A Quiet Time in Sanur

Sanur was where the majority of pre-WWII expats settled on Bali. It's easy to see why they chose the Eastern Coast of Bali with its protective reef and warm water to build their fine homes. While some of these old homes still exist, hotels and modern villas have taken up most of the beach front property.

                                     You too can get hitched in this giant glass diamond!!!

After the madness of Gili T, Sanur was a welcome break. A package holiday destination, Sanur also caters to those who come to Bali for retirement, as well as those who work for the few embassies and NGOs in this part of Indo.

The entire area of Sanur is connected by a 4 km long beach walk; great for running, checking out the waste array of traditional; fishing boats all freshly painted for the tourists or having a bite of fresh seafood. We were also happy to learn a bit about those Europeans who were first drawn to Bali. Belgian painter Adrien Jean Le Mayeur traveled the world in the early part of the 20th Century and finally made Bali his home when he fell in love with a much younger Balinese woman (the European painter, young Balinese dancer combos happened quite often it seems, another famous team being Spaniard Antonio Blanco and his lovely dancer wife). Nearly 100 of Le Mayeur's works are on display at the artist's former residence, a small hidden home surrounded by garden. Unfortunately, as one of the oldest museums in the country, without proper ventilation, or shelter from the elements many of the paintings have faded. There are however many lovely works, as well as beautiful antique Balinese carvings and artwork decorating Le Mayeur's former home.

Apart from our trip to the museum, our time in Sanur was dedicated to catching up on our reading, and sleeping (thanks to the lack of early morning wake ups due to the call to prayer or the multitude of roosters that liked to hang outside of our door on Gili T).

                                          Boat stuck on the Sanur reef

Sanur or Snore?

Five relatively action-filled nights on Gili T (I say relatively because we are no longer 22) included watching Canada and Ireland both win at rugby, a full moon party (our first...though we didn't last past midnight, and it really wasn't all that exciting) and a new sport.

I am fully convinced I will be paddle boarding again.  I am a big fan...and I am sure Tom will become one some day. Fashionable with celebs, and good for the abs, paddle boarding is a simple as the name. It involves a large windsurf board and a long paddle used to prople the board forward whist sanding.  Lots of fun, an easy way to stay dry, move through currents and see the fish. As you can probably tell, I am sold.

Paddle boarding asside, Gili T was an interesting part of the adventure. A part of muslim Lombok, the Gilis or Islands, are a huge European tourist attraction, which has been quite detrimental to the environment, both land and sea. The coral surronding Gili T has been trod on so much that most of it is dead. While the fish are still around, there are fewer than we expected; however, those we spoke to who were diving, said it was pretty decent the further down they ventured.

Other than the water sports, venture from Bali for the day, or arrive in order to relax. We ended up having to do quite a bit of relaxing, as we both were a bit under the weather. Five days on Gili T, left us a bit saltier (given the island's water system is purified salt water, as well, generators run most of the electricity, but we were encouraged when we climbed to the top of the island and fund brand new solar panels) and a bit poorer, as the prices were far higher than other places we had encountered, understandable on such a small island packed with tourists and few locals.

Tom at the Irish Bar, Gili T is the smallest island in the world to host one

Sanur, Bali was next on the list. A place were expats with fat bank accounts go to retire....exciting... or not...?

Bali photos so far

Kuta Market

Our new friend Red

Snooze on Gili T

At the Top of Gili T

GT

Quiet in Kuta and on to Gili T

Our five nights on Lombok had us raring for some excitement. Other than driving from beach to beach, there was little to do on the south end of the island, if you weren't a surfer accustom to surfing reef breaks. Our adventures on the scooter we rented were interesting. Traveling through traditional villages, past vast fields of tobacco and mines, and avoiding pieces of glass left on the road by giggling village children. We did visit some pretty phenomenal pristine and empty beaches, but we were excited to visit the Gilis, small islands the larges, Gili Trawangan, 6 km around.

View from Ashtari Restaurant, Kuta Lombok

We travelled up to the West Coast of the Island through lush forests where tourists stopped their taxis on the narrow roads to view the many relatively tame, but devious forest monkeys. A 10,000Rupiah, 25 minute "slow boat" ride had us in Gili T, the "Party Island", where we would spend the next 5 nights at the English-owned Pesona Resort (http://www.pesonaresort.com/).

From Kuta Bali to Kuta Lombok

The plan was to aclimatize with all the Western comforts before heading out to rural Bali. After two days we were ready to leave Kuta-Legian, but had two more nights booked, so we tried to make the best of it. We surfed Kuta Beach, had a few decent meals accompanied by Bintangs, and did very small amount of shopping.


Now, there is nothing wrong with taking a holiday in Cancun, if your Canadian, or Mallorca if your British, or Kuta, Bali if your Aussie, but drinking late and getting up at noon isn't my idea of a holiday at home, let alone one that takes me half way around the world. With package tour destinations also come elevated prices, wispers of elicit drugs and tipsy teens. We were more than happy to leave the decently impressive Kuta Bali Resort and the crazy Legian club scene (which we didn't patricipate in, except for having a few beers at the Irish Pub, and another few at British Sports Bar talking politics with an Aussie miner) for a 4 hour (6 hour including the hour we spent before leaving the dock and the hour waiting for the boat to leave so we could moor on the other end) to Lombak.

Lombak is the island furthest to the left in the Nusa Tenggara arc, which also includes Komodo Island, the home of the famed dragon. There are quicker ways to get to Lombok, either by fast ferry or small airplane (both costing around 50 or so Euro, of 500,000 Indonesian Rupiah*). The slow ferry is the cleapest (32,000 Rupiah, or about 3 Euro) and from it you the an awesome view from your spot on the less-than-tidy floor of the outside deck. We did see a pod of about 50 dolphis palying up along side the boat making the trip even more worthwhile.

We finally got off the boat around 6:30pm, and shared a taxi to Kuta beach on the South of the Island with two young Brits, with boards in tow. Kuta is well known by surfers for it's aweomse waves and chilled out atmosphere. We were especially lucky to have reserved a room at Yuli's Homestay (www.yulishomestay.com), a B&B run by a local woman (Yuli) and her Kiwi husband (Mike).

So far, Kuta Lombok has been the relaxed sort of place we tend to enjoy. We've found a couple of places serving good food (Warung Bule and Astari - http://ashtarilombok.com/) and have spent a number of hours checking out the numerous beaches stretching along the South coast, while really getting to see how rural Indonesians live. *1 Euro = 11,000 Rupiah 1 US Dollar = 8,000 Rupiah 1 CND Dollar = 9,000 Rupiah

MORE DETAILS - Ste. Emillion

As mentioned in an earlier post, Ste. Emillion is by far the most touristy town in the region near Château de Sanse. Many will recongise Ste. Emillion as one of the most prestigious wine areas in the Bordeax region of France, producing some of the most delicious reds you'll ever drink. (http://www.saint-emilion-tourisme.com/)

The Jursdiction of Ste. Emillion is made up of a number of small "towns" or "areas", whose names you will also notice on a wine label. These areas are some times refereed to as "Saint-Emillion satellites" or more properly as Appellation d'origine contrôlée(AOC).

One example of an AOC is Lussac, a small town 9km from Ste. Emillion proper. Most of the vineyards are small and family-owned. That is something I really noticed in this wine region, the wine makers are front and center in the sales of wine. Names are almost always mentioned when you enter a Maison de Vin to taste and purchase their wares.

Towns like Lussac have all you need. A grocery store, a small market (on certain days), a wine seller...really food and wine is all you need in life...right?

The only issue with small towns outside of a main center is transportation. There is a bus route and I am sure it runs more frequently during the high summer season, but didn't see one at all over our stay. Rental car is by far the best way to get around this area of France.

NYC: HERE I COME!

Just about a week now until another trip to NYC. I figure I will make this a yearly thing :) Dinner reservations are already made for Artisanal (http://www.artisanalbistro.com/art_bistro_menus_index.php) for the Friday evening. Oh cheese how I love thee. I pretty much figure Artisanal is a fair bet. Any one that Anthony Bourdain can call a hero, I figure is a good guy. Terrance Brennan, bring it on.

So, wait for the details, because I am excited to deliver.

An Evening Drive

Funny story. A warning to all, some places in south western France have the same name as others. Tom and I found that out the hard way.

We decided to check out a restaurant other than the one at the hotel, and outside of Ste. Emillion. I discovered that Pujols, a very small close to our hotel had a Michelin stared restaurant. So after a number of trips around the town...I discovered that Pujols, was not the town near us, but one quite a bit larger. Now, in my defense, we were both exhausted already from all of the traveling. But of course that left us more hungry.

Our adventure then took us to Gensac, further east from our hotel, where we found nothing open. These small french towns really do shut down when the tourists aren't around. We did find what looked to be a very nice hotel, also close to Chateau de Sanse; Les Remparts (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g967912-d560440-Reviews-Les_Remparts-Gensac_Gironde_Aquitaine.html) also closed.

With that, we headed back to Castillon-la-Bataille and to the only open restaurant, Le Pheonix (http://www.hotel-restaurant-lephenix.fr/le-restaurant.html), which ended up being delicious! Great pizzas! For those interested, the hotel upstairs charges 45 euro for a single room, and 50 euro for a double. I am sure you'd be pleasantly surprised by the place, but the town really does not have much of interest. It is close to

Entre-Deux-Merres

Over our few days at Chateau de Sanse, we began each morning with some of the freshest and best croissants we had ever had. They really do know how to treat you well at this nice little hotel.

The one full day we had in the area we spent driving around the Entre-Deux-Merres region. Our first destination was the town of Duras; a small town with a large castle, known for it's sweet white wines. Unfortunately the castle (http://www.chateau-de-duras.com/patrimoine-duras/cote-de-duras/siecles-histoire.asp) was closed until 2pm, but we did take a walk around the town, one of the many Bastides in the region or "fortified towns" originally constructed by the English in the 12th Century.

We also headed down from the town to the Maison du Vin des Cotes de Duras. Les Maison du Vin are located all over the region and sell the regional wines at the same prices as the producers do at their vineyards. As it was off season, the place was empty and we were treated to a sampling of each different type of wine produced. It was too bad we had a limit on the wine we could bring back on the plane.

For lunch we headed further south to Monsegur, a small bastide. Now, we decided on a restaurant that even Tom was a bit hesitant about. It was called something like Restaurant des Sports or something. The food they served us was fresh local fair. I had a lovely salad with lardons and the local goats cheese served on croutons with a bit of honey, and Tom had a very tasty chicken sandwich. We found similar extremely good, fresh and reasonably priced (that meal came to around 20 euro with a glass of wine for me and a coffee for Tom).

Following lunch our trip took us to La Reole, the location of the oldest remaining city hall in France, dating back to the 12th century. Richard the Lionheart had granted the town some independence to manage their affairs, and that city hall dates back to those days. There are also a number of timber houses around the town that look like they belong back in Stratford Upon Avon.


Our final stop was another town famous for its castle, Sauveterre-de-Guyenne. This castle was also not open, as winter in the region is pretty slim on tourists. It would definitely be a place to stop during the summer months.

Part 2...continued...

First impressions of Ste. Emilion...wow. We could definitely see how busy this little town would get during the summer and why. Ancient cobble stoned streets dominated by a huge "Monolithic" church surrounded by a small square where one could easily relax with a glass of local wine at Amelia Canta (Which we did do before leaving St. Emilion the final time ).

We hit the road again after a walk around town and some photos we hit the road for what would be a longer than expected trip to find Chateau de Sanse. This is a warning to all...it is not initially that easy to find, and what is suppose to be a 15-20 minute trip ends up being a lot longer the first few times, but once you get used to the narrow country roads it gets a lot easier. A good map, or GPS is recommended for this trip. The GPS coordinates are available.



Chateau de Sanse is located outside of Ste. Radegonde, (a town that is really only 400M in length) closer to the small towns of Julliac and further Gensac. It's a lovely re-modeled 18th Century Chateau with views of the vineyards. And the food... We had a dinner booked for our first evening. We went for the 3-courses and a lovely bottle of Ste. Emilion Grand Cru (we had tried a bottle of the local sparkling wine, Crement de Bordeaux prior to dinner). Tom started with a goat cheese and parma ham and I had poached oysters and langoustines. Tom's main went very well with the wine, as he had venison with a winter berry sauce. All produce are sourced locally and the menu changes with the season. I had a lovely fillet of red mullet. Desert...yum. Don't even remember the details, Tom had an apple crumble and I had poached fruit with a spiced glacee ice and spiced syrup. Awesome.

Day two in the region to come...

Part Two - Details

London - So after a bit of worry we made it to London only to discover we would not be able to get on a flight to Belfast until the 26th of December. We quickly booked a hotel online at Last Minute, at half the price. Heading to the Cavendish, on Jermyn Street (home to the first Thomas Pink shop, which unfortunately did not open before our departure on Boxing Day) we cleaned up and headed out to find some grub.

We were lucky to fall upon a funky little restaurant, Randall & Aubin (http://www.randallandaubin.com/restaurant.html). Dressed up like a new years eve bash, this champagne and oyster bar (with so much more) had an open concept kitchen serving fresh seafood and roasted meats. After a delish dinner of seafood (of course I had oysters) and Prosecco, we met up with Tom's brother Declan for a few drinks at a West End Pub.

The following day wandering around London we realized that Christmas Day has to be the quietest day of the year in this city of 7 million. With not much open, and the tube not operational, we really just investigated different areas of the city, took pictures and found the odd coffee bar to warm up. We eventually ended up having dinner in a Pret a Manger because we figured that 70 pounds we'd end up paying for dinner was probably not all that worth it, plus we'd be eating Tom's mom's leftovers the following evening. Turkey sandwiches it was.

Belfast - Newry - Dublin - We finally got our Christmas dinner on Boxing Day. Arriving into Belfast in the late afternoon we spend a quick couple of hours at Windermere (Tom's Belfast house)wrapping gifts and packing for the trip over to France.

Dinner in Newry was followed by an evening of drinks and catch-up.

Bordeaux - An early afternoon flight from Dublin to Paris had us in Bordeaux for a late dinner, which we ended up eating at McD's (amazingly I got a very fresh salad with a lovely walnut and balsamic vinaigrette) due to the fact that we really only had fast food joints to choose from near our airport hotel, and it's recommended not to drive into Bordeaux due to its difficulty to negotiate and find parking. Orginally, we had though our arrival into Bordeaux would be much later, hence the airport hotel, but given the past few hectic days, we were happy for the uneventful night of drinking champagne we found for 10 Euro at the Champion supermarket. The Etap hotel was a steal at 42 Euro and was completely clean, quiet and with flat screen.

Wine Region (Sainte Radegonde) - We were very happy with our decision to travel to Chateau de Sanse the following day, as navigating the narrow country roads around the region, and the limited signage (resembling rural Ireland somewhat) would have been impossible the evening before. We were also quite happy with our decision to rent a GPS along with the car, but after a few days relied mostly on our accumulated knowledge of the area, and the relatively good map given to us by the hotel manager.

Our first stop on the road was to Ste. Emilion, which took us under an hour to reach from Bordeaux.

To Be Continued...

Part One - The Adventure

Tom and I arrived nice and early for our 5:45pm US Airways flight to Dublin via Philadelphia on December 23rd; knowing that there would be traffic both on the roads and at the airport. While waiting in line (a line where many of our fellow passengers for Dublin where also standing) I received an email stating that our flight had been cancelled and thus began the mayhem of the trip that was to be my first Irish Christmas.

We were able to cancel our flight to Dublin and re-book on an Air Canada flight headed to London, thinking we could easily get a quick flight over to Belfast or Dublin...not so. Christmas was spent at the Cavendish Hotel London. From Heathrow we flew to Belfast, arriving in Newry on boxing day, in time to enjoy some Christmas dinner leftovers. One night at Tom's parents in Newry and we were in the car again and on our way to the Dublin Airport this time, and off to Bordeaux via Paris.

A night at the Etap Hotel near the Bordeaux Airport (Etap hotels are clean and a great deal, our night costing 42 Euro!) and we were on the road early the next day to Sainte Emilion and then to Sainte Radegonde, where our hotel, Chateau de Sanse was located. Great food and wine over the next two and half days was enjoyable, but did not last long enough. Soon we were back in the car and heading to the Bordeaux Airport to fly back to Dublin, again via Paris.

From Dublin back to Belfast, with a stop in Newry around 11:30pm. Finally we had a full day to spend in Belfast wandering, and it was New Years' Eve. But no late night celebrating for us, for we had to be up at 7am on New Years Day to catch a flight back to Toronto via London, and there ends the Christmas Holiday Journey of 2010.

I'll get my first Irish Christmas some year...and we'll book that trip with Air Canada!

Hitting the Road...YAY!

We're off to snowy Ireland tomorrow and I can't wait. It's Tom's family's turn to enjoy our company over the holiday season, but the timing is a bit shorter than usual due to my new work schedule.

We're also heading over to France for a quick wedding planning session. I am sure after a few days there we'll have a better idea of what we'll be experiencing in May.

2011 is shapping up to be a busy year for us...with a few trips already planned and the possibility of a new blog on its way!

Back to it

A year and a half really does fly by. My return to Canada happened in September of 2009. I yet again chose September 11th to I departed.

After a year in Ottawa, and a few more trips together to Florida (Miami to Key West) in April 2010 and Malta in Summer 2010, and of course a number out west (one with Tom at Christmas), we (I) moved to Toronto.

Since the adventures of 2008/09, Tom has been back in Iraq trying to make up monetarily for our travels, and I have been busily working away as well (though never contributing like he can). So after another year on the Hill, it was time, I figured, to try something new, hence the move to Toronto. Despite the fact that many remember me saying that I would never live in Toronto, here I am, with Tom soon to join me at the beginning of December.

Other news is that we are planning a wedding. We will most likely have a civil service in Toronto as soon as Tom arrives back. Our ceremony, of course, has to be an adventure; it is after all us. So, despite the difficulties we knew we'd encounter, Tom and I will be getting married in the south-western region of France on May 21st, 2011.

We took many regions into consideration, including our own two countries and many in the Carribean, but settled on the French wine region, and a town called Sainte-Emilion. I thought this the perfect time, therefore, to start writing about our travels again. As Tom will shortly return, and therefore our planning will really commence, as will our return to short trips (one is being considered currently for New York City in January, as Tom didn't get to join me when I headed there this past May) and perhaps a few comments about our new city, including it's food, events, etc. Really, it's time for me to start writing again, and now off the Hill, I have more time to do just that.

Back in Ireland

Without internet in the house it has been difficult to update. Sorry that the stories of our week in Istanbul and short break to Edinburgh. We did have a great time despite my injured wrist, which is still giving me grief.

After a week back in Belfast, we took off again, but this time by car. In order to get out of town to celebrate my birthday in quiet we travelled four hours across the country to the West Coast and Achill Island.

We were lucky with the weather; despite the wind, we had sun everyday. Lots of hiking, enjoying the local Republican pub, reading and viewing he historical sites around. Champagne on the beach was how we celebrated the big day.

Here are a few shots of what we have been up to since arriving back.

1. Birthday Champagne
2. Pointing to Canada
3. Tent and Monte
4. Up the Mornes
5. Tommy and two of the brothers

Recent Photos of Trips taken during May and June

I know they are not from Chaing Mai, but here are a few of our recent travels and I promise more to come. We don't have internet at the house in Belfast, so it has been tough updating even though I do have plenty to say about things we have seen and done.

'İstanbul was Constantinople...'

Vibrant ıs a good way to describe Turkey's biggest city. A total of 16 Million call ıt home, but really the chaos is organized and quite civilized.

So far we've watched a very poorly played UEFA Cup game at a small bar off İstiklal Caddesi, fınally enjoyed our first Hammam experience (or I should say Turkısh Bath), seen the two most beautiful mosques Aya Sofiya and the Blue Mosque, as well as the Topkapı Palace and generally enjoyed thıs fabulous city.

Our plans for tomorrow include a boat trip down the Bosphorus and another trip into the Grand Baazar to fınally puchase a nargıla, something we have been talkıng about doıng since Morocco. We'll be finishing the trip off with dinner at the 360 restaurant, reputed not only for its Modern Turkish food, but all its view of the Old City.

Have to say we are pleased wıth the length of time we planned for this trip and are really having a great time, I will write more once we are back to the land of Engish keyboards!

Back on the Road

I really must put up some of the pictures of the remainder of our time in Thailand. Note to self.

After 10 days in Belfast we are heading out again. It was very nice to cook meals, clean and really all of the stuff you get to do at home, but we said we would get to Turkey, so off we go. We'll be in Istanbul by this time tomorrow. Just a week this time, but on our way home the plan is to stop over in Edinburgh for a long weekend. We're just in time for sporting events galore. Not only does the UEFA Cup take place tomorrow in Istanbul, but the last of the Seven's Rugby season finishes up in Edinburgh on the last weekend in May.

We'll not be heading to the game tomorrow, but we've got tickets for the 30th. After watching the Hong Kong matches in KL, we're looking forward to some live rugby.

Plans for the week? Well, I think we are ready to hit the tourist track again. Smaller bags are packed and we're already looking forward to warmer weather and less rain. I will be sure to update over the next little while.

Flight of the Gibbon

Voted the number one attraction in Chiang Mai by visitors (or at least that is what they say on their poster) is the Flight of the Gibbon. Tom and I, yesterday, got to pretend that we were those gibbons, swinging freely through the trees.

An eleven o'clock pick-up had us up in the much cooler tropical forest 45 minutes outside of Chiang Mai. Harnessed up and helmeted, we headed for the treetops. With 15 stations including zip-lines, rope bridges and abseils, New Zealand designed course (originally set up for scientists) took us well into the afternoon to complete.

It was totally worth the approximately fifty Canadian dollars we spent on it. Zooming through the trees from platform to platform supervised by friendly and very safety aware Thai staff was amazing. The pictures will come as soon as well get back to Belfast (they will not include the shots that Tom took from below as I abseiled down).

After a lovely Thai lunch (included in the price), which we enjoyed with a hoard of wasps, we took a short journey up the road to a waterfall. Tom and I took off on the steep climb to the top. Half way up the torrential rains started. We did manage to get down after 30 minutes in a small covered rest spot. It was a great day that left us tired and in bed by nine.

A Bit about Kanchanaburi

One of the first things I noticed when Tom and I arrived in Kanchanaburi was a lack of western women around the place. There were however an over abundance of Western men, mostly older western men.

Now, this being a town of historical significance, frequented by those interested in the history of WWII and for those looking to pay their respects to family members who, in serving their countries, ended up as prisoners in this place, I did realise that more men would possibly be interested in visiting. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the laid back atmosphere and what I experienced in the town, but, something did bother me about the place and I noticed this even more last night as Tom and I sat at a bar enjoying a couple of cold beers as the rain poured down around us.

In high school, I read a magazine article in French class concerning prostitution in Thailand. The details in that article combined with others I had read concerning the environmental problems, pollution and the continual opening up of Thailand's Islands, which had all once been a national park, made me wonder if I ever wanted to travel to such a place. Well, I am happy I did, and I being here did make me realise that a lot is being done to combat not only the air pollution, but to encourage people to think about what they are doing to their environment.

When it comes to prostitution, well I have been to Amsterdam, I've walked down and had a drink on Patpong Road in Bangkok, and sure, it bothers me to a certain extent, but I am not going to loudly voice my opposition to it. As long as those involved are safe from harm. However, it is another thing to not only have it so obviously thrust in your face, to see very young and beautiful Thai girls with unfortunate looking much older men, and then to be sitting at a small bar and have an English man in his sixties tell me about how many of the girls at the brothel across the street he had been with and how many more were on his list. Kanchanaburi seems to be the place to go if you want to meet very lost men with low self esteem.

Another English guy (they weren't all English, just those we bumped into) Tom met had been in the town four weeks. Over the course of his first week, he met a girl, bought a house worth 60,000 pounds and it being Thai law, put it in her name. He arrived home one day, shortly after the purchase to find the locks changed, the house empty and sold. Hasn't seen her since. How stupid can one person be.

All that being said, we are happy to be back with the backpackers and 5-star holiday goers in Chiang Mai. Haven't seen much yet, but plans are in the making.