79 Days To Go

All good intentions of blogging a post at 80 days out from our European adventure got thrown out the window last night. As I suffered physically through the day, I had to lament at my less than desirable state of fitness. How is it possible to still have residual aches and pains from only 1 hour of bush dancing that happened 3 days ago? As we inched towards our departure date, I realised that it was time I relinquished some control. I was not achieving much with regard to organisation and so I welcomed the help of another procrastinator in the form of my dear husband. He had inherited the role of shore excursion co-ordinator a few weeks ago.
So far the move has proven to be a good one. In Cyprus, we will be visiting a UNESCO listed village on donkeyback where they still make their own haloumi. We will be learning about typical village life which include ‘dancing, cooking and eating’. In Turkey, we will be visiting a castle, canyons, and having a massage. He was most excited to find a private tour operator by the name of Digger Dan in Israel, a man with a similar sense of humour to himself who offered the most interesting tours. I especially love his page on payment. Unfortunately, he was sorely disappointed to discover that the services of Digger Dan has been snapped up by someone else for the day. Digger Dan has recommended a friend and I hope he or she is just as good.
The plan is to hike towards the pyramids of Giza and Cairo from Port Said, and to tour the Alexandria whilst in port. Tour operators are yet to be determined.
As an aside, the children had another concert last evening. Both children sang well, and Elliot gave a wonderful performance of Bach's Minuets and Gigue on the piano. The children were very happy to have nanna and grandpa watch them. Unfortunately, this rather slack mother forgot to take video footage. Even photographs were forgotten...sigh

Travel Agent Extraordinaire

Her name is Beth and she is amazing. Yes this is a shameless plug about my travel agent but I don’t care because she deserves it.

Beth was first recommended to me by a fellow DISboards member about one year ago. I wish I had known about her existence earlier. On that fateful Saturday of October 22 in 2011, I sent her my very first electronic correspondence after being increasingly frustrated at the lacklustre efforts of the various local travel agents. It would prove to be an excellent move on my part. Lo and behold, less than 24 hours later, I received my very first reply that would begin a most satisfying partnership. And what a magnificent reply...

She informed me that she was on vacation at Walt Disney World (already a big nod of approval here. Someone who vacations here must be good). However, she would reply to me at length after the weekend. In the meantime, she had provided a quote for the cruise that I was interested in. She gave us a rundown of our onboard credit, deposits and balance payments with relevant due dates, as well as cancellation policies. This was followed closely by a note that the insurance policy that is offered by the cruise line specifically states that it’s for residents of the US and Canada. She would investigate this further on my  behalf if I was interested in insurance directly from the cruise line. She would also confirm that pricing would be the same for Australian residents.

Bing bing bing bing bing bing... I have hit the jackpot! My heart leapt for joy. She had earnt my respect as a capable and thorough organiser immediately. The emails that followed confirmed my initial impression. She covered dining, transport, visas, pre and post cruise arrangements amongst many other things. She has the uncanny ability to think one step ahead with our interests in mind. Her replies are also always friendly and detailed. She would always specify if there was something that she didn’t know and would then look it up without prompting usually before she sends her next email to me!

As an example of her superb skills, I recently sent her a rather vague email outlining our interest in a Caribbean cruise on one of the new ships for Jan 2014. She replied with a brief run down on the pros and cons of the new ships available and then asked targeted questions to help narrow down our choices. It came down to Allure of The Seas or the Norwegian Breakaway. Remembering our preferences on cruises already booked, she gave us quotes for several options on both ships and asked if we were interested in suites as both ships had some ‘cool’ suites and that it may work out to be good value as there were 7 of us travelling.

I gave her the green light. Of course, as with anything important, it happened late on Friday night. The time difference between Australia and the US didn’t help. The quotes returned shortly complete with photos of the suite on Allure of The Seas that that she had placed on hold for us, as well as a pamplet of the inclusions. There were only 2 suites left and she had pro-actively put one on hold for us as she suspected that we were quite interested. Yes, she suspected correctly! After we had time to look through the suite in more detail, we were so excited that she had secured it for us. However, we had to pay the fully refundable deposit before Beth left for her vacation on Sunday...by now it was Saturday Beth’s time. I sent the email nonetheless...”Please put a deposit down for us if you happen to get this email”. We sent her another email the following day letting her know that it was ok if she doesn’t get to do this after her return. If the suite is no longer available so be it. We were loathe to give the commission to someone else. Amazingly, a reply returned.

She had called and took two people off the reservation so we only had to pay the deposit on five people instead of 7.  She will then add those two back later (at the same price) and pay for them at that time – assuming that we end up keeping the suite.  She knew that we were going to sail on Norwegian soon and that our cruise experience may change our minds. She had also acquired for us information about the kids activities and will get us a copy of the daily newsletter of activities that all cruise lines have.

What a champion!

It is clear that she loves what she does and takes pride in her work. Why can’t the local travel agents offer the same level of service? Beth has won me over. I now happily give her as much business as I can. For me its a no brainer.

Addendum:

I should mention that I have another wonderful travel agent, also American, by the name of Karen. She is a Disney specialist and manages all our Disney reservations. Unfortunately, she doesn’t handle any other travel outside of Disney. This is a shame as she is also amazing!

Allons à Paris!

There is so much to see and do in Paris that it has been a great challenge trying to have a plan that the whole family can enjoy. So being the obsessive compulsive planner that I am, I pinned every single possible point of interest on google maps with the aim of grouping the attractions by location and then marking each one as "must-see" or "if time permits". One of the things that struck me during my research is how expensive everything is, especially accomodation! I finally found a loft apartment on the Rue Saint-Honoré that would hold all 5 of us for €170 per night. Fortunately for us, the apartment appears to be central to all the plotted attractions. With accomodation sorted and a rough itinerary in tow, I was able to move on to the next step...educating the children!

In an effort to make the most of our trip to Europe, we have started to "prime" the children with some pre-reading. I've always felt that a little background knowledge customised to the little ones goes a long way to help them appreciate what can be difficult for some adults! We had to extend the children's knowledge of France beyond Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Ratatouille! The only lingering legacy of our french au pair is the love for eating crepes. The first stop was book depository where I purchased a few classics, one for each of the children and one for us!

A pictorial journey for a little boy with a very short attention span...

Oh Miss Clavel!



Something a bit more challenging for a more advanced reader



Title says it all!



A book written with the help of 2 local mums with tips of what to do and where to eat. Let's hope its as good as it sounds!

 Then, it was off to the library where we borrowed children's versions of great classics like The Three Musketeers, The Hunchback of Notredame, as well as lonely planet's guide to Paris written for children. I was also delighted to find a trial of a book designed for children in Paris. Although we had missed the cut off dates, the organisers were kind enough to mail out spare copies that they had left. Elliot and Lara LOVED it. Last but not least, we bought bargain pocket french and italian dictionaries from Aldi.

So far so good. The older two are sprouting "bonjour", "si", "merci", "au revoir" and have asked if we will be visiting Musee d'Orsay and Centre Pompidou. I had originally planned to only visit the Louvre for fear of museum overload.

One destination down! Only a few more to go...

Goodbye To Bali

I am writing this as we ready ourselves to leave our beloved villa. The past 2 days unfortunately, have been rather unremarkable, with most of our time consumed by purchasing more items for our home. We got some petrified wood, rattan rugs, a custom made stainless steel sign (for Malcolm's man cave) and lots more. We  did have a wonderful evening last night at the funky W Hotel. The entrance to the place could have easily accommodated a small Balinese village! We had dinner at the restaurant overlooking the beach. The restaurant served Japanese food with Indonesian influences. I apologise for the poor photos, we know how poor my low light photography is...

Today we managed to squeeze in a few movies at our villa, had a swim and a massage in an attempt to enjoy our last few hours of freedom. We have had fun in Bali. There were moments when it didn't feel quite right to be here, with unwell relatives and our children being looked after by a multitude of people. In light of this, we did our best to make sure that our time here counted for something, that we made full use of the opportunity that we've been given.

So tune in for the next post from Sydney!

The stunning W Hotel

The amazing poolside area

Dinner venue

Interesting eating booths

The view of the sunset from our table

The blue light which was to be our only source of light for the rest of the evening...

Crackers and salsa to start with

Mocha frappe

Much anticipiated salmon sashimi

Coral fish

Lobster chawan mushi

Crispy duck confit with green papaya salad

Mirin pork belly with congee

Tempura squid with kaffir lime and chilli aioli

A reading light for the menu...and when the light goes off, the waiters know you're ready to order. Ingenious!

Pineapple sorbet

Utilising room service for lunch on our last day at the villa

Nusa Dua and Surrounds

I am exhausted. So it will be a quick post today.


We headed for Tanjung Benoa-Nusa Dua to try some water sports. After much discussion, Malcolm and I agreed upon the "donut", some snorkling and heading out to Turtle Island on a glass bottomed boat. Overall, we had fun, but our experiences today sure made us appreciate various things more and reminded us not to take things for granted. I am talking about respected and well run zoos specifically here. Turtle Island was a little but distressing. The various animals just were not kept in good conditions and were being mobbed by all the tourists. I am not a huge animal activist, but we chose to leave immediately. This is something that I would definitely not recommend to anyone. The snorkling was fun, but the reef was in quite poor condition as well.

Tanjung Benoa-Nusa Dua

The Beach. Glad I left my camera in the car...saw someone fall into the water from the boat with their Nikon attached to a n expensive lens...

Soto ayam

My mocktail for the day

Lunch

After a quick lunch stop, we headed for Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park, where they have begun construction of what will be the world's biggest statue (If they build it in time!), The heat finally got to us and Ipung drove us to the nearby Karma Kandara, a beautiful resort built into the cliff side with the most stunning view of the Ocean. We somehow managed to wander around with no staff noticing us and made our way down an elevator of sorts to the beach. We had accidentally discovered the Nammos Beach Club. We also discovered that there was a 150,000 Rupiah entrance fee! The staff kindly waived this for us due our ignorance and we sat down for our cocktails. In a moment of stupidity, I ordered an actual cocktail rather than a mocktail. And we all know what happens when I consumes alcohol...

GWK cultural centre

The head of the Garuda is done

The smouldering Wisnu

Wisnu's head and chest is ready...now for the rest of the garuda and wisnu!

The unassuming entrance to the Karma Kandara

A deserted lounge

Yep...I'll have one of these pools thanks Malcolm!

Beautiful cliffside gardens and walkways

We managed to get onto this contraption

down to a private beach club

The frozen cocktail that did me in for the day

We had to abandon ship and head back to our villa. And so endeth our day of relaxation. Tomorrow its back to the grind, to fill up the nooks and cranny of our container with soft furnishings.


Selamat Malam and Happy Australia Day to those who celebrate!

Ubud

Ubud

We had to do some urgent banking today and ironically it was easier to find a Commonwealth Bank here in Bali than at Sydney Airport where they obviously have done a deal with ANZ. Unfortunately the monetary matters took a little longer than we wanted it to, and our trip to Ubud was delayed by a good hour and a half. Our first stop was at a silversmith, where there was an amazing display of jewelry as well as workshop where you can watch the silversmiths at work. One does not go into a jewelry store without expecting a girl to make some purchase. So with Malcolm's wallet a little lighter, we headed for our lunch destination Bebek Bengil. Set with a view of the rice paddys, we devoured our lunch tasty lunch with gusto. Previously agreed upon attempts to moderate our intake were thrown out the window. Surely it must be a crime to waste crispy deep fried duck and seafood hot plate! It still amazes me at how all the variations of sauce based on chilli could all taste so good!

This is purely for those who are interested in my daily meals...mixed juice for breakfast today

Swiss muesli

And just for a change...eggs Florentine. I think I'll be going back to the Benedict next time

Lunch venue

The creature that the restaurtant was named after

Rice fields that the restaurant overlooks

The restaurant is made up of several pavillions, some have only 1 table on it, and others more like a traditional restaurant

Thirsty Duck

Fried squid balinese style

Almost forgot to take a photo...

Seafood hot plate

Chilli...oh glorious chilli!

Next up on the agenda is to tick off something on Malcolm's bucket list...to try Luwak coffee. We guided through by a very friendly and informative staff member who took us through the whole process of how the coffee was made. The theory is that the Luwak, a mongoose like animal, picks the best coffee beans to eat, thus is used as a quality control measure...The beans go through their stomach and then gets pooped out the other end. They poop about 25 beans per day. We were expecting to pay astronomical prices...to our surprise the coffee only set us back 50,000 rupiahs each (about $5). The verdict...although there was an obvious difference between Luwak coffee and the normal Balinese style coffee (the Luwak is much nicer), I think we still prefer our Italian style coffee. After deliberating about whether or not to buy some to bring home, we decided not chance Australian customs.

In we go!

The animal that eats the coffee beans, ferments it in its stomach then poops it out

The English name

The afore mentioned creature

The coffee plant

Coffee beans prepared on a tray ready to be given to the Luwak

Coffee bean poop ready to be collected

Beans are then washed and dried in the sun

Next step...roasting

Then...pounding it to a ground

The end result...ready to be boiled Balinese style

Getting a seat ready to taste test the final product

Free fried sweet potato as an accompaniment. Much nicer than peanuts!

The much anticipated cup of coffee

The other variety of tea and coffee that we got to taste test. Ginger, lemon, vanilla, chocolate, ginseng...

Seat with a great view

The view...wonderful way to enjoy our cups of caffeine

On the way home, Ipung took us to a batik factory. We bought a beautiful hand drawn silk batik, which we plan to hang up in the new home. Unfortunately, we couldn't stay long as we had to hurry back to our villa for our 2 hour spa session.

The spa session, to put it mildly, was interesting. We found out that through purchasing our "package" via the internet, the spa session was provided by the travel agent who put the deal up and not the villa themselves. We were picked up and to our horror the car turned into the most narrow driveway which was dark and went on for at least 500m. It stopped at a hut. This was not what I expected! There was mild panic as thoughts of kidnap went through my head. I was consoled by the fact the receptionist at the villa knew the travel agent and were aware of where we were going. I was also relieved that Malcolm and I were in the same room together. We got shuffled into a room which was fairly basic. We started off with a flower foot bath and massage, followed by an hour long massage. This was followed by a rather strange body rub which was frankly uncomfortable as whatever it was that they put on us was cold! They then expected us to have a bath in a tub that could barely fit Malcolm! We hurriedly got dressed and returned to the villa. They turned out to be friendly and honest with their only crime being not a "high end" place. My brain probably went into full paranoia mode but as an experience, it was still a little freaky! Did I enjoy the massage, yes. Would I do it again? NO!!!!

We returned to the safety of the villa and bought ourselves a very late dinner at the restaurant. Time to rest for another big day tomorrow.