Wishful thinking...

Holidays.
It's fair to say that I could do with one.
Master Oh Waily has been an absolute gem in pretty much every way.  He's got a great nature, like his big sister, and not much seems to phase him.  He is even courteous enough to sleep an hour at a time only during daytime hours, while through the night he has managed a minimum of 3 to 4 hours almost from the very first.  We are now lucky enough to enjoy anywhere up to seven hours of night time sleep.  This is great but still a little bit inconsistent.  And it still means waking up anywhere between 2am and 4am for an early morning food stop.

What all this sleep talk means is... I am over the lack of it.
With a toddler running rings around me during the day, an afternoon nanna nap is just not possible and if you know me, then you know I like my sleep - preferably nine hours a night if I can get it.
I am not getting anywhere near that, at least not in one long peaceful stretch.  So now I'm hanging out for a holiday.  Christmas will be the first stop on that journey, but since it is "the silly season" there is only a minimum chance of an actual extended rest.  Then there is the joy of being your own boss... sounds good until you're the ones on call through Christmas and New Year.  "Silent Night"... maybe by Christmas, maybe not.  There will be no breath-holding by Ms Oh Waily on that score.

This all leads to the very nice conclusion that a holiday must and will be booked to take the misery out of next winter.  It has been done.  The Oh Wailys and grandparents (aka as babysitters) are booked for a holiday in June.  There are many reason why this is so.  Here are a few of them:

1. Doesn't interfere with enjoying (fingers crossed) a lovely summer at home while Master OWW is still small.


2. Doesn't interfere with our No.1 customer's service schedule (don't change it, please).


3. Master Oh Waily will be a good age to deal with the travel and enjoy the destination.


4. Master Oh Waily may be walking (if he follows in his sister's footsteps) by then.


5. June can be totally miserable here and no one needs to live with SADs.


6. Fiji should be warm and inviting, but not frying and drying (hopefully).

So, here is my homage to our destination.  And a bit of a perk-me-up as I look forward to floating in the pool, eating out at nice restaurants, maybe even snorkeling again and possibly splashing out on a visit to either the Mandara Spa or the Heavenly Spa.
After all, "I'm worth it".

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Where I plan to float"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="375" caption="Where I plan to lounge"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Visit where we were married"][/caption]

Although frankly, the white picket fence does nothing for me, and I am so glad that it was much more "rustic" when we had our wedding here. A nice Fijian garden with local plants and a beautiful woven archway. Much nicer than the frou-frou white fence !! See if you agree...

[caption id="attachment_1596" align="alignnone" width="405" caption="An Oh Waily Wedding Snapshot"][/caption]

Ahhhh, just looking at those photographs and thinking about Fiji is making me feel all relaxed and goofy already.  Swim-up bars (which I may even be able to visit by June), warm weather, warm swimming pool, nothing "to do" but lie around and read a good book or two, a bit of retail therapy at the Port and maybe even an iced coffee at one of the new eateries. Oh I am looking forward to it, I REALLY REALLY am.

Now all I need is for the Commodore and our government to calm down a bit and play like nice children in the Oceanic sandpit.  Not that Suva is on our travel itinerary, and Nadi is only if you can be bothered, want cheaper souvenirs or a visit to the local open air food market.  Personally, after this many visits, I'm going for the peace and quiet and pool and to do nothing.  Oh I can't wait to be back riding on the Bula Bus.

Home from the holiday

And what a holiday it turned out to be.

Now I need a new plan - where can I go that isn't going to turn into a natural disaster zone two days after arriving?
Suggestions anyone?

It looks as though we would have perhaps been better off running the potential pitfalls of Frank Bainimarama's current escapades in Fiji than visiting our next door neighbour over the ditch.

Surfers Paradise turned out to not be quite the paradise we were hoping for.  In fact, it became a natural disaster zone some two days after arriving thanks to a rather nasty low off the south Queensland coast.  A man even lost his life just a kilometre up the road from where we were staying.  Nasty freak accident involving flying debris and smashing windows.

From our 16th floor vantage point, facing away from the sea (thank goodness), we could see all manner of deck furniture whizzing along the footpaths and roads.  No flooding near us, but the beach decided that the footpath might be retaken from man's interference.

Then one day, having ventured out in the rain to the nearest shopping mall in an attempt to fight off the cabin fever that comes from being stuck in an apartment with an energetic toddler, I discovered that our accommodation was situated on one of the worst wind tunnel corners in the neighbourhood.  This would have been fine, but for the fact that when I got off the bus with the toddler's push chair something in my brain did not register this potential.  And while crossing the road I found to my horror that it could become something of a windsail if I actually unfolded it.
Mercifully the breeze had dropped to just gale force and the rain was slightly less than horizontal meaning that I made it across the road only slightly worse for wear.   Quickly finding the least damp place I folded said windsail back down and proceeded to attempt "the corner" only to find that the gale force winds had gained a bit of momentum and the rain had resumed horizontal service.  Even folded down the windsail proved to be a problem.  Ducking around a large real estate sign flapping in the breeze I found myself confronted with "the corner" and barely made it across still on my own feet.  I genuinely thought that I was going to do a comic turn for those watching from the safety of their hotels or apartments.  The only unknown factor was: would I look like Mary Poppins or a very bad mime act doing the old "bear walking against wind" chestnut.
All members of the Oh Waily household made it safely to their digs, wet and windswept, but grateful to be indoors again.

And there really isn't much more to say about the holiday - wet, windy, expensive (talk about fleece the tourists) - and it is the first time in my memory that I actually looked forward to coming home much more than staying where we were.

***

Just a note on Q1.
We booked through a third party, so the following comments may not apply to the Q1 managed apartments.

1. Definitely not luxury apartments.
In fact we decided, based on the real estate information in their own retail area, we were staying in a 1 bedroom plus study not the "2 bedroom compact" described.
2. Nothing to do indoors, so when bad weather hits it's your room or the lobby for undercover entertainment. Or a fairly long dash across the open pool areas to the games room (arcade games of all descriptions) and the indoor gym.

I have stayed in much nicer hotel and resort accommodation.  It was tidy and had we spent lots of time outside at the pool, would probably have seemed a lot better than it actually is.  However, the apartment amenities were just in fair condition and certainly don't deserve to be raved about.  (Nasty weather aside.)
It was the worst place I have ever slept.  Frosted glass doors meant light leakage from everywhere to the extent that I could have almost read in bed without a single light turned on.  No lock on the bathroom door - makes for interesting possibilities should you be sharing the accommodation as we were. The second bedroom sounded like an aircraft hanger when the air-conditioning was turned on and there was an unexplained background droning noise that we couldn't discover the source of too.

So, if tempted to stay here - don't be.  The marketing pictures are beautiful, but the stated costs per night do NOT warrant the quality of facilities provided.  Go to the Sheraton or the Westin in Fiji - they've both been done up in the last few years (one is more modern in style than the other), and on the whole provide a much better quality of experience.  At least they don't promise more than they provide.

Right, that's negative reviewer mode off.  Hope you were all well while we were away.

Holiday Time

This is just a quick note to say that the Oh Waily family will be on holiday from tomorrow until the same time next week.

We are all looking forward to it, and if I have the time and am able to, I will try to drop a short note here. Otherwise, if we do anything other than lie around reading books I will give a full report on our return.

Return from vacation

It was tough, but someone had to do it.  After all, you can't just let all that good sunshine and tropical heat go to waste.


And if they put up bure shelters and sandpits for you to sit and loll around in, then the very least you can do is spend some time drying off after your swim.


And before you ask... yes. We did have a great time.  Thanks.

Home Alone

Mr O is off to Singapore.
He will be somewhere above the Tasman Sea as I write this, enjoying the ambiance of Singapore Airlines' Raffles Class. Lucky so and so.

I have requested a full report on the new seating arrangements - looking at the aircraft configuration he is getting to sit in one seat where in cattle class there would be three. Oh, I am green with envy.

I'd like to think I cared about the planet and my carbon footprint, but just wave the possibility of air travel under my nose and the only thing green about me is my envy when I don't get to tag along.

Anyway, that leaves the little Miss and I on our own for the week. On the plus side, I get full rights to the remote control. On the down side, I get to do all of the through the night work as well. Still, it is only for a week.

The Oh Waily's will be heading off on holiday soon enough, as it is. A week in Fiji at the beginning of September. Keep your fingers crossed that we get good weather.
Yes, I know we are boring. But it is only a three hour flight, and after you've been a couple of times there is no nagging push to "go out and explore", which means that the only thing left to do is lie on a lounger and read a book.
What more could you want in life? Really?

Wellington Weekend

The Oh Waily family went on an outing together last weekend.
It took in Miss O's very first aeroplane flight, and her first visit to our capital city - Wellington.
We left Auckland on Friday morning and took the one hour flight south. The aircraft was about a quarter full and we had our row to ourselves. Miss O was so interested in the whole event that she was effectively asleep about five minutes after take-off. The only sign of any trepidation was the vice like grip one small hand had on her mother's finger during the noisy take-off. So much for her mother's worry over ear popping and then ear piercing wails resounding throughout the flight.

Miles was present to be travel pillow and edible toy in whichever capacity was required, just as Miss O's Gran intended when she christened him. Dad had the camera to hand to capture the excitement, as you can clearly see in Miss O's face.
And for the first time in a very long time Ms O wondered where the time had gone on a flight. One moment we were taxiing out onto the runway, eating the high class casava chip snacks and gulping down "fresh brewed" coffee. The next moment we were banking, nose down and looking at the top of the South Island. No bouncy arrivals this trip, thank goodness.

The only disappointment of the weekend occurred on our arrival. Our bright green Phil & Ted's, which we had so carefully checked in through the "oversize & fragile" desk, failed to make the trip south with us. This left Ms O fairly irate.
A quarter full aeroplane, a bright green stroller, and yet miraculously the clearly overworked baggage handling staff couldn't quite manage to make the two meet. Quite what those gentlemen thought we were going to do with a 7.5kg child for three days without her regular mode of transportation is beyond me.

The blase manner with which this news was given to the Oh Waily's didn't make the irritation reduce one jot. We were promised that it would make a solo flight on the next aeroplane, followed by a courier trip to our hotel. It duly did this, arriving some six hours later missing a small cap piece which would have taken some effort to dislodge. All-in-all an unsatisfactory level of service was had by all. It did however produce another first, as Mr O duly pointed out to his frustrated wife - Miss O's first flight and her first lost luggage experience.

With no sensible way of transporting Miss O around town, we resorted to driving around to Evans Bay and stopped for lunch at a nice little restaurant. Middle Eastern food happily consumed and a nice humour returned to the trip.

At this age regular sleep is still required by the Little Miss, so a reasonable amount of pleasant reading time was passed by Ms O and customer visits were completed by Mr O. The missing stroller and working husband both turned up at the hotel shortly after Miss O decided to wake and the Oh Waily family took the opportunity to enjoy a gentle stroll around inner city Wellington.

As the big game was on at the Cake Tin that evening we had plenty of yellow & black shirts wandering the streets and a fair representation of black and red shirts too. On Lambton Quay we were treated to the sounds of multiple Harley Davidson motorbikes growling their way to Westpac Stadium. On the back of one we spotted Captain Hurricane, and bringing up the rear the Crusader's mascot. At least the locals were nice enough to give him a ride. But I did wonder if they provided his normal white stallion.

We took a break in our perambulation at Mac's Brewery Bar and Restaurant and watched young folk jumping (illegally, no doubt) from the top of a small building into the harbour. The weather was pleasant and still sunny in the late afternoon, but the wind had built up and they seemed to be impervious to the chill.

As we sat outside the bar it began to fill with the many-suited occupants of this bureaucratic city. Pinstriped men and smartly dressed women turning up for their after-work gatherings at the local watering hole. Mixed in alongside them varied rugby fanatics enjoying a little hospitality before the brisk walk along the waterfront to the Cake Tin. It provided a lovely interlude of people watching nestled beside Te Papa.

With the sun beginning to slowly set and the wind getting a little chillier, the Oh Waily's made their way back to the hotel for the evening and some 'rugby time' in front of the television. Unfortunately for our host city, the game just didn't go their way.

Oh well, there was always tomorrow to look forward to.

Singapore: Shopping

What to do? What to do?

Such a city, and so many places to shop.
Okay, so that was a bit of overstatement. But you have to cut me a bit of slack.
I live in a city of 1 million people at the end of the Earth. There really isn't that much variety, and we aren't close enough to take real advantage of the Tiger economies. At best we've been invaded by a few chains of the Kangaroo economy (pun intended).

Where should you shop in Singapore?
That's kind of like asking "how long is a piece of string?"

If you have the world's largest bank balance, then feel free to wander the big name designer boutiques in the shopping malls along the tourist strip known as Orchard Road. My Visa card may be my "flexible friend" but it doesn't flex that far without snapping, so I am a poor source of informative comment on the value you may get from visiting such plush outlets.

If, however, you are of more modest means and are willing to do a bit of 'tourist time' as well as 'local time' then there are quite a few places to visit.
First things first, before I start.

Rule 1: Know what you want to buy and why. (Especially electronic goods.)
Rule 2: Know what is "fair value" for what you want, in your home market.
Rule 3: Don't trust me, I almost always shop under duress. ;)

I hate shopping. I mean it. I really hate shopping.
But when I go overseas I can't seem to help myself.
It is almost like a compulsion. I must shop.
I mean, I must at least window shop.

I'd like to pass it off as something akin to "being interested in the local culture". Sadly, I don't think that fools anyone.
The reality is, I'm like a kid in a candy shop. Being the poor retail deprived soul that I am, it is like a whole new and wonderful world is opened up.
I can actually see myself prising open my wallet, evicting the resident moths, extracting my dusty but faithful credit card and actually buying something. And not just any old stuff, but nice things. Things I might actually enjoy buying, wearing, using, displaying and generally bragging about from my trip to Singapore.

So, what do I recommend?

If you are looking for electronics, computers, cameras and the ilk, take a visit to Funan DigitaLife Mall mentioned in my previous entry or make a trip to Sim Lim Square for a much more "local" electronics and IT experience. Or, if you really must, visit their website directly for more information. I am reliably informed by a friend who was an expat working in Singapore that Sim Lim is actually the place to go, so for geeks, this is your stop. But don't forget to walk down the street to Little India for more shopping and yummy food experiences ! Your life must not revolve around your iPod, okay!

Now on a slightly more girly topic, clothes and shoes.
Where should you go? Well, that depends on your taste and budget. Despite what I said earlier about Orchard Road, there are possibilities for those of us not quite so label addicted. But you must be patient. If you have a black belt in shopping, you will manage this without any great trials. If your attention span is a little bit shorter however, you might want to take a shortcut to this website and get an overview of what there is and what is going to suit your taste. Personally I have visited Parkway Parade, Marina Square, Millenium Walk, Suntec City, North Bridge Road, Orchard Road and Chinatown. I have my favourites, but I imagine yours will be different, so taste test as many as you feel you can stand.

This trip ended up being a bit about shoes for me. Here in NZ shoes can range in price from $40 to anywhere over $100, depending on what they are and where you're buying them from. If you want really nice shoes, in my not-so-humble-opinion, you need to be looking nearer the top end of that scale than the bottom. Imagine my joy when I discovered that I could buy shoes that were actually very nice, stylish and/or comfortable for S$50 or less.
Now, I don't own an Imelda Marcos collection of shoes, but I did succumb to the lovely designs and even lovelier prices and have taken my very first steps into that dark world of fashionable shoe ownership. In this instance my shoes came from Marina Square and Parkway Parade. This pretty much applied to my meagre clothing purchases as well.

I must make a note about clothes shopping, before moving on.
[Generalisation Alert On!]
Okay. I'm a fairly average woman of European stock. I don't rate an anorexia alert, but (hopefully) I'm not on the verge of requiring a muumuu to hide my faults either. Unfortunately for me I am probably in the muumuu wearing range for your average Singaporean woman. Don't visit this country and expect to buy "Medium" anything. If you share similar heritage/shape to me, expect your ego to be badly dented by an "L" and "XL" debacle or possibly a size "16" through "18" and on upwards nightmare. And be grateful that you were lucky enough to actually find them!
On the shoe front though, you might find that lo and behold you are the display size like I was with a size 37. No problem getting shoes then! ;)
[Generalisation Alert Off!]

On other shopping matters...
I fell in love with a shop.
I know, it shouldn't be acceptable in polite society, but I did.
If you haven't visited Oh Waily before, it is possible that you don't know that I am a bit of a bookaholic, but I am. In addition to this I am also something of a paperaholic - clearly a distinct sub-category of addictions to printed paper materials like books.
Therefore it should come as no surprise that I struggled mightily with a visit to the Prints shop in the Raffles City Shopping Centre. I was strong though, I came away with only one A4 size blank journal, but a horrible urge to request franchise details so that I can have my very own den of iniquity and constant fix of things paper and bound. Their site is partially complete, but if you visit the "Shops" tab you will get a small idea of what I was up against.

Now, on to the touristy stuff.
What are you going to take home as a "tourist" momento?
I'll own up to pilfering a coaster from Raffles' Long Bar. It was pretty, okay?!?
Then there is the choice of general cultural options. Pretty much everyone takes home a Merlion something from their first visit. After that, it takes a bit of thought. On the funny side, you can take home the "It's a Fine City" t-shirt that takes the mickey out of Singapore's stringent laws and fine system.
But it you feel that you want something a little less obviously touristy, then you might need to think about it a little bit more. Personally this has never been a problem for me. I have always had a fondness for Chinese culture, (don't ask me why - I have no idea), and their various art forms. This makes shopping for a unique take-home item that much easier.

Last time it was a nice little scroll of Fu Lu Shou calligraphy.
This time it was a dirty great scroll with a One Stroke Brush Painting by Siong Shi.
We took the usual pilgrimage to Chinatown and I was very disappointed to see the changes since my last visit about five years ago. The main shopping street, Pagoda Street, was absolutely full of stalls. They weren't restricted to the shophouses as previously, and the entire street was just jammed full of cheap and nasty tourist junk. It was such a let-down.
Fortunately The Red Peach was still there, and it is truly an oasis of taste amongst the cheap and nasty. And after a long deliberation we came away with our scroll.

It is a "Fish Painting on Rice Paper".


Here is what is all means.
The calligraphy means "good fortune, abundance and blessings".
The fish is symbolic of abundant good fortune, prosperity, peace, happiness and success. A pair of black and red fish is symbolic of good things coming in a pair - blissful union.
Black is symbolic of warding off bad, negative forces or influence.
Red is symbolic of inviting all the good, strong positive forces, influence and luck.

Oh, and I guess I should mention that the entire scroll is just a touch over five feet long top to toe - so it's only just slightly smaller than me!

So now I am looking forward to Christmas and the New Year as I'm sure to have more good fortune, happiness and abundance of all sorts. Go the Fish!

Singapore: Raffles

There are many Tourist Spots you are encouraged to visit in Singapore, but none more famous than Raffles Hotel. It is so famous that if you Google "Raffles Hotel" you will find it has two websites, one here and the other here. The second encapsulates a whole chain of hotels based on the Singaporean original. Third on the same Google list is a very short, but pithy history of the great white ediface found at Wikipedia.

Now tell me... how many hotels do you know that have a museum of treasures about themselves on display for the public? I'd guess that you'd be able to count that on one hand, if not one digit. Yes, it is fair to say they take the heritage of this hotel fairly seriously. And after the mega-bucks renovation that was carried out a few years ago, I can understand why.

There are no ifs, buts or maybes about a visit to Raffles Hotel while you are in Singapore. It is pretty much central city. Just jump off at City Hall on the MRT, or take any number of buses stopping along Beach Road or North Bridge Road.

Personally I have my own tradition of each visit to Singapore including a pilgrimage to the Long Bar for a Singapore Sling. I guess it's one of those things - I don't even like cherry for goodness sake nor am I a pink girl. And considering the price they charge, I really should force myself to like the darned drink !
In the end however, all that matters is that I feel like I have stepped into a small part of Singapore's colonial history, almost hobnobbing it with such luminaries as Noel Coward, Rudyard Kipling, Somerset Maugham and Liz Taylor.

So from this last visit I have uploaded a 30 second video clip of the Long Bar at Raffles. It's my first YouTube moment, so I'm hoping it works. If not, I'll set to work on it shortly. You should see a couple of Singapore Slings followed by the remnants of multiple peanut shells on the floor, followed by a scan across the Long Bar and up to my favourite feature - the fans. I hope you enjoy. (Better yet - make the time to visit, "tourist trap" and all.) And if anyone knows, I'd be interested to find out how they manage to roast and salt the peanuts in their shells.



If the video wasn't enough, I have loaded some still photographs to my Flickr account here if you want to take a look around. It's a pretty nice job they've done on the renovations, I have to say.

For reference, Raffles is across the road from a very nice shopping mall that I particularly like (Raffles City Shopping Centre which I will talk about later), next to the CHIJMES, just down the road a bit from Funan DigitaLife Mall, a short walk to Suntec Convention Centre (the Fountain and a couple more shopping malls - in case you were feeling bereft of yet more retail therapy), and if you are in hearty health and are willing to do your best despite the heat, you can walk to the Singapore River passing the following historic and/or interesting features:

• St Andrews Cathedral,


• Old Parliament House,


• Cavenagh Bridge (great place to start for the public art/sculpture viewing),


• The Fullerton Hotel (the old GPO and my next stop after we win the Lottery), and


• The Merlion

This is a particularly nice part of town, so it's worth making the effort to spend a bit of time here. Don't just fall for the hype of Orchard Road - take a wander through this area for a feeling of the old merged with the new. It really is one of my favourite parts of Singapore.

Singapore: What to do in Katong?

Day One of my Singapore holiday involved an early morning start to the day, courtesy of the 5 hour time difference that my body was attempting to adjust to. Personally I thought 6am was a fairly respectable lie-in considering that for my body it was nearly lunchtime, and I just don't understand John's muffled grumbling after spying the time on the bedside clock.

In the end I started the day with a news update. I know that's a sad thing to do while you are on holiday, but I'm not a Sky TV subscriber so things like BBC World are relegated to insomnia attacks in the wee small hours, and CNN is something that you only know from movie references and the occasional visit to the parents.

After that I was in danger of annoying my time-adjusted husband who was quite happy to have a darn good lie-in, local time. So I did my best wifely thing and took good advantage of the suite. I shuffled through to the living room and read through the Uniquely Singapore Walking Guide to Katong/Joo Chiat.

This turned out to be a little gem. It gave a nice background to the local cultures of this area, and to the history of the neighbourhood. It turns out that life here started out on coconut plantations, later becoming a seaside retreat for the wealthy, and finally after World War II it began to take on its more modern form.

There are 700-odd "conserved" buildings in this area, including single-storey terrace houses and shophouses. It is a pretty low-rise neighbourhood by my eye. While there are very large condominiums and what look like older HDB estates, they are not completely dominant in this area. There are many homes that would be called either semi-detached or townhouses. In a country where land is at a premium, it makes my eyes water to think of the price tag that many of these homes must fetch.

It is promised that if you are willing to take a stroll around the area you will be rewarded by a variety of architectural, cultural and foodie experiences. In the end I settled for an after-breakfast amble around the block that included stopping at a Peranakan store, the Sri Senpaga Vinayagar Temple, and St. Hilda's Anglican Church. Other suggested stops were admired on my walk, but the sun had become a little less clouded behind the haze by that time, so moving with purpose towards shade and air-conditioning became a priority.

Here's a bit of information on Shophouses and below is a photograph I took of a detail on the top floor of a house just off East Coast Road.


I also stopped by at the Sri Senpaga Vinayagar Temple and got a bit carried away with the elephants. The first photograph of which is a single panel on the huge entry doors.



The second is an elephant from the wall in front of the main entrance.


I really thought this guy was great. In just about any other society he'd be fair game for taking home as an oversized garden ornament. Might give the Gnomes a bit of a scare though.

For those who just need to know these things, the connection to elephants is in the name: Sri Senpaga Vinayagar. Lord Vinayagar is the Elephant God alternately known as Ganesha.

"Vinayagar is also known as Vigneshwara or Vighnaharta, the Lord of; and destroyer of obstacles. When we do evil things or when the time is not right, He places obstacles in our path. When we take the correct path, He removes the root of our troubles. Vinayagar is one who drives away all sorrows, difficulties and miseries. He confers happiness and peace on his devotees."
- Hindu Endowments Board website

Well, I'm thinking the choice of an elephant form is pretty appropriate for this particular Hindu deity. I wouldn't argue with him putting obstacles in my way, and I most definitely crack a smile whenever I get to visit the elephants at the zoo. What about you?

After spending some time at the temple I moved on to St Hilda's, which is a little white church just a bit further up the road. From there I wound my way back to the main road through a series of narrow suburban streets featuring townhouse-style buildings, most of which were separated by a back alley. Cats and children evidently using them as a defacto playground, with left-for-later toys and kittens visible from the street.

As I had already stuffed myself on a buffet breakfast, I didn't stop and partake of the nonya laksa at the local stalls selling breakfast nor did I expand my waistline by sampling the large choice of confectionary on display at the bakeries either. Tempting though some of it was.
Instead I finished my walk down Still Road past the former Grand Hotel (scroll to the bottom of the article),  looking a little less grand these days and back along Marine Parade Road to the hotel.
Hot, damn hot, but a good couple of hours sightseeing on foot.

Time for a short dip in the pool.

Singapore: A quiet start

I arrived in Singapore late on Sunday evening to find the same lovely huge airport, and the same darned boarding gate at the furthest end!
Thank goodness for the travellators.

I don't lightly make the comment that Changi Airport is lovely - it actually is really nice. We all know how tedious the process of international travel can be now that we must go through much earlier check-in and then the various other screenings, so to find a welcoming feeling in the departure/arrival area is very pleasant indeed.

This landing mirrored my previous experiences here - quickly off the airplane, on to the travellators (love those things!), and down through the shopping precinct to customs and baggage collection. The one-person queues at customs belies the fact that this is a very busy airport, much busier than Auckland and yet that much less fuss. Then the usual wait for the bags ensues, but the delay doesn't matter quite so much because the wall between you and the "real world" is glass and you can see family or friends waiting for you. Together you can share the patience test that is the baggage carousel.

Finally I have my luggage and it is out through the glass doors and to John, who has already been in Singapore for a week.

There are many forms of transport to your abode of choice, but the simplest is the humble taxi. For those new to Singapore it can be somewhat of a revelation that you can go from nearly one side of the island nation to the other for less than S$ 30. My taxi (sorry, Corporate Cab, as I was corrected by my driver) from home to the airport in Auckland was NZ$ 40 and that is a 15 minute drive !!
So we took the stress-free option and joined the taxi rank queue, which took about a minute to melt away (pardon the pun - it is the tropics after all), and we were on our way.

As we were staying on the south coast in an area known as Katong, the trip was swift and easy on the East Coast Parkway. This is a suburban area, and not really a tourist spot. ie. It isn't anywhere near Orchard Road.
In compensation we get a view of the ocean from the hotel, and the parking lot for shipping that are the waters around Singapore; access to East Coast Park should we want a bit of greenery during our stay; and easy (and cheap) bus rides to the central areas of town whenever we wanted to go.

A surprise at the end of my 15 hour odyssey from New Zealand to Singapore was to find that John had been given an upgraded room because he was staying for two weeks. We had the luxury of a Junior Suite.
Now don't get all excited, it isn't one of those types of hotels you see on the travel shows. It is nice and simple, and not glitzy 5-star luxury with gold tapware and silk beadspreads. But it was rather a bonus to have a kitchen and another whole room to make a mess of, I mean enjoy the use of.

And, as for John's dire prediction of waking up at some ungodly Singapore hour due to the 5 hour time difference between my New Zealand bodyclock and the local timezone, that didn't really eventuate. I'm not much of a night person normally, so arriving in Singapore at 9pm (2am NZ time) was a surefire guarantee that I would manage at least 8 hours sleep without so much as a murmur.

The only problem - what to do with the morning hours between 6am when you wake up and 10am when the retail sector of Singapore opens up?
Ah, that's right, read the tourist literature that John picked up at the airport while waiting for me, catch up on world events through the eyes of CNN and BBC World, have a leisurely buffet breakfast and take an amble around the local streets. This time of day being most suitable for outdoor ambling due to the slightly cooler (mid-20s celsius) temperature and slightly weaker sunlight.
Finally take a dip in the pool, while trying to work out the physics of why in a tropical climate the pool water should feel like you have just stepped into iceberg infested waters.

Then you are set up for a day of sightseeing and/or shopping, whichever takes your fancy.

The Wanderer Returns

Hello all,

I thought that I had better put forth something on the blog or you might all make the assumption that the warm weather of Singapore had inspired me to stay forever.

We got back on Monday, and haven't stopped since landing. We travelled to Tauranga to collect our boys from their holiday with Grandma and Grandpa, and then yesterday we made the same trip again but in this case to collect my Dad from his angioplasty operation in Hamilton.

Whirlwind. Yes, it has been a bit of one.

Singapore was as expected, with the exception of easy internet access. This would be why the blog has had a week of being an accomplished hermet.

The silence should end shortly, and all the observations I have accumulated will be sent forth to your RSS feedreaders in orderly succession. I even managed to take a few photographs, and yes, some of them are even worth sharing.

In between doing the following:

• laundry;


• cleaning the house;


• mowing our new hayfield (the neglected back lawn);


• buying a new refrigerator (old one is on its last legs - you know what I mean, like the wobbly marathon runner who really has hit the wall, gone through the other side and you can't look away from because it is just too awful);


• and most importantly - sleeping.

I promise to try to start my Singapore serial.

The travel bug is back

It's almost summertime, and those pesky darn travel bugs just keep biting at me. They finally got a good big bite in, and as quick as you could blink I'd called my travel agent and I'm off on holiday from this weekend and returning a little over a week later.

Details for the curious:-

Destination: Singapore
Why: Where do I begin on this one?

It's warm.
I love the ease of getting around.
I know it from previous business trips.
John's already there. [Work, again!]
The variety of cultures.
The food.
The calligraphy.
The shopping. [Choices, not really the prices anymore]
The heritage.
The food.
Oh, and did I mention... it's warm there?

Gee, how tough a choice is that to make then? Not very!
And yes, you can probably expect a few movie reviews. It is a 10+ hour flight, I will need to watch at least one film to relieve the tedium. Hopefully they'll have a selection of kid's cartoon films again; they were much better than some of the dry adult offerings for entertainment value.

I might even manage a few photographs to share too as my dear mother has loaned me her recently purchased Olympus 725 SW digital snapper for the trip. Since that's a bit of a step-up in megapixels from our old Canon, they might actually be worth sharing.
However, I offer no promises on the photograph front as I am under strict instructions that this is to be a "relaxing" holiday. Apparently I am not allowed to drag "he who should be obeyed, yet strangely enough is not" around every sight on the entire island. I really don't see the problem with that myself.

Anyway, if there is something that you absolutely love about Singapore - and you feel that I must not have a holiday there without seeing it - please just leave a note for me in the comments.

The Singapore 2006 Travelogue will begin Monday 13th November.

Papamoa Beach

The weather was lovely yesterday afternoon, so on my way home from work I pulled over just before my turn-off and took the short walk to the beach.

This is what is at the end of the cul-de-sac I parked up in...



And walking over the dunes you get to see flowers like this...



Finally you get the view "north" to Mount Maunganui - yes the beach does stretch all the way to the Mount.


Then you get the view "south" and get some idea of just how darn long this white sand beach actually is.


I use the term north and south loosely, as I am not a girl guide and don't actually carry a compass with me. I am guessing that north is more, or less, straight out to sea. But it orients you "up the coast" and "down the coast".

Not too shabby, huh?

A week in the country

Well that's a bit misleading.  And a bit of a JAFA moment, if truth be told.

The "country" being the Bay of Plenty, specifically Tauranga, even more specifically Papamoa; and I'm here for the week while my lucky parents are having a sunny time in Fiji, in company with John's folks.

My job is to house-sit their home and business-sit our Tauranga branch office.
And as I am currently typing away on dial-up internet, entries and comments may be a bit thin on the ground this week.  Please don't think that I am ignoring you all.

Other than the diabolical dial-up internet, there aren't too many down sides to this week away from home.  I get a bit of peace and quiet in the evenings and I get to forget the horrors of housework.  I'm also able to make some headway on my current work-in-progress, Fantasy Triptych. 
The other major upside is access to Sky TV.  Well, the Food Channel on Sky, actually.  As someone who loves to eat, this is great fun.  Unfortunately, I am embarrassed to say, John is hoping a week of access to such culinary inspiration will do something to improve my rather feeble gastronomic efforts at home.  He insists that I am a good cook, just that I don't cook often enough.  I keep trying to convince him that I am a "three meal wonder"*, but he just doesn't seem to want to buy that.  So, this week I am cosying up to Jamie, Rick, Nigella and anyone else who looks like making an interesting bit of nosh. 

On the work front, our Tauranga branch is a pretty quiet place too so I am actually getting to do all that important work stuff that gets run over and squished by the very pushy "must-have-your-attention" things.  You know the sorts of things I mean. Customers. Suppliers. Petty annoyances like those.   Instead I get to read and plan and gather information.  And pretend like I know what running a business is all about.  And while we're on the subject of business (briefly, I promise), I've just signed up to start a BBS.  Part-time. Slowly. Back into study-mode.  Noticeably, just like interest rates I appear to have an educational cycle of approximately 8 years. Almost exactly 8 years after completing my BA, I rejoined the educational establishment and did a post-grad diploma.  Now it is once again 8 years on and I am signing up for the big brother of that diploma. Hmmm.  Predictable, who's predictable.
At this rate I'll manage a PhD by the time I'm 60.  8O

Okay.  That's enough for one entry.  This dial-up thing is gonna kill me.
If the weather clears up, I'll head the two minutes up the road to the beach and take a couple of snaps for those of you who aren't familiar with this part of Godzone.  Trust me, if you like beaches, this is the place to live.

---
*  Lentil Shepherds Pie (to die for, even if you're a carnivore)
*  Sweet and Sour Chicken (an ancient recipe, but you can't go past fresh pineapple in SnS sauce)
*  Homemade pizza (crispy, chilli-spiced crust, with pesto^ and/or tomato base, and any luxury topping you can think of)

^  Idea stolen from Becky.

Springing into Spring

I love this time of year.
It is easily my favourite season.
Not that I have anything against the other three you understand, but how can you go wrong with the stirrings of growth, renewal and warmth?

This was brought home to me last weekend as I lazed in the car at Wattle Bay while John went for a wander around the coastline looking for a place to fish from. This lovely and quiet spot is right at the top of the Awhitu Peninsula and just around the coast from the entry to the Manukau Harbour.

Sunday was a beautiful Spring day, sunny and warm. There was a light breeze coming off the harbour and small fluffy clouds were gliding along overhead. The locals headed down to the beach to enjoy the start of the warm seasons. And clearly this was a spot for fishermen, with at least a dozen rod carrying bodies passing by in the two hours we were there.

I had a fantastic view across the Harbour to the Waitakere Ranges and there was that beautiful country silence - just the water lapping up on the beach, terns swooping by and the breeze. Days like that just remind me how great it is to live here, and how much Spring gives me a sense of promise and future greatness.

I had come prepared with books and a thermos of coffee, as you never quite know how long a fishing expotition is going to be and how far from good coffee it might take you. And as we had missed the tides by a matter of half an hour or so, I settled into the passenger seat of the car and lapped up the sunlight in an inspired moment of Spring-warmth-dozing, while John perservered with his fishing.

I can't recommend highly enough the practice of finding time in a peaceful, beautiful place to lie back and contemplate the world. It's like Spring Cleaning for the spirit.

After a couple of hours John decided it was time to pack up the rods and head on home. We took the long road back to Waiuku, which turned out to be a good decision as we drove past a number of wonderful photo opportunities and then ended up at the Signal Station at the entrance to the Harbour. And by good luck we were there a day after the new replica Lighthouse was reopened.

What a day - contemplation in the sun, photographic inspiration and a bit of local history to visit !

And the fish and chips for dinner in Waiuku was a treat too. ;)

Karangahake Gorge

Today took us through the Karangahake Gorge. On our way back through we stopped and took some photographs. I thought I would share a couple of them.

A quick geography lesson will tell you that this gorge is between the town of Paeroa and Waihi. Paeroa of L&P fame, and Waihi of goldmine fame.

I've discovered that this little piece of the country even has a website. Good grief, who'd have thought it. The map's a bit blurry, or it's my eyes - I'm not sure which.

Anyway, here's the first photograph. It's the view across the bridge over the Ohinemuri River leading to the heritage walkway through the gorge.



And this is the view upstream from the bridge.



The Paeroa community website has a nice little potted history of the area, including the Karangahake gold-rush. And the Tourism Coromandel website has a nice simple map showing this area.

It's a really pretty area to visit, and having walked about half of the heritage trail through the gorge a number of years ago, I can definitely recommend it.
It is a gentle undulating walk that is accompanied by the great sound of the running water.
It is also possible to swim in the river just off the parking area, but you will need to be hardy or extremely hot, and of course careful not to do so when the river is running fast. I was lucky enough to have lazed about in the river a number of years ago while living on a marae in Paeroa doing archaeological stuff in the vicinity. Ah, there's nothing like freezing your bits off after spending a hot day in a dusty hole scraping away at dirt with a small trowel. :D

Hong Kong: Images and Final Impressions

Imagery

As I have stated elsewhere, I am a snapper of photographs for the most part.
But I really enjoy seeing good, well taken photographs. And I thought that as I haven't really got any great photographs of my own to share with you, that I would put together a few links to give you an idea about the visual appeal of Hong Kong.

• Fantastic night-time photographs of Hong Kong.


• Flickr Hong Kong Group. This contains literally thousands of really good and interesting photographs.


• TravellersPoint Hong Kong Photo Gallery.

Final Impressions

On our last day in Hong Kong we decided to stay close to the hotel, as we needed to leave for the airport around midday. The good fortune of having stayed in Tsim Sha Tsui was being within a short walking distance of several Museums. On our earlier walks we had seen the Museum of Art advertising an exhibition of Etruscan artifacts and Early 20th Century Guangdong Painting.
As we come from the ends of the earth and most interesting exhibitions pass us by, we thought that it would be a good way to spend a few hours before heading home.

It turned out that a couple of hours was barely enough to make our way around the exhibitions. In the end the Chinese Jade and Gold exhibition took most of our interest and our time. The beauty and craftsmanship of the items on display was phenomenal, and it made the Etruscan artifacts look chunky by comparison.

If you love museums and art galleries then I would suggest that you set aside a minimum of half a day, or better yet a whole day, to wander through the Museum of Art. It is a nice way to see a little snippet of the vast story that is Chinese culture, civilization and history.

After walking back to the hotel we left for Hong Kong airport around midday, with a taxi driver who spoke some english. He turned out to be willing to indulge himself as a bit of a tour guide on our drive and so we gleaned more information about the city we were leaving. I'd suggest you try your luck and ask your taxi driver questions - you might find yourself with a chatty local who is willing to share their knowledge, even through broken and heavily accented english.

As we went through the usual customs and boarding procedures for the start of our flight home, it was clear to me that I was hooked. Wild horses wouldn't keep me away. Hong Kong has become a repeat destination for me.
We saw only the very tiniest fraction of what the city has to offer, and as a taste-test it has convinced this traveller that she wants a bigger bite.

Look out Hong Kong - I'll be back!

Oh Waily Waily's Hong Kong Travel Series

From the very beginning:

• Hong Kong Trip - Prelude


• Good In-Flight Manners


• Hong Kong: Our Arrival


• Hong Kong: First Impressions


• Hong Kong: Quick Tips


• Hong Kong: Day One


• Hong Kong: Eating on Rice Sellers Street


• Hong Kong: Dried Seafood Street


• Hong Kong: Day Two


• Hong Kong: The Scent of Incense


• Hong Kong: Jade and Nuts


• Hong Kong: Flora and Fauna


• Hong Kong: The Highs and the Lows


• Hong Kong: Shopping Overkill

Hong Kong: Shopping Overkill

So, I'm not really the best person to be making any comment about shopping. Some would say I'm a traitor to my sex (if you believe that sexist codswallop) by not being the least bit interested in dragging myself from shop to shop to shop looking for the very best bargain ever.

Shopping is NOT a sport nor a hobby in my opinion.

But, if you are a sport-shopper, a hobbyist-shopper, or a hunter-down of couture goodies, then you will be in heaven in this city.

Shopping Centres here are actually big enough that in peak shopping hours, it is possible for novices (like myself) to get disoriented and actually lost for a short while.

I am not a useful source of comparative costs, mostly due to the fact that my shopping expeditions are usually carried out on the back of necessity rather than information gathering, however I am reliably informed by people who know about these things that:

1. Hong Kong is not as cheap as it once was.


2. Stanley Markets is the place to go if you do want bargains.


3. If staying long enough, take a trip across the border into China - prices are better, but not quite of the same quality.

In my defence we did get a great price on a Samsonite travel case, probably saving close to NZ$100, and I did pick up a couple of really nice little shirts at an absolute steal on sale from a G2000 store in Central. Other than that, we weren't really here for the consumerism experience.

I probably should have put some observations into my First Impressions comments as it is hard to divorce the night lights from the shopping experience. Nathan Road really is ablaze with light and product choice.
There are markets all over the city, including the Temple Street Night Markets quite close to Tin Hau Temple, and there are modern shopping malls that could be considered small towns in some parts of the world.

If you want airconditioned comfort in your shopping, I can recommend taking time to visit Harbour City on the waterfront of Kowloon (but not on a Saturday during the month-long July sales) or Pacific Place on Hong Kong Island. Otherwise it's a case of hit the streets and enjoy the market experience and the constant "Would you like a Rolex?" or "Mens suits. Suits for the lady. Best quality." from the street hustlers.

No matter what you want, you will be able to find it here. It might not be the price you want to pay, but it will be here.

Enjoy!

(May your bank manager forgive you.)

Hong Kong: The Highs and The Lows

Victoria Peak. The Peak Tram. "The Peak"
Everyone does it.

And for a good reason. It is a great way to see the city. Our trusty Fodor guide suggested the best way to do this is as a day/night trip. And that's what we did. We MTR-ed our way to Admiralty, exiting under the Lippo Centre, from where we made our way up Cotton Tree Drive and to the Tram terminus. It's about a 5 or so minute walk uphill, traffic permitting. In the entrance area there is a lovely statue of Jackie Chan advertising Madame Tussaud's. Which, with the Peak Tower undergoing renovation and revitalisation while we were in town, we didn't actually get to experience. :(

Still, the tram ride was actually worth it. It's only a 7 minute journey - not particularly epic and at the start not particularly salubrious in it's outlook. But by the time you get to the Tourist bit it gives you a really good and unique view back down into Hong Kong. The Tram itself is rather sweet too. Reminiscent of days gone by. And even our snappy little digital (which is not particularly flash) could take photographs through the windows without drama.

Once off at the other end you can take a stroll to the lookout (everyone does) and take photographs looking back towards Kowloon. Or you can take a stroll around the shopping centre directly outside the Tram station. We did both. As we were planning on a day/night excursion, we took advantage of the late afternoon light and did the tourist photographs of the view. You know the sort of photos - stand up straight, suck in the tummy, move a bit to the right because the Bank of China is sticking out of your head, grin in a silly manner kind of thing. The only real difficulty is squeezing some space between all the other tourists.

The locals have been quite ingenious on the business front here - they've set up digital cameras and a printer along the walkway, taking and/or printing digital snaps of you and the Hong Kong skyline in the background. We chose not to use their services, but did applaud the business innovation shown.

Out of sheer nosiness, we wandered further along the same path and eventually came to a residential road. It gave us a different angle on the city and a view of a couple of birds of prey floating in the thermals. Unfortunately they never came quite close enough to make out clearly, but they looked like they were having a great deal of fun.

We wandered back to the Shopping Centre and took a look down at the southerly side of Hong Kong Island before going inside and taking a look around. It is a small centre by Hong Kong standards, and was not a particular stand-out on the shopping front. It did have, however, the only truly tourist shop that we came across during our stay. It had all the tourist knick-knacks you would expect to find - calligraphy scrolls, figurines, commemorative clothing and even ivory carvings. Nothing other than the scrolls was particularly tempting, however.

Once we had done the obligatory rounds of the shopping centre we went looking for a restaurant to have dinner in, and await the setting of the sun. Despite temptations of New Zealand lamb on one menu, we went for a mixed Chinese / Thai theme. It's definitely an interesting menu when you can order Fish Maw and Goose Web for a main !
Strangely enough, we didn't. :)

Dinner was pleasant, but as you would expect from a prime position on Victoria Peak, not cheap. However we did get to sit and relax, recharge and then head out again after dark to take the night photographs of the city. A tripod is highly recommended for this, of course, otherwise you might just want to leave it to the professionals. As the night view of the city is one of the prized excursions here, once our five minute photoshoot was over we found ourselves at the back of a very long queue for our return tram journey. Be prepared to wait 15 to 30 minutes (two or so tram rides worth) before getting a seat.

Once at the bottom terminus we headed back towards town through Hong Kong Park. Even though it was after dark, the park was well lit and a very pleasant and short walk. At the end of this we took the escalators down to Pacific Place and on to the MTR at Admiralty, and back to our hotel.

At the end of this day, we were facing the end of holiday lows...

The thought of leaving Hong Kong behind.

Hong Kong: Flora and Fauna

On the recommendation of another couple staying at our hotel, we decided that we would take the trip to the flower market and the bird market. This took us up to Prince Edward station, a couple of stops further north from Yau Ma Tei.

We wandered down the road, following the nice signposts pointing the way. The first stop being the wonderfuly named Flower Market Road, which of course is a street full of different flower and plant shops. There was quite a remarkable diversity of plants on offer, with a couple of shops showing the most beautiful array of orchids that I have seen anywhere. I was very envious that I wouldn't be able to take anything home.

The florist shops had unusual blooms on offer that were unknown to me, as well as the usual suspects - sunflowers and roses. We couldn't believe the individually wrapped rosebuds in the water buckets in the doorways. :-o
They were pristine, and they were a fraction of the cost we would pay at home.

By the time we had oggled our way down the street past the topiary, the orchids and the cut flowers, I had decided that there was no excuse for not having flowers decorating your home if you lived in Hong Kong. The prices were excellent, and if salarys are comparable, then I couldn't imagine not having fresh flowers in the house all the time.

At the end of Flower Market Road we came to the back entrance of Yuen Po Street Bird Market. They have made the entries to the market very ornate, and the shop areas fairly orderly. I'm sure the original bird market would have been much more higgledy-piggledy than this.

Once again, as an animal lover, it can be a little hard to walk through looking at the number of birds in tiny cages without feeling somewhat horrified. But in saying that, I am led to believe that space is at a premium for the humans who inhabit Hong Kong and they are used to living in much smaller spaces than perhaps us Kiwis are. It shouldn't be surprising then to think that for them it is acceptable for birds to be in smaller cages too. No doubt housing a bird in a small apartment also poses issues.

So, putting the cage sizes aside, pretty much all of the birds we saw seemed to be in good healthy feather. And if you choose to visit the market you must be prepared to be wowed by the intricate and beautifully made cages. Some are complete works of art. Unfortunately I only took "real" photographs here, so I can't share a quick digital snap with you.
Oh, and even if the cages are small, the birds get the most exquisite water bowls. None of this plastic rubbish for these little feathered-friends. Porcelain. Beautifully decorated in most cases.

It really was interesting, although not as big as I imagined it would be. If you are not looking for a bird, then the whole experience will be little more than 30 minutes. Oh, and keep your eye out for the most amazing bird - I have no idea at all what he was, but he was the most phenomenal colour - a vibrant metallic blue. If he sounds familiar to you I'd love to know what sort of bird, other than stunningly beautiful, he was. He wouldn't have been more than 20 cm top to tailfeather and about the same build as a smallish starling.

If you are on a short visit to Hong Kong, then you may want to consider these markets if you have a local person to buy a gift for (flowers), or if you have two or so hours to fill (maximum total travel and browsing time for both markets).