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Trying to relax

I’ve found it hard on my travels to balance seeing the sights and having some down time. My brain wants to explore every thing there is to see but my body says you need to have some time to rest. I find it hard to ‘sit still’ and relax – I always want to be doing something, working through the list of must see things.

I am sitting in the State Library of South Australia, Adelaide. Across the bridge from this room is a beautiful room, it’s three tier galleys lined with books, quiet, dark and still – I’ll probably go there after lunch just for another look. I’m at present in the more modern section of the library with comfy chairs, power points, tables, a Lego workbench for children. It is a place, it seems, for waifs and strays. To my left is a lady with a large suitcase. She is laid out on the curved seats, snoring loudly. Behind me is a gentleman who has all his worldly goods in a wheeled trolley. His feet are dirty and he is wearing a cardigan tied with a rope. He is looking at news items on the library computer while peeling an orange into a bin. A lady is talking loudly on a pay phone. A security guard is wandering round, chatting. Two members of staff are taking down old posters and discussing the history of Sydney Cove in the 1800s. A selection of other people are scattered around the space. A man has just come in for a lie down. A lady is doing her knitting while listening to the radio.

Whether it is the peacefulness of the older library or the more eclectic nature of The Hub, I have found a place to recharge, write and relax. Plus there is a cafe across the hallway, where I shall go for lunch in a moment.

Coming back from lunch, the lady who was asleep has now woken up and is talking to another couple of guys also with suitcases. I tune into the conversation, ” Think I’ll go down to Hutt Street and get a sleeping bag,” “If you go round the corner you can get a place to sleep,” “You shouldn’t be on the streets if you are ill.” “I’ve got the lawyer trying to sort out a place.” I feel the sharp contrast between the old reading chamber and the slightly refugee feeling of the community room. I don’t feel uncomfortable, I just feel sad. Here I am debating the cost of a hotel room in Melbourne and whether it is too expensive, and around me are people who will be sleeping on the streets tonight.

I feel so lucky to have this opportunity to travel and the means to do so.

Found my place to write.

Seagulls and Kangaroos

Ducking to the side, I narrowly avoid a seagull flying directly at me. There are lots of them about in Circular Quay. I sit down in a restaurant. The waiter brings me the menu. The footnote on the bottom gives a warning to look out for seagulls. Smugly, I think to myself, that doesn’t apply to me. I eat some of my average caesar salad, . I take out my phone to read my book. I don’t even see the gull, the lady on the next table tells me it snatched a piece of chicken off my plate. I recover quickly, ” It’s ok. The seagull can have it – it’s full of gristle.”

I learn later that they have a dog on patrol to chase the seagulls. Could have done with him.

“What’s that?” my Mum asks pointing to a bottle opener on a shelf in a souvenir shop. We take a closer look. Mum picks it up and we look at the label. Kangaroo Scrotum! She quickly drops it and we start giggling.

“I think I’d better wash my hands! Ugh.”

Tourists in Sydney

I’ve had such a fabulous time with my parents in Sydney, it’s hard to choose the best moments. We have been ‘proper’ tourists and loved every bit of it.

Oaks Goldsbrough Apartments

The Oaks Goldsbrough apartment building was built in 1883 and was a wool store receiving bales of wool from all over New South Wales. The building has been restored, although the inside does look like a prison! Dad has enjoyed commenting on the atrocious driving down below us. The views of the city and Darling Harbour from our top floor flat were amazing.

Australia Day

Blue Mountains

Animal Encounters

Australia Museum

Maritime Museum

Tour of the Opera House

Sydney Symphony Orchestra in their opening Gala concert.

Seaplane trip

Chinese Garden

Obligatory tourist attraction photo!

Return to Oz

It’s interesting returning to a place that you have visited several years ago. You think that you know it well, particularly if you have spent a length of time there. But it is like looking at it with different eyes. I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting Australia again. Visiting some of the same places that I have been to before but enjoying them in a different way, perhaps even more so than first time round as well as having new experiences. I feel like I have had a holiday from my holiday. Australia has a familiarity. It feels a bit like home.

Christmas!

I knew before I left for my travels that I might find missing Christmas in England quite difficult. I love the preparations for Christmas. I love the markets in November, tempting you with handmade gifts and attractive Christmas decorations. I love surprising my class on the nearest school day to December 1st by sprucing up the classroom with nativity sets and lights, and seeing their faces when they come in. I love decorating my own tree with the ornaments that I have collected around the world. I love walking round Cambridge after work when the Christmas lights illuminate the town. I love visiting the local garden centres and admiring the seasonal scenes. I love the feeling of driving up to my parents house, knowing that it’s the holidays, and that I can watch trashy Christmas tv and see the Nativity in the marketplace. I love these traditions and the people I share them with.

I actually didn’t think I would see any evidence of Christmas at all, but I seem to have done surprisingly well.

It got off to a poor start; there was no evidence of Christmas in Vietnam or Cambodia- possibly as it was still October! Nothing in Laos – just lots of Buddhas! 

Then that first purchase of a decoration at a stall in Thailand followed by the first experience of Christmas in a shopping centre in Bangkok. And things got going, giving me Christmas carols, trees and festive sights and even a children’s Nativity play.

The highlight for me and my stand-in Christmas day, was seeing the Super Trees in the Gardens by the Bay, Singapore, all lit up. The magic was added to by the fake snow blown through blizzard machines and the timing of the lights to Christmas music

Christmas Day itself on Orchard Road, Singapore was a bit of an anti climax. Yes it was Christmassy but all the shops were open, which felt very strange.

So yes, I survived Christmas!

Postscript

Seeing the Harry Potter Christmas set at Singapore Airport!

The chance to stay on Christmas Island – not over Christmas – but the next best thing – New Year.

Crabs, Creatures and Cockroaches on Christmas Island

Twitching her body and lifting up her claws, the female red crab releases her fertilised eggs into the sea.

It is 4:00 am and still dark on the beach at Flying Fish Cove. I keep moving my feet to avoid any of the hundreds of crabs touching me; they do creep me out a bit. I think it is the way they move; scuttling side to side, with their claws reaching out and the larger pincers grabbing. There is a little bit of menace about them.

I am lucky to be here at the time of the migration. The crabs have been moving in small numbers to the beach in the early mornings . If the rains come then there is a mass migration, all in one go, with millions of crabs moving from their jungle burrows, herded by the road guards over the crab bridge or under one of the road tunnels, down to the sea to mate and release the eggs. To be honest, the number of crabs on the beach are quite enough for me and to think people are wearing flip flops!

Seeing the large number of crabs crawling back across the road, climbing up walls and wire fencing and occupying shoes left out by accident makes me shudder.

We stand, leaning on the railing, overlooking the blowholes and the jagged limestone rocks that line the shore at this point. Chris, the island’s taxi driver, who picked me up from the airport, is taking me on a tour of the island. He has a great passion for the both the wildlife and the history. It is great to listen to him and to engage in conversation. We visit a couple of beaches, an amazing cave that you could swim through if the tide was low and meet my first Robber crab. We appreciate the views of the island from the different highpoints and watch the Golden Bosun (a bird native to the island ) soar in the air currents.

I also have time to explore a little on my own, viewing the local buildings, taking photos of the crabs from various angles and enjoying relaxing by the beach; the breeze there making it a bit cooler.

The people on the island are so helpful and friendly. The guy at the pub helps me find local grocery stores that are open on a Sunday . The ladies at the bank patiently assist me through the long winded process of getting some money out (the only ATM on the island is broken). The lady from the tourist centre, who is at the airport when I arrive, phones the taxi for me, and her colleague, at the office, gives me useful information on the island.

The only thing that isn’t so great and maybe affects the way I see the island is my accommodation. It is interesting how much the place you are staying impacts on how you feel. Let’s just say sharing the ‘outback’ style tinned roof toilet with a couple of lizards and meeting a huge cockroach in the middle of the night did not help to change this view. Luckily the cockroach, after a severe talking to, has the good sense to squeeze back down through the drain cover and leave me alone.

So what are my thoughts on Christmas Island. Living there is like going back 20 years, getting used to waiting for the technology we expect to be immediate and take for granted. It is a place where you can leave your house unlocked and not worry; where you know everyone around you, and are able to take life more slowly. The island itself is a beautiful place, with stunning trees, secluded beaches, a jungle interior and of course the crabs. It is slightly marred by the scars and machinery of the phosphate industry, which provides the island with its income. The main conveyor belt and accompanying sheds cut right through the settlement area. There is probably some way to go in the tourist industry on the island, with more information and better services being needed. As to whether this would spoil the island as it is now, I don’t know.

I am glad that I went. and I was very lucky to witness the crab migration. I think the island deserves another visit, although when that would be I don’t know. There is lots of the world left to see.

Melaka, Malaysia

Sitting in a restaurant by the river, the tourist cruise passes by and churns the water. I’m relaxing and enjoying my last night in Melaka. I’ve moved out of a very grotty hostel to a riverside hotel – yes, ok it’s not luxury but it’s clean and the location is great. I have enjoyed my week here. 

Melaka is twinned with Georgetown in the UNESCO award status. I think they were given it jointly. Sorry Georgetown but I’m afraid Melaka gets my vote.

I love the way that you can wander along old streets spying old shop houses, meander by the river spotting wall paintings and murals or visit the red Stadthuys, Dutch buildings from the 1600s, which now hold a collection of different museums.

The blasting pop music from the trishaws decorated with fluffy cartoon characters tour the town and add to the friendly atmosphere.

The weekend night market on Jonker street is lively, energetic, contributing to the family orientated feeling of the town.

The only thing I didn’t enjoy was meeting the giant lizards! I did get a big shock, the first time I saw one crossing my path by the river. I thought it was a crocodile at first! The one I saw swimming in the river was also very creepy. But apart from that it’s a great place to spend some time.