OxfordShocks Away

Blog 29 Last delights in Singapore

2007-11-26T07:05:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we spent the day on Sentosa Island, taking the MRT (mass rapid transport) in the direction of the Harbour Front (and my can they show the world how undergrounds can be run - clean, fast, cheap). The Sentosa Express takes you across the causeway to this island totally devoted to pleasure and tourism. I reeled back at the thought of spending the day at an Alton Towers, but then decided that it was probably closer to Centre Parks and infinitely cheaper.
We decided to limit our options and chose to go to Underwater World - absolutely brilliant with its tunnel beneath and beside a huge variety of creatures, Butterfly World - fantastic to see these exotic varieties floating happily out of doors in a huge enclosed area rather than indoors as they do in Britain, the Nature Trail with interesting signs pointing out the flora and finally our last chance to sit on a hot palm fringed sandy beach. The water was wonderfully refreshing in what must be mid 90s heat though it is very odd to bathe on a beach where you can see some of the vast numbers of tankers and other large ships passing not far offshore as they use the huge dockyards nearer town.
Back on the mainland our evening meal was taken from the excellent street vendors in Chinatown.

Finally on Sunday we headed to the Jurong Bird Park. It is beautifully kept and we could get astonishingly close to a great variety of really impressive birds of every size and colour. Signage was full of really interesting facts that kept you wanting to know more and go round just one more corner. The flamingo and pelican lakes are beautiful and we spent time just sitting and taking it all in as well as moving from area to area in case we missed anything.
We then took the MRT right round the north of the island to give ourselves time to rest in the cool and watched as the heavens finally opened. The rainy season returned just as we were leaving having given us a few days space to savour so many of Singapore's jewels in comfort and sun.

The 14 hour flight back home was a smooth one, though I have discovered a new form of torture. Just as you are dropping off the sleep and move in the seat your right hip trips the movie channel on again and the lights of it bring you straight back to wakefulness. It took countless repeats of this before I dozily realised I could remove the controller from the seat and get some peace. Richard managed some decent sleep though so one of us remained sane at least.

It has been the most amazing time to get to appreciate some more of the world's diverse wonders and as jetlag sets in leaves us only too glad to have had this chance.

Blog 28 Singapore's other temptations

2007-11-26T06:37:00.000-08:00

Friday 23rd was our chance to visit Chinatown - a huge area, perhaps architecturally unlike anything we had seen in China, but in mood and liveliness certainly similar.

There are long streets set with pastel coloured old buildings with Chinese touches. The street markets are crammed full of tempting stalls and there are wonderful temples to be found. (East meets west just inside the door of the temple)

The Hindu Sri Mariamman Temple, is similar in style to the Chettiar one with its many coloured figurines heaped in layers and large cow effigies representing Shiva. We discovered that yesterday's ceremony was a purification one, encouraging the expulsion of evil and ill health.

The Jamae Chulia Mosque one the 1820's site of an earlier one is calm and dignified and welcoming and finally we went to the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. This is a towering red and gold edifice, with serenely beautiful interiors, as various buddhas and myriads of miniature ones set into the walls glow in several temple rooms on different floors. But the highlight was a perfect orchid garden on the rooftop surrounding a small building housing a prayer wheel.

The tooth itself was in the museum and shut until later that day but we couldn't stay to wait to see it.
As we had spent more time than planned enjoying shopping and a light lunch we decided to postpone the planned visit to the Jurong Bird Park and go instead to Orchard Road (Singapore's Oxford Street writ large and apparently where the missing population in other streets could be instantly discovered). We were surprised to find that prices here were similar to those in the UK as elsewhere is generally much cheaper, though admittedly we were never up to checking out every store.
Back for a rest and to freshen up for the big Raffles experience.

We walked over to the main entrance foyer to see what that was like inside and yes, it is spectacularly lovely and in a world of its own, with its Somerset Maughan hunting ground of the Writers' Bar and tiffen available if you want it in the afternoon. But we were there for the famous (and delicious) 'Singapore Sling' in the Long Bar (as are so many other tourists) and dinner later. The Long Bar, with its lines of constantly swaying palm fans and astonishing mounds of monkey nut shells all over the floor thrown down as you eat the nuts with your cocktail was suitably shadowy, though I didn't feel a novel coming on as too many of us there were obviously just lookers-on rather than real live performers. Dinner was set in the vast palm-treed courtyard, complete with singer and band a vast number of waiters but there were sadly two missing ingredients which took the edge off the experience. Fish was available but cooked without any flair to a dullness I hadn't experienced anywhere before and other diners were thin on the ground (though now we know why). Richard struggled manfully with a small hairy crab, but both of us were left feeling hungry and decided to go elsewhere for desert. What a wasted opportunity. Perhaps during the rainy season the tourists are too few to make the effort for, or perhaps they just need to find some new cooks. Anyway 20/10 for looks and 1/10 for achievement but still well worth seeing.
We had the tiramisu we needed at a very strange new area called Chijmes. It is a hugely lively series of individual restaurants covering every continent and seemed to be the place that everyone who wasn't at Raffles had rushed to. All this is beautifully set in the grounds of a converted elegant white church and the church itself is now used as a venue for weddings and parties generally. However, it felt uncomfortably to me like an altar to Mammon which is perhaps appropriate for Singapore's mass materialism but it was sad to find such a beautiful church no longer used for prayer.

Blog 27 - to Singapore

2007-11-22T17:58:00.000-08:00

The last leg of our journey and finding it hard to tear ourselves away from New Zealand and our friends I personally was feeling little but indifference to this bit I have to admit. The journey of 3 hrs flight to Sydney, a hour or so's wait there and 7 hrs onwards to Singapore arriving 3am NZ time was not something I particularly relished. In spite of my cold crescendoing to dramatic heights in all possible ways and presumably being generously donated to other passengers sharing my airspace and a tortured drop into Singapore as I hoped my eardrums would stand up to the pressure we arrived safely and a luxurious taxi ride to the hotel helped to smooth us down.

I have to admit that I am really enjoying Singapore. I spent yesterday morning bobbing along gently beside Richard in a little cloud of bemused fluff as we strolled towards the waterfront, visiting St Andrew's Cathedral (simple elegance and lovely interior), passing the English Cricket Club, the Law Courts and the Asian Museum (all classical and elegant buildings) and at the waterfront being confronted by the strange mix of restaurants in Flemish style old buildings standing in front of the towering high rises behind.

But somehow the spaces work, the flowers and trees are beautiful, all is spotless and thoughtfully restrained and my muzzy head began to enjoy just being here. It is comfortably warm and the air conditioning is generally refreshing rather than freezing contrast. From the waterfront we decided that a river cruise of half and hour would mean fresh breeze and little effort and that proved to be a perfect choice.
(this elegant Renaissance-style building houses the internet cafe from which this comes)
We rested back at the hotel and refreshed went to walk in the beautiful park at Fort Canning. It is exotically tropical but has a series of noticeboards along the walk giving really interesting details of history and flora. To our surprise we found a cottage built for Raffles in his last days at the top of the hill. Unpretentious but with lovely views and setting. We descended the hill on the other side to get to the Chettiar Hindu Temple and found to our pleasure that there was a festival of some sort in full swing. You could tell by the deafening cacophony coming from its doors; a mix of bagpipes and animal slaughter would perhaps best describe it. But it proved to be two trumpeters (of sorts) and two drummers - and I think the idea of going at it full blast was to leave the brain unable to think of worldly or any thoughts and get into the mood of focusing on what was going on. Anyway it seemed to work and as we watched the ritual of a stone cow (I think) being washed and then covered with red flowers or berries and later a white powder and then rewashed as a flaming dish was held up now and again to mark the need for worshipers to raise their hands in prayer the sounds seemed to follow a change in ritual, either guiding or following it. It was in fact mesmerising (though maybe I was semi-mesmerised anyway) and the rich colour and sense of devotion was very impressive. The outside of this temple, open at the sides with pale green columns, was covered with colourful figures beautifully depicted.

Change of mood as we stopped off for iced teas at Hooters at Clarke Quay - most of the restaurants (and streets for that matter) seem pretty deserted during the day time, maybe because this is officially the rainy season -though thankfully not today. Hooters describes itself as 'delightfully tacky, yet unrefined' and Richard certainly enjoyed the mini shorts and tight tea-shirted waitress.

Back to rest again and then we decided to eat at Little India but popped in to check out Raffles Hotel on the way to see if we would need to book for a meal. It is far more lovely than I'd expected. A creation of white colonnades and total elegance, set around open courtyards. It is dressed for Christmas in the most sumptuous swags of gold and red and the prices for meals look affordable so we'll head back there for Friday evening I hope.

We changed the tone completely by going to The Banana Leaf Restaurant - where food is slapped down directly onto the place mats/plates of banana leaves. It is eaten by hand (or spoon and fork if you feel cowardly) with gusto and was absolutely delicious, though by that point my cold which was relieved by the curry, but not giving me much eating space admitted defeat on finishing all the goodies. We walked back thankfully through the lively night market of Little India and had another wonderful night's sleep.

Blog 26 Sunday 18th November onwards Auckland continued

2007-11-20T13:49:00.000-08:00

On Sunday and Monday we had a chance to spend some quality time with Mum's best friend, Daphne. Miraculously she looks no older than when we came over last time (12 years ago?) but she is suffering from lack of hearing now. However, by keeping things simple in her flat and then walks along the seashore we seemed to have no problem at all communicating and it was good to reminisce with someone who remembers my parents so vividly. It was lovely to see her again.

We also managed to fit in a long walk up 'One Tree Hill' (though sadly the tree had to be cut down recently) which has a glorious panorama of the city in all directions and meeting Valerie's neighbours who had just returned from a week in Fiji greatly refreshed.

On Tuesday we spent the morning really enjoying the Auckland Museum, which, although more dated than Te Papa, has a really fine collection of Maori pieces and extremely high quality of explanations for the visit. Their 'Landmarks' exhibition which shows European design and craftsmanship and fashion through the centuries was brilliantly put together and the reasons fashions changed were suddenly evident too. The natural history floor was full of things to learn about New Zealand and we were fascinated by a video on Mangrove swamps which explained so much of what we'd seen and wondered about in Fiji. Richard spent a good deal of time on the War Memorial floor and was very impressed by it.

To our delight we then met up with Rene and Esme's son Gabriel, who has just finished his music audio recording course in Auckland. It was good to see him after so long and again strange to meet someone who is on the verge of his life and career after seeing him as a bouncing youngster last time. I do hope we have persuaded him to come out to the UK and spend time with us there.

A final meal with Valerie and family at a marvellous steak restaurant at Herne Bay (no not that one) but a fine and elegant part of the city and we

Blog 25 Monday 12th onwards

2007-11-18T21:24:00.000-08:00

Whilst in Nelson we spent some time visiting studios and exhibitions which are spread all round the area. Some fine work to be seen, but all too little time. We also checked out and enjoyed the two sculptures made by Anthony Stones as we thought we should see some of his New Zealand work whilst we are here.

Back then to Picton which had seemed very attractive when we arrived there yesterday and well worth some time there and we stayed in a motel with a balcony and wonderful views. There was time to stroll around the harbour, do some sketching and generally enjoy this small and rather undervalued town.
Tuesday was blustery but the afternoon crossing to Wellington was not too choppy and it is a wonderful trip between the islands out to open sea and then into harbour. Three uninterrupted hours gave me the first proper chance to sketch as we moved from scene to scene and a range of subtle colours.

Rene came to collect us and we returned to the familiar surroundings of their home. When we came last time they had built it onto a hillside and now they are building an extension which will double its size. Lots of work ahead but a great space in the end.
We saw Katie, their daughter, for the first time since our earlier trip when only tiny and she is now a lovely young woman on the verge of her next stage in life and I'm so glad we had the chance to see how now and hope she will come and stay in Oxford before too long.
We went out for a superb fish and chips supper opposite Kapiti beach but it was too blustery to try walking on the shore that evening.

Wednesday 14th - with mixed weather and some heavy rain we decided to take the day easily and catch up with washing and exploring locally. A hair cut brought Richard back from the world of the mad professors ('but I've already had my hair cut this year') and we found yet another wonderful place for a snack lunch. Quality is amazing everywhere. We learned later that Wellington had had such heavy wind that the ferry had been delayed several hours with 6m swells and planes had had problems landing.
Our evening was spent cosily watching the moving Swedish film about creating music 'As it is in Heaven' together.

Thursday 15th - Weather had calmed so we set off for Wellington by train. The Te Papa Museum was built in about 1997 and we decided to see how it compared with the others we have visited over the last few weeks. It is big but somehow rather bittily put together, both architecturally and from the point of view of the exhibits. Its lack of coherence leaves one with a sense of confusion - and I think I most enjoyed a short video which showed the Maori story of New Zealand's creation but with beautiful graphics. We experienced the earthquake house and saw a nostaligic presentation based in a bric a brac shop which gave glimpses of 20th century life. The Maori exhibits were pretty limited, so we will try to learn more in Auckland. They have a new Marai (meeting house) built there which is partly a stage setting for performances is a modern take on the old fashioned Marais (which can also be seen in the Museum) but the multi-coloured wooden figures were a bit disneyfied for our taste. The art collection too is limited but with some really fine works scattered amongst the others.

(traditional Maori marai in Te Papa)

(New variety of Marai in Te Papa - all singing all dancing)

We raced around Wellington to pick up some odds and ends, some from the Jewish Community Centre, and finally walked back along The Terrace - full of fine old houses with verandas but sadly now cramped behind huge skyscrapers which block what would once have been perfect views over the town. Back by train, right up by the driver on main line that actually goes down to one track at one point and skims right down by the sea - a terrific route if you get the chance.

Friday 16th - This time we finally got to the beach - Raumati beach is truly lovely, with splendid views of Kapiti Island, the bird sanctuary, and back towards the coast towards Wellington. The vast amount of driftwood and shells spilled all over it was another fascinating source of natural art. We walked to a small and unspoiled village called Paekakariki, had some perfect Moroccan spicy soup and then found a really good wrought iron sculptor working in his studio there and a great guy producing wood turned art forms from a machine he called the 'Transmogriphier and Cerebral Enhancitron' (Heaven only knows what Richard will be calling the workshop when he gets back).
Esme picked us up from there and we went on to a purpose-built complex for art/ turning/foody shops called Lindale. It is beautifully done and full of wonderful products but there were few people shopping so I'm not sure how it survives before the main season gets going.
Our final meal with Rene and Esme was a very special one, beginning with Sabbath prayers and grace and trying to express how much we had all appreciated our time together. It was sad to think how quickly it had sped past but has left so many precious memories.

On Saturday we left early for the flight to Auckland and on the way had a chance to go up to the hilltop overlooking Kapiti coast to try to fix the view even more firmly in our thoughts.

The flight was good with clear views of this beautiful country on the way and this time we were taken by Brian back home to see Harrison their son as well as catching up with Valerie and Victoria again. We've been offered the use of Victoria's VW Polo whilst in Auckland which makes life infinitely more convenient as we can pop backwards and forwards to their house and that of Valerie's mother, Daphne, who was my mother's best friend as the real reason we have come to Auckland is to see all of them. Meanwhile they have put us up in great comfort at a nearby hotel. Once we had settled our cases back there, rested and refreshed we were raring to join everyone for a great barbecue on their deck and meet good friends of theirs, Tom and Aneke and their children.

Back soon with the next update.

Blog 23 - now Monday 19th Nov but catching up with 11th onwards

2007-11-18T14:31:00.000-08:00

Wow, time flies when you are enjoying yourself! We hadn't realised that we had left you so far behind but access to computer with space and time to think straight hasn't been simple over the past few days, though all has been enjoyable in the interim.

On Sunday 10th we all set off from Nelson to visit David Stones, the artist and brother of Anthony Stones, sculptor and our good friend in UK and Beijing. The welcome was immensely warm and perhaps for the first time I could see from the quality of life lived out there that the balance between hub of civilization and real time and space available in this mad world was a fine one. Their place is set on an absolutely beautiful hill with views over water and hills and they have family living comfortably all around them in different houses. Sunshine most of the year and a decent appreciation of the work. Not bad.

We then went on to picnic briefly at Golden Sands Bay - and they are and then headed over towards Picton to see Rene and Esme off on the ferry back to Wellington as they had to get back for work and house building (pile driving at this stage on Monday). The gorgeous scenery is set along winding roads that constantly give new magical glimpses of the coastline or inland lushlylanted hillsides. It was an absolutely beautiful warm and golden day and it was sad to say our temporary farewells. We then drove back to Nelson in the soft evening light listening to music as we went and stayed again with the hospitable b & b we'd been to the night before after yet another example of amazingly good NZ food.

Time racing again and we need to go and see Daphne, my mother's best friend now. I'll get back when I can.

Blog22 Friday 9th November onwards

2007-11-11T12:03:00.000-08:00

From Wanaka
we headed up along the stunning (sorry adjectives are definitely a problem in NZ as all the superlatives are understatements here) West Coast. This time it was the glacier experience at Fox Glacier (and the Imax version of the Franz Joseph Glacier to be realistic about timing).

Fish and chips in the fresh air set us up for a zoom through to the gold mining time of Ross as Esme was determined to give us the true West Coast experience of an old two-storey pub, hopefully complete with bar brawl. Hysterics set in as the reality of exactly that became evident. You could have a room with bed + basin or light or mirror but not all three, but as most of the other rooms were empty (wonder why?) we dipped in an out of them for whatever was needed. The communal ladies had a loo but no lock and a shower but not basin and not much in the way of hot water. Having sorted ourselves out briefly we went down to see what was doing in town. The locals are real goldminers and we discovered that even when almost horizontally drunk it was possible for them to sing brilliantly and play the guitar with some style. Rene stole the show with his superlative guitar playing whilst sober and we truly had a great evening there. To top it all once we had retired from the scene at about midnight the party continued in full flood and they even crescendoed to the bar brawl with thumpings, crashings and swearings going on below as we grinned ecstatically above.

Breakfast next day was served in the sunshine on our personal verandah

upstairs overlooking the new lake (filled in gold mine) and we had the pleasure of whitebait fritters a rare and valuable treat given out very sparingly on the back of Rene's playing and Esme's singing I think.

OK onwards via another goldmining town where we picked up an Emmylou Harris CD to play whilst we skimmed through the mountains and then via the Pancake Rock formation

and a walk along the cliff top there and on to Nelson, a fine seaside town which is famed for its artists and craftsmen living the area. This time we went to the other extreme and stayed in a sumptuously comfortable b&b with a super helpful host and hostess and were soon able to cope with the paraphernalia of luxury living (washbasin, mirror and light all ensuite) and found a great seafood restaurant for our first 'dressed up' dinner with R and E.

More to follow but I must go now to see what action is out there for today for us.

Blog 21 Trying to fit South Island New Zealand into a blog!

2007-11-11T11:30:00.000-08:00

Apologies for the long delay here. We have been going non-stop for a week but every day has been rich in experience and delight but comfortably paced so we are not reeling but just wondering how to convey it all. I will try to summarise rather than detail everything though.

We arrived on Saturday 3rd November in Auckland in transit for Christchurch and were stunned to be tapped on the shoulder there by Valerie who we are planning to visit in a fortnight! She and Brian and their daughter Victoria whisked us off for refreshment and a sprint of a catch-up with each other as we sat in the sun at a nearby winery drinking wine, tea and nibbling good cheeses before heading back to the departure gate for Christchurch.

A picturesque flight and were met by big grins from our friends Rene and Esme at the foot of the stairs. It felt so good to be with them again after a gap of about 10 years I think, but it felt as though we'd never been away. We headed towards a b&b in Christchurch that they had booked and tentatively decided to stay in spite of the odd feeling that it might be a cross between Fawlty Towers and some other unknown experience. The host was definitely not quite with us but the rooms were fine and it was late to worry about it.

Delights started next morning as we bought the makings of breakfast and took our picnic to a bench in the very beautiful Hagley Park Botanic Garden and sat in the sun drenched in the scent
of rhododendrons. This sybaritic life-style gives the tone of the entire week really. Even the car we have hired very reasonably is brand new and goes like a dream in great comfort. The sun has shone down and blessed us every day.

So where have we been? We headed from Christchurch to the scenic town of Akaroa, a little French settlement on the coast found after a series of fairly winding bends through beautiful mountain scenery. As we had to go back to C to get on our road again we stopped off for a couple of fascinating hours at their new Antarctic Centre, duly being frozen in polar conditions and watching the penguins and learning huge amounts about what it is actually all about out there.
Then on to a town called 'Geraldine' (you may well ask why) and a perfect little b&b this time with hugely welcoming hospitality and the excitement of a power cut just as we headed for bed.
They'd suggested that we pop in to the local knitting shop if we were interested in medieval history (?!!) -so we did - and there found one of the unknown wonders of the world I think - a guy called Michael Linton has spent most of his life faithfully reproducing the Bayeux Tapestry in a mosaic of tiny bit of metal from knitting machines. You may well feel as we did when we saw what he was up to but within minutes we had been entranced by this guy's true spirit of endeavour and learning. I think you will find out more about him and what he has been doing to while away his minutes in Geraldine on www.1066.co.nz (or something similar) and be prepared for true respect.

Onwards via Lake Tekapo and another moment of entrancement as we stepped into the Church of the Good Shepherd to discover that instead of the traditional altarpiece there was a picture window looking out onto the lake and mountains behind. It just said it all.

We found a perfect spot for lunch and painting on the beach at Lake Pukaki watching the clouds drift round Mount Cook - and spent precious moments savouring it.

Onwards through ever changing mountain scenery to our next haven at Lake Wanaka in a very comfortable holiday home that had been lent to R and E by friends. We used it as our base over 4 days venturing out to see Arrowtown and Cromwell (goldmine towns), The Remarkables (mountains that are), Queenstown, and above all an overnight cruise on a motored sailing schooner in Milford Sound with a warm and enthusiastic crew who made the trip really special in this spectacular setting. Penguins, seals, the sound of bell birds haunting the rainforest and perfect peace under the stars and so much space...........

I'll save the next bit for another blog.

Blog 20 actually Tuesday 6th November New Zealand note

2007-11-05T21:59:00.000-08:00

A frustratingly brief blog today from New Zealand, but just to say we are having a completely brilliant time here and haven't paused for breath, though always taking it gently and at a sensible pace. The South Island constantly lit by warm sunshine is a joy and happiness quotient soaring at about 300% daily. At some point we will sit down and put down some of the great places we've seen but it will have to wait for more computer time I'm afraid. But all is very well with us

Blog 19 Tuesday 30th Wed 31st October Fijian farewell

2007-10-31T20:49:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday afternoon the weather cleared and we drove instead to the north side of the island to the end of the tarred road at a very small town called Korovou. The drive was again beautiful and we marveled at the lushness of the country, though with rain as it had been earlier it is easy to see why.

This evening was the first truly beautiful sunset, though there have already been some gently lovely ones and as the house faces west we get the full performance. (This is the real colour above. No enhanced photography!)

Supper was a delicious meaty fish, sweet potato and Chinese cabbage followed by an ingenious pudding made of paw paw and cassava with coconut cream on it. We had home entertainment with a grand rendering of The Charge of the Light Brigade by Tim and Anare played the guitar which is now up and working, though his poor fingers need some time to get hardened. We ended the evening nostalgically listening to a Simon and Garfunkel CD.

Wednesday - We finally made it to a beach! I think it was generally decided that whatever the weather we'd stick our feet in the ocean somewhere, so packed a picnic to go to a beach at Pacific Harbour, about 1/3 of the way back to Nadi. In spite of rain on the way there, particularly when we stopped off to investigate the outdoor workshop of Anare's brother, who is also a carver, we found the sun coming out as we got to the beach. We had a brilliant afternoon, with windswept waves, warm water, warm weather most of the time and a long long palm fringed beach almost entirely to ourselves. The only other people risking the iffy weather were a hardy Russian couple who also felt they were in paradise and a small group of Fijians clearing up driftwood and huddling round the fire (!!) Richard was determined to open one of the coconuts scattered on the beach and minus knife spent an hour digging away at it with a stick to get the outer coating and the husk off it. Anare explained that the local way to do it without a knife available was simple to tear it open with your teeth and proceeded to demonstrate, but for some reason Richard wasn't too keen. However, he happily messed about with it in the fond remembrance of time back in the workshop at home and I think it might keep him going for a bit longer.

We then went to get tea at a very attractive nearby hotel, sadly almost entirely empty, and felt it was such a pity that the tourists aren't flocking back yet, though great for us.

Returned contented to the house to find both Anare's sister had left us some beautiful woven gifts and Asinate's father had produced a whole family of wooden turtles for us!

Thursday will be an easy day off before our next lot of travels and we'll try to get back to the blog next week in New Zealand.

(Just some additional input on our last day in Fiji.) We travelled over to spend the night at a hotel in Nadi in order to be there in time for the morning flight to NZ. We were really pleased to have a chance to see Anare's sister, Hola and her husband William again. They are wonderful wood carvers and had offered to show us how they did some of the decorating when they met us for dinner at the hotel. The huge turtle below is by William and is on display in a Nadi shop.

Blog 18 Saturday 27th October - the Family gathering

2007-10-29T14:55:00.000-07:00

Anare had invited various members of the family to come and meet us on Saturday evening. As more and more people arrived bringing food we wondered just how much more we could manage to eat of their generous portions! But before the meal was another cava ceremony, this time with Paula Linga (the wood carver) as our spokesman. It was an enjoyable repeat of the one earlier in the week, but this time Richard had to make a short appropriate reply (in English!) Then we left some of the men to continue with the cava drinking and sat down with Anare, cousins and one of their wives to another sumptuous meal. It was clear that it was relatively rare for the family to get together like this so we went to bed before it was too late to give them a chance to catch up. Both fo Anare's sisters stayed on that night so we could talk more to them on Sunday.

Sunday was special for us too as we were invited to share our way of welcoming Shabbat with the family. We demonstrated and explained and were asked a myriad of questions. A is really keen that their Sabbath should start more authentically and needed to know the thinking behind what we do.

On Monday we realised that the combination of poor weather and the prohibitive cost of a seaplane meant that we would not get to Fulaga this time round so decided it would be a day to catch up at last with blogs. So finishing this off on Tuesday morning we have finally arrived back in real time and listen to the wind outside wondering what today will have in store.

Blog 17 More of Fiji from Friday 26th onwards

2007-10-29T14:45:00.000-07:00

Having seen Mele's headmistress had a very good hair cut I thought I'd be brave and have my bushy mane dealt with if I could. So R and I went into a small hairdresser's who had been recommended by her and I was delighted by a first class cut for about 4 pounds (no pound sign here). We explored a bit more of Suva and returned by taxi. Taxis are cheap and very very plentiful here so we are enjoying this novelty too.

After lunch we drove to the University of the South Pacific (USP) which is set on a beautifully manicured campus with low rise buildings. Here we met Asinate's Uncle who is teaching carving in spite of having no formal training himself, but a huge talent. We had been told that his work needed fork-lift trucks to move it about and indeed several entire trees, branches, roots and all had been intricately carved with imaginary beasts and patterns in every conceivable part.Paula Linga is his name and even his small pieces are beautiful. To our delight he gave us a smoothly carved black piece made of Vesi wood in the form of a mythical creature and I realised that it was close as could possibly be to the Oxford dodo by pure chance. He works in a marvellous domed outdoor studio and is now finishing off the works left by various students from surrounding islands. Everything he produces is sold instantly unless the University itself wants to keep them. What an idyllic life!

(Anare (right) with his cousin Jim with the carved tree)

As Sabbath was coming in that evening (A feels that Friday is the appropiate evening according to the Bible anyway) we had family prayers and an extra big feast.This was in the form of a Fijian ' take-away' in the sense that Asinate had spent part of the day with her sister who runs a chicken farm with her husband. They were busy making up packed meals for customers all over the area to raise additional money for Asinates's nephew's wedding. It consisted of a vast package including roast chicken, marinated and smoked fish, ro-ro, lasagna and a casava pudding. Tim brought in wine as a treat too. It was a lovely evening if you could ignore the tannoyed preaching from the church in the village below that went on for hours, but we slept well in spite of that.

Blog 16 - More of Fiji

2007-10-29T00:53:00.001-07:00

(Views from the Verandah)

On our first Sunday Richard drove us all into Suva under A's guidance. (Anare has a painful knee at present so R is driving when possible). A had warned us it was small and sped through in the space of lighting 3 matches, but that is an exaggeration. It is set along the shore and a mixture of modern, usually Indian entrepreneurial shops and organisations, and touches of colonial grandeur with plenty of greenery and shade under palm trees and a huge market for fresh fruit, vegetables and fish of every imaginable colour. The roads here are smooth and traffic reasonable.

We went back on foot next day to explore some more, though it is quite a walk! We passed innumerable varieties of Church, including a huge Mormon Temple on the hill as the Fijians are naturally very religious. The other delight of Sunday was family prayers, mostly in Fijian, though with translations for our benefit. The singing in 4 parts is normal and makes a beautiful sound. The Fulaga islanders are Methodists and Sunday is generally a day of rest and prayer and very peaceful.Apart from Sunday lunch, the main meal is in the evening and bedtime is generally very early, ready for an early start the next day.

On Monday we went downstairs to watch Asinate's father carving wooden turtles which he sells on to a local shop and all are readily bought so he has no need to look for further outlets. We're told that most of the carving seen in town will have been done by members of the family.

We are getting familiar with the wild life here - few animals, though we have spotted the occasional mongoose and lots of dogs and cats live in the houses along the roads. As I type overhead is the clatter of minah birds which land on the roof at about 5am screeching wildly and then generally fly off, but return now and then during the day. There are some beautifully melodic song birds to make up for the minahs and we look forward to catching site of the Kula (I think) bird with gorgeous red plumage. We have also been enthralled by the very large bats which come over the house in the evening heading for a night on the tiles in Suva. (When Anare mentioned that there are no children's stories based on Fiji I decided that needed rectifying and we now have a miniature book in which the three children here, Samuele, Mele and Alison meet Becky the Bat (beka is bat in Fijian) and sort out her sonar problems. Publication so far is limited to 4 copies but I'm up for offers!)

Tuesday was fantastic fun. We went with Mele (4) and her kindergarten class and mothers to Pacific Harbour by bus with Asinate and Alison.

The bus was an unforgetable joy infusion. An hour of rollicking along bumping over potholes with singing at the top of their voices to the very loud Fijian music and even occasional dancing when it got too much to bear to sit still. Everyone laughing and happy. The bus had a fixed top but no proper windows and a tarpaulin with plastic not-very-see-through panels for the sides when it got too rainy and windy. The scenery going along the coast road was glorious when we could see it. Pacific Harbour itself is a tourist set-up so that you can see what it was like in a traditional Fijian village, complete with singing, dancing, fire walking, dramatic rendering of a story about a couple of lads who are planning to run off with 2 young maidens, fight and are then put in the pot (off scene) for their trouble. It is well done and there are lots of shops selling handicrafts etc. to tempt you, but we had to go back by the end of the morning.

By Wednesday the sky was blue and clear after a dramatic storm on Tuesday afternoon and we drove to the Fijian museum in Suva with Anare. It is small but with his explanations it was much more interesting. The huge exhibit of a restored boat was originally made by his own islanders and restored by his cousins. It was a magnificent construction holding many islanders at 13m long, with large sails and an outrigger, but a dwarf in comparison with the largest one they had built which was ocean-going and held hundreds at 36m in length.

On Thursday we were taken inland into the hills in a 4 wheel-drive with a driver (pot holes a real challenge here) and Anare's cousin Jim in the back seat had it worst of all being bounced into the car ceiling every now and then. Everything en route was massively lush and A explained that although much of it is heavily cultivated they need no fertiliser. However, the down side of this is that weeds grow just as enthusiastically. We passed countless beautifully kept villages, mostly with houses built of corrugated aluminium on posts and often highly coloured. We travelled over rivers that were pretty high after the recent rain and A said that only the British bridges had survived the serious flooding after the last hurricane caused by El Nino. We had the privilege of being taken to visit Ratu Solomone, the Paramount Chief of the inland district of 9 villages, 15000 people. He arrived at his large house in the hills at the same time as we did, also in a 4 wheel drive car, and was entirely gracious and welcoming and asked us all to come and sit cross-legged on woven mats. (In Richard's case only whilst drinking the cava as it was clear that he doesn't bend naturally that way!) First we offered him a cava root, presented formally with a speech by Jim, Anare's spokesman for the tribe and equally formally accepted with all names and titles of everyone concerned included and then A made a speech I think. After this the large wooden cava bowl was brought out by his son-in-law and the ground cava was mixed in a bag with water poured into the bowl. Polished coconut shells were then dipped in and formally presented by his son to the Chief, then Anare, his spokesman and then Richard and myself. A had stipulated that we should have no more than 2 bowls as the effect of minor numbing of the mouth becomes more pronounced as more is drunk until it would be difficult to converse coherently, but the tradition is that the contents of the large bowl are finished so the others manfully kept drinking until it was empty. Each small bowl has to be drunk in one go and it is a pleasant fresh flavour unlike anything else I have ever tasted, so difficult to describe and each drinker is clapped formally. We then chatted on about life, the universe, travel, the Foundation (Fijian tribal development), government, pensions and herbal healing and were impressed that as a young fitter at the Fijian Sugar Corporation Ratu Salomone had decided that he wanted the Chief Exec's job and patiently went through life till he reached it. Running a huge company and fulfilling his own tribal duties simultaneously must have been a 36 hour a day job.After leaving and looking forward to his visiting us in Oxford we travelled on higher to the special administrative village and hospital that the Brits had laid out as centre of the province and then bumpily returned to Suva and an excellent Chinese meal at a local restaurant together with Asinate and Tim.

Blog 15 Monday 28th October Fiji

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Sorry for the long gap. It wasn't so much inaccessibility of a computer but rather the need for us to get our heads round the whole wonderful experience of Fiji. As the original plan had been to visit our friend Anare's island I felt it should include that in the equation. However, last week A had to be available in Suva to tie up business and this week, when it was planned that we should go, we were very aware that we would be reliant on weather conditions to be sure to be back in time to fly up from Suva to Nadi on Friday so that we could catch the plane to New Zealand on Saturday. (You see even 7 weeks is not enough!) The normal inter-island ferry takes 16 hours to go to Fulaga in the Lau island group to the far east of Viti Levu, the main island, and it is 12 hours by direct boat. If the weather is bad there would be uncertainty of date and time of return. Our first few days were hot and wet, then we had hot and sunny and now it is intermittently wet again.

The surest way to go was by seaplane (1hr) but we have just learned that they won't stay on islands overnight and will charge double to return to get us at a totally crazy price. A needs to get out there for a meeting so although his Foundation was going to pay it simply isn't worth double and he will try by boat next week instead. However, it makes me realise why he has travelled so casually round the world up to now as a 16 hour trip to his own island is almost as long as going most other places. We are disappointed, but we were so relieved to get here at all after a scare in Australia when the News reported an imminent coup again and we feared that Quantas might not take us. But apparently that was all in the heads of the Australians and although life is not straight-forward politically at all there is no coup on the books. The other aspect is that all Anare's sisters and brothers and most of the rest of his family now live on Viti Levu, having come over to work or for their children to go to secondary school here. To meet them and see their carvings and share a family feast we needed to be in Suva not Fulaga.

Snorkeling will happen from a closer island, possibly tomorrow depending on sea conditions and the views from the house are spectacular anyway. I've found time to paint whenever there has been a spare moment so we are perfectly content (understatement!). My major curiosity, after knowing Anare for 36 years was how someone with his extensive education (2 years Marine Biology at Fiji University, disrupted when the government asked him to go to England to study Estate Management in Cirencester, followed by Law, followed by becoming a chartered surveyor) and who travels round the world more than anyone I know, could deal with the simple island life which consisted of fishing, carving (his family's speciality) and weaving. From meeting his extended family, most of whom are fluent in English and well-educated, I think the answer lies in very much the same area as how we deal with 21st century life and our commitment to our religions and their rituals, something that is valuable to keep alive and practised and taken seriously but needs a separate niche from the machine-ful world of everyday.

So having explained all that I'll try to fill you in on some of the rich diversity of pleasures so far:

We flew into Nadi (pronounced "Nandi") on the main island Viti Levu at about 8pm on Saturday 20th and were met by A and his nephew in a comfortable air-conditioned car and were driven the 3+ hrs east along the main coastal road to Suva, skillfully avoiding some interesting
potholes. It was frustrating to realise that it was a beautiful drive but invisible in the dark so we arrived with little sense of our surroundings.

The house is built on pillars in the hillside outside Suva, leaving space for the car, washing, sitting in the shade, below, as well as a bedroom. It is very large, white and square, but with beautiful verandas round 3 sides both on the main floor and the bedroom floor.

We woke to find that it has fabulous views on one side of the bay, mountains and small villages all set in lush green fields and forests. In his capacity as chief of his island A has responsibility for all the islanders wherever they live, so his house has to be open and available to them at all times. His large 7 bedrooms (many ensuite) are usually full and sometimes the downstairs rooms and verandahs too. Living here at present are his Mother, Asinate, his cousin and astonishingly calm housekeeper, her parents, 3 adopted children of 2, 4 and 10 (extended family members) and Tim, an American colleague. The huge living rooms on the first floor consist of a big open kitchen with entrance both ends, a room which is a dining room and lounge and on the other side of the kitchen another with woven floor mats only for cava ceremonies, rest and play. Then there is also a utility room, an ironing room and 2 bedrooms on that floor. Asinate's father works at carving outdoors under an awning in the garden during the day. Richard would love to have the warm weather to work like this, but here there are no loud machines either.

So what have we been up to in our first week here? A massive quantity of eating certainly. Asinate seems to provide endless delicious meals, often specifically Fijian dishes for us. Fish, vegetables and fruit may be cooked on a 'lovo' outdoor oven by some of A's nephews which consists of stones baked white hot over wood. They bake sweet potatoes, breadfruit and yams, till soft as well as a dish of big green ro ro leaves folded around tuna or coconut fillings. We watched fascinated as they pounded the breadfruit to a smooth paste in a large wooden dish held between the legs and mashed with an unripe paw paw held with 3 wooden prongs. This was mixed with coconut and sugar (latter is the main crop of Fiji) to make a very tasty desert. Other dishes are usually prepared on or in the cooker indoors. The wonderful variety of fish is usually cooked in coconut milk (We've been shown how to break them in half skillfully, but not yet tried ourselves) and the fish soup is then served in a separate bowl with the meal and is delicious. We haevn't managed to cope with eating fish heads which are the best bit, but it is enjoyed with relish by A, reducing everything efficiently to the bones. The fruit here seem to have stronger flavours than back in UK; paw paw, pineapple, mango, watermelon, limes, breadfruit (though this is starchy so eaten as bread or a sweet dish). Much of it grows in A's garden below. We drink a deliciously balancing ginger tea with milk, fruit juice, coconut juice or coffee. Enough for one blog. More to come.

Blog 14 Friday 19th October

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Last day in Sydney and we headed to Elizabeth Bay House to see an elegant example of an early classical home. It was originally set in acres of bush granted to the Colonial Secretary Macleyn who came out at 60 with his natural history collection and his numerous daughters. The poor man got carried away with his cultivated tastes and all that land to turn to garden and follow his passion for collecting and eventually had to hand it all over to his 'rapacious' son who had loaned him thousands to fulfill his dreams. The house is a gem but what a sad tale of obsession.

Chastened, we hurried on to see the astonishing sight of thousands of fruit bats/flying foxes clinging upside down to swathes of trees in the Botanic Gardens (how had I missed them last time?). They are weird and fascintating, with their huge bat wings and furry fronts, gliding effortlessly, the size of seagulls, flapping to cool themselves as they hang and squeaking now and then, fairly active in the daytime.

On again, this time to sketch some of the Aboriginal works in the Sydney Art Gallery to try to get a more immediate feel of them. The very act of trying to copy them made me more aware of their rich complexity. We also went to look at the outstandingly good Dobel Drawing Prize entrants. Drawing is alive and well in Australia folks. Many large scale pieces of superlative vitality and technique.

After a rest back at base we went for our last trip to Circular Quays and to the PJ Doyle restaurant overlooking the harbour. Richard had promised good fish and chips there but I wasn't prepared for the major dilemma this posed. Up to now the Magpie at Witby held the prize for the best fish and chips, but it is one heck of a way to go to get the even more perfect version in Sydney, worthy of the white wine with it. But there are worse problems.

We rounded off the day by seeing Miriam Margoles in 'Dickens' Women' brought to life with wicket relish.

Blog 13 Wed 17th Oct and Thursday 18th

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I'm really glad I'm keeping a diary or I would be reeling by now mentally, trying to hold it all together. It had chilled down considerably on Wednesday and we went back to The Rocks to visit the Museum of Contemporary Art. Disappointed by 'Primavera', the exhibition of youngest contemporaries. Thought Banbury came off better both in concept and in quality of production of most of it, with a few exceptions. However, the upper galleries showing large spaces devoted to individual contemporary Australians put paid to such dismissive attitudes. I really fell for the calm grey and pink canvases of Rosslynd Piggott whose serenity took me straight into another peaceful space and then the astonishingly beautiful porcelain busts of friends and family by Ah Xian were superlative, both in concept and executi0n. Many others well worth the visit and we then went up to see a show-stopping exhibition by Juilie Rrap. Expecting clever but shocking works of this artist who works from her own body that would only need a few moments before dismissal we found a very very thought-provoking exhibition, again beautifully executed by a very talented lady working in photo, video, sculpture and painting. Yes, shocking at times, but mostly making very valid statements.
Lunch at the Lord Nelson pub was poor (first disappointment with food anywhere) but the area was still worth more time and sketching and a chance to go down to the Pier areas to get some tickets for Friday evening at the theatre.
Back with a sushi supper in the room and onwards to the promised highlight of The Gondoliers by G &S at the Sydney Opera House. First, a grovelling apology for my vitriol over the entrance in an earlier blog. That was only the horrible box office area. Once above that and into the main foyer and the auditorium, grace and excitement is restored and it is a very fine place to be.
The performance was brilliant - wonderful singing, acting and a really hilarious dance scene with life-sized rag dolls, that just worked perfectly. OK Richard you were right on that one. It is exceptional.

Thursday 18th The Blue Mountains

For a change of scene and just to take advantage of all possible moments in Australia we headed by train early in the morning for the Blue Mountains. (Blue because of the blue haze given off fromthe Eucalyptus trees). A leisurely ride of 2 hrs passing Sydney's suburbs and into real country. Very very green everywhere and I was surprised to find the mountain tops so flat too. But it is beautiful country and we were able to use a hop-on, hop off bus round the small town of Katoomba and is surroundings to make the most of the time. We walked from Gordon Falls, along a cliff top path, to Leura Cascade. A beautiful and easy walk for an hour and a half. As we got to the spot we thought was the end of the walk we panicked at the possibility that we had missed the turn back to the road and would need to walk for another hour - this with only water and a biscuit available and Richard facing a seriously wild creature of the woods - me unfed. He hadn't seen this frightening reality for some years and the look of terror was unfeined. However, just as dispair was setting in we found the turning and it revealed a totally unexpected sight. What we had been told was a mid walk 'kiosk' turned out to be an astonishingly sophisticated restaurant/kiosk which served a gorgeous lunch with splendid views called 'Solitary' (We find these strange Australians have a tendency to be a bit loose with nouns, verbs and adjectives)
Refreshed and revived and with Richard reassured that life might continue safely we continued with the bus to 'Scenic World' Despite the possibility that this tourist centre verges on 'Alton Towers' in its advertising and appearance outside, it did give us a real opportunity to take a 52 degree sloping train down to the temperate rainforest boardwalk, walk for about 3/4 hour and then be taken back up by a cablecar. Richard at both points proving real bravery, but after being faced by a hungry wife, nothing is impossible. We spotted a lyre bird, a parrot and a snake and found it chilly and dark down there, but really interesting to experience and the signage explaining the flora is excellent. Up, returning to Katoomba and the train home for two tired but very satisfied individuals.

We may not get much chance to blog for a while, but as all appears to be fine for the visit to Fiji we are very excitedly looking forward to this and will get back on line when we can.

Blog 12 Tuesday 16th October More of Sydney

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Forgot to mention that we also found the Victoria Building yesterday on the way to the Rocks. It is an older building, beautifully renovated to make a modern and very up-market shopping centre inside. Up-market until you get to the top when they have managed to perpertrate a singeing naffery with the clock tower. On the hour 4 trumpeters come out of each 'plastic' turret and after that you get the history of Britain from Canute to Charles I with little moving figurines. My favourite is Henry VIII enjoying the company of all six wives at once. I imagine the head chopping of Charley is the favourite of many others. If this becomes tiring you can go and see Queen Victoria in full coronation regalia, surrounded by her replica crown jewels.

Hey ho. On to Tuesday:

30 degrees but comfortable with a strong wind to cool it down. We sheltered in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, full of goodies and again some fantastic Aboriginal work.
Lunch there on the terrace filling ourselves with salads full of goodies and then onwards to the Coffee Cruise of Captain Cook's Tour of the Harbour. Beautifully done, and I was staggered by the size of the bays and the quantity of million dollar pads I shan't be owning sometime soon. We experienced the strange sensation of the 9 degree drop in temperature in 3 mns reported on TV and today is cooler (19 degrees).

Delicious kangaroo steak for dinner in Darling Harbour and returned to find The Bill on TV to get us back to earth.

Blog 11 Monday 15th October Sydney continues

2007-10-15T16:54:00.000-07:00

Laundry first and then culture afterwards. We walked to the famous Rocks area which is the historic part of Sydney. Yes, interesting, quaint and the history is well-explained but after UK towns and villages it doesn't really register strongly. What did register was the terrific BBQd steak at lunch in the warmth of real sun under bougainvilleas (I think) and glorious jasmine in the Sydney equivalent of the Turf Tavern in Oxford. (OK let's admit it my culture appreciation fades drastically in relation to any good eating and drinking experiences anywhere in the world.)
The other wonderful moment was looking harbourwards and having the view of the Opera House dwarfed by a sizzling white cruise ship in port towering over the tiny cottages beside us and set off by skyscrapers behind it. Totally weird!

And then the real Sydney got me in the guizzard - coming back to watch a film (Death at a Funeral - brilliantly silly and funny - real laughter, not just the odd chortle) at the Opera Quay Dendy Cinema - I was totally bowled over by the spectacular romance of Sydney Harbour at night. There is simply nowhere else that has the grace, excitement and beauty that I can think of, given the addition of warm balmy weather. I am, however, up for any disagreement on this point, just as long as I can go and check it out for myself.

Blog 10 - Sunday 14th October - Sydney first day

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Wow are you still really with us here?! Definitely the longest postcard ever written but the best way I know to remember where and when we were. OK onwards

Sunday morning - catching up on email etc. Then walked on through Hyde Park to the Botanical Gardens for my first view of the iconic Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge.

I found the BGs really odd - wonderful exotic foliage (and birds like Ibis, maybe they are) neatly laid out in Victorian formal beds and offset by skyscrapers behind. The great views of the harbour were only possible when walking round or sitting on the hill above as sitting down meant they were partially hidden by the harbour wall. I was troubled by my first view of the OH as it seemed much more clunky than I'd expected, till I realised that it was the bottom third of massive concrete that did nothing for the wonderful sails above. From the higher view the proportions work fine and then when we took a ferry later and saw it from the normal side it is broken up by strips of windows and actually looks like a paved area around the sails rather than chunky walls.

We walked over to it in search of refreshment and again a surprise - a wonderful walk up the steps towards the towering cathedral vaults of the sails and then once inside the foyer a disaster of lost opportunity; low concrete ceilings, dim lighting and pure ugliness meets the disappointed eye. However, it might just be forgiven for my first experience of floodlit toilet paper(!?!) We decided to find refreshments outside and enjoyed a sunny view of the harbour nearby instead.

Various galleries enticed as we wandered towards the ferries and we learned yet more of Aboriginal art and then a really good ferry trip back to Darling Harbour was just what was needed by flagging legs. The view of the OH and bridge (what maniacs were those walking over the top of it!!?) was the expected one, but no less terrific for all that, but it is interesting how important it is to get the backside and insides right too.

A yummy splurge in Chinatown at Marigold's fine cuisine set us up for some interesting dreams (at least it did me). Onwards now for our first weekday in this fine city.

Blog 9 - from Canberra to Sydney Sat 13th October

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After another early-morning, but abortive kangaroo hunt in the surroundings we picked up a hire car and followed Adrian and Jenny as they drove out to their daughter's 'cottage' in Kangaroo Valley (half way to Sydney). This took us through some beautiful scenery, hills covered magically with the pernicious Patterson's Pest, a deeper purple than bluebells but the same effect. Still no kangaroos though. En route we collected some real Aussie pies from the 'Best Pie Shop in the World' - not to be confused with all other Aussie pies which are apparently almost indescribably nasty (quoting Adrian here). The valley itself is spectacularly lovely and the cottage a very comfortable bungalow with lots of character and views all round, set in a very pretty garden. The land goes down to the stream/river and up to the surrounding wooded hills and is truly idyllic (if it were not for the wombat that seems to have taken up residence beneath the property. The name seems appropriate - they are about a metre long and tough as anything and no joke in the garden.) We tore ourselves away to continue on to Sydney, stopping off half way to get to know the small town of Kiama by the sea rather better than we planned. The first third was to enjoy a drink and a stroll and the second to rush round all our previous steps and the police station looking for Richard's missing wallet and the last third trying hard to find a way out once we discovered the wallet in my handbag! We finally got to the hotel, having dropped the car off at the airport and were pleasantly surprised to find it pretty stylish and conveniently near Darling Harbour - so no long walks to get to places. Not so good was the next discovery that R had mislaid the case key and of course mine had been locked in the bag. We went for a tasty Indian take-away (taken away to a seat overlooking the harbour) and meanwhile a metal cutter was found back at base. Hey presto - clothes again! Followed by a good sleep.

Blog 8 - more from Canberra Thursday 11th October

2007-10-13T17:55:00.000-07:00

It is still really Sunday but I published the last one in case it disappeared into the ether.
Thursday was terrific. Dennis and Pauline took us slightly diffidently out of town to a small town/village called Bungendore to see a wood gallery. But what a wood gallery! The work was superlative and so much of it at that absolutely top-level of quality. Having established that we could be awed to such levels we could then enjoy everything else on offer. We were a bit suprised to be taken to an English-style pub for lunch - but the quality of the meal was far greater than most English style pubs! We headed back to Canberra via Mount Ainsley, from which we had a spectacular view of the city and were able to get a greater sense of how it was put together. Whenever you read Canberra you must think in terms of being serenaded by wonderful birdsong everywhere, which might help to get the flavour. My favourite is a pink breasted parrot - a Roselle, which has a trill of 6 notes that sound like the deeper end of a xylophone!! Onwards from Mt. Ainsley to a relaxing stroll round the beautiful Botanic Garden - laid out in zones of planting as seen in various parts of the country - lovely landscaping but really interesting at the same time. We finally saw our first wild kangaroos, a mother and joey probably, quietly grazing on the lawns there. Sitting for tea in the cafe and learning yet more about the country in a thoroughly relaxed way is my idea of serious travel.

Dennis then took us over to stay with Adrian and Jenny and everything about their hospitality was gracious; a lovely home surrounded by gloriously scented jasmine, wisteria, roses etc. and relaxed and interesting explanations about everything. We spent the evening chatting over a delicious meal and collapsed into a large and comfy bed - this time with the window open and birdsong to wake us.

Friday 12th October

How is it possible to pack so much into a day without feeling knackered? (though probably Adrian was on his knees by the time we finished!) He drove us first to a private gallery showing Aboriginal art and we were thrilled to fine our arrival coincided with a party who had come from where the art was painted and the 90+ year old painter proudly pointed out his own work. Jimmy Baker is apparently a legend amongs Aboriginal painters and we had seen him for real!
The work was so full of vitality, colour and movement and most had sold at the Private View the night before - bargains I'm sure.
Mood changed entirely as we drove off and were halted by a large funeral procession, led by a lone piper, various members of the police department and bizarrely with the herse followed by a group of very aged bikers on their Harley Davidsons etc. soberly riding at walking pace. We still don't know who it was.
We then had a drive out in the country (via the impressive recycling works and compost production zone?!?) to Lanyon, one of the few original estate farms, kept just as it was first set up in some cases, with its convict barn, sheep sheds etc. It was a really unexpected treat to have a taste of this aspect of Australia as we had thought that staying in 3 capital cities would mean the outback side of life would have to be foregone this time. It is set in beautiful countryside and I would love to have had days there to paint the scenery. We also discovered the Anzac biscuit, for those who don't know it, wait till I get back to try the recipe.

Lastly, just in case we felt we hadn't fitted in enough (ok I forgot to mention the Glassworks on the way out too) we had tea and a walk round the new Australian National Museum. It is a sumptuously hideous construction outside - a world -class horror, but with a clever entrance atrium that rose like a cathedral space inside, cream, black and red with slopes, wallks, windows that were shaped with references to Aboriginal animal forms. The rest of the interior spaces were chaotic and incoherent but the section on Aboriginal life was brilliantly informative.
A relaxed local Thai meal rounded off a perfect day.

Blog 7 - filling in the week in Canberra!

2007-10-13T17:33:00.000-07:00

Sorry for delay folks (It is now Sunday 14th) but we got a bit sidetracked in our efforts to make sure we didn't miss a moment's opportunity back last week. Surprisingly we're still feeling relaxed and excited by it all - so the mass information and experience input over the last week doesn't seem to have blown fuses yet. I'll try to fill you in without weighing in too heavily though.
Tuesday 9th October - The Melbourne War Memorial is genuinely awe-inspiring and a fitting tribute to the soldiers. On the 11th hour of the 11th day etc a shaft of sunlight falls on the word 'love' on the central stone 'Greater Love Hath No Man' - simplicity amidst the grandeur surrounding it all.
We spent the rest of the morning visiting the private galleries and learned more about Aboriginal art and how to tell good from poor and what is involved to a greater extent. Fascinating.
An easy, fast flight to Canberra and we arrived in warm sun in its small and attractive aiport. There was an immediate sense of release in Canberra - it is laid out with massive light and space and a beautiful central lake 'Burley Griffin'. The few skyscrapers are clustered gently together in the shopping and business area and all the rest is hills and trees and birds and the occasional government building or museum. It was a perfect contrast to Melbourne.

We arrived at Richard's favourite hotel, the Hyatt and it is truly astonishing. Only 2 floors are visible above ground and it stretches backwards the size of a small airport. Built early on in the construction of Canberra for the politicians to have somewhere civilised to stay it is classical 1920s, brown and cream and sedate. The bedroom was huge and kept in a modern take on the style elsewhere and the bathroom was the size of our last bedroom in Melbourne.

OK that will be the mega-fancy part of the blog and it was only for 2 days! The food was unexceptional and it was hard to cope with having no way of opening the windows for real live fresh air, but they are small grouses.
However, we were truly lucky to have some of Richard's ex colleagues living in Canberra and they really did us proud. We met Adrian, Dennis and Pauline for dinner at the Hyatt the first evening, had Wednesday to ourselves to be impressed by the New Parliament building and its very impressive tour guides. The building (about 10 years old) opens wide welcoming 'arms' to the nation, is set on a lowish hill so as not to be too imposing and even has grass over the top of the roof so that you can stand above your representatives. Sadly, it appears from what we are told, that those representatives do not necessarily improve by this treatment and behave in much the same way as those world over.
We then took ourselves off to the National Art Gallery - good collection of indigenous art and a small but interesting sculpture gallery. It also had a delightful sculpture garden set by the lake, which we then walked along to get back to rest at the hotel. In the evening we were met by Melany and Stuart, also ex-colleagues who took us to dinner at the Old Parliament House. The dinner was absolutely fine, though smoked kangaroo didn't have me jumping with pleasure (sorry!) and its strange emptiness was disconcerting. However, the company was good and helped us learn yet more about Australia and its doings.

Blog 6 Monday Tuesday

2007-10-08T16:30:00.000-07:00

Reporting back whilst we have a few spare moments before Melbourne starts up (10am before anything gets going here) - last night's Moroccan meal at Docklands was also exceptionally good, so nothing new there. Dreary walk to and from and hardly worth the effort to go by tram for only 2 stops but once there it is picturesque. Sorry for no photos yet. Discovered that this student hostel/internet shop doesn't allow uploading of photos. What do they think we plan to upload?? So it will have to wait for higher technology in Canberra. This morning we plan to go to the War Memorial which is a huge classical edifice on a hill overlooking the city and has spectacular views.
I've forgone the mind-blowing experience of going to the highest floor in Melbourne with a glass-bottomed viewing platform - purely you understand for Richard's sake so will enjoy the more sedate view from the memorial. It puts our little Cenotaph into a back pocket in terms of care for the soldiers - that's for sure. Off now and will report back from pastures new.

Blog 5 Sat. Sun Mon

2007-10-08T02:17:00.000-07:00

OK so we left off having been mightily impressed by the Victorian Art Gallery and after recovering back at base went out to explore the restaurant scene of Melbourne. It lived up to expectations and we found ourselves in a very snazzy Australian take on stylish food in the Crown Centre by the river. The steak and pud were sumptuous and for the price of an average meal back home we had an unforgettable one, busily people-watching too as this was obviously a lucky find at real live trendy living. On the hour we found huge fireballs sent up from chimneys over the Centre which were a pretty dramatic way to tell the time. The skyline was improved by the night lights too.
Next day - Sunday, after visiting an open-air high quality craft market (yes - of course there was a turner) we made our way over to the Botanic Gardens and found we seemed to have hit on another place to be on Sunday mornings - especially with children. We had none available so made the most of the walks, lakeside views and terrific planting. After another good light meal, this time at Federation Square (town centre I think) we explored the Ian Potter series of buildings, principally to enjoy the Australian National Collection of Art and above all the wonderful Aboriginal paintings. They really are inspirational and I can see what all the fuss is about at last. On a large scale they have huge vitality and sense of design and rhythm.
At a point of total collapse we returned to our boutique hotel (means you have 3' and 5' beyond the size of the bed- but it is clean and comfortable, if a bit out of the centre of things).
Another great evening meal, this time at the Southgate Centre, the other large compendium of multifarious choice restaurants. They are seriously large dining experiences here! We had an Italian meal this time and were much fussed over by the staff who gave the impression of genuinely caring - an unusual experience - that they want you back some time.

Next morning - Monday, it was time for Docklands to have the once over. Yes, it is impressive with masses of modern buildings and appartments going up, surrounded by restaurants etc, but at the moment seems a bit sterile as it isn't yet fully under way. We are about to try an evening meal there though. In the meantime we went to see the Kourie Foundation galleries next to our hotel, with a brilliant description of all things aboriginal in this part of the world and some more great works of art. Lunch was Greek snacks and then we attempted to be impressed by the classier shopping streets and private galleries of downtown Melbourne, but sadly were not - but again we are competing with Hong Kong and in the case of the few galleries, none were open so we shouldn't judge. We didn't spend our million dollars on that irresistable little daub in the corner though - so that's a relief on the baggage carriers! Back soon as we can get to a computer in Canberra, but if R's description of his favourite hotel is anything to go by, I doubt I will be able to prise myself away from their Elysian fields for long enough to type. We shall see.

Blog 4 Saturday 6th October

2007-10-06T02:24:00.000-07:00

Remedied that immediately. Having woken to find we were again surrounded by roads and high rise blocks we headed riverwards to establish connection with the land. The river's promenade was always going to have a hard time competing with Amsterdam last week and Hong Kong this but we ploughed past fairly uninspiring skyline dwarfing the bizarre and huge St Pancras-type Victorian railway station and headed towards parkland and the Victoria Art Gallery. The entrance is a brilliant sheet of water cascading down and gives life, movement and excitement to herald the collection. You turn to a door to the right to get in and onwards. The gallery itself is a huge and clever modern architectural space inside, though a blank wall outside which is slightly reminiscent of the Forbidden City. We skipped the huge queues on the last day of the Guggenheim exhibition to see the permanent collection and what gems! It had fabulous representations of European painting, porcelain and furniture and there's still more to return for tomorrow.

Blog 3 Friday 5th October to Melbourne

2007-10-06T02:23:00.000-07:00

A good, easy 8 hr flight down to Melbourne in the daytime but in the twilit world of 'no time' on boards, with blinds down and lights dimmed and half the passengers asleep, having flown direct from UK. We managed to get through many of the disposable Oxford Limited Editions that there is never time to read at home, as all the films were rubbish. My plans to catch up on all the films not yet seen in the UK (most) may be foiled if we only have Spiderman and Harry Potter to choose from. But reading will benefit. Disgusted to find after long wait for baggage an even longer wait to get out of customs via X-ray machines. Tempting to follow the example of one poor woman who started gibbering eventually and was taken through in a flash. This meant arriving at the Hotel Sofia in the rain and dark too late to go out again, so after hot drinks and biscuits oddly spent the night not having any sense of where we were.

Blog 2Day 4 -7 (We think - confused already!)

2007-10-06T01:46:00.000-07:00

We strolled through a narrow park of tropical foliage and fountains down to the 'Walk with the Stars' waterfront to sit and watch a dazzling light and sound display of the buildings on Hong Kong island and the Kowloon side with lazer light dancing on the clouds.

We spotted a waterfront restaurant in the Intercontinental Hotel and walked up throught its exotic entrance drive to find ourselves in James Bondland. A huge comfortable bar with a jazz band overlooked the harbour and below it a lively restaurant buffet which had great views and food too.

The following morning was sunny with light cloud so we headed straight for the Star Ferrry over to HK island. We then entered Science Fiction World, travelating uphill through modern covered tubes to a series of escalators taking us further up. At this point we decided we needed to update our reading to see what was in store for the 22nd Century. 21st century returned all too forcibly at the top when we found we needed to descend again on foot via a web of spaghetti junction roads to the Peak Tram terminal. If confusing (signs, what signs?) at least it meant a chance to9 go via the HK Botanic Garden and Zoo, say 'hi' to the panther, before joining the vast queue for the funicular tram. At this point we realised that using parasols were a real boon. Hats and sunglasses mean no breeze circulating can be appreciated so when in 'Rome'.... and up went the umbrella, but it was a long wait. We finally packed into the tram and rose to about 400m above sea level. The multi-tiered building on top took us to greater heights and fantastic views of both sides of HK island but I badly wanted to sit with a fruit juice to enjoy it fully. So view first,

and refreshments after, finding I was totally whacked. Eventually the juice took effect - enough to let us stagger over to lunch with a view lower down the complex but still too tired to sketch. We shared a taxi down hill rather than queue again and then wandered along Hollywood Road, bizarrely the antique centre. My high spot of the day was jasmine tea and Chinese buns in Lok Yu Tea Rooms on Stanley Street, - authentic, serene, and very traditional with polished mahogany booths, mirrors, white linen and warm flannels and kindly waiters. I realised to my surprise that this was giving me greater pleasure than the glitz of the Peninsular Hotel (though I wouldn't have missed that). We sat quietly and enjoyed the peace for a while
.
(walking at the base of some of these was a bit overwhelming though)

On then to an impressive (cheap, tvs, comfortable seats, head-room) bus ride to Aberdeen on the far side of HK island. It's a strange mixture of skyscrapers and old Chinese boats and super yachts but good to stroll along the waterfront there. I sketched, relieved to find my energy returning, and we were deafened by birdsong

Why is it that vegetables abroad look so much more exciting?

First day out

2007-10-03T04:18:00.000-07:00

In spite of an attempt to leave from the wrong terminal at Heathrow, these seasoned travellers made it safely out to Hong Kong. It has lived up to all the gasped expletives in terms of spectacular quayside views and inventive light shows.

We've gorged on fresh and succulent Chinese meals - even dumplings (in spite of major overdose in error back in Beijing). Culture sqeezed a look in at the beautiful Art Museum in Kowloon. The contents are glorious examples of Chinese art and craftsmanship, though we skipped their much vaunted 'Treasures of the British Museum'. This was a great building internally but has dumped itself slap bang to spoil the magnificent view once held by the Peninsular Hotel. English tea there had best-ever (lightest) sandwiches and a fine classical trio playing above the palm court lobby. Though it lowered the tone by requiring us to queue for it ignomineously. I suppose if we'd arrived in one of its private helicopters from the airport (750 pounds per hour) this might have avoided the wait (but we didn't).