Byddi Lee's Blog, page 19
June 15, 2016
Pancake Rocks and Car Scones
It's a three hour drive up the West coast of New Zealand's South Island to get from Franz Josef to Punakaiki overlooking the Tasman Sea most of the way up.
The main attraction at this stop is Pancake Rocks. Layers of limestone rocks have been eroded and shaped by rain and ocean into what looks like ... you guessed it... stacks of pancakes.
There is a nice easy access to this intriguing feature allowing for excellent views of the rocks.
From the view point we could also see our accommodation - a charming beach house right by the waves.
We stayed at Punakaiki Beachfront Motel, just a (pancake-shaped?) stones throw from Pancake Rocks and Blowholes.
When I say right by the waves, I'm not kidding. There was a big stone sea-wall keeping the waves out of our bedroom!
With a huge cliff at our back, disconcerting thoughts about tsunamis were hard to dispatch.
The locals seemed very chilled out though. This weka was very friendly and cute too!.
That night the storms that had begun when we were in Franz Josef, caught up with us. The crash of angry surf right on what felt like our doorstep was almost deafened out by the hammering of rain on the roof. Several times I wondered if the sea-wall was big enough. Evidently it held, but not before I'd decided that beach front accommodation had it's anxiety-riddled drawbacks.
A foggy day ensued. Being Irish, this was no problem.
We knew what was needed - a good spot to park along the way while we indulged in car scones! Picnics in New Zealand, as in Ireland, don't need to take place in the open air.
And the road - still spectacular even with the rain - especially when it came with it's own naturally build in rain protection!
Byddi Lee
The main attraction at this stop is Pancake Rocks. Layers of limestone rocks have been eroded and shaped by rain and ocean into what looks like ... you guessed it... stacks of pancakes.
There is a nice easy access to this intriguing feature allowing for excellent views of the rocks.
From the view point we could also see our accommodation - a charming beach house right by the waves.
We stayed at Punakaiki Beachfront Motel, just a (pancake-shaped?) stones throw from Pancake Rocks and Blowholes.When I say right by the waves, I'm not kidding. There was a big stone sea-wall keeping the waves out of our bedroom!
With a huge cliff at our back, disconcerting thoughts about tsunamis were hard to dispatch.
The locals seemed very chilled out though. This weka was very friendly and cute too!.
That night the storms that had begun when we were in Franz Josef, caught up with us. The crash of angry surf right on what felt like our doorstep was almost deafened out by the hammering of rain on the roof. Several times I wondered if the sea-wall was big enough. Evidently it held, but not before I'd decided that beach front accommodation had it's anxiety-riddled drawbacks.A foggy day ensued. Being Irish, this was no problem.
We knew what was needed - a good spot to park along the way while we indulged in car scones! Picnics in New Zealand, as in Ireland, don't need to take place in the open air.
And the road - still spectacular even with the rain - especially when it came with it's own naturally build in rain protection!
Byddi Lee
June 10, 2016
Some Ice With That?
For the rest of my blog posts on New Zealand, one thing will be a given - the drive was spectacular! If you're anything like us and love road trips, you'll know that the journey from one place to the next is as much a part of the holiday as the destination. New Zealand is a dream for road trippers (and hikers, bikers, water babies and adrenaline junkies, but for now I'm wearing my road tripper hat!)
New Zealand is a patchwork quilt of other countries all in one delicious bundle. In Omarama, we had a little snippet of Utah at the Clay cliffs. In Doubtful Sound we visited an echo of Norway's fjords. Queenstown had a Scottish flavor and Wanaka - the English Lake District? (I'm reaching here because I've not visited the Lake District ... but there's a lake ... so...)
Our next stop - a chip off Alaska, with its glaciers - namely Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers.
We visited Fox Glacier first. I'd been here 13 years ago and the amount that the glacier has retreated in that time is alarming. We had a bit of a walk to get to the viewing point.
This was as close as we were allowed to go - and even at that there was danger of falling rocks en-route. Why you couldn't stop baffled me - surely if rocks were falling you'd be as likely to be hit walking as standing still?
Even with the zoom lens on full - the glacier seemed very far away... and very dirty!
Unless you are on a special guided tour you cannot access the Glacier. That was fine with us. I was happy to look from a distance.
The other glacier, Franz Joseph Glacier, can be seen from the town of the same name.
The zoom lens came in very handy in this case.
We stayed in an adorable cottage - a complex of cottages called 10 Cottages.
I wanted to stay longer - perhaps another thing that should be a default statement for this blog series on New Zealand.
My pictures don't do the place justice - but do hop over to the website for the accommodation here if you'd like to see better pictures.
The next morning we awoke to broken weather! The clouds had moved all the way down to street level. A fine drizzle of rain would make a hike uncomfortable and we'd not get a good view of the Franz Josef Glacier anyways.
"We've seen a glazier," we told ourselves. "No point getting soaked for nothing," we convinced ourselves. "Sod it - we have a picture of the glacier that we took from the main street - we're on holiday - we don't have to do anything we don't feel like," we concluded our justifications to ourselves. As the rain came on harder, we packed up and left. The waterfalls along the way were jaw dropping.
That rainstorm pounded Franz Josef for the next week and caused the river to burst it's banks flooding the town so badly a state of emergency was called.
This was one case where, in hindsight, we were glad we hadn't stayed longer! Poor old Franz Josef. I hope you've recovered now.
Byddi Lee
New Zealand is a patchwork quilt of other countries all in one delicious bundle. In Omarama, we had a little snippet of Utah at the Clay cliffs. In Doubtful Sound we visited an echo of Norway's fjords. Queenstown had a Scottish flavor and Wanaka - the English Lake District? (I'm reaching here because I've not visited the Lake District ... but there's a lake ... so...)
Our next stop - a chip off Alaska, with its glaciers - namely Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers.
We visited Fox Glacier first. I'd been here 13 years ago and the amount that the glacier has retreated in that time is alarming. We had a bit of a walk to get to the viewing point.
This was as close as we were allowed to go - and even at that there was danger of falling rocks en-route. Why you couldn't stop baffled me - surely if rocks were falling you'd be as likely to be hit walking as standing still?
Even with the zoom lens on full - the glacier seemed very far away... and very dirty!
Unless you are on a special guided tour you cannot access the Glacier. That was fine with us. I was happy to look from a distance.The other glacier, Franz Joseph Glacier, can be seen from the town of the same name.
The zoom lens came in very handy in this case.
We stayed in an adorable cottage - a complex of cottages called 10 Cottages. 
I wanted to stay longer - perhaps another thing that should be a default statement for this blog series on New Zealand.
My pictures don't do the place justice - but do hop over to the website for the accommodation here if you'd like to see better pictures.The next morning we awoke to broken weather! The clouds had moved all the way down to street level. A fine drizzle of rain would make a hike uncomfortable and we'd not get a good view of the Franz Josef Glacier anyways.
"We've seen a glazier," we told ourselves. "No point getting soaked for nothing," we convinced ourselves. "Sod it - we have a picture of the glacier that we took from the main street - we're on holiday - we don't have to do anything we don't feel like," we concluded our justifications to ourselves. As the rain came on harder, we packed up and left. The waterfalls along the way were jaw dropping.
That rainstorm pounded Franz Josef for the next week and caused the river to burst it's banks flooding the town so badly a state of emergency was called.
This was one case where, in hindsight, we were glad we hadn't stayed longer! Poor old Franz Josef. I hope you've recovered now.
Byddi Lee
June 8, 2016
Short but sweet - Wanaka without the skydive!
The Crown Range Road from Queenstown to Wanaka is gobsmackingly stunning.
It winds up over the Southern Alps past the alpine ski resort of Cardrona and then follows the Cardrona river Valley to Lake Wanaka, which even has it's own Dublin Bay!
The Cardrona Hotel is a pretty cool spot to grab an bite to eat. The grounds are lovely, with a quaint gold-rush theme.
We stayed in The Wyndham Vacation Resort. The room was beautiful - new with all mod-cons and even though at first the TV didn't work, they sent a guy over straight away to fix it. We headed out for a walk while he worked ... and because we hadn't gone all the way to New Zealand to watch TV!
Wanaka is just beautiful. I'd fallen in love with it back in 2003 when I'd first visited it. I wished we'd more time to stay longer - a recurring theme in New Zealand. How do you see it all and yet get enough of each place. If it wasn't so far from Ireland, I'd move here in a heartbeat.
We walked by the lake and watched the sunset...
...and admired the sculptures.
Wanaka is one of those places were you can do as much or as little as you want to. Last time I was here I did my skydive. This time was all about pure relaxation - which makes for a very short blog post, but trust me, if you travel to New Zealand this is a stop you don't want to miss.
Byddi Lee
It winds up over the Southern Alps past the alpine ski resort of Cardrona and then follows the Cardrona river Valley to Lake Wanaka, which even has it's own Dublin Bay!
The Cardrona Hotel is a pretty cool spot to grab an bite to eat. The grounds are lovely, with a quaint gold-rush theme.
We stayed in The Wyndham Vacation Resort. The room was beautiful - new with all mod-cons and even though at first the TV didn't work, they sent a guy over straight away to fix it. We headed out for a walk while he worked ... and because we hadn't gone all the way to New Zealand to watch TV!Wanaka is just beautiful. I'd fallen in love with it back in 2003 when I'd first visited it. I wished we'd more time to stay longer - a recurring theme in New Zealand. How do you see it all and yet get enough of each place. If it wasn't so far from Ireland, I'd move here in a heartbeat.
We walked by the lake and watched the sunset...
...and admired the sculptures.
Wanaka is one of those places were you can do as much or as little as you want to. Last time I was here I did my skydive. This time was all about pure relaxation - which makes for a very short blog post, but trust me, if you travel to New Zealand this is a stop you don't want to miss.
Byddi Lee
June 2, 2016
A Surprising Glimpse Into a Heartbreaking Past
Queenstown is nestled in a bend in the "z" shaped Lake Wakatipu, with the dramatic Southern Alps as an awe-inspiring backdrop. Its main draw is the crazy sports it has on offer - bungy jumping, sky diving, canyon swinging, jet boating - basically anything that gets your heart beating fast!
The last time I was here I stayed in and around Queenstown. This time I wanted to explore the area ... driving not hiking. Here hiking is called tramping (I'm so not doing that!) I measure a hike by how long it takes ... in hours, New Zealanders measure how long ... in days! So if you are into tramping, here's the place for it.
Before we arrived in Queenstown, we happened upon Kingston at,the southern tip of Lake Wakatipu. It's a cute little hamlet with a library to match!
We drove the length of the lake all the way up to Glenorchy where we stopped for a cuppa before driving back along the lakeside to Queenstown
The scenery was beautiful.
We stayed in the Bella Vista Motel and it was really nice. A similar standard to Holiday Inn Express but with smaller rooms. I was surprised at how quiet the place was at night - it being Queenstown and party mecca and all that.
The guy checking us in was from Newry, (just down the road from Armagh - my hometown in Ireland) and of course, being so far from home, we all made friends immediately.
My Husband and I, being too sensible now for the chronic partying I used to suffer from, went to a quiet restaurant (again I was surprised that we even found one) and had a lovely dinner. The English lady serving our table chatted about what it was like to live so far from home - a phenomena we have some experience of but on on the scale she had.
We had a lovely walk around downtown Queenstown. The atmosphere is an infectious feel-good mix of tired adventures and excited revelers. There was music and street performances to watch, as well as look out over the lake at the always on-duty scenery.
I just had to take this photo of this fine statue - the New Zealanders really do love their sheep.
The next day we headed to Arrowtown, a 25 minute drive from Queenstown and really worth a visit.
Here we had a glimpse into a sad past when we visited the Historical Arrowtown Chinese Settlement. Here we learned just how hard life had been for the men who had immigrated from China in the 1870's to work in the gold fields. Many were Cantonese, like My Husband, and thus our visit was more painfully poignant.
Hard working and pragmatic, the Chinese worked the goldfields abandoned by the Europeans. But pickings were slim and they rarely made their fortune.
Their living conditions were harsh.
Their dwellings tiny.
Many never did manage to return to their loved ones, living a life victimized because of racial discrimination, eventually dying lonely and far from home.
This was most likely a storage hut.I have to hand it to the New Zealanders. This memorial is a tribute to the men who lived here but also to the historians for spotlighting their plight. The New Zealand Government owned up to the persecution and abuse doled out to this community and formally apologized in 2002. It won't erase the past but it bodes well for the future.
The park did a really good job of describing the conditions these poor men would have had to deal with. As I read the information posted around the park, I thought of these poor lonely men who'd left home, sometimes forever, and received such cruel treatment because they were Chinese and only because of that. It squeezed my heart to think of treating any human being in such a way.
I took a sidelong glance at My Husband reading the posters, his gaze heavy, his face troubled. It broke my heart to think of him being treated in such a way just for being Chinese.
But worse of all was knowing that somewhere in the world right that very minute someone was suffering at the hands of another only because of their differences in race.
I thought, we humans don't seem to have learned anything despite the wars and the horrors of things like the holocaust. This ugly side to our nature surfaces time and again.
But as I took My Husband's hand to walk up the hill, and looked at the wonderful man that I love so much, I realized that so much has changed for the better... after all, if we'd been there 150 years ago we'd not have been allowed to look at one another much less hold hands. Perhaps there is hope for humanity and it might just start with small changes snowballing. Go hug a human today!
Byddi Lee
The last time I was here I stayed in and around Queenstown. This time I wanted to explore the area ... driving not hiking. Here hiking is called tramping (I'm so not doing that!) I measure a hike by how long it takes ... in hours, New Zealanders measure how long ... in days! So if you are into tramping, here's the place for it.Before we arrived in Queenstown, we happened upon Kingston at,the southern tip of Lake Wakatipu. It's a cute little hamlet with a library to match!
We drove the length of the lake all the way up to Glenorchy where we stopped for a cuppa before driving back along the lakeside to Queenstown
The scenery was beautiful.
We stayed in the Bella Vista Motel and it was really nice. A similar standard to Holiday Inn Express but with smaller rooms. I was surprised at how quiet the place was at night - it being Queenstown and party mecca and all that.
The guy checking us in was from Newry, (just down the road from Armagh - my hometown in Ireland) and of course, being so far from home, we all made friends immediately.
My Husband and I, being too sensible now for the chronic partying I used to suffer from, went to a quiet restaurant (again I was surprised that we even found one) and had a lovely dinner. The English lady serving our table chatted about what it was like to live so far from home - a phenomena we have some experience of but on on the scale she had.
We had a lovely walk around downtown Queenstown. The atmosphere is an infectious feel-good mix of tired adventures and excited revelers. There was music and street performances to watch, as well as look out over the lake at the always on-duty scenery.
I just had to take this photo of this fine statue - the New Zealanders really do love their sheep.
The next day we headed to Arrowtown, a 25 minute drive from Queenstown and really worth a visit.
Here we had a glimpse into a sad past when we visited the Historical Arrowtown Chinese Settlement. Here we learned just how hard life had been for the men who had immigrated from China in the 1870's to work in the gold fields. Many were Cantonese, like My Husband, and thus our visit was more painfully poignant.
Hard working and pragmatic, the Chinese worked the goldfields abandoned by the Europeans. But pickings were slim and they rarely made their fortune.
Their living conditions were harsh.
Their dwellings tiny.
Many never did manage to return to their loved ones, living a life victimized because of racial discrimination, eventually dying lonely and far from home.
This was most likely a storage hut.I have to hand it to the New Zealanders. This memorial is a tribute to the men who lived here but also to the historians for spotlighting their plight. The New Zealand Government owned up to the persecution and abuse doled out to this community and formally apologized in 2002. It won't erase the past but it bodes well for the future.
The park did a really good job of describing the conditions these poor men would have had to deal with. As I read the information posted around the park, I thought of these poor lonely men who'd left home, sometimes forever, and received such cruel treatment because they were Chinese and only because of that. It squeezed my heart to think of treating any human being in such a way.I took a sidelong glance at My Husband reading the posters, his gaze heavy, his face troubled. It broke my heart to think of him being treated in such a way just for being Chinese.
But worse of all was knowing that somewhere in the world right that very minute someone was suffering at the hands of another only because of their differences in race.
I thought, we humans don't seem to have learned anything despite the wars and the horrors of things like the holocaust. This ugly side to our nature surfaces time and again.
But as I took My Husband's hand to walk up the hill, and looked at the wonderful man that I love so much, I realized that so much has changed for the better... after all, if we'd been there 150 years ago we'd not have been allowed to look at one another much less hold hands. Perhaps there is hope for humanity and it might just start with small changes snowballing. Go hug a human today!
Byddi Lee
May 27, 2016
Where Sunny Days Are Rare
Te Anu makes a great jumping off point for exploring New Zealand's Fiordland National Park. Located on the South Western tip of the South Island, it is the largest national park in New Zealand and a World Heritage Area. It rains there on over 200 days of the year - so not that much for an Irish chick! The waterfalls are spectacular here.
By heading here first, I wanted to ensure 2 things - 1) that My husband got to see it and 2) we'd have better weather than waiting until we were three weeks later into the New Zealand autumn.
We stayed for two nights in a self contained cottage. The standard was high for the price we paid. We had a one bed-roomed cottage with a Jacuzzi spa tub! A fabulous way for us to gather our strength after jet lag and sickness.
The town is adorable, situated the Lake Te Anu, with a medley of places to buy all sorts of tours - Milford Sound being the big, most affordable draw. I'd been to Milford sound before and had fully intended to take My Husband, but then things kind of got out of hand. The weather forecasted for a clear sunny day - like, no clouds at all - sunny. We began to explore the prices of helicopter flights to Milford sound and then Doubtful Sound caught our eye - more remote, harder to get to and less people (the Holy Grail on the tourist trail!)
But the prices were way too high to fly.
As we chatted to the helpful staff in the i-SITE visitor center, (the best place to buy your tours other than directly online - there's one in every town) we kept coming back to the Doubtful Sound option. Tours to Milford Sound were very full as there'd been a road closure the day before, but Doubtful Sound was pricey - NZ$250 per person for the day trip leaving from Te Anu. Or we could drive ourselves out to Milford Sound and get a cruise there for NZ$85 along with the throngs of other tourists. With all the back and forth trying to decide should we drop so much cash on one day, I began to wonder if this was how Doubtful Sound got its name!
It was a hard place to access. You had to cross a lake, then take a road over a pass in the mountains that was not connected to any other road. Then a boat would take you through the fjord.
All things considered - we concluded that it was value for money. Mind you, I'm the type that can spin that sort of rationale - My friend and I once went camping and ended up staying in a nice hotel because we reasoned it would save us cash!
We started out before sunup at silly o'clock, shivering at the side of the road waiting for our bus to pick us up and wondering if we'd been insane to spend all that money. The half hour bus ride to the lakeside thawed us out and as we crossed Lake Manapouri the sun rose.
The boat was very comfortable, with free coffee and spectacular views. We began to wake up and appreciate just where we were and how amazing it was.
A bus picked us up after we docked at the other side of the lake. There was a power station here. A random place to put it I thought, and for me, it was still to early to read all the info and educate myself about it. The old brain was still too foggy!
The bus ride over the Wilmot Pass to Deep Cove only took about a half hour and it stopped at the top for a view of the sound. Note the clear blue sky. We were told that happens about five times a year. How lucky were we?
The cruise through Doubtful Sound was a feast for the eyes (and camera!)
We journeyed out to were the sound (technically it's a Fjord) met the Tasman Sea. The huge breakers in the distance telling the story of how big the waves are out there and just how sheltered the Sound is. The sound got its name because in 1770 Captain Cook was not sure if it was navigable under sail.
As if we'd hadn't already had an amazing day, on our return journey - the cherry on the top - a visit from a pod of dolphins!
It felt like this guy wanted to speak to us!
A wonderful end to a trip I'm so glad we decided to go on.
Travel is such a precious part of my life. I do not take it for granted. I know I'm lucky to have these experiences. I'd like to dedicate this post to a friend of mine who I know has dreamed of visiting Doubtful Sound for a very long time. Her life has taken her in different directions and she has weathered the storms with valor. She recently decided to embark upon a career in nursing. She's the same age as me and I have so much respect for anyone going into nursing but especially those who go in later in life - She is my hero! This post is in your honor. May all your dreams come true.
Byddi Lee
By heading here first, I wanted to ensure 2 things - 1) that My husband got to see it and 2) we'd have better weather than waiting until we were three weeks later into the New Zealand autumn.
We stayed for two nights in a self contained cottage. The standard was high for the price we paid. We had a one bed-roomed cottage with a Jacuzzi spa tub! A fabulous way for us to gather our strength after jet lag and sickness.
The town is adorable, situated the Lake Te Anu, with a medley of places to buy all sorts of tours - Milford Sound being the big, most affordable draw. I'd been to Milford sound before and had fully intended to take My Husband, but then things kind of got out of hand. The weather forecasted for a clear sunny day - like, no clouds at all - sunny. We began to explore the prices of helicopter flights to Milford sound and then Doubtful Sound caught our eye - more remote, harder to get to and less people (the Holy Grail on the tourist trail!)
But the prices were way too high to fly.
As we chatted to the helpful staff in the i-SITE visitor center, (the best place to buy your tours other than directly online - there's one in every town) we kept coming back to the Doubtful Sound option. Tours to Milford Sound were very full as there'd been a road closure the day before, but Doubtful Sound was pricey - NZ$250 per person for the day trip leaving from Te Anu. Or we could drive ourselves out to Milford Sound and get a cruise there for NZ$85 along with the throngs of other tourists. With all the back and forth trying to decide should we drop so much cash on one day, I began to wonder if this was how Doubtful Sound got its name!
It was a hard place to access. You had to cross a lake, then take a road over a pass in the mountains that was not connected to any other road. Then a boat would take you through the fjord.
All things considered - we concluded that it was value for money. Mind you, I'm the type that can spin that sort of rationale - My friend and I once went camping and ended up staying in a nice hotel because we reasoned it would save us cash!We started out before sunup at silly o'clock, shivering at the side of the road waiting for our bus to pick us up and wondering if we'd been insane to spend all that money. The half hour bus ride to the lakeside thawed us out and as we crossed Lake Manapouri the sun rose.
The boat was very comfortable, with free coffee and spectacular views. We began to wake up and appreciate just where we were and how amazing it was.A bus picked us up after we docked at the other side of the lake. There was a power station here. A random place to put it I thought, and for me, it was still to early to read all the info and educate myself about it. The old brain was still too foggy!
The bus ride over the Wilmot Pass to Deep Cove only took about a half hour and it stopped at the top for a view of the sound. Note the clear blue sky. We were told that happens about five times a year. How lucky were we?
The cruise through Doubtful Sound was a feast for the eyes (and camera!)
We journeyed out to were the sound (technically it's a Fjord) met the Tasman Sea. The huge breakers in the distance telling the story of how big the waves are out there and just how sheltered the Sound is. The sound got its name because in 1770 Captain Cook was not sure if it was navigable under sail.
As if we'd hadn't already had an amazing day, on our return journey - the cherry on the top - a visit from a pod of dolphins!
It felt like this guy wanted to speak to us!
A wonderful end to a trip I'm so glad we decided to go on.Travel is such a precious part of my life. I do not take it for granted. I know I'm lucky to have these experiences. I'd like to dedicate this post to a friend of mine who I know has dreamed of visiting Doubtful Sound for a very long time. Her life has taken her in different directions and she has weathered the storms with valor. She recently decided to embark upon a career in nursing. She's the same age as me and I have so much respect for anyone going into nursing but especially those who go in later in life - She is my hero! This post is in your honor. May all your dreams come true.
Byddi Lee
May 22, 2016
Sick, No Sleep, No Food, but Still loving Life on the Road
We arrived in New Zealand feeling rotten. Not just because we were bidding farewell to our lovely friends in Singapore, but also because we'd both picked up a bug. Worried it might affect our admittance into the country - we both had fevers - the relief of getting through the airport at Auckland was short lived as we waited in misery for 4 hours for the connecting flight to Christchurch. At the time of booking it had seemed like a great idea to go straight through to the South Island, even after a long haul flight, but we hadn't banked on being ill - well, who does really?
By the time we reached Christchurch, we were a bedraggled pair, but oh, so ready for a soft bed and a long sleep. Being the least sick of the pair of us, I drove the hire car to our accommodation, a merciful short couple of miles from the airport. We'd had the foresight to pick up some sandwiches in the airport, so when we got to the Airport Birches Motel all we need to do was eat, shower and collapse - which is pretty much how it went. The accommodation was really comfortable and handy for the airport.
The cool New Zealand air helped us sleep well, as did being unconscious with fatigue, and drugged up on brufen! We woke the next day feeling a bit better. Our bug did travel with us for the next week or so, but that's all I'm going to say about it. It sucked to be sick and traveling, but I'd have to say, it would have sucked more to be home and sick. For me, traveling makes everything better - even the flu!
Next morning, we grabbed some supplies at a supermarket and hit the road. The plan was to begin our three weeks in New Zealand in the far south and work our way north to cash in on the last of the summer weather. Our first goal was to get to Milford Sound, the nearest town to it being Te Anu. We decided that we'd be happy to spend four hours a day in the car, so that meant we'd stop for the night in the middle of the South Island a little south of Mount Cook.
The scenery was beautiful - as we'd expected from New Zealand. It still came a s pleasant surprise how alike it was in places to Ireland.
We stopped at Omarama. The hotel we stayed at was called The Countrytime Hotel. It was fairly basic, dated and not the cleanest, but it would do. The town, of you could call it that, was set in high hills that were approaching mountain status.
The views were gorgeous and despite being a tiny wee town, there was a variety of things to see - too many for a one night stop. This was our problem for most of our stay. We wanted to see everything, but didn't have enough time.
The claim to fame for the place is the Omarama Hot Tubs. You get a private wooden tub filled with filtered lake water and warmed with a wooden stove.
Here's the view from the tub! It was simply wonderful. I could have sat there all night and watched the changing sky, but we were getting hungry...
Time had slipped away from us and we realized we needed to get back to the hotel before the restaurant closed at 9pm. We walked into the restaurant at 8.55pm. The hostess told us the kitchens were closed. There was nowhere else in town open either.
Earlier that day we'd bought precooked bacon. It was a middle cut, so we'd eaten the leaner "back" portion and thrown the fatty "streaky" portion in the bin. It was time to go "bin hoking!"
We washed the bacon in boiling water from the in-room kettle, (no microwave unfortunately) and did a stock-take of our emergency road trip food supplies.
Not exactly gourmet but we'd not starve.
I went to bed looking forward to breakfast.
Breakfast was a disaster - A really expensive breakfast buffet of cold sausages made from God-only-knows-what, congealed-yolk fried eggs and cardboard bacon. The DIY toaster set our toast on fire - no kidding! I was so disappointed.
The food in New Zealand didn't really improve much the whole time. I guess you just can't be good at everything, and so we concentrated on enjoying what New Zealand does do well - the scenery!
Before we left the town that morning, we took a drive out to see the Clay Cliffs. This was an interesting stop. It was like a little snippet of what we'd seen in Utah last September.
We were joking saying, "That's the problem with Utah - it spoiled you for the rest of the world!" But I must say I was still happy to be were I was, doing what I was doing.
With that box ticked, we decided to head onwards to the next town.
The rain started and made the scenery even more dramatic and even more like Ireland than before.
And despite being sick, jetlagged and hungry it was great to be on the open road, exploring. Our hearts were free and happy.
Byddi Lee
By the time we reached Christchurch, we were a bedraggled pair, but oh, so ready for a soft bed and a long sleep. Being the least sick of the pair of us, I drove the hire car to our accommodation, a merciful short couple of miles from the airport. We'd had the foresight to pick up some sandwiches in the airport, so when we got to the Airport Birches Motel all we need to do was eat, shower and collapse - which is pretty much how it went. The accommodation was really comfortable and handy for the airport.
The cool New Zealand air helped us sleep well, as did being unconscious with fatigue, and drugged up on brufen! We woke the next day feeling a bit better. Our bug did travel with us for the next week or so, but that's all I'm going to say about it. It sucked to be sick and traveling, but I'd have to say, it would have sucked more to be home and sick. For me, traveling makes everything better - even the flu!
Next morning, we grabbed some supplies at a supermarket and hit the road. The plan was to begin our three weeks in New Zealand in the far south and work our way north to cash in on the last of the summer weather. Our first goal was to get to Milford Sound, the nearest town to it being Te Anu. We decided that we'd be happy to spend four hours a day in the car, so that meant we'd stop for the night in the middle of the South Island a little south of Mount Cook.
The scenery was beautiful - as we'd expected from New Zealand. It still came a s pleasant surprise how alike it was in places to Ireland.
We stopped at Omarama. The hotel we stayed at was called The Countrytime Hotel. It was fairly basic, dated and not the cleanest, but it would do. The town, of you could call it that, was set in high hills that were approaching mountain status. 
The views were gorgeous and despite being a tiny wee town, there was a variety of things to see - too many for a one night stop. This was our problem for most of our stay. We wanted to see everything, but didn't have enough time.The claim to fame for the place is the Omarama Hot Tubs. You get a private wooden tub filled with filtered lake water and warmed with a wooden stove.
Here's the view from the tub! It was simply wonderful. I could have sat there all night and watched the changing sky, but we were getting hungry...
Time had slipped away from us and we realized we needed to get back to the hotel before the restaurant closed at 9pm. We walked into the restaurant at 8.55pm. The hostess told us the kitchens were closed. There was nowhere else in town open either.Earlier that day we'd bought precooked bacon. It was a middle cut, so we'd eaten the leaner "back" portion and thrown the fatty "streaky" portion in the bin. It was time to go "bin hoking!"
We washed the bacon in boiling water from the in-room kettle, (no microwave unfortunately) and did a stock-take of our emergency road trip food supplies.
Not exactly gourmet but we'd not starve.I went to bed looking forward to breakfast.
Breakfast was a disaster - A really expensive breakfast buffet of cold sausages made from God-only-knows-what, congealed-yolk fried eggs and cardboard bacon. The DIY toaster set our toast on fire - no kidding! I was so disappointed.
The food in New Zealand didn't really improve much the whole time. I guess you just can't be good at everything, and so we concentrated on enjoying what New Zealand does do well - the scenery!
Before we left the town that morning, we took a drive out to see the Clay Cliffs. This was an interesting stop. It was like a little snippet of what we'd seen in Utah last September.
We were joking saying, "That's the problem with Utah - it spoiled you for the rest of the world!" But I must say I was still happy to be were I was, doing what I was doing.
With that box ticked, we decided to head onwards to the next town.The rain started and made the scenery even more dramatic and even more like Ireland than before.
And despite being sick, jetlagged and hungry it was great to be on the open road, exploring. Our hearts were free and happy.Byddi Lee
May 16, 2016
Port Report - Koh Samui, Thailand
Port ship actually docks at: Tenders near Nathon Town
Attraction/Town you are aiming to visit: The whole island has lots to offer
Distance from Port: You can walk off the tender and you are right there - beaches, town and taxis readily available
Mode of transport we used: local taxi
English spoken by locals: yes
Ships tour necessary? no
Hassle from merchants and taxi drivers: none
Our last port of call was to a beautiful island paradise off the coast of Thailand. Here we had the pleasure of sampling Thailand's famous hospitality and welcoming locals.
The tender docked in Nathon town and we walked to the Tourist Information center. Here's one last illustration of the comparison of what the ship is prepared to tell you about the port of call compared to the information that is freely available onsite.
The ship's vague map of the island, that we attempted to work from initially.
You'll see the tourist information office on the above map. We walked straight there after getting off the tender. They were really friendly and helpful - here's the free maps of the island they gave us.
While we were in the Tourist office, we met another couple from the ship. After a brief discussion of what are goals were for the day, we decided we were a good match to team up to hire a taxi for the day. For around US$40 (1500Bhat) per couple, we hired a taxi for 4 hours. Taxis are considered expensive here, but still far cheaper and more flexible than a ship's tour.
Armed with the kindle copy of the Lonely Planet and the maps, we set out to explore. Our first stop was a hike to a waterfall.
We'd gotten side-tracked at the beginning of the trail and had wandered up into a pretty little temple (photo at beginning of post) but then got our bearings and headed up river to find the waterfall.The taxi driver said it would take us 15 minutes, the guide book said 20 and people we met on the trail said 40 minutes. We walked for 20 minutes uphill, saw lovely scenes of water flowing over rocks but no evidence of a stunning waterfall. Having satisfied our itch to stretch our legs, we turned back aware there was lots more to see on this beautiful island.
Our next stop was at a collection of stone carvings that a man who had retired here had done. They really were amazing and we pottered about here taking pictures for a while.
I think our driver enjoyed the exploring too. We went to the highest point on the island and he claimed he'd never been there before. He joked that I was showing him around. At this view point we discovered these rather random statues of animals. They included ones of dinosaurs too. They had no apparent theme. Very bizarre!
Up here, we discovered a pool and you could pay to sit here by the hour. Good to know but we were in exploring mood, not relaxing mode.
There was also a restaurant, but the owner told us he was closing for a private function. We were cruise people - we knew we wouldn't starve too quickly. It gave us the opportunity to sample the packet of potato chips we'd purchased at the stone statue's "gift shop." Yummy!
We explored the whole island over the course of four hours and stopped for lunch on the beach - as ya do! The other couple went off and had a swim before our driver brought us all back to the tender. It was a pretty blissful day.
The line to the tender was enormous. We decided to have a look around the local market stall not far away while keeping an eye on the tender queue. These delicacies were on offer - bugs!
If I'd had a little more time I might even have worked up the courage to try some.
But a gal needs someone to guide her in bug-eating etiquette!
I mean, one wouldn't want to be spitting out wings if that was not the done thing. The red peppers might cause me more issues though!
I'm sure these grubs would taste just like prawns...or snails maybe!
But the tender line got short very quickly (honest, it did) and we had to dash back to catch our boat to the ship where we watched another glorious sunset after another fabulous day.
Byddi Lee
Attraction/Town you are aiming to visit: The whole island has lots to offer
Distance from Port: You can walk off the tender and you are right there - beaches, town and taxis readily available
Mode of transport we used: local taxi
English spoken by locals: yes
Ships tour necessary? no
Hassle from merchants and taxi drivers: none
Our last port of call was to a beautiful island paradise off the coast of Thailand. Here we had the pleasure of sampling Thailand's famous hospitality and welcoming locals.
The tender docked in Nathon town and we walked to the Tourist Information center. Here's one last illustration of the comparison of what the ship is prepared to tell you about the port of call compared to the information that is freely available onsite.
The ship's vague map of the island, that we attempted to work from initially.
You'll see the tourist information office on the above map. We walked straight there after getting off the tender. They were really friendly and helpful - here's the free maps of the island they gave us.
While we were in the Tourist office, we met another couple from the ship. After a brief discussion of what are goals were for the day, we decided we were a good match to team up to hire a taxi for the day. For around US$40 (1500Bhat) per couple, we hired a taxi for 4 hours. Taxis are considered expensive here, but still far cheaper and more flexible than a ship's tour.Armed with the kindle copy of the Lonely Planet and the maps, we set out to explore. Our first stop was a hike to a waterfall.
We'd gotten side-tracked at the beginning of the trail and had wandered up into a pretty little temple (photo at beginning of post) but then got our bearings and headed up river to find the waterfall.The taxi driver said it would take us 15 minutes, the guide book said 20 and people we met on the trail said 40 minutes. We walked for 20 minutes uphill, saw lovely scenes of water flowing over rocks but no evidence of a stunning waterfall. Having satisfied our itch to stretch our legs, we turned back aware there was lots more to see on this beautiful island.
Our next stop was at a collection of stone carvings that a man who had retired here had done. They really were amazing and we pottered about here taking pictures for a while.
I think our driver enjoyed the exploring too. We went to the highest point on the island and he claimed he'd never been there before. He joked that I was showing him around. At this view point we discovered these rather random statues of animals. They included ones of dinosaurs too. They had no apparent theme. Very bizarre!
Up here, we discovered a pool and you could pay to sit here by the hour. Good to know but we were in exploring mood, not relaxing mode.
There was also a restaurant, but the owner told us he was closing for a private function. We were cruise people - we knew we wouldn't starve too quickly. It gave us the opportunity to sample the packet of potato chips we'd purchased at the stone statue's "gift shop." Yummy! 
We explored the whole island over the course of four hours and stopped for lunch on the beach - as ya do! The other couple went off and had a swim before our driver brought us all back to the tender. It was a pretty blissful day.The line to the tender was enormous. We decided to have a look around the local market stall not far away while keeping an eye on the tender queue. These delicacies were on offer - bugs!
If I'd had a little more time I might even have worked up the courage to try some.
But a gal needs someone to guide her in bug-eating etiquette!
I mean, one wouldn't want to be spitting out wings if that was not the done thing. The red peppers might cause me more issues though!
I'm sure these grubs would taste just like prawns...or snails maybe!But the tender line got short very quickly (honest, it did) and we had to dash back to catch our boat to the ship where we watched another glorious sunset after another fabulous day.
Byddi Lee
May 12, 2016
The Abandoned Garden - Before and After Shots
It is mildly insulting that my garden seems to do so much better when I'm not around to tend to it. To keep it seasonal, I'm taking a break from posting about our three-month-long travel stint to show you how the garden fared while we were gone.
The garden on May 12thIf I went chronologically, I'd probably not get to posting this until the autumn and in gardening terms that's just too out of whack.
So we left on February 5th to embark upon our South East Asia and New Zealand adventures and returned 7 weeks later on March 29th. I didn't plant a winter veggie garden since I'd not be here to harvest it, but the native garden stole the show. In the following couplets of photos the one on top was taken on February 3rd and the bottom one was taken on March 30th.
At the end of March we came back to California and stayed for two weeks - during which time I put in some summer seedlings and planted some summer vegetables. Here's what four weeks did to the veggie garden!
Lettuce seeded and protected with netting and seedlings planted for basil, cilantro, dill and kale.
Zucchini and tomato seedlings.
The scallions are already reseeding themselves and pretty much growing wild. I pulled a few and made an "island" for lettuce hoping that the smell of the onions would disguise the lettuce from snails and squirrels. Seems to have done the job. I have beetroots from seed in the foreground.
I put these plastic tray up to protect the runner bean seeds from the birds and squirrels - I should have protected the lemon cucumber further back in the plot - they are struggling but you can't seem them past the beans today.
This bed all from seed, from left to right potatoes (four failed but hey were just left overs form the supermarket), parsnips (low germination rate - last years seeds) arugula aka rocket, and butternut squash.
Tomatoes behind and peppers in the foreground - the rosemary bush lives there all the time.
Another view of the tomatoes.
I'll be back to reporting from our trip in the next post. So much to catch up on, now we're home!
Byddi Lee
The garden on May 12thIf I went chronologically, I'd probably not get to posting this until the autumn and in gardening terms that's just too out of whack.So we left on February 5th to embark upon our South East Asia and New Zealand adventures and returned 7 weeks later on March 29th. I didn't plant a winter veggie garden since I'd not be here to harvest it, but the native garden stole the show. In the following couplets of photos the one on top was taken on February 3rd and the bottom one was taken on March 30th.
At the end of March we came back to California and stayed for two weeks - during which time I put in some summer seedlings and planted some summer vegetables. Here's what four weeks did to the veggie garden!Lettuce seeded and protected with netting and seedlings planted for basil, cilantro, dill and kale.
Zucchini and tomato seedlings.
The scallions are already reseeding themselves and pretty much growing wild. I pulled a few and made an "island" for lettuce hoping that the smell of the onions would disguise the lettuce from snails and squirrels. Seems to have done the job. I have beetroots from seed in the foreground.
I put these plastic tray up to protect the runner bean seeds from the birds and squirrels - I should have protected the lemon cucumber further back in the plot - they are struggling but you can't seem them past the beans today.
This bed all from seed, from left to right potatoes (four failed but hey were just left overs form the supermarket), parsnips (low germination rate - last years seeds) arugula aka rocket, and butternut squash.
Tomatoes behind and peppers in the foreground - the rosemary bush lives there all the time.
Another view of the tomatoes.
I'll be back to reporting from our trip in the next post. So much to catch up on, now we're home!
Byddi Lee
April 21, 2016
Port Report - Bangkok (Laem Chabang), Thailand
Port ship actually docks at: Laem Chabang
Attraction/Town you are aiming to visit: Bangkok
Distance from Port: 80 miles, 2 hrs by bus
Mode of transport we used: Ship's tour bus shuttle $40 each
English spoken by locals: Yes
Ships tour necessary? Sort of - if you want to go to Bangkok, I would advise it. However, if you are choosing to go to Pattaya, a closer town, then independent travel would be fine. Again, had the ship given us more accurate direction, we might have know this at the time.
Hassle from merchants and taxi drivers: Funny story actually....read on...
On first glancing the itinerary for the cruise, I read that we had a stop at Bangkok. Once again, I didn't know the lay of the land and thus presumed that Bangkok was coastal and a port, but alas the ship docks at a port 80 miles away.
There is a ships tour - a bit of a misnomer since it is just a bus ride... a very expensive bus ride for Thailand... right into Bangkok and back to the ship for $40 each. The bus drops you off, and from that point on, you are independent until it's time to get back on-board and the bus takes you back in time for the ship's departure - the key words are "on time". We fell victim to the scaremongering about how the traffic is crazy and how we'd run the risk of missing the ship if we did go the whole hog independently. So we went the with the ship's tour. If wandering around in Bangkok on your own for a few hours is too scary there is also a "Best of Bangkok" tour for $139, though not for us...We fancied wandering at our own pace, not being herded about and having to listen to a guide.
We'd seen our fill of temples and wats. We only had about 3 hrs actually in the city, so we decided to just drop into the Grand Palace...as ya do!
The bus dropped us off at the Asia Hotel, which is right on the light rail. The guide on the bus recommended that we take the train to the river and then river taxi to the Grand Palace. To return she recommended taking a cab.
We reckoned that if everyone from the cruise (there were about 7 bus loads of us) was going to do that we'd reverse it, grab a cab from the hotel to the Palace and work our way back on public transport. We'd pulled out Thai Bat from an ATM at the service stop en-route where we also saw these cute solar panels.
We were good to go...
By now My Husband was a dab hand at negotiating taxi fares. The first cab asked for 300 Baht - too much according to what we'd learned from the guide and Lonely Planet. The second driver quoted us 200 Baht - that was more like it. Feeling quite on top of things in this chaotic city we jumped in and headed for the Palace.
When it came time to pay the driver, My Husband handed him a 1000 Baht note. Dismayed the driver waved it away - he'd no change! We had none either. The driver said, hang on, he'd get some and quickly drove us up some side streets, round a few blocks, pulling up across the street from a couple of banks. He left the keys in the ignition with the car's engine still running. He hopped out and disappeared into the throng of people on the sidewalk. We didn't see which building he'd gone into. We sat in the car incredulous. He was hardly going to steal 1000 Baht and leave us his car, but as the minutes ticked by, our imaginations swept into overdrive.
We had time to conjure up several scenarios ... Perhaps he was really a bank robber and we were in the getaway car! ...Or maybe he'd stolen the car. We were sitting ducks and he was 1000 Baht up... Then just as we were beginning to wonder if we should bail out of the taxi he showed up, grinning and waving our change.
He drove us back to the entrance of the Grand Palace and dropped us off thanking us for the large tip we'd felt he'd earned.
The Grand Palace was thronged with tourists but still really worth seeing.
You could walk around here for hours. There was so much to see.
It's worth zooming in on the following photos to take note of the elaborate details in the tile work and painting.
They even have the beautiful tile-work under the eaves!
We didn't take a tour within the Palace preferring to wander at our own pace. We were hoping to hire the audio tour headsets but there were none left. We didn't even have internet coverage so we couldn't google things, like, who was this guy and is he really gold?
We didn't know what we were seeing and had many questions, but it was still lovely to see everything all the same.
But we did recognize this scale model of Anchor Wat in Cambodia...
From the above photo you'd almost think you were at the real thing, until you see the scale against the rest of the palace
One my favorite things was a wall mural of really vividly colored drawings.
The gold in them really twinkled and caught the light.
I'm sure it was telling stories about great conquests and epic journeys...
The buildings in this part of the painting looked like what we were standing in!
These must have been recounting great legends!
These monkeys are in for a surprise when they cross this bridge!
I surprised myself by being so enthralled by the paintings as I usually don't like art galleries - these were really special!
I liked seeing the guards. The elephants were so Thailand!
Even the stone statues had something about them
Three hours flew by. The place was so crowded that we had to queue to get out! Eventually, we made it down to the river and picked up a river taxi to King TaksinBridge where we picked up the train. We switched at Siam Station to the line that would take us back to the Asia Hotel.
I was impressed by how orderly the lines at the train station were.
We got the bus back to the ship. I would have to say that from my quick glimpse of the city of Bangkok, I wouldn't be in a big hurry back. It's a massive, crazy city and I think there is much more to interest me in Thailand than this.
Byddi Lee
Attraction/Town you are aiming to visit: Bangkok
Distance from Port: 80 miles, 2 hrs by bus
Mode of transport we used: Ship's tour bus shuttle $40 each
English spoken by locals: Yes
Ships tour necessary? Sort of - if you want to go to Bangkok, I would advise it. However, if you are choosing to go to Pattaya, a closer town, then independent travel would be fine. Again, had the ship given us more accurate direction, we might have know this at the time.
Hassle from merchants and taxi drivers: Funny story actually....read on...
On first glancing the itinerary for the cruise, I read that we had a stop at Bangkok. Once again, I didn't know the lay of the land and thus presumed that Bangkok was coastal and a port, but alas the ship docks at a port 80 miles away.There is a ships tour - a bit of a misnomer since it is just a bus ride... a very expensive bus ride for Thailand... right into Bangkok and back to the ship for $40 each. The bus drops you off, and from that point on, you are independent until it's time to get back on-board and the bus takes you back in time for the ship's departure - the key words are "on time". We fell victim to the scaremongering about how the traffic is crazy and how we'd run the risk of missing the ship if we did go the whole hog independently. So we went the with the ship's tour. If wandering around in Bangkok on your own for a few hours is too scary there is also a "Best of Bangkok" tour for $139, though not for us...We fancied wandering at our own pace, not being herded about and having to listen to a guide.
We'd seen our fill of temples and wats. We only had about 3 hrs actually in the city, so we decided to just drop into the Grand Palace...as ya do!
The bus dropped us off at the Asia Hotel, which is right on the light rail. The guide on the bus recommended that we take the train to the river and then river taxi to the Grand Palace. To return she recommended taking a cab.We reckoned that if everyone from the cruise (there were about 7 bus loads of us) was going to do that we'd reverse it, grab a cab from the hotel to the Palace and work our way back on public transport. We'd pulled out Thai Bat from an ATM at the service stop en-route where we also saw these cute solar panels.
We were good to go...By now My Husband was a dab hand at negotiating taxi fares. The first cab asked for 300 Baht - too much according to what we'd learned from the guide and Lonely Planet. The second driver quoted us 200 Baht - that was more like it. Feeling quite on top of things in this chaotic city we jumped in and headed for the Palace.
When it came time to pay the driver, My Husband handed him a 1000 Baht note. Dismayed the driver waved it away - he'd no change! We had none either. The driver said, hang on, he'd get some and quickly drove us up some side streets, round a few blocks, pulling up across the street from a couple of banks. He left the keys in the ignition with the car's engine still running. He hopped out and disappeared into the throng of people on the sidewalk. We didn't see which building he'd gone into. We sat in the car incredulous. He was hardly going to steal 1000 Baht and leave us his car, but as the minutes ticked by, our imaginations swept into overdrive.We had time to conjure up several scenarios ... Perhaps he was really a bank robber and we were in the getaway car! ...Or maybe he'd stolen the car. We were sitting ducks and he was 1000 Baht up... Then just as we were beginning to wonder if we should bail out of the taxi he showed up, grinning and waving our change.
He drove us back to the entrance of the Grand Palace and dropped us off thanking us for the large tip we'd felt he'd earned.
The Grand Palace was thronged with tourists but still really worth seeing.
You could walk around here for hours. There was so much to see.
It's worth zooming in on the following photos to take note of the elaborate details in the tile work and painting.
They even have the beautiful tile-work under the eaves!
We didn't take a tour within the Palace preferring to wander at our own pace. We were hoping to hire the audio tour headsets but there were none left. We didn't even have internet coverage so we couldn't google things, like, who was this guy and is he really gold?
We didn't know what we were seeing and had many questions, but it was still lovely to see everything all the same.
But we did recognize this scale model of Anchor Wat in Cambodia...
From the above photo you'd almost think you were at the real thing, until you see the scale against the rest of the palace
One my favorite things was a wall mural of really vividly colored drawings. 
The gold in them really twinkled and caught the light.
I'm sure it was telling stories about great conquests and epic journeys...
The buildings in this part of the painting looked like what we were standing in!
These must have been recounting great legends!
These monkeys are in for a surprise when they cross this bridge!
I surprised myself by being so enthralled by the paintings as I usually don't like art galleries - these were really special!I liked seeing the guards. The elephants were so Thailand!
Even the stone statues had something about them
Three hours flew by. The place was so crowded that we had to queue to get out! Eventually, we made it down to the river and picked up a river taxi to King TaksinBridge where we picked up the train. We switched at Siam Station to the line that would take us back to the Asia Hotel.I was impressed by how orderly the lines at the train station were.
We got the bus back to the ship. I would have to say that from my quick glimpse of the city of Bangkok, I wouldn't be in a big hurry back. It's a massive, crazy city and I think there is much more to interest me in Thailand than this.
Byddi Lee
April 9, 2016
Port Report - Sihanoukville, Cambodia
Port ship actually docks at: Sihanoukville and tendered ashore
Attraction/Town you are aiming to visit: Sihanoukville
Distance from Port: within 3 miles - you could probably walk from the port.
Mode of transport we used: Minibus via ship's tour
English spoken by locals: Some
Ships tour necessary? No - but we were feeling lazy and took one
Hassle from merchants and taxi drivers: some on the beaches
It it's heyday Sihanoukville was once a happening seaside resort visited by the jet set, and it is very proud to have hosted Jackie Kennedy on her tour of Cambodia. However, those days were short lived as war tore the country and its people to shreds. It suffered further at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, and is only now starting to recover from that violent era.
I have to admit I was nervous about Cambodia. I'd been warned about the poverty making the likelihood of theft high - I can't say I'd blame them. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to be scraping together a living, yet see wealthy people, by comparison, strolling around in my village.
The people here have suffered physically, economically and emotionally. I felt that guilt that I get sometimes when I consider how lucky I've been in my life compared to the harsh conditions other humans have had to deal with. I'm sorry I can't fix it. It's easier to be an ostrich and bury your head in the sand, but doesn't that then make you an accomplice of sorts? These questions haunt me a lot - especially when I travel and see first-hand that I have lived a five star life. Why me? I often wonder, closely followed with gratitude for what I have.
Perhaps if I'm honest, I felt that a ship's tour would be the best way to experience the place from a distance. That buffer, which I usually despise in other ports, would be of use in this case.
As I glanced through the ships literature about the tours, I noticed that they had posted up a new tour that hadn't been offered before - a canoeing tour. It looked perfect and even My Husband, who is not keen on water sports, liked the look of it.
We didn't take the big camera onshore - it might get wet or worse, stolen. We just used the cameras on our smart phones and even then tried not to be to flashy with them, not to mention we kept them sealed in baggies while in the canoe for obvious reasons, so our photos do not represent just how great this trip turned out to be.
Our guide collected us and right form the start he met us with sincerity and warmth. Nothing was too much trouble. His English was perfect, and it was clear that he was genuinely taking pleasure in explaining his homeland to us. It was great. He knew all about the plant life we passed and showed us how the palm fronds were woven to construct the huts.
After taking in the peace and tranquility of the river from the canoes, we beached on a sand bank and went to a coconut farm where we each got a coconut to drink. When all the milk was finished, he produced a fearsome machete and cleaved each coconut so we could scrape out the coconut meat - delicious! The baby chicks were happy to help finish off what we couldn't.
Our guide showed us cashews growing on the trees too - something I've never seen before.
The tour cost only $40. We figured this was because it was new. There was only ten of us and the small group was nice. We also had two of the ship's crew with us. Other cruise folk had been telling us they had signed up for tours to see local houses, local schools, go to wats (temples), beaches etc. We were only expecting to do the canoeing. When out guide told us he would take us next to visit a local family, then a school and finish off with a bit of time on the beach we were thrilled.
The family we visited lived in a traditional wooden house on stilts. The area beneath it was used for storage or to hang out it since it provided shade. Inside the house was mostly the sleeping area.
The kitchen was in a separate shed out the back. Traditionally they cooked over a wood fire using a stove like this, but you can see they also had a gas stove too - progress, I guess.
The bathroom was in yet another separate shed - very clean, though it was a squat toilet - something I think I could get used too if my thigh muscles held up!
Next up was the school.There were about 4 classrooms, each opening directly into the yard. School had two sessions, a morning and an afternoon session. Kids either went to one or the other and so no need for a canteen as they were home for lunch.
No ipads or interactive whiteboards here, though to be fair, I had none of that when I went to primary school and look how well I turned out!
The kids were cute - Especially since I wasn't the teacher this time!
All along the guide discretely let us know that tips were not mandatory but that anything given would be greatly appreciated. At no stage did we feel we were being pressed for money.
The guide dropped us off for a half hour at the beach - plenty of time for those of us who wanted a swim. The water was like a luke-warm bath. It was a salty but happy group that drove back to the port.
We said our goodbyes and felt like we were leaving a friend, our guide was that good. I tried to look up that tour again - it was so good and such great value for money, but strangely I cannot find it on the Princess site nor any other site - a magic tour perhaps!
Byddi Lee
Attraction/Town you are aiming to visit: Sihanoukville
Distance from Port: within 3 miles - you could probably walk from the port.
Mode of transport we used: Minibus via ship's tour
English spoken by locals: Some
Ships tour necessary? No - but we were feeling lazy and took one
Hassle from merchants and taxi drivers: some on the beaches
It it's heyday Sihanoukville was once a happening seaside resort visited by the jet set, and it is very proud to have hosted Jackie Kennedy on her tour of Cambodia. However, those days were short lived as war tore the country and its people to shreds. It suffered further at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, and is only now starting to recover from that violent era.I have to admit I was nervous about Cambodia. I'd been warned about the poverty making the likelihood of theft high - I can't say I'd blame them. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to be scraping together a living, yet see wealthy people, by comparison, strolling around in my village.
The people here have suffered physically, economically and emotionally. I felt that guilt that I get sometimes when I consider how lucky I've been in my life compared to the harsh conditions other humans have had to deal with. I'm sorry I can't fix it. It's easier to be an ostrich and bury your head in the sand, but doesn't that then make you an accomplice of sorts? These questions haunt me a lot - especially when I travel and see first-hand that I have lived a five star life. Why me? I often wonder, closely followed with gratitude for what I have.
Perhaps if I'm honest, I felt that a ship's tour would be the best way to experience the place from a distance. That buffer, which I usually despise in other ports, would be of use in this case.
As I glanced through the ships literature about the tours, I noticed that they had posted up a new tour that hadn't been offered before - a canoeing tour. It looked perfect and even My Husband, who is not keen on water sports, liked the look of it.
We didn't take the big camera onshore - it might get wet or worse, stolen. We just used the cameras on our smart phones and even then tried not to be to flashy with them, not to mention we kept them sealed in baggies while in the canoe for obvious reasons, so our photos do not represent just how great this trip turned out to be.Our guide collected us and right form the start he met us with sincerity and warmth. Nothing was too much trouble. His English was perfect, and it was clear that he was genuinely taking pleasure in explaining his homeland to us. It was great. He knew all about the plant life we passed and showed us how the palm fronds were woven to construct the huts.
After taking in the peace and tranquility of the river from the canoes, we beached on a sand bank and went to a coconut farm where we each got a coconut to drink. When all the milk was finished, he produced a fearsome machete and cleaved each coconut so we could scrape out the coconut meat - delicious! The baby chicks were happy to help finish off what we couldn't.
Our guide showed us cashews growing on the trees too - something I've never seen before.
The tour cost only $40. We figured this was because it was new. There was only ten of us and the small group was nice. We also had two of the ship's crew with us. Other cruise folk had been telling us they had signed up for tours to see local houses, local schools, go to wats (temples), beaches etc. We were only expecting to do the canoeing. When out guide told us he would take us next to visit a local family, then a school and finish off with a bit of time on the beach we were thrilled.The family we visited lived in a traditional wooden house on stilts. The area beneath it was used for storage or to hang out it since it provided shade. Inside the house was mostly the sleeping area.
The kitchen was in a separate shed out the back. Traditionally they cooked over a wood fire using a stove like this, but you can see they also had a gas stove too - progress, I guess.
The bathroom was in yet another separate shed - very clean, though it was a squat toilet - something I think I could get used too if my thigh muscles held up!Next up was the school.There were about 4 classrooms, each opening directly into the yard. School had two sessions, a morning and an afternoon session. Kids either went to one or the other and so no need for a canteen as they were home for lunch.
No ipads or interactive whiteboards here, though to be fair, I had none of that when I went to primary school and look how well I turned out! 
The kids were cute - Especially since I wasn't the teacher this time!All along the guide discretely let us know that tips were not mandatory but that anything given would be greatly appreciated. At no stage did we feel we were being pressed for money.
The guide dropped us off for a half hour at the beach - plenty of time for those of us who wanted a swim. The water was like a luke-warm bath. It was a salty but happy group that drove back to the port.
We said our goodbyes and felt like we were leaving a friend, our guide was that good. I tried to look up that tour again - it was so good and such great value for money, but strangely I cannot find it on the Princess site nor any other site - a magic tour perhaps!
Byddi Lee
