in a breathalizer. They don’t need any reason to do that in NZ they set up a roadblock somewhere and away they go.

Flip flops are suitable footwear attire anywhere including rugged trails and fancy restaurants.

Any time you can eliminate vowels then it is a good thing. Substituting a single for a couple of others is also fine. Yeah becomes Yh and Goodday becomes gitdy.

Never, never sit on a NZ toilet while flushing. Don’t why, just don’t do it.

Oh and they also drive on the other side of the road.

Hokitika to Fox Glacier

2009-01-15T01:27:00.001-08:00

Left the hostel before eight and hit the coastal road to do the two most famous glaciers in New Zealand. The drive was pretty flat although it did have its moments especially when we hit some of the longer bridges over the rivers.

I may have mentioned that maybe the majority of rural bridges in New Zealand are one lane only. There is usually a sign saying which side is supposed to yield but when you are going 100 km and come zipping around the corner you don’t always have a lot of time to stop and figure it out. My personal favourite was the really long bridge that was not only one lane but you also had to share it with a railway line. Click on the picture if you think I am lying.

The two glaciers are different in that they come right down to the temperate forest. The paths in is easy but rocky. They keep you well back from the front sections since the glaciers have a tendency to drop tons of ice at random times. Last week two brothers were killed because they ignored the posted boundaries and went in for a closer look. If you have lots of money you can take a helicopter ride up to the top or a guided glacier walk. We passed. Being from BC we figured that we had seen enough glaciers of our own. These were pretty cool though.

After tempting death by going to the glaciers we walked around a pretty little lake where, normally, a clear reflection of Mt Cook, NZ’s biggest mountain, can be seen. We did see Mt. Cook but not in the water. Did see a big freshwater eel though and a really large pigeon in the trees. Stayed at a very big hostel at the Fox Glacier that night. It even had a movie room. Who would have thought!

Motueka to Hokitika

2009-01-15T01:26:00.001-08:00

Drove along the west coast of the South Island today. The feel is much more rural that the North Island and the seascapes seem more rugged. That is not to say that they don’t have fabulous beaches but it just looks a little less inviting.

Went through the town of Westport with an unfriendly overcast sky and didn’t really see too much of interest so kept heading down the coast. Stopped at the pancake rocks at Punakaiki which are a strange rock and blowhole formation on the seashore. Looked for the dolphins and whales rumoured to be in the area but no luck.

Next stop was Greymouth where we found the sewage treatment outflow while walking along the restored wharf and, again, decided to head onward. Stopped for the night after about 5-6 hours of driving the seacoast and the coastal plain. The hostel was just across the road from the beach so we grilled on the deck and tried to watch the sun set on the water.

Wellington to Picton to Nelson to Motueka (South Island)

2009-01-15T01:25:00.000-08:00

Got up early to be on the ferry to the South Island. In line at the dock by 7:00 am for the sailing at 8:25. Nice ferry although a little bigger than and not as nice as the ones that go from Vancouver to Victoria. They do have a two-story play space for the kids and a cinema.

The trip takes about 3 hours with only about an hour on the open sea and the rest navigating the costal passages. Interesting enough the trip is an east/west one and not a north/south since the north end of the south island is level with the south end of the north island.

Landed in Picton after passing through Queen Charlotte Sound (named after our daughter we think) which is a very pretty collection of islands, remote farms, fish farms and steep green hills. Took the scenic way out of town, which was yet another twisting, turning, narrow road perched above the ocean. Could be worse.

The next stop was in Nelson, which was a bustling town with lots on people in the downtown core. You have to hand it to New Zealand. All of their downtowns are full of small individual shops and they have a lot of life. There are hat shops, men’s shops, shop stores, and all sorts of things that the mega stores killed on main street Canada years ago. I must say that the choices and the prices might not be as good but it is nice to have everything local.

After Nelson, we took the costal highway to Motueka since it was fairly close to the entrance of Abel Tasman National Park. The hostel was nice. Our building was almost empty and had mostly “older” people in it.

We got up early the next day to drive the winding roads into the park and catch the water taxi to our starting point. The Abel Tasman coastal walk is one of New Zealand’s best and while we didn’t want to do the entire 3-4 day walk we thought 3-4 hours of it was better than nothing.

The water taxi was rather different. Since the tides are so high/low they actually put you in the boat while in the parking lot. A tractor then pulls you down the road to the water and out about 100 ft until there is enough water to float the boat. See the picture at right. That is a tractor leading the boat.

We were dropped at Anchorage Bay, where we had to wade ashore, and started on the trek. It was a very beautiful trek, mostly up above the water, on a narrow but level path. It twisted and turned with the hills so some times you were in tropical vegetation and other times most in coastal scrub. Lots of people on the path. Some had full camping gear and other just flip-flops and a t-shirt. There really aren’t many ways to get off it unless you come in by boat, we were amazed at the clothes, and footwear people thought were appropriate. Finished the 12km about the right time and headed back to the same hostel for a special steak dinner celebrating the 23rd anniversary of Lana and me meeting at Ayers Rock in Australia. Then we sat up and drank with a whole bunch of Germans. My head hurt the next morning.

Masterton to Wellington

2009-01-15T01:11:00.000-08:00

Went to the local Farmer’s Market first thing and had a wild boar pie. Really. The showground (fairgrounds) reminded me of the ones in Armstrong, BC. Bigger in area but no indoor arenas. I particularly liked the grass cutters – a pretty good sized herd of sheep.

After that, it was more grassland until the town of Martinborough. That is where all the wineries were - great. Unfortunately, none of them opened for another couple of hours and, to tell the truth, they looked like real home based operations. They weren’t what we were expecting. Onwards to Wellington.

One thing about this part of NZ is that there sure weren’t any tourists to be seen. It is kind of off the beaten track.

Hit another high hill road just before Wellington and spent the whole way up in third gear. Come to think of it, I spent the whole way down in third as well.

In Wellington, we are splurging on an upscale backpackers lodge with a washroom and shower in the room! It too is an old hotel but it hasn’t lost its touch – yet. First stop in town was Te Papa, the national museum of New Zealand. It was quite large and really well done. Spent more than a few hours there and planned to go back for more.

We even ate that night at a great Thai restaurant where we could bring our own wine. Talk about splurging.

Next day was spent exploring the city on foot. Lots of nice districts with small shops and cafes. Looked at the particular interesting looking parliament buildings and took the cable car to the botanical garden. Lots of walking but worth it.

Port Waikato to Taupo

2009-01-11T20:20:00.000-08:00

We decided that we had to stop at Rotorua because you are supposed to. It is NZ’s biggest attraction so as we angled down from the tranquil northlands we tried to decided what we would do there.

We got to Rotorua and had a bit of an engine scare (which turned out to be nothing) but at least we found out where the Toyota dealer was. We found that the town had vastly expanded in the last twenty years and we weren’t impressed. After walking around town for awhile we agreed that it was the biggest tourist trap in the country. All of the attractions were, it seemed, for profit. Considering that Rotorua is based around the amount of thermal activity in the area you would think that the various geysers and mud pools would be accessible – think again.

We did walk around Sulphur Bay where the water is milk coloured and the “solid” rock is really only what is left after the water dries (looks solid but don’t go walking on it). The area stinks of rotten eggs and really is not particularly charming. Anyways, two hours were enough and we were on the road again.

Now down the road a couple of hours to Lake Taupo which is the biggest lake in either NZ or Australia. The result of a huge volcanic explosion it is also a hub tourist activity. Most of the tourist guides list things like hang gliding or parachuting which are not specific to the area but seem to spring up where ever there are lots of young tourists.

The last two hostels that we stayed in had been empty but tonight was a different story. We had to go to three before we found a room. It looked like an old motel but at least we had a shared bathroom that connected to the room. It would have been great except that the Germans in the connecting dorm room were a little slow on the concept of unlocking our door when they left the bathroom. Funny, they were really good on the concept of locking the door when they went in it.

Taupo seemed to be a nice town. Since it was quite hot we didn’t walk down to the waterfront until after dark. Walked by a McDonald’s with a full sized DC3 airplane as part of its playground (I’m sure there is a good story there somewhere).

At least this hostel wasn’t for sale like the last two.

Opononi to Port Waikato

2009-01-10T18:32:00.000-08:00

Opononi itself is a beach town bounded on one side by a beautiful bay and the ocean on the other. The sand dunes on the headlands are some of the biggest that I have ever seen. If we had more time we would have taken the water ferry over to them and sand boarded down the dunes. Sounded like a lot of fun to me. Not so much to Lana.

The hills in the northland are, well, hilly. There tend to be a lot of them and while they are not large by BC standards but they do make for twisty turning roads. Once again the standard speed limit was 100 km but nobody is doing over 80km and frequently only about 60 km. My left arm, which is my new shifting arm, is developing rapidly.

The landscape reminds me of Hawaii with the hills, although covered in either trees or lush green grass look new or unfinished. Many of the ridge and bluff lines are sharp edged and haven’t been worn down yet by eons of rain and wind.

One thing that has been missing, compared to my visit over 20 years ago, is the sheep. Back then there were literally sheep everywhere and now all we see is mostly dairy cattle. The locals have told me that everyone got out of sheep years ago due to a bad wool market but it still looks strange and not quite right. My completely unscientific theory is that the cattle are quietly eating the sheep at night. By day they look harmless but at night….. There is probably a bad horror mo

vie script in that somewhere.

On the way down the west coast, we stopped to walk into the forest to see the largest Kauri trees now growing in New Zealand. One is called the Lord of the Forest (Tane Mahuta) and the other is Father of the Forest (Te Matua Ngahere). They are estimated to be from 1500 to 2000 years old. We got there very early so the only ones accompanying us on the trek in were the native birds as they called in the cool of the morning.

The trees are in a 15,000 hectare reserve (what they call parks) and it was preserved only because it was the most difficult area to get at for commercial logging. It took 70,000 people, signing a petition in 1952, to get the area declared off limits to logging.

After we descended from the reserve, on really narrow roads, we hit some more open areas near Dargaville. It is at the meeting of two rivers and once was an important logging town. Oddly e

nough at the museum at Dargaville they have the masts from the Rainbow Warrior, the Greenpeace ship sunk in Auckland’s harbour, on display. Also in the museum, which is big for a medium sized town, is a display of wedding dresses and the largest accordion collection that I ever hope to see. Strange company for an old environmental warrior.

After that we drove south thru Auckland and out to the coast and spent the night at Port Waikato on the Tasman Sea. It is a little (very little) resort town on the end of a road that goes nowhere. It terminates on a big bay where there is a cluster of houses and an enormous black sand beach with no one on it.

The hostel was empty except for us and we walked the beach as the sun went down in the water. Other than a few surf fishermen and a couple of gulls it was just us.

Geez that sounds romantic doesn’t it but what really happened is that we walked a really long way on the beach. Lana floated on top of the sand and I sunk in it. Great beach but I found myself wishing for a pair of snowshoes.

Kerikeri to Opononi

2009-01-07T22:43:00.001-08:00

Went further north today toward the 90 mile beach peninsula that is the top of New Zealand. There are a lot of tours that take you in buses for a full day up the beach (driving on the beach itself) but skipped that. We got up as far as Pukenui where we had lunch. Took a bit off a gravel road detour to the Gumdigger’s Forest.

At one time NZ most valuable export was the dried gum of the Kauri tree. The really interesting part is that most of the gum was from trees that had been dead for about 45,000 years. Kauri trees grow for thousands of years and, for various reasons, vast forests of them have been blown down and preserved in the bogs that formed on top of them.

In life the trees bleed large quantities of the gum which congeal on the truck and them fall off. The gumdiggers would probe these bogs for lumps of gum and then sell them to companies who made varnish and paints. The term gumboots came from the boots that they used at the time.

It looked like brutal work and the area of the park was covered in holes that were being dug as late as the 1930s. Reminded me of the holes around the Australian opal fields except it was in a bog and not a desert. By the way these trees were not petrified but are still valuable as lumber today.

We saw the stump of a tree bigger than any living Kuari now know. It was just a little older by say 45,000 years or so.

The ninety mile beach was pretty amazing. You could walk for over 50 miles and still have room to roam. Didn't like the dirt bikers who were roaring up and down our stretch but I can't say the beach was crowded. It was as uncrowded as it gets.

Crossed at a nice little car ferry to get over a big bay. Reminded me of the ferries in the Yukon but this wasn't free. Oh well.

Stayed at a farm hostel in the hills over Opononi where we had to drive through the sheep on the steep gravel road. Very quiet at the top of the hills especially as the hostel was almost empty. Had crackers and pate for dinner as the flies buzzed and sheep baaed.

Thats the view from the hostel at right.

Auckland to Kerikeri

2009-01-07T22:41:00.000-08:00

As you may have gathered from one of the last post, I am now navigating the roads of New Zealand in a 1994 Toyota Land Cruiser. This vehicle has been generously provided by our friends Bruce and Carolynn who we can’t thank enough but whose sanity we do question.

Just to make things interesting the Land Cruiser is a standard. Now normally this would not be a problem but remember that the wheel is on the right and the shift is on left so I have to train a different hand to move the stick. (Geez, I just wrote that and it does sound kind of obscene doesn’t it?)

Anyway we dropped them at the airport and proceeded to drive out of the Auckland area. Hence the police report. By the way Lana says that anything she says as navigator is always put in the nicest terms and that report is somewhat inaccurate.

Once we were away from the cursed Auckland roundabouts (or was that me cursing) we made good time toward the Northland.

The roads in NZ are almost all two lane blacktops and, for the most part, they only have two speeds – 50 km or 100 km. Every road outside of a town is 100km regardless of how much they twist and turn or how narrow they are. To say that I was working the stick would be an understatement.

Now not a lot of people speed on the roads for two reasons. The first is that you would end up in a ditch and the second is that they have hundreds of cameras that automatically spit out a ticket if they catch you going more then 10km over. This is especially true when you come to a town and the speed drops to 50 km from 100km.

We travelled up the east coast passing through lots of grazing lands covered in cattle and small little picturesque towns with names like Waipu, Pukaroro and Ruakaka.

There is lots of road work being done according to the signs along the way but we didn’t see a single worker. Guess they are all off for the Christmas holidays. Nothing like navigating a twisty road and seeing the standard temporary 30km area (for all of 100 metres) then seeing that 100km sign again.

One of the highlights were the bathrooms in Kawakawa. Seriously, they are on the list of 101 things to do in the north and we just had to stop. Built as some sort of art project they are built as with randomly sized pieces of coloured tile. Nice but nothing that I would write home about.

Stopped at Whangarei to see the spot where the Maoris and the British signed their treaties in 1840. The Maoris, alone among native inhabitants of the Empire, weren’t ever defeated by the British since they gave as good as they got. The signing was something that both sides did since peace seemed a better alternative to an ongoing war.

Stayed the night in Kerikeri at a backpackers lodge where, when I went in to register, the manage thought I was a local landowner looking for cheap labour. Must be the Land Cruiser.

Wondering about Parnell and Queens Streets – Auckland

2009-01-07T22:38:00.000-08:00

Last day in Auckland was spent wondering down two of the main shopping streets. Parnell especially was full of small shops and cafes without a chain store in sight.

If you are ever bored in Auckland then go the bottom of the Sky Tower and then to the small Irish Pub across the street. At the Fidler Pub you can get a pint and a Toastie (toasted sandwhich) for $8.50. Take one of the two outside tables and then watch the people dive off the top of the Sky Tower. They are on cables but you wouldn’t know it for the screaming.

Associated Press – Auckland. Warning Issued.

2009-01-05T00:32:00.000-08:00

Police in New Zealand today issued an alert for a grey Toyota Land Cruiser on the roads north of Auckland. According to a police spokesperson the driver and occupants are wanted for questioning on a number of public decency complaints received from public in the area. Reports from citizens cite erratic driving and a continuous stream of verbal abuse coming from the vehicle. One complainant was quoted as saying that “the driver was a bloody idiot who didn’t know which side of the road to drive on”. Apparently there were also complaints about the tone and volume of the comments coming from the female passenger. Police have warned members of the public not to approach the vehicle or the occupants as they are definitely abusive to each other and may be dangerous to others.

Around Auckland again.

2009-01-04T00:42:00.000-08:00

Did another road trip around the greater Auckland area with a visit to a fantastic upscale Farmer’s Market. You know the kind of place where they sell bacon wrapped mussels and give out free samples of beer next to the homemade pastries.

Then onto a Winery (Brick Bay Wines http://www.brickbay.co.nz ) with a sculpture path leading around the vineyard. Lana liked the wines and the art. I mostly liked the wine.

Then onto a small regional park tucked away on an ocean bay and, just because, New Zealand’s only pottery works.

That evening we were treated to dinner by yet another of Bruce and Carolynn’s friends. This time it was David and Bronwen who took us all to a great Thai place after entertaining us in their beachfront home with a view of Rangitoto Island. (No, I am not making this all up. Apparently B&C run in much better circles then we do).

Rangitoto Island

2009-01-04T00:33:00.000-08:00

For those of you who wondered when we would stop eating and actually do something today was one of those days.

The area around Auckland is home to something like fifty volcano cones and the most recent one is Rangitoto island. It dominates Auckland’s harbour and, as islands go, is very young. Six hundred years ago there was nothing but a big patch of water where the island is today. The Maori living in the vicinity would have had a front row seat as the sea exploded and the classic volcanic cone rose above the water. Eventually it would level off at its current level of 250 metres.

Lots of people come over to do the most popular walk which is a beeline for the summit. I found the footing to be tiring as the lava path is graced with thousands of little knobs and cracks but we did pass people doing it in flip-flops. We had on runners and wished that we had taken our hiking boots.

The path on either side is filled with a jungle like tangle with all sorts of plants competing with each other for a toehold in an extremely harsh environment. According to the signs the oldest trees were only 250 years old and many species grew side by side here but no where else.

The walk to the top took about an hour and a light drizzle kept us cool. It also kept us from the fabulous views of the harbour that were promised but the crater at the top was neat. We took the long way down from the summit and onto a coastal track. By the time we got there the weather had cleared and the sun joined us big time.

Lana didn’t seem to mind but I am sure I left a trail of, huh, moisture along that road. It took us another two hours of walking to make the ferry dock where I spent the next hour dehydrating on the dock. All in all, I think that I need more acclimation to this climate.

That night Lana, with me assisting, made fajitas for our friends since it was our turn to cook. I spent the rest of the night re-hydrating with a number of very good Kiwi beers.

New Years Day

2009-01-04T00:25:00.000-08:00

Somewhere around Auckland

Here is a quick question. What do Paul & Shirley and Peter & Val all have in common? The two couples have fabulous homes and like being kind to utter strangers who shamelessly sponge off of them. They are also very experienced world travellers with Peter in particular having any number of photos that could easily grace the pages of National Geographic.

With Paul & Shirley we were actually scheduled for lunch. With Peter and Val we were scheduled for coffee which then turned into drinks which turned into a “light” dinner with only seven or eight courses.

By now, Lana and I are feeling not only guilty about all of the hospitality but also much larger then before.

Did get in touch with our two kids a day ahead of time. Nice having the new year come in 18 ahead of everyone back home.