Thai Me Kangaroo Down Sport

Going independent in Rwanda..... A whim away, a whim away.

2011-12-21T00:49:00.000+07:00

I'll admit that even I was a little nervous about the idea of coming to Africa without the support and structure of a guided tour. Heck I even lied to my parents about it. I ssured them that we were doing this trip wrapped in cotton wool with every meal and every toilet stop pre-planned by a money hungry tourist outfit. But, in the end, we decided that we could do it solo (we aren't the first, I did loads of research) and by doing it solo we would save a packet (more money for more primate tours?), we could come up with our own Salange slothful itinerary, and we could chose when and where to pee.

So, we are here now, faces in the lonely planet, doing Kigali like every other independent traveller before us.

We started with lost baggage. The process of filing the report certainly had a feeling of Thai style Mai Ben Lai but it was dashed with more assurance than I've come to expect from my second homeland. This was perhaps the first instance of I'm not in Thailand anymore that I felt. The second came soon after when a woman of traditional size and costume booted me from my seat in the baggage claim waiting room. Hey, it was my fault for not offering it up. Facial to me.

My bag eventually showed up (as promised) but not before I invested in a tacky tourist T-shirt and a couple of pairs of granny undies. Oh how I will enjoy shopping in Africa. If I lost my bags coming to Thailand for the first time I would have had to purchase two pairs of knickers and taken them to a tailor to sow them together!!

GETTING THE GORILLA PERMITS

Anyway, I really want to talk about the process of obtaining the gorilla trekking permits. Maybe someone will stumble upon this and find it useful. Maybe it's only my mum and sister reading and they are still freaking out about the independent in Rwanda part of this post.

After days and days of reading forum after forum about trusted and untrusted gorilla tours I decided to just contact the Rwanda Develpment Board (formally ORTPN) and organise everything directly with them. I sent off a quick email to reservation@rwandatourism.com and got a quick reply from Norbert. He gave me some date options, I wired 1000 US bucks to the RDB bank account (not going lie, I was extremely nervous this - why is his email address .com?!?!) and then I emailed him a copy of my bank transfer. Two weeks later (yep, I did all of this two weeks before coming to Rwanda. Probably not a good idea in high season) I rock up to the new RDB offices, not the ORPTN building listed on the lonely planet map, and I picked up my two permits.

Piece. Of. Cake.

Ok, so we still need to get ourselves to the the National Park. But we are still going to do this as efficiently and independently as possible. Hello 5 dollar bus trip.

More to come. Hopefully some pics of baby gorillas too!!!

A whim away.....

2011-12-21T00:19:00.000+07:00

Our hotel is in a leafy suburb on one of the many hills of this city. We walked around (and got lost) yesterday and i was mesmerized the whole time by my surroundings. The people we passed on the street. The billboards. The immaculate roads with the less than immaculate driving. The huge houses on the left that we're hiding behind giant brick walls. The small huts that lined the hills on my right. I couldn't work out what I was looking at. Couldn't put it all together. It was (and is) unlike any where I've been before. I'm mean there are elements of everywhere topped off with elements that are completely new to me. Not surprising I guess. I haven't been to this city or this country or even this continent before!

Now, the thunder and heavy drops of rain is cooling of the heat of day here in Kigali. I actually still can't believe I'm here, in Rwanda, in freaking Africa.

We ventured out to be tourists today, first picking up our gorilla trekking permits (the ease of this process was unexpected!) and then a stop at the genocide memorial and museum. Nothing could have prepared me for it. Nothing to stop me from crying. Or from asking why? Or for just being mad at the world for allowing it all to happen. Even now I'm taking long and silent pauses to find words. Huh, how fucking obnoxious of me. I wasn't there. I barely even heard about it. I was 14. I should've known. All this just makes me even more sad and angry.

But, one thing I did learn today is that there is no time or room for anger for the people of Rwanda. How they have rebuilt this country in less than 20 years is something that you really need to see for yourself.

I'm sure that I'll continue to think about the darkness that drove this country to genocide just 18 years ago for the rest of this trip. Hopefully for the rest of my life.

The optimist is hoping that the world will never allow this to happen again.

The realist is afraid that it is already is. Not here. But somewhere.

Wedding marathon continues....

2011-12-13T14:51:00.002+07:00

So I'm on the plane to Singapore for my third wedding in a week. I'm fairly determined to catch the flowers at this one, maybe even take a bitch out in the process, but I'd be a little embarrassed if that bitch was wearing a sari and my elbow got caught on her muffin top (although there prob won't be muffin tops at this wedding, these are some hi-so spunky Indians that can eat paneer without regret). **Edit - there was no bloody flower catching to be done!

Tiger airways has been my most hated and most loved budget airline today. The chick at the check in counter was beyond stupid. The thinking outside of the box skills were on vacation. Most hated budget airline. But! They sell wine in a can on the flight. For 150 baht! Favourite budget airline status awarded.

The lady next to me was reading a book about stool (STOOL!) I couldn't help but see it. Why was she doing that? Why? On a plane? I updated my status about it, I hope she didn't read over my shoulder. I hate biatches that do that.

Are you enjoying the stream of consciousness that is happening right now? I think it's because of my new favourite airline and the 150 baht canned wine.

Hey? What are your feelins about chair recliners on a short budget flight? Like, do you do it? I think I tend to only do it if the person in front of me does it and while I am doing it I usually raise a knee sharply/accidentally into their back.

Id like another can of wine.

Hang on. The captain is speaking. Bastard said we at going to be 50 minutes late. Lucky we had those wine cans. Or I might downgrade Tiger again.

Just realized that I'm going to Singapore and I didn't stock up on chewy. Disaster. Can we talk about the no chewing gum rule for one second? Weirdest/dumbest rule ever. Second over.

This is Sarah's plan for the weekend:

See orangutans
Find a parrot to tell her fortune
Eat a pepper crab
Walk on the sidewalk (dream big lately?)
And maybe find a wedding outfit (um, lastminute.com?)

We will do the first and the second last only. Don't tell her. She'll work it out in good time.

Wanna know what is going on at the wedding this weekend? Twitter: @rpwedding2011 You won't regret it. Or you might.

Why so much love for Koh Chang?

2011-11-11T15:06:00.003+07:00

I am fussy and spoiled for choice in the land of smiles. Perhaps I am verging on high maintenance (Blame the GF). But fuck, where are the beaches Koh Chang? Oh, there they are, littered along the awful strip of White Sands (think Pattaya complete with Russians and hookers and Russian hookers) and buried beneath the dreadlocked patchouli festation on Lonely/Nature beach. I mean, I had a great time, especially when we went lush for a week at GajaPuri - THAT PLACE WAS PHENOMENAL! But when the budget kicked in we found ourselves in a beachless resort for a few days and then in a boat themed resort complete with an anchored cruise ship-turned hotel (ridiculous, kinda scuzzy, but satisfactory because of the cruise/ghostship). Look, we made our own fun and we made do with what we had and what we wanted to spend, all I am saying is that if you could instead go to Krabi or Ko Phan Ngan or maybe even Phuket, then you prolly should do it. OK, maybe not Phuket.

But if you love rocky shores and overpriced 1950s beach resorts you will love Koh Chang. Or if you are happy with a little grot for a spot on the beach you will also find some heaven. But if you are of the flash packing variety who needs a little AC with her clean sheets you might want to reconsider the long drive to this far away land - unless you have some dollars to spend. In which case you will check into GajaPuri and never leave!

You see what I love about the beaches and islands of Thailand is that they were quietly discovered and converted into hippy refuges before they slowly emerged into the flashpacking scene which meant that I could find myself a comfortable (CLEAN, A/C'd, ENSUITED) room for less than 50 bucks that was within spitting distance to the whitest bloody sand you could imagine. Heck, if you are lucky your comfortable room is on the fucking sand. But Chang seems to have been discovered by the resorts. They stole all the beach access. They built behemoth resorts and jacked up their prices but haven't renovated in 50 years. I WANT A HUT WITH A/C, CLEAN SHEETS, CLEAN ENSUITE AND A HAMMOCK. ON THE SAND. Is this too much to ask for Ko Chang, is it?!?!?

Oh God, I sound like a freaking whiner. And you are thinking that I went to Koh Chang and I hated it. But I didn't. And you are freaking out cos you are already on your way there. Shit, sorry. Relax. It is fine. You'll find roti and squid and beer and sand and crystal clear water and nemo fish. You can avoid the hookers or pay for em. You can buy sarongs and plait your hair. You can get a fake tattoo or a real one. You can buy a bucket with sharing straws and drink it all by yourself. It's the real deal, it's Thailand. It's all there. It's just not as awesome as what you will find elsewhere – it's a long way to go for it not to be awesome. Don't you think?

I mean lucky for me I went with awesome people. So clearly I didn't give a shit about the other stuff.

Blog's back....

2011-11-10T15:22:00.000+07:00

My sister's blog is active. Like once a week active. And she makes me laugh. Sometimes I am laughing with her, sometimes it's at her, but still she is #winning. She is winning the who-is-the-most-addicted-to-the-computer competition and the who-has-the-better-blog competition. But she shouldn't be winning, she hates technology! Her biggest tech accomplishment (aside her active blog) is summed up in a few pictures she did with Microsoft Paint! Microsoft Paint! FFS! She loathes technology and it loathes her. But she is still #winning. What does this mean for me and my self esteem? A big effin #FAIL.

So I'm making a comeback spurred on by the weekly updates of my big sis and those of her blog buddy over at Chickens and Bees. I need some new direction though, something that will get the creative juices flowing. (TANGENT: What the eff is creative juice? Does it smell?) I guess I could ramble on about the floods in my hood. Or the lack of floods. Or the messed up politics that surround the floods and that are infuriating the outer limits of the city. Or maybe I could chat about our floody escape? Or maybe you would prefer 700 words about my crippled cat that pees and craps just outside the tray? I mean my sister wrote about sneezing ffs.

Or maybe I need a whole new direction, a new template, a new title, some writing buddies, new adventures, real stories, passion.... stay tuned folks this shit is about to get real.

Beer. Booze. Baseball.

2010-07-02T02:51:00.000+07:00

Camden Yards, Baltimore. Home to the Baltimore Orioles. A magnificent
sporting arena. I'm not gonna lie, I was super excited about my first
baseball game. I wasn't excited about our seats though. The nose
bleeds are fine, that wasn't the problem. It was the 50 pre-teen Jesus
camp kids that surrounded us. The red headed kid with braces who
shouted to his buddy "Are they lesbians?" as we took our seats made me
laugh but mad Sarah kinda grumpy at the world. I did want to shake his
hand and say "Yes we are and now you are too!" but Sarah wouldn't let
me. Instead we moved seats away from their judging eyes. And drank
expensive (and crappy) beers.

Baltimore. The city that feeds.

2010-07-02T02:43:00.000+07:00

Who would have thought that the city mad famous by The Wire would
offer such culinary delights? Stoops sitting and drive by drug drops
are not the only things to do here.

A city rich in history like B'more it really shouldn't be a surprise
that you can fill your days (and your stomach) with a variety of
delicious culture and flavour rich snacks. The Lexington Market is
right in the heart of the city and Faidley's seafood can not be
missed. When ordering a Jumbo Lump Crabcake my friend (the local)
asked for cocktail sauce. The reply? "There is no way you be putting
cocktail sauce on my lump crabcake!" Damn! She was schooled on that!
And rightly so, those crabcakes did not need any imitation sauces.
Baltimore, Maryland, your crabcakes are devine.

Day two. More feasting. This time it's the almost century old Attman's
deli on our to do list. I love corned beef. I was in heaven. My corned
beef with mustard on rye was jammed with at least 400g of beef. Check
this shit out:

When beer and water are the same price...

2010-06-14T19:36:00.001+07:00

I've been in Bangkok a while. I hang out on Sukumvit. I got used to paying well over 100 baht for a pint or a stubby. I had forgotten that as soon as you step out of the city and head up north, the beer gets cheaper and cheaper. Chiang Rai I hate your cheap beer. My head is a mess today because of you and your cheap beer. Your cheap and cosy guesthouses. Your walking streets. Your smiling faces. Your cheap as water beer. Damn you.

I had to rally this morning and get on a bus bound for Chiang Khong in order to get across the Mekong into Laos. Is a midday wakeup considered a rally? I was S.T.Rugglin this morning Chiang Rai and I blame you...

But I also thank you. A fucking awesome night.

Not an easy silence

2010-05-27T15:08:00.000+07:00

Post redshirts Bangkok. A few days of unwelcome silence. For everyone. Yeah some folks thought of nothing else but the rubble of Central World. Some folks were still reeling at the government. Hopefully everyone was deeply saddened by the loss of life. There were still so many questions and too many opinions.

For most of us we just wanted peace back in our city. I felt for the redshirts who were desperate for a change and must have felt abandoned by their leaders but I also felt for the businesses and the employees who were already months out of work and months out of salary.

As the days crept by the traffic began to grow, the clean ups began and the signs of the redshirt city were starting to fade. For me, it just meant back to work. My seniors had sad their exams, my G11s had them coming right up. My task list was in chaos and my city (for once) was not.

No school for a week? I'm going to Mumbai my friends...

2010-05-23T14:52:00.000+07:00

I wont say that I was over the moon about school closing for a week. The circumstances weren't exactly pleasent. But an excuse to head to Mumbai and spend the week with Sla, not an opportunity I am going to pass up, pending Indian visa application...

I've had troubles with the old Indian Visa application process already. It seems I visit Mumbai too frequently. Now, they only give me a 30 pass and I need to chat with a head moustache at the embassy. Pain. In. The. Ass.

So, what are my chances of getting a visa issued in one day in Bangkok? Unheard of they tell me at the one stop visa centre. Mai Dai. No way. Don't even try. Well where is the fun in that? I gotta try right? A week in Mumbai with Sla, I gotta at least try. Let's not fail to mention how close the redshirt action is to my house - the view from my balcony was getting far too good to stick around.

Moustache and me, we had a chat. I kissed his ass. He lapped it up. He stamped 'URGENT, ISSUE TODAY'. Heart racing, cheeks smiling - I'm going to see my bird!

But let's not get too carried away, it's not a holiday. It's India for a start. And I had lessons to deliver each day - but heck, from a computer in an apartment in Mumbai, thousands of kilometres from RAMA IV... awesome. I'll take it.

Do you hear the people sing?

2010-05-10T10:53:00.039+07:00

It is calm in the redshirts camp (at the moment) but I don't know how these folks are living there. The temps are meant to be peaking at just under 39 degrees but if you add 5000 people in close proximity, high rise buildings which limit air movement and then the car, motorbike and air-con fumes, the weather is well above 40 degrees. "Even the Thais are sweating" is how a friend of mine describes the heat right now.

It's probably not great that Bangkok's redshirt city reminds me of a scene from Les Mis'. But seriously, check out those freaking barricades!
Maybe not a great idea to wander there, maybe not an excellent idea to whistle "Do you hear the people sing" while I walked. But you try to go there and not do the same thing...singing the songs of angry men...

(But, I am really not keen on the outcome being anything like Broadway's.)

As the shit storm flies into town....

2010-04-23T13:10:00.000+07:00

Something isn't right in my city. The malls are closed. The malls. In Bangkok. Closed. I thought that the malls and their massive conglomerates (The Mall Group, Central people, Emporium/Paragon) were the real and true owners of this city. It saddens me that these malls are closed. It's not because I want to join the masses in search of air conditioned bliss during all non-working hours. It's that I know what it means to shut down a mall in a city of malls. Fear and danger. Sad day.

From the Philippines to India. Goodbye gentle, hello mental

2010-04-21T11:08:00.003+07:00

The Philippines just shot straight to the top of list of places that I love to visit. I can't really put my finger on one reason why, but I suspect that it has a lot to do with the cheap beer, gorgeous beaches, amazing dive sights, lack of frustrations (a rare thing when travelling anywhere in Asia) and the cheap beer (not a typo, it deserves two mentions, it's that cheap). Unfortunately the food really does live up to the expectation that it wont be great. It wasn't. Although the Bicol delights that we enjoyed in and around Donsol and Legaspi were great, the coconut and chillis in the food reminded me of home (Bangkok, not Melbourne).

We squeezed a lot into our 10 days of island hopping but still managed to feel somewhat relaxed and beach bummed. If I had my time again I might skip Siquijor, although we did love The Kiwi Dive resort (and our fabulous DM Raul), and spend more time diving Apo Island. But both were great; white sand, clear water, all that the Philippines promises and never fails to deliver. Beofre heading over to Apo Island, at Malapatay, we stumbled upon the Wednesday market. A lucky treat for our early morning hungry bellies. Who would have thought that half a kilo of suckling pig would go down so well? Man alive I would love some more of that right now!

After some of the greatest and most enjoyable diving of my short dive history, J and I made the long trek from the southern point of Negros all the way to Donsol (some 33 hrs). The journey started with a picturesque coastal bus ride (think Great Ocean Road) and then an overnight 12hr ferry experience. J, myself and a few hundred Filippinos decked out on bunk beds across three levels of a huge, but sturdy, ferry. With fear in our eyes and hearts we drank beer. With beer in our bellies we slept. A half day on a sand bar a few kms from Masbate ended up being 3 hours of being stared at and secretly photographed (did I arrive in India already?). Then it was two hours on a fast boat to Pilar. One hour on a jeepney to Donsol. Where the hell are those sharks?!?

Exhausted but excited we arranged our whale shark adventure for the very next day...and the next... and the next...

With 5 days still to play with on Spring break I used my 6 hour stop over in Bangkok to wash and pack and then I set off on my mini adventure to Mumbai and Goa. I was trying to add things up, I think it might have been my 7th visit to the capital of Maharastra in about 18 months, not a bad effort really. Obviously my motivation for regular trips is a romantic one, but still, it takes a strong effort to intentionally put yourself through the India experience. Head down and frown on I strolled confidently to the pre-paid taxi rank and made my way to Bandra West. Gut instict got me to Sarah's house. Some cheeky preparations and secret messaging with maids got me inside. Then, I waited for Sarah to get home from work for the surprise to kick in. I never intended to leave the empty beer bottle out. I didn't expect Sarah to freak out and have visions of a beer drinking scary male intruder. Sarah, with Bhutanese bow and arrow in hand and ready to fire, wasn't the welcome that I hoped for! Disaster averted with a quick smile and a laugh. Phew! (Note to self, Sla Lewis is not good with surprises!)

A night in Mumbai and then a day to kill while the better half was working. I thought I might really do some sight seeing. I didn't. But I did find some great snacks at a new bakery cafe in the Bandra hood. Theobroma, your brownies I salute.

Next stop, Goa. (Is this post too long? I'm not feeling super creative and perhaps I am boring you?)

Whale sharks are our friends

2010-04-13T20:25:00.003+07:00

There are no words (in my vocab anyway) that describe the fear, excitement and joy that J and I had swimming with the whale sharks of Donsol, Philippines. These guys are freaking giants of the sea, the biggest we saw tipped the metre stick at about 12 and it had me completely speechless. Imagine being just a few metres and swimming alongside something that long? Not only long but huge! The tails on these guys are instant reminders that they are sharks and not whales and they are instantly obviously super effin strong. A gentle side swipe from one of these guys would have you rocket propelled to shore (or to the sandy bottom of the ocean). Lucky for us, these guys are as gentle as they say and they are just out for a feed. For the most part they aren't too pissed off with the human presence but the occassional douchbag does get in the way so the mammoth fish just start diving for the bottom like a submarine avoiding attack. It's still kinda surreal that we spent the better part of three days swimming so close to these guys. There were hesitations and some frustrations. Often we felt that we weren't acting in the best interests of the sharks but it was important to remind ourselves that only ten years ago the boat captains were spotting these fish for dinner and not for the pleasure of tourists. There is an interest in maintaining some long term eco friendly tourism in this little town and they are trying hard to find a balance between the good and the bad. I'm not sure they have found it yet, many of the sharks were crowded with snorkellers (the maximum 6 rule rarely obeyed) but they are getting there. And the numbers don't seem to be falling. Just avoid it on the weekends, that is when it gets nasty busy.

Boats, bikes and beach hunts

2010-04-06T18:01:00.002+07:00

J and I set off on our hike in search of the White sandy beach. We found churches and confirmations a plenty. We met drunk men and baby goats. We nearly crashed into puppies and chickens. But no White sandy beach! We think the tide might have been against us. Oh well. The water was blue and inviting enough.

It's 11am, that's beer time right?

2010-04-05T10:15:00.000+07:00

Motorbikes, cock fights and sunburned knees

2010-04-05T06:50:00.001+07:00

J and I rented ourselves a little 100cc battler today and ventured south of Dumaguete in the hope of seeing some white sands along the coast and possibly some waterfalls inland. We saw neither. But, we did manage to stumble into a cockfighting stadium and were lucky (or unlucky) to witness some serious sport in action. First they size up their cocks, the get them out and compare them, then they make a deal and they prepare their cocks for fights. Seriously. The preparation involves some fluorescent tape, giant stainless steel spurs, and a little Thai style foot massage and knuckle cracking. At the end of the fight when all the bets are done and some folks are happy and others not-so-much you can witness the resident cock doctor doing a little surgery on his lap. I mean he has the cock on his lap and the medical tools and he is sewing that little thing back up again. They say that after a month or so the cocks are ready to fight again. Poor little fellas. (Note: All puns intended)

Coffee and cramming

2010-04-03T11:35:00.001+07:00

Having done a very limited amount of pre-planning, J and I spend our
first 5 hours in Bo's Coffee shop trying to decide on our next move.
Each coffee sparks another brain cell and clear idea. It's destination
Apo Island and the rumour of an annual Fiesta!

Chocolate Easter Egg Hunt

2010-03-31T20:44:00.003+07:00

Woo hoo I found a sign of Easter hiding in BKK. The Landmark hotel is keeping the chocolate secrets, at reasonable prices too! (Rumour has it that there will be hot cross buns on Friday!)

Uncle Madi - greatest taxi driver of all time

2010-03-31T14:14:00.001+07:00

Frustrated that the oldest taxi in the world was the next one coming down the road I jumped in and asked him to U-turn. Thirty seconds later, the familiar sound of a flat tyre. Just under my ass. I probably turned a shade of red thinking (ridiculously) that my frame had caused this blow out! Obviously, it hadn't. "I got the puncture because I hit the curb back there!" he told me in perfect English. I stayed around and helped him change the tyre. We bonded and talked about his worldly travels, his education background and his worry about the future of Thailand. "It's all money, dirty money" again, perfect English.

I am sorry that I judged Uncle Madi's cab before I even got in, it was the greatest ride home ever. Take a minute to talk to your driver today, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Creative juices are dripping

2010-03-29T16:35:00.000+07:00

So I found this thing called flavour.me and it appears that I can create a kind of hub for my social networking addictions and my rarely updated blogs. Will this new hub get the juices flowing? Maybe?

My last visit to the Philippines was right at the height of my blog writing phase/craze, I'm back there again in a week. Perhaps I can rekindle the love and enthusiasm that I lost to the simplicity and brainlessness of facebook. But again, if I wrote, who would read? I guess you are here.... thanks

Show me the money!

2008-12-18T16:40:00.002+07:00

Ok, Dubai is out of control. You got a crazy idea? It can be your crazy reality. You want to build the most luxurious hotel. The tallest tower. The aquarium with the biggest single bit of glass. You want to serve the most expensive cocktail in the world. You want to create an island shaped like a tree. Heck, here in Dubai there is even talk of cooling the sand on the beach to prevent foot burn. Here in Dubai, you got the money, you got the big dream, you just go for it! I mean I've only been here 48 hours, hardly a pro on all things Emirati, but from what I've seen (the luxury 4WDs and sportscars occupying every residential garage is only the beginning) people have some serious money, and have nothing serious to spend it on.

I'm hanging out with Ash and Kent who are about 4 months localised. From their apartment I got the first glimpse of the most ridiculously jam packed skyline I've ever seen. (Admittedly from A and K's place you can't tell that the majority of the skyline is made up of cranes and the skeletons of yet to be completed big ideas - but still! WOW!) My first impression of Dubai in the daylight probably wasn't true to the Emirate. I mean I caught a fabulous glimpse of nothing but desert as we flew over and into the sandpit but then Ash and Kent quickly taxied me off to a fenced in stepford wives city of neatness. When my hosts popped off to work the next day I explored this city of perfection. Manicured gardens on the sidewalks. Manicured nails on the residents. I cycled Ash's bike taking in each and every one of the luxury vehicles that layed dormant in the sheds. The unused swimming pools. Basketball courts. Tennis courts. This place was a playground for the wealthy - but the folks were clearly wealthy enough that they paid other people to do the playing. I would've got used it...

In the evening we mingled with the locals - briefly. Ash introduced me to her shwarma man. I'll take one of each. Later, I will impress someone with my knowledge of this little street side stall (I will let you know how that goes in due time). Braving the cold (yes, it's cold. Fkn freezing actually) we headed into town. (Jenna - not the cat, the person - was also with us. I hadn't seen Jenna in at least 3 years, possibly 4? It was great to see her and to see that she hadn't changed! Laughter just seems to follow that girl!) So, we are en route to the Burj that is shaped like a sail. The 7 star hotel. The picture of ridiculousness in Dubai. Of course we weren't going into the Burj, but we were in the vicinity. The 360 Bar. The coldest place on the planet. With the fancy wine list. And kick ass price tags. Red wine kinda warmed us up. Kent was on the money with the whiskey straight up. Jenna slightly dissapointed with her 7 potato wedges - what did she expect? Get on the golf buggy, take the man made island compacted sand road back to the mainland. An awesome view of everything. But this little Bangkokian was just freezing her non existent tits off!

With a jacket in hand I might go back there with a bird very soon.

Bizarre border rituals, radical rock gardens and the Dali Lama's Dharamsala

2008-10-17T14:20:00.002+07:00

I'm cruising back through my facebook photos to job my memory about what I did next... I've been prompted by Ash to get my ass into gear and update my blog - mostly because she asked me for travel advice about a town I visited about 2 months ago and I can't recall a bloody thing about it.... but I do remember when Ash and Wendy left me to tackle the rest of India solo... well, as solo as one can get in a country of nearly one billion...

Chandigargh... a place on the map that gets me outta Delhi... and only 4hrs by train... I'm on it. Nothing to do in Chandigargh but blow your budget on accomodation, unless of course your fav Indian student hails from the area. Then you get a local shouting you samosa and tea - lovely Kanu, thank you very much :-)
Oh and there was that super bloody weird rock garden - what a kooky place to kill some time! And go on romantic outings with your partners I soon learnt. Every nook and cranny that I came across was already occupied by canoodling 20 somethings.... get a room? Or something?

Open the Lonely Planet and see what comes next... this is hard to do this retrospectively.

I can't remember if I had a plan at this point or not? All I knew was that it was hot, hot hot... and the rumour on the street was that the north was not. Not. Not. Amritsar, your border ceremony awaits me.

I'm bored at the moment... need to do this when I am drunk....

Back dating keeps me looking organised

2008-07-17T11:37:00.001+07:00

Ever since I learnt that you can back date your posts with blogger I have become super lazy at posting things as they happen (anyone who ever checks here regularly will know that that is complete bullshit, I've always been lazy with my posts). But, hey, at least I am making an effort to log in and reflect on past experiences? Right? So... I need to go way back to the time when Wendy and Ashley took me to that place with no beer... oh happy days... well actually the happy days begun with the train trip outta there! Ok, drama overload.. .it wasn't that bad... hippy's, yoga enthusiasts, vegetarian food... certainly not limited to only Rishikesh!

Train trip back to Dehli was bearable... although the staring was at an all time high... Ashley on her last stint of patience with the head wobbles, the staring and the moustaches... it was always highly entertaining for me, but I will admit that in the company of the dark haired yet fair eyed Ashley I didn't really receive that much attention... but it left me with more time to work on my Bruce Sprinstein remake of Dancing in the Dark. Which I sang to rapturous applause from the Indian men for which the song was about....

The train trip however was the end of the bearability of all things related to Delhi... our attempts to stay in a cheap guesthouse away from the hoards of tourists failed... dodgy back street after dodgy back street littered with dirty guesthouses ran by scary men had us going back on our goals and following the hoards - back to Parhaganj and the relative safety of the tourist strip....

Sweat, dust and cow shit... Dehli in a nutshell.... add to that some politcal unrest and the closing of all markets that might have been of interest left us with little to do but walk around temples and forts and fend off silk sellers - for three days... I did fall in love with lassis and ate ten too many samosas and photographed one too many unnatractive eunuchs... but that was about it... three days in Delhi... 2.5 days too many....

It's town number two without booze n meat....

2008-07-01T12:00:00.001+07:00

Long before the birds woke up and began their daily chores, Wendy, Ashley and I crawled out of our big bed gathered our worldly possessions and went in search of the 4am bus outta here! Imagine the oldest bus in the world, no older than that, and then imagine us riding it for the better part of the next 10 hours.... is the rest of my India adventure going to be littered with such long and painful bus journeys? (For a heads up, yes it will be...)

Rishikesh... hatha yoga centre of the world. Was I bouncing with excitement about the thought of heading to a town without beer. Without meat. And with oodles and oodles of yoga? Well, no, I wasn't... but Ashley is a yoga bunny and I had no other ideas about where I wanted to go!

Ashley tried to convince me to join her in some yoga action, I must apologise for being so stubborn. But it just didn't appeal. Bending. Stretching. Turning yourself into a huge knot of skin. I need the gym. And hotties to check out. And loud music. And stuff. (Sorry ash....)

I think we chilled in little Rishikesh for 3 days or so. Despite me not participating in the mandatory yoga sessions, or silencing my trap for 10 days in a wild Vipassana retreats, I managed to enjoy the peace and quiet and the coffee and the bakeries... and I finished my book....

Vegetarian and booze free?

2008-06-30T15:19:00.001+07:00

So the big move after Agra and the Taj was a long and sweaty journey to the mountain town of Nainital (there was a bus trip, a train journey - which involved Indian men and hand holding - and then a private jeep trip to the top... it became clear that we weren't the only folks making the journey, a huge percentage of India's middle class holiday makers were also en route... result? Disaster. No Vacancy. Not Possible. We have nothing. You could sleep in the barn but it will cost you your left leg. Permanent tents are only $40 madaam. What the ?!?!?

Our saviours in Nainital after 5hrs of walking up and down the the lakeside? A handsome group of Sikh men who saw the desperation in our eyes and sorted us out with a sweet room by the lake. It would mean a couple of nights of stationary sleeping as any movement resulted in someone (me) being forced onto the floor - we were three in the bed - but the shower was heavenly and the price was ok and by this stage we really didn't care!

So why did we come to Nainital again? Oh yeah, the walk up the hill (mountain) and the view of the Himalayas...

Early start... up we go... I'm feeling ok, I am pretending to like trekking when really I prefer beer drinking (or even tea drinking)... we take it easy, a leisurely stroll some might say... signs to the viewpoint... I imagine snow capped peaks... keep climbing... mind the monkeys... I see nothing... ok I see clouds... essentially though... I see nothing... ideas? Let's keep climbing up... of course, why didn't I suggest that?

China Peak is the new destination.. only about 9000 ft up... (admittedly at the time I was impressed by that.. then I went to Leh, but I'm getting ahead of myself there....)
You'll never believe what we saw from the viewpoint of China Peak... or will you? Standing by the flag that proudly relays the message "we made it" we look out into the distance and see white... as far as the eye can see... we see white... well it was a nice walk and a nice cup of chai.... let's go down now...

From romance to madness...

2008-06-29T14:42:00.002+07:00

The Taj Mahal, nothing short of majestic really. It lives up to all expectations. It's true that at the end of the day it is just a big thing made of marble but the romance, the elegance, the meaning, it's majestic.... but I don't think I need to go about it. I mean we've all heard about it or seen it on the telly or sifted through some old friends boring pics of the architectural monster so I wont say anything more about it. So the girls (Ash and Wendy) had shot off for the day to Fatephur thing-a-ma-jig and I followed the instructions to visit the Agra fort (did I write about this already?)... the fort was gigantuan... and I loved it.. yep, I wrote about this already, I remember now imagining being somebodies concubine....

So speeding up to the next morning when I wake with the birds (the vultures to be more specific) and head to the Taj for opening time... I was surprised to be only one of a few tourists up at this hour to enjoy the peace and quiet at the Taj, pleasently surprised of course. But I was in a slight pickle, cos everyone wants a pic with themselves and the Taj, but I was without friends and without a host of tourists to annoy and ask for help... along comes the moustached saviour for today.. Like a seasoned professional he took full control of my camera and threw countless instructions at me; "sit down", "stand up", "feet up", "smile more", "stop laughing", "move there", "smile more hard" etc etc... The result was a dozen pics of me and the Taj, each one slightly off centre and rotated to the right, but each one screaming with the tears and laughter that the little moustache man had caused for me at 6am on that already stinking hot day in Agra.

Meeting the girls in Agra was a super fun relief. I mean I had only been travelling solo for a little more than 24 hours, and I am generally quite tough, but nobody wants to drink beer alone.. do they? So not only did I move up to the travelling social ladder to "travelling with friends" but I was now able to rest assured that I had a folks to share a beer with... well, so I thought.... Speed up to the evening, with the Taj out in the distance and the sun setting on a blistering hot and stinky day, Ange needs a beer. Ange then needs to twist some arms in order to convince the likes of the Dutch and the Canadian to join her... their homelands would be ashamed... but they gave in and agreed to a couple of bottles... and then they let me drink them... is this how it is going to be? Well you just wait and see what they had in mind for the next couple of destinations.... I've no doubt you will be feeling my pain....

The days start with a cup of hot chai....

2008-06-28T23:06:00.006+07:00

Sitting on a hot and smelly train bound for Agra, the home of the world famous Taj Mahal. The tight, sweaty and uncomfortable section of our carriage included a family of six. A travelling group of four men and one (younger) woman. And an elderly chap - pushing 80 by appearance but maybe only 50 - and me. I'd been in India less than 24 hrs. Everything was new. A little scary. Often humorous. Almost always jaw dropping.

Who needs nappies for their young? Pop him on the boob. Feed him up. Burp him. Just like we'd do it at home. Until it's time for motions. Do it on newspaper. Then chuck it out the window. Each time this happened I washed my own face and hands with my little travel pack of baby wipes, gesturing to the sari clad mum that she was more than welcome to have some wipes to clean up her son, or her own hands, but each time my offers were politely turned down. Oh well.. I tried...

The head wobble. What the hell does it mean? Anyone who has been to India will understand the confusion of the head wobble. It's still my day one. Simple questions. Do you mind if I sit here? Is this the station for ? Can I take a photo of you? Would you like some chips? Do I get off here? All are answered with a quick little sideways head wobble. Not quite a yes. Not quite a no. Confusing as hell. But super funny. I found myself just making up questions that I knew the answers to in order to test my head wobble theories. After 4 hours on the train. I still hadn't worked it out. But at least I'd had a good laugh!

Agra. Finally. Time to find Wendy and Ashley. I followed their email directions to their hostel and I found it at the end of a smelly little alleyway lined with open sewers. Nice. Why the hell would they stay here I remember thinking. But I quickly learned that all alleyways in Agra seemed to be lined with open sewers. One of the most magestic buildings in all of the world in the background... open sewers in the foreground... watch your step folks!

I killed some time that afternoon visiting the monstrous Agra Fort. I wandered about imagining life a few hundred years ago as a prisoner or a guard or a concubine! Overlooking the Taj Mahal the fort itself took my breathe away. I am in India. 2km from the Taj Mahal. And 6 weeks away from school and work and responsibility. Time to take a deep breath Ange. And soak it all up.....

As instructed, I returned to the hostel in the early evening to wait for the girls. What a refreshing feeling to see familiar faces and have familiar conversations! And almost as quickly as we'd said hello I pleaded with them to join me for a beer... their first in a week of travel?! Whoops - their healthy, walking, trekking, muesli eating habits might cop a hiding now that I'd joined the troupe! Despite being full of numerous amounts of dangerous chemicals I drank that beer like it was the first I'd had in years... drinking it on the rooftop, with a wonderful view of the Taj... some kind of wonderful.

The only chick in shorts....

2008-06-24T20:17:00.002+07:00

I arrived in Kolkata last Sunday afternoon - a slightly delayed departure from Bangkok (will explain later!) meant I had a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time in order to catch up with my work colleagues and India travel buddies - Wendy and Ashley. In my very first test of backpacker toughness I was faced with the choices of (a) a marathon 24hr train journey or (b) a budget breaking 1hr flight.... hmmm... decisions decisions... how to justify the budget breaking domestic flight? I could not eat for a few days? Or go easy on the beer at some point? Ease up on internet and mobile phone addiction? Spend a day or three in a hammock reading a book? Surely I could claw back the misspent dollars? Regardless... I was alone, in Kolkata, being harassed by every man woman and child in sight. I hadn't even opened up my guidebook, was only vaguely familiar with Kolkata's geographical location, I was blowing the budget on day one and taking a flight to Dehli!!

Arriving in Dehli, 10pm, single, white, female... in shorts.... not a good idea Molony... time to consult the bible (aka The Lonely Planet)... suggestions for solo female travelers: Plan your trip so that you don't arrive after dark. If you arrive after dark, get your hotel to pick you up. Don't take a pre paid taxi.... My arrival went something like: arrived after dark... hotel wouldn't pick me up... i took a pre paid taxi... Hmmm... I was feeling a little nervous.. but lived to experience the ghetto that is budget accommodation in Delhi! Weary from the days adventures I slept like a log in that smelly light starved concrete holding cell and jumped out of bed grabbed my pack and fled to the bustling train station at first light... destination: Agra - The Taj Mahal and Wendy n Ashley...

Finding the want to write...

2008-06-16T11:47:00.004+07:00

It's not been easy for me this year... finding the want to write I mean. For a few months there last year I was all about my blog. I was all about telling stories and posting pics and sharing the fun and adventures of my life here in Bangkok. Then I lost the time. Or I lost the energy. Or I lost the motivation. I don't know what it was. And while my best mates Alex, Paddy, Ash and Kent all continued (and started) their blogs, I was distracted, and drunk and unproductive. It's not like I haven't been on any adventures, hell, since February, I've been on a butt load:

Liveaboard adventure out to the Similian Islands (read Paddy's blog or Ash's for the scoop)
A zip lining crazy adventure in Loas where I spent the best part of three days in a harness screaming along wires at ridiculously unsafe heights.
A super quick weekend trip to Melbourne for my best mate's wedding
A heap of weekend getaways - Kanchanaburi, Phuket, Pattaya, Kanch again and again
A week long trip to Vietnam with my Grade 10 students

But finding the energy to blog about it has been difficult... this past year has been difficult... but, I think, I hope, that I am well and truly on the road to happiness now, well, I am certainly off the road to destruction, thank God! Maybe, just maybe, this all means that I have something to blog about now.

So where do I begin? Do I forget the last few months and start from now (that would mean missing out on telling you about some brilliant folks (one in particular) that I have met this year)... but maybe that's all a secret I can keep to myself... at least for now...

So... let's start from right now... I am back in at school (first official day of the summer break)... trying to tidy up my classroom without the hassle of the kids being about, trying to get ready for my 6 week adventure to India... tomorrow, Ashley, Wendy and Myself will fly into Kolkata... totally unprepared for what we might see or do.. but heads up, it's going to be a blast... I hope...

although I will be missing some people... a lot...

No news is good news... right?

2008-02-15T15:04:00.002+07:00

Well I am not sure if that is entirely true... maybe it's more that no news is laziness? or extreme lengths of busy? or prolonged periods of drunkenness followed by painful bouts of hangover? maybe it's addiction to social networks? maybe it's just that my everyday life is just that, it's everyday? is anyone really all that interested in how I enjoy kicking my own ass at the gym each week? or how I do the inverse on the weekend and kick my own ass at the pub? I don't know.. maybe I am missing the point of blogging... nah... it's most likely that I am just lazy, and I keep neglected this little page that I was once so enthusiastic about.... let me try to make it up to myself...

The month of January... Paddy's 40th, it needs a mention, and it needs some photos... let me mention that it was a total hoot, that Paddy was in fine form (who'd have guessed he could still pull off the splits?) and that Noi was sensational in his alter ego (not that I will encourage him to do it again!).. check out the pics at Paddy's Page. We rocked on at Ben's place for a while and then had a boogie at Admakers for a good hour or so. We certainly made a scene there! The boys and their afros got the crowds talking - or were they laughing? I couldn't tell....

Ashley and I wangled our way onto a risk assessment trip to Hanoi, far from being hard work let me tell you! A great little city to visit and a totally awesome place to be taking our grade 10 kids in a month or two. I just hope we can handle them! I should have pics of that too... let me finish writing.. I'll get them up soon...

Man, I've loads to talk about, and none of it is rolling off my fingers with the enthusiasm or energy it deserves... it's Friday afternoon.. I need a nap... then i will come back... make you laugh and cry... it'll be worth the wait...

:)

Christmas down under means beer beer beer....

2008-01-02T13:46:00.000+07:00

I really had no idea that 3 weeks at home in Melbourne would be so devastating for my liver. Seriously hours after landing I was beer in hand and well on my way to almost 14 days straight of pure torture to my body... I am not sure if it's because the beer is so good, so readily available, so abundant in everyone's fridges or just because it's the most perfect hangover cure? But whatever reason it has played a key role in my trip home to visit the family and friends for Christmas and New Year. When people ask me now if I am ready to go home to Bangkok I say that I am if for no other reason but to give my body a break and to get back to the gym! A year of hard work might very well have been destroyed by the best cold beer in the world!

Early on in my trip I met up with the college girls. A great group gathering, the first in about 6 years that I've been to! The girls cooked up a storm, the beer, wine and champers was flowing, and in no time at all we were once again laughing hysterically at each other and loving every moment. A comfort to know that I have such beautiful friends back in Melbourne who all miss me and want me home - but sorry girls, you'll have to wait a little while!!! :(

Next on the list of awesome and loved friends I needed to catch up with were my high school mates from good old country victoria and what better way to celebrate than to head to a dodgy pub in Hawthorn and bop away to cheesy (yet much loved) tunes from the 90s... who would have thought that 90s nights would be all the rage now?

Liv, Bec, Kath and I danced the night away, drank a mixture of nastiness and ended the night with chocolate, hot pockets and pre christmas ham... Oh what a night!

More to come on adventures in Oz soon....

Who let the Dog's out?

2007-12-04T09:13:00.000+07:00

It's been a long, hard battle for the Mad Dogs. We started out as a bunch of women who collectively had about 4 years of netball experience between them. We enjoyed being absolutely trounced each and every week by ladies who could stride the entire length of the court in only three paces. We laughed at our inability to catch, or remain upright or not step. It was amusing that we were so bad. But oh, how things have changed! While it is true only a couple of original Mad Dogs remain we have built on a culture of hard work and determination. We made some good trades and picked up some classy ladies and finally, finally, we've come through with the goods. That's right people, the Mad Dogs took out the league (well Div 2 anyway, but come on, cheers please!) What else is there to say except, well done ladies you deserved it! WHO LET THE DOGS OUT? WOOF WOOF WOOF!

Facebook is stifling my creativity....

2007-12-04T08:32:00.000+07:00

I once was addicted to my blog. I was addicted to my friend's blogs too. I would check them daily, sometimes twice daily. I formed friendships with people I didn't know but who wrote interesting tales about their interesting lives. I was moved by the birth of a child to a mother I didn't know, just read about. I was intrigued by the insight of a expat who moved to Phuket to further his writing. I was humoured by the stories of a family in Chiang Mai who'd always be getting up to something interesting. I loved to check in on my friends blogs, read about my mate's latest housing project or work of art. Laugh at the crazy situations my netball buddy was getting herself into here in Bangkok. And then, “You've been sent an invitation to Facebook”. Oh boy, how my life has changed, oh boy how pathetic is that?

So, it's December now, a good couple of months since anything exciting has happened and I am making a pact with myself. Cut down on the Facebook hours and write something interesting again. Stop throwing sheep at people and buying pictures of gifts. Stop poking long lost school friends and accepting friend requests of people you may have had a three and half minute conversation with in high school. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not going cold turkey. I just think it's time to balance the scales, give my old blog the time and effort she deserves. Try to get some readers back... will you come back?

I've got loads to get you up to date with... I moved house, went to China, won our Netball League, got silly on far too many occasions to mention here.... so, it's time (again) to get back to the blogging and move slowly away from the time consuming and socially boring life of a facebook addict.... (did I mention that I created a profile for my cat!? Shit, I didn't even mention that I have a cat... so much to write...) x

Goodness Gracious Great Wall of China

2007-10-30T20:44:00.001+07:00

I dream about visiting those massively famous places. The big name tourist destinations. I cringe at the thought of sharing them with one million and one people, but there are some cities in which there are must do trips, and in Beijing there is no other must do trip quite like the Great Wall of China. We did fall into the trap of a somewhat organised tour but it worked to our advantage in the end. Being dumped 10 km away from our destination on a section of the wall that had had very little restoration work done on it was nothing short of magnificent. Breathe taking stuff, seriously, my breath, gone (may have had something to do with the 10 km hike, but mostly to do with sheer amazement).... Wendy, Ben and I set out on a beautifully sunny morning walk, I was prepared for the chill out on the wall but soon found myself shedding layers of clothes faster than a twelve year old playing chocolate manners (ha ha, do you know that game? You have to throw on loads of clothes and then cut the block of chocolate with a knife and fork? Aaaah, it takes me back, but probably confuses the pants off you...) Anyway... the sun was brilliant. The wall was everything I imagined it to be. The breathlessness of the whole experience is hard to describe.
There was a constant sense of “HOLY CRAP I AM ON THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA!” and I found myself needing to shout “GOODNESS GRACIOUS GREAT WALL OF CHINA” at every moment. It's true i may have somewhat destroyed the serenity for other wall walkers but I just couldn't help it! The Mongolian farmers that have left their flocks and who now trail the wall trying to sell their goods were slightly time consuming but full credit to the 72 year old chap who was doing laps around me. There were some crazy steep sections to climb and that Mongolian chappy was most certainly half mountain goat in his ability to scamper up and down that wall... still feel bad that he followed us for about 30 minutes and I didn't buy any water from him. I did tell him that I had some already. Listening skills not unlike my students it appeared!

After the walk (which I think took us about 3 hours?) we cruised down to the waiting bus on a flying fox. Nothing quite like being strapped into a harness, a few hundred metres above the river, by an under qualified 70 year old Chinese lady who said nothing other than “hold on”! It all worked out in the end but we couldn't help but notice the lack of safety standards adhered to! But we lived to tell the tale so I should stop going on about it!

Anyway, the rest of my Beijing adventure was equally brilliant. I mean it's a rather polluted and somewhat dirty city (although by all accounts they have cleaned up their act). It was hard to find good coffee but not at all hard to get cheap beer. The food was good, but I am spoiled in Thailand and find it difficult to be wowed by anything else (it's not that I am not open minded, I am just spoiled here!) We rode around the city umpteen times and enjoyed visiting even more of the overcrowded tourist sites, attempting, if only for a little while, to immerse ourselves in some of what Beijing had to offer. Obviously, Hooters isn't exactly the peak of Chinese or Beijing culture, but you have to go, right? I mean, it's Hooters?! The end of the week had Wendy and I at a work conference. This should mean hours of stimulating and inspiring teaching habits, but what it actually meant was excessive wine and beer drinking and embarrassing situations.... will I ever learn? x

At first I was afraid I was petrified....

2007-10-16T09:11:00.001+07:00

At the first the girls really had no idea what they were getting themselves into... but it took them only seconds to realise what they needed to do... take it away girls!

How much longer can I put this off?

2007-10-11T09:48:00.000+07:00

wow, it's just been months and months since I've been here. It kinda got to a point where there was just too much to write about that I didn't know where to start and I didn't know what to include and what to leave out. We are at week 9 at school, week freaking 9!!! And I still feel like I am running about like a headless chicken, making up lessons (albeit fantastic ones) as I go along. My work load seems heavier this year, I need to up my tempo, but it's just not happening for me. Don't get me wrong, I am loving it - L-O-V-I-N-G it - this year with the older kids and the algebra and the proofs and the logic... but it's more work, it's not an easy task making geometric proofs mindblowingly fascinating for 15 year olds!!!

I should bring you up to speed on some things......

summer break was indescribably brilliant. My younger sister is just beyond words. What an absolute champion, how lucky am I that my younger sis is one of my best mates? One of those people that just brings out the best in you without even trying... total trooper.... we cruised around Vietnam and Cambodia, catching up on years and years of not really knowing all there is to know about your sister... no fighting, just fun and games!!! Thanks pal, it was awesome!

a week of relaxing in Krabi before school hit back was super fun. A new clique of mates, an awesome holiday house, lots of mojitos, an Aussie version of trivial pursuit (was there a sports question that i didn't know?), some late night swimming, rock climbing, beach sitting, harry potter reading, beach shopping, seafood eating.... aaahhh.... what a way to spend the week before you hit the grind again!

school started way back in August.... the first week is always great (even though I regret starting the year hungover - no, wait, I'd say I was drunk....), teachers are enthusiastic and you don't admit it but you are excited to see the kids again. Your lessons are energetic and interactive, the canteen food is not as bad as you remember, there are new staff members that need tours and appropriate evenings on the juice as warm welcomings to Bangkok... this carries on for a few weeks... then the marking starts to pileup... meetings are called... kids don't do their work and you need to deal with that...kids can't remember what a factor or a prime number is and you cry a little inside.... I get questions from 13 year olds like "Miss Ange, if I have already done Ex 4.1 should I do it again?" to which I reply (sarcastically) "yes of course you should"... and they do... over the summer it seems that I forgot my kids aren't too clued up on sarcasm...

the teacher talentless show was just that - talentless! but the kids loved it (and just quietly, dressing up as a teenage mutant ninja turtle - I loved it too!!! Half term break is just around the corner (lots of marking and parent consultations to endure beforehand though)... I'm heading up to China for a week which should be great... bring on THE WALL!!!!

My social life is continuing to keep me smiling... dancing to cheesy soft rock seems to be my current fancy and places like Adamakers and Yes Indeed are becoming increasingly regular... I'm not sure if I should be impressed or worried that bar staff know my name and my order??

I've got good internet access at home now so there's no excuse for being so slack! Hopefully I will find the flow again and will resume posting and reading my mates blogs that used to entertain me daily.... Ange in Bangkok is back online...

Way too long between drinks!

2007-08-09T17:50:00.000+07:00

It's been a flat out 5 weeks for me, my poor little blog is feeling rather unloved and I am still not giving her the time she needs! After Hanoi, HCMC, Phenom Phen and Siem Riep I hit the beach for some R & R (which ended up being far too many beers and far too many jovial arguments over Trivial Pursuit) and now I am still finding myself on the road, out and about, being a tourist. A couple of college mates are in town and we've come up to Kanchanaburi for the day. I'm just checking in, but still not really in the mood for a post... maybe next week, when work starts, I will be more than happy to ignore lesson plans and devote some much needed attention to my blogging!

I can post but I can't read...

2007-07-15T12:08:00.000+07:00

I'm having a few difficulties checking my blog and those that I read regularly. I'm not sure if there is something weird going on here in Vietnam, but there seems to be some sort of internet block out there to get me. I guess it shouldn't matter, I don't really need to check my own blog! But I've no idea what's going on in the world of BangkokAli (who is actually no longer in Bangkok - sniff sniff), Lillian, Christina G, Lost Boy... I am out of touch for the moment!
I don't know why I can get to my dashboard - but not mine (or any other blogger pagers)
Strange....

Everything you can do, I can do better

2007-07-10T06:02:00.000+07:00

"I went to this remote village on the back of a camel, we had to scale walls and then hoist ourselves up over a series of small children and dogs and then we were at the most amazing beach you have ever seen. I was definately the only western person who had EVER been there. It was amazing!" IF I HEAR ONE MORE DICKHEAD BACKPACKER MAKE A CLAIM LIKE THIS I THINK I WILL SCREAM!!!!!

Seriously. Why is it that just doing what is in the Lonely Planet, or Rough Guide or advertised on the walls of the hostel is never enough for some people that they have to make up bullshit stories about being the only westerner that has ever been seen at a particular beach, mountain, restaurant, noodle shop etc. BUDDY, IF YOU MADE IT THERE, SOMEONE ELSE WOULD HAVE BEFORE YOU!! GET OVER YOURSELF!

I love to hear stories from other backpackers, they are your best resource when you are on the road - but please spare me the crap. (Yes I want to know that a hard bed sleeper isn't that bad and it will save you a few dollars, but I don't believe you when you tell me that you were in fact the first white person that the 5 other locals in your room had EVER seen!) I cringe at that loud mouthed tourist (very often a fellow Aussie - double cringe) who always has to out do everyone elses travel stories. "oh you only trekked to the first village? That's cool, but I went to the second village, I met an awesome and interesting tribe of people who actually believe that eating the eyeballs of chickens brings health and fertility. I sat there and ate with them - I am sure that I was the ONLY WHITE PERSON THEY HAD EVER SEEN!"

BULLSHIT!!!

Little ol Mum proving she's just not very sharp..

2007-07-05T22:15:00.000+07:00

Well I've been out of touch for a while, due mainly to end of year celebrations (i.e far too much drinking and eating) and that I've taken a little trip out west and am now in Hanoi with Mum and my younger sis. It is just awesome over here. But there is more to tell about that later! Now, I would like to share the interesting stories about my Mum and the fits of hysteria that she has us (Cint and I) in! The poor pumpkin showed her lack of IT skills early on by attempting use her new digital camera for the first time. Unable to locate the viewfinder (there isn't one) and unsure of which way to point "the bleedin" thing, Mum near on blinded herself by pointing the camera the wrong way and taking a full flash photo of herself. Of course Cint and I offered little assistance, instead we simply enjoyed the spectacle! She's almost got the hang of it now, although Cint and I still tend to prefer self taken shots than the ones she takes - they are rarely in focus and barely show us at all! Bless her cotton socks, I shall post some of her classics at some point in time.... Last night, Mum once again had me in stitches, close to wetting myself in fact I was laughing so much. We got onto the discussion of digital music, well actually for mum is was all about the new Pod things... you see, poor ol mum just couldn't remember what the hell they are called. Cint and I thought it would be fun for her to guess, so she tried, starting with 'A'. "Is it an apod? bpod? cpod? etc..." As I write this I realise that you really need to (1) Know my mum and (2) Have been there to witness it, but I just wanted to write it all down so that I would always remember the night that my mum swore black and blue that the digital media sensation currently taking over the world is called an O-Pod....

School's out for summer!!!!

2007-06-29T13:18:00.000+07:00

My classroom is bare and looking rather dull. The only thing left are the student profile words which are hanging up too high for me to take them down. I look at those words and wonder if I will stick to them over the course of my summer.

I will be an Inquirer "How much is your beer?".
I will be a Thinker, "I wonder if it will be cheaper for me to buy a bottle or a jug?"
I will be a Risk taker, "I wonder if I can make it across the 8 lanes of traffic in Hanoi after consuming beer"
I will be Principled, "No, a happy ending is not neccessary but I will still give you a tip"
I will be Caring, "Cint, it's ok, just let it all out, I'll get you some water and hold back your hair"
I will be Open Minded, "I understand that your way of life depends on giving happy endings"
I will be a Communicator, "I promise that we can go home just after I sing one more round of Land Down Under on this Karaoke machine!"
I will be Reflective, "Maybe, that last beer was one too many"

The principles that my students live and learn by each day will not be forgotten by me on my summer holidays! BRING IT ON!!!!

Tagged again .... all about me

2007-06-26T11:36:00.000+07:00

Lillian got me again with this tag - it's going to take thinking on my behalf, but I'll see what I can come up with...

Rules: Each person posts the rules before their list, then they list 8 things about themselves. At the end of the post, that person tags and links to 8 other people; then visits those people’s sites and comments, letting them know that they have been tagged, and to come read the post, so they know what they have to do.

1 - I was born on the 29th of February. Born mid afternoon (or so I am told) so no chance to be held on to or squeezed out any earlier. I celebrate my bday 3 years out of 4 on both the 28th and the 1st... I milk it for all I can!

2 - One year for Christmas I got rollerblades and a matching set of grey t-shirt and bike shorts with the Beverly Hills 90210 logo on it... cool

3 - I nearly wet my pants in Kindergarten because Mum put me in a school dress that zipped at the back. It didn't occur to me to just lift it up to pee.

4 - I am still convinced that the day I came home from a friend's 21st when I was only 17 and had drunk a two litre bottle of coke mixed with a hip flask of Jim Beam that Dad couldn't tell

5 - I have successfully completed The Centurion 4 times... on one occasion I also had an extra can at 50 just for kicks... (The Centurion is the challenge to drink 100 shots of beer in 100 minutes)

6 - I don't remember the 80th to the 99th shot of beer on any occasion that I have successfully completed The Centurion

7 - I worked a ski season in the US in the year 2000, was riding my board like a true snow queen and then crashed and tumbled into a screaming heap. I smashed my elbow into a zillion pieces, comparable to a car accident I've been told, and I now have plates and screws in there and have lost about 30 degrees of movement.... I tell this story to everyone I meet.

8 - I once pretended I was a leprechaun

Ok, I am not sure if I know 8 people to tag since Lillian already tagged The Lost Boy and BangkokAli, and ChristinaG has done this already... ok, it's time to spread my wings here a little and mention some other blogs that I am reading...Damn it - Greenhaddock and Beaman have done this as well.... I'm out there looking for folks who haven't been hit yet... struggling

I tag Ange (no, it's not me!), Sloth, LaNina, Lynn,

My sister arrives bearing gifts...

2007-06-25T11:45:00.000+07:00

My little sister rolled into Bangkok last night from Melbourne, mate it was so great to see her! She had me worried for a short while at the airport; she didn’t come out with the masses of obviously Australian tourists disembarking from the same budget airline. I had images of her watching the friendly Thai customs officers searching through her bags, pockets and whatever other orifices they could get their hands on! Luckily it was just that Cint had already been swept up in the lackadaisical manner that we love and hate about Thailand and she was just taking her sweet ass time about things.
My little sister is kinda my hero. I have never in my life met anyone who laughs quite as much as she does, and it’s an infectious laugh that just lifts the mood of everyone around her. We have a weird relationship really; we’ve never actually spent a whole lot of time together as adults. She went away for uni so we missed out on spending much time together during those drunken uni days. Almost as soon as I put my pen down on my last exam I had my bags packed and ready to go so we once again missed out on seeing a whole lot of each other. Of course there were family get togethers, lunches here and there with our other sister but rarely the occasion for extended socialising. My older sister and I studied in the same city, so she was always having me over for dinner and meeting me out for beers (note that I rarely had her over for dinner as I lived on campus and wasn’t ever really a reliable host!) My older sister and I have had lots of time together, we’ve pissed each other off, fought for extended periods of time and then kissed and made up enough times to know that we still love each other. The last few times that I’ve been home in Aus my little sis has been away on her own worldly adventures and we have once again missed the opportunity to hang out. Over the last 4 years I would not have spent more than about 6 days with her at any one time, and each of these 6 day blocks would be separated by months and months of not seeing her. But with all of this absence, I think we’ve actually become closer. Yeah, we most definitely have. We are so similar and yet so different (she’s a skinny little thing with an eye for fashion, this is the most obvious difference!) but we both enjoy a beer and she makes me laugh with her stupid jokes. So the next 5 weeks will be a true test and will hopefully be truly awesome! We will hit the road and cruise from Hanoi down through Vietnam, across Cambodia and then back to happy old Bangkok. Bring on the fun!
(Oh, and about the gifts - I can't exactly reveal any information relating to that...)

It's all about the Music

2007-06-19T13:18:00.000+07:00

I got tagged by Lillian. I'm concerned about doing this meme - I often get in trouble for being a little bit too young, and admitting my favourite music is certainly going to confirm this for a lot of people! But here I go anyway!

5 - You’re going on a long journey, what five albums MUST you take with you? Albums that you need to listen to regularly.

(This changes a lot! But this is what my ipod tells me has been popular lately!)

The Waifs - Sink or Swim (I can't get enough of their folky harmonies and cheesy lyrics)
Dixie Chicks - Top of the World Tour (Country tunes that I can sing really loud and really badly with!)
Madonna - The Immaculate Collection
Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope
Mika - Life in Cartoon Motion (AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME FUN!)

4 - What four albums/songs do you most associate with a journey or travel experience? You know, the ones you listen to that instantly transport you back to a place and time.

4 Non Blondes - What's Up.... Grade 8 School trip to Tasmania, I'd made a mixed tape (remember those!) and it was the only one we had for the whole trip. Sitting on the back seat screaming out our lungs to this song was great fun.

Hunters and Collectors - Throw your arms around me... My entire, wonderful, memory filled 3 years that I had living at Menzies College, Latrobe University. Everytime I hear it I think of the beautiful and loving friendships that were formed over those years....

Emmylou Harris - The Tennessee Waltz... As a kid we would take long trips up to Pambula in Central NSW every other Christmas to visit my Nana. We rarely had much input as to what tapes were played so we just had to try our best to enjoy Mum and Dad's selection. I'll admit that I rarely hear this song these days, but if I did it would take me straight back to the backseat of our silver Toyota Tarago, winding up over the hills on the east coast of Australia with my sister and I in tears over the fate of this man's loved sweetheart....

Rent the Musical soundtrack - Melbourne to Robinvale/Mildura road trips. A good 6 hour drive that we often completed up and back over the course of a weekend for 21sts, random parties or to ease the boredom of college on the weekends! Myf, Meg, Ez and I would belt out these tunes and then stop for a while to contemplate the meaning of the lyrics - oh we were moved! One Song, Glory!

All 3 - Your three favorite songs of all time? (This really is NOT easy!)

Better Man - Pearl Jam

Burn One Down - Ben Harper

The Boxer - Simon and Garfunkel

2 - Two feel good songs, the ones that are guaranteed to lift the blues and put a smile on your face.

Goodbye Earl - Dixie Chicks... so it's about an abusive husband getting what he deserves, but it's sung in such an upbeat way it always makes me smile!

Irene Cara - Flashdance

1 - Absolute, overall, undoubtedly the best album of all time, in your opinion.

Madonna - The Immaculate Collection

(Note that this took me ages! And I must have changed every answer at least twice)

I’d like to know what sort of music gets Bangkok Ali, Christina G , LaNina and Sloth reflecting

Who let the dogs out?

2007-06-14T11:26:00.000+07:00

These photos were lifted (with permission) from Bangkok Ali - cheers Al!

If you've hit Bangkok Ali's site in the last couple of days you would have seen some evidence of a dangerously raunchy night out we all had last Saturday at Mojo's Bangkok. It was the annual end of season netball bash and the theme was (obviuously) School Disco. Maybe we went too far with the fish net stockings but here in the Land of Smiles it is just too easy to go too far! I can't think of anywhere else in the world that you could put together such awesome uniforms in only a few hours AND for less than $10! Rebecca and I hit Pratunam markets on Saturday morning and came away with fish nets in all the colours of the rainbow, neat little white school shirts (80 baht a pop), school skirts complete with front and back pleats and funky old school trainers. Add to that some creative hair and make up maintenence, some lollipops and lots and lots of Madonna and Bon Jovi and we had ourselves a night of nights!

(For those who didn't already know, the title Who let the dogs out? refers to the name of our netball team The Mad Dogs and not the fact that I think we look like dogs - obviously we don't!)

Facebook is starting to take over my life....

2007-06-11T10:47:00.000+07:00

So I was warned and warned again about the dangers of facebook. Initially I figured the warnings were just about the huge masses of emails that you receive, I didn't realise that the warnings were related to the fact that you VERY quickly become massively addicted to this online community! You instantly will find yourself reconnecting with people you haven't seen or heard of in 15 years! I mean, I am not sure that people really want to be reconnected with their classmates from Grade 4, but the beauty of it being online and non contact is that you can ignore or approach whomever you like! I am now checking it before my email inbox - it's seriously that bad! Is anyone else hooked? Are there people deciding to just stay well away from it?

I need a new title for my blog

2007-06-08T13:31:00.000+07:00

OK, I am calling out to everyone that ends up here on my blog....

I'm starting to get a few more hits, people are linking to my site which is flattering and it seems that people are hanging around for a little while longer (more than the early average of 3.5 seconds) which means that perhaps they are reading what I've written! Great!
So, I need your help... I want a new blog name. From here to there obviously came from a minuscule amount of thought, and even with dedicated thought I still can't come up with something that I like.... so, it's the NAME ANGE'S BLOG COMPETITION and it starts now...

Prizes - all the glory you can muster....

Beach time!

2007-06-07T14:14:00.000+07:00

The long weekend last week called for a much needed city break and what better place for it than the island of Phan Ngan. The pain and cramps of a nasty overnight bus ride were eased by a breakfast beer, bowl of noodles and a sun burning beach sleep. And we'd only been on holidays for an hour! We did a couple of dives with Haad Yao divers, while our instructor seemed to be permanently narked, he was relaxed and chilled out and guided us through two great dive sites (one of which involved a swim through a rock chimney where I cut my leg - hard core). The beers after diving hit the spot and it wasn't long before I thought releasing firecracker rockets was not only a good idea but extremely bloody hilarious! Ashley quickly became rather maternal and expressed her disapproval - I think it was more that I made her husband light the rockets and put his body parts at risk that made her a grumpy Nana for the evening. But seriously, imagine a huge exploding firecracker rocket shooting of uncontrollably into a resort, possibly into a bungalow! Hilarious! Right? Right? Are you laughing or shaking your head disapprovingly? Laugh!

Jumping on the blogwagon

2007-05-28T11:48:00.000+07:00

So I've been writing my blog for a few months now, not religiously, just whenever something interesting happens. Recently I've been wondering to myself - who I am writing for? I think that some of my friends (both here and Aus) check in every now and then, but I've no doubt (my Blog Stat Counter can support me here) that I am my blog's most regular visitor (well me and Bangkok Ali). Is that ok? Am I happy enough with that? I thought that I was, I thought that this was a like a not so personal journal that I am keeping for myself as a record of my wonderful memories living abroad. But then as I chat with mates who are also getting on the blogwagon I wonder if I actually I really want more from this? Not fame and fortune (let's be honest, there aren't that many people who give two hoots about a little Aussie chick doing the expat thing in Bangkok) but perhaps it would be nice if every now and then someone I don't know pops in and says something nice.... so the questions now arise - how do I get my blog out there? Do I just send out emails to everyone I know to tell them to check it out? How regularly should I do this? Do I randomly search for other blogs - perhaps in the same 'expats' genre - and leave comments hoping that they will follow comments back to my site? Do I post link to other blogs as a way to suck up to more popular sites? What's the ettiquite? When is it ok to link to another site? If someone links to you do you have to link back?
I rarely post entries like this, mostly I am just giving a wrap up of an exciting weekend or short trip away - but what is more interesting? Random thoughts like this post or holiday summaries and tales of adventure? I guess for someone who knows me they might like to read about how I watched devout Catholics flagellate themselves or how I've recently spent evenings being all hoity toity at Bangkok art galleries but for random strangers - what brings them here in the first place?

Ange and friends are Bangkok Hi - So

2007-05-23T15:41:00.000+07:00

I recently attended a charity function at the Sukkothai Hotel and was snapped up and published in the social pages of the Big Chilli magazine....

The photo on the left is Noi, Pat and Me, the photo on the right is Sarah and her hubby Josh.

There was an art exhibition (I've been to two in a month! A new record for me!) and some nice (read free) cocktails.... don't we all look hot?!

Philipines photos

2007-05-15T15:15:00.000+07:00

Ali just dropped off her photos from our Philippines trip, thought I might share some.... It's not a wife beater that I am wearing, but I do look scary, I will admit that..... the stalker swinger is top right, our trip besties are centre left and right.....

Paddy is a STAR!

2007-05-11T15:10:00.000+07:00

Hot of the press! Pat sold two of his wonderful pieces of art at the opening of the STARs (Self Taught Artists) Exhibition! Great job Pat! We knew they would sell - but Gill and I do deserve some commission

Want more info? Check out Tonson Gallery

Mutant bugs and girly screams

2007-05-09T09:53:00.000+07:00

A bloody long drive, creepy crawlies, constant rain and cheating rummi card players is what to expect at The Plantation - Pat and Noi's private getaway in the Southern seaside province of Chumporn. Add to that list: mutant fish that will attack your face without warning, shards of broken glass, a pack of wild angry dogs, strangely aerated water and evil flying nocturnal moths that inhabit the acreage. Are you keen to visit?

Well actually, I've started with a fairly dark and nasty picture haven't I? But that's what I've been instructed to do, the last thing that Pat needs is a barrage of people hinting for invites to his intimate private beach. So, aside from the private beach, the rustic charm of the bungalow accomodation, the wonderful scenic view from the bathroom, the constant flow of exquisite imported red wine, the delectable offerings of the fruits of the season, the calm and cool surroundings of the coconut trees, the refreshing aromas of the frangipannis and the warmth of the company you will find there - it's only ok.... I mean, it is a long drive

bangkok metro style...

2007-04-27T15:36:00.000+07:00

Staff photos today called for some hair control and the only way to get the mop in control was with a quick little visit to the hair dressers. Once again going hi-so (that's Thai for high society) I hit Toni and Guy for a sleek and stylish snip. "Do whatever you want" is never a good way to start a hair cut, but with a style already in place I didn't really think that she (actually she may very well have been a he) could go too wrong. That's where I went wrong! the esplanade shopping centre - oh sorry, I mean the Arte-tainment centre - the mecca of hip and cool, the trendy young place to hang out and sip coffee by the indoor moat is not the place to say "do whatever you want".... bloody hell, I came out looking all Bangkok metro!

Messaging Pat and Gill to inform them that I out did the coolness of our most trendy student I was ordered to take some photos. The thunder and lightning was booming outside and I knew that my do would not hang around long in the humidity - only solution was to take photos of myself, in the bathroom....

Enjoy the photo shoot! (It is all the more funny if you can try to imagine me in the public bathrooms taking photos of myself!)

work and play in singapore

2007-04-26T14:00:00.000+07:00

Went to Singapore for a teaching workshop last week. Not a bad deal, front up at work for 2 days after the Easter holidays only to be sent packing for 4 days to mingle with piss head teachers in Singapore. The workshop itself was interesting, beneficial and enjoyable - three good qualities for days away from work. Met some crackers and some not so. Took way too much advantage of the free booze on Thursday night, followed it up with way too much of the duty free gin I'd picked up on the way in and then spent way too much time speaking with ralph on the big white phone. Needless to say, day two of the conference was way too bloody difficult. By the time lunch came around I was ready to chew someones leg off. The ladies who joined me at lunch gave me the appropriate amount of sympathy and more than the appropriate amount of piss taking. They then compared me to a bloke who was fast asleep at the top of the stairs heading away from the cafeteria. Little did they know that it was Park, the guy who had way too much of the other half of the gin that I picked up at duty free.....

Feeling slightly recovered from my indulgences I spent an extra day in Singapore with the wonderful and beautiful Reubs. He once again drove me around, taking me to the best places to eat, the fanciest places to people watch and sip martinis and the best places to pick up bargains. Auntie Shirley (Reubs' equally wonderful mum) cooked up a curry storm that rivaled the infamous curries of ol' 2North days. Just the right amount of spice, yogurt and cucumber to send the taste buds into a frenzy. Not quite as gastronomically delightful was Daniel's 8th birthday party feast on Sunday - luckily Reubs and I had snuck out for tempting ribs in broth beforehand and got away with just one serve of cheesy bacon American diner style fries at the bday party. As always, Singapore was for me, better than anyone ever says. Trees, traffic free roads and countless places that serve prata at anytime you might need it - I think to myself "maybe it's my next stop before I go home?" but then I get back to the stinking hot, traffic infested madness of Bangkok and wonder "aren't I already there?"

I'm a minor (VERY MINOR) celeb!

2007-04-18T14:39:00.000+07:00

So while I was away cruising around the Philipines I got my name in print! Woo hoo! (Don't laugh at the dorky quote - I'm a maths teacher, it comes with the job!

The magical island of Bohol

2007-04-18T12:19:00.001+07:00

Ok, sorry about the misleading title, there isn't actually anything MAGICAL - wizards and magicians about Bohol, but it is wonderful and beautiful all the same. After finally escaping the madness of Manilla, Alex and I set off for some relaxation time at Nuts Huts, a superb jungle getaway located on the Loboc River (an almost glowing green river that you actually DO want to swim in). For three days I swam, ate healthy foods, walked up and down a good 200 steps, nourished my thirsts with some good old cheap Filipino beers, finished a couple of books and beat Alex at Trivial Pursuit (ha ha ha ha! she wasn't too happy about that ) We also spent a very slow day out on a rented motorbike - slow because Alex is a candy ass and couldn't handle anything above 40 clicks - and slow cos that's the Filipino way. We visited a cute little Tarsier centre that cares for and breeds cute little Tarsiers (check out the photos and decide for yourseleves if they are cute or not!) and we went to the lumpy old Chocolate Hills. The Choco Hills are a major tourist attraction for Bohol but really, at the end of the day, they are just hills, lots of them... hmmm... i took photos cos i was supposed to, but I wasn't particularly moved by their beauty or lack of! Take a squiz at the pics and decide for yourselves!

After the riverside relaxation we moved ourselves across to simple little beach side huts for some sun, sand, beer, fish sighting and fish eating fun. The island of Panglao, still within the province of Bohol is (like all beaches in the peens), home to ultra - don't dare forget your sunnies - white sand and crystal clear turqoise water. So picture perfect that even the fish are carrying state of the art digital cameras to savour the beauty. The reefs were close enough to swim out with a snorkel and say hi to Nemo and his pals and the dives were cheap enough that I did more than a few. It had been a while since I'd got myself wet below 20m of water and I was just a little bit nervous about the whole thing. In fact for the first 30 minutes of my first 50 minute dive I didn't look at anything except my rapidly decreasing air gauge! But I did manage to see a big school of barracuda, some moray eels, a good handful of wickedly colourful sea slugs and snails and a little baby shark that kept hanging out on my tank. I was having a few bouyancy issues - in that I couldn't keep bloody still - and i was constantly reminded of a quote from the book God of small things : The deep swimming fish covered their mouths with their fins and laughed sideways at the spectacle... the spectacle of course was me and my inability to stay at one depth for more than a few moments!

On my dive trip we met our new besties, a honeymooning couple from the UK, who certainly gave us a run for our money on the How much beer can you drink? front...Rob and Ellie were an absolute craic - stealing tamborines (Ali helped too), taking the piss out those who deserve it most, PDAs with sand in undesirable places and some creative rules for darts - they had us totally entertained for a few nights running. On Saturday night after a carb fueled dinner I experienced a little burp with a hot and chunky suprise, ready to call it a night and suffer with my hangover alone in my bungalow I felt inspiration from Rob and Ellie - the old farts who just kept on drinking! How the hell could I let them out drink me! Order me up a heavy - FAST!

In the name of the father and the son....

2007-04-07T12:17:00.000+07:00

today is good friday, the most important day on the Catholic calender some might say. The day that we remember the ultimate sacrifice that He made for us. Well, here, in the Philipines, simply reading about it in two thousand year old scriptures is not enough, no, here in the Philipines we are visual learners and thinkers and we need to see what happened in order to truly understand and apreciate the sacrifice. So on this day, in the small city of San Fernando, 7 men went and had themselves nailed (right through their freaking hands! I am almost white as a ghost again just writing about it) to a cross in an act that will bring them forgiveness or perhaps new found health and well being for an ill family member.
there was a whole re-enactment of the passion of christ, pilate was there, judas hanged himself (that actual was only a dramatization!), there was a whole crowd of people cheering and booing etc and it was actually kind of weirdly moving in a bloody kind of way... keep in mind that prior to all this, dozens of men not bound for the cross were walking the streets flagellating themselves. they had covered their faces with cloth, many had a crown of thorns, all of them were dripping with blood as they continued to whip and carry out the act of mortification of the flesh as a reminder of the degradation the He suffered... so back at the passion of Christ re-enactment....
you had to be really careful to avoid the bloodied men as you squeezed in around the crowds for a better view - i had Jesus Christ Superstar songs stuck in my head for most the day which created a rather holy moment for me - that was until of course good old ange and her 'not so tough at all style' prevailed and i found myself weak at the knees, white as a ghost and ready to pass out completely! (and the nailing action hadn't even bloody started!) i found comfort under a small tree (judas would hang himself at this very tree later on) and sniffed on some smelling oils that I had conveniently tucked away in my bum bag. then it all started to get rowdy! the music intensified and the shouting was deafening, there they were dragging jesus to the peak of the hill, his back already dripping with blood after his lashings. many people were playing the part (many were just curious onlookers viewing the whole thing through their cameras) but everyone was completely fixated on what was happening in front of them. 'Jesus' let out a wail as he was nailed in one hand at a time and then his cross was raised for all to see.... (again at this point I really didn't want to look to closely, i mean the man had huge bloody railway sleeper nails in his hands!!! :o)
once 'Jesus' was pulled down and rushed to the medical centre, 6 other men took their turns to show their repentance and endure pain as their Saviour did....
we slowly walked back to our bus as the final man was brought down from his cross - still feeling kinda weak and not sure what to think about the whole thing there was a moment of silent reflection and disbelief, and then i saw the blood splatter all along the side of our van! we obviously came too close to a gang of self flagellaters and our van now looked like it was witness to a serious crime!

"Are Filipinos bloody devout Catholics?" they replied as one "It is as you say"

Wet and wild at Lake Taal

2007-04-06T12:16:00.000+07:00

so much more sucess today for us here in manilla... we'll admit that we did blow the budget quite magnificently but it was well worth it - just getting in a nice fancy car and heading out of this manic city was a bloody sensational feeling.we visited a small town called talisay that is located on the banks of lake taal, a 200 sq km lake a few hours drive south of manilla. the lake itself was an awesome sight and within the lake was a not so huge but ready to blow volcano. its the smallest volcano in the world but it's still boiling and gaseous so we shouldn't take the piss out of it.... we took a short boat ride across to the island and about 1 minute into the trip the boat driver passed Alex and I a green plastic sheet. we weren't really sure what to do with it, but asked are we going to get wet? almost instantly a huge (read kinda big enough to splash us) wave struck the side of our viking ship and drenched us - ok, we get it... on the island we were met by naked children begging for money, we managed to please them enough with some candy although i am not sure it's what their teeth really needed! the walk up the volcano was hot and dusty, most people (in fact everyone bar us) opted for a horse ride up to the craters edge, deciding that 1. we needed the exercise and 2. the horses were freaking tiny we clambered up in record time. we were filthy, sunburnt and thirsty once we hit the top but it was all worth it. the view into the crater was more than impressive, a huge green sulphuric lake (i am sure it was meant to be yellow but it must have been a little diluted today?) within the lake was an island, so technically we were looking at an island within a lake within an island within a lake (within an island if you count mainland philipines)... the clamber down to the lake looked hot and dangerous so we just enjoyed the view from the cheap seats before braving the hot volcanic ash laden trail back to base... exercise and a tan - what a great day!

No escape from Manilla

2007-04-05T12:15:00.000+07:00

painful and infuriating is manilla - 6 hours we tried and failed to leave this god awful city.... if i weren't so darn hangover I would write more but at the moment i simply can not... stay tuned for the vivid descriptions of our day from hell....ok, i am feeling a little more alive today after a great day (more on that in a minute) - first, sit back and enjoy the madness that was our first full day in manilla....the first mistake was mine, i will admit that. a mojito jug followed by umpteen million gin and tonics did not get me off on the right thing at 7am Tuesday morning. the plan was to go to the bus station, board a bus that would take us a good 12hours north to banoue, this was not to be. 4 bus depots later we accepted defeat, alex, me and the 4 million residents of manilla were all trying to get out for the easter long weekend and we didn't have a chance of getting on a bus. Never mind we shouted joyfully (me not so joyful but i was trying), we will go south instead and check out the volcano... off to yet another bus terminal, this time there were buses and we were quickly (very very quickly) ushered onto one that was already leaving the terminal - super?! - it only took us about 3 minutes to work out that this bus was not going where we wanted to go and we would have to jump out while it was still moving, add to the spectacle big backpacks, rain, puddles and crazy motobike drivers and we created a scene for all to enjoy - except us.heads down we clambered into our 5th taxi of the day for the airport we'd had enough, we wanted out... perhaps we could change our flights and head to the beach early? huh? remember holy week? remember the 4 million people trying to leave? no chance molony, what were you bloody thinking! you've been up since 7am, it's now 4pm, you've been around and around in circles, now it's game over - back to the hostel for another night in manilla.... the lonely planet does say "it is more difficult that you might think to take a regional bus out of manilla", they need to be informed that "it is bloody near impossible to take a regional bus out of manilla!".... seriously, this city sucks! ok, well it doesn't suck, its just not easy to handle. we made a good move and checked out Intramurous, this old brick walled city thing that was bombed once or twice and now is kind of trashed, but at least we managed on our day from hell to complete something at least a little bit touristy!tomorrow we will try again - fingers and toes are crossed....

seriously 80s

2007-03-28T12:14:00.000+07:00

the ten minutes before cycling class begins is an important time for hydrating oneself, stretching and warming muscles and making fun of other people in the class. last night as i was getting the legs moving and psyching myself up for a hard core sweat fest i was struck by a woman entering the cycling studio. it wasn't beauty, size or any other physical feature that was so striking, but her choice of attire that gripped the attention of at least laurie and i who were quite simply gob smacked! close your eyes and imagine this.... (it might help to have an 80s aerobic dance tune playing in the background of your mind, try Irene Cara's What a feeling) a slight-ish thai woman enters the studio with confidence, she was feeling good about the upcoming workout and feeling sexy in her cotton, knee length, pastel pink leggings. but it wasn't only the leggings that made her feel the way she did, it was her slightly darker pastel pink leotard that capped it all off for her. it was not just any leotard (still the first one i've seen in about 10 years) this leotard was cut high, way high, sitting well above the hips on each side. it was open backed, not a cross back, which meant that her soon to be sweaty, already slighty sweat stained skin colour bra strap was on show. but it didn't stop there, the moment that she chose the bike directly in front of mine was the moment that revealed all. can you believe that the cotton pastel pink, super high waisted open backed leotard was a g-string number?! OH MY GOD! and she was sitting right in front of me! imagine, me, leaning forward on my bike in a racing position, and what is it that is no more than 40 cm from my face? yep, her pastel pink leggings and g-string over the top combination! I SHIT YOU NOT! i wont go into the graphic details of butt crack sweat because it's just too bloody much to handle.... What a feeling, bein's believin', I can't have it all, now I'm dancin' for my life. Take your passion, and make it happen, Pictures come alive, you can dance right through your life.....

All gambled out

2007-03-26T12:13:00.000+07:00

had a friends 50th on saturday night (yes, I have a friend who is 50, it is true that she could be my mum, but you need to keep in mind that I am a whole lot younger than most expats here!) it was a great night of fine wine, fancy food and casino game playing! She'd turned her (massive) apartment into a casino and conned her kids and netball team to come and work the tables for the night. There was blackjack (i sucked), poker (i lost), two up (no luck) and roulette (lost everything)... we were betting with lollies (chupa chups were big money, white rabbits on the low end)... i really wasn't very good at all and was all out by 10pm. I begged borrowed and stole what i could and then decided that being away from the tables and closer to the bar was a better option anyway. It was a super night but one that needs to be kept hush hush as gambling is completely and totally illegal - i hope that using candy gives us a loophole when we are facing time in Bangkok Hilton!

Bloody Gym

2007-03-23T12:08:00.000+07:00

I hit the brand new Esplanade gym last night for some cycling action. The bikes were super sweet with large saddles to comfort my butt and smooth pedal rotation that meant an awesome and sweaty workout - aren't you just so excited about that? being the only farang in the class the instructor was kind enough to say everything in thai and in english - this only proceeded to embarrass and single me out, but that's ok cos everyone else was a cycling newbie and they were where i was at 4 weeks ago, nearly dead after 20 minutes. Me on the other hand was kicking some serious ass - if it were a race (and it always is in my mind) i would have left them all for dead...
had a little accident in the change rooms though. caught my leg on the corner of a little metal bench and i really started to bleed out! :O i mean, not bleed out in the ER sense where i needed some kind of transfusion or blood donation, but bleed out enough that there was a significant red puddle on the change room floor and a generous amount of gym ladies offering their concern and support. i've got a nice big band aid on it today and am milking it...

heading off for some charity stuff

2007-02-16T16:07:00.000+07:00

well, once again my posts are few and far between - and this time it 's even worse because i am writing to myself only. i still haven't told anyone about this blog - is that weird?
heading to cambodia this weekend to paint or hospital or something. it's all with that women's service club that i haven't and won't ever join, heading there with Gill and her mate Sarah (as well as other peeps) so it should be a good weekend. Hard work no doubt, but still something to be proud of.... wow this is kinda soppy.....
since I started this blog, about 3 months ago I've not done a great deal. it is time to start thinking about april holidays, at this stage i've narrowed it down to hard core travel in vietnam or a relaxing beach island hopping trip starting in the similans... too many choices, it's a tough life.... ok, if this gets any funnier i am going to wet myself... hooroo....

knee high floods, dirty klong sludge and bouffy hair

2006-10-12T08:09:00.000+07:00

every now and again one lives through an experience that needs to be told to be others. it then needs to be told and retold again each time increasing in specific (usually false) detail that enhance both the humour and interest factor of the experience. generally the experience is not life threatening nor groundbreaking - just out of the ordinary. have you an experience like this recently? no? allow me to share mine.... on a typical wet season afternoon, the time of the year that the rains seem to be running on a strict Singaporean timetable, i had a dinner appointment with a women's service club. this in itself is frightening - am i old enough to consider joining a service club? just so that i don't embarrass anyone who might read this wonderful piece of art i will not mention the name of the club, i'll just say that it's like rotary for women (rich bored women with big hair that would hold strong in a gale). the taxi driver refused to take us directly to the dinner which was both inconvenient and rude, stating that the traffic was far too out of control to consider going that distance, so we clambered out of the cab in the rain, in our skirts and heels up the stairs of the heaving skytrain. it turns out that the taxi driver had been right all along, some poor (yet typical thai) water management decisions had meant that the main strip of bangkok was starting to flood and the street we needed to walk down was knee deep in dark, foul smelling, nappy infested, sludgy klong water. feeling undeterred by the stench we powered on. at times I had to hitch my skirt to unfathomable heights in order to prevent the stench leeching on to the expensive fabric of my 30 dollar target outfit. despite the wading we were most certainly the lucky ones - the people stuck in their BMW's and Mercedes' unwilling to open the door for fear of major water damage were in for a long night. the traffic was going nowhere. and i mean nowhere. they would have been lucky to move a centimetre in an hour.... i think i preferred swimming with the dead fish and klong eels to the night they had in store for them... relatively unscathed, i say relatively because gill ended up with klong sludge on her boob, reminiscent of a newborn babies skid marks. with a quick scoot to the loo for some last minute clean up efforts (pam and i washed our feet clean of the rapidly evolving bacterial infections we would have picked up on our adventure) we were ready to enter the meeting. if only i was more prepared..... the sheer excitement of our arrival is hard to communicate - pure joy on the faces of these women who were all so delicately attired in 100% pure thai silks suits, with heavy gold weighing down their fingers and big bouffy hair helping the empty room feel occupied. i quickly assumed my formal name of andrea, there clearly was no room for ange at this event ( i wonder how mad dog molony would have gone down!?) and like jack on that fateful virgin journey of the titanic (according to hollywood) i mingled with the riches like i belonged. it wasn't long before i had signed up as a home and garden tour guide - no doubt i will need a hair appointment beforehand to bouffafy my hair!

being at the hilton, there was an interesting array of cutlery to choose from. working from the outside in i ended up with what appeared to be a butter knife to eat my salmon parcel. looking around the tables for help only to see that being late meant that everyone else had finished first course and left no evidence of which knife they used. gill, in typical aussie style, swallowed (and lost) all pride and asked the rich woman in the thai silk suit with the bouffant hair do.... feeling quite foolish yet not letting on, gill accepted the down the nose answer "why it's a fish knife darling" - we ate in silence for a while.

after dinner the celebrations began and we were fortunate to be witness to a club induction. in traditional service club style the induction began with a detailed biography of Martha (uniformly dressed in a thai silk suit, opting on this occassion for a breast high skirt which was captivating). Certificates and name tags were handed over and pinned on breasts and tears could be seen behind 4 inch layers of orange make up. the most moving moment of all was without doubt the pledge to service, commitment and honour. even though we weren't members we were welcomed to join in and i, personally, found it absolutely hysterical! like a grade 4 student who just farted and blamed it on the teacher i almost lost all control. i had two choices - laugh out load or let the energy of laughter escape as tears. the second was the more mature of the two options and so the tears of joy flowed and flowed. pam was no help at all, perhaps in a more difficult place than me, she really struggled to get back to the maturity expected of a woman at these meetings.... somehow i don't think it was supposed to be funny.

2006-09-25T14:04:00.000+07:00

seriously... i am nerdy....