tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73893126677235549642024-03-05T19:09:55.300-08:00For We are Jolly Good Fellows!Fun times in Malaysia as English Training Fellows in Kuala TerengganuRuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-76526642461171376682014-06-13T21:06:00.000-07:002014-06-29T17:57:27.739-07:00A new adventure starts - in NorthamSo we don't really want to go to Ningbo. (Although they have offered us jobs - six weeks later.)<br />
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Northam looks nice, though, doesn't it? (and there might be some jobs there - or we could just kinda retire ...)<br />
For some people living in a place like Northam in the wheat-belt area of Western Australia would be ordinary. But after everywhere we've been, for us it is another new adventure.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>So ... what's in Northam?</i></b></span><br />
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Well, this is what we know thus far (thank you, Mr Google). Of course, we have driven through Northam a few times on our way back and forth between Perth and the eastern seaboard.<br />
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It's a fairly typical Aussie country town - population around 6 000.<br />
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It's well-known for some of its beautiful old buildings.<br />
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It's a farming district, with the Avon River (which goes all the way down to the Swan River in Perth) winding through it.<br />
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In the right season the Avon River swells and everyone comes here to watch the start of the exciting annual boating event - the Avon Descent.<br />
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In 2011 there was a remarkable dust storm that engulfed Northam.<br />
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There is an Immigration Detention Centre on the outskirts of the town.<br />
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And, of course, there is lots more! That will have to wait until we start a new blog!<br />
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July 4th leaving Malaysia. No more Jolly Good Fellows.Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-52653016998532685242014-06-13T19:42:00.002-07:002014-06-13T19:42:21.433-07:00On the Ning Nang NongWe were probably thinking a little bit of Spike Milligan's old poem<br />
<i> On the Ning Nang Nong </i><br />
<i> Where the Cows go Bong!</i><br />
<i> and the monkeys all go BOO!</i><br />
<i> ...</i><br />
as we planned our trip to Ningbo, China.<br />
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They have finally admitted that the idea of a continuing Fellows Project here in Malaysia is truly dead in the water, and so we are looking around for a different job, and a new adventure.<br />
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We saw a possible job in China, and thought that after 10 years of travelling around we might have come full circle to <a href="http://howlingpigeons.blogspot.com/2007/09/gatting-started.html" target="_blank">where it all started</a> in China. We have very happy memories relating to the people in rural LongHu in 2004, and then we loved living in the small (5 million) <a href="http://howlingpigeons.blogspot.com/2005/12/dangerous-streets.html" target="_blank">city of Wuxi</a> for a year. So, maybe it would be nice to revisit China.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Getting a visa</span><br />
Getting visas in and out of China - even for a short visit - is generally more complicated than most other countries! If we were in Kuala Lumpur we could apply and then wait for four days or so ... but not out here in Kuala Terengganu. We heard that you can get a visa in one day in Hong Kong. So we decided to go there first.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hong Kong</span><br />
Hong Kong (all those amazing tall buildings!) was quite awe-inspiring and a little overwhelming for us country folks!<br />
We arrived on a Saturday ... and the visa office was closed on the weekends, so it ended up being a four day stay just to make sure we had a visa.<br />
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We stayed in a high-rise hotel with a view of the harbour.<br />
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We had a suite, and we had brought with us books to read and our computers to 'play' on!<br />
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The hotel had a nice pool - there it is down there below our window - one of the reasons we chose this particular hotel. But ... seriously the weather was quite unpleasant and we didn't even go in. We turned off the air conditioning in the room, and still had trouble keeping warm (with the summery clothes that we had brought with us!)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Nottingham University, Ningbo</span><br />
Finally it was time to fly directly to Ningbo - another reason why we had gone via Hong Kong, because there were direct flights to Ningbo.<br />
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With various delays and all the things that happen, we arrived there quite late, and settled into a room in the Staff Hotel, ready for our interviews the following day.<br />
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The next morning, in the hazy light of day, we had a chance to look around a bit.<br />
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Apart from the haze, it was all very green, and generally clean.<br />
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Not exactly thronging with activity as we headed up to the ostentatious main building.<br />
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Coming out of the main building, looking across at the auditorium and teaching rooms.<br />
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So ... that was a month ago. They said they would be in touch. Not yet!Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-50790045728365965112014-05-18T04:36:00.002-07:002014-05-18T04:41:10.246-07:00Teachers' Day in Malaysian schoolsAustralian schools don't generally pay much attention to Teachers' Day - if anyone knows when it is, they might just bring the teacher an apple. But here in Malaysia it is a big deal.<br />
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This is the school where I mentor on a Sunday, when Teachers' Day was celebrated in 2014 (it was really last Friday, but as that was the weekend, it was too important to miss and was shifted to Sunday.)<br />
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Except that the teachers were all wearing their special batik uniforms (usually only worn on a Thursday to demonstrate national pride), the day started looking fairly normal, with an assembly.<br />
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The kids are all standing in neat rows, the teachers are mostly sitting on plastic chairs on the platform at the front.<br />
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It was obviously going to be a longer than usual assembly, and the children were allowed to sit.<br />
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And the teachers were all invited to the stage - where they sang a special song (not in English, so I don't really know).<br />
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Then all of the teachers lined up (including me), and all of the children kissed their hands (the boys greeted the men only, and the girls greeted the female teachers only.)<br />
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The teachers then did a lot of hugging and kissing and laughing - for some of them this was their last Teachers' Day before retirement, so it was very significant.<br />
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And then it was time for fun and games - for the teachers, not the children. Everyone had a turn at shooting netball hoops. Including me.<br />
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I missed one, and the other went straight through. Then we played hoopla, throwing hoops over traffic cones.<br />
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(I got two out of two!)<br />
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The children then went off to get their bags full of presents for their teachers. (The pretty pink and blue uniforms are pre-schoolers.)<br />
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This very popular teacher was mobbed by eager students offering presents as she went to her car. Some kids even handed me small gifts.<br />
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Then there were songs and jokes, and eats of course. It's nice that the kids have so much respect for their teachers and the opportunity to express it.Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-15339497590986022672014-03-30T20:27:00.002-07:002014-03-30T20:27:21.663-07:00Quiet ... too quiet<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;">Up at the Lake</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://wearejollygoodfellows.blogspot.com/2011/01/rainy-holidays.html" target="_blank">We visited Lake Kenyir</a> in the first few weeks after we came here in 2011. At that time the road to the lake was being repaired, and the lake was pretty much 'closed' as it was the off-season - although other than a bit of rain and the over-abundance of mosquitoes we couldn't really see why. It was a pretty place, but not terribly exciting, so we didn't go back...<br />
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Until last week.<br />
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It was school holidays, which is the time when every family gets into their little car and putters off here and there. We thought we might just enjoy hanging in Kuala Terengganu, but after discovering that the beach area was overtaken by "Terengganu Bike Week", crowded with market stalls and eager locals, revving motor bikes, a variety of pumpkin-carriage pony rides, and blaring music from the sound-shell ... we retreated back to our apartment to regroup. And decided that it was time to revisit the lake for a bit of peace and quiet.<br />
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Checking the Lake Kenyir Resort on the Internet we noticed that there was just one lake view room available. So we packed bags just in case it was still there, and headed on up to the lake.<br />
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We came to a car park, and an empty building with a phone and a sign that said "Phone 3 for buggy". Well, we weren't sure that we wanted a buggy - what was this, a golf resort? So we started walking off to explore. Suddenly a little man came running after us, telling us a buggy was on its was (so you don't have to phone?) and that we were heading towards the servants quarters where we shouldn't be.<br />
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<i>View from the lobby</i></div>
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The buggy took us along narrow, winding, hilly paths (no room for a car!) to the lovey high ceilinged open, airy foyer area. Yes, they did have a room, so we climbed back into the buggy, up and down some more hills to our room.<br />
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Out on our balcony, looking out over the lake, it was so, so quiet. Even though the resort was apparently (now) full, we could not see or hear anyone other than a boat buzzing along on the lake. Our phones no longer had any reception, and there was no Internet except back in the foyer. Even the cable TV service was suffering from a mysterious 'software problem'.<br />
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<i>'Panoramic' view of our room.</i><br />
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So we sat down and read, and slept, and relaxed.<br />
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The next morning we decided to book on the lake cruise - 2 hours, 10am till 12 noon. We needed to check out at 12, so we could do that when we came back.<br />
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We caught a buggy to the lobby, where we got on another buggy down past our cabin to the little floating jetty.<br />
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Yep, that's the boat. It's the ultimate <i>slow</i> boat! Very, very relaxing.</div>
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We visited a herb garden where they told us about various jungle herbs they were growing there. And then we went further and visited a waterfall.<br />
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There is something about waterfalls that makes people here want to swim. They generally don't swim in the sea, and no one swims in the lake (it's deep, you will drown) but give them a waterfall and they all want to go into the pool at the bottom.<br />
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By the time the slow boat got us all back to the resort, it was after 1pm, and we should have checked out an hour ago. The desk lady had told us there was someone coming in straight after us ...<br />
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We all climbed off the boat, and the little man said he would go and 'find out about' a buggy. Yeahh, that was the last we saw of him!<br />
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So we wandered off up the hill and down to our cabin. We caught a passing buggy to take us and our bags back to the foyer, and then to rediscover the distant car-park.<br />
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Home again ... aah! Internet! It was quiet, but just a wee bit too quiet maybe.Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-76753851280840165712014-01-30T20:41:00.001-08:002014-01-30T20:46:10.832-08:00First trip to the Island for 2014!It is said that the islands do not 'open' until at least after Chinese New Year, maybe later, depending on the monsoon. But one resort on Kapas Island is always open if at all possible. Mme Rose, at 'Qimi' resort, will try to accommodate anyone at any time. <br />
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So when our youngest daughter, Bea, and her friend were coming to visit for a few days and asked if it would be possible to go out to the island we called on Rose, and she was keen to make it happen.<br />
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Bea and Janae live and work on the ship MV Logos Hope, travelling around the world helping people and selling books. Right now they are docked in Singapore, so Bea and Janae flew up to visit us in Kuala Terengganu.<br />
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So sailing out to Kapas Island should have been no big deal, right? We were unsure if the monsoon has really passed ... the weather people tell us that the exceptionally cool weather we have been having is caused by the monsoon winds bringing cold air down from China (where it has been snowing). Looking out at the ocean in the morning it was silky and reflective - a bit like <i>before</i> the monsoon starts during the 'doldrums'.<br />
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The jetty is usually crowded and busy - this morning it was quiet and empty, and the ticket counters were closed. Rose had promised that she had contacted one of the operators who would bring us across, so we just had to wait a little while. We visited the local market and bought some of their interesting snacky things, and then waited for a boat.<br />
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When we eventually got out through the heads from the river into the ocean ... there was a large swell - big shiny lumps rolling through. So the ride across was quite bumpy and exciting, with all four of us hanging on tight to the rails of the little speed boat and laughing a lot.<br />
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'Qimi Private Bay' resort has a few chalets at ground level, but most of them are up the hill, hidden in the trees.<br />
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Jackie who builds all of the chalets and other amenities has a real artistic flair, and loves to add driftwood, coral and shells, and bush timber.<br />
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Since our last visit we noticed quite a few improvements to the restaurant, and the men were still working on several projects to get ready for the opening of the island.<br />
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The young ladies stayed overnight - we had to return to the mainland the same day and go to work in the morning. They were given a room high up on the hill with a large four-poster bed covered with a neat mosquito net.<br />
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It's rather hard to photograph the chalets up on the hill among the trees!<br />
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But there is a delightful large swing under the tropical almond trees.<br />
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A great place to relax. <br />
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And then there is the swimming. We were worried that the water might be all stirred up because of the monsoon and no good for snorkelling.<br />
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But it wasn't too cloudy to enjoy the reef. The water was a little cooler than sometimes, but after a few minutes we were very comfortable.<br />
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Snorkelling was a new experience for Janae - but it only took her a few minutes to catch on. <br />
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It was just magic being the only people enjoying this spectacular place on such a beautiful day.<br />
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And, of course, Nemo was waiting down there to say 'hello'. <br />
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And then there was the whole island to explore, with no one else around.<br />
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The bays are linked by stone steps and walkways, so we don't have to scramble across sharp rocks and through the jungle. <br />
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We walked past all the other resorts, all closed up and looking a little unkempt after the monsoon season.<br />
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There was some evidence, though, of other island residents ...<br />
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What do you reckon?<br />
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And then it was time for the two of us to go back to the mainland ...<br />
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while the two young ladies enjoyed the experience of sleeping and waking up on Kapas Island.<br />
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Yeahhhh. Lovely to be back on our island. Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-11168144216535774272014-01-18T20:29:00.001-08:002014-01-18T20:33:54.047-08:00Aaaaand we're back! Kind of.<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: large;">Back in Kuala Terengganu</span></span><br />
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We are back in our apartment in Kuala Terengganu - and the monsoon winds are howling through the window seals.<br />
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We came back in mid-December, as our apartment was still paid for and it's cheaper to live here than in Australia! But living in Kuala Terengganu without a car was quite difficult. There is no public transport (at all), so it's "shank's pony" if you don't have a car. With the lovely cool weather it wasn't unpleasant to walk all over the place - although walking around KT is never <i>easy</i> with rare footpaths and all sorts of obstacles and dangers along the way. But our main problem was, even though we walked to all of the supermarkets and markets around, we couldn't find anything other than rice and tinned Asian-style food. The fresh food market had very little fish with no one wanting to go fishing in the strong monsoons. And there were no mangoes, few bananas, and even the durian were extra expensive. A couple of times we hiked down to the taxi rank and hired a taxi to take us to the big supermarket (about 5 km), wait for an hour, and then bring us and our shopping home.<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: large;">A New Job - and New Cars!</span></span><br />
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By the end of December the new Fellows Project was still not happening ... so they offered us jobs as teacher Mentors. Doing similar work to the fellows, only working with teachers in schools. We each have to mentor teachers in five schools - one school per day - so obviously we both need cars.<br />
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We live in this amazing building<br />
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which has two parking floors.<br />
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There is one parking spot for each apartment ... and that is our spot, with <i>my</i> little white Saga parked in it! <br />
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Down the street aways there is Peter's black Hyundai.<br />
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And there he is, sitting in his car.<br />
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Because this morning when he went to drive his car - to move it to a free parking spot in a mud-patch further away - it wouldn't start. So he is waiting for the little man from the car rental company. (He doesn't want to leave the car in case he gets a ticket.)<br />
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And here he is! Two chaps turned up on a motorbike, with a new battery.<br />
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The car is almost fixed ... but what is that in the background?<br />
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Yep. Here comes the parking meter inspector. The parking meters are a wee bit complicated - at least for us.<br />
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They usually come in pairs, and they are pretty old and worn out looking. They are absolutely everywhere in the city - if you are lucky enough to find a spot without one (or with the stalk but no head), generally it is not a good idea to park there (as we discovered) because you will definitely get a ticket.<br />
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We have to concentrate hard to remember the names of the days (Saturday to Thursday, and Friday), and we really don't understand the business about the colours (columns of grey and yellow).<br />
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But then it's not expensive - a sen a minute, 60 sen (20c Aus) for an hour. However in our situation (and many others in our building who own two cars and need an all-day spot) it's impossible to come up with enough <i>coins</i> to keep the thing fed.<br />
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And the fines are not expensive. Only RM5 ($1.70) if you pay within three days. It's actually cheaper to risk a daily fine than to feed the meter.<br />
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We watched the inspector go down the line of cars outside of the building checking each one. No one had put money in the meters - but he did not write any tickets. One lady came rushing out of her shop and spoke to him, and her car didn't get a ticket either. Obviously, there is something else we don't know about.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: large;">Meeting up with old friends</span></span><br />
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While the Fellows' Project is delayed, so is the Mentors' job that we are employed on - we are all set to go, and waiting around for some important official things to take place first. That gave us a chance to attend an afternoon tea with our old friends from the IPG celebrating the retirement of the lady who was our Head of Department.<br />
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Soon we will have a visit from our youngest daughter and her friend, and brave the monsoon winds (which are gradually dying down) for a night on Kapas, first for the year.Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-47669008441984481252013-12-07T20:24:00.003-08:002013-12-07T20:24:28.234-08:00Jumping out of a Perfectly Good Plane<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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James' (son) birthday is very soon, Lisa (wife) bought him a sky dive. As she couldn't be here, we were minding the kids and recording the event.<br />
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So, what is it like - jumping out of a perfectly good plane?<br />
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Here is the place to go ...<br />
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... and of course there are forms to fill in and sign.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxcVHhUw8snCXbuhM44mbRE27082NoU1lWq8dMYKGc3wZwpwV1CU0wwYXscqmlZQsSqWrJlrLJ8YBTq5rkaAG7oNWYz5J_Lobey-TU3vNubRxy71l_o3ITVWnS-9UEkPrf3Sj0SigD5A-N/s1600/S1860012+comp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxcVHhUw8snCXbuhM44mbRE27082NoU1lWq8dMYKGc3wZwpwV1CU0wwYXscqmlZQsSqWrJlrLJ8YBTq5rkaAG7oNWYz5J_Lobey-TU3vNubRxy71l_o3ITVWnS-9UEkPrf3Sj0SigD5A-N/s400/S1860012+comp.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span id="goog_305842557"></span><span id="goog_305842558"></span><br />
<span id="goog_305842557">And now his name is on the whiteboard - "James</span> T14" because he is jumping out (in tandem with an instructor) at 14 000 feet.<br />
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Now we have quite a wait. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_w70mu25rgv8xBD8TNEiBM2GHGeXiKVotESagnLNMYIC7xKErIutMAR2duq_Ttdkmh7Hh5_aaAnOSmz1gl4K53aNZicGyDKQlvItVq0PXRP1Tva0be9ox0uX04gfC-rndjqOZsOvFeXhk/s1600/P1010945+comp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_w70mu25rgv8xBD8TNEiBM2GHGeXiKVotESagnLNMYIC7xKErIutMAR2duq_Ttdkmh7Hh5_aaAnOSmz1gl4K53aNZicGyDKQlvItVq0PXRP1Tva0be9ox0uX04gfC-rndjqOZsOvFeXhk/s400/P1010945+comp.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
There's a nice swing to play on,<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBGLIL2RuwJ79izDHsYM8pQ96JHnpNkJs2pUm25RXxTJGXHS59pvRh8Ee4Zf8C6MFjOR6SLNio4LIxBXlTiD0bYRWNGxKtrVePYiblZZr00198G_En66F5fZB827-Dj-TzMGOW6iuEe_1U/s1600/P1010931+comp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBGLIL2RuwJ79izDHsYM8pQ96JHnpNkJs2pUm25RXxTJGXHS59pvRh8Ee4Zf8C6MFjOR6SLNio4LIxBXlTiD0bYRWNGxKtrVePYiblZZr00198G_En66F5fZB827-Dj-TzMGOW6iuEe_1U/s400/P1010931+comp.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
and Bethany enjoys playing in the old wingless plane.<br />
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There are lots of people waiting around, and getting ready.<br />
Some people carry a video camera on their wrist - so there are videos of recent jumps to watch.<br />
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Some people practice their moves for when they sky dive.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXx5Cov1ZGPSdehmlSFj_a3dUPpEjHK-kS8bqE5okfZTr4Qnl0ITJ1m85XOfO5rNdIpWjuQfaGYU3SeyVPzgxeJVSwWF5Wh1Z1PhZqG196cKVywTPbedeY_v2VZ-6soY88T5Xm1bnZYXs6/s1600/practise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXx5Cov1ZGPSdehmlSFj_a3dUPpEjHK-kS8bqE5okfZTr4Qnl0ITJ1m85XOfO5rNdIpWjuQfaGYU3SeyVPzgxeJVSwWF5Wh1Z1PhZqG196cKVywTPbedeY_v2VZ-6soY88T5Xm1bnZYXs6/s400/practise.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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There's an ambulance waiting around ...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZWmljOJGxyspKUcNP5Pq1nfJGVoLmrhtIo5rExbBbCqcoC7CRug6jah8LY1xngunB8V1aaqKL-PApbr5NiqYvmScR6TaA-QTlYr7A5gvc4YmomJYLLAFyN0j7HxUGWX2Z5dEyTky616D8/s1600/P1010928+comp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZWmljOJGxyspKUcNP5Pq1nfJGVoLmrhtIo5rExbBbCqcoC7CRug6jah8LY1xngunB8V1aaqKL-PApbr5NiqYvmScR6TaA-QTlYr7A5gvc4YmomJYLLAFyN0j7HxUGWX2Z5dEyTky616D8/s400/P1010928+comp.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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... someone landed badly and injured an ankle.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhifid1-QDCt48HhvWhS-VkMWKwH1hU1nKs6Oeq4M-dnhcRav5pqyAIHW1Yq8u9cr0TLB0AJQCRhSrguR99QbdmP-J3ov2KDuKvVJxp9qbD-0fsTtNw6SmVNW7RLvUS-SvkOQfz_DXUL4Oy/s1600/P1010929+comp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhifid1-QDCt48HhvWhS-VkMWKwH1hU1nKs6Oeq4M-dnhcRav5pqyAIHW1Yq8u9cr0TLB0AJQCRhSrguR99QbdmP-J3ov2KDuKvVJxp9qbD-0fsTtNw6SmVNW7RLvUS-SvkOQfz_DXUL4Oy/s640/P1010929+comp.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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People are very busy taking meticulous care of their parachutes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGhmad36nbmpxsh2y6enROCIJXqrC-5Cvf7xn9p-VmH-iiwv5oJlov9lT46NxK4OJ7duQDAlZcDAdyKKzhmVaH-Pk9DpU6VFHMhyTOiiAqhcNEcErOyAJvTx_0PWlqJTfGwUKWUclIQ0Ae/s1600/P1010951+comp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGhmad36nbmpxsh2y6enROCIJXqrC-5Cvf7xn9p-VmH-iiwv5oJlov9lT46NxK4OJ7duQDAlZcDAdyKKzhmVaH-Pk9DpU6VFHMhyTOiiAqhcNEcErOyAJvTx_0PWlqJTfGwUKWUclIQ0Ae/s640/P1010951+comp.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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James attends a training session.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnoavYuEJnqu4uWVYjd12KDyTnTtBDB9QNTxywnMQ20qq86AjUzHQUXYbuR9t-cdewPwk2vfT9wdixqiffAKQVkM8fAWdRJJ82LJjEG_fnAqrM-KfG55Top-uvKpKPuU42nYYvaCwwE95J/s1600/P1010937+comp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnoavYuEJnqu4uWVYjd12KDyTnTtBDB9QNTxywnMQ20qq86AjUzHQUXYbuR9t-cdewPwk2vfT9wdixqiffAKQVkM8fAWdRJJ82LJjEG_fnAqrM-KfG55Top-uvKpKPuU42nYYvaCwwE95J/s640/P1010937+comp.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This body shape is for when you are falling/flying.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5RKdyckhIZVFLE6ojTsybBk9sRD4ICM3JVgxzX3MC5a6-Q6ezyAu_VuIpUggLbPN3SJYvTV0VgSQlESLqP935GVqB4UMCSjhgMAhCFf65veSGDPSh5285jeInDe4HS93g76LPUhRFcUfU/s1600/P1010943+comp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5RKdyckhIZVFLE6ojTsybBk9sRD4ICM3JVgxzX3MC5a6-Q6ezyAu_VuIpUggLbPN3SJYvTV0VgSQlESLqP935GVqB4UMCSjhgMAhCFf65veSGDPSh5285jeInDe4HS93g76LPUhRFcUfU/s640/P1010943+comp.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This is for when you are landing (so you don't hurt your ankle).<br />
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Time to suit up! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPIzoBSijv511GUrFEyEiRj5YGvwU5ZqlrcFwElVqTpUQulozduorAaC1EssSVMmp9ndpLKksgDGrzpN3Ep7NqEv3bRGmjgTqYJfpDhjIV2osxMqVSdAU0wYBxcGsssiTFs0mTrT7FSaws/s1600/S1860011+comp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPIzoBSijv511GUrFEyEiRj5YGvwU5ZqlrcFwElVqTpUQulozduorAaC1EssSVMmp9ndpLKksgDGrzpN3Ep7NqEv3bRGmjgTqYJfpDhjIV2osxMqVSdAU0wYBxcGsssiTFs0mTrT7FSaws/s640/S1860011+comp.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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Rugged!<br />
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Time to board the tiny plane.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3iEoyUB1GCl-GLzrA1RQcrcnjvwaw6gpM3NRncKFn5samoxIpT7wbrxOJ_LKzAQ1aD8RCnL4Tq8OnQ1foCNqDpVc9KU9ZYPuTiLo551JBsOSd4KA69f7zym5b8jRuFBH90UUd1YWN0D2/s1600/P1010954+cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3iEoyUB1GCl-GLzrA1RQcrcnjvwaw6gpM3NRncKFn5samoxIpT7wbrxOJ_LKzAQ1aD8RCnL4Tq8OnQ1foCNqDpVc9KU9ZYPuTiLo551JBsOSd4KA69f7zym5b8jRuFBH90UUd1YWN0D2/s640/P1010954+cc.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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It's going to be a full plane. Some of the other flyers are wearing wing-suits.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZRrEbmfMkUqPRmmMb8F_r4Gd1jYp_BMwqokWKcJceOnQPs5k_i-n0zDvxUa2IDJihaQu45mrYSdVesHMU4WB99aXrFuDMtCphTpxzkyYij_1T2pb0QInrGE69VrIl7mrT2fw8LQObYD_v/s1600/P1010961+cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="465" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZRrEbmfMkUqPRmmMb8F_r4Gd1jYp_BMwqokWKcJceOnQPs5k_i-n0zDvxUa2IDJihaQu45mrYSdVesHMU4WB99aXrFuDMtCphTpxzkyYij_1T2pb0QInrGE69VrIl7mrT2fw8LQObYD_v/s640/P1010961+cc.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM8O_gMp7G2h0kWM7bAhjpJSi76u5-VclAzmqiMTwo0B2uuerLm9_2Gs3VVl21ookVBJRzXQ8M0Kdwct7tzi2zXYuy36ofVQ91n1LwlPPSNQnZTFxnWVCweA0mA4gdYSoOo-a-dKqOSh9o/s1600/take+off.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM8O_gMp7G2h0kWM7bAhjpJSi76u5-VclAzmqiMTwo0B2uuerLm9_2Gs3VVl21ookVBJRzXQ8M0Kdwct7tzi2zXYuy36ofVQ91n1LwlPPSNQnZTFxnWVCweA0mA4gdYSoOo-a-dKqOSh9o/s640/take+off.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here goes the plane along the runway - which is actually the road we all drove in on. Bethany (in pink, behind Peter) decides to try to run alongside the plane.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjYGeE5FCUjZQxFRjZNxN235D2qY-yApLzByq93IuIA89UZp9_Wz7mUUHB0JNHu3EEopOA0b_hbvb6TMpCH8ljIO-ZbupYx60IP9Wr6M7Pfk1UZuil2MGvdlAAGVIovaFcGO3jspyFSMmN/s1600/taking+off.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjYGeE5FCUjZQxFRjZNxN235D2qY-yApLzByq93IuIA89UZp9_Wz7mUUHB0JNHu3EEopOA0b_hbvb6TMpCH8ljIO-ZbupYx60IP9Wr6M7Pfk1UZuil2MGvdlAAGVIovaFcGO3jspyFSMmN/s640/taking+off.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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And they're up. We now have to wait quite a few minutes while they climb to 14 000 feet. It's really cloudy, and we can't see where they are. At one point we caught sight of the tiny white plane high above us in a patch of blue between the clouds.<br />
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Suddenly, the clouds are full of dots. <br />
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Is that him? How can we tell? <br />
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Oh, look! He's got his legs out like he was told to! <br />
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Down ...<br />
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All the way down! <br />
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That's definitely a bit of a smile.<br />
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Time to deal with the equipment.<br />
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The little white dog is glad his master has once again returned safely. (This guy has to do several jumps a day.)<br />
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Carrying parachute and dog was a bit much, so James lends a hand. Still looking pleased!<br />
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Hi kids! <br />
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So ... was it fun?<br />
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Happy Birthday, James!Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-37006141388644876482013-11-20T20:33:00.002-08:002013-11-20T20:33:56.728-08:00Our Home on Scarborough Beach (for now)Australia has amazing beaches, and Scarborough is one of the favourites for Perth, Western Australia.<br />
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This is our big house. (Yeah, OK, it's really a hotel, and it's not actually <i>ours</i>. It's called the <a href="http://www.rendezvoushotels.com/perth/default-en.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>Rendezvous Grand Hotel</i></a>.)<br />
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The big red 'o' isn't really there - I just put it there to show where our room is. It's on the 22nd floor, according to the numbers in the lift. In fact there is no level 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 13. Still, it's pretty high up, with great views.<br />
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Perth is quite flat - which might come as a surprise to those who haven't visited before.<br />
The beach looks great from up here.<br />
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There are always people, and lots of activities happening.</div>
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With Peter's amazing camera, we can have a closer look at some of these activities:</div>
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Sailing.<br />
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Beach Carnivals.<br />
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Surf Rescue - actual surf rescue, as well as training and practice for when they are needed.</div>
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Then there are para-gliders ... and kite surfers and all those. And, of course, lots of regular surfers.<br />
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With varying skill levels ... ! <br />
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They even have a sound-shell where they play music and people can dance. <br />
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Something you can't see in the photos of the beach is the flies!! We had forgotten (as we generally do) about the flies in Australia ... so annoying! They are wanting to be in your eyes and ears, or (better still) up your nose.<br />
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So maybe a better option is this beautiful hotel pool, up on the roof of the '10th' (really only the 3rd - but the 2 lower floors are very very tall) floor.<br />
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The advertising says it's 'heated' but ... well, it's not.</div>
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That only momentarily deterred our visiting grandkids!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Birds at the Beach</span><br />
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Something we noticed about the beaches in Malaysia is the lack of the birds which we Aussies are used to seeing as part of the whole beach experience.<br />
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Seagulls - always squawking and asking for food. <br />
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<span id="goog_1844293609"></span><span id="goog_1844293610"></span><br />
<span id="goog_1844293609">Cormorants (or 'shags')</span><br />
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<span id="goog_1844293609"> Sitting around, diving for fish - and really annoying if they take a fancy to your fishing bait.</span><br />
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<span id="goog_1844293609">Pelicans ...</span><br />
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Pretty at a distance ...<br />
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... quite a bit more scary when they come up on the land (and they are <i>big</i>!) demanding to be fed, or just stealing your food!<br />
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So ... we are enjoying being by the sea in Western Australia.<br />
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<i>[And we are still waiting for definite news about our return to Malaysia - hopefully in January or so.]</i>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-61016502466461433582013-10-23T02:21:00.002-07:002013-10-23T02:23:48.944-07:00Bali - Perth - Canberra ... gadding aboutWe had intended to move on from "Bali Palms" in Candidasa to another spot in Bali ... but it was just too nice.<br />
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Well ... would you?<br />
Every evening there were amazing sunsets ...<br />
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and night swims were anything but cold. <br />
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And there was this great little shop that delivered authentic Aussie meat pies right to our balcony. <br />
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Our new Aussie friends told us there was a place just down the way called "<u>White Sandy Beach</u>". They went there early one morning, and we said we would join them a little later. They said you could catch a boat down the coast - it would take 25 minutes - or a car - which would take 20 minutes. We decided to take a car.<br />
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We hadn't gone very far when we found ourselves stuck in traffic. After about 20 minutes, people started getting out of their cars and walking ahead to find out what was going on.<br />
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Yeah - those are the special ceremony police.<br />
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It was an hour before we could move again! (We should have taken the boat ride, even if the sea was a bit rough!)<br />
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Like everything in Bali, it's not free. You pay to enter the rough dirt access road to the beach. And those lounge chairs and shade all have to be paid for ... unless you buy some food from their restaurant.<br />
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Beautiful though ... well, kinda looks like somewhere in Aus, ay?<br />
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The sea is not as friendly as it looks, though. There were really dumping waves up and down the beach, and it took skill and some strength to stay upright.<br />
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Some people lost bits and pieces in the waves. (This is a picture of the <i>wave</i>, right?)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Back to Bali (Denpasar) Airport</span><br />
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When we arrived in Bali, we were amazed how open and efficient the brand new airport and its services were - 40 minutes after landing we had been through immigration, had our bags, and were out of there - despite APEC causing hassles for some people (the papers said some 70 000 had found their flights cancelled because the airport was closed for APEC!)<br />
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But the Departures section of the airport was still very unfinished.<br />
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People were lying around all over the floor (this is all around 10pm to 1am, the place was packed), and there was nowhere to buy a decent bite to eat.<br />
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The signs pointing to departure gates were wishful thinking. There were really only 2 or 3 gates operating, and it was a secret until the last moment who was going to which gate. And then - despite having already been through 2 security checks and scans - they opened and rummaged through every single bag before people could board.<br />
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And they loaded everyone onto buses to drive to the planes because the departure gates weren't really built yet. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">To Perth (4am)</span><br />
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Nevertheless, our plane left on time, and our trip was uneventful.<br />
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We caught a taxi to Peter's sister's house - fairly close to the airport - to catch a few hours sleep before the next leg of our trip. After catching taxi's overseas, we were a bit horrified to pay $33 for a very short taxi trip (that's RM99 my Malaysian friends!)<br />
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I got up from my sleep and noticed a creature on the patio having a bit of a meal. No, not a big rat, but obviously an Australian native.<br />
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It's a quenda, also known as a Southern Brown Bandicoot. It can really wriggle that long supple nose, and it kind of hops along on those back legs.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">On to Canberra</span><br />
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We are heading to Nowra, south of Sydney, and for a change decided to fly to Canberra and driving from there, rather than driving south from Sydney. As it turns out, it is a much better plan with all the bushfires presently burning around Sydney and Wollongong. Plus, we want to have a look at Canberra.<br />
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It was a nice change flying Qantas (after so many Air Asia trips) - feeling a little bit pampered, having a meal provided, movies all the way, and a steward to come and cover me up with a little blanket!<br />
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But when we arrived in Canberra we could see lightning in the distance. We were all off the plane and sitting in the terminal, but the ground crew were unwilling to unload luggage because of the lightning. (At least we were off the plane - not like when we landed in KL in a thunderstorm and they kept us on the plane for an hour because the ground crew would bring the metal steps to the plane.) <br />
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We arrived just after 7pm - except it was 3 hours later because of the time difference, so suddenly it was after 10pm. Late at night in Canberra the streets were pretty empty. Although we had checked up on the route to our hotel on Google maps - even 'driving' along the roads using street view (as you can in Australia, but not Malaysia) ... we still got lost. <br />
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Finally in our hotel fairly near the city centre we find Canberra city amazing in comparison to other cities we have been in recently! The air is so clear, crisp, and the sky is so blue, the streets are smooth and broad, the traffic is minimal, and everyone is so well behaved - staying in their lane, keeping to the speed limits, stopping at traffic lights ... yeah.<br />
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There are so many things to see in Canberra - museums, art galleries, historical buildings, monuments ...<br />
We decided to start with a look at everything from a boat cruise on (the man-made) Lake Burley Griffin. We checked on the Internet for times and places - but when we got there we found no boat, and a chap running a segway hire business nearby told us that it was too windy and rough and they never run in these conditions ... well, the website didn't mention this! And it was hardly rough, a bit windy though.<br />
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So we wandered off to another jetty and found a different boat. It was already past departure time, but the skipper was happy to run a cruise just for us anyway.<br />
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So we had our own private cruise of the lake for an hour.<br />
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We got to see all the important places, like Parliament House.<br />
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This wac supposed to be the big one that everyone goes to see - and the reason why the cruises all start at 1:30pm.<br />
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The fountain is a Captain Cook memorial, and shoots high into the air "every" day at 2pm.<br />
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But ... not today! The skipper had no idea why, but he said it happens sometimes.<br />
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Then there was the "Clarillon" - like a bell tower, but with someone 'playing' the bells using a keyboard inside there.<br />
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So, the blue skies had turned cloudy, and a fierce wind was blowing. It's quite cold - the forecast has the temperature going down to -2 degrees on Friday! But it doesn't feel particularly cold, we are told it's because the humidity is so low.<br />
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Couple more days here in pretty, green-leafy Canberra, then off to NSW. Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-11898955570557253822013-10-15T00:15:00.000-07:002013-10-15T00:15:29.427-07:00Bali Break - 4<span style="font-size: large;">Bali Palms at Candidasa</span><br />
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We had our little man (the driver), Yogi, pick us up from Ubud and drive us to Candidasa - he is always glad of the work (and the money), and he is a safe, reliable driver.<br />
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On the way he suggested we stop and visit a palace / museum. Well, why not?<br />
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"N<i>ever Boring</i>" was the claim on the guide's T-Shirt - I was having trouble understanding his speech, so I was a little bored!<br />
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This area is very different from the Ubud area. There are much less tourists, and less sales pressure. The resorts, however, are very western. <br />
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<u>Bali Palms Resort</u> is very nice - nice villas mostly clustered around a beautiful pool, right by the beach.<br />
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We have a lovely room on the second floor ...</div>
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And from the balcony we have a view of the pool and the sea ...<br />
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I have enjoyed waking up at night to the sound of crashing waves when the tide is in.<br />
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There is a lovely restaurant.<br />
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We were amused to discover via the menu that (as I have always suspected) fish are in fact vegetables.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Peter's Little Fishing Trip</span></div>
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We were told that the good people at the front desk could arrange a fishing trip for guests. Not having caught any good-sized fish since about 1990 (Murray Island), Peter thought he might give it a go. The chap said they would spend some time trawling for the big local Mahi-Mahi, and then do some fishing for bottom-feeding fish. It was sounding good.</div>
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Peter got up early and went to meet the chap at 6.00am. His first warning should have been when he climbed on the back of a motorbike with the 'ship's captain' to go and board the boat.</div>
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When I got up a little later, I looked out and I could see a boat on the horizon, and I wondered if that was his boat.</div>
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But then I noticed something in the waves, a much smaller boat ...<br />
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and I wondered .... yeahhhh!<br />
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Here is Made (the man) taking his outrigger boat down to the water to go fishing.<br />
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It was a good chance to look back at the coast, and the nearby hills.<br />
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Peter was disappointed as he was provided with a little rod and reel and rusty little hooks. At first he hoped that was just for catching bait, but soon it was obvious that this was not the trip he was hoping for.<br />
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He did catch some (little) fish - in fact embarrassingly he had pulled in 7 before Made managed to snag even one - and then Made managed to catch a 'Nemo', which gives an idea of the types of fish they were catching. </div>
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Made complained that business was poor, no one seemed to want to go on his fishing trips (funny that!) and his children were hungry. Well, he got his money out of Peter, plus a bucket of fish for his hungry children. (We do wonder why he doesn't just go out and catch more fish for those hungry kids.)</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Shangrilai Buffet</span><br />
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On our first day here we heard that there was a buffet meal (including a roast suckling pig) at a 'sister' resort (belonging to the same company as Bali Palms) just down the road - a free shuttle would be provided, and there would be live entertainment. It sounded like a cheap and filling meal, so we joined.<br />
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We had to wear the silly hat and a flower in our hair, and the food was ok (not really that 'flash'!) There was an Indonesian group doing the percussion thing and a lady dancing too. It was nice enough music, except too loud.<br />
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They tried to get everyone to join in and dance a bit too.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Lots of Aussies</span><br />
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The nice thing about it was meeting a bunch of other Aussies - you don't realise at first how much you have missed chatting about Aus-related stuff, and how nice it is to be able to refer to things and people know what you mean without explaining.<br />
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So the next night there was a band and buffet at our resort. This time the band was a group of three fellows with guitars, and one with a voice like Rod Stuart, and they provided very nice background music - familiar songs with an odd Indonesian twist here and there!</div>
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A lovely meal by the pool.</div>
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We don't feel like going on any more tours right now ...</div>
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Just sitting around the pool talking to our new Aussie friends.</div>
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And relaxing on our balcony. </div>
Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-6353496537092354732013-10-11T20:23:00.000-07:002013-10-12T01:29:42.947-07:00Bali Break - 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Monkey Forest Road, Ubud</span><br />
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We moved up into central Ubud, to the "<u><i><b>Jati 3 Bungalows</b></i></u>". <br />
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The view from our front door:<br />
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The last place (Kamandhani Cottage) was hard to find down an inconspicuous dirt track, this one much more so. You can't actually bring 4-wheeled vehicles in here. There is a sign on Monkey Forest Road:<br />
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So then you turn into that little cement alley-way ...<br />
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... and you walk and walk ...<br />
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... about 100 m, and here is this amazing little place!<br />
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We're actually staying in a family room, meant for four, because it's
even bigger and airier than the other rooms. and has lovely big windows on two
sides looking out over the jungle/someone's banana plantation.<br />
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Our lovely big room, with two big double beds ...<br />
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<span id="goog_116909252"></span><span id="goog_116909253"></span>And a lovely big balcony.<br />
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<span id="goog_116909252">It doesn't have a restaurant - but then there is a street-ful of restaurants down the way.</span><br />
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There is a pleasant breakfast room/area ... but the breakfasts are very limited (a little man brings a tray with plates of rice and egg and a cup of tea/coffee from somewhere ) and rather regrettable.<br />
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As with the last place, the people are very religious, and the various deities are well looked after.<br />
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This Ganesh-creature (who Blogger has for some reason turned on his side) gets a full serving of everything, including a little banana-leaf plate of rice and a little drink.<br />
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Others just have fresh flowers poked here and there every day, and of course they ll have the modesty drape. (Yeah, thanks Mr Google for lying my pic on its side ...)<br />
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There is even a shrine of some sort that gets attended to every day right outside our door.<br />
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And EVERYWHERE there are these little palm-leaf trays with a joss-stick and little offerings for ... whoever. We are constantly having to step over and around them.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Art Musem</span><br />
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We wandered through town to have a look at the Art Museum (one of several, I think).<br />
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There was a nice garden, of course ...<br />
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... and a pretty pond.<br />
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We looked at painting s and carvings from by-gone eras, and more recent ones.<br />
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There was a certain similarity about them, regardless of when they were created.<br />
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Demons, death, pain ... not sure if they were meant to depict life, or death ... but none of it was happy or good.<br />
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They were all artistically clever, many of them incredibly complex.<br />
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Then there were some carvings too.<br />
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This lady has obviously done way too much yoga ...<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Eating and Shopping</span></div>
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The main street here - Monkey Forest Road - is one-way, narrow, and crowded. The side-walks almost have enough room for two people.</div>
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With the breakfasts here being not worth staying for, and a couple of other meals a day to find, we have tried a few different restaurants. Mostly they are very pleasant places - cool, open, nice seating - eager staff - and the food is all fairly cheap, and beautifully presented on the plates. But ... not all of it has been nice to eat.</div>
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But we have found ourselves returning to this one several times. Like many of the restaurants, it seems to have accommodation attached as well - "<i>Cinta: Grill. Inn</i>" as it says. And most of them seem to have swimming pools as well.</div>
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There is also a market area, of course. I decided to try and buy one or two batik handbags ...<br />
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Of course there was all the usual cute but useless stuff.<br />
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There was the usual 'hard sell' everywhere we went. "How much do you want to pay for it?"- I find that annoying, and rarely feel like giving a genuine answer - why can't they just put a price on things?<br />
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And then after all the haggling is over and they have come as low as they seem willing, when I walk away because I have just decided I don't want it after all they get really upset because they say they will have 'bad luck' and they would rather practically give it to me rather than have me walk away.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Moving On ...</span><br />
Tomorrow we are moving on to Candidasa BeachRuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-77914949387244813502013-10-10T00:47:00.002-07:002013-10-10T00:55:04.844-07:00Bali Break - 2<span style="font-size: large;">Bottom End of Ubud </span><br />
So after Kuta we moved on to Ubud, away from the coast. We hired a taxi-van to take us up to Ubud and show us around a bit on the way.<br />
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The driver chappie was a bit short of ideas of what to show us on the way. He stopped and picked up a lady-friend who was really nice and friendly but couldn't speak enough English to have a worthwhile conversation.<br />
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He did stop at a (free entry) temple on the way. We clambered out and had a little look (but we are pretty much templed-out!)<br />
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All of the statues and shrines have this little modesty (?) skirt - I wasn't really trying to peek underneath, I was trying to read the sign.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Ubud</span><br />
Ubud is still very touristy, but much more Arty-Farty ... well, quite pleasant anyway compared to Kuta. The streets are small and windy, and there are lots of foreigners, but the sellers are not quite so aggressive. The shops are full of beautiful wood carvings and other artworks, and there are lots of lovely restaurants.<br />
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We stayed in a small hotel called Kamandhani Cottage - also very new, and only 12 rooms. Our driver was really shocked when he finally found the 'road' to the hotel, just a very bumpy dirt track - he was a bit scared to take his nice car down there.<br />
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Our second floor room looks out over a pleasant little pool, and the rice paddy next door.<br />
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And, of course we have a nice little balcony. <br />
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Kamandhani is sort of at the bottom-end of Ubud, and we walked up through the town to find food as the cottage only has a breakfast bar and no restaurant - although they will order in a pizza from a nearby shop.<br />
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There is a complicated one-way street system, and to further complicate matters the local people are building up to an important Hindu ceremony. There are decorations everywhere, and the occasional procession like this one. The chaps in back lava-lavas seem to be some sort of special ceremonial traffic cops - they have a big word (in Indonesian) on the back of their T-Shirts.<br />
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It's all very colourful and very <strike>noisy</strike> musical!<br />
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We found a restaurant called Arma for lunch.<br />
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Very airy, open and cool. I always have trouble finding something that I can eat without it being too spicy (chili). I thought 'grilled chicken sandwich' sounded plain enough, but in the end was delighted with this interesting (but non-spicy) sandwich.<br />
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At the Arma resort they also have a kind of art museum and they put on cultural dances most evenings. So we went to see one.<br />
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The musicians were amazing, using a range of percussion instruments and whistles/flutes that are unfamiliar to us.<br />
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The lovely ladies danced gracefully ...<br />
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... but really it was all about the faces and the eyes.<br />
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The stories behind the dances were fairly obvious even without words and explanations.<br />
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So ... what's up with him??<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Tours</span><br />
We had thought about hiring a car and driving ourselves around ... before we had a really good look at the roads and the traffic! They do drive on the left, when there is a left to drive on. There is also an endless variety of non-traffic items to skirt around and avoid.<br />
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So we asked for a driver to take us on some tours, and after our first "1/2-day tour" we felt like we had seen all of Bali.<br />
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Our driver, Yogi, took us to the '<u>Luwak Coffee and Spices Plantation</u>'. It was very interesting.<br />
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This sleepy critter, a "luwak" - a bit like a civet - likes to eat the coffee fruit, beans and all, and then the beans can be retrieved whole from their droppings. The coffee made from these (washed) beans has a changed, apparently very special taste.<br />
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There were lots of other spicy plants to see as well, like this vanilla plant.<br />
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And then we got to taste a whole range of their delightful products. It was cool and pleasant in the plantation area, very relaxing.<br />
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Then we went to see the <u>Botanical Gardens</u>.<br />
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A pleasant outing.<br />
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We had been talking with Yogi along the way about various fruits, and especially how we like durian. Suddenly we saw some at a road-side stall, and Yogi said he would try to bargain for us.<br />
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We bought one, but despite our careful choosing it was a bit dry and not very sweet - picked from the tree and not allowed to ripen and fall.<br />
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This little chap was all chained up to his perch, and very glad of some companionship and a bit of fruit.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Rice Paddy Fields</span><br />
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Peter was keen to see some real rice paddies, so Yogi took us to a favourite spot at the top of the hill where we could feast our eyes and even wander through.<br />
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Like everywhere else we have been, this village was making money by charging tourists to enter and take photos of their fields.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Watching the Sunset</span><br />
There is a favourite spot where everyone goes to watch the sun set behind a temple. So ... why not?<br />
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There were masses of people there - all having paid their money to enter here, and all walking around with their digital devices ...<br />
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It was quite picturesque of course. And the local people had set up their stalls to catch some profit from the tourists that flock here every evening.<br />
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We were tired and happy after our half-day tour, and flopped around in the pool and wandered up to the shops and cafes for the next day.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Volcano </span><br />
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Then we thought we should see the volcano, because that is what everyone does. So we called on Yogi again and he took us out to the volcano.<br />
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Yeah - nice, ay?<br />
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So then Yogi suggested he could take us to see a waterfall. So he took us along even smaller, narrower roads through tiny villages. As he weaved his way between children, animals, people pushing various carts, motorbikes ... he started getting really chatty with the people he passed. Suddenly he said, "This is my village. Do you want to see my house?" Wow. We felt so honoured.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yogi's House</span><br />
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It's hard to imagine how people live in a place like this. Yogi turned down a narrow lane.<br />
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Here is the front gate, with his nephew playing on a bike. The schools have two separate sessions (early morning till lunch, and afternoon) and the children attend one or the other - it's like two separate schools in one building. They don't learn English at school - Yogi learnt it 'from the tourists' in his years as a driver.<br />
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Yogi and his brother both live in this compound.<br />
He introduced us to his lovely wife. <br />
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He has some pigs in a pen.<br />
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And there were various birds and poultry in various cages and the like.<br />
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And that is Yogi's actual living quarters in the back left there.<br />
It all had a nice open, airy, friendly, relaxed feel about it. Ideal for the general Bali lifestyle.<br />
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Then we went on to see the waterfall.<br />
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Lovely, ay?<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Working Rice Paddies</span><br />
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Out near Yogi's village we went past some rice paddies that we didn't have to pay to look at. <br />
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Here we saw real people up to their shins in the muddy water, planting their rice seedlings.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Monkey Forest</span><br />
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I gather there are quite a few of these places around Bali. (One chap was bemoaning the loss of his prescription glasses, snatched by monkeys.<br />
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There is a monkey forest right in the middle of Ubud, and we decided to go in there for a quick look. We paid for our ticket, and then bought a couple of bunches of bananas (at a rather exorbitant rate for this place) from the lady at the gate. She said 'if you see a monkey, give him a banana'. Well, okay.<br />
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As we wandered in a few little monkeys started trotting towards us.<br />
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This little one seemed grateful enough for my banana.<br />
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But when I gave a banana to this little one, the big one behind raced in and beat him up.<br />
Naturally I gave the big mean monkey his own banana. <br />
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But as soon as I walked by, he dropped the banana I gave him and came tugging on my trousers.<br />
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Now there's a nice, polite monkey.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Time to Move</span><br />
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We have had our few days at the lower end of Ubud, now we're moving up past the monkey forest to the top end of Ubud for a few days. Moving on ...Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-73356337810543862662013-10-08T01:24:00.000-07:002013-10-08T01:24:01.505-07:00Bali Break - 1<span style="font-size: large;">Kidnapped in Kuta</span><br />
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Kuta is the busy touristy part of Bali where all the tourists (especially Aussies) go, where there were the 'Bali bombings' a while back.<br />
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On our first morning there we decided to go for a bit of a wander from our hotel towards Kuta beach. As we wandered past 'Kuta Square', a favourite shopping area, a little chappie came up to us saying that he wasn't selling anything ... his name was Ingatius, and he was really polite. He gave us each a little ticket to open and reveal a prize. Peter had won 2 t-shirts and I had won (gasp!) a star prize which could be $1000, a 7-day holiday, or an iPad - which one would be revealed when the gold sticker was removed later. Well ... we had nothing special to do, Peter had come out to buy a few T-shirts anyway, and it looked like this whole thing might help us work out what to do for the last 12 as-yet-unplanned days of our stay in Bali. So we let Ignatius kidnap us in a taxi to his office to retrieve Peter's T-shirts and listen to a presentation that would produce my prize ... <br />
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Did you say SCAM?? Well all we lost was some time in the end. They wanted to sell us time-share holidays. But whichever way you look at it, the customer comes out the loser and this company is making money. After listening to everything, we could see that it doesn't fit our lifestyle one bit.<br />
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Peter got his two 'I love Bali' T-shirts, but they only stock one size and they don't fit him.<br />
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As for my "star prize": it turned out, of course, to be the holiday (the other two things might have been useful!) and if I want to make use of it I have to choose 3 possible times when no one else is likely to be interested, and book weeks in advance, and pay $70 to book! And it doesn't include breakfasts in the hotel or anything else like that. Some free holiday!<br />
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When we got back to Kuta Square we were set upon by several other young men forcing the same tickets into our hands, and then ripping them open to reveal <i>every</i> time that Peter had won 2 T-shirts and I had won the star prize! (We realised they were actually looking for couples, of course.) They seemed quite unperturbed by the fact that we had already been to the presentation. Apparently they get a point every time they do that ... however Ignatius had earned himself $50 (500,000 rp in local currency) by getting us to go to the presentation and was justifiably pleased and proud.<br />
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Back at the hotel we mentioned what had happened and were told it is all part of the 'Kuta Experience' ...<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Buying T-Shirts in Kuta</span><br />
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Well, we still wanted some T-shirts for Peter because he had accidentally left all of his in Kuala Terengganu.<br />
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In Kuta Square, having finally escaped all the little men, Peter was approached by another chappie who said "wanna buy a T-shirt?" - irresistible, eh? So we followed him to his shop. In the far reaches at the back of his shop he said that he had some 'Black Market' Billabong T-shirts. Peter tried one on, and it was just what he wanted. Now the chappie wanted to start haggling. He wouldn't say what the price was, he wanted to know what Peter thought it might be worth ... and did he want 5, 6, 7, more? He pulled out a number of different coloured Billabong and Quicksilver shirts, and Peter managed to get it down to six shirts (more than he wanted, really), and agreed on a price.<br />
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As we handed over the money, he handed the bag of shirts to his friend who was quietly standing nearby, and who promptly ran away with it. Puzzled, we followed him into another shop. Still holding our bag, he told us conspiratorially that he could give us a much better price on the same shirts - so how many did we want?! Peter pointed out that he was <u>not</u> planning to sell the shirts on E-Bay, and he already had more than he needed, carefully taking the bag from the man.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Kuta Beach</span><br />
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We had been walking to Kuta Beach before we were waylaid, so we continued on down there.<br />
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Yeah, it's a beach. Been there seen that. (It was hot.)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Our own Pool</span><br />
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So we headed back to the Park Regis hotel to our own private pool where no one was trying to scam us or sell us anything!<br />
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The Park Regis Hotel is very new - only opened 4 months ago - and we really enjoyed our three nights there. The staff were attentive to a fault - several times during a meal they stop by the table to ask if everything is okay.<br />
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But Kuta - not a place I would choose to spend more time. The streets are noisy and crowded, and the vendors are always in your face.Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-37226818392621667562013-09-30T18:46:00.001-07:002013-09-30T18:47:56.879-07:00Not Fellows, Just Folks - for nowSo our 2yrs 9mths project has come to an end. We are no longer fellows, just regular folks.<br />
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Time to pack! <br />
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Yeah ... we've done this once or twice before!<br />
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We have been feted and fare-welled, gifted, fed and hugged ...<br />
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This one was from my phonology class - they even put '<i>thank you</i>' in phonetic script!<br />
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And we still DON'T KNOW what happens next. We have received word-of-mouth confirmation that the project will start again in January.<br />
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Time for a holiday. Bali ... Sydney ... Perth ... and then hopefully back here to our apartment, and then stay or move to a new location.<br />
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Let the adventures roll on.Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-6084734269351494292013-09-22T21:33:00.004-07:002013-09-22T21:33:52.774-07:00Saying our goodbyesIt has gradually been dawning on us and our colleagues that we are (probably) leaving Terengganu. This particular Fellows' project is finishing, and although there will (most probably) be another project starting in the new year, we have no idea where we might be within Malaysia.<br />
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<i> This amazing group of people have become our Malaysian family, and our very good friends.</i></div>
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Malaysian hospitality is legendary, and there is nothing like a good gathering with lots of ceremony to say goodbye to colleagues and friends. It was decided that a Forum would be a good way to close off our time here, make us feel really appreciated, and give people a chance to ask questions.<br />
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So, after all the times I have sat in the audience in this hall and stared at those big, soft thrones on the stage ... finally it was our turn to sit on the thrones!<br />
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And then there were lots of gifts from the various groups of students and lecturers - all given with the usual decorum and ceremony.<br />
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Everyone stood respectfully as we exited the main hall and went to the holding room. Here there was food - of course - and a chance to chat and give the newspaper-man some quotes. <br />
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Back in our office, we had streams of students coming in to say good-bye, and expressing their regrets that we didn't have more time with them.<br />
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Then there was another assembly in the English Department hall. This was the monthly assembly, this time run by the English Department. We don't always attend these sessions, but it was obviously a bit special with at least some of it being in English.<br />
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Linda and I sat on the women's side, behind all the colourful headscarves!<br />
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We stood with them as they recited a pledge, which they then all signed to on paper.<br />
Some of the presentations then were in English, and some in BM, but that's OK because I had my iPad with me! <br />
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One last photo opportunity with our department, and the director and deputy director as well.<br />
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So many happy memories!<br />
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Memories of Work: What a great job this is where I get to do fun stuff like this!<br />
This was my last workshop - a Phonology workshop, believe it or not.<br />
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And yet everyone is laughing, students and lecturers alike.<br />
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Memories of lots of talking and laughing.<br />
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And, of course, lots of eating events.<br />
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This project has been so much fun. Looking forward to starting the new project in 2014!Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-14143475966247053982013-09-22T20:01:00.000-07:002013-09-22T20:04:48.969-07:00You can take the kid out of the jungle ...The Orang Asli (original people) in Malaysia commonly live deep in the jungle, and providing traditional education for them is tricky at best. About an hour away from here in the jungle area around the huge lake - Tasik Kenyir - there is an Orang Asli school. A little village has been built by the school, uniforms are provided, and every arrangement has been made to make it possible for these little tikes to come in and have some education.<br />
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Our Teacher Mentor colleagues (working in the the schools where we work in the Teacher Training Institute) have been running <i>"English is Fun Fairs"</i> in various local schools, employing some of our trainee teachers as helpers - and giving the trainees some extra school experience. An <i>"English is Fun Fair"</i> was arranged for the Orang Asli children, and we were invited to be a part of it.<br />
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So first of all there was a bit of a ceremony - a little assembly. <br />
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We had to sit up the front - which was quite pleasant because there was a ceiling fan above us, and it was such a hot day!<br />
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There were more adults and foreigners than there were kids - only 25 of them.<br />
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They behaved quite well, considering how little they understood of what was going on. The speeches were mostly in Bahasa Malaysia, sometimes in English - but they have their own language. So at this age they are struggling to learn two new languages, as well as learning to read and write ...<br />
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The little boy in the front row soon lost interest and turned around where there was much more to see. Soon he and the boy behind him started to tussle, and the chairs were nearly upturned ...<br />
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Suddenly the guy up front spoke a few words in the local dialect, and they turned around in surprise. <br />
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Now they were mostly little angels again.<br />
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Then it was time for the "Fun Fair" part. This was also very new to these kids!<br />
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The idea was to get them to read English words or phonemes. In this game, for example, there was a little ball under one of the three cups, so of course they had to guess where it was ... and say the word.<br />
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The Teacher Mentors had designed and created (and laminated!) the games. The trainee teachers we brought along very gently explained everything to them.</div>
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These young trainees are still in the 'Foundation' phase of their training, so it was great fun for them to actually experience getting among the little kids for the first time.<br />
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In this game they had to throw little rings over those sticks - and then say the word - harder than it looks!</div>
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And, of course, there was a fishing game which the little boys were right into.<br />
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They loved the face painting, too, and soon got over their shyness.</div>
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This little kid does not know what to make of this new experience with a foreigner!<br />
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And THEN they finally realised that if they made the right sounds when they played the games they were given little tokens.<br />
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And with these tokens, they could buy all these amazing prizes! Pretty soon they were walking away with armloads of ... stuff! </div>
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With that sort of incentive, who doesn't want to learn phonics!</div>
<br />Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-58551728255630382462013-09-14T22:17:00.002-07:002013-09-14T22:24:30.529-07:00A leechy jungle trek<span style="font-size: large;">To discover where baby Durian fruit come from</span><br />
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Knowing that we are from that rare breed of foreigner that enjoys durian fruit, our good friend and colleague had been suggesting for some time that maybe we would like to join him going up the hills into the jungle to pick up durian from his own trees. It seemed like a good idea at the time.<br />
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So on Friday afternoon (on the Friday-Saturday weekend that we have here) when he rang to say he would be going up into the hills at 5pm and would be glad for us to join him, we eagerly accepted. We weren't sure if any special preparations would be needed ... so we just went as we were. We noticed that there were storms in the distance pouring heavy rain onto the hills in question, but it would have passed by the time we got there.<br />
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We arrived at our friend's house, and met the folks, and enjoyed a delightful afternoon tea with them. Our friend put his shoes on - our first hint of foreboding! - and we set off with him in his Merc. The road off the main road into the hills was winding and very narrow, with vegetation rubbing against both sides of the car, and we were glad not to have met any other vehicles.<br />
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At the foot of the mountain we climbed out and, together with two of his boys, headed off up the muddy path at a brisk pace. Our friend made some brief mention of 'be careful of the leeches', so when we came to a puddle I tried hard to avoid it.<br />
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<i> Clearly not what all the best-dressed jungle-trekkers are wearing ... but the two boys were also wearing thongs/slippers.</i><br />
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It wasn't long before I felt thoroughly defeated by the humidity and the wetness. The slippers/thongs I was wearing not only slid on the muddy path, but I found it hard to stop my feet from sliding out, and walking barefoot did not look like a good option! After a steepish section we came to a flattish section with a big rock. I announced that I would wait there for the others to return - I was fairly certain there would not be any tigers jumping out at me. I plonked down on the rock, and in a few moments was completely engulfed by the stillness of the jungle. The only creatures we had seen so far had been a couple of squirrels running up and down tree-trunks. Suddenly there were dozens of squirrels, large and small, on every tree and branch doing that squirrelly thing that they do! I watched in fascination.<br />
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Suddenly I heard a voice calling my name. Our friend was just a little further up the track calling me. He told me I shouldn't have stopped as we were almost there, and that where he was now standing was almost where the trees were. So I got up off my rock and slithered and slid my way to where he was. As I was almost there he set off again, and called to me a little further along saying it was just near there. I was amazed that he kept doing this to me until we finally <i>were</i> at the spot!<br />
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By now I realised that the leeches had found me. I pulled one off my foot, and it attached to my finger ... and I tried not to feel panicky! I wondered whether if I had been wearing shoes they would have been getting down inside my shoes where I couldn't reach them - at least this way I could see them.<br />
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Finally we reached the appointed spot in the forest where our friend's family owned several trees. They had visited several times recently, were very familiar with their own trees and were aware which of the durian on the ground had recently fallen from their trees.<br />
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We all stopped and feasted on some of the freshly-fallen fruit - discovering how fresh fruit is so much more delicious (and not nearly as smelly!) than what you can buy in the market.<br />
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So then they gave each fruit a good whack with the side of the bush knife to flatten the sharp bits just a little, and tied them together with string for easier carrying.<br />
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So ... what am <i>I</i> up to? (<u>Not</u> picking up durian, you might notice!) Well, when I arrived at the assigned area, I chose a spot where no plants were actually touching me, and then I stood there watching these thin twig-like creatures wiggling along the ground making a bee-line (or a leech-line!) for my feet! I couldn't think of any way to stop them, stomping wouldn't make any difference! So I sprayed my feet with insect repellent (which they paid no attention to, but it kept most of the massive biting mosquitoes at bay) and then stood there with a tissue trying to grab each leech as it climbed up onto my foot ... Then I felt something tickling up my sleeve on the inside of my elbow - how did it get up there! I opened my hand, and there was one in the palm of my hand!<br />
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Heading back down the track I was more concerned about the large holes next to the track that I could fall into, and the slippery mud, trying to keep my slippers on. I only fell (very slowly and with remarkable dignity, <i>I</i> thought!) twice.<br />
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Back at the car, we all helped each other remove leeches from our feet and ankles. But back at home, sluicing off the mud and blood, we both found several more had made their way further up our legs. I found one near my armpit, and several on my shin that just would not stop bleeding - I had to bandage my leg to go to bed.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Was it all worth it?</span><br />
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When I was standing in the jungle staring at the leeches heading for my feet ... I did comment that maybe I shouldn't have got out of bed that morning. But ... by the time I had finished my shower at the end of the day, it was a good memory.<br />
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And the durian? Yes, they really are more delicious when they are fresh from the tree!Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-62192144549724427422013-08-25T21:14:00.000-07:002013-08-25T21:14:11.028-07:00Hari Raya and MerdekaHari Raya (literally 'big/great day') is the feasting time at the end of the fasting month of Ramadhan. So even after the holiday part (when we went to Sabah) is over, there is still a lot of serious feasting and celebrating to be done at work! And then there is also Merdeka (Independance) Day which happens about now.<br />
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Everyone gathered in the large meeting hall.<br />
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A couple of young students had been selected to act as MCs. (This girl looked more nervous and less confident than they usually are!)<br />
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The director took his place on the stage to say some words. Of course he is wearing his special Malaysian gear (and not pyjamas, as it appears to some of us).<br />
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A musical group of students presented some very pleasant musical items.<br />
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And then it was time for the feasting to begin.</div>
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Unfortunately (and rather oddly) it was raining, so everyone had to huddle under the canopies which are usually provided to shelter from the sun.<br />
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After that each individual department made their own offering of food - but we headed back to our office.<br />
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During the week before when very few students were actually in the IPG, the young Foundation class students decided to hold an 'Open House' in their classroom - bringing along food and inviting everyone who was around.<br />
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Lots of nibbly little cakes and things.<br />
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And, of course, good company.Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-855411168564648172013-08-25T18:11:00.001-07:002013-08-25T18:15:10.590-07:00So that was Sabah!This was our last holiday period before the end of our (first) Fellows Project, and we had travelled over most of Malaysia - but not Sabah. At exactly the same time as we were booking fares and accommodation in Kota Kinabalu, we heard from an Australian friend of more than 20 years that she could be there during that time. So it was going to be a good time.<br />
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Our hotel - the Klagan (not a <i>pretty</i> name!) - is beyond those trees - nice and central, so we could walk to the shops, markets, seashore etc.<br />
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The city of Kota Kinabalu is way more upmarket than Kuala Terengganu - they have pavements, and the drains are mostly covered, and there are even several huge shopping centres.<br />
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From our hotel window we had a lovely view of the sea, and the islands, fishing boats and island taxi-boats zipping back and forth, and the foreshore where the markets were held.<br />
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And if we twisted a little further to the right we could see (through the very dirty glass) the distant Mount Kinabalu - on the days when the weather was fine. Unfortunately our planned trip to the National Park at the foot of the mountain fell through - it turned out to be awful weather that day, so maybe it was just as well.<br />
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It was the Hari Raya (end of Ramadhan) holiday period and school holidays, so things were fairly jumping with markets and celebrations of all kinds. Our taxi driver told us that on the previous day he'd had a day off and returned to his home village where he had attended ten (10) 'Open House' celebrations (eating events).<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Monkeys and Fireflies </span><br />
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Borneo is famous for its wildlife, and so we booked a bus-trip out to the 'wilds' to see the Proboscis monkeys, as well as the fireflies putting on a display.<br />
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First there was rather a lo-o-ong bus trip. <br />
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Except of course we had to stop at a chocolate factory for everyone to get out and buy lots of chocolates. Here is a cocoa tree that was growing outside the factory. Actually I'm not at all sure that it was a factory, really just a sales room - but our Chinese fellow-travellers sure bought up big.</div>
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So eventually we got to a river village with a jetty.<br />
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We were all loaded into boats and went a few minutes down the river. (I think this is the first time I saw the kid in the green shirt sit still since we left KK!)</div>
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They took us to this restaurant and gave us a snack - it had been a long time since the chocolate shop (and some of us hadn't eaten anything there!), and much longer since breakfast.<br />
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Then we were loaded into boats to go and look for the proboscis monkeys who would hopefully be out in the trees feeding now that the sun was getting low.<br />
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Everyone was very excited as we headed off up the river. Our guide had told us to keep our eyes peeled as these are wild monkeys and you just have to find them in their natural habitat.</div>
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We hadn't gone long before we noticed these little chaps peeking out from among the palm trees.</div>
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Of course, these are not the proboscis monkeys we had come to see, just regular monkeys - but kinda cute all the same.</div>
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And then, up in the big trees further away we saw these amazing monkeys. The very large male with his enormous snoz ... </div>
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...what a profile! And he's very much the man in charge of his troop.<br />
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And the smaller female with her cute turned-up nose!<br />
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The weather was starting to look unfriendly, and the boat drivers hurried us back to the restaurant. We had barely clambered out of the boats before it bucketed down!<br />
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We all donned cheap plastic ponchos, and headed out again right after dark. At first there was not much to see as we puttered along the dark river, but the boat drivers had torches with a green-coloured cover over the light. They waved their torches about at the same time as running their hand back and forth across the light, thus creating a green flickering display, very similar to that of the fireflies. Very soon the trees along the river-banks lit up like Christmas trees, and some of the little flickering lights even came out into the boat to investigate.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Eating Out</span></div>
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In Kuala Terengganu there really is only one western restaurant, but of course Kota Kinabalu has restaurants of all kinds.</div>
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So one evening we went down to the boardwalk, and indulged in an Australian restaurant meal at the Aussie Barbecue place.</div>
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It is run by a friend of a friend of our friend from Australia, so we were really there to meet the folks. It was a nice enough meal ... but it was definitely Australian prices! (There are about 3 ringgit to each Aussie dollar.)</div>
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And then of course it was time to fly back to KT.<br />
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<br />Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-26304664147303585222013-07-27T23:14:00.000-07:002013-07-27T23:14:04.707-07:00Language Arts and Play DoughLanguage Arts, apparently, are a fairly new thing around here, and due to my experience in 'the Arts' (as a 'music specialist') I am more comfortable with it than most. So I find myself teaching classes and workshops about Language Arts for young learners - songs and poetry, stories, and plays and drama are all part of the deal.<br />
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So, once again, I found myself teaching a "Stories" workshop to some 80 students, and interested lecturers.<br />
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Naturally, a certain amount of silliness was required <br />
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in the interest of keeping everyone engaged and involved, even during Ramadan.<br />
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Well, they did find it amusing. The lecturers too.<br />
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Then I discovered that these poor deprived darlings had never played with play dough! How will they ever become real teachers?<br />
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We are all just 'big kids', really, aren't we? Who doesn't like playing with dough?<br />
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And then it was time to get up and tell a story with their creations.<br />
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Yeah, this is easier than teaching primary school.Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-72845448986578442312013-06-13T22:00:00.000-07:002013-06-13T22:16:19.053-07:00Spending time in 'NamOur friend from '<a href="http://howdisaudi.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Howdi Saudi</a>' days, Sally, is now working in China, and we were keen to spend time with her again, so we all agreed to meet up in Hanoi, Vietnam.<br />
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Coming down through the clouds over Hanoi, my impression was of lots of water - lakes, rivers, paddy fields.<br />
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The plane was only half full, and the airport was smaller and quieter than we expected. Only a handful of people stood around waiting for a 'visa on arrival' and the staff seemed vary laid back - everyone else on the plane was apparently local and vanished within minutes of landing.<br />
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We wandered out of the terminal, and found a young taxi driver willing to transport us to the Hanoi Club Hotel. He had apparently never heard of our hotel, had to ask around to find out where to go.<br />
We drove for about half an hour - the landscape was smoggy and flat, and there were rivers, lakes and paddy fields (with little people wearing those traditional conical hats!) We got into some very narrow streets with tiny shops, no pavement, and throngs of motorbikes, and our driver told us we had arrived and seemed to want us to get out. We couldn't see anything that looked like a hotel - especially not the one where we thought we were going. We handed him a phone number and asked him to ring the hotel. So he drove on further, but we soon realised that we had gone in a complete circle and had returned to the same spot - but this time, at the spot where he had originally tried to drop us off, he turned down a steep, narrow street - and there was the hotel!<br />
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<i> The tiny streets and houses at the front of the hotel.</i></div>
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<i> The front of the Hanoi Club Hotel.</i></div>
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<i> Sally also arrived safely at the hotel.</i></div>
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Our First Meal in Vietnam</h4>
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It's no secret that I don't cope well with Malaysian food (allergic to chili, and don't eat rice). There had been no food since our 4am rising, so we were keen to try out the hotel restaurant.</div>
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Pumpkin soup with 'tossed' salmon ... yeah, that'll do.</div>
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Nice desserts too, at the right time.</div>
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Vietnamese style iced coffee</h4>
I've always been a fan of iced coffee, so when I saw this on the menu I had to try it.<br />
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There is condensed milk in the bottom of the glass, and the (rich) coffee drips from the little metal jug thingy. Then you mix it up and pour it into the glass with the ice. Yum - we all became very fond of it, especially as a pool-side treat!<br />
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Tours of Hanoi</h4>
The next morning we were all three talking in our room when the hotel phone rang. I answered, and the lady at the front desk asked me if "Missarry" was there. I could not understand her, but no matter what I said, she just kept repeating it - very patiently - like a recording. After about 4 attempts I suddenly realised "Miss Sally"! We had booked a tour, and somehow they had got the idea that Sally was our group 'leader'.<br />
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So we went to the foyer to meet Mr Fou, our guide.<br />
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Sally, our esteemed 'leader', obviously had a lot of trouble dealing with the seriousness of the matter!<br />
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Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum</h4>
This is the first place you have to go, because this is Vietnam.<br />
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We were amazed at how regimented everything was. Sally was told to wear a wrap and cover her shoulders, and phones and cameras were not allowed. They marched us along endless walkways in double file, pausing periodically (at a sign that said "Pause") to listen to patriotic songs played on a large screen nearby.<br />
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Understandably, this was all very important to dear old Fou, already in his 60s, as we gradually got to know him and learn only a little of his past life.<br />
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When we finally got to see the mummy - Ho Chin Minh himself in all his preserved plasticky-looking sleepiness - we were quickly marched past with serious-faced young soldiers daring us to smirk or giggle.<br />
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Then we had to pose for a pic by Fou.<br />
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Ethnic museum</h4>
We really wanted to see a real village - we have lived in real villages in the past and wanted to see what one was like here.<br />
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Anyway, we went to the very interesting ethnic museum where there were examples of various buildings and artifacts. <br />
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This magnificent canoe had us visualising warring tribesmen.<br />
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We were a little surprised when Fou suggested Peter climb in for a photo opportunity.<br />
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Then there was one of these traditional houses, with the incredible high roof as well as a floor built high off the ground.<br />
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Fou loved lining us up in front of things to take our photos all together.<br />
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Then there was the long house.<br />
He explained that this was built in a matriarchal society, and as each daughter married the house would be lengthened and she would move into the longhouse with her husband. The more daughters there were, the longer then longhouse.<br />
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Apparently there was a men's staircase and a women's one - we are standing by the men's one! <br />
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As fascinating as Fou's stories were, it was very hot, and quite exhausting traipsing around village exhibits and temples to Confuscious and the like.<br />
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<h4>
The Water Puppets</h4>
We took a trip into the city centre to see a Water Puppets show.<br />
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We also noticed this restaurant on the top of a building, and figured it would be a good place to end our day after the show.<br />
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While we were waiting for the puppet show to start, we had a look at some of the samples of eager puppets in the foyer - well, they look friendly enough!<br />
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Ans some of them had very shiny clothes.<br />
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In the theatre we were in the very front row. There was a live orchestra, with traditional instruments and lovely ladies singing.<br />
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The show begins ...<br />
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A dragon emerges, and then a snake ... All to do with the Chinese zodiac, of course.<br />
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There were a lot of cute little characters performing dances on the water's surface.<br />
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Finally the puppeteers themselves emerged for a bow.<br />
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And then we went to the restaurant on the roof of the city.<br />
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We booked another trip with Mr Fou - it was an all-day affair, including a lot of different activities.<br />
After a long - and interesting - drive, we came to Ha Long city, which was once the capital before Hanoi.<br />
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Again there were temples and pagodas to see.<br />
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We listened attentively, and enjoyed Mr Fou's stories.<br />
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But it was an exceptionally hot day, 40 degrees, and by the middle of the day we were really flagging.<br />
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Sally bought the compulsory Vietnamese hat - but even that didn't really solve the heat problem!<br />
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Mr Fou had planned a lovely 2-hour ride down the river, which he said would be really relaxing.<br />
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But when we stood in the 40 degree heat and looked at those open boats, none of us felt ready to spend two hours on the water. </div>
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So we drove back to the hotel past the lush green paddy fields - didn't see anyone out working in them today.</div>
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Everywhere the local farmers had laid out their rice grain to dry. On driveways,<br />
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and even on the road itself.<br />
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<h4>
The Pool</h4>
With such a hot day, we happily headed back to the hotel pool!<br />
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Those platforms next to the pool - ? That's the golf driving range! On both sides of the pool there are two levels of driving range, and people come to aim their golf balls at targets in the lake.<br />
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It's very popular. The balls float, and are collected later.<br />
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We didn't care about that. The pool was ju-u-u-ust the right temperature.<br />
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We had a few Vietnamese style iced coffees by the pool.<br />
And then we went to the pool kiosk for an ice cream. The chappie really didn't 'get' the idea of ice cream cone!<br />
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On Saturday, while we were lunching inside the restaurant, a Christian church group came and performed a baptism in the pool.<br />
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<h4>
Shopping Trip</h4>
Of course we had to go looking for souvenirs, that's what tourists do.<br />
We couldn't find any big shopping centres or department stores, but the tiny city streets are like one great big department store.<br />
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This is where you look for meat and veggies.<br />
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and fresh stuff like fruit.<br />
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What more could anyone want?<br />
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And if I want to do some sewing, here are the buttons!<br />
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and all my other sewing needs.<br />
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There is even a 'K-Mart'. (LOL)<br />
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And here is a little place for friends to sit and enjoy lunch together.<br />
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In a souvenir shop, I saw all these interesting-looking bottles.<br />
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Looking more closely, I could see that each one contained a snake, with a scorpion in its mouth.<br />
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What's it for? Well, it's snake wine, a specialty of Vietnam.</div>
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Apparently if you drink a small cupful twice a day before meals it will cure you of Lumbago, Rheumatism, and 'sweat of limbs'.</div>
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So ... 'Nam was fun. In many ways it reminded us of China.<br />
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Fou told us that under their Communist government they can do anything except protest.<br />
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Can't complain about that, ay?Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-84634484294211802772013-06-13T01:42:00.002-07:002013-06-13T04:46:48.799-07:00Road Trip and Conference and MelakaEvery year we have to present a research paper or a workshop session at a conference, along with one or more of our colleagues from the IPG (Teacher Training Institute). This year the conference was in Johor Bahru, so we decided it was a good opportunity for a little road-trip, time to explore the southern part of the country.<br />
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It was a 7-hour drive, and the traffic was not nearly as bad as we expected being school holidays.<br />
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There was one little surprise when a policeman with a red flag suddenly jumped out in front of us. (We have never seen the police in KT stop anyone!) Apparently we had crossed a double white line. Peter resisted the urge to laugh out loud - you mean those lines <i>mean</i> something? Is there anyone in Malaysia who <i>hasn't</i> crossed them? Anyway, they said there would be a summons issued for RM 100 (about $30). How annoying! It's not the cost - these things are always so hard to pay, finding the office, or sending a letter and all that stuff ... Peter asked if he couldn't pay right now. <i>Sure</i>, the officer smiled, and in that case it is only RM 50 ...<br />
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The traffic and one-way roads in Johor Bahru were a little confusing. We saw our hotel from a distance, and actually found our way to the back gate - only to be refused entry and it took us an hour to 'just go around' as instructed and find our way back again to the front. After that we left our car in the parking lot for the whole three days and walked or used taxis!<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: large;">MELTA</span></span><br />
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The conference was run by the "Malaysian English Language Teachers Association", and it went for a full 3 days.<br />
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<i>Here we are with are co-presenters - no one knows why we all decided to wear blue that day!</i><br />
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I was presenting, along with my two colleagues, about using rhythm for teaching language to little kids - so there were action songs and the like. It was a big room!<br />
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Peter's workshop was in the same massive room, and it was about teaching 'Listening and Speaking' without making students read and write at the same time.<br />
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Peter's workshop, with 'CK' as his co-presenter, was very interactive, with lollies as an added incentive for participants.<br />
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As well as our various workshops and talks, there was the Royal lecture
by her Royal Highness, and a very special dinner to attend. Yeah, there were balloons in the Malaysian colours (red, white, yellow and blue) and a sumptuous feast.<br />
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After the conference, we hung around for another night because we were planning some more driving. In the morning we could not face another woeful breakfast in our hotel, so we wandered around town looking for somewhere to eat. Everywhere was still closed - most places open for breakfast about 10am - even KFC: There were 3 colonels outside this KFC - trying to scare the kids?<br />
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Eventually Subway opened (there is no Subway in KT, much to our regret!), so we had our breakfast and headed off up the West coast.<br />
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<span style="color: #20124d;"><span style="font-size: large;">Melaka</span></span><br />
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We decided to spend a couple of days looking around Melaka (or Melacca) as it seems to be a little different from other parts of Malaysia.<br />
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Well, everywhere is different from KT.<br />
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From our room on the 21st floor we could see the hotel pool, and out over the sea - not clear and sparkling like on the east coast, but the swimming pool was refreshing.<br />
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There seems to be ship in the street ... bit of a theme in these parts.</div>
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We went up in the Taming Sari tower.</div>
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You get into that round thing and it rises and slowly turns.</div>
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Here we are waiting for our turn to get in.<br />
And then, some of the views from up there. That big white building is the hotel (Holiday Inn) where we were staying.<br />
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It's quite a touristy place - especially compared to Kuala Terengganu.</div>
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There is lots of water around, nice little winding river. So we took a little boat cruise.</div>
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It was beautiful, with delightful murals painted on almost every building that faced the river. </div>
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<span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: large;">Tune Hotel</span></span><br />
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Then we drove on up to KL International Airport. As our flight to Vietnam the next day was early in the morning, we stayed overnight in the Tune Hotel - we had to be up and out at 4.30am.<br />
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In this hotel, the room is only marginally bigger than the bed - but the bed is very comfy! You pay extra for the air conditioning, and a 'comfort kit' (well, towel). But it <i>is</i> very convenient, easy walking distance from the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT).<br />
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We parked our car in the very last space in their little car park. That was very comforting, because otherwise we would have to drive around looking for a place to park for a week. They charge RM 25 per day, we were told, but it felt safer than the big airport car parks (we've heard stories of the car hire company coming and 'reclaiming' their cars from airport car parks, very annoying!)<br />
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Early next morning, we were up and off to Hanoi, Vietnam ... <br />
<br />Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-48642783679774811032013-04-13T18:49:00.005-07:002013-04-13T18:52:28.577-07:00Election in MalaysiaWe don't get involved in the politics of the country, but we are involved in a government sponsored project and so it's possible that we have a vested interest in whatever happens next. Even after 56 years of the same party winning every election, everyone here still gets excited with the anticipation of possible change.<br />
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But for fun it's mostly about the flags.<br />
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There are areas of green, and areas of blue, and sometimes there are layers of both colours.<br />
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The green chaps started putting up their flags soon after we arrived in 2011. They went from little flags on poles, to huge flags waving from the tops of trees, and then there were long green ones with rows of white circles, and huge square ones with an array of white spots.<br />
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And now they are obviously getting bored with just flags, and branching out to other green and white objects. Can you see the plane (above) ... and then there is a helicopter ...<br />
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But this one is particularly cute!<br />
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I wonder if anyone votes based on their favourite flags.Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-63026281139096695702013-04-10T00:50:00.002-07:002013-04-10T00:50:19.841-07:00Trip to Langkawi - but not a holidayMany visitors to Malaysia have been to Langkawi - it's a favourite tourist destination. So we were, of course, delighted when our Fellows' Tactical Conference was to be held there instead of the usual fancy hotel in central Kuala Lumpur.<br />
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So we had meetings, as you do at a conference.<br />
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(That's me on the right near the fire extinguisher.)<br />
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We had a massive room, space for anything you fancy at the bottom end of the bed (something do do with the position of the room at the end of a hallway).<br />
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And of course we had great views of Langkawi - lovely and lush.<br />
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Some people go to Langkawi for the beaches - though obviously not on this side of the island. Mind you, when I say 'island', if you count all of the bits and pieces in the water they claim there are really 99 islands.<br />
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The other thing people go there for is the 'duty-free' shopping - everything is duty free, and chocolates and alcohol are especially popular.<br />
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And then there is the cable car, which you have to see if you can. In very windy weather they close it, and we got to understand why.<br />
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Notice how the tiny cable cars sway around as they vanish into the mist.<br />
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There was less and less to see as we climbed. (That's new fellow Linda with me.)<br />
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Yep, really thick cloud at the top there.<br />
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And in the moments before we vanished completely there was a noisy unnerving cross-wind that tried to push the car around ... and then everything was very quiet.<br />
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Nothing at all to see at the top. Nice view coming back down out of the clouds.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Look what I found in the College Canteen!</span><br />
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I found this just sitting on the bench where you pay.<br />
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Very cute, and perfectly friendly.Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7389312667723554964.post-18371819551594545312013-03-31T01:02:00.001-07:002013-03-31T01:06:13.973-07:00Me and my HeffalumpElephants are such huge animals, needing lots of space and lots of food, and tending to be rather destructive if left to their own devices. And at the same time they are so very vulnerable to attacks by human poachers. In this part of Thailand they have attempted to make the elephants' lives relatively comfortable, protecting them and meeting their needs at the same time as protecting the environment (villages, jungle) - and making a few bucks on the side.<br />
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We thoroughly enjoyed our day visiting the "Chok Chai Elephant Camp" in northern Thailand.<br />
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The camp covers a large area with hillside, jungle, and river, and presumably village(s) as well.<br />
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First we had a short ride up and down the road in an ox cart, just to get into the swing of things.<br />
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Then it was time to cross the river on the wobbly swing bridge to go meet the elephants.<br />
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First of all we saw an elephant show, with a number of young elephants demonstrating their skill in sitting, standing, standing on their heads, playing soccer, and painting pictures.<br />
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And at last it was time to climb aboard and ride off into the jungle on our elephant.<br />
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I can assure you that this is NOT a comfortable way to ride!<br />
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I, for one, would certainly not be joining Hannibal in crossing the Alps ...<br />
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So finally we relaxed on a bamboo raft, sliding along down the brown river ...<br />
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We all (all 7 of us from Brighton Education) had such a good time. We got back into our mini-bus to go to the orchid farm - and we were all sound asleep by the time we got there.<br />
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Yeah. Pretty!Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08413223567586507894noreply@blogger.com0