My life is not really that crazy busy, but I have had time this trip to read up a little on Cambodia before we get there. So here goes…
Kingdom of Cambodia. Nice ring to it, eh? I find I know very little about the places we have been visiting, just familiar references to a name here, a place there. So a bit more than that.
Cambodia we all know from the Killing Fields. And that awful evil that was 1975-1979.
Cambodia is an ancient country, used to be huge, most of Thailand, some of Burma (Myanmar), all of Laos, Vietnam. It was at it's zenith in the 11th Century. I visit these countries, and think they are backward, not developed yet. I am embarrassed to admit that. They were sophisticated, educated, artistic, well governed countries, or kingdoms, sometimes, way back then.
The recent history is the French took over 1863, Japanese occupied during WW II, French again 1945. In 1953 the French left and Sihanouk took over. There was a resultant split in Vietnam in to north communists, and south supported by US. Viet Cong hid in Cambodia, to strike the South from hiding there). So the Americans bombed the … out of Cambodia. There was a coup in 1970 and Lon Nol was leader. It is said that all the Americans knew about Lon Nol was that his name backwards was Lon Nol!
Pol Pot came to power in 1975 and his reign of terror and evil lasted 4 terrible years. Paranoia about allegiance caused barbaric slaughter of over 2 million Cambodians. The trial for the leader of the camp (of horror), Duch, was as recent as 2010!
The guide books say it is difficult to absorb the horrors that are in the museums. I know in Saigon, I left moved to tears, half way throughout the tour of the museum. I am expecting to be very moved by what I see next week.
I have a ziploc of small ziplocs of all my 13 different currencies from the travels so afar. When I went to dig out my Cambodian money, (having been there in January with the kids), I couldn't find any. I went to the money changer today, and he said you buy $US for Cambodia. Duh! What a memory I don't have.
Cambodia has a long way to go. 35% literacy. The poorest country in Asia. There are a lot of charities in Singapore to aid Cambodia. One is a group Tabitha, that trains Cambodian women in sewing, and they sell purses, scarves, souvenirs. There are programs of visiting volunteer dentists and doctors, programs to send eyeglasses. 50% of the population is under 21.
We will visit the Killing Fields, the War Museum, in Phnom Penh, then we will go to Siem Reap, to visit beautiful Angkor Wat, the world's largest religious monument dating from when Cambodia was a thriving civilization.. The contrast is breath taking.
Also, I will be visiting Angkor Wat for the second time. I know I will see it so differently. But also, I know when I was there with the kids in January, I could not climb the stairs in the library, I was too stiff and "sick". I return now with legs that work. I anticipate enjoying the progress. (Incidentally, from January, not being able to do a lot with the kids, to February when I noticed I was no longer in pain, it is like the "curse" went away overnight. I don't know, but it was certainly between January and February. hmmm….. )
Mt friend Gwen arrives tonight and not sure how this visit will work. I think she plans to use our place as a hub, to travel out of. I will try to go on something with her. But our friends the Jensens are here too. Well not now. They are in Thailand and will meet us in Phmon Penh Saturday. we will do Phnom Penh and Siem Reap with them. I am glad we have 2 guest rooms. I am not sure that we will all be here at the same time. We will see. An interesting November to come!
Monday, November 11, 2013
Monday, November 4, 2013
yoga retreat
Well, it was as fantastic as it sounded.
Except I was sick. I had had a bug a few days before leaving. Tim had had the same one, and I got it a few days after him. An unpleasant digestive tract thing. Well, mine came back for a curtain call, three days later, my first morning there. How disappointing. Instead of trying all the things offered by the hotel, and doing all the yoga classes, I spent a lot of time in bed, just wishing this damn thing away. I am still doing that. It is 5 days later. Enough already.
We flew to Indonesia, to the island of Java, south and east of Singapore, and in the Southern Hemisphere, about 15'. As soon as you get off the airplane, walk to the terminal, you know you are in a third world country. The absolute chaos in the terminal is breathtaking. You come to immigration, there are no line ups, no wickets, no signage, nothing. Somehow we figured we "Westerners", the only ones on the plane, gathered at a desk to pay the entrance visa fee-US$25. Then to another crowd, and somehow past some uniformed men who did little, certainly did not look at our visa, and through a security desk with our luggage. No sign to pick up luggage, or where it might come, or anything.
But you know, some how, some how, it works. Amazing. And daunting. The crowd outside the airport was thick. To get through to our car was a feat. The heat was a reminder of third world. Why they don't air condition the outside of the airport the way Singapore does. A long drive along narrow roads, 3 vans, one with luggage, 2 with us, 14 of us. Winding roads, through one small town after another, each with their mosque and calls to prayer. No shoulders to the roads, many pedestrians very close to our vehicle, up and down and around very curvy road. 2 1/2 hours. A good half hour to get out of the airport traffic!
The hotel, MesaStila, is a wellness retreat on a coffee plantation. (the irony was I did not have any of their coffee- they don't do decaf, and I took my instant Starbucks decaf powder to an Indonesian coffee plantation!) The location was at the top of a hill. We looked out at volcanoes in the distance. The sunset was beautiful, not even so much the sun, as the mauves of the distant volcanoes. All around us were villages down below. Each village had their own mosque, and muezzin, sung from the minaret or loud speaker. The voices rise, and we , although feeling very isolated, were surrounded by the busy hub hub of the towns below.
The Salat, or Muslim Prayers are to be before sunrise, (4:15 a.m.), after sun passes the zenith (12:15), late afternoon (4:15), just after sunset (6:15), and early evening (7:15). The call is up to 15 minutes long, each town has their call at approximately near the same time. we above could hear all of them, overlapping. I found it just beautiful, but the hotel does provide earplugs for those who wish to blank it out. They have been singing these calls to worship, calls to communication with God, for 1000 years. The sound is so iconic.
The hotel is beautifully done. It has a main reception, which is an old train station, that was dismantled and rebuilt on the property. All the rooms are in fact houses, from around the island, brought here and rebuilt, and refurbished as lovely accommodation. Very elegant, spacious, cool tile floors, large decadent bathrooms, but very dark. Cooling, I guess, in the heat, but very dark.The wood carving breathtaking.
When I got to my room, with my room mate, whom I had just met, there was one bed. King size, but still one bed. When we were given our keys, I was Mr. Jane, so I guess they thought…. At any rate I had them make up our very elegant day bed, you know, where you loll and someone hands you apricots and cashews as they oil your body. So I slept alone!
I was feeling very limp but did muster strength to get to the spa. It was wonderful. I felt the whole retreat was a time warp, and we had travelled back a century, but a place warp too. To Turkey, or Mesopotamia, or such. My massage was a traditional Javanese massage. A steam bath, then a woman came in, washed me like a baby, washed my hair, gave me a back rub. I expected it to be a new experience. I expected to be very clean. But I did not expect the depth of relaxation I felt. It was superb. When done, I dressed and went to a room where I sat on a huge sofa-bed and ate dates, apricots, cashews, and drank ginger tea. It truly was fantastic.
We had a breakfast that was typically Asian hotel fare. Traditional Asian breakfast of rice, stews, chilli sauces, then also salads, and fruit. Also the western eggs, pancakes, crepes (with vanilla custard and chocolate sauce- a much nicer way to take caffeine and eggs in the morning). No lunch was served ( a restaurant was open if you wanted lunch) but there was afternoon tea- sweets -chocolate cake, pineapple strudel, delicious granola cookies. Then drinks and dinner, an appetizer, rice, and little bits of a fish stew, chicken stew, beef stew, a vegetable broth with greens. All lovely, but an awful lot of food. Dessert was always a pudding/gelatin/dish, something you have to learn to love, I think. I bought a bottle of wine that would do me for the week. A muslim country, alcohol is expensive. An ordinary Australian Sauv was $120!!! And I didn't finish it. That is just how poorly I was feeling!
I did a side trip one day, to Borobradur, a huge Buddhist temple of the island. Long buried under ash and flood waters, it was discovered recently. It is huge, magnificent. But we got there at noon. It was 41', noonday sun. We rented umbrellas, for the sun. As we climbed the stairs- very steep- like the Great Wall. Those short people with little feet. The stairs are very shallow, only the balls of your feet fit on, but they are high, like to just under my knee- must be past theirs! Last year I would not have been able to climb this stairs. It was a nice measure of my progress.
I was so hot, my face was bright red. Really bright red. But we climbed to the top, and arrived at "nirvana" and there was a wonderful breeze. The view out to these volcanoes, it was beautiful. But then the climb back out of the breeze. A long hot day.
From Borabrodur, Buddhist temple, set in a valley where 3 rivers meet and surrounded by volcanoes. The eruption 2011 covered this in ash, but it has been restored. Lovingly.
The spa at the hotel. Not sure exactly what made me feel like I was a in Ancient Turkey.
But I did
Infinity pool, volcanoes in the background, surrounded by thick jungle, and plantations
I didn't realize that bougainvillias can grow in to huge 30' trees.
An outdoor "vita parcours"
The stones are the weight room! A sign warns to be careful of ants when picking up the rocks!
Some of the beautiful houses, many ready to be torn down, purchased by the hotel, and rebuilt as very lovely accommodations. Note very high ceiling, to deal with the hot air rising.
HUGE bamboo 100' high
Our fearless leader, and her Mom. No. Kate brought her daughter Scout. Scout is 10 months corrected to 8. She was 2 months preemie and when born was consuming 2 ml (that 's less that one tsp) every 2 hours. She is now a Buddha baby. There was another baby at the retreat. When I asked the age difference, the Mom said 4 months. Her Singaporean daughter was smaller than Scout. And I couldn't imagine she was 4 months old. She was 4 months older than Scout, and yet smaller. The Asian babies are little miniatures, tiny perfect miniatures. And Scout is not.
Except I was sick. I had had a bug a few days before leaving. Tim had had the same one, and I got it a few days after him. An unpleasant digestive tract thing. Well, mine came back for a curtain call, three days later, my first morning there. How disappointing. Instead of trying all the things offered by the hotel, and doing all the yoga classes, I spent a lot of time in bed, just wishing this damn thing away. I am still doing that. It is 5 days later. Enough already.
We flew to Indonesia, to the island of Java, south and east of Singapore, and in the Southern Hemisphere, about 15'. As soon as you get off the airplane, walk to the terminal, you know you are in a third world country. The absolute chaos in the terminal is breathtaking. You come to immigration, there are no line ups, no wickets, no signage, nothing. Somehow we figured we "Westerners", the only ones on the plane, gathered at a desk to pay the entrance visa fee-US$25. Then to another crowd, and somehow past some uniformed men who did little, certainly did not look at our visa, and through a security desk with our luggage. No sign to pick up luggage, or where it might come, or anything.
But you know, some how, some how, it works. Amazing. And daunting. The crowd outside the airport was thick. To get through to our car was a feat. The heat was a reminder of third world. Why they don't air condition the outside of the airport the way Singapore does. A long drive along narrow roads, 3 vans, one with luggage, 2 with us, 14 of us. Winding roads, through one small town after another, each with their mosque and calls to prayer. No shoulders to the roads, many pedestrians very close to our vehicle, up and down and around very curvy road. 2 1/2 hours. A good half hour to get out of the airport traffic!
The hotel, MesaStila, is a wellness retreat on a coffee plantation. (the irony was I did not have any of their coffee- they don't do decaf, and I took my instant Starbucks decaf powder to an Indonesian coffee plantation!) The location was at the top of a hill. We looked out at volcanoes in the distance. The sunset was beautiful, not even so much the sun, as the mauves of the distant volcanoes. All around us were villages down below. Each village had their own mosque, and muezzin, sung from the minaret or loud speaker. The voices rise, and we , although feeling very isolated, were surrounded by the busy hub hub of the towns below.
The Salat, or Muslim Prayers are to be before sunrise, (4:15 a.m.), after sun passes the zenith (12:15), late afternoon (4:15), just after sunset (6:15), and early evening (7:15). The call is up to 15 minutes long, each town has their call at approximately near the same time. we above could hear all of them, overlapping. I found it just beautiful, but the hotel does provide earplugs for those who wish to blank it out. They have been singing these calls to worship, calls to communication with God, for 1000 years. The sound is so iconic.
The hotel is beautifully done. It has a main reception, which is an old train station, that was dismantled and rebuilt on the property. All the rooms are in fact houses, from around the island, brought here and rebuilt, and refurbished as lovely accommodation. Very elegant, spacious, cool tile floors, large decadent bathrooms, but very dark. Cooling, I guess, in the heat, but very dark.The wood carving breathtaking.
When I got to my room, with my room mate, whom I had just met, there was one bed. King size, but still one bed. When we were given our keys, I was Mr. Jane, so I guess they thought…. At any rate I had them make up our very elegant day bed, you know, where you loll and someone hands you apricots and cashews as they oil your body. So I slept alone!
I was feeling very limp but did muster strength to get to the spa. It was wonderful. I felt the whole retreat was a time warp, and we had travelled back a century, but a place warp too. To Turkey, or Mesopotamia, or such. My massage was a traditional Javanese massage. A steam bath, then a woman came in, washed me like a baby, washed my hair, gave me a back rub. I expected it to be a new experience. I expected to be very clean. But I did not expect the depth of relaxation I felt. It was superb. When done, I dressed and went to a room where I sat on a huge sofa-bed and ate dates, apricots, cashews, and drank ginger tea. It truly was fantastic.
We had a breakfast that was typically Asian hotel fare. Traditional Asian breakfast of rice, stews, chilli sauces, then also salads, and fruit. Also the western eggs, pancakes, crepes (with vanilla custard and chocolate sauce- a much nicer way to take caffeine and eggs in the morning). No lunch was served ( a restaurant was open if you wanted lunch) but there was afternoon tea- sweets -chocolate cake, pineapple strudel, delicious granola cookies. Then drinks and dinner, an appetizer, rice, and little bits of a fish stew, chicken stew, beef stew, a vegetable broth with greens. All lovely, but an awful lot of food. Dessert was always a pudding/gelatin/dish, something you have to learn to love, I think. I bought a bottle of wine that would do me for the week. A muslim country, alcohol is expensive. An ordinary Australian Sauv was $120!!! And I didn't finish it. That is just how poorly I was feeling!
I did a side trip one day, to Borobradur, a huge Buddhist temple of the island. Long buried under ash and flood waters, it was discovered recently. It is huge, magnificent. But we got there at noon. It was 41', noonday sun. We rented umbrellas, for the sun. As we climbed the stairs- very steep- like the Great Wall. Those short people with little feet. The stairs are very shallow, only the balls of your feet fit on, but they are high, like to just under my knee- must be past theirs! Last year I would not have been able to climb this stairs. It was a nice measure of my progress.
I was so hot, my face was bright red. Really bright red. But we climbed to the top, and arrived at "nirvana" and there was a wonderful breeze. The view out to these volcanoes, it was beautiful. But then the climb back out of the breeze. A long hot day.
From Borabrodur, Buddhist temple, set in a valley where 3 rivers meet and surrounded by volcanoes. The eruption 2011 covered this in ash, but it has been restored. Lovingly.
The spa at the hotel. Not sure exactly what made me feel like I was a in Ancient Turkey.
But I did
Infinity pool, volcanoes in the background, surrounded by thick jungle, and plantations
I didn't realize that bougainvillias can grow in to huge 30' trees.
An outdoor "vita parcours"
The stones are the weight room! A sign warns to be careful of ants when picking up the rocks!
Some of the beautiful houses, many ready to be torn down, purchased by the hotel, and rebuilt as very lovely accommodations. Note very high ceiling, to deal with the hot air rising.
HUGE bamboo 100' high
Our fearless leader, and her Mom. No. Kate brought her daughter Scout. Scout is 10 months corrected to 8. She was 2 months preemie and when born was consuming 2 ml (that 's less that one tsp) every 2 hours. She is now a Buddha baby. There was another baby at the retreat. When I asked the age difference, the Mom said 4 months. Her Singaporean daughter was smaller than Scout. And I couldn't imagine she was 4 months old. She was 4 months older than Scout, and yet smaller. The Asian babies are little miniatures, tiny perfect miniatures. And Scout is not.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
just a quick note, a movie recommendation
We went to a movie the other night. It was wonderful. Singaporean made.
It won at Cannes. If you can see it, please do. It would be at a theatre that shows not mainstream movies.
It is called "Ilo Ilo"
Singaporean life that even I don't know about. I imagine it, I see glimpses of it, but this movie is right on. It has sub-titles, and funnily enough, translates the Malaysian, Mandarin AND Singlish.
It is the story of Ilo Ilo, a helper hired by a family that lives in a HDB building . Both parents work, they have a ten year old boy, and a baby on the way. So they hire help.
You get a portrait of the young woman hired, from Malaysia or Philippines, or… It doesn't matter. The movie follows this family through a very stressful period in their lives. The conditions that they all live in, the space that they live in, the stresses that they live with. I don't want to give it away, because I really hope you can get to see it.
But hunt up the movie, and if it comes to your town, do go see it.
It won at Cannes. If you can see it, please do. It would be at a theatre that shows not mainstream movies.
It is called "Ilo Ilo"
Singaporean life that even I don't know about. I imagine it, I see glimpses of it, but this movie is right on. It has sub-titles, and funnily enough, translates the Malaysian, Mandarin AND Singlish.
It is the story of Ilo Ilo, a helper hired by a family that lives in a HDB building . Both parents work, they have a ten year old boy, and a baby on the way. So they hire help.
You get a portrait of the young woman hired, from Malaysia or Philippines, or… It doesn't matter. The movie follows this family through a very stressful period in their lives. The conditions that they all live in, the space that they live in, the stresses that they live with. I don't want to give it away, because I really hope you can get to see it.
But hunt up the movie, and if it comes to your town, do go see it.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Gili Islands
So we went to the Gili Islands. When I planned this jaunt, I booked a hotel through trusty Trip Advisor. When I got my booking confirmation, I did as usual, e-mail the hotel to ask for airport pick-up. I didn't hear back within a day, so I called them. Am I glad I did that. They don't do pick ups from Bali Airport, where we were flying in to. We had to buy another ticket, from Bali to Lombok. There they would provide pick up. I was very happy that there were two seats left on the connecting flight. All's well that ends well, and we were met and transported to the hotel from the Lombok Airport.
What I didn't know was that we were going to just where I had been a year ago, on the yoga retreat I did. I should have known that because we had gone by boat across from Lombok to the Gilis to snorkel. What confused me was that there was a fast boat Bali to Gili Trawangan, where the hotel was, but it only departed Bali once a day, an hour before we arrived in Bali. So we missed it and hence another airline ticket to Lombok.
I thought I might give a little info on Indonesia. If I find it confusing, and I am here, you might need a little background. The reason I find it confusing is that some of the islands to the east of us are Indonesia, (we see Indonesia from our balcony on a clear day) but east of us are islands of Malaysia. But Malaysia is to the north of us. Okay, the islands to the east, some belong to Indonesia, some to Malaysia. I was in Kuching, Borneo, and that was Malaysia. Bali, known to most, is Indonesia. We were just to the east of Bali, flew in to Bali and then island hopped to Lombok, and by boat island hopped to Gili Trawangan. Indonesia.
Indonesia is an archipelago of 17, 000 islands, population 238 million. The capitol is Jakarta (which I will be flying in to next week!!!) The Dutch held Singapore, Sukarno took over in 1945, and Suharto in 1965. In 1998, Sukarno was unseated, and an election was held. Indonesia is rich in natural resources, and yet has extreme poverty. It rates 2nd highest country in the world in biodiversity. It is mostly Muslim.
As we drove from the airport, we could hear the call to worship in any and every small gathering of homes. The voices of these men who sing the call to worship, they are good. It is really a beautiful sound.
On our boat ride over to our hotel, the driver (captain?) had no lights on his boat, but he did have a small flashlight in his mouth. Until we hit a really big wave, and it was knocked out of his mouth (as we were knocked out of our seats) and full speed ahead, he bent down, in total darkness to find the flashlight. Certainly regained my confidence when he had it back in his mouth!
The waves were huge, and we arrived to a floating dock, in the dark. It was a precarious walk to solid land, suitcase in hand, rolling up and down on the moving dock.
The hotel was great, beautiful grounds, spectacular beach, outdoor shower, working aircon ( I say that because it was stinking hot) and on the edge of a strip of restaurants, bars, and souvenir chutchka shops.
We went on a dive, or Tim dove (dived?), I snorkelled. His dive was good, my experience was awful. They let me in in big waves, to snorkel, by myself, in the ocean. Then they TOOK OFF! I was not happy. I was not comfortable. So I snorkelled over to the nearest boat, swam up the outrigger of the boat, and asked them where my boat was. It was a ways away. Me, without my glasses, it was the blue one further away. So I snorkelled over to the blue boat, got out, and pouted. I was furious I had been left alone, no buddy, ("never swim alone") in the G.D. OCEAN. When I got back to land, I told the diver master how I felt, and he said, "Well, did you ask for a guide?" ??? No. When ever have I had to ask for a guide when I have paid to go snorkelling. He did not charge me.
The next day I went snorkelling with a different company. There was a family from Australia. A mom, a dad, and 3 year old. It was big water. Waves higher than the side of the boat. When we were in the trough, you could see nothing but the wave coming. It was awesome. These boats they use ply the water beautifully. Basically a big dugout with outriggers on the sides. The little girl was trying snorkelling. But she just wasn't ready for the equipment. So there she was sitting on her mother's back, Mom snorkelling, she revelling in the huge waves. It made me think of the wonderful Australian movie, The Whale Rider. We were in mighty big water. And did I say, out in the middle of the ocean? I did see wonderful fish, and a turtle. It is so special seeing a turtle. Way down, they are supposed to be breathing oxygen, what are they doing way down there?
Jane, very happy to be ON the boat after the swim alone. Tim in his cute little diving suit
A lot of fire wood to be carried by this poor chap
Don't you love the island mentality?
A coral tree. And I thought that hard coral I saw was dead. It is alive and growing on trees
A typical boat, outriggers, narrow body, wonderful in the big seas.
Our outdoor shower. The gourd was our one tap of fresh water. All other were brackish. So you shower in salt water, then with the gourd, rinse yourself off with the fresh water. Washing hair is a bit of a procedure. But you are outdoors.
I know, I know, looks pretty hard to have to put up with.
It might be the next time is after my yoga retreat. We have good friends coming October 28. Rae and Brian Jensen, our neighbours and very good friends from Vernon. But they arrive and I leave. Oct 30 I have a 5 day yoga retreat in Java, on a tea plantation. More suffering for me.
What I didn't know was that we were going to just where I had been a year ago, on the yoga retreat I did. I should have known that because we had gone by boat across from Lombok to the Gilis to snorkel. What confused me was that there was a fast boat Bali to Gili Trawangan, where the hotel was, but it only departed Bali once a day, an hour before we arrived in Bali. So we missed it and hence another airline ticket to Lombok.
I thought I might give a little info on Indonesia. If I find it confusing, and I am here, you might need a little background. The reason I find it confusing is that some of the islands to the east of us are Indonesia, (we see Indonesia from our balcony on a clear day) but east of us are islands of Malaysia. But Malaysia is to the north of us. Okay, the islands to the east, some belong to Indonesia, some to Malaysia. I was in Kuching, Borneo, and that was Malaysia. Bali, known to most, is Indonesia. We were just to the east of Bali, flew in to Bali and then island hopped to Lombok, and by boat island hopped to Gili Trawangan. Indonesia.
Indonesia is an archipelago of 17, 000 islands, population 238 million. The capitol is Jakarta (which I will be flying in to next week!!!) The Dutch held Singapore, Sukarno took over in 1945, and Suharto in 1965. In 1998, Sukarno was unseated, and an election was held. Indonesia is rich in natural resources, and yet has extreme poverty. It rates 2nd highest country in the world in biodiversity. It is mostly Muslim.
As we drove from the airport, we could hear the call to worship in any and every small gathering of homes. The voices of these men who sing the call to worship, they are good. It is really a beautiful sound.
On our boat ride over to our hotel, the driver (captain?) had no lights on his boat, but he did have a small flashlight in his mouth. Until we hit a really big wave, and it was knocked out of his mouth (as we were knocked out of our seats) and full speed ahead, he bent down, in total darkness to find the flashlight. Certainly regained my confidence when he had it back in his mouth!
The waves were huge, and we arrived to a floating dock, in the dark. It was a precarious walk to solid land, suitcase in hand, rolling up and down on the moving dock.
The hotel was great, beautiful grounds, spectacular beach, outdoor shower, working aircon ( I say that because it was stinking hot) and on the edge of a strip of restaurants, bars, and souvenir chutchka shops.
We went on a dive, or Tim dove (dived?), I snorkelled. His dive was good, my experience was awful. They let me in in big waves, to snorkel, by myself, in the ocean. Then they TOOK OFF! I was not happy. I was not comfortable. So I snorkelled over to the nearest boat, swam up the outrigger of the boat, and asked them where my boat was. It was a ways away. Me, without my glasses, it was the blue one further away. So I snorkelled over to the blue boat, got out, and pouted. I was furious I had been left alone, no buddy, ("never swim alone") in the G.D. OCEAN. When I got back to land, I told the diver master how I felt, and he said, "Well, did you ask for a guide?" ??? No. When ever have I had to ask for a guide when I have paid to go snorkelling. He did not charge me.
The next day I went snorkelling with a different company. There was a family from Australia. A mom, a dad, and 3 year old. It was big water. Waves higher than the side of the boat. When we were in the trough, you could see nothing but the wave coming. It was awesome. These boats they use ply the water beautifully. Basically a big dugout with outriggers on the sides. The little girl was trying snorkelling. But she just wasn't ready for the equipment. So there she was sitting on her mother's back, Mom snorkelling, she revelling in the huge waves. It made me think of the wonderful Australian movie, The Whale Rider. We were in mighty big water. And did I say, out in the middle of the ocean? I did see wonderful fish, and a turtle. It is so special seeing a turtle. Way down, they are supposed to be breathing oxygen, what are they doing way down there?
Jane, very happy to be ON the boat after the swim alone. Tim in his cute little diving suit
A lot of fire wood to be carried by this poor chap
Don't you love the island mentality?
A coral tree. And I thought that hard coral I saw was dead. It is alive and growing on trees
A typical boat, outriggers, narrow body, wonderful in the big seas.
Our outdoor shower. The gourd was our one tap of fresh water. All other were brackish. So you shower in salt water, then with the gourd, rinse yourself off with the fresh water. Washing hair is a bit of a procedure. But you are outdoors.
I know, I know, looks pretty hard to have to put up with.
It might be the next time is after my yoga retreat. We have good friends coming October 28. Rae and Brian Jensen, our neighbours and very good friends from Vernon. But they arrive and I leave. Oct 30 I have a 5 day yoga retreat in Java, on a tea plantation. More suffering for me.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
It was a tug to come back this time
We did get on the 5:00 flight to Frankfurt. An overnight, sort of. Eight hour flight, getting in to Frankfurt at 1:00 a.m. on your body, but 7:00a.m. Frankfurt time. We went to Thomas Cook desk to leave a message for our nanny Annette. She came to us when Elizabeth was a baby, so 27 years ago. She was still growing in to herself. She was at the desk, (she does the graveyard shift, overnight, not very busy, so long) and we had a wonderful visit. She has grown into the most beautiful woman. OMG she is 47 now. They came to Bala 13 years ago, when her Sven was 4. He fell in love with our black lab Cailie. They went home to Frankfurt and got a yellow lab Kaylee! It was wonderful to see her, and catch up.
We then got a day room at the hotel at the airport, because our flight to Singapore did not leave until 10:00 at night. I managed to sleep a full 7 hours. Our flight to Singapore, over another night, was twelve hours. We arrived late in the day on Monday. So two days to get here. YUCK!!!!
I forgot to take my little remedy for this lengthy torture- pills called No-Jet-Lag. I have to say the transition wasn't bad. Problem is that you go to sleep okay, but then wake up in the middle of the night, thinking it is time to get up. Like the movie Lost In Translation.
Being back here, it has been interesting. I really feel I am in the home stretch. Muskoka was so beautiful, and the visits so wonderful, I really could have stayed. Life here is pretty amazing, though. Summer is great, and summer weather as you all head in to winter is pretty nice. It will be hard to leave some things here, but easy to slide back in to life there. I have heard that the transition back home , for an expat, is harder that adjusting to living here. OY.
I have been planning a trip. Tim has five days off next week. We were going to go to Dubai. I thought we will never be back near here, so see something of the Middle East while we are here. But it is a 12 hour flight, and it costs over a thousand dollars. So canned that. We are going to Gili Islands. They are off the island of Lombok in Indonesia. We fly in to Bali and take a speed boat to the island. I was to Lombok last year on my yoga retreat. We hired a boat to take us snorkelling to some little picture perfect islands off shore. They were the Gilis. It was so picturesque I thought then that I have to get Tim here to dive. So... we will have 4 days away. The islands (three of them) are tiny (the big one 2km X 3km), ringed in white sand beaches, and you just swim off shore to snorkel. Full report to follow!
We then got a day room at the hotel at the airport, because our flight to Singapore did not leave until 10:00 at night. I managed to sleep a full 7 hours. Our flight to Singapore, over another night, was twelve hours. We arrived late in the day on Monday. So two days to get here. YUCK!!!!
I forgot to take my little remedy for this lengthy torture- pills called No-Jet-Lag. I have to say the transition wasn't bad. Problem is that you go to sleep okay, but then wake up in the middle of the night, thinking it is time to get up. Like the movie Lost In Translation.
Being back here, it has been interesting. I really feel I am in the home stretch. Muskoka was so beautiful, and the visits so wonderful, I really could have stayed. Life here is pretty amazing, though. Summer is great, and summer weather as you all head in to winter is pretty nice. It will be hard to leave some things here, but easy to slide back in to life there. I have heard that the transition back home , for an expat, is harder that adjusting to living here. OY.
I have been planning a trip. Tim has five days off next week. We were going to go to Dubai. I thought we will never be back near here, so see something of the Middle East while we are here. But it is a 12 hour flight, and it costs over a thousand dollars. So canned that. We are going to Gili Islands. They are off the island of Lombok in Indonesia. We fly in to Bali and take a speed boat to the island. I was to Lombok last year on my yoga retreat. We hired a boat to take us snorkelling to some little picture perfect islands off shore. They were the Gilis. It was so picturesque I thought then that I have to get Tim here to dive. So... we will have 4 days away. The islands (three of them) are tiny (the big one 2km X 3km), ringed in white sand beaches, and you just swim off shore to snorkel. Full report to follow!
Saturday, October 5, 2013
back again, well not really back yet, but heading back
Hey, hi.
It sure has been a while! It has been an absolute ball. Two months of fun, visiting my kids, my friends, got a trip to BC and Saskatchewan, many (but never enough) gorgeous spectacular, August/September days at Southwinds, and great days in TO.
I stayed at my daughter Elizabeth's when in TO. She and I were so busy we mostly just had morning coffee together. But then it worked really well, we did not trip over each other, or suffer from overexposure. She lives at Harbord and Ossington. A block walk to the subway, but a glorious walk to appointments at King and Yonge, or Bloor and Yonge, or up to Fairlawn. All places I would have driven to , if I had a car. But I walked in the perfect weather, and I saw TO as a tourist. I was wide eyed and wide mouthed at the changes, buildings missing, buildings replaced, so many streets under construction. The city is all under construction I think.
I had days at Southwinds. It was spectacular. I was swimming in September. Tim went swimming in October. October 3rd! We just had 5 very busy days up there, meeting with builders. Had 4 in, and with an architect's (friend) drawings, talked with each about what we thought we wanted to do. Southwinds is 12 years old, a total rebuild after a devastating fire. But the plan wwhich we replicated was 60 years old. So we thought we wanted to change the living space. We went from my original idea of "french country" to open up, which would have been way too much money, for the property we have, close to the highway and on a small lake. We got as far as tearing it down to the foundation and starting over. But we both were hyperventilating at the thought of taking down such a really lovely place.So we ended back at doing cosmetic. Landscaping, painting, changing a few things, upgrading bathrooms and kitchen. Much more worthy of the present place. I am very excited at what we will do.
We have engaged a builder to design and build a garage which we will start in the Spring when we get back. Also a landscaper to do hard scaping, and he is available in July (!), and I will do most of the planting.
Going back to Singapore now, I know it will be hard to stay with our plans for Southwinds. East brain/ west brain syndrome!
We are at the airport. Didn't get on the 10:00 to Hong Kong, did not get on the 2:00 to Narita, now hoping for the 5:00 flight to Frankfurt. Then hope hope hope to get Frankfurt/Singapore. This is a gruelling flight when all the connections are good. It is very tough with sitting around the airport all day before even setting out. Oh well, the price is right.
My sister Marnie was to come back with me for a visit, but she has a nasty knee (torn meniscus), so I hope it will be better in January when I come through and she can come then. I have a yoga retreat the end of Oct , to a tea plantation in Java. I will start working on a trip to India, a trip to Myanmar, and hopefully a cruise from Hanoi to Bangkok. Sounds pretty fantastic, eh what?
I had a lot of time to think about this adventure. Being out of pain sure makes life happier for me. I truly see how fantastic this adventure is. We are both very very lucky to have this chapter. Life is pretty damn fine!
It sure has been a while! It has been an absolute ball. Two months of fun, visiting my kids, my friends, got a trip to BC and Saskatchewan, many (but never enough) gorgeous spectacular, August/September days at Southwinds, and great days in TO.
I stayed at my daughter Elizabeth's when in TO. She and I were so busy we mostly just had morning coffee together. But then it worked really well, we did not trip over each other, or suffer from overexposure. She lives at Harbord and Ossington. A block walk to the subway, but a glorious walk to appointments at King and Yonge, or Bloor and Yonge, or up to Fairlawn. All places I would have driven to , if I had a car. But I walked in the perfect weather, and I saw TO as a tourist. I was wide eyed and wide mouthed at the changes, buildings missing, buildings replaced, so many streets under construction. The city is all under construction I think.
I had days at Southwinds. It was spectacular. I was swimming in September. Tim went swimming in October. October 3rd! We just had 5 very busy days up there, meeting with builders. Had 4 in, and with an architect's (friend) drawings, talked with each about what we thought we wanted to do. Southwinds is 12 years old, a total rebuild after a devastating fire. But the plan wwhich we replicated was 60 years old. So we thought we wanted to change the living space. We went from my original idea of "french country" to open up, which would have been way too much money, for the property we have, close to the highway and on a small lake. We got as far as tearing it down to the foundation and starting over. But we both were hyperventilating at the thought of taking down such a really lovely place.So we ended back at doing cosmetic. Landscaping, painting, changing a few things, upgrading bathrooms and kitchen. Much more worthy of the present place. I am very excited at what we will do.
We have engaged a builder to design and build a garage which we will start in the Spring when we get back. Also a landscaper to do hard scaping, and he is available in July (!), and I will do most of the planting.
Going back to Singapore now, I know it will be hard to stay with our plans for Southwinds. East brain/ west brain syndrome!
We are at the airport. Didn't get on the 10:00 to Hong Kong, did not get on the 2:00 to Narita, now hoping for the 5:00 flight to Frankfurt. Then hope hope hope to get Frankfurt/Singapore. This is a gruelling flight when all the connections are good. It is very tough with sitting around the airport all day before even setting out. Oh well, the price is right.
My sister Marnie was to come back with me for a visit, but she has a nasty knee (torn meniscus), so I hope it will be better in January when I come through and she can come then. I have a yoga retreat the end of Oct , to a tea plantation in Java. I will start working on a trip to India, a trip to Myanmar, and hopefully a cruise from Hanoi to Bangkok. Sounds pretty fantastic, eh what?
I had a lot of time to think about this adventure. Being out of pain sure makes life happier for me. I truly see how fantastic this adventure is. We are both very very lucky to have this chapter. Life is pretty damn fine!
Thursday, September 12, 2013
ah Muskoka is right
I am heading to the city for two weeks. I have had family, and girlfriends up and it has been fantastic.
Had Elizabeth and Steve up, and my niece and her two boys. Magic times together.
My book club came for the weekend. They handled all the food, I did absolutely nothing. We had gorgeous weather, fire in the fireplace, and ate our way through feasts for three days. I got to lead a book I had suggested, "The Garden of Evening Mists" It is about Malaysia and the Japanese occupation in WW2. I loved that the references to things Malaysian were not new to me because of my travels. I look forward to the rest of my life, having wonderful references to things that I have experienced on this Asian adventure. The book, by the way, is absolutely beautiful.
Then 4 of my ski buddies from Silver Star, who live in Collingwood in the summer, came over for three days. We had summer weather, were in swimming both days, and stayed in the water, not your typical September quick dip, admitting that oh yes it is lovely and "fresh". (read freezing)
I am off to TO. I have a meeting with friends on Toronto Island. My dearest friend Kelley died a few years ago and we planted a tree for her on the island. We meet every year to take our pics in front of the tree. Either the tree is growing taller or we are growing shorter. Actually I think it is a bit of both.
Off to Stratford with my chillens. Heidi, Alex, Elizabeth, Steve, Jill Foster, (Heidi's mom) and me. To see Romeo and Juliet, Waiting for Godot, and Fiddler on the Roof. I ordered these back in January, long before any reviews, so ordered Stratford-Lite. I do hope they are good. Pretty safe with the Stratford Festival. I have only walked out of one performance ever, but that was last year. I hope none this year. We are staying over at a B&B so it will be a lovely visit with the kids.
This stay in Muskoka had afforded me time to think about this adventure. I am so lucky. It is truly a wonderful experience. There are things I will miss when I come back to Canada, as there are things I miss terribly about here when I am there. Such is life. But it was so hard for both Tim and me, at the beginning, and now it is so great. We are two lucky people.
Bedtime stories, no book needed. A Callahan tradition passed on. Tim used to give the best story time, making it up along the way. Elizabeth has taken on the mantle.
Mommy Cindy reading with her two boys, Alexander, and Carter. What lovely names they have (my Alex's first and middle name. I told Cindy she can't have more boys, we have no more names!)
A lovely photo taken by a friend. Long Lake, an evening sky.
can't seem to download photos of the visitors I had. Maybe next time.
Had Elizabeth and Steve up, and my niece and her two boys. Magic times together.
My book club came for the weekend. They handled all the food, I did absolutely nothing. We had gorgeous weather, fire in the fireplace, and ate our way through feasts for three days. I got to lead a book I had suggested, "The Garden of Evening Mists" It is about Malaysia and the Japanese occupation in WW2. I loved that the references to things Malaysian were not new to me because of my travels. I look forward to the rest of my life, having wonderful references to things that I have experienced on this Asian adventure. The book, by the way, is absolutely beautiful.
Then 4 of my ski buddies from Silver Star, who live in Collingwood in the summer, came over for three days. We had summer weather, were in swimming both days, and stayed in the water, not your typical September quick dip, admitting that oh yes it is lovely and "fresh". (read freezing)
I am off to TO. I have a meeting with friends on Toronto Island. My dearest friend Kelley died a few years ago and we planted a tree for her on the island. We meet every year to take our pics in front of the tree. Either the tree is growing taller or we are growing shorter. Actually I think it is a bit of both.
Off to Stratford with my chillens. Heidi, Alex, Elizabeth, Steve, Jill Foster, (Heidi's mom) and me. To see Romeo and Juliet, Waiting for Godot, and Fiddler on the Roof. I ordered these back in January, long before any reviews, so ordered Stratford-Lite. I do hope they are good. Pretty safe with the Stratford Festival. I have only walked out of one performance ever, but that was last year. I hope none this year. We are staying over at a B&B so it will be a lovely visit with the kids.
This stay in Muskoka had afforded me time to think about this adventure. I am so lucky. It is truly a wonderful experience. There are things I will miss when I come back to Canada, as there are things I miss terribly about here when I am there. Such is life. But it was so hard for both Tim and me, at the beginning, and now it is so great. We are two lucky people.
Bedtime stories, no book needed. A Callahan tradition passed on. Tim used to give the best story time, making it up along the way. Elizabeth has taken on the mantle.
Mommy Cindy reading with her two boys, Alexander, and Carter. What lovely names they have (my Alex's first and middle name. I told Cindy she can't have more boys, we have no more names!)
A lovely photo taken by a friend. Long Lake, an evening sky.
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