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Stoire’s winter escape
  • Kirstoire Maclean
okt. 2018 – aug. 2019

Stoire’s winter escape

It's getting colder, darker and I'm determined not to become miserable and full of dread. So instead of hibernating I am emigrating. I'm off to chase the sunshine, until it decides to return to the UK. See you all in Spring, I'm back in April! Læs mere
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    12. oktober 2018
    Kirstoire MacleanStoire’s winter escapeRejsende

    Singapore

    11. december 2018, Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    I've had a flying to Singapore visit to meet my good friend, Marla, which also conveniently breaks up the long journey to Australia. Having spent a couple of weeks with Marla in Singapore before there were not many tourist things I wanted to do. So instead we went to the gym and did a couple of her classes that I also do at home. We used to attempt to work out on the boat together so this was taking our efforts up a level! After that we felt quite righteous and took a bag of beers and a picnic to the beach. Unfortunately after only about 30 minutes of glorious sunshine a heavy storm passed over, and kept us huddled underneath an umbrella for about two hours. the rain was torrential and the lightning was frequently right by us. We had all we needed in the picnic, but the desire for a toilet was increasing as we sank more beers! Finally when the lightening stopped we dashed into the sea and it was warmer than the outside environment so we stayed in it for ages warming up. I left England not to be cold and here I was on a beach in the tropics of the equator with goosebumps! but the difference was I was in a bikini and had some belief that soon I would be warm and see the sun again. Monsoon storms can disappear as quickly as they appear.
    That night we went out for dinner at a large hawker market with a group of Marla's friends and continued to drink beer....a couple of fancy cocktail bars later we ended up in a late night Bollywood dancing venue showing off our talent. It was really good fun and possibly slightly regrettable for those of her friends who had work the next morning! But I have learnt that late night drinking seems to be as much of a culture as late night working is, so they must find the balance right somehow.
    Having got home at 5am we went to bed and I slept until mid afternoon. This left us time to get some food at another hawker market. I had my favourite Indian dish-Dosa, which made me very happy. And we spent the rest of the time begging to plan our time together in February. We now have flights booked to meet in the Phillipines, and a vague idea of where we will go once there.
    Marla dropped me at the airport and now I am super excited to be on my way to the Gold Coast, where Jamie meets me at 8.10am when I land. For the next three weeks I am on a Maclean family holiday. Wooga!    Læs mere

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    Brisbane reunions

    17. december 2018, Australien ⋅ 🌧 23 °C

    I arrived Friday morning in Australia and have spent the weekend enjoying reunion with Jamie and all the family. The girls did not take long at all to forget their shyness. In fact Samantha was not at all shy at all, she is just a constant chatterbox! I went with Jamie and Renee to pick them up from their last day at school and it didn't take long for me to get some cuddles. We have had a fun weekend playing games, going swimming, making towel animals and doing crafts. I have been teaching Sophie how to do a headstand and she is teaching me how to do a handstand. It is none stop entertainment!
    Yesterday Renee's dad had a 60th birthday party so all his 6 granddaughters were there-it was a loud day and a lot of wine was consumed.
    Now for the first three days of school holiday I am looking after the girls whilst Jamie and Renee are at work. So far they have been very well behaved and we have had a fun packed day. Let's see how another couple of days treats us....and my sanity!    Læs mere

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    The Festive season

    23. december 2018, Australien ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Stew and Emily arrived the morning of Jamie's birthday and so we have enjoyed the festive season together. The volume increased considerably, with children getting more excited and Magnus being added to the games. They were quick to play together, but inevitability it has also led to many tears, tantrums and tellings off.

    We have enjoyed some delicious feasts, a fair few bottles of booze and shared a lot of banter. We've been to Redcliffe and to Bribie island.

    Christmas eve we had a barbecue and then took a walk of the estate to see the incredible light displays. I have never seen anything like it, one house has singing Christmas trees. The decoration is unbelievable. Afterwards the kids got excited about Santa, left him food and pranced around the lawn laying reindeer food.

    In the morning on Christmas day I was woken at 5.15am by Sophie and Samantha who had their stockings. They were so excited and loved everything inside, then dashed downstairs to see the heaps of presents under the tree. They waited patiently, but in the end were allowed to open presents before magnus woke. When he woke he was equally excited, but spent more time playing with each new present and lost interest in the pile remaining. So he has been opening a few presents each day instead. The whole thing has been very exciting and quite magic to be a part of.

    We had 32 people round for dinner on Christmas Day, of Renee's family. It was a delicious spread of salads and countless meats. We all overindulged and then us Maclean's States up drinking a little too much and playing with the kids. I have bruises on my leg from overenthusiastic wrestling with Magnus!

    Boxing day we took a dip in the sea and tidied the mess. Then the next day we drove up to Bribie Island, a sand island in the sunshine coast. It had the busiest beach in have ever seen in Australia, the sea was swarming and it was hard to find a space to sit. I overheard a family describe it as 'holy moly, this is like a beach in England!'.

    By now Samantha and Magnus are holding hands all the time and getting on like a house on fire. And meanwhile Sophie impresses us with her countless handstands and cartwheels. She's teaching me and I am getting a lot better!    Læs mere

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    Mount Ngungun

    28. december 2018, Australien ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Mount Ngungun (pronounced Noo Noo)
    2.8km return trip, maximum height 225m, incline walked 196m.

    We rose early and woke the kids, who reluctantly joined us for a short hike up a 'mountain'. Even at 8am it was an incredibly sweaty walk and the steps were steep at points, so it was quite a challenge for short legs. But they all did very well, with minimal moaning and only occasional tears. Samantha counted all the steps to be distracted from winging, but she lost count somewhere around 100,000.

    Mount Ngungun is one of the glasshouse mountains, north of Brisbane and it sits within a huge national park. The views from the top were incredible. However the company I was with re-ignighted my phobia of heights because seeing the kids close to the edge of a cliff drop made me incredibly anxious, with their jerky movement and clumsy footing it gave me a sense of doom. At one point Magnus stood up and lost his footing and I nearly had a panic attack. Everyone else remained calm and enjoyed the views, but I learnt that children create fear in me.

    It was a great little adventure to start the day with and it reminded me how much I love Australian countryside. The sounds, smells and colours are so calming and beautiful. I hope for more forest retreating to come.    Læs mere

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    Camping at Mount Tamborine

    29. december 2018, Australien ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    We have spent the last few days camping on Mount Tambourine, which is South of Brisbane and inland from the Gold Coast. The site was shady and we managed to get ourselves a very private spot. The kids have had great fun playing in the dirt and the river. We have enjoyed the relaxing fresh air and outdoor living and have been able to cook over an open fire.

    We saw some good wildlife- Bandacoot, wallaby, monitor lizard, stick insect, Cain toad, cockateel, laurequeets and cuckoburros. It was great!

    Yesterday we went to the Gold Coast to see the long stretch of beach there. It was busy, but the beach is so long it always has more space. It was mega hot so we had to stay in a restaurant until the sun eased a bit, then we all had fun in the sea and sand.

    Last night for New Year the kids did a performance show of some dances for us. We had YMCA, the Macarrenna and I like to Move it. Magnus danced so hard he got stitch and had to take a break and the girls filled in with some inspiring monkey type backing dancing. They have their parents dance talents....or lack of. Then they had fun with some sparklers whilst we adults drank some big pop to celebrate the new year. None of us managed to stay up until midnight, but Stew and Jamie were nearly there as they shared a bottle of red wine by the fire.

    It was a relaxing few days and the kids have been less argumentative as they have had more space and freedom.    Læs mere

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    Reunion with Bob in Tucabia

    3. januar 2019, Australien ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Five years ago when I first came to Australia I travelled up the East coast with two French girls and we couch surfed the whole way. We met a man called Bob who lives in rural Australia, in a village we would never have heard of otherwise Tucabia. He gave the kindest hospitality and we felt like we had created a family whilst all living in his home. We promised him we would stay in touch and would visit at later dates. In fact we all said we would come back to him with our own new families......yet all theae years on not one of us have found a partner or come anywhere near to settling down, we are all still travelling across the world, taking occasional settlement's to work! However I am now the second of us to come back and visit Bob.

    Bob hasn't changed at all, apart from that he lives in a different house about 500m up the road from before. He has not let me help with a thing and has fed me generously and treated me like a special guest. It has been a relaxing couple of days with him, we have chatted a lot and caught up on each others lives. And today we went to the local, untouched beach. It's a beautiful spot with miles of beach with hardly anyone on it. It was super hot so we sat in the shade by the river, which is just 20m from the sea and has calmer waters so is beautiful for swimming. I didn't see any of this last time as we all wanted to go and visit the more well known tourist coast line. But really this is more beautiful and the journey there was winding through a thick forest with vegetation that I can only describe as Australian. Then as an extra bonus I saw my first sight of kangaroo. This happened the first time I visited Bob as well- after being in Aus 3 weeks his surroundings were the first place I saw them. It is just a beautiful, quiet and very Australian spot of countryside. It has got me very excited about going back to Western Australia next week as I know it is like this but even better.

    Bob has been very pleased to see me and I have enjoyed relaxing in the country. Tomorrow I drive back to Brisbane and await Mum and Das arrival for a final few days of noisy reunions.    Læs mere

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    Brisbane City

    5. januar 2019, Australien ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    I spent Saturday exploring Brisbane CBD on foot. I walked through the shopping district, across the river to southbank and took a long walk along the riverside cliff walks. There was a great atmosphere as a big act was playing at the outdoor arena, so people were gathering on the south of the river to enjoy the sound and the sunset. I saw a couple of weddings and many lizards-the first one made me jump as I hadn't expected such a close encounter in the city centre!

    Then in the evening I met an old school friend and her fiance and we had some drinks listening to live music at southbank.....then more drinks in a northern suburb and we danced until 3am. Needless to say Sunday was quite a lazy day and the girls took great pleasure in telling Granny Mac that I had spent the whole day in my pijamas, when she arrived.    Læs mere

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    Lamington National Park

    9. januar 2019, Australien ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Mum and Dad arrived a little hazy from the long journey, so we spent a couple of days relaxing at Jamie's. Then on Wednesday we all went down to Lamington National Park, which is somewhere I have wanted to go for years. It is a rainforest high in the hills of the Gold Coast and is famous for its' bird life and scenic views. It definitely did not disappoint, we had such a brilliant time there-it was absolute bliss. We stayed in two villas built on the hillside of the rainforest, within the trees and overlooking a never ending view of rolling hills and mountains. Beautiful colourful birds would perch on our balcony whilst we and and the sounds of the forest were incredible. I don't think I have ever heard such a loud orchestra of insects, it was phenomenal.

    On our first night we got a little over excited and drank most of our wine supply that was meant for both our nights. Consequently Mum ended up doing an over enthusiastic performance of Abba to us and we all managed to get ourselves in trouble, with the manager coming to visit us to report a complaint. Given how peaceful and relaxing the place was we were very quick to end the night and repent for our sins.

    The next day was brilliant, starting with wildlife encounters when we got to meet an Australian magpie, a sooty owl, some little cute marsupial possum types things and a python. It was great fun holding a snake and learning about the animals. Then we fed the birds and had parrots and lauraquetes climbing all over us. Then we went on a tree top walk, which walls through the canopy of the rainforest. After a relaxing lunch at the villas we all went separate ways and met up at the swimming pool later. I went on a walk with Mum and Dad at this time, to Pythons rock look out. It was so beautiful, the views were of endless green mountains and the walk took us through thick rainforest. The sounds and smells were tranquilizing, I loved it.

    After a swim in the infinity pool that overlooked a similarly stunning view we filled the hottub and enjoyed drinks at the villa before going out to dinner at the resort restaurant. We all ate far too much, to top off what had already been a bloody brilliant day.

    We were earlier to bed after all the fun and excitement and because the next day we were waking early to get a boat on the Gold Coast.    Læs mere

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    Big day out on a big boat

    11. januar 2019, Australien ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Friday was our last day all together and so we made the most of it with the help of a generous donation from Great Granny Mac. We hired a boat with a barbecue on it for the day and went boating around the waters of the Gold Coast. It was a scorching hot day with clear skies so the colour of the water was especially beautiful.

    The kids loved having a go on the steering wheel, which led to a few rather uneasy moments. And us adults managed to raise blood pressures a couple of time with an accidental drifting of the boat when we dropped anchor at the bay and again when we grounded the motor in shallow waters. Jamie came to the rescue on both incidents and we survived the day with no worries and a lot of good memories.

    We had speakers on the boat so we all enjoyed a good dance and we even got a repeat performance of the children's new years eve dance performance- YMCA and I like to move it move it. Once again they performed with full enthusiasm and we received it with excitement.

    We anchored the boat at a beach on island to have the barbecue and then Dad cooked up a feast of sausages, kebabs, prawns and halloumi, served with a few salads, dips and bread. There was food to feed an army and we all ate far more than necessary!

    Whilst playing in the sea and on the beach a boat pulled up selling ice cream so the day became even better as we all got an ice cold treat.

    It was the perfect end to what has been a fun filled family holiday. And none of us even got burned by the burning the sun. 100% success! Thank you so much Great Granny Mac, we are all very grateful.

    Now I am on the plane to Perth, having had a series of farewells this morning-first with Stew and co leaving, then when I left Jamie and co. I have spent so long with them I feel I have become part of the household and I am going to really miss it.

    But on to the next stage of my adventure......    Læs mere

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    Perth

    12. januar 2019, Australien ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    I spent the weekend and in Perth staying at a couchsurfers house. I had a really sociable and relaxed time. Harris is a 29 year guy who loves travelling and meeting people of different cultures. So much so that he recently upgraded his house so that he could house share with travellers. He had three Belgium backpacker housemates, an american couch surfer and people of all sorts of nationalities popping in across the weekend. We all had drinks together on Saturday night and then on Sunday a few of us went to Scarborough Beach where we had a picnic and relaxed. I had forgotten how cold the wind can be on the West Coast. Although it was a bright sunny day it felt cool as there was a wind from the West. However we still had a good day. In the evening we watched a horror movie and the next morning I woke early to take a train, followed by a bus down to Denmark.Læs mere

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    A nostalgic journey

    14. januar 2019, Australien ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Jenny's brother owns a very successful caravan park in Denmark and since John passed away she has been helping out down there. This summer she is living in the night manager house on site for six months. So this is the reason for me to go all the way to Denmark.

    It was a long journey, but once I got upon the bus at Bunbury it was beautiful-passing through farmland surrounded by Karri tree. I saw the odd kangaroo hopping into shade and plenty of emu browsing in the grass. As we went further south we were travelling on roads that I had driven countless times, whilst enjoying my time off when I lived on the farm. I was filling with nostalgia and feeling slightly emotional as we approached Northcliffe. My time on the farm, the experience of nursing John and becoming part of his family in such an important time remains one of my proudest achievements, and so to be back here brought back heartfelt memories.

    I was also feeling a bit nervous because three years has passed and a lot had changed in that time, so I didn't know how well I would be received. I had arranged to collect Jamon and Harper, now 9 and 7 year olds, in Northcliffe and be their responsible adult on the bus so they could visit Jenny at the same time. I had thought they would be shy with me as three years is a long long time to children. But actually all my anxieties were proved pointless as I arrived in Northcliffe to the warmest welcome from Dave and Catrin. Their hugs felt like coming home.
    and
    The boys were immediately chatty with me on the bus and behaved really well. Apart from Harper vomiting 5 minutes before we reached Denmark we had a pleasant journey and I remembered how much I admired them, because growing up where they do has made them mature and independent little boys.

    Jenny was waiting for us and I received another heartfelt welcome. The Macdonald family feels like my second family, I went to bed feeling that it was good to be home.    Læs mere

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    Denmark,

    15. januar 2019, Australien ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    The climate in Denmark is much cooler than Perth and has a lot more overcast days, when it is actually quite cold. In the evenings it was always cold, even on a warm day. This made sleeping easier and allowed me to sleep in. I could even go for a run after 8am and not feel like I would collapse in a sweaty mess!

    So I had a relaxing and fairly wholesome few days in Denmark. The boys would be up with the sun and go fishing imediately-they could entertain themselves eternally with a line and some bate, and they caught a couple of big Black Brim just off the jetty on the site. Meanwhile Jenny did her work and I would do yoga and go for a run.

    On the first day we just chilled out at home and caught up on all our news, whilst the boys played with their cousins. Then on Wednesday we went on a tour ran by the park on a four wheel drive bus to a beautiful beach called Boat Harbour. We were lucky that the weather improved and we had a beautiful sunny day. However the wind still added a small chill and only a few of us were brave enough to go in the sea. I was one of them, the sea was too beautiful not to try.

    The next day was cloudy and cool again and I was offered a place on a free tour of a winery. Sounded like the perfect way to spend a cold day, so I went with two Australian couples and we had a great time. The winery was owned by a British guy and he gave us a tour if it himself, he was full of passion and information. It was the best tour I have ever had at a winery, I learnt a lot. Then we had the tastings.....18 of them. We had whites before lunch and reds after. We all shared some wine with lunch as well, so I ended up a little tipsy as it was a light lunch.

    It was a great day and I returned in high spirits. Meanwhile Jenny had taken the boys to a river where had caught loads of fish and they wanted to go back, so we all went off to see the evening in there. However they were low sinkers and Jen had seen one hung on a tree in the middle of the river. She told me I would reach it and took me to see it, but I was in hysterics when I saw it as it was right in the middle of the river, so I declined the challenge. But soon Harper lost another sinker and I had to unhook his line from the bushes, which meant wetting my feet. When I realised the water wasn't cold I decided to help them out....so I stripped off and jumped into the dirty brown river and swam to the rescue. It was a good, funny moment and it provided another few hours fishing, which consequently brought it plenty more fish. By the end we had 7 Black Brim, all of which I had killed, gutted and de-scaled. I was glad to use the skills I acquired on the boat, nice to know I hadn't forgotten how.

    Finally we returned home at sunset and we fed the pelicans the fish heads. It was a great ending to what ended up being a pretty busy few days, when I expected to read and chill out a lot.

    The next day Dave and Cat drove to pick us all up and take us back to Northcliffe. We spent the afternoon in a brewery having lunch and beers and then we stopped at Denmarks famous Green Pool for a swim, as it was another lovely hot day.    Læs mere

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    Back in Northcliffe

    18. januar 2019, Australien ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    We arrived back on the farm in Northcliffe at my favourite time of day- as the sun starts to come down it catches the light on the Karri trees so beautifully. It felt a bit odd being back at first, I was staying in Jenny's empty house and my caravan was gone. The house felt like it had more stuff in it, yet less life as we used to have three bodies there and people in and out all the time and now it was just me. I made myself comfortable in the back room and very quickly found myself in the garlic shed, looking at the rows and rows of hanging garlic that needed to be cleaned. Not a lot had changed there, apart from a cow hide was hanging from the ceiling drying out.

    Even though I had eaten a huge lunch I had dinner at Cat and Dave's house and a few glasses of wine. Then we all hit the sack. I could not believe how quiet it was, there was not even a sound of insects. I found myself staying awake in bed kept awake by the silence, which was an odd concept. It must have been this quiet before, I had just forgotten it. However I woke at 4am to the sound of a cockerel and decided my earplugs were needed now that the animals were waking!

    Saturday was a busy day as I had limited time after spending so long in Denmark. After a hearty breakfast I cleaned some garlic for a couple of hours with Dave, Cat and Darryl. It was just like old times! Darryl used to clean garlic in return for free rent, but now his house was owned by someone else he didn't do it anymore-had just come by to see me and got roped into it!

    There was a heatwave across the country and it made Northcliffe seriously hot, so we headed down to Windy Harbour where Dave and Cat have a holiday home. We all had fun in the sea and Dave brought a new boat down for a ride. Of course, the wind was present (where the name comes from) but in this heat it was refreshing.

    Then on the way home we stopped at Tash's house. She has just moved into a beautiful house in the bush. A bit of a dream property. The kids occupied themselves rescuing tadpoles as the damn was soon to dry out and us adults occupied ourselves with wine and gossip.

    Again we got home at my favourite time of day and so I went for a walk to take photos and enjoy the moment.

    The day rounded off at the working men's club where we watched an 'Irish' band who turned out to be 66% Australian. It was a nice evening and set me up for a very cosy sleep.

    Next morning I went for a run, one of the routes I used to do often. As usual kangaroo bounced in front of me on my path, emu cut across the path and I spent the whole time looking out for snakes. In this heatwave they were even more likely to be out, but thankfully I didn't see any. Or my footsteps scared them off. I just love that run so much, it is so beautiful and the wildlife is still a treat even though I have seen them every day for months before. This time I also saw a beautiful fox and a wild cat. I stopped at the fruit paddock to have some blueberries for breakfast before returning for another heart farm breakfast.

    Before leaving Northcliffe I went to see the cricket start, where I saw some old faces. It was going to be 40 degrees and they were playing a 4.5 hour game of cricket in it. I was secretly quite glad to be getting on an air conditioned bus instead of sitting in the heat watching it!

    I left Northcliffe wanting more time and regretful for having booked a flight to Bali so soon. So I made the most of the journey and watched the view out of the window the whole way until Bunbury, where I boarded the train.

    Although it is so far away it is worth every km of the journey. South West Australia remains one of my favourite places in the world.    Læs mere

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    Commencing the real adventure

    21. januar 2019, Indonesien ⋅ 🌫 26 °C

    After walking around Perth for hours in burning sun I was really tired when I arrived in Bali on Monday evening. Thankfully I had decided to treat myself, by organising for my accommodation to pick me up from the airport. Even with this perk it still was not a quick process to get to my bed!

    Arriving in Denpessar is an attack of Asia. First of all getting my luggage was chaotic because it was signed to be on one conveyor belt, but after waiting there for ages a guy came to tell us it was on a different conveyor belt, then whilst waiting there for ages I saw my bag on a different conveyor belt. People with less obvious bags would probably have been waiting at the wrong conveyor belt for hours due to that 'system'. Then once through passport control I was harassed by a continuous stream of people trying to sell me taxis or hotels and when I arrived at arrivals to find my actual taxi/accommodation there were hundreds of people crammed in with signs up. I had to slow my pace and cruise alongside them, but I managed to find my guy and was glad to be a step nearer to my bed.

     It was just one step, next we had to queue at every stage of the journey to the car park and then at the car park my guy went to get the car whilst I waited for him. It can't have been more than 50 meters away, but yet it took him aggggggeeesss. There was a constant stream of cars coming in a gridlocked queue to the exit. Of course they were all beeping each other, as if there was any hope that it could move faster. But instead it just made for a really unpleasant wait, but no shorter one. Meanwhile it is pouring with rain and the hot humidity feels suffocating.

    Once in the air conditioned car I was happy and was pleased with my choice, because even with all the palava I had still excused myself from the hassle of negotiations with one of the thousands of people trying to sell me a taxi.

    My driver was the guy who owned the homestay I had booked to stay in. He was a lovely man and had previously worked for 6 years for the cruisliner company that I was on in the Carribean, so I really enjoyed hearing about his experience from the other side.

    The home stay was a lovely place, but I didn't stay long as I booked it purposefully in a place I could make a quick departure from. I have avoided Bali so far because of the reputation of it being the Australians playground, now that I am here my plan is to avoid all the drunks and see something more real. So next morning I rose early to get a bus to Amed, a town on the East Coast.    Læs mere

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    Amed so far

    23. januar 2019, Indonesien ⋅ 🌧 28 °C

    I didn't sleep well because of the heat, but even so I was wide awake throughout my journey to Ames because there was so much to look at. In Asian cities there is activity on every corner, and in between. Then as we got further from the city my excitement increased as the beauty of the land started to show itself. Even with the grey skies of monsoon season the land is so bright in different colours of green. The road continued with bends and turns uphill and I felt like I was travelling toward a secret. I wasn't, because Amed is one of the biggest diving spots on the Island, but with the beauty of the journey I could convince myself that!

    Arriving in Amed the bus passed my accommodation and then continued for nearly 3km before stopping in the centre of Amed, by the beach. I was wondering if I had made a poor choice with my booking- having made it based upon the fact it came with free accommodation whilst I did my diving course. But as I walked through the town and heard a constant noise of motorbikes and scooters I began to think I had made a good choice. Once I arrived and got settled in and went for a walk I was sure I had. My hostel is surrounded by farmland and the beach that the town is built on is black because of the volcanic rock-not really something so appealing to lounge on. And although there isn't such a choice of places to eat it also means it is peaceful, with the noise of vehicles in the distance instead of right in my ears.

    I have come to Bali, and Amed in particular, mainly to get my advanced diving course done, in preparation for the Philippines next month. With it being monsoon season this is the best place on the island to go diving as it has year round good visibility and some brilliant dive sights. However it is still low season, because of the weather, so I am the only person on my course. This is a perk as it means my dives will be personal and we will see more, with no-one else to disturb the fish. The course involves doing 5 skilled dives and studying so to be prepared for them. So yesterday I spent most of the day studying. It isn't fun reading from a book and I was really tired so my attention span was poor, but I managed it and completed all six chapters in the day.

    Then today I was meant to start diving, but the swell was too high on the sea so it wasn't safe. So I needn't have rushed my studying! But anyway I made the most of the day and went exploring. When I left my hostel I was surprised by a view of a huge volcano-today has been a much clearer and drier day so suddenly I can see for miles and WOW. I took a walk in the direction of the volcano, through farmland and passing small hamlets, until I got hungry. Then I turned around and walked toward the coast, where I knew there were plenty of restaurants. Amed main street is lined with dive shops, homestays and restaurants. The menu seams to be pretty much the same in everyone I have looked at, but the prices vary slightly. I've been eating meals for less than £2.50 and feeling stuffed from them. Today I had vegetable satay with papaya and lemon salsa and rice and this evening I had boiled vegetables, tofu, rice and a peanut sauce. If it weren't for all the rice I would be quite happy as I can get plenty of fruit and vegetables and I was surprised that they have tofu.

    I spent most of the day walking and meeting the occasional person to have a chat with, by the time I got back to my hostel I was really tired and ready to relax. It has been a nice dry day and I ventures further than I expected to, seeing much more of the coast and surrounding countryside. So it turns out I am quite glad that I couldn't dive today. Hopefully though tomorrow I'll be underwater again.    Læs mere

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  • Kirstoire MacleanStoire’s winter escapeRejsende

    under the Sea

    24. januar 2019, Indonesien ⋅ 🌧 28 °C

    Today I got under the water again. It is what I have been waiting for since work got tough, because it is as far away as I can imagine from the stress and emotions of ICU. And it has definitely fulfilled that desire already, and this is just my warm up for the Phillipines!

    I am doing a course to become an advanced open water diver, this is to increase my confidence so that I can enjoy the beautiful waters and focus less on staying alive and not bumping into coral and fish. Although obviously the main aim of diving is always to stay alive!

    The course involves 5 skilled dives, lead by a qualified instructor who tests me. Two mandatory dives are a deep dive-to 30 metres and navigation dive, then I have chosen three other specialities which are wreck dive, night dive and peak performance buoyancy dive. Today I started with navigation dive, which was what I expected to enjoy the least. It involves using a compass underwater and counting your fin strokes to follow a route and find your way back to where you started. The route is either a square or triangle, so in theory not that hard. But I am not well practiced with a compass and also it turns out my maths skills are pretty poor when put to test. I practiced on land first and managed to master the maths of it there and then we did it underwater. I took two attempts to pass the square, but passed triangle first time. The other route is direct return, but I knew that from my initial dive qualification. Nice to know I hadn't forgotten how to do it though. Once the skills were complete we continued with a recreational dive along the beach, going down to 17.1metres. The visibility wasn't great and we were in a fairly strong current, but we still saw loads of fish and coral. And sadly a lot of rubbish. I started to pick it up, but soon realised it would need a team of people to clean.

    After lunch I did the peak performance buoyancy dive. Being underwater is a bit like being in space- you become weightless and float around aimlessly, until you master management of buoyancy. When diving you wear a jacket that can be filled with air and by altering the amount of air and the placement of the air you can adjust your buoyancy. But there are also other factors that change it, such as your body position, how deep you are and how much air is left in your tank. So buoyancy can be a challenge to manage and sometimes as a beginner you find yourself scraping the floor or suddenly rising to the surface. At my level of diving it can be a distraction for me to be figuring out buoyancy when there could be awesome stuff to be looking at, so this is the dive I really wanted to do. I had to show my instructor that I could swim sideways and on my back without rising, that I could sit and lie down without sinking and that I could be upside down. I found a couple of them a bit tricky, but I feel throughout the day I have improved already and my instructor seemed to think I was good at it. Then once the skills were complete we went for a recreational dive, along the same route as before. But now the tide had turned and so the current was gone and the visibility was a lot better. We saw loads of fish and coral and a huge octopus and tiny seahorse. It is the first time I have seen a seahorse so I was very happy.

    This evening I have just got back from a night dive, which we did on a shipwreck that is 30metres from shore. I was most nervous about this one as I thought it would be hard to see anything, but actually as we had torches it was easier to see my instructor than usual and was losing him that scared me. Also we started as dusk, so going into darkness was gradual. It was an incredible dive as the fish were really active-it being their feeding time. We saw some huge parrot fish, big schools of fish, lots of crustaceans, corals that react to our lights, plankton that react to our movement and of course the shipwreck. I felt much more confident with my movement and buoyancy and managed to swim through it without bumping anything. I learnt to dive on shipwrecks in the Solomon Islands and I remember getting cuts and burns from how hopeless my movement was, so it was nice to recognise my improvement. At the same time the instructor had told me I was to navigate the way back as I was the one wearing the compass. And I managed that no problem. The only negative thing was that I was getting cold-waters were 27 degrees, but I can't tolerate that for a long time, even with a full wet suit on. I stuck the dive out until the end, but had numb feet by the end of it.

    All in all it was a super brilliant day and it has just got me wanting more. Which is good, because I have 4 more dives over the next two days and a week, or more of it in the Philippines!    Læs mere

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  • Kirstoire MacleanStoire’s winter escapeRejsende

    Beautiful Bali

    28. januar 2019, Indonesien ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Yesterday we left Amed and had a private driver bring us to our next destination, via a few spots on the way. It turned out to be an incredible day that gave us a pretty varied tour of the area. And we gossiped the entire way- we three girls get on brilliantly!

    The first stop we did was of a waterfall called Kantor Lampo, which was a big waterfall set within quite a quiet location in a jungle.. it was beautiful and peaceful. We didn't know you were allowed to swim in it so we missed the chance, but otherwise it was a good story and we got sprayed by it quite a lot and it was very refreshing. Next we went to a huge and very powerful waterfall, which was riddled with tourists. This was called Blangsinga Waterfall. Although it was nice it was what I expected from Bali-beauty ruined by tourism, which of course I am a part of so I shouldn't really complain! We had a good laugh viewing some pretentious people doing Instagram model shoots, and we walked a huge amount of steps in extreme hot humidity. But it was worth it. At the end of the day tourism does thrive in places because of their beauty, so the crowds are to be expected really.

    Then we went to Goa Gajan temple, which is a Hindu temple in an incredibly beautiful setting surrounded by lushious garden. I've seen a lot of temples, but this one is one of the most peaceful and beautiful. We spent some time exploring the gardens, all in awe of the multiple shades of green within eyesight.

    Then we went to a Lowak Coffee plantation and this blew my mind as I had never heard of Luwak coffee. We had a tour of the place and the process of the coffee production. The luwak is an animal a bit like a possum and the coffee is made from beans that they have eaten and then excreted out! They used to be considered pests because they ate the beans and one year they ate all the harvest and so the local people had no choice but to try to rescue the beans from the excrement. What they found was a delicious uniquely smooth coffee and since then (with some tweaking to the hygiene management) the product has been produced as a delicacy and is one of the most expensive coffees in the world. The plantation was in a beautiful location and we got to taste 14 different teas and coffees for free, whilst enjoying the scene. Then we paid about £2.60 for a cup of luwak coffee, and it was rather nice. However as I haven't drank caffeine for years it didn't give me a good night sleep. But I don't mind because the whole experience was brilliant, I just loved it-was smiling the whole time.

    Finally we went to Tegalalang Rice Terraces, which were another beautifully green and scenic sight. By now we were quite tired from walking in the heat up and down steep steps at every stop, so we did half of the walk and continued the journey to Ubud-our final destination. The whole tour took about 8 hours and was far better than I ever imagined. It was such a good day, I did not want it to end.    Læs mere

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    Comfort in Amed

    28. januar 2019, Indonesien ⋅ 🌧 29 °C

    I have really enjoyed my time here in Amed, the diving had been great and I have met some cool people. So much so that two of decided to stay an extra night so that we can travel together with someone else once she finishes her diving course. So today the three of us are going to Ubud together and hanging out there until we all go separate ways. We have a private booked so that we can add in some stops on the way, to see a bit more of the countryside.

    I finished my diving course on Friday, with a wreck dive and a deep dive. Liberty is a WWI fighter boat that was brought down by a torpedo in WWII, they managed to travel to the shore before it sank and since then the volcano has erupted and pushed it further into the sea, so it is now 30 metres from the shore. It has become a living reef and is thriving with sea life. It was such a good dive, so much to see and now that I can move myself smoothly I was able to swim through it completely, taking a route that enters a corridor and passes along port side of the boat. We saw a huge sea turtle eating some coral and we hang out watching for a while and we saw countless other fish-just amazing.

    Next I did a deep dive. Previously I was qualified to go to 18metres, but this course trains me to go down as low as 40, but 30 is the recommendation. There is higher risk of decompression sickness the deeper you go and also your air consumption increases, so the dive are shorter or need to be planned with extra supply. We went to 30.4meter, but didn't stay there too long so that we could extend the dive at a shallower depth. We did it from at a coral drop off- where a reef ends into the open water, so the whole way down is full of life. Another great dive and the last thing for me to achieve in order to gain my advanced accreditation.

    On Saturday I did two more recreational dives, because I need to have 20 logged dives before I do my liveaboard in the Phillipines. Again they were very enjoyable and we saw loads. The visibility was a bit poor at times so we would have to hold onto each other, which can make it a bit scary. But I had bought a dive computer by this point and so I could see how deep I was, which is reassuring.

    That night I went out for a drink with a couple of the girls from the hostel who I have been hanging out with. One of them is Australian and it was Australia Day, although she doesn't support the celebration herself her accent caught the attention of an Aussie guy in a bar and so we were hollered into joining him from celebrations. We ended up having a sing song to some Aussie tunes and being filmed by the locals. It was what I did not want to do in Bali, but I had fun doing it all the same! The guy lives here and got his wife and kid down to join and we all took turns cuddling the world's most placid baby. If she can handle drunk backpackers she can handle anything!

    Yesterday we just chilled out at the hostel until Becky had finished diving and then we went out walking amd had some drinks at the hostel. We picked up a new friend in the hostel and took him out for drinks and had another fun night. It is very quiet in Amed, so it is nothing crazy- just friends chatting and listening to music. Overall my time here has been very wholesome and healthy, but the last two nights have broken that slightly! It's been good fun though and nothing too ridiculous. Divers tend not to drink heavily because it makes dives unpleasant and tiring, so we all know our limit is a just a couple of drinks. Just how I like it as then I can still have a good day afterwards.

    So now today Becky (Aus, 34), Naomi (British, 29) and I will continue the fun together. We are all quite sad to leave, because we have become so comfortable in Amed, made friends with some do the locals and we love the staff at the hostel. But at least as we all move in together it makes leaving a bit better. And I have been told I will love Ubud, so I am excited to see the next place.    Læs mere

  • Kirstoire MacleanStoire’s winter escapeRejsende

    Ubud

    30. januar 2019, Indonesien ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Ubud is somewhere I have been told I would love and want to stay,because it so surrounded by beautiful countryside and has lots for yoga and bohemium shops and vegetarian/vegan cafes. I do certainly like all these elements of it, but the town itself is very busy and full of tourists tripping over each other. So I'm indifferent-I'm having a lovely time, but wouldn't rush back.

    It is also more expensive than what we were used to in Amed and so we haven't varied our dining experiences very much. On the first night we explored the area and scouted out the cleanest and brightest of the cheapest restaurants and since we enjoyed the food there we have had nearly every other meal there. All the Indonesian restaurants sell the same things anyway. I have been eating a lot of delicious tofu and Tempe based dishes, often with peanut satay sauce.

    Yesterday Becky and I spent the morning shopping until we actually did drop. A few hours of bartering and walking around all the market stalls into the heat nearly finished her off. But we got some great bargains. I bought two pairs of shorts, two tops, two jumpsuits and a bumbag for a grand total of £23.21! She bought so much stuff I couldn't tell you, because she flew back to Australia last night, so she could fill her bag. Then she and Naomi went for a spa afternoon whilst I went to a wonderful, challenging yoga class in a stunning and peaceful location. It was mega hot and humid and the class was during the afternoon, so it was my sweatiest ever practice. But I thoroughly enjoyed it. The teacher was a local man, with a lot of knowledge and passion.

    Then we went out for our last meal, as Becky flew off late last night and Naomi took a boat to the Gilli Islands this morning. We were so sad to leave each other and made vague plans of meeting somewhere again.

    (Some of these photos are of the decorations they have up outside buildings and lining the streets. They are from a Hindu festival a few weeks ago and will be taken down within the next few days. )    Læs mere

  • Kirstoire MacleanStoire’s winter escapeRejsende

    A long, beautiful and indulgent day

    30. januar 2019, Indonesien ⋅ 🌧 24 °C

    This morning I woke at 1.45am to go on a a trip to Mount Batur-one of the volcanoes here, at a height of 1800m. I was picked up in a tour  bus and we were driven one hour north and then led with torches and a guide to the summit of the volcano to watch the sunrise. We were put into small groups and I was with three American girls and a Canadian as we had all started chatting while we waited. There were loads of people doing the hike, but they staggered starting so that groups could go at different paces and not trip up on each other. At this point the sky was completely clear andwe couldn't see anything other than the circle of lit ground for our treading and the stars above us. The terrain was very bumpy, rocky and loose at parts, so we had to be very careful with our footing. Ahead of us we could see a line of torches in the distance ahead of us and as we got nearer to the summit we began to see the silhouette of the climb ahead of us. Unfortunately our guide was not feeling well and kept making us stop, we were worried about her and asked her to stop. She tried to continue, but in the end let us go ahead. By this point there was some vague sign of the sky lightening, so we wanted to rush ahead to get to the top before sunrise. As there were plenty of people doing it we followed the line of lights and found our way perfectly easily without the guide. The speed we went at made it quite a challenge, at time the climbs were such steep steps and we clambered on and on through them. We were all dripping with sweat, but determined. I was starting to fatigue as we finally reached sight of the actual ahead of us, so with a final push made it up there. It is quite amazing how we five had formed a bond and loyalty already, within the couple of hours we had known each other-all supporting each other and ensuring we were alright and together the whole way, when we could have just gone on at our place and made it our own experience.

    We were joyful at the top because the view was amazing-we could see the summit of two other volcanoes, surrounded by bouncy cloud with stars above. Mount Aging, the foreground peak was very active and constantly burning thick smoke. Then we watched the sunrise, which was pretty spectacular. It was cold at the top and because of our sweating we really felt it. My hands went numb and I had to get a hot chocolate to warm them up-becauase, of course some locals had taken the chance to make money and had made a hut to brew hot drinks in. We had been given packed breakfasts and as we all started to open food we suddenly had plenty of four legged guests and monkeys were jumping on and around us, scavenging our food. It made the scene more magical, but caused a bit of trouble for some.

    After sunrise and enjoying the full 360 view we went back down and could see the landscape we had walked through. On the way we passed another crater, where the volcanoe had once ruptured. It is an active volcano so we also passed rocks that were steaming. As we came further down we passed through onion, chilli, tomaot and cabbage farms.

    We found our guide part way down and she seemed a lot perkier. She chatted to me the whole way down, telling me about her family and life on Bali and asking about my job, friends and life at home.

    The journey home made me realise how tired I am from the hike and so I have dedicated the rest of the day to relaxing.

    I spent the afternoon relaxing at the hostel and then went for a walk to the monkey sanctuary, which is a beautiful forest where many monkeys live. I took a nice walk through it and manages not to get attacked by any of the monkeys. Then I went for a facial and a massage-at bargain prices and after no sleep and lots of exercise I felt I deserved it! The perfect ending to a long and exciting day, I went to bed soon after.    Læs mere

  • Kirstoire MacleanStoire’s winter escapeRejsende

    Walking Ubud

    31. januar 2019, Indonesien ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Today, after a big sleep I went to a long yoga class and then had a slow start to my day because it was raining. In the afternoon I went for a walk on some of the paths around Ubud. Once you leave the main centre it is much more peaceful and beautiful. I walked a Ridgeway pathway, which is lined with great views of the jungle and some rice fields. Then I walked along a path that goes through ricefields-where my yoga class had been the other day. It was beautiful, I am glad I got time to do this before leaving.

    I am travelling to Kuta tonight, which is near the airport and also is the party place where all the Australians go. I am taking the last bus from Ubud to there and then have one evening to ignore the drunks before flying to the Philippines first thing into he morning. I am going to meet a local guy from couch surfing to take me for some authentic location food in Kuta, but I am staying in a hostel.    Læs mere

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  • Kirstoire MacleanStoire’s winter escapeRejsende

    Frustrating first day in the Philippines

    1. februar 2019, Filippinerne ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    This post is so that you can believe life isn't always fun and games as a backpacker!

    I had a long day of frustration when I travelled to the Philippines. It started with an early rise to get me to the airport. From 6am until I finally arrived in Cebu at 8pm I was absolutely freezing because the air conditioning was so strong. My first plane journey was from Bali to Manila and for this I wore all the layers I have and still my hands were completely numb. It chilled me to a point where I was impatient, wanting to be able to move to try to warm up, but instead being stuck on a plane. When I arrived in Manila I was already less than happy, then I was confronted with a massive queue at customs which seemed not to be moving at all. Then I had to drop my luggage for the next flight and go through security again, which all took longer than necessary. Then I tried to take cash out at every ATM, only to have my acrd spat back at me. Thankfully I bought some pesos from a traveller, so had a few hundred to tide me over for now. By the time I got to the departure zone I was ravenous…..and every single food option was 80% meat based, and not even nice meat that could tempt me. There was one place that served an egg ramen and it was closed for lunch. I was furious! I found another option of a small egg based snack and the woman wouldn't serve me because I didn't have small enough change. So I sat and waited for the ramen place to open, meanwhile getting more annoyed and beginning to hate the Philippines! Eventually the staff finished their lunch and putting make-up on and I ate a very salty soup with a few noodles and an egg in. I am hoping my options will increase slightly when I get into the country, but I don't have high hopes for the food here.

    My next plane, to Cebu ended up being delayed. But they don't seem to bother with information boards or announcements here, instead they have screens where people watch sport. So I waited by the departure, getting rather impatient as time tikced on and I had no idea when I would get in the air. When we did eventually board we sat on the plane for an hour. So in the end I arrived in Cebu chilled to my bones, malnourished and toe hours later. Thankfully Marla had bought some beers and some vaguely vegetable based snacks. Apparently vegetables are hard to some by here!

    Nevertheless it was a happy reunion and I was very glad to be here. With no doubt at all that my views on the country would soon be transformed and the arduous day would be forgotten.    Læs mere

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  • Kirstoire MacleanStoire’s winter escapeRejsende

    Starting the real Philippines adveture

    2. februar 2019, Filippinerne ⋅ 🌬 28 °C

    We spent the first two nights in Mactan, which is an island that the airport is on and is  joined to Cebu by a bridge. Our main aim was to relax and recuperate as Simon arrived very alternative at night, I have had long days and little sleep recently and Marla has been working hard. So we had a big lie in and took a slow start to the day.

    Mactan mainly provides resorts for tourists, but we wanted to get out of ours (resort being a generous term for our hotel complex) and explores little. So we took a taxi to one of the monuments, which was rather disappointing because the Amin stature was closed for access. But from there we took a walk to find a beach. We passed lots of kids playing basketball on dirt courts and shanty style houses with a backdrop of glass condos. I wasn't expecting to see such evident poverty in this area and was surprised by the contrast in building structures. The kids were all happy to see us,because they could ask for money-obviously an important English phrase they have learnt.

    We found a beach, but it was man made and had entrance fees. We took a look and decided not to stay because it wasn't nearly as attractive as we know beaches can get here. By now we were getting hungry so we briefly visiteda fancy resort, with its own beach, but we weren't allowed to the beach until after 6pm and the food was expensive. Sow we ended up at a trendy bar build on top of the sea. It was happy hour, so we enjoyed some drinks and ate there.

    The next day we had a days outing booked and this is when it became exciting and the beauty of the Philippines was shown to us. We took a boat trip out to Nalusuan Island and here we went diving. The water was beautiful, if a little cold. 26 degrees is lovely for a swim, but can get chilly when diving for long time. The visibility was great and the corals were beautiful. We did three dives here and saw some rare fish, some huge schools of small fish and a sea turtle-to name a few. We saw lots of Nudibranch, which are colourful sea slugs, Orangutan Crab, which is a tiny orange furry looking crab with long orangutan like legs and a Mantis Shrimp, which is a shrimp that was break through tempered glass with a punch of its claw. Every time I go down is see something new or a new interaction of fish behaviour. There were some really friendly big bag fish that kept swimming up to us and along with us, which was great.

    The staff on the boat were all lovely and made it an ever better day, with their bubbly personalities. They provided a great spread of food and were very professional with the diving. The whole day was fantastic and made me excited for the boat we will be living on next week.

    We stayed for beers with the staff afterwards and then got a taxi to Allegra, a small town on the south coast of Cebu, about 2.5 hours away. We enjoyed the journey with stops to replenish our beer supply and get snacks and by the time we arrived I was ready for bed.    Læs mere

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  • Kirstoire MacleanStoire’s winter escapeRejsende

    Falls and sand

    4. februar 2019, Filippinerne ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    We woke in Alegrio to a view of beautiful clear sea upon a stone shore, with such clarity of the stones below it was clear the waters were pristinely clean. Our accomodation is a travellers lodge and is built on stilts over the sea. It is on the outskirts of Alegria and Alegria is on the outskirts of a touristy part of the island, where many people flock to swim with whale sharks. We had decided not to join this crowd due to the ethical and environmental implications of the trade,but we were here to enjoy the natural beauty of the land instead.

    Yesterday we started, with recommendation from people we met when diving, to visit Kawasaki Falls- a series of beautiful waterfalls within the jungle. However they are far from being a secret and they have been built around with restaurants and canyoning tourism, so some of the nature beauty is distorted. Thankfully, due to the laziness of many tourists, we found a quieter, more beautiful part to swim in. The higher you went the quieter it got, and these seemed to be neverending waterfalls! The water was a stunning shade of turquoise and the foliage around was thick tropical jungle. The water was so fresh, it was very refreshing.

    We spent a couple of hours here and then we headed to Langbog beach, about 15km north on the coast. I expected the beach to be built up and comercialised, because I knew it was one of the beautiful spots of the island. However I was refreshingly surprised by the rustic untouched feel of the place. Although there were some resorts and restaurants they were wooden, shanty style and incredibly basic places. It felt like a real Asian beach, not one built for tourists. The beach was a beautiful white sand, lined with palm trees and the water was crystal clear turquoise, slowly becoming deep blue. I took a walk into the sea, which was warm like a bath and I could walk for so long before it even began to get remotely deep. Once far out I could see a backdrop of spectacular bouncy looking hills-the formation here is like the Teletubbie land of round bounds of hill upon round bound of hill. It is something I have not seen before and a spectaular backdrop.

    After a couple of hours relaxing in the sun we took a walk, to head back toward our place. We walked a beautiful road that took us past homestay, renovations in progress, a golf course and some farmland. It was tropical, functional, lushious and untouched. Quite amazing that such a beautiful beach has retained its’ natural surroundings, within the local culture.

    We stopped for a coconut before boarding a bus that can only be described as full like Asia. We managed to squeeze into the doorway and as people got off we had to disembark so that they could, and then we would squeeze back on. Depending on the angle you were squeezed a different aroma would greet you. I managed to squeeze into a chair at one point, but now being lowered to armpit level wasn't necessarily an upgrade!

    Then after sunset beers very the sea at our place, we walked up to a restaurant on the seafront. It had become quite apparent that I wasn't going to survive here as a vegetarian and when I saw this menu this was completely confirmed. There is literally no option, other than chips that doesn't contain meat. Even their rice or the one vegetable dish they serve, comes with meat in! So I decided if I need to eat I may as well eat what I enjoy and so seafood has become my dietary choice. We ordered the vegetables and rice to come without mest, but when they acme the vegatablea were tinned veggies and so I knew I was right to have chosen some fish, because everything else would disapoint me. The rest of the food was delicious, we enjoyed sizzling prawns, calamari and sweet and sour fish. I ordered sweetcorn soup and when it arrived it was a huge bowl, big enough for about 8 people, but clearly made out of tinned ingredients. Vegetables don't seem to feature in the diet here, it's not even that I struggle to eat vegetarian protein-they just eat nothing but meat and rice/noodle. Nevertheless I enjoyed the meal, but I have already spent 2 days talking about cravings of fresh fruit and vegetables, so it could be a long month ahead for my patient stomach!    Læs mere

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  • Kirstoire MacleanStoire’s winter escapeRejsende

    Beautiful island of Siargao

    9. februar 2019, Filippinerne ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    We took a 40 minute flight from Cebu to Siargao on 6th Feb and have really enjoyed our time here. The flight was beautiful, giving us great views over the country. We came to Siargao because Marla's friend owns a hostel here, we knew not a lot else. We arranged to meet two more of Marlas friends here as well and we have all loved the island. It is a not huge island and doesn't reach great elevation, but it is covered in Palm trees. Even on the beach there are palm trees dotted around in the sand. It is beautiful and nice and cooling to get natural shade from the burning sun. One of the main things people come here for is surfing, because it has good waves for surf. So it is the kind of place that people get stuck in, living the life of surf by day and party by night. We've met many brave people who have moved here from Spain and are starting out businesses to make it their future home. It's probably a good move though, as the place is rapidly developing and so property values are increasing by 183% a year!

    We haven't been surfing, but spent yesterday afternoon watching the crowds of people making their attempts at it. It's good for beginners and professionals, so there is a good range to view.

    On our first day we hired a boat and and a tour of some of the local islands. We were meant to stop on 3 islands, but we enjoyed the second so much we stayed there for ages and just viewed the third one. We bought a huge tuna in the market and had it booked on the barbecue with some mango and watermelon. It was delicious, and an incredible feast. We got through a fair few beers and had a brilliant day.

    The theme has basically been beers and good food. Here they have food of all nationalities, we are spoilt for choice. It's been a really relaxing and fun few days, everything I expected of this country-good vibes, weather, views, water and sunshine. Perfect!    Læs mere

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