River Kwai

Heading home through Thailand

The last leg home included a final fling in Thailand. We spent 30 days there visiting Bangkok and Chaing Mai, where we spent time with my beautiful brother David. We arrived at the airport in Bangkok and in looking for a taxi we managed to sign up for a trip to the River Kwai and a guided tour with a lady called Nancy around the city of Bangkok. It turned out to be worth every minute.

Kitchener's Island

We had a lovely afternoon at Kitchener's Island. We shared a felucca (felucca's are sail boats that have been used on the Nile for centuries) with an English couple we met on the cruise.. Kitchener's Island was very pleasant and cool and a special treat for the locals. There were school children there and families enjoying the gardens. I had a brilliant idea that the Botanical Gardens in Sydney could link with these gardens, given that Australia and Egypt were both British colonies. The gardens looked a little worn out and could have done with some reviving.

The big highlight of the day was when Alan got to sail the felucca back to the boat. He was truely in his element. He was having such fun; so full of light and life; he was lovin' it.

Timeless

One of the most beautiful memories of Egypt was relaxing on the deck of the boat in the late afternoon, watching the banks drift past. It had such a timeless feel; the people dressed in robes; camels and donkeys drinking at the water's edge; men washing their horses in the river and women beating carpets along the banks and all the while the call to prayer echoing back and forth across the water. It was like looking into history.

Cruising the Nile

In order to get in some sunshine before we came home to the Canberra winter we decided to visit Egypt. We got so bogged down in work and the expense of the UK that we sadly didn't make it to Europe. That will have to be another trip. As compensation we went on a 2 week holiday to Egypt. We spent one week on a river Nile cruise, cruising from Luxor to Aswan and one week lounging around at the Maritim Jolie Ville which is on an island in the middle of the Nile. It all felt very luxurious especially after the cold and snow and hours commuting in England. We flew into Luxor, the old city of Thebes and joined the cruise. It was full of poms and germans on holidays and we shared a table with some great people thankfully no one mentioned the war.

If you haven't been on a cruise before, I can only recommend it to you. It is great value for money. We had an above the water cabin (no way was I going below the waterline) with room service, all meals and tours. It was busy because we took advantage of the guided tours. The tour guides have up to 7 years study to be able to be a guide. There was nothing they didn't know about Egypt, the pharoes, or the history of the tombs and temples that we saw. If it had been up to us to organise the time we would never have seen the wonderful places we visited. I have to admit though, there were times when I wanted to sneak off and just take it in on my own. You know, "on your right you have... and on your left you have.." gets a bit tedious. Some of the people on the cruise had been on it before. One guy had been on it over 40 times. I think once was enough for me. Dare I say after a while its a case of you've seen one tomb you've seen em all.

The Valley fo the Kings and Queens,Egypt 2009

Our first glimpse of ancient Egypt was the Valley of the Kings followed by the spectacular Temple of Queen Hatsutchep.

We visited an alabaster factory where we bought a lovely mortar and pessle and some bowls. We werent much on souveniers. Alan is a great bargainer. I managed to pay 40GBP for two cotton table cloths because I had no idea what the translation was and got well and truely dupped by the locals.

This trip has been one adventure after another. We took an amazing balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings and Luxor. It never rains in Egypt and so people dont bother having roofs on their houses. When your floating above the Nile you can see just how dependent the country is on it. There is nothing but desert and then this green ribbon of life running through it. It was wonderful going up in the balloon but I have to admit that we went up with "dodgy bros" and I am really not good with heights. I cried in fact and had a panic attack something like I did in Mesa Verde but got passed it and then relaxed and enjoyed the ride. I am very grateful that my lovely husband encourages me to go beyond my boundaries. It makes for an interesting life.Another exciting adventure was our visit to Kanak temple. This was to be a highlight with a sound and light show of the Temple at night. Well it turned out to be a wind and sand show. We were hit by a sudden sand storm. I have never experienced anything like it. We had our shirts and cardigans wrapped around our faces to keep out the sand and had to leave early to find the bus back to the hotel which was almost impossible. We missed our bus and Al had an argument with the driver of another bus going to the same place to make sure we could stay on it to get back. The wind had blown trees over and it was quite scary to be out in it. The incredible thing is that it doesnt rain at all there so it was just dust and sand.

Leaving Basingstoke

Vero and Thomas were due to return to their house that we were house sitting in on 7 May.  So we had to decide if we were going to continue in the UK; move somewhere else, pay rent etc and continue with our original plan, which was stay in the UK for a year or more and do short trips to the continent or not.  The credit crunch was an influence because we were not feeling all that confident that our jobs in Aus would remain secure.  The cost of living in the UK is very high and rents were high, so it was going to cost a packet to find somewhere else to live and they were laying people off everywhere.  We found that working full time (Al was doing 12 hour shifts and was working most weekends)  and for me commuting 4 hours a day left us both exhausted and not keen to go anywhere let alone organise ourselves to go away to Europe for a weekend.  It became apparent that we just couldnt afford to go to Europe for any length of time and we were both heartily sick of grey skys.  So what to do? Go on a cruise, somewhere with a blue sky!!!.  So with this in mind, we sold the car, packed our bags and said goodbye to Basingstoke, work and the UK anddecided to head home via Egypt and Thailand.  We had to get a summer in somewhere.

Coming Home

I must be the worlds worst blogger.  I am always so far behind the event.  Anyway we decided that while we have had a lovely time out and about in the world, its time to head home. I am writing this in Thailand but we have had some other adventures in Egypt before we got here.  We will be home on 27 May.  Can't wait to see everyone.  I intend to plod on writing blog updates to eventually catch up.  I still want to make this blog a record of our trip.  So I have a heap of US stops to add and some more of Basingstoke and Egypt and Thailand.  Overall we have had a wonderful time but as they say there is no place like home.

Stonehenge again and Salisbury

We had a lovely visit from our friend Hazel. We met Hazel in LA and travelled with her to
San Francisco and had a great day out there together at Alcatraz. Hazel had never been to Stonehenge and as it is only about 40 miles from Basingstoke we went for another look. It was just as bloody cold as the last time and just as interesting. It was so good to catch up with Hazel again. She is such a breath of fresh air and we love her from the heart of our bottoms.

We then went off for a look at Salisbury. What a place that was! Beautiful! The cathedral was spectacular. 750 years old and still standing. Those stone masons really knew how to build a cathedral. And (I'm still excited about it) the inside was magnificent, incredible carvings, gold leaf, angels, an amazing medieval clock and even a great blend of modern papermache angels; and stone carvings of the archangels heads in the same stone as the stone that the cathederal is made of. I really enjoyed Salisbury.


The houses and streets were so old and interesting and I attempted to make some arty pictures that I am afraid did not really come out as I had hoped.



Oh, well I have to develop my creative side and taking pictures is a start.

A day out in Newbury

You have to give it to the poms. They may whinge elsewhere but they don't whine about the weather here. They just put on more clothes and go out and do things. Good on 'em, I say. Alan and I thought we would take a leaf out of their book and we went out for the day to Newbury.

I was actually a very pretty town. The canals were lovely and so was the market atmosphere of the place. Alan bought me a new hat for my birthday and some gloves, and a scarf. We had lunch in a nice old pub that looked out over the canals and watched the swans and two intrepid paddlers in kyaks go by. Then we went for a wander along the canals. The whole day the temperature didn't get above freezing and all the trees and bushes were covered in frost.

Eventually, like all good Aussie tourists, we proceeded to hang out in shop doorways trying to cadge a bit of warmth from the heaters and pretending to be interested in buying something. Eventually completely outdone by the locals, who were still out and about we looked at each other and said something along the lines of it's fxxxking freezing, lets go home - to Australia we meant - but ended up back in Basingstoke.

Back to Basingstoke

We had a lovely Christmas and New Year in balmy Ireland. Yes it was around 12c there and contrary to popular belief, it didn't rain much at all. We even had glimpse of a blue sky. This whole picture was almost tropical compared to what was waiting when we got back to Basingstoke. The house had been empty for a fortnight and any ambient temperature in it had long gone. The temperature in England dropped to its lowest in years, with days consistently below freezing. Not that I'm a weather, whinging Aussie but this is us on our first night back in the house.

Malahide Castle, Dublin

Dublin is truly a fair city. I loved the bridges and the river views. We stayed in a B&B there that looked out across a bay and the host suggested that we take the day to have a look at Malahide Castle. It was very interesting as the castle had been in the Talbot family since 1185 and the final living member of the family only sold it to the local council in the 1973 and moved to the family estate in Tasmania, yes Tassie.


Lord Milo Talbot was renowned for collecting plants from the Southern Hemisphere and he created a walled botanical garden. He apparently wrote an introduction to a book called The Endemic Flora of Tasmania. Many of the plants in and around the Castle are Australian natives; eucalyptus, wattle; gravillia etc. Note the gum tree at the front of the Castle in this picture. I have to say when I crushed the leaves in my fingers I was transported immediately to Strawbella and felt quite homesick.


The furniture in the place was old and interesting and much of it had been in the family for centuries. The local Fingal Council, who now own the place are collecting examples of Irish furniture of the period. The families influence on history was also interesting. It was said that 14 members of the family had breakfast together in the dining room before going off to fight the famous Battle of the Boyne, where they were all killed. Oliver Cromwell gave the Castle to one of his supporters, Miles Corbet, who was later hung, drawn and quartered when the Castle was returned to the Talbots in 1660 after Cromwell passed over.

There was also a brilliant collection of minature furniture from Irish cabinet makers. Apparently when apprenticed cabinet makers were in the final year they made a number of minature pieces to show thier customers what they could do. The customers would then be able to order the full size piece with confidence that the craftsman could do a good job. The minatures were absolute masterpieces in their own right.

The Giant's Causeway

After we headed off from Castlerock, we went to Belfast and took a day's tour to look at the amazing heritage listed Giant's Causeway. The rock formations were incredible and the coastline continued to be beautiful. It was an icy cold day but not rainy and when the sunlight highlighted the cliffs and grassy banks it was easy to see why Ireland is the Emerald Isle. The green is luminus and like I've never seen before.

While we were in Belfast we visited our other in laws, Gordon's parents Cecil and Isobel, who made us very welcome. We had a day out in Lisburn visiting the Linen museum where I bought a hand made damask linen runner (should have splurged and got the table cloth too but was too tight). We also me one of the weavers there, Alison who is one of only 3 weavers left in the country who know how to make the damask linen. She told us that it takes 7 years to learn how to thread the loom and weave the linen. The looms were 160 years old and had come from local weavers cottages. The museum showed the whole process of makng the linen fibre and it also had a lot of interesting local history information. I was impressed.

We left Lisburn and headed for Enniskillen. We drove through Armagh and Sligo to get there. Unfortunately we kept underestimating the daylight hours. It didnt get to be daylight until around 8.30 and was dark at 4.00. Of course we didn't get going until about 11am and were just getting into it and it was dark. Consequently we didn't see as many things as we could have had we been better tourists. We spent the night in Enniskillen and had a look at the Castle and Barrack grounds but it was shut because tourist dont go there at Christmas, or apparently much in winter. We wandered up the mainstreet and looked at the churches, the Catholic church was open and we went in. It was a beautiful church and had a statue of my patron saint (St Therese, the little flower). I think I chose her as my confirmation saint because I like it that she carried a bunch of roses. I really had no idea at the time that she held an significance from a spiritual point of view. It was only years later that I discovered she is also the patron saint of children, which was interesting given my years in child and family services.