Here's a photo of our hotel, the view from our balcony, a futuristic garden we visited and H and I enjoying a cocktail looking out over downtown Singapore.
Friday, 25 January 2013
And some more photos
Cambodia and the awe inspiring Angkor Wat which sadly my photos just do not do justice to. Also a couple of shots of the Tomb Raider temple which was a favourite of ours, the stones look like they grew out of the ground with the trees!
More photos
A very lovely waterfall in Lao, Helen and I elephant riding, a couple of views across stunning Vietnam and Hoi An old town.
Some photographic highlights
I've been feeling remiss for not including more photos in my blogs so I'm going to try to make up for that over the next few days...
Here are a couple of amazing temples in northern Thailand, our wonderful tour group, some very cute Lao kids and a view from the Mekong river.
Saturday, 5 January 2013
Fiji continued...
Just in case you were worried that all I've done in Fiji is lie around philosophising about the meaning of life, let me put your mind at rest... Helen and I invented a new form of exercise today!
It basically involves running about a kilometre along the beach and back as fast as possible with the sea coming up to your shoulders. It works best if you quietly hum the Baywatch theme tune to yourself as you go, but that's optional. It's excellent fun and received a thumbs up from the locals who declared it wonderful exercise (or maybe they said entertainment, I can't be sure) and from small children and even one teenage girl who started running through the sea with us. Much to the amusement of an Australian father who made several joke at the expense of us Brits. We plan to repeat this everyday until we go (two more days) and so I'm confident we'll arrive in New Zealand with bodies to rival Elle McPherson.
Pondering the secret of contentment... and a spot of shark diving
It will come as no surprise I'm sure to hear that Fiji is beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Dramatic green mountains poke up out of a warm aqua sea. There's palm trees, exotic flowers and sandy beaches. The Fijian people are smiley and friendly and nothing is too much trouble. H and I have a bura (beach hut) 10 paces from the beach which is kitted out with a terrace, a couple of very comfy beds, a sofa and chairs and an outside shower in its own private garden. It manages to be simple and luxurious at the same time. The resort is large considering there aren't more than 40 or so guests and it has a pool, activity hut, restaurant and bar. I might get a massage today. H and I are rather like the queen in that we don't need currency here, just a signature ;)
And yet.... I've met quite a few people who aren't in a state of total blissed out contentment. It turns out lying around is actually quite boring (there's a lot of people drinking in the afternoon, not that I'm one to judge...), it's easy to get complacent (someone said to me 'I decided not to travel around the islands too much because they're all much of a muchness' which is fair enough for him but slightly harsh on Fiji's 322 islands which I'm sure are all unique!), general apathy sets in (the local cultural centre is a very achievable 20-30 min walk away but all I feel I can manage is the 10 paces today), or with so much time to think there's a danger of homesickness. So even though we're in paradise it doesn't always feel like it....
This issue of contentment is one that I've mulled on with Christian friends as we try to follow Paul's example and be happy with what God gives us in life and not sweat what we don't have but would quite like (Philippians, especially chapter 4, is a good place to find out more). And I think this leg of our trip has reinforced for me that we're are right to do that because contentment and deep down happiness is not situational, it's not about the surroundings. Fiji is proof.
Which begs the question, what does make us happy...?! Now actually (despite this ridiculously navel gazing blog) I am very relaxed and happy here and yesterday was probably my best day so far. I'm putting that down to two things, first that I dived with sharks (in the open sea with no cage, there were lots of varieties, the largest being a group of 11ft mama Bulls, they were so close it was awesome, truly the most amazing creatures I've ever encountered) and second that H and I went out for a nice dinner and, as well as the yummy food, we had really good chats. So I think doing something extraordinary that I was previously quite scared of and having a lovely time with a best friend have definitely been ways for me to feel fulfilled and happy! Sadly though I don't think I can dive with sharks everyday, and even if I did the appeal might wear thin, so I'll just have to look forward to the next adventure on this little trip around the globe :)
So to sum up, yes, maybe it is easy to be very content and happy with life here in Fiji!
Thursday, 3 January 2013
We wish you a Melburnian Christmas....and a Sydney New Year
Having ditched the rental car, we set about making the apartment in Melbourne our own, which generally means we put the wine in the fridge and fling our stuff everywhere we could. Then we settle down to the dilemma most backpackers in Melbourne face; what to wear to Neighbours night? Dressed up and ready to rock, we meet up with the party people from Apollo Bay and brace ourselves to meet Dr Karl.
If you are reading this thinking. "Uh, Neighbours?" and "who is Dr Karl?" Then you are either a) American b) straight c) dead or d) all of the above. For those of you who are not familiar with Ramsey Street, Neighbours is a loooooonnng running Aussie soap that British students and dole scroungers are addicted to. It's set in a Melbourne suburb and the story lines are preposterous, but it is practically an institution. Anyway, time to meet the cast. We have much hilarity and dance to Karl Kennedy's band until the word 'shame' no longer exists in our vocabulary.
The following day we hit the beach. Not much you can say other than that really. Went to the beach, lay there for a bit, swam in the sea, got out, listened to Manuel from Fawlty Towers narrating Jerusalem for the 6th time, still haven't got a bloody clue what's going on, or even which century we're in. But I digress.
On our second night in Melbourne, we met up with a friend of mine, who I haven't seen since I was 9, when she moved back to Australia. It was lovely to catch up and see her photos and hear stories about her family, and we were particularly impressed with the restraining influence on her two eldest boys that is Bruce the Elf in the run up to Christmas. Aft dinner, we get gelato and wander down to the end of St Kilda pier, where tiny little penguins come out to feed at sunset. Cute!
Melbourne mainly involves eating a lot of good food, as recommended by my brother - Bar Lourinha, Radio Mexico and Mr Wolf being particularly singled out for fabulousness. We also do a lot of lazing around by the pool at our hotel. We do gird our loins to go to Melbourne zoo, where we stroke friendly kangaroos, see deadly native snakes, and have beautiful coloured butterflies landing on us. The meerkats also provide an opportunity to add to my burgeoning collection of animals pleasuring themselves:
Before we have time to blink, it's Christmas Day, and we've bought each other presents so we have something to open. We go to church (a promise I made to Vicky in London) then hit the aptly named Victoria sparkling wine and head to the beach, where I have a little swim.
Before we are ready, we have to leave Melbourne for our next destination Sydney. I've already been twice, and loved it, and I hope Vicky will too. We arrive at a very reasonable time and have a few beers on the quayside.
We spend the following day at a beautiful beach near Watson's Bay, before heading out in the evening to meet my friend Gemma and her boyfriend Ed, who have also come out here to escape the British winter.
A spot of culture after all this beaching and barring is called for, so we take the tour of Sydney Opera House. It's pretty cool inside and our tour guide Sue is hilarious.
We then go our separate ways; while Vicks heads off to meet friends, I go and have lunch with Cobber Joe's Aunt Marie, who is lovely. She recommends going to the Museum of Contemporary Art to see the Anish Kapoor exhibition, so with a free afternoon looming, that's what I do. It's just unfortunate that I've recently been watching the Absolutely Fabulous episode where Eddie goes to buy some art, as the line "it all looks like bollocks, so it must be worth something" keeps going through my head, although its actually quite impressive.
New Years Eve dawns and we climb the pylon of the Harbour Bridge to take some pictures and have a sushi picnic in the Botanic Gardens.
In the evening, we head to the rooftop of a hotel near ours, where we take full advantage of the free bar, eat pies as canapés (does this happen anywhere else in the world?), snog a cute Sydneysider (me, not Vicky - sorry Mum), admire the fireworks, have cross words as a result of the free bar (our first fight!!!), then head back to the hostel, where we sleep, make friends again (like we weren't going to) before Vicky, who had the stamina of an ox heads out for the day and I eventually get out of the ball gown and sandals I've slept in at 4pm.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
If you are reading this thinking. "Uh, Neighbours?" and "who is Dr Karl?" Then you are either a) American b) straight c) dead or d) all of the above. For those of you who are not familiar with Ramsey Street, Neighbours is a loooooonnng running Aussie soap that British students and dole scroungers are addicted to. It's set in a Melbourne suburb and the story lines are preposterous, but it is practically an institution. Anyway, time to meet the cast. We have much hilarity and dance to Karl Kennedy's band until the word 'shame' no longer exists in our vocabulary.
The following day we hit the beach. Not much you can say other than that really. Went to the beach, lay there for a bit, swam in the sea, got out, listened to Manuel from Fawlty Towers narrating Jerusalem for the 6th time, still haven't got a bloody clue what's going on, or even which century we're in. But I digress.
On our second night in Melbourne, we met up with a friend of mine, who I haven't seen since I was 9, when she moved back to Australia. It was lovely to catch up and see her photos and hear stories about her family, and we were particularly impressed with the restraining influence on her two eldest boys that is Bruce the Elf in the run up to Christmas. Aft dinner, we get gelato and wander down to the end of St Kilda pier, where tiny little penguins come out to feed at sunset. Cute!
Melbourne mainly involves eating a lot of good food, as recommended by my brother - Bar Lourinha, Radio Mexico and Mr Wolf being particularly singled out for fabulousness. We also do a lot of lazing around by the pool at our hotel. We do gird our loins to go to Melbourne zoo, where we stroke friendly kangaroos, see deadly native snakes, and have beautiful coloured butterflies landing on us. The meerkats also provide an opportunity to add to my burgeoning collection of animals pleasuring themselves:
Before we have time to blink, it's Christmas Day, and we've bought each other presents so we have something to open. We go to church (a promise I made to Vicky in London) then hit the aptly named Victoria sparkling wine and head to the beach, where I have a little swim.
Before we are ready, we have to leave Melbourne for our next destination Sydney. I've already been twice, and loved it, and I hope Vicky will too. We arrive at a very reasonable time and have a few beers on the quayside.
We spend the following day at a beautiful beach near Watson's Bay, before heading out in the evening to meet my friend Gemma and her boyfriend Ed, who have also come out here to escape the British winter.
A spot of culture after all this beaching and barring is called for, so we take the tour of Sydney Opera House. It's pretty cool inside and our tour guide Sue is hilarious.
We then go our separate ways; while Vicks heads off to meet friends, I go and have lunch with Cobber Joe's Aunt Marie, who is lovely. She recommends going to the Museum of Contemporary Art to see the Anish Kapoor exhibition, so with a free afternoon looming, that's what I do. It's just unfortunate that I've recently been watching the Absolutely Fabulous episode where Eddie goes to buy some art, as the line "it all looks like bollocks, so it must be worth something" keeps going through my head, although its actually quite impressive.
New Years Eve dawns and we climb the pylon of the Harbour Bridge to take some pictures and have a sushi picnic in the Botanic Gardens.
In the evening, we head to the rooftop of a hotel near ours, where we take full advantage of the free bar, eat pies as canapés (does this happen anywhere else in the world?), snog a cute Sydneysider (me, not Vicky - sorry Mum), admire the fireworks, have cross words as a result of the free bar (our first fight!!!), then head back to the hostel, where we sleep, make friends again (like we weren't going to) before Vicky, who had the stamina of an ox heads out for the day and I eventually get out of the ball gown and sandals I've slept in at 4pm.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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