Time with Friends - Blue Mountains and Culburra Beach, New South Wales

Steve insisted I stand here and take a picture beside the Three Sisters rock formation at Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains.  I don't know how old they are, but surely older than my three sisters. They are sitting on my shoulder, just like my sisters are always with me wherever I am. Also in Katoomba, we visited the cultural centre where they have a great museum featuring geography, aboriginal history and stories of folks from the area. The art gallery here showcased amazing photography of Kati Thanda (Lake Eyre) in South Australia, Australia's lowest point (-49m) and largest lake. It had been dry for many years and then recently filled, creating an incredibly beautiful and colourful landscape. Photography was by Peter Elfes. 

We were so fortunate to time our touring day in the Blue Mountains when Miriam had a day off and generously took us up to do a lovely hike near Wentworth Falls. Unfortunately Brian had to go save people's lives or something that day! (He's a paramedic)

Emma received a camera from her 'auntie' Susan for Christmas and she has made good use of it.  Here is a photo of a waterfall in the Blue Mountains that we thought was quite magical.

I visited Daddy's friends Brian and Miriam, they have two kids Noah and Sophia.  I LOVE KIDS!  They were really really FUN.  It was so nice to have kids around, it was like heaven.  We played get the dog leash from the dog, it was really tiring.  Sophia and I made a sand man on the beach and I kept calling it a snowman.  We also made a huge sandcastle.  Noah and I made the cement (it was actually wet sand because you had to walk to the beach).

We did a spa ( it was just hot water in a bucket) but the fun thing about that is that we got to do it in our fort.  Out fort was the whole length of the house but outside.  We took all the chairs from the front lawn and the back to create our fort.  In the spa we had baby powder, Noah's hair got white from the baby powder. We took it into  our Fort so it will make our feet soft ( we were walking on sharp stones) if you have any more questions leave a comment.

We all needed a rest after endlessly chasing Daisy (the dog) around the yard. Emma had a grand time playing with Brian and Miriam's kids, Noah and Sofia. We spent a fabulous weekend with them at Miriam's mum's house at Culburra Beach, about 3 hours south of Sydney. You can just see the top of the steps down to the beach where we spent lots of time body surfing, and building in the sand.

 

Australia - Run From the Cyclone

In Australia we switched gears and picked up a camper van which meant no more hotel rooms or dinners out. We were camping! Since Northern Queensland is known for its monsoons in summer, we thought we were smart to start farther south in Brisbane. Unfortunately, as we arrived there was an incoming tropical storm offshore. With some reservations, we headed north for one day... until the storm officially became Cyclone Marcia (Category 1). As the Queenslanders around us began to make flood and storm preparations (the beaches were already closed) we decided that cyclones and campervans were not a good combination, so we gave up on the Great Barrier Reef, and turned south. As you can see below, we made the best of it, stopping in Surfer's Paradise and going in up to our knees. 

We were grateful that the magnificent beach at Byron Bay, New South Wales (above) was still open that same afternoon, so we had a great time swimming (being knocked over) in the surf. Emma, being the thrill-seeker that she is, loved it. We even walked up the hill to the eastern-most lighthouse in Australia, taking cover occasionally from sheets of incoming rain. We then hurriedly drove down the east coast of Australia, with the ever increasing cyclone raging behind us. By the time it hit land near Rockhampton it was a category 5 cyclone (the strongest) which ripped roofs off houses. For us, following two more days of driving and camping in pouring rain, heat and mosquitoes, I was dangerously close to a campervan mutiny. Thankfully, I managed to find us a campground with kangaroos (below) and finally some sun near Port Stephen's, about four hours north of Sydney!

Here we camped at a "Holiday Park" which Emma loved because it had a pool and a giant bouncy pillow for kids. It was also right next to One Mile Beach, which had some good waves for body-surfing. On our way through Newcastle, we even took surfing lessons. The waves there were very challenging for us but Emma did great given the conditions, standing up and riding many times. Our instructor told us that the big waves were caused by the remnants of the cyclone (curse you Marcia!)

 

I was at the Australian Shark and Ray Center and the biggest ray slapped me in the face.  It felt slimy and cool.  It was huge!  I am inside the tank with the gigantic ray.  We had to wear wet suits because the water was cold.  We fed the sharks in their tanks too.  We used sticks so we wouldn't get our hands bitten off.  I was not frightened of the sharks, look below for a picture of me feeding the sharks.  They were very cute and small. -Emma

This one was a fairly large nurse shark, which you could touch (with gloves), but only on the other side of a net. 

Pemuteran, Bali, Indonesia

This is the Green School in Bali.  It is an impressive place with immense buildings and structures made of bamboo.  Their goal is to create environmental leaders.  The tour was reaffirming of my own work at my school in Vancouver. Many of the same principles are also those we strive for at Grandview/?uuqinak'uuh: think and source locally, grow your own food,  compost (above is a large worm composter - we have smaller sized ones in some classrooms), garden, and connect with nature.  The sad fact about this Green school is that about only 9% of the students are Balinese, the rest are international students.

An intergral part of Balinese culture is growing rice.  Above is a mud pit that the students and staff of the Green School get into and get covered in mud.  It is part ritual, representing the preparation of the rice paddies, and part PE.  What fun that would be!

Here are Emma and her new friend Mei-Mei after their first experience going underwater with scuba gear. The resort offered a "free" trial in their scuba training pool which Emma really wanted to do. Of course they loved it, which led to their 'discover scuba lesson' the following day in the bay with a coral reef (which you can see behind them in the photo and below). They reached a depth of 8 meters during that dive. The resort owner was instrumental in starting an award winning Eco-tourism project in the area. Using solar panels, wind-turbines, etc they have used small amounts of electricity to recharge the coral reef in the bay, thus bringing it back to life after years of bleaching. Best of all, you can snorkel and dive this reef directly from the beach. This same day, Steve was off to nearby Manganan Island for his own scuba dive.

Keith, Emma and Mei-Mei enjoying a swim in the resort pool. The resort, Taman Sari Bali, which means "beautiful garden" was nestled between the Bali Sea and the incredibly lush green mountains directly behind us. Our resort on the north coast of Bali was the nicest place during our entire trip (to coincide with Valentines's Day!) The atmosphere was very relaxing, with a delicious breakfast in the beachside restaurant each morning to start our day. The gentle, peaceful nature of the Balinese people was evident at this top notch resort which had many local cats and dogs wandering about, occasionally coming up for a scratch or a cuddle. Needless to say, Emma made many friends. 

Speaking of new friends, Emma's connection with Mei-Mei was the catalyst for meeting her parents, Monika and Jan, a fascinating, artistic couple from Holland. We enjoyed a gorgeous meal at their Bali home, and Emma loved having a friend her own age around for a few days. She even went over for a couple of play dates and swims in their pool! Hopefully we can meet up again someday, either in Vancouver or Holland. 

MONKEYS!!

This is me feeding the MONKEYS on the side of the road. I thought that they were cute and cuddly but they were grabby.

I got bananas to feed the monkeys from a lady.  That was her job for a living.  If I was doing that job, I would eat my profits.

Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

This is a carved watermelon, guess who did it?  

If you guessed Daddy or Papa you are 'X' (wrong)!  I did it!  I did a course in the library. I did my course with Kadek which means born number two in Balinese. I chose this course because I could eat my work.  After I was finished the carving I enjoyed eating it as much carving it.

PS: A two hour fruit carving course -$20... Two hours of adult time -priceless!

A slightly overdressed Steve gets lost in Ubud.

While in Ubud we had the opportunity to watch a Balinese dance performance under an open sky at the Royal Palace.  The gamellon music, the exquisite costumes and dance performances were truly magical and held our attention throughout.

One of our days in Ubud, we decided to do a trip into the terraced rice paddies and surrounding hills and villages. We spent the morning on mountain bikes and the afternoon rafting along a river with class III rapids. The most dangerous part of our day, was as usual, the drive to and from Ubud with yet another insane driver zooming in and out of what can only be described as the world's largest free for all motorcycle and scooter race. - Steve

Getting back to the raft after a swim in a beautiful waterfall, not that we needed a swim, as we kept going under small waterfalls... Very refreshing! At one point the raft became wedged between some rocks in the rapids, and then filled with rushing water, which made it impossible to move. Our guide needed to get us out of the raft to dislodge it. The grand finale was a 4m drop down a sloped dam which was very exciting, a bit like all those films with people on rafts heading helplessly towards water rushing off the edge of a cliff. 

Emma's Corner from Singapore

This corner is about kids.

This is me, Ryan and Teigan, and we were at Gardens by the Bay.  We were just at the water park and  it was fun running there. It was much bigger than the Granville Island Water Park and it had things that looked like trees that shot water and spun around.

When we first arrived, we went skating... in SINGAPORE!  It was super hot there, so that I thought the ice would melt into a pool.  I started with a jacket and mitts but I had to take them off because it was too hot. Here is Teigan on the left, Papa in the middle and me on the right. 

 

Ryan was playing hockey while we were skating. That is his dad, Angus, behind him. Angus is from Australia so he doesn't like skating. Ryan really loves hockey, but there aren't very many hockey players there!

Ryan, Teigan and I are at the water park eating KFC.  The water park was super big, extraordinarily big.  It even had its own wave pool and lazy river that goes all the way around the pool, and even went through a cave. We all played tag in the lazy river, even Kimberley, Daddy and Papa.

When the dog bites

when the bee stings,

when I'm feeling sad

I simply go to the water park

and then I don't feel so bad.

Sometimes I went to pick up Ryan and Teigan from school. Teigan is the one on the left, and we are doing a few math games on the ipad. Every kid has their own iPad. After a few minutes, Teigan's mom, Kimberley, said we have to go to pick up Ryan and then go to the park.

Singapore

Well we have not had a food entry for a while so here's one. Carrot cake anyone? This dish is a Singaporian staple, carrot cake. It is made from radish and starch fried up with vegetables and egg.  You can order it either black, which is sweeter, or white... not so sweet. You can see which one Emma chose, and she loved it! On this day we were on an amazing (and free) tour of Chinatown, which included visiting this food hawker court, and three temples, one Buddhist, one Hindi, and one Taoist. Big thanks to Kimberley who was an amazing tour planner and guide. Thanks also to the whole family, including Chezzle, for their incredible hospitality.  

This is a pretty amazing place, Gardens by the Bay, with the iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel in the background. Below is the view looking down at these same 'trees' from the park atop the hotel. The three tower hotel is designed like a boat on top, complete with a park, restaurant, cafe, and outdoor infinity pool.  Rather than pay the $20 each to go to the viewing area on top, we just went up to the cafe and had an $8 coffee (who knew that an $8 coffee could be such a bargain). Another day, we came to the Gardens by the Bay (on the ground) with Kimberley, Gus and the boys for a splash in the water park, a sunset picnic, and to watch the light show. As the sun sets, the trees begin to glow and at dusk these towering trees light up in time to music and are pretty incredible to see. We sat on the patch of grass, but others watched from the skywalk or restaurant in the main tree.  

The ubiquitous air conditioner, and this is only a three storey building!!!  Needless to say it is HOT in Singapore, although when we were there Kimberley kept saying how great it was that it wasn't too hot. We laughed one day when the weather forecaster said it would be a "bracing" 24C that evening. Oooooh, better grab a jacket!

To me, Singapore really felt like the crossroads of the world, both geographically and culturally. Sitting almost on the Equator, it straddles north and south. It also lies at the point where ships traverse from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean. Culturally, it has historically been a mix of Chinese, Malay and people from the Indian subcontinent, but seems to now also include the world of business ex-pats from Oceania, North America and Europe. After visiting three different religious temples on our Chinatown tour, we then visited the Sultan Mosque (above) in the Arab quarter and a huge shopping bazaar in Little India with every colour imaginable of Sari on offer! - Steve

This mosque has many visitors, and as such has a great set of displays about Islam. One photo was of several hundred men praying in the main hall of the mosque. When I asked Emma where the women were, she became more interested and went to read the displays about Muslim women. Social Studies lesson... CHECK. 

Finally, a few other things to beware of in Singapore:

1) Snakes (this sign was posted as we began a 10km hike in Singapore's version of Stanley Park).

2) Marauding monkeys who will take your food if you bring it out. 

3) Breaking the rules (I wanted to photoshop the English in the sign below to say "No Gum Chewing"). It is almost impossible to break the rules, signs everywhere reminding you to do this and not that, messages broadcast regularly about rules on subways, and always the watchful eye of your neighbour with advice in case you missed something.

4) Crazy prices... like $43 for a jug of beer, or a million for a one bedroom condo!

Koh Bulon, South Andaman Sea, Thailand

This was a lovely place to dine that we stumbled across on our first night. It was so good and so cheap that we returned several times. The view was stunning as we dined on delicious curries, Pad Thai, and coconut soup until it was dark and time for bed. This beach was especially perfect for us, due to the swings that were hanging from the trees almost over the water... who needs McDonald's Playland, this is the real thing!  Below Emma is lying on her back kicking the ball, very CIrque de Soliel. One night she played at length with some local kids, knocking each other over into the sand and laughing hilariously. She loved to hang onto this ball and swing out over the water and back to the beach repeatedly, which allowed Steve and me to have some cherished adult time at the table. They even had WiFi which meant we could blog and connect as warm gentle sea breezes and waves inspired us.  -Keith

As a teacher it's fascinating to see what schools are like in other parts of the world. This is the school on Koh Bulon, which interestingly has some parallels to our neighbourhood school, False Creek Elementary in Vancouver. It's right beside the water with beautiful views and lots of people, including tourists like me walking through. Here some kids are playing soccer. Behind the boy on the left is a gorgeous white sand beach with good coral and snorkelling. We spent hours here. The huts you see behind the kids are the "Schoolhouse" Bungalows aka bamboo huts and cost less than $20 Canadian/night. Below is one of the classrooms. From what we observed, there was no aircon, few resources, and not much learning happening. Emma and I had a good chat about the differences between school here and in Canada, and how fortunate she is to have the opportunities which a good education brings. Interestingly, her schoolwork met less resistance for the next few days!  -Steve

Awaiting sunset, at the very funky Coconut Bar. The entire island of Koh Bulon has only a handful of motorbikes, and most places only have power at night. We walked everywhere, including one day when we decided to do the cross island trail through the rubber tree plantation to the Chao Lair fishing village. The trail back was so unused that we had to bushwack, through the jungle, getting slightly lost and well covered in bites and scrapes. The Sprite and the Mojitos were well deserved!

AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! A puffer fish!  I found this puffer fish on the beach, it was gross but interesting at the same time. I took it to higher ground and buried it in the sand.  Ouch!! That hurt, it poked me on my finger while I was burying it- but I'm OK.  I buried it because I couldn't bear to look at it.  It was so sad, the puffer fish was stinky I couldn't bear it. ;-(>  I saw lots of big and small colourful fish when I was swimming. Daddy saw a live puffer fish.  -Emma