Oh boy, I was as sick as a dog last night! I don't quite know where it all went wrong, it started out as a perfectly pleasant morning on our tropical island.We had some breakfast, had a minor argument, made up, went for a swim in the beautiful blue water and then went off exploring the island.We swam at some more beautiful beaches, had a lovely pancake over-looking the sea. By the evening we met up with another couple who were just having some evening bintangs (beers) so we joined them. We had a great night, ate some delicious curry, played some jenga, chatted, went to bed, and then at some hour in the morning (god knows when) it hit me and I was just sick as a dog! Now Brett,sympathetic soul that he is, was quick to blame the Bintang for my incessant vomiting, but really, how could a few innocent beers possibly make me that sick?! Trouble is I haven't found anything else to blame yet as everyone else who ate the same food as me were fine. Still, I will find something to blame that's for sure, because it was not the bintang!
Today was leisurely to say the least, we canned the idea of a surf and joined the Nusa Lembongan scooter brigade. We saw some great sights but right now my poor emptied belly is rumbling so it's time to get it some food (and maybe a Bintang?!)
Monday, February 28, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Riding along in a holey boat
Well we've splashed out on our last expensive tourist meal, said goodbye to Brett's mum and moved on. We are now on an island.
The island is Nusa Lombongan a couple of hours boat ride off the coast of Bali. The plan was to get the local ferry over this morning, although in reality the boat was full of tourists and we got ripped off on the price. At least it was an authentically rickety, wooden boat we traveled in or we'd have been disappointed!
Now, I'm pretty good with isolation but it does take a bit of getting used to. We left the frenzy of Kuta in Bali and landed at Nusa Lombongan in the pouring rain (when I say landed, it was more of a half jump, half fall off the back of this wooden boat, a trip over the rope and a desperate stumble for shore, stubbing my toe on the way), but anyway, we landed. We all ran for shelter at the nearest hotel and peering out through the rain, a wave of panic came over me, it looked pretty desolate and isolated and I was seriously worried about whether we could get a hot coffee, and man - did I ever need a hot coffee! Turns out this was an irrational fear, heaps of tourists come here every day not to mention locals, of course they don't all get by without caffeine. But right there, standing with my bag in the rain, I was worried!
We found our hotel, which certainly ain't the Hilton but it is definitely an upgrade from the last place (which it turns out had a friendly room mouse to accompany the broken sink and stained bed sheets). We had a big cup of Bali coffee and splashed out on some hot chips and the world looked good again.
Nusa Lombongan is still quite a culture shock after the main tourist area of Bali, it is a very poor island and the villages are mostly made up of just shack housing (although kept pretty dam clean and tidy). There are lots of boats, lots of chickens and lots of motor bikes to rent. As we're here off season there is a nice balance of locals and tourists and everyone so far is chatty and friendly. The pace of life here suits me just fine. What else? - Oh yeah, there's beautiful white sand and blue waters and some good surf breaks around the island. Now we've found coffee and food and the sun is just about shining, the island life is not too shabby at all.
Oh and it turns out that a cyclone did hit Darwin and we managed to get on the last plane to fly from the airport before they closed it, so I'm taking this as a good omen for our travels (fingers crossed anyway because it's crossed my mind that I don't like our chances if a tsunami should hit here) Na, it'll be fine, there's a big old hill right behind us. Now it's time for food.
The island is Nusa Lombongan a couple of hours boat ride off the coast of Bali. The plan was to get the local ferry over this morning, although in reality the boat was full of tourists and we got ripped off on the price. At least it was an authentically rickety, wooden boat we traveled in or we'd have been disappointed!
Now, I'm pretty good with isolation but it does take a bit of getting used to. We left the frenzy of Kuta in Bali and landed at Nusa Lombongan in the pouring rain (when I say landed, it was more of a half jump, half fall off the back of this wooden boat, a trip over the rope and a desperate stumble for shore, stubbing my toe on the way), but anyway, we landed. We all ran for shelter at the nearest hotel and peering out through the rain, a wave of panic came over me, it looked pretty desolate and isolated and I was seriously worried about whether we could get a hot coffee, and man - did I ever need a hot coffee! Turns out this was an irrational fear, heaps of tourists come here every day not to mention locals, of course they don't all get by without caffeine. But right there, standing with my bag in the rain, I was worried!
We found our hotel, which certainly ain't the Hilton but it is definitely an upgrade from the last place (which it turns out had a friendly room mouse to accompany the broken sink and stained bed sheets). We had a big cup of Bali coffee and splashed out on some hot chips and the world looked good again.
Nusa Lombongan is still quite a culture shock after the main tourist area of Bali, it is a very poor island and the villages are mostly made up of just shack housing (although kept pretty dam clean and tidy). There are lots of boats, lots of chickens and lots of motor bikes to rent. As we're here off season there is a nice balance of locals and tourists and everyone so far is chatty and friendly. The pace of life here suits me just fine. What else? - Oh yeah, there's beautiful white sand and blue waters and some good surf breaks around the island. Now we've found coffee and food and the sun is just about shining, the island life is not too shabby at all.
Oh and it turns out that a cyclone did hit Darwin and we managed to get on the last plane to fly from the airport before they closed it, so I'm taking this as a good omen for our travels (fingers crossed anyway because it's crossed my mind that I don't like our chances if a tsunami should hit here) Na, it'll be fine, there's a big old hill right behind us. Now it's time for food.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Mongoose Poo Coffee
Well surf camp is now over - no more surf camp geekiness for us! I was just starting to really enjoy it as well and get over the fear, plus we met some really, really good guys there, but that said I've probably got enough reef cuts and bruises and welts across my body now and Brett has some hideous looking sea lice plague all over him so maybe a few days out of the sea are no bad thing!
Brett's mum decided to come to spend a week in Bali which has seen an end to our cheap and easy living for a wee moment. We left surf camp and checked into a pretty basic hotel with a few odd chunks missing from the plaster and a few stains on the bed sheets and a dubious water system, but ce la vie, we can't always be living it up and after a quick pep talk to myself I concluded I have definitly slept in worse places. Plus we get breakfast included, complete with coffee so who am I to complain?!
Today the 3 of us did a day trip to Ubud. Me and Brett had already planned to spend a day or so there but as his mum wanted to see it we arranged a driver to take us up just for a day. To be honest it's hard to get much of an impression of the place in the short time we were there, it's inland and up towards the mountains so you pass some beautiful lush green scenery and rice fields on the way up. We spent a grand total of an hour in Ubud itself which is quite a tourist trap but has some genuinely beautiful art and market goods and temples. We were then hustled on to go up to look at the volcanic mountain which in my opinion is a bit over-rated. I'm probably a bit spolit having just been in New Zealand so I'm a bit like "oh yeah, there's another stunning mountain view," but if Ubud is a tourist trap, the Mountain top is like a big fat laser beam riddled tourist prison. You exit the car, pick your way through the mass of people trying to sell to you and are somehow hustled into this grand building where you are handed a towel and asked to sit down for your 100,000 rupiah buffet. You're sat down before you even realiuse that you didn't even want or ask for a buffet. Now 100,000 rupiah is only approximately $10, but then me and Brett have been eating fantastic, fresh meals for 6 - 10,0000 rupiah so comparitively it is a bloomin' fortune! We escaped from that buffet on principle as much as anything, but then still hungry we ended up barteting down the cost of another buffet style meal which was nothing to write home about but I suppose did only cost $6.
Probably my favourite part of my day was the fruit stalls on the way up the mountain with beautiful displays of fruits, I think we sampled more of the fruits for free than we actually paid for. And that was buying from genuine locals as opposed to the Tourist company buffets. Ooh, and our laundry which we picked up all washed and dried and ironed and folded. My clothes look better than they've ever looked in their lifes - this has made my day! Ah, the small things!
Oh yeah and finally - mongoose poo coffee! Supposedly a much sought after speciality, where the best coffee beans are supposedly eaten by mongooses and then pass through them whole, to be cleaned and made into coffee. This I had to try. In all honestly it tasted just like any normal coffee (such a connoiseur!) but at least I can say I've tried poo coffee!
Brett's mum decided to come to spend a week in Bali which has seen an end to our cheap and easy living for a wee moment. We left surf camp and checked into a pretty basic hotel with a few odd chunks missing from the plaster and a few stains on the bed sheets and a dubious water system, but ce la vie, we can't always be living it up and after a quick pep talk to myself I concluded I have definitly slept in worse places. Plus we get breakfast included, complete with coffee so who am I to complain?!
Today the 3 of us did a day trip to Ubud. Me and Brett had already planned to spend a day or so there but as his mum wanted to see it we arranged a driver to take us up just for a day. To be honest it's hard to get much of an impression of the place in the short time we were there, it's inland and up towards the mountains so you pass some beautiful lush green scenery and rice fields on the way up. We spent a grand total of an hour in Ubud itself which is quite a tourist trap but has some genuinely beautiful art and market goods and temples. We were then hustled on to go up to look at the volcanic mountain which in my opinion is a bit over-rated. I'm probably a bit spolit having just been in New Zealand so I'm a bit like "oh yeah, there's another stunning mountain view," but if Ubud is a tourist trap, the Mountain top is like a big fat laser beam riddled tourist prison. You exit the car, pick your way through the mass of people trying to sell to you and are somehow hustled into this grand building where you are handed a towel and asked to sit down for your 100,000 rupiah buffet. You're sat down before you even realiuse that you didn't even want or ask for a buffet. Now 100,000 rupiah is only approximately $10, but then me and Brett have been eating fantastic, fresh meals for 6 - 10,0000 rupiah so comparitively it is a bloomin' fortune! We escaped from that buffet on principle as much as anything, but then still hungry we ended up barteting down the cost of another buffet style meal which was nothing to write home about but I suppose did only cost $6.
Probably my favourite part of my day was the fruit stalls on the way up the mountain with beautiful displays of fruits, I think we sampled more of the fruits for free than we actually paid for. And that was buying from genuine locals as opposed to the Tourist company buffets. Ooh, and our laundry which we picked up all washed and dried and ironed and folded. My clothes look better than they've ever looked in their lifes - this has made my day! Ah, the small things!
Oh yeah and finally - mongoose poo coffee! Supposedly a much sought after speciality, where the best coffee beans are supposedly eaten by mongooses and then pass through them whole, to be cleaned and made into coffee. This I had to try. In all honestly it tasted just like any normal coffee (such a connoiseur!) but at least I can say I've tried poo coffee!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Rubber time
Hmm, all the Bali coffee in the world would not have been enough for me today to successfully brave the stupid scary Bali waves! Don't get me wrong, I did try but I failed! I got a few extra scars to add to my collection but basically it was a big fat wave wash-out! Kelly Slater need not worry, I won't be any threat to him just yet! On the bright side I survived not only the killer waves but also the most polluted sea I've ever seen in my life (not that I want to paint the beaches here in a bad light but get the wrong beach on the wrong tide turn and it is just a mass of brown scum with things that definitely do not belong in the sea floating by). I think the pollution flows in from rivers and is quite sad to see it so bad. We're just blissfully working on a 4 hour rule - basically if we haven't died after 4 hours then chances are we escaped any long term effects! Probably not a fool proof rule but it's keeping us happy for now.
Everybody else may come here for the waves or the Bintang (local beer) or the culture (all of which are great) but I think probably my favourite thing so far is the Bali "Rubber time" - nobody is on a schedule, things just happen when they happen. It is a lovely peaceful, stress-free way to live and one that I have embraced wholeheartedly! Lets be honest, I wasn't exactly miss super rushed stress head before so I have now slowed to a near stop pace which is driving Brett mad (but hey, he gives away my food!!). The Balinese have a saying that is p'lang, p'lang which means slowly slowly and may just be my new life moto.
I have just had my first experience of using a toilet that is just a hole in the floor right here in this very internet cafe (surprisingly easy to use thanks to years of training living in the countryside and weeing in fields). We also had our first rice meal with no cutlery - I got complimented that I eat naturally with my fingers just like a local - sorry ma but years of drumming good table manners into me and clearly it's my destiny to eat with my fingers! I think it my ability came less from skill and more from the fact that I had mosquito repellent all over my fingers which tasted disgusting so I had to sort of throw food into my mouth. But hey, you take compliments when you can get them!
Now it's our last night of surf camp so we're going back for a Bintang and some sleep.
Everybody else may come here for the waves or the Bintang (local beer) or the culture (all of which are great) but I think probably my favourite thing so far is the Bali "Rubber time" - nobody is on a schedule, things just happen when they happen. It is a lovely peaceful, stress-free way to live and one that I have embraced wholeheartedly! Lets be honest, I wasn't exactly miss super rushed stress head before so I have now slowed to a near stop pace which is driving Brett mad (but hey, he gives away my food!!). The Balinese have a saying that is p'lang, p'lang which means slowly slowly and may just be my new life moto.
I have just had my first experience of using a toilet that is just a hole in the floor right here in this very internet cafe (surprisingly easy to use thanks to years of training living in the countryside and weeing in fields). We also had our first rice meal with no cutlery - I got complimented that I eat naturally with my fingers just like a local - sorry ma but years of drumming good table manners into me and clearly it's my destiny to eat with my fingers! I think it my ability came less from skill and more from the fact that I had mosquito repellent all over my fingers which tasted disgusting so I had to sort of throw food into my mouth. But hey, you take compliments when you can get them!
Now it's our last night of surf camp so we're going back for a Bintang and some sleep.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
the sun is shining and the weather is fine
Well I can't believe I tried to blame Bali for me feeling under the weather - it was nothing to do with the lovely Bali food, it was those bloody malaria tablets I'm taking. Apparently if you actually read the instructions it says never take them just before lying down and there was me taking them just before bed and wondering why I woke up feeling shit.
Bali food so far has been really good to us - more rice than I've ever eaten in my life but with beautiful flavors and mixed with fresh vegetables (and often some unidentifiable ingredients). We're trying to eat all the local stuff as much as possible, partly because we are poor and partly because it so far is the best food. Mostly it's a lucky dip of what we may get, especially when we get food from a little motorbike man, but as someone said to me last night - you probably won't know what it is and you probably won't want to know so just eat and enjoy. It's a big step for a semi vegetarian like me but, when in Rome and all that! Plus my main saving grace is that a lot of things that would traditionally be served with meat in get stuff with veggies or tofu because it's cheaper.
Bali coffee has been a god-send. It's sweet and strong and seen me through many a morning already! I mean I don't like to admit it but basically I'm a woos (I'm not sure if an official spelling for Woos exists or not so I'm going with this one), but I definitely am one, so early in the morning standing on some picture perfect sandy beach watching the curling waves and feeling a bit worse for wear, my first thought is less "I can't wait to get surfing" and more, "shit this looks big and scary and I need coffee before I can deal with this." Sitting viewing the beach from a little shady warung (which I'm pretty sure means restaurant) with some good strong Bali coffee makes the world just seem like a better place!
We're still surf camp geeks, going from surf spot to surf spot and getting just a little bit more damaged everyday. It is a lot of fun (especially with a couple of bali coffees in you to give a protective layer of invincibility). Brett started to write a blog 2 days ago after we'd been surfing, he got as far as the title and the following paragraph before getting distracted by more people to talk to:
Holy shit comes to mind, wave smashes over our heads, board and body everywhere. welcome to seminyak beach the place beginner surfers come to die, yup we were not quite ready for the ferocius wave that met us.
Incidentally Bali has turned Brett into some soft socialist hippie type which is usually my role in this relationship so I'm getting all confused. It's great because we keep chatting to Balinese people and making friends and learning more Indonesian but the more friends we make the more my stuff keeps disappearing because Brett gives it all away. I was searching through my bag today for my wee snacket of nuts only to turn around to see our driver munching into them and sipping on a coke that Brett also bought. I mean I think it's great and all but really he should know better than to mess with my food (Brett that is not the driver who was entirely innocent in the whole scenario).
Bali food so far has been really good to us - more rice than I've ever eaten in my life but with beautiful flavors and mixed with fresh vegetables (and often some unidentifiable ingredients). We're trying to eat all the local stuff as much as possible, partly because we are poor and partly because it so far is the best food. Mostly it's a lucky dip of what we may get, especially when we get food from a little motorbike man, but as someone said to me last night - you probably won't know what it is and you probably won't want to know so just eat and enjoy. It's a big step for a semi vegetarian like me but, when in Rome and all that! Plus my main saving grace is that a lot of things that would traditionally be served with meat in get stuff with veggies or tofu because it's cheaper.
Bali coffee has been a god-send. It's sweet and strong and seen me through many a morning already! I mean I don't like to admit it but basically I'm a woos (I'm not sure if an official spelling for Woos exists or not so I'm going with this one), but I definitely am one, so early in the morning standing on some picture perfect sandy beach watching the curling waves and feeling a bit worse for wear, my first thought is less "I can't wait to get surfing" and more, "shit this looks big and scary and I need coffee before I can deal with this." Sitting viewing the beach from a little shady warung (which I'm pretty sure means restaurant) with some good strong Bali coffee makes the world just seem like a better place!
We're still surf camp geeks, going from surf spot to surf spot and getting just a little bit more damaged everyday. It is a lot of fun (especially with a couple of bali coffees in you to give a protective layer of invincibility). Brett started to write a blog 2 days ago after we'd been surfing, he got as far as the title and the following paragraph before getting distracted by more people to talk to:
Holy shit comes to mind, wave smashes over our heads, board and body everywhere. welcome to seminyak beach the place beginner surfers come to die, yup we were not quite ready for the ferocius wave that met us.
Incidentally Bali has turned Brett into some soft socialist hippie type which is usually my role in this relationship so I'm getting all confused. It's great because we keep chatting to Balinese people and making friends and learning more Indonesian but the more friends we make the more my stuff keeps disappearing because Brett gives it all away. I was searching through my bag today for my wee snacket of nuts only to turn around to see our driver munching into them and sipping on a coke that Brett also bought. I mean I think it's great and all but really he should know better than to mess with my food (Brett that is not the driver who was entirely innocent in the whole scenario).
Thursday, February 17, 2011
The day Bali almost finished me off
Well never let it be said that alcohol stimulates creativity, I spent all day yesterday filling my head with amazing sights and sounds of Bali and the best I can say is "it's not too shabby!"
I mean it is very hard to sum up especially after just one day of being driven around all wide eyed and excited. Bali is certainly a very vibrant place with stunning stone and wood carvings and colourful shops and beautiful Hindu carvings and shrines and offerings of flowers to bring safety and good luck. It is also very sprawling with traditional mixed with the familiar bright signs for McDonalds, Starbucks, Coca Cola and "Big Aussie Steaks." Traffic is apparently lawless with a 2 lane road easily stretched out to a 5 lane road with some creative maneuvering. Horns are just part of the musical chorus of the roads but here they are not a sound of aggression, just part of the complex network of the roads that work in a seemingly effortlessly fluid mass (well the vehicles move not actually the roads).
The people we have met so far have been just genuinely lovely. Our first night here, we had the 2 night security dudes chasing around the hotel after I mimed (really badly) that we needed new matches for our Mosquito coil. They turned up with first a giant torch followed by cigarettes and mosquito spray before finally getting what we were after. We are temporarily staying in a beautiful, out-of-the-way hotel while our "surf camp" is being renovated. It suits me just perfectly - we get free coffee and cakes in the afternoon, a magical outdoor kind of bathroom with flowers and plants growing in it. Fresh coffee and croissants in the morning - yep, life here is good!
Today my pathetic excuse of a body almost let me down, I woke up with my patchwork self aching all over from surfing yesterday, my arms would barely move let alone paddle, I still have the oh-so-attractive patchy sunburnt legs and I seemed to develop some kind of case of Bali belly overnight that did not bode well for a day out with all men, surfing and no proper toilets in sight! Luckily I swallowed a can of concrete and the body cooperated long enough to pull it together and have a good surf followed by my now staple diet of rice and vegetables. Plus I do get specially looked after so there are some advantages of being the only girl!
Brett meanwhile is in his element, despite having a hole in his ear from a surfing crash, he's off chatting to anyone and everyone who will listen and trying his best to say everything in Indonesian (makes for limited conversation but people seem to like him anyway)! Now it is apparently "necessary" to leave at 7am in the morning to get the best surf so I'm going to give the poor battered body some sleep now.
I mean it is very hard to sum up especially after just one day of being driven around all wide eyed and excited. Bali is certainly a very vibrant place with stunning stone and wood carvings and colourful shops and beautiful Hindu carvings and shrines and offerings of flowers to bring safety and good luck. It is also very sprawling with traditional mixed with the familiar bright signs for McDonalds, Starbucks, Coca Cola and "Big Aussie Steaks." Traffic is apparently lawless with a 2 lane road easily stretched out to a 5 lane road with some creative maneuvering. Horns are just part of the musical chorus of the roads but here they are not a sound of aggression, just part of the complex network of the roads that work in a seemingly effortlessly fluid mass (well the vehicles move not actually the roads).
The people we have met so far have been just genuinely lovely. Our first night here, we had the 2 night security dudes chasing around the hotel after I mimed (really badly) that we needed new matches for our Mosquito coil. They turned up with first a giant torch followed by cigarettes and mosquito spray before finally getting what we were after. We are temporarily staying in a beautiful, out-of-the-way hotel while our "surf camp" is being renovated. It suits me just perfectly - we get free coffee and cakes in the afternoon, a magical outdoor kind of bathroom with flowers and plants growing in it. Fresh coffee and croissants in the morning - yep, life here is good!
Today my pathetic excuse of a body almost let me down, I woke up with my patchwork self aching all over from surfing yesterday, my arms would barely move let alone paddle, I still have the oh-so-attractive patchy sunburnt legs and I seemed to develop some kind of case of Bali belly overnight that did not bode well for a day out with all men, surfing and no proper toilets in sight! Luckily I swallowed a can of concrete and the body cooperated long enough to pull it together and have a good surf followed by my now staple diet of rice and vegetables. Plus I do get specially looked after so there are some advantages of being the only girl!
Brett meanwhile is in his element, despite having a hole in his ear from a surfing crash, he's off chatting to anyone and everyone who will listen and trying his best to say everything in Indonesian (makes for limited conversation but people seem to like him anyway)! Now it is apparently "necessary" to leave at 7am in the morning to get the best surf so I'm going to give the poor battered body some sleep now.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Bali
Well Bali is not too shabby at all! In fact it may just be paradise.
Yep, we made it here through the fury of the cyclone, it was a bit hairy for a second there as our plane was flung sideways and bounced around a bit - there was a sort of nervous laugh that reverberated through the cabin as the plane lurched but we made it and it is just lovely here! In fact my first and only complaint so far is the tiny computer I'm trying to use and my poor fat, beer addled fingers can't work the tiny keys.
Like true geeks we enrolled in surf camp for our first week here. As a direct result of this I am now a broken patchwork person, with a reef wound on my foot, red raw ribs and hip bones, and bright red backs of my legs - a true Brit abroad! But the people are just lovely and the waves are worth all the pain I am now feeling. I surfed waves I'd never normally have the guts to thanks to a lovely local dude with extreme patience. Yep, I reckon we could become true surf camp geeks!
Brett has quickly made a reputation for himself as the crazy man with the book as he keeps grabbing the locals to practice his Indonesian. Me, I just about remember the basics of hello and thanks you, and fruit - I don't know why but fruit somehow sticks! So as long as all I need to do is order a fruit salad I am now fluent in Indonesian.
Going to give up on the tiny keyboard and wander in search of food, and maybe another beer (I have also learnt Bintang, which is the name of the local beer but means Star). There's so much more to say about this beautiful place but that can wait for another day.
Yep, we made it here through the fury of the cyclone, it was a bit hairy for a second there as our plane was flung sideways and bounced around a bit - there was a sort of nervous laugh that reverberated through the cabin as the plane lurched but we made it and it is just lovely here! In fact my first and only complaint so far is the tiny computer I'm trying to use and my poor fat, beer addled fingers can't work the tiny keys.
Like true geeks we enrolled in surf camp for our first week here. As a direct result of this I am now a broken patchwork person, with a reef wound on my foot, red raw ribs and hip bones, and bright red backs of my legs - a true Brit abroad! But the people are just lovely and the waves are worth all the pain I am now feeling. I surfed waves I'd never normally have the guts to thanks to a lovely local dude with extreme patience. Yep, I reckon we could become true surf camp geeks!
Brett has quickly made a reputation for himself as the crazy man with the book as he keeps grabbing the locals to practice his Indonesian. Me, I just about remember the basics of hello and thanks you, and fruit - I don't know why but fruit somehow sticks! So as long as all I need to do is order a fruit salad I am now fluent in Indonesian.
Going to give up on the tiny keyboard and wander in search of food, and maybe another beer (I have also learnt Bintang, which is the name of the local beer but means Star). There's so much more to say about this beautiful place but that can wait for another day.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Flying day!
Today is flying day - at 7.30 pm today we are due to leave Darwin and fly into sunny Bali. Today is the worst weather I've ever experienced in Darwin, we were kept awake all night by winds and rains in a house that felt like it was going to fall apart (possibly a slight exaggeration but I'm from Cornwall - we don't have tropical storms in Cornwall)! Now it turns out we're on Cyclone watch - bloody awesome! Nothing like starting our travels in the middle of a bloomin' cyclone. And we're flying with a budget airline so no doubt cyclone or no cyclone we'll be crammed on the plane anyway and then I guess it's just hope for the best.
I'm ready for a cocktail when (or if) we make it to Bali!
To say we're all organised would be a blatant lie but, all being well cyclone-wise, I have high hopes that we'll at least make the plane. I'm now on the important job of chomping my way through any remaining things left in the fridge, got a few things to chuck in my bag (heavy but not exceeding the weight limit so I'll call that a success at light packing!) and then we're off.
Travel insurance: A necessary evil even I can appreciate that (at least when your credit card situation is as close to the edge as mine!) but necessary or not it still feels like a lot of money for nothing! To make matters worse it turned out that in my current situation I don't qualify for any kind of travel insurance. As a UK citizen I can't get an Australian policy, but as I'm already in Australia at the start of my trip, I can't get a UK policy - hmm! I've finally managed to pay double the going rate for a policy from the friendly Flight Centre people. It covers pretty much everything (except I think for cyclones!) but hi-jacking - bring it on, I'm covered!
So Bali here we come (fingers crossed!)
I'm ready for a cocktail when (or if) we make it to Bali!
To say we're all organised would be a blatant lie but, all being well cyclone-wise, I have high hopes that we'll at least make the plane. I'm now on the important job of chomping my way through any remaining things left in the fridge, got a few things to chuck in my bag (heavy but not exceeding the weight limit so I'll call that a success at light packing!) and then we're off.
Travel insurance: A necessary evil even I can appreciate that (at least when your credit card situation is as close to the edge as mine!) but necessary or not it still feels like a lot of money for nothing! To make matters worse it turned out that in my current situation I don't qualify for any kind of travel insurance. As a UK citizen I can't get an Australian policy, but as I'm already in Australia at the start of my trip, I can't get a UK policy - hmm! I've finally managed to pay double the going rate for a policy from the friendly Flight Centre people. It covers pretty much everything (except I think for cyclones!) but hi-jacking - bring it on, I'm covered!
So Bali here we come (fingers crossed!)
Friday, February 11, 2011
The Beginning - Darwin, Australia
Our journey is beginning in Darwin, Australia, now just 4 days until we set off for sunny Bali.
Me and Brett met in Darwin and we keep coming back here to spend time with his daughter Jaime. I will always love Darwin, it's like no other place in Australia, in fact it's like no other place I've been. To describe Darwin I'd say it's like a rough and ready tropical paradise, things that were outdated 20 years ago in other cities still go in Darwin. That's all part of it's charm. Any attempt to change the ways up here is treated with disdain - "bloody soft southerners trying to impose their southern ways on us." (with maybe a few stronger swear words). The people are collectively the most down to earth Australians I've come across. Work hard, drink until you're s*** faced - that's the Territory way. But there's also a certain old fashioned level of respect and manners. That said, for all my fond memories, I won't be sad to leave this time round. We've been here 2 months now - and with no spare money in the middle of the wet season, that's felt like a long time! It's been a quiet 2 months in general. It's ironic that the same town I spent 4 months in an alcohol fuelled blur I should return to as a practically T-total, yoga loving, responsible step-mother figure! I like to think this isn't the end of my more hedonistic ways, just a bit of a necessary break.
The NT News - This is Darwin's only daily newspaper and where I've been spending my days getting some newspaper journalism experience. The paper itself is sort of like a cross between the Sun and the Cornish Times (although probably more like the former than the latter). When there's no crocodile dramas to report, the headlines are full of Darwin's weekly wet T-shirt competition, fondly known as "Tits out Tuesdays" - will they or won't they close it down? Maybe to some not the subject to engage an entire state in heated debate, but hey - that's Darwin! It's a strange world working at the newspaper, where business thrives on disaster and every upheaval is a potential lead story. I loved it! I hate to say it but it's true, it's exciting and the more sensational the better! Oh dear - good bye integrity, we had a good run but the dark side is calling me!
Anyway, this is nothing to do with our travels from Indonesia around some of South East Asia but it does set the scene for where we begin our journey. We've bought a 2nd hand lonely planet for South East Asia, we've got our fly spray, we've spent a small fortune on malaria tablets (which I am now dam well taking as it has just bankrupted me getting a prescription in Australia but I was warned on pain of death from my parents that I had to get!), we're now almost ready to go.
And I am determined that I will travel light! That is properly light, not my usual style of cramming my one rucksack full until it's bursting at the seams and then smiling sweetly at the airport check-in people as I hope they don't notice that my bag is actually 5 kilos over the max weight limit! Not this time my friends, this is the new, improved, light travelling me!
Me and Brett met in Darwin and we keep coming back here to spend time with his daughter Jaime. I will always love Darwin, it's like no other place in Australia, in fact it's like no other place I've been. To describe Darwin I'd say it's like a rough and ready tropical paradise, things that were outdated 20 years ago in other cities still go in Darwin. That's all part of it's charm. Any attempt to change the ways up here is treated with disdain - "bloody soft southerners trying to impose their southern ways on us." (with maybe a few stronger swear words). The people are collectively the most down to earth Australians I've come across. Work hard, drink until you're s*** faced - that's the Territory way. But there's also a certain old fashioned level of respect and manners. That said, for all my fond memories, I won't be sad to leave this time round. We've been here 2 months now - and with no spare money in the middle of the wet season, that's felt like a long time! It's been a quiet 2 months in general. It's ironic that the same town I spent 4 months in an alcohol fuelled blur I should return to as a practically T-total, yoga loving, responsible step-mother figure! I like to think this isn't the end of my more hedonistic ways, just a bit of a necessary break.
The NT News - This is Darwin's only daily newspaper and where I've been spending my days getting some newspaper journalism experience. The paper itself is sort of like a cross between the Sun and the Cornish Times (although probably more like the former than the latter). When there's no crocodile dramas to report, the headlines are full of Darwin's weekly wet T-shirt competition, fondly known as "Tits out Tuesdays" - will they or won't they close it down? Maybe to some not the subject to engage an entire state in heated debate, but hey - that's Darwin! It's a strange world working at the newspaper, where business thrives on disaster and every upheaval is a potential lead story. I loved it! I hate to say it but it's true, it's exciting and the more sensational the better! Oh dear - good bye integrity, we had a good run but the dark side is calling me!
Anyway, this is nothing to do with our travels from Indonesia around some of South East Asia but it does set the scene for where we begin our journey. We've bought a 2nd hand lonely planet for South East Asia, we've got our fly spray, we've spent a small fortune on malaria tablets (which I am now dam well taking as it has just bankrupted me getting a prescription in Australia but I was warned on pain of death from my parents that I had to get!), we're now almost ready to go.
And I am determined that I will travel light! That is properly light, not my usual style of cramming my one rucksack full until it's bursting at the seams and then smiling sweetly at the airport check-in people as I hope they don't notice that my bag is actually 5 kilos over the max weight limit! Not this time my friends, this is the new, improved, light travelling me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)