Joanie's  Blog

For those unfamiliar with the term - a blog (web log) is an electronic diary.

To make my life easier, and possibly yours, these notes are listed in reverse-date order with the latest notation at the top.  If you haven't read any of them yet, start at the bottom and work your way up.  From then on you can just read the latest one(s) at the top.
 

This is not intended to be a "whinge" sheet, but stories about cultural differences and the occasional misadventure are far more interesting to read than repeated reports of "today was another fine day with sunshine, laughing children, and palm trees swaying in the breeze".  
 

• As I sat in the restaurant, finishing up my second lime juice, my cheerful Malaysian waitress came over to see if I would like another.  I had been reading the manual for my new camera flash, so the talk quickly turned to travel.  It seems that many tourists visit her home town to see the lovely local temple.  The temple, however, has now become somewhat overrun with pesky monkeys.  As we spoke, a big sly grin spread across her face. 
  
  "Do you know what to do for fun there?", she asked. Seeing my curiosity aroused, she giggled and started her story.
  
  "One day my friend decided to go to the temple to have some fun.  Before heading out, she stopped at the local market and bought a big bunch of bananas and put them in the trunk of her car.   When she arrived at the temple, she sat quietly and watched as the monkeys approached to check her out.  As they neared her car, she flipped the switch for the trunk and popped the lid to expose the bananas.  Well, that caused a near riot as the quickest monkey off the mark made a dive for the bunch.  With a big grin, she leapt out of the car and slammed down the lid.  Off she drove, heading home with her prize.
  
  "Now... what to do with the monkey?  He was a cute little fellow, but perhaps a small enhancement is in order,  she thought.  Taking a razor, she quickly shaved some fur from the top of his head.  Not being quite sure that she liked the new look, she decided to dress up the bald spot.  She painted it red.  Standing back, she looked with an appraising eye at her artistic efforts.  'Yes', she thought, 'he's ready for release'. 
  
  "Back she drove to the temple.  Luck was with her, and no one was around.  It was just her and the monkeys in the traditional greeting party.  She popped the lid of her trunk, and out leapt her red-headed friend.  Looks of shock and horror crossed the faces of the greeting party as their old friend appeared from the trunk.  She could almost hear them shouting, 'What the.....   ?', before they turned and high tailed it into the woods. 
  
  As the bald, redheaded monkey stood confused and friendless in the parking lot, she hopped back into her car and drove away laughing."

• A city stuck in the past.  The economic boom has yet to hit Cambodia.  Phnom Penh does not appear to have made significant headway since the reign of Pol Pot.   Buildings and roads are in poor condition, ancient bicycles and motorcycles fill the streets, and there are few attractions to lure in the tourists.  Most travellers spend their time in Siem Reap, visiting Angkor.
   
• Money is scarce and wherever tourists might be found, street children and amputees crown around asking for money. 
   
• About the only places of real interest in Phnom Penh, are heartbreaking... Tuol Sleng, the genocide museum; a high school used by the former Khmer Rouge as S-21 Prison.  It's surrounded by high fences and huge rolls of barbed wire.  Inside, stark rooms remain bare with only basic metal frame beds and the manacles and chains used to detain their victims.  Old class rooms are filled with photos they took of each or their victims.  The images of their tortured victims were just too much... I had to turn away.  Other rooms were divided into tiny prison cells not much more than a metre wide. and 2 metres deep.  Outdoor walkways were barred and barricaded with barbed wire to keep prisoners from jumping over and committing suicide.  A grim reminder of the over 12,000 adults and children that were held there.

• I also visited the Killing Fields outside of the city.  There's not much to see, and perhaps it's better that way.  In these fields, lie what's left of excavated mass graves.   It's the place where tens of thousands of Cambodians were dumped after the slaughter.  Amongst the graves, and on the sign posts marking the graves, are simple notations announcing of the number of victims found in each, along with some remnants of clothing and a few bones as a poignant reminder.  In front of the graves, stands a tall slim building with glass sides.  Inside, shelves are stacked high with sculls, while the space below stores tattered clothing.

• I'm travelling with Royalty folks.  The King of Cambodia and I frequent the same hotels.  Today as I returned from a visit to the Central Market, they had rolled out the red carpet.  At first I thought it was for me, but I was mistaken... it was for the King.  He was here for a meeting being held at my hotel.  Just for the record... he was delighted to see me.

• I'm blown away by Angkor.  After all the things I had heard and read I thought that there might be some let down when I actually got to see it.  Unh unhhh.  Not a hint of disappointment.  Angkor, capital of the Khmer Empire for almost 500 years, is home to around 200 temples.  Angkor Wat is the best known of the group.  It's fabulous, and I have to stress that the others are not to be sneezed at.  

• Well, it's been a month now since I last updated the website and not much has happened since we moved to Oakwood.
   
• The most action seems to have taken place on the technology front.  We now own our two laptops which we brought with us; one Intuos graphic tablet; 2 desktop computers - one for the server/development system, and one for the test system; two LCD monitors - one for my laptop, and one for the server/test machines; 2 colour printers - one high quality unit to print my photos, and one for general use that is networked for use with Doug's laptop, the server and the test system; 2 wireless gateways to use between all systems except mine; and a scanner.
   
• I've taken some photos but now have gotten off to a slow start.  My first major expedition was to Chinatown for the Chinese New Year celebrations.  Unfortunately the big events happened the day before, but I still had a great couple of hours wandering around the narrow crowded streets, doing lots of people watching and checking out the vendors' stalls.
   
• Doug is now ready to do some heads-down programming.  Monday, the voice behind the Thai vocabulary (a young Thai woman that responded to an advertisement placed with the staff here at Oakwood), will start to work on the speech and data entry for his Thai dictionary. 
   
• Some of you will have, by now, had time to digest the e-mail Doug sent out inviting you to visit Bangkok and stay with us.  It is a very sincere offer, and we would love to have you over.  If anyone is thinking of coming. I will be here for the next two months, but then will have to dash off to Canada to be with family.  So if you think you might make it, in the next two months,  I'll have time to show you around while Doug keeps working on his Thai software.

• We've been looking at apartments to rent and finding one was not as easy as we anticipated.  Those that are lower in price are also lower in standard.  What suits the Thais does not necessarily suit Westerners.  We did, however, hook up with a good rental agent, Ms. Candy, who found a 3 bedroom apartment in an up-and-coming neighbourhood.
   
• The Oakwood City Residence is a little south and east of major tourist areas where you will find the Grand Place and many of the note worthy temples.  The building is about 5 years old, very modern, stylish, and is constantly being enhanced. 
   
• Our apartment has 3 bedrooms, so we each have our own room in which to work, and the third bedroom will be used during the day by someone hired to record the vocabulary for Doug's Thai software.  It is also the guest bedroom, so if any of you are thinking of taking a holiday, now's the perfect time.  We'd love to have family and friends come for a visit.  There are two bathrooms, a lovely large living room, a dining area, a kitchen and even a little balcony. 
   
• The complex has 7 towers placed around the outside of a square.  The centre is open to the air and houses a very large, rambling swimming pool; lots of palm trees and vegetation; a nicely equipped professional gym; a well stocked convenience store; children's play ground; three nice restaurants; business centre; launderette with TV and nice sitting area; and a lovely lobby with a cafe.  In the evenings you can sometimes catch a string quartet and enjoy the ambiance... that is if there are no smokers nearby. 
  
  Come on over for a visit.  We're waiting for you.
   

• We've been here at the Holiday Inn on Silom for 3 days now.  In that short time we've been severely ticked off 3 times and have inhabited 2 rooms.   I should mention that these were both non-smoking floors.  The first was on the 25th floor.  A very nice suite, large, lots of desk space for our computers but the room stank.  I mean that literally. 
   
• The first afternoon, we noticed the 'scent of sewage' in the master bathroom.  Being savvy about the ways of plumbing, we poured some water down the drain, thinking that perhaps the elbow drain was empty.  A temporary fix.  Called housekeeping and they did their best and put an ionizer in the living room.
   
• The second day the smell was back again.  They brought a 2nd ionizer.  About 9:00 in the evening I had had enough and put up a big stink of my own.  They found us another room.
   
• When we moved into the second room and as I began to unpack, I walked into the living room and noticed the smell of cigarette smoke coming from the connecting door of the next suite.  We were on a no-smoking floor!  For the evening I kept quiet.  Next morning I could smell smoke again.  This time I reported it to the concierge who looked into her computer, and said she would do something about it.
   
• That evening the smoke was back again.  Went to the concierge, reported the smoke, and asked if she had spoken to the manager.  She dutifully checked her computer again... that was supposed to appease me I suppose... and said she would talk to the manager.  I waited.  Two minutes later she came back out and asked sweetly, "Would you like to change rooms?"   My response was not quite so sweet.  "No I don't want to change rooms.  Move the smoker to a smoking floor.   I'll speak to the Manager."  A few minutes later out came the manager, and you guessed it... he checked the computer.  So sorry ma'am.  I'll do something about it.
   
• About an hour later back in the room again, I could smell smoke.  No more Mr. Nice Guy.   Bang! Bang! on the adjoining door.  No response.  Out my front door and over to his.  Oh, sorry Ma'am.  I didn't know it was a non-smoking floor.  Look of incredulity on my part.  There are signs in the floor lobby and at least 2 signs in each suite, clearly marked No Smoking.  "I just had a call from the manager and they are moving me to another room".  "On another floor, I hope?"  I asked.  "Yes ma'am.  So sorry."  Yah sure.  Pull the other leg while you're at it.  My guess is that after the manager called he just couldn't resist one more smoke to put it to the people next door before he left.
   
• Later that evening, and all the next day, we could smell cleaning odours from next door, and an ionizer was sitting in the hallway doing its best to remove all traces of smoke from the non-smoking floor.
   
• The manager gave us a large bowl of fruit as compensation.

• Well, here we are back in big, boisterous, and bustling downtown Bangkok.  It has been 11 years and it's good to be back.  On our way in from the airport, we could see that there has been a lot of construction with many, many new skyscrapers throughout the city. 
   
• The Asian architects are to be commended for their modern design.   Let's hope that the workmanship and standards are high, because these puppies are tall.

• The colds we picked up in Kuching just don't want to let go.  Our first week here was spent hacking and coughing and doing nothing more than taking short walks to the plaza across the road.
   
• About 3 days ago, however, I felt well enough to take the monorail three stops to see the famous Petronas Twin Towers.  They really are impressive.  Many of you may know them from their featured appearance in the movie "Entrapment" with Catherine Zeta Jones and Sean Connery.  As usual, I wandered for about hours, looking and snapping over 100 images.  Lucky for you, I have resisted putting them all up on the web.  You'll only have to look at a choice few.
   

• New Year's Eve was a quiet affair in Kuala Lumpur, and many other countries as well.  With the number of deaths and missing persons continuing to rise rapidly, the Malaysian Government rescinded all fireworks permits and asked that large public celebrations be cancelled.  It was suggested that prayer would be more appropriate.
   
• The hotel we had booked downtown was full on New Year's Eve so we moved out a bit further and stayed in a new luxury hotel near the central train station.  We said goodbye to 2004 without fanfare as 2005 crept in.  Let's pray that it ends better than it started.
   

• When we settled into our hotel in Kuala Lumpur, we turned on the TV and heard the news about the quake and tsunami.  First reports sounded bad, but we would not know just how bad for many days yet to come.
   

• As we sat watching a beautiful rainbow arch across the Sarawak River,  high and dry in our hotel overlooking the river in Kuching, not far away in Aceh, Indonesia on the island of Sumatra, an earthquake measuring 9.1 on the Richter scale, set off a powerful tsunami.  Together, they would take the lives of 150,000 people, maybe more.
   

• Santa Clause knows everything.  Because we were such good people this year, he found us in Kuching and left us each a little Christmas present.  Christmas morning we woke to find two books wrapped and waiting.
   

• Great day today.  We went out to the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre, a forest  rehabilitation centre to see the orang utans.  Did you know that orang means man, and utan means forest?
   
• Every day, food is put out on a feeding platform high in the forest, but there is no guarantee that the orang utans will actually show up.  The rehabilitation process teaches them how to live on their own in the wild, so if they have learned their lessons well, then there is no need for them to come to the platform to eat.

• Some of the gallery pieces have a name.  The story behind the naming of this one is fascinating.  For some time after the completion of the mat, the weaver could not sense what the mat should be called so for a long time she left it unnamed.  Then one night in a dream, the spirit of the mat spoke to her and gave her its name.  It's called puak kerapa antu ngegu bernandang pa.  When I get the translation, along with some other documentation on the weaver and the mat, I will give you the English translation and all the details.
   

• A visit to the local 7/11 can be a fun event.  We went to pick up some water today and had a few unexpected chuckles as a result.  There are lots of snack foods on the shelves.  You can get great stuff like - cuttlefish flavoured snacks, anchovy flavoured chips, green peas snack, chiz curls, corntos, and that old favourite, chicken curry flavoured crackers.  We laughed so hard we almost forgot to buy our water.  What was really funny was the look on the faces of the folks working in the shop when I hauled out the camera and started taking close up photos of the snacks.
   

• Wandered the local market today taking photos.  I could recognise much of the food for sale, but a couple of my images remain nameless.  One in particular was quite puzzling.  Logic says that it is either animal, vegetable, or mineral.  I think this one is animal.  Doug thinks it is vegetable.  The jury is still out.  
   
• The market is a treat to visit.  It's by the river and it's for the locals, unlike the one in Ubud, Bali, that has become a huge tourist attraction.  Here in Kuching, it's a real market with real food for real people.
   

• From our room we can see some of the surrounding mountain ranges.  It's fascinating to watch the cloud formations around the mountains and how they change from day to day.  Today there is a long solid band of clouds hanging low on the mountain.  It appears as though it is sitting right at the base of the mountains, resting on top of the villages below.
   
• We also saw our first lovely sunset.  Unfortunately we could only catch part of it as our room isn't in quite the right spot to get a full view.  Because of the rainy season, the sky is usually blanketed in clouds so watching the sunset has been pretty much a non-event.
   

• The toilets in the trendy new Ari's Warung restaurant in Ubud, Bali, are unique.  Each of the three cubicles has  a lovely calming pond, with water lilies and goldfish to keep you occupied during your short stay.  That in itself is uncommon; however, Ari takes it another step.  Each cubicle is missing a ceiling and a wall. The side by the pond is open, and if you were inclined, you could reach around the dividing wall between cubicles and shake hands with the person next to you.

• The other unique, and somewhat disturbing thought, is that with no ceiling or wall between the pond and the kitchen, each of the cubicles is in essence, open to the kitchen as well.
   

• It's monsoon season in Kuching.  That means that it rains every day, without fail.  It's usually raining when we wake in the morning but you can generally count on a break from 10:00am to 2:00pm.  It's still cloudy, but at least you don't get wet.  It will rain again in the afternoon, break for a while, then rain again at night.
   
• May sound like a soggy place to be, but it's really quite pleasant. 
   

• I'm baaack and it's great!  Kuching has expanded and now has some very nice, clean, modern suburbs but the downtown core that I loved so much 11 years ago, remains the same.  The riverside walkway along the Sarawak River is still a big drawing card for locals and tourists alike.  The old city just back from the waterfront is as colourful and vibrant as ever.  It is sooo good to be back.  Doug even likes it!
   

• As they say, rules is rules, and Malaysia seems to make quite a few of them.  On leaving Brunei, we filled in immigration forms for Malaysia.  Landed in Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia, for a brief stop-over on our way to Kuching in Sarawak, Malaysia.  Went through security; got our seats assignments; received our flight passes; went through immigration; then got in line to board the plane.  "You can't get onboard without your immigration stamp on the boarding pass", she said.   None of the officials or staff had said a word about getting a boarding pass stamped.  Ran back to Gate 3.  No one was there because the immigration man had already left for the night.  Luckily some officials nearby knew what to do and stamped our passes.  Ran back to our gate just in time to be the last on board.
   
• Arrived in Kuching in Sarawak and were slowed by more bureaucracy..  We couldn't go through immigration because we hadn't filled out the immigration form for Sarawak!  We had already filled out the identical form for Sabah, also a province of Malaysia, but for some reason both provinces need their own.  Go figure.
   

• Tried still more hotels and no room yet.  If the hotels are booked for the Christmas period, wonder if we will be able to get a room for New Years in Kuala Lumpur.
   
• If things don't look good we may have to change our itinerary and fly directly to Bangkok where there is an abundance of hotels.
   

• Finally went on a tour of the city, with a very capable Filipino driver. The mosques are spectacular, built in an Arabic style, but the whole city is reasonably modern, with well-groomed parks and beautiful museums.
   
• The Sultan is a fairly recent divorcé, or should I say divorcer.  Until about a year ago he had two wives.  The first wife was by an arranged marriage, and the second wife was married for love... a younger woman who was a stewardess on his personal jet.  Unfortunately, after 11 years of marriage, he divorced his second wife.
   

• Bit of angst today.  We have been trying to book a hotel in Kuching, our next destination for December 12th.  According to the web site booking companies, Kuching hotels are all booked and there is no room at the inn.
   
• What oh what shall we do? 
   

• Still haven't done any exploring.  Doug has been sick to his stomach with alternating fever, chills and diarrhoea.  One of our contacts here was kind enough to drive him to the hospital (the clinics were closed that night) but there was such a long line up that he just came home and took a good dose of the medications we purchased at the Travel Clinic in Australia before leaving.  Three days later, he is no longer talking to the great white telephone, and appears to be on the mend.
   
• Tomorrow for sure, we will do some exploring.  We leave on Sunday so there's not much time left.
   

• Our hotel is very nice and centred in the commercial district.  There's a fair amount of money in the area with lots of shops, restaurants and cafes.
   
• I am surprised at the amount of English spoken and printed. 
   
• My only gripe, so far, is about the cars that drive slowly past with their sound systems booming.  Even with the hotel windows closed and TV on, it rumbles through the building and it's damned annoying!
   

• We've arrived, and boy is it different.  Reminds us of how Kuala Lumpur looked about 10 years ago... neat and clean.  It's good to be here.
   
• On entry, the customs people stopped all passengers and asked if they were bringing in any kind of alcohol.   Brunei is an alcohol free country.

• One final word on Bali.  We were annoyed with the fine.  We were hungry.  All we wanted was to get some food before our next flight.  Where to eat.
   
• At first glance there didn't appear to be many options... then we spotted a familiar McDonalds sign.  Ah ha.  We can grab something quick here.   But this is Indonesia.
   
• It turned out that the booth we saw was an ORDER counter, and the fellow in command must surely have been on his first day at work.  After much gesturing, pointing and frustration, our order was understood and taken.  Then the wait.
   
• As we completed our order, I noticed that the fellow at the booth picked up the phone, made a call, then a young fellow standing nearby grabbed his jacket and scurried away.  Several more customers following us placed orders.  Again... pick up the phone and make a call.
   
• We wait.  We wait.  You got it...15 minutes later that same little fellow with the jacket came scurrying back with three large bags of McDonalds.  Don't know where; don't know why; but McDonalds in Bali gets its own burgers 'take away'.
   

WARNING:  This is a whinge.

• We are less than impressed with the Indonesian government and their tourism and money making policies.
   
• On entering Bali, the visitor must pay $25 U.S. for tourist visas.  The visas are good for 30 days.  If you overstay, you must pay $20 U.S. per day.
   
• On leaving Bali, the visitor must pay $11 U.S. departure tax.
   
• Unfortunately for us, we stayed 32 days, 2 days longer than the visa allows.  We were charged an additional $40 each.   Doug had thought that our tickets were for the 30 day period so he was shocked when they demanded more money.
   
• Bali is a country that is struggling to recover after the devastating bombings of 2002.  Tourists stayed away in droves and many businesses went under.  People are only now beginning to return.
  - Charging visitors to enter is not going to encourage tourists.
  - Charging visitors to leave is not going to encourage tourists.
  - Fining visitors who stay longer and spend more money in their country is not going to encourage tourists.
   
• Am I missing something?

• One final death defying ride in Bali as we make our way to Denpasar airport.  Our driver was the same one who took us there when Inika left earlier this week. 
   
• Because he perceived there was a need to rush, he stopped only for the occasional red light.  If he figured he could get away with it, he went for it, no matter what colour the light was.
   
• Our driver also believed it was kosher to drive on the shoulder to get to the front of the line at those stoplights he was forced to stop at.
   
• At the airport, some people were trying to cross the road at a well-marked crosswalk. Our driver didn't yield. When we told him that pedestrians had right of way in Canada, and cars must stop for people in a crosswalk, he just laughed.
   
• Getting to the airport turned out to be the pleasant part of the trip.
   

Things I have seen carried on a motorbike or bicycle:

• 3ft high pile of long grass
• large paintings
• 8 car tires
• bed mattress
• chickens and roosters
• 8ft long bamboo poles
• 4 people at a time (1 kid on the gas tank, in front of the male driver, one kid squished between the driver and the wife, sitting at the back of the seat)
• 6ft long oxen yoke
• portable?? roadside food stands
• two large wooden recycle bins
• large Canon printer in its shipping carton
• 3ft wide bunches of flowers for delivery
   

• One final outing with Dwi.  This time it was down to the south to visit Kuta, Thanalot, Uluwatu.
   
• The sites of the Bali bombings of October 11, 2002 are still not built upon, however the new Paddies Pub now stands a few buildings away from the original site.  They have erected a lovely monument nearby that lists the names of those killed in the blast.
   
• The Balinese still recount stories of restless spirits in the area.  Most were, however, put to rest at a mass cremation not long after the event.
   

• Happy Birthday to me....   aren't you glad you didn't have your speakers turned up for that little rendition.  Yes.  I turned one year older today.  It was particularly nice this year, as I had both Doug and Inika with me.  It's been far too long since we were all together for any one of our birthdays.  I was just lucky it was for mine.
   

• Inika went to a birthday party tonight.  Dwi's young daughter, Ade, turned 7 yesterday and Inika was invited to her party.  It was a very special occasion as 50 kids were invited.  Ade's auntie was in charge of the food, and all kids enjoyed the rare treat of a McDonalds birthday party. 
   
• There were a few surprises though... alt least for Inika.  In Bali, the kids meal looks like a hamburger, is wrapped like a hamburger, but is really a neatly wrapped roll of rather sticky rice.
   
• Inika wasn't there just to observe though, she used a borrowed guitar and her musical expertise to play for a rousing game of musical chairs.
   
• The party was a big success all round, and she enjoyed it as much as the kids.
   

• Inika and I are just back from the north coast and a few days at Pemuteran.  The pace is much slower there and it's a great place to kick back and relax.  To our surprise, it was even hotter there than in Ubud.  Between the resort's pool, and the ocean, and an air conditioned room, we managed to keep our cool.
   
• The drive there and back also gave us an opportunity to see the rice fields; watch the locals planting or reaping their crops, and visit a few spectacular temples along the way.
   

• Inika and I have been touring again... to the east coast where I bought a wonderful double ikat gringsing, and we both bought a lontar.  A gringsing is a special woven fabric that, once blessed, has great protective and healing powers.  Each cloth can be two or three years in the making.  Both the warp and weft are dyed separately with natural dyes before they are woven.  Only on the weaving is the pattern revealed.  The dying process can take up to a couple of years, and the weaving, another six months.  It's a long complicated process and the cloth is impressive.  I've been wanting one since my first visit so I'm very happy with my purchase.
   
• A lontar is another Balinese icon.  Lontars are traditional books made from palm leaves, held together in a wooden cover.  The leaves of the book are scratched with a sharp pen, then powder from a local nut is rubbed into the scratches to dye the etching.  The wooden covers are carved with intricate designs.
   

• Today Doug joined Inika and me for a visit to a friend in the nearby village of Mas.  Ten years ago on my first trip here I took some mask carving lessons with I Wayan  Muka, master wood carver and then, head man of his village. Muka is no longer head of his village but he is still carving and creating wonderful new masks.  Most are for temple ceremonies though some are also sold to tourists.
   
• Inika and I were ready for our next stop.  We had just had sarongs, sashes and kebayas (special blouses for temple) made especially for the occasion.  Doug was able to borrow one, for a small donation, outside at the temple gates.  Not sure that the experience totally sold him on the concept of men in skirts.  He never put one on again.
   

• Every temple in Bali celebrates the anniversary of its creation.  For this ceremony, offerings are given to the demons to appease them so they will leave the family in peace.  All members of the local community, or Banjar, participate in the celebration by helping with the preparation and giving of offerings and the celebration feasts.  Music is performed by a Gamelan orchestra; a Dalang, or puppet master, performs; and a high priest is present to bless the temple and all the offerings.
   
• On this occasion a dog, pig, duck, and chicken were sacrificed to offer to the demons, and a cock fight was held for the ceremonial blood-letting.

 (click the image to see more of the fight)

• Then it was off for more cultural orientation.  We stopped by a local community banjar bale... the meeting place for local community organisations.
   

• I met up today with an Balinese friend  from my past two visits, 9 and 10 years ago - I Made Dwi (pronounced by foreigners as Dewey) Sutaryantha.   He came by to meet my family and to catch up on what he had been doing for the past few years.  Dwi is also in the tour business so I took the opportunity to ask him if he would show Inika and myself around and tell her all about Balinese culture..
   
• He was more than happy to do so, and as luck would have it, there was going to a village ceremony tomorrow and we were invited to go along to observe. 
   

• Have checked out some of my old favourite restaurants and shops along with a smattering of new ones.  Have been holding back, though, until Inika arrives tomorrow on the 4th.  We are excited about picking her up at Denpasar airport tomorrow afternoon.  Only one more sleep.
   

• Switched hotels today.  The first one was very "Balinese" but perhaps a little too much so for us.  Lovely grounds, but the room was too dark and the mosquitoes too hungry.
   
• The new place is modern, bright, central (without a big hill and rough road leading up to it) and has two pools.  A salt water one for me and a fresh water one for Doug.
   
• The pool is one of those that drops off the edge so you feel like you are swimming with the ducks in the rice fields below.
   
• Had a top notch dinner in the Lamak Restaurant on Monkey Forest Road tonight.  Through an English to Balinese translation mix-up that occurred in the ordering of my meal, I had the opportunity of sampling some of the local snails.  Just like the ducks in the rice fields nearby.  They didn't taste quite like the baked tomato I had ordered but they were good.  It had probably been a good 25 years since I last had some.
   

• Those damned dogs!  They are still as mangy as they were 9 years ago.  And some of them are still as angry.  The first day, Doug threw stones to fend off the snarling fiends.  The second day I started carrying my hiking stick.  From the reaction we got to both of these tactics, we figure that many of them have been either threatened many times before, or beaten.
   
• Dogs, here, are not necessarily household pets and are seldom treated as nicely as they would be in North America or Australia.
   

• Oooh, my beloved Ubud.  What have they done to you?  Shock, horror!  It's bigger, busier, noisier, and much more crowded.  Nine years away, and look what happens.
   
• The roads look about half as wide as I remember them.  Perhaps it's because there are now cars parked up both sides, where before there were only a few.
   
• Motorbikes are everywhere, and there appear to be NO driving standards.  We've been told by several taxi drivers that one-way streets are only 'one-way' for cars.  Motorbikes can drive wherever they choose, in whatever direction they choose.
   
• Sidewalks.  There are some, sort of... but don't expect them to be flat.  They are actually covered sewers, but many have heaved, are interrupted by sets of stairs, and full of holes where brick or concrete has fallen through to the sewers below.  The drainage grates that appear to be only a few years old, are beginning to follow suit and drop into the sewers with the missing bricks and concrete.
   
• Walking can be a chore.  It's practically impossible to establish a rhythmic gait that can be maintained.  Add all the steps of irregular heights, and your legs are in for a treat.  The first three days, mine were in turmoil trying to adjust.  Think they finally surrendered as I passed through the muscle fatigue and frustration threshold.
   

• Darwin, land of cyclones, crocs, and Kakadu.
   
• Crikey it's hot here!  Doug is dragging his butt around town today.  For some strange reason, the heat is bothering me less than it did in the Pacific islands.  I'm all for that.
   
• Tried to arrange for a trip out to Kakadu but didn't manage to get it set up in the short 4 days we had there.  It seems that if you don't have a vehicle you are at a distinct disadvantage.  All the delights of the area are well out of reach of the city itself.
   
• Could have hired a helicopter to fly out and over Kakadu but at $780 per hour, with an estimated 3 hours to see the sights, I passed.  Bummer.  I know I missed some fantastic photo opportunities.  Maybe next time.
   

• We're back in Oz.  How strange yet familiar it all is.
   
• How nice to be met at an airport, after travelling for two months with only one other greeter along the way, and that was from a hotel pickup.
   
• What is REALLY strange is to see many of our 'things' in Cathy's home... in the yard out front, on the china cabinet just inside the door.  Familiar things are everywhere. Cathy inherited much of the stuff left over from the garage sales.
   
• Another familiar Aussie BBQ out on the deck.  I confess I did a lot of talking and drinking while Doug did some business... checking the bills and mail that had arrived for us over the past few months.
   
• And there was Marianne with hugs and our next set of tickets for Phase II of our travels.  A couple of hours later, more wine, more tall tales, and the usual set of insults having passed back and forth, she was gone.
   

• While talking to, Steve, one of the owners of Green Turtle Tours in Samoa, he recounted a handy-man story.  Steve had an electrical problem in the back office and called an electrician.  The source of the problem was too high for the fellow to reach, so he asked Steve if he had a ladder.  Steve told him there was one out back, then left the office.  When he returned a couple of hours later, the electrical problem was fixed and Steve noticed two ladders in the office lying on the floor.  On closer inspection, he realised that his tall wooden ladder had been cut in half.  The electrician, finding the ladder to be too long, had promptly cut it in half, thus solving his problem.
   

• On our Aloha Airlines flight from Western Samoa to the Cook Islands, we had two surly looking male stewards with little to no seat-side manners.   My first thought was that they were air marshals pretending to be stewards and they hated waiting on passengers.

• The rain has finally stopped and I visited the Tjibaou (pronounced chee boo) Cultural Centre just outside of the city.  Celebrated architect, Renzo Piano, who designed the Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris, is also responsible for the Centre.
  
• What do I think... it's somewhat exotic, but likeable.  Perhaps because it makes a fantastic subject for photography.  
  
• If you like graphic images, you'll like Tjibaou... even if you can't pronounce it.
  
• I'd love to drop off a group of photographers there, leave them on their own, then look at all the images captured. 
   

• We woke up this morning and the stomach pains that had been bothering both of us for the last 4 days have finally disappeared.  Something we picked up in Moorea.
  
• I've done a lot of work again on this website and we are finally ready to upload more images and anecdotes from Hiva Oa, Moorea and here.  A new section has also been added.  Look for "Things we have learned".  It's the new item just above Notes and Anecdotes.
   

• Went to mail our lovely rosewood tiki from Hiva Oa, back to Canada today.  I figured the Post Office would be the place to start.  "Sorry.  You can't mail it here.  You have to go to the Colis Postal."   The Colis Postal is apparently where heavy parcels are mailed from.  It's also not on a bus route and too far to walk with a heavy package.  A $10 taxi ride gets me there.   Two hours and two post offices later the tiki is on its way by ship to Canada.  
  
• After leaving the Colis Postal, I decided to save cab fare and take the bus back to the hotel.  Asked a couple of folks which bus would get me back to the Latin Quarter where we are staying.  Got on two different buses and everyone denied going where I wanted to go but would I give up.  No, I stayed on one of them anyway... I've been here before and figured I knew my way around.
  
• Wrong!  After a few minutes I realised I was well past my hotel and quickly making my way out to the Baie de Citron and the hotel we stayed in on our first visit here.  No problem.  Just get off and walk back or take a taxi.
  
• Well, it was cold, raining, and there was a big hill ahead.  There were also no taxis or phone booths, and I didn't have the correct change anyway.  I went into a corner store and for the tidy sum of $100 francs (approx. $1.60) the clerk called a cab for me.  Another $500 francs and I was home.  
   

• Our hotel has just been renovated and they have done a good job.  It's fresh, very clean and modern.  There's a newly opened Cuban-style Salsa Bar downstairs but we haven't ventured there at night yet.  The fellow who soundproofed the rooms was a genius.  The music is loud and goes until midnight but we haven't heard a peep in our room which is three floors directly above.  Congratulations to the designers and builders.
  
• The hotel staff are super here and give quick response to any problems or queries that we have had.   When we arrived they had a torturous rubber backed mattress cover on the bed, and a rubberised pillow cover too.  When I asked if they could scrap the cover and double sheet the mattress, there was no hesitation at all.  They even found me a regular pillow.
  
• After trying to cook eggs in the scratched and heat-damaged frying pan in the room, Doug asked if they had a new one anywhere in the hotel.  Within 5 minutes someone was at the door with a shiny new one.
  
• This hotel may be one third the price of the Pearl Resort, but the service is 100% better.  It's a delight to be here.  If you ever come to Noumea and want a hotel in the Latin Quarter, we highly recommend the New Caledonia Hotel.
   

• It feels good to be back in Noumea.  We spent 3 days here two months ago when we started out and it feels like we've come home.
• It's a French Island so things are still expensive, but compared to our last stop, it now seems cheap.
• Our room has a fridge and a small stove so I can make my morning coffee.  They grow wonderful coffee here so breakfast is Parisian style... café au lait and a baguette.
• They make great baguettes here too, and the patisseries (bakeries) open at 6:00 in the morning.
   

• More problems with Canada Customs.  We got an e-mail from sister Pat saying that when Mom went to pick up our boxes of household goods that we shipped from Australia, Customs wouldn't release them to her.
  
• After much back and forth with Pat and Inika, we learn that we were supposed to be in Canada ourselves to receive the goods.
  
• Tried sending a fax authorizing Mom to collect the goods.  No go.  "You have to follow the rules," says the agent,  "It's the law."
  
• After some discussion, it is decided that the only way to satisfy them is to will the goods to Inika.  This is a special will stating that, because of advancing age and the fact that we are travelling and no longer have a home, we are willing all or worldly possessions to our daughter before our death.  How  nice is that.
  
• So we faxed off the wills along with a list of items and their value so Inika could present it to the Customs agent. 
  
• Success at last.  They are releasing the goods to her and she will put them in storage for us.  
  
• Nothing is easy.
   

• We left Moorea around 8:00 last night.  The flight was about 6.5 hours, so while in flight, we naturally kick over into the next day, the 17th.  During the flight we pass through the international date line so we lose an additional day.  So after leaving on the 16th, taking a 6.5 hr flight, we wind up in New Caledonia 2 days later on the 18th.  Yet another neat trick.
  
• We had faxed ahead for a reservation at Hotel New Caledonia.  There was no reply confirmation so when we arrived around 1:00am we were not sure if we had a room or not.  We didn't.  After many questions and some checking of the fax, the receptionist noted that our expensive hotel in Moorea had dialled the wrong number and sent the fax to some unknown individual somewhere here in New Caledonia.  Guess we should watch our Visa for unauthorised purchases.
  
• They did have an empty room, though, so we were in luck.  
   

• All packed up and on the move again.   We check out at 11:00 and our plane doesn't leave until almost 5:00.  We hang around the hotel for a while, reading, then walk into town for a late lunch to pass the time.  While waiting I spoke to another fellow traveller.  Yet another Canadian travelling the Pacific Islands.  On her own, she was visiting Moorea, the Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga.  It was almost the same route we took.  She has chosen well.  We first spotted her lying by the pool catching some rays.  We could tell she was Canadian because she was wearing that famous Canadian icon, the Tilley hat.

• Not doing much other than enjoying our surroundings.  Bit of reading, bit of napping, bit of watching the fish from our bungalow.
  
• Went into town today and bought myself a treat.  The Pacific is the home of the black pearl.  I found myself a lovely 13mm one today.  When we get to Bangkok I will get a nice setting for it and have it mounted. 
   

• The French have a way of making simple problems into big problems. In most hotels, making a phone call is a simple problem. It's nothing special, normally. You need to dial 0 or 9 to get an outside line, then you dial the number. Sometimes the phone is labelled to tell you what to do, and sometimes you have to read the welcome booklet provided by the hotel. However, at French hotels, the line is always blocked. You dial the digit required for an outside line, and you get a recorded message in French saying calls are blocked. So now you've got to go back to Reception and tell them you want to make a phone call, then they type something into their computer, and then you can go back to your room and make the call. This only happens in French hotels. So the simple problem of making a telephone call got vastly more complicated.
   

• We've settled into our over-the-water bungalow and are enjoying watching the fish on the reef.  Red, bright blue, yellow, just about any colour you can think of.  There are big ones... the garfish, little ones, and a host of sea urchins with their long black spikes.  In the sandy areas there are also lots of sea cucumbers.  Long, black, and ugly; they look for all the world like black dog poop. 
  
• We've adjusted to the luxurious feeling of the resort but are still adjusting to the prices.  An American breakfast with egg and bacon or sausage sets us back $85 for two.  And it's cold.  We have to ask the staff to nuke it for us.  At that price I want hot food!
  
• Lunch goes for around $95-$100.  Sometimes we go on the cheap and get one cheese burger served with a smattering of fries, and one chicken Caesar salad.  Split them between the two of us and it only costs about $65.
  
• On Wednesday they have a special dinner show with cultural dance performance.  For good measure, the bar is closed to ensure you don't order a cheaper meal, and the only place you can eat is in the dining room.  You must make a reservation and a buffet is served. No meals are available from the regular menu.  It's the buffet or the buffet.  For this, you hand over a  whopping $227 for two.  Ah, don't worry, for that you get raw chicken.  Doug sent his back and they quickly removed the rest from the offering, but only after several others had taken some.  Hope they sent theirs back too. 
  
• The resort offers free Internet access from the room; you just plug into a jack on the phone. Most hotels charge a nominal fee for a phone call, but the Moorea Pearl Resort charges 100 francs (about $1.60) per minute, not per call. Thus the free Internet access costs about $100 an hour!
  
• Can you detect a teensy bit of dissatisfaction with value for money?
   

• Hey.  It's our 35th wedding anniversary.  We deserve a little treat.  Actually, our anniversary was yesterday, October 11th, but we are officially celebrating it here at the Pearl Resort in Moorea, just a 15 minute flight south of Pape'ete, Tahiti, in a good old Canadian Twin Otter.
  
• We have four nights here, with the first one in garden accommodations.  All the over-the-water bungalows are booked so we'll spend tonight in a garden room and move tomorrow to one over the reef.

• The resort is well done and sheer luxury and a world away from our accommodation in Hiva Oa at Pension Gaugin.

• Though we knew the prices would be high...
  a) because Moorea is a French Island, 
  b) because the Pearl is a luxury resort
  we were still surprised at what we found. 

• Visited the Paul Gauguin Museum today.  The museum does not have any of Gauguin's original paintings but has some nicely done reproductions which provide a complete sampling of his works.  The museum grounds are also home to about 6 bungalows where artists can come for a three month period to paint in the Gauguin style.  When they leave they donate a painting or two to the museum.  What a great way to foster new talent and promote the work of Gauguin.
  
• The Jacques Brel memorial is also on the Museum grounds.  It's really an airplane hanger with posters, some documents and photos, a slide show, and of course, the wonderful music of Brel playing in the background.  Suspended from the ceiling is "JoJo" (named after his good friend Georges Pasquier), the plane Brel used on his trips to Hiva Oa.  He would often arrive bringing with him, mail, medicine, books, and sometimes extra passengers.  I like Brel's music, however it does tend to be depressing.  He wrote about what happens in life when you are waiting to die.  Beautiful songs, but morose.  Brel died in 1978 and is buried here in Hiva Oa. 
  
• With a touch of sadness we said Au revoir to André , the proprietor of Pension Gaugin, at the airport and hopped on our plane for the 3hr 50 minute flight back to Pape'ete, where we catch a Twin Otter to take us on to Moorea.
  
• André  and his family, Antonina and Franc, made our stay on Hiva Oa a special on.

• Staying at 'Pension Gauguin', I couldn't resist asking André if he had any of Gauguin's paintings.  No, was the sad reply.  Years ago, his grandfather was friends with Gaugin.  They spent much time together and Gaugin gave him a couple of his paintings.  Grandpa thought they were great, but Grandma, however, had a different opinion.  Paintings of naked ladies were not to her liking, and alas, one day when Grandpa was out, Grandma grabbed them all and tossed them in the fire.  So much for the Gauguins.
  
• The ruins on the island are pretty impressive.  We visited a couple of major sites; one, Lipona, has the largest and most important Tiki in the Marquesas, and we also visited the site of the Tehueto petroglyphs.  All throughout the island, you can easily spot the remnants of old buildings, with nothing left but the lava stone base.  If you're an archaeologist who doesn't mind mosquitoes, this would be a fantastic island to study.
  
• Doug just can't help himself.  He's fixing computers again... swapping hard disks, trouble shooting, and installing software on Antonina's computer at Pension Gauguin. 
  
• Went on another short tour today and our final stop was the cemetery where painter Paul Gauguin and, French singer/songwriter Jacques Brel, are buried.  It's an interesting sensation to look at the graves of these famous men who found  paradise on Hiva Oa in the Marquesas.  Both were highly regarded by the locals.

• André  took us on a driving tour of the island today.  Quel surprise!  What a surprise... though it shouldn't have been.  If you don't like 4-wheel driving over one-lane killer (and I do mean killer) roads, with 1000 ft drops to the sea and  no barriers or trees to stop your fall to the sea)... don't go!   
  
  
• The scenery was spectacular!  It just kept getting better and better.  And right along with it, my knuckles just kept getting whiter and whiter.  André  is a great driver, though, and not once after becoming aware of my tension, did he swerve towards the edge, unlike the driver we had on a tour of Samoa.  
  
  
• One of the stops on our tour was a visit to a local sculptor.  There are two marvellous carvings at Pension Gauguin and I wanted to see if he had any others that might call to me.   Sure enough, a lovely rosewood tiki, about 20" high, called out my name.  "Take me home, Joanie!" it cried.  Well, how could I resist.  I turned it over and found that it was unsigned.  With a bit of coaxing, Mori carved his signature in the bottom, and agreed to a photograph at the same time.

• Mori is a bit of a local character.  He is wonderfully talented; the locals consider him to be a bit eccentric with his artistic ways and traditional facial tattoo.  They are not common these days.
   

• Our computers have bugs.  Literally.  Every minute or so, one or more of the cute little ants they have over here, comes scurrying out of the keyboard or across the screen.   We had seen a few every now and then, but yesterday, after having eaten lunch at our computers, the little devils just moved right in.  I now know yet another way that undesirable insects are unknowingly transported from one country to another.
   

• There was a wedding here at Club Raro today.  A lovely young couple named Aaron and Mary, from New Zealand, took the plunge in a private ceremony overlooking the sea.  We've been talking to them a bit over the last week and they truly are a couple of great young people.   We wish them many years of happiness.
   
• After the ceremony I was standing talking to Mary when a familiar looking man came up and said, "Hi.  Remember me?"  It turns out that we met few days earlier at the Saturday market where I chatted with him and his wife about cameras and the Cook Island Calendar Girls.  They were none other than Mary's Dad and Mum.

• We weren't at the wedding but I did manage to get a couple of post vows photos of Aaron, and Mary in her gown.   The happy couple has now joined the faces of Pacific Portraits.  

• When Doug rented the funcar, he had a long discussion with the owner of the business about life in the Cook islands.  We mentioned the Islanders' custom of not locking their houses.  He told us about a friend of his whose wife noticed one day that six linen table cloths and some jewellery, worth over $40,000, had gone missing from a drawer in a bureau cabinet in their dining room.  They queried their maid, who denied any knowledge of the missing items.  So they called the police, and the next day, a constable visited them to get the details.  The following day, two officers from the Criminal Investigation Branch visited and obtained details of the missing jewellery.  Two or three days later, they awoke to find a plastic bag hung on their doorknob with all the missing jewellery.  They didn't get the table cloths back.
   
• We have driven past some prisons in Tonga, Samoa, and Cook Islands during our travels.  None of them has fences.  The prisoners often can be seen working the crops in the fields, or selling vegetables at a roadside stand.  We asked one Islander what happens if a prisoner just walks away.  He said, "Where would they go?  It's a small island.  The police just notify their home village, and in a couple of days they get a phone call telling them to come pick the guy up.  Then the escapee gets more time added to his sentence."
   

• While I'm busy updating the website, Doug is out getting a Cook Island drivers license and picking up our little three wheel funcar.  It looks a bit like a sporty golf cart, complete with roll bars, seatbelts, and two little training (outrigger)  wheels for added stability.

• To get a Cook license you only have to show your current license from whatever country you hail from and pay your $10.  No test required.
   
• Took the little car out for a spin just now.  The verdict - Doug likes it.  I don't.  The concept is good but you wind up sucking back your own exhaust fumes.  I'm also not confident that the little outrigger wheels provide as much stability as they suggest. 
   
• With a couple of small design improvements I'd like it too... even with the wet bum we got from sitting in the puddle on the back of the seat - left over from last night's rain.
   
• When we returned, a family was waiting for the bus across the road to take the young son on a tour out near the airport.  The bus wasn't going there and it looked like he would have to give the tour a pass.  Still wanting to take the funcar for a spin, Doug offered to drive Daniel there, and his Mom and Sister will catch a later bus out to pick him up.
   

• We decided to take a page out of our Tonga book and get an internet account here in Rarotonga.  The price is modest and the convenience of having internet access from the phone in our room more than offsets the cost.  The wheels have been put in motion and within 24 hours we will have full access.  So... keep those e-mails coming.   We like to hear what you are up to too.
   
• Bought a pair of nifty neoprene reef shoes today.  Not sure how much time I'll actually spend on a reef, but I'll be all set for the sharp coral sand beaches and the few rough reef patches you seem to find in the shallows at most of the beaches.
   

• It's fantastic to be in the Cooks.  For starters it's about 6 degrees cooler than Samoa was.  It's humid, but very bearable.
   
• Walked around the town today just getting our bearings, checking e-mail... not too many of you folks communicating, by the way... and getting a feel for what we might like to do or not do.
   

• Once again we arrived at our new destination under the cover of darkness. 
   
• The owner of the bungalows we had booked into, sadly had to return to New Zealand because of the death of her father.  Before her hasty retreat there had not been time to prepare our bungalow so she kindly had us put up in her private home.  We felt uncomfortable, as if invading her very private space, so, combined with the fact that there were many mosquitoes on the grounds and it's quite far from the main town, we switched accommodations yet again after spending only one night.
   

• Doug broke his travel record for mosquito bites this morning.  He woke up with 8 fresh bites on one knee, then the little devils followed up with 2 more bites at breakfast.
   
• As the day goes on the count rises, along with Doug's frantic waving and swearing.
   

• We stopped in American Samoa today for only 8 hours en route to the Cook Islands.  There is no flight directly from Savai'i out to the Cooks.
   
• It's a very odd place because the people look Samoan but sound very American.  If you closed your eyes and listened to them speak you would swear you were in the U.S.
   
• I suspect there are two distinctly different trains of thought about just what Samoa is:
  
  -  a Samoan island with lots of Americans.
  -  an American island with lots of Samoans.
   
• It looks and feels like a remote tropical island that has recently been taken over by the Americans.  Signs saying "God bless our American troops" were everywhere, and hundreds and hundreds of yellow ribbons were tied around trees, fences and just about anything else that would permit it.
   
• I found it uncomfortable.  Wonder how the locals feel?

• Flying around Samoa is a different than most modern day flyers experience.  The distances are short, as are I suspect the finances.  Our flight from the large island of Upolu to Savai'i and from Savai'i to American Samoa was via a de Haviland Twin Otter.  There were 18 tiny, and I do mean tiny seats crammed into a space that should have housed maybe 10.  We felt like we were taking a giant leap back in time  sitting in the tiny little twin prop.
   
• Comfort aside, the views were tremendous as we flew over the coral reefs, watching for fishing boats, whales and the fantastic ever changing colours of the sea.

• Went on a taxi tour of Savai'i today with, Janet, who is staying in the fale next to us.  It was good to see the island and some of the interesting spots like the blow holes, however the tour didn't make either of our "greatest tours ever" lists.  Janet enjoyed it even less than I did.  One of her objectives for the day was to pick up some nice fresh local fruit.  When we finally found a shop, our driver Otto, and I stayed in the car while Janet got out to look.  She had not been gone for more than 20 seconds when we heard two yelps.  One from Janet and one from a nasty little dog.  The next thing we heard was a startled "I've just been bitten by a dog!".  The nasty beast left 3 puncture marks in her calf.  What to do now?  The dog used a quick "bite and run" tactic and hadn't appeared to be foaming at the mouth, so it appeared he was just nasty and not ill.  Still a bit of a worry as there is some reported rabies on the island.
   
• Having promised Janet's partner, Sid, that he would take good care of her, our concerned taxi driver quickly drove on to the hospital.  It's Samoa and it's Sunday though.  Not a doctor in sight.  A nurse dressed the puncture wounds with iodine and bandages and recommended a return visit the next day for a tetanus shot.

• We left Savai'i the next day so I don't know if Janet returned for her shot, but she felt fine when we said our farewells.  Hope your leg is healing nicely, Janet.
   

• From 1905 to 1911 Savai'i experienced a volcanic eruption.  The remnants can still be seen in the lava fields that flowed out to the sea.  Locals are still reclaiming the land and building their homes directly on top of the old lava flows.
   

• The Pasifika Inn was just off a main street along the harbour.  Pretty at night, view to the sea during the day, a few other hotels and restaurants nearby, and best of all, an Internet Cafe at the "Green Turtle" tour company.

• It's darned hot in Samoa.  We've been wandering around town trying to find a lens cover to replace the one I lost.  In an effort to escape the oppressive heat and cool down a bit, we popped into MacDonalds... yes, I do mean the one with the golden arches, and ordered an ice cold coke.  We sit and sip for about a half hour and I finally feel I have cooled down to a normal temperature.  "Yup", I say to myself.  "I can go back out there again".  It's all a lie though.  It's now even closer to noon and the temperature has just kept on rising.  There's no escaping the heat.
   

Western Samoa, 20 September 2004

• Here we are at our first hotel in Apia, the largest city on the Samoan Island of Upolo.  It was 5:30 by the time we got there so crashing for a few hours of sleep was on order.  At 10:00 we were awakened for last call on the free breakfast included in the nights accommodation.
   

• Unfortunately, the lack of hot water and somewhat questionable ability of the air conditioner to keep up with the heat, prompted us to seek another abode.
   

• That abode turned out to be the Pasifika Inn, recommended by a local Polynesian airline agent.  At $90 Cdn a night it fell short of the mark too, but how many times can you change hotels.  We stuck it out for the remaining 3 nights until we were scheduled to fly out to the nearby Island of Savai'i.
   

• And now for a neat party trick.  We had 2 Mondays this week.

• We left Tonga today on Tuesday and arrived in Samoa yesterday on Monday... literally arriving before we left.

• That's what crossing the International Dateline will do for you.
   

Tonga, 21 September 2004

• Time to say malo to Tonga.    We are somewhat reluctant to leave our comfy apartment and in-house internet connection behind but we made the best of it while we could. 
   

• In the dark of the night we took our taxi to the airport to catch the early morning 12:05 a.m. flight to Samoa.  But hey... this is Tonga and everything runs on Tonga time.  So - as you do, we waited an extra 2.5 hours for our plane to arrive.
   

• The wait proved bearable with free coffee and Aussie style meat pies, and lots of interesting folks to talk to.  There was a small troop of young Tongans also going to Samoa to perform newly choreographed contemporary traditional dances.  Three very nice young folks.  Later in Samoa we would see their photo in the local Apia newspaper.
   

• Had a great tour of the island today.  On one of our forays into the big city we had the good fortune to meet Lo the taxi driver.  He had spend some years living in the U.S. , was married to an American woman, and spoke very good English. 

• He took us to all the right places, and even got us a peek inside a local home.
   
• As we were driving around, I spotted a big home with four lovely large carved pillars out front.  Lo backed up, drove into the yard and asked the lady sitting on her porch if I could take a picture.  She was a sweetheart and not only said yes, but also invited me into her home to see the carvings inside.  They were gorgeous.
   
•  As it turned out, the lady was the Auntie of the man who carved the two 4 foot Tikis that we bought just days before.  He was also the artist and sculptor who carved the 7 large posts in her home.  As our great Aussie friend Jo would say, 'how good is that!"
   

Tonga, 18 September 2004

• HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!  Love you a whole bunch and miss you more.
  Hugs have been sent your way.  love, Joanie and Doug

• Hi Dad and Inika and Pat.  Love you too.

Tonga, 18 September 2004

• What to do on a rainy day in Nuku'alofa.  Well, after a little nuku... we decided we shouldn't alofa until after dark... we figured it was a good time to do the laundry.  It has rained almost every day since we arrived.  Most days, though, it was only pretending.  Today it's for real.  That's  because we had booked an island tour, so the weather Gods decided to escalate to a tropical downpour and keep it up all day. 

• It is our understanding that nuku means island.  Not sure what alofa means, but we're pretty sure I haven't offended anyone by talking like that.  If I'm wrong, please forgive me.  No offence was meant.

Tonga, 17 September 2004

• Did our first shopping since we set out.  Found two 4ft high carved wooden Tikis that we know will look good in our place, wherever that is, when we finally land.  We've travelled a lot but this is the first time we have actually bought something 'big'.  Feels good.

Tonga, 16 September 2004

• Doesn't take much to please me these days.  Am excited this morning because for the first time in a month I can make coffee in my kitchen.  What a treat.  Hey.  Life's easy.  Good cup of coffee.  Tropical Island in the Pacific.  Don't have to go into work.  What more could you want.
   

• I've discovered that Doug is a closet politician.  He's meeting and greeting everyone on the street and making funny faces at babies.  Watch out Johnny Howard.  Peter Beattie had better look out too.  Doug just hooked up his web cam and is taking over Peter's role of Media Tart.  (These two fellows are prominent Aussie politicians.)

Tonga, 15 September 2004

• Malo, from Tonga.  The first thing we noticed about Tonga is just how similar it is to Wallis Island.  Since the Tongans invaded Wallis (a tiny bit north of here), I this should not have been a surprise.

• The second thing we noticed was that the temperature is much cooler.  Tonga is the closest of the Pacific Islands to New Zealand.

• Apparently the weather is cooler than usual for this time of year.  Having rain all last week didn't make it any better either.  School yards and soccer fields are still under inches of water.
   

• First impression.  We like it the best of all the islands so far.

Fiji, 13 September 2004

• Our last day in Fiji and we made phone calls to our parents back in Iroquois.  It was great to hear their voices.  Unfortunately we haven't been the best telephone communicators while travelling, but our $98 phone bill for the two calls reminded us why we limit the calls home. 

Fiji, 10 September 2004

• Moved to our second hotel on Fiji.  The first one didn't have a spare room for the whole week.  Must say that our second choice was better anyway.  Except for the very first room we were given.  There had been an EXTREMELY heavy smoker and not even the strongest of strong sprays could cover up his scent.  Not sure which was worse... the lingering smoke in the furnishings or the chemicals they sprayed the room with after.  Never mind.   A new room across the hall (minus smoke and chemical sprays) and we were set to sit back, relax some more and chill.

Fiji, 09 September 2004

• Decided to play tourist and took a boat tour of the Malaluca Islands off Fiji.  Our ship doubled as a ferry and stopped a numerous islands, transporting folks from one to the next.  Some were locals going to and from work, while others were tourists starting or ending their stay at a resort.

• The morning was spent on the tiniest of tiny islands - South Sea Island.  If you had a good arm, you could literally pitch a ball its length.  Well, that may be a tiny exaggeration, but not much of one.  The other end was always in sight.

• The entertainment of the day was a Fijian who called himself Nato.  Who knows where names come from.

Fiji, 08 September 2004

• Took a walk around Nadi.  Have no idea why, but every one pronounces it Nandi.  Either way, it's a very old and tired looking city that is stuck back in about the 1960s.  Everything needs a good sweep and a new coat of paint.

• The locals are industrious and ambitious, however the "drag the stranger from the sidewalk and into your store" approach just wasn't for me.  Never did like a hard sell.

Fiji, 07 September 2004

• Bula.  No.  I'm not saying anything rude.  It's a friendly welcoming greeting... at least that's what they told us.  Fiji is quite a change from Wallis.  Still hot but without the humidity.  

• As much as we enjoyed reviving our French vocabulary (somewhat limited in my case), it is a relief to be able to speak English again and to always be understood.  It was fun but hard work!

Wallis Island, 06 September 2004

• We've only been here for 2 weeks but we made a few friends.  Made a final trip to the laundry, and another to the internet cafe to check final mail and say goodbye.  Those of you who know me won't be surprised that, yes...  I did cry when I said farewell.
   

• The hotel staff have also been very nice and sent us off with prayers for health and happiness.  What a lovely thought.

Wallis Island, 04 September 2004

• Saturday we were delighted to be taken on a driving tour of the island by one of the very nice fellows we met at the internet cafe at the Uvea Sharp Centre.  Chanel, his wife Save (pronounced sah-vay), and sons Robert (a good looking 11 year old) and Vittorio who is 5 and was suffering from eating too much chocolate. 
   

• The Aussies would have loved it.  Classic 4-wheel driving over bumpy, pitted and corrugated dirt roads, deeply carved and eroded from the rains.  There are only short stretches of paved roads on Wallis and a major transportation project which is supposed to be completed in 2004, is currently under way to upgrade the major highway, RT1 which is currently being re-graded.  Passing work trucks kicked up clouds of red dust that completely obscured vision.  I don't think there are any plans for paving in the near future.
   

• Visited ruins of ancient Tongan inhabitants, where walls were built with lava stones;  a large, deep and beautiful lake that filled a volcano crater; travelled back roads, made stops at Chanel's home and that of his Uncle, and stopped to wander along the beach.  A great day with a lovely family.  Malo (thank you).
   

Wallis Island, 03 September 2004

• Before we leave we must give a big "Thank you" to the folks at the Internet Cafe - Michael, Jules and Chanel - who enabled us to upload images and update our website.  Merci beaucoup, and malo te ofa.

Wallis Island, 29 August 2004

• Went to the hospital today so Doug could get the 12 stitches in his nose taken out.  He had a cancer removed 3 days before we left Australia.  The doctor was very gentle so no screams were heard from the stranger in town.  To our great surprise and delight, there was no charge.  Hospital visits are free in Wallis.  Lunch costs around $40 in a snack type restaurant but doctors are free.  Bravo Wallis!
   

• Trudged in the heat to the plaza to find the only bank in town.  Had to get money to pay the first hotel we vacated on Saturday.  Hotel management had said we could use VISA but we were told their machine had been broken for two weeks and they didn't know when or if it would be repaired.  Three days later they will finally get their money from us.  Don't know what would happen if a customer had to catch a plane out and couldn't pay because the machine was broken.  Wonder if they ever have people walk off without paying at all?
   

• After we cashed $400 in travellers cheques at the bank, they let us walk through the back rooms of their bank offices to use their personal toilet.  Guess we look too old and too honest to be suspicious characters.
   

Wallis Island, 29 August 2004

• Sunday Surprise!  Had dinner in the restaurant this evening and what a surprise when we signed for the bill.  $85 for an Asian style salt pork dish with rice, one small glass of wine, one ice cream and one coffee.  All that and a smoker at a nearby table thrown in for good measure.
   

• On the plus side, Wallis gets 10 /10 for their polite, respectful, teenagers and young children.
   

• Everyone waves and says "Bonjour", without fail as we walk up the road.
   

Wallis Island, 28 August 2004

• Changed hotels today.  The new one is more expensive but at least they put into practice all the things they learned through their "hospitality" training.
   

• Still food shortages though.  No prawns, no lettuce, no bread, no eggs and no chicken.
   

• The ship with supplies has arrived but it's the weekend and we were told that no one will unload the supplies until Monday.   Such is life on Wallis.  Not even a food shortage is enough to stir them on.
   

Wallis Island, 27 August 2004

• We have now been at the hotel Moana Ho'ou for three days.  Today I went down to the dining room to see if we could get some egg sandwiches for lunch, like we had yesterday.  Alas, there are no eggs and the cook has left for the day.  Not only do we not get lunch, but she won't be back to cook dinner either. 
   

• Wanted to hitch a ride into town this afternoon.  There's no one around with a car either.  Guess we hoof it.
   

• To say they could raise the  bar is being optimistic.  They first need to get a bar.