On the road

Today we hit the road. We've been to the grocery store and stocked up on the essentials Yes, we bought wine, wine in a box, which is the only kind of wine to buy when you're camping.
We're driving to Kakadu National Park for a couple of nights, and then South to Katherine Gorge. After that we'll be on the way to Alice Springs, then Kings Canyon and Uluru....
Hopefully we'll find some internet access along the way, then I'll upload photos of our cute lil van....

A movie under the stars...

Last night we went to the Deckchair Cinema in Darwin. It's in a beautiful setting outside under the stars surrounded by trees. We packed a picnic and watched As it is in Heaven, my favorite movie in a long time.
We were also able to see the full eclipse of the moon....

Déjà vu

We're shopping for a van. Again....
We saw one today, and are planning on seeing a couple more tomorrow. For the time being we're tent camping - and it's really hot in the tent.

Things I've noticed in Australia

1. The signs are all in English here.
2. When I turn on the hot tap water comes out, and it's hot.
3. I don't need to use a scoop and a bucket to flush the toilet.
4. It's full of Australians.

Favorite Asia moments (in no particular order)

1. Trekking to see Everest in Nepal. The most amazing experience. I want to go back. I will go back. Wanna join us?

2. Phongsali and the northern loop in Laos. Traveling by boat, truck, sawngthaew and rickety old buses with Toby. If you visit Laos, do not miss the rivers. Amazing. I loved the Sam Nuea market.

3. Shopping for our lucky cherry blossom for Vietnamese New Year in Hanoi. What a party!

4. The temples at Siem Reap in Cambodia. We stayed at the Golden Banana, it was our splurge treat. I loved it!

5. Hanging out at the beach with friends, and a healthy supply of Anker Beer.

6. Sumba in Indonesia. The most beautiful beach (so far), fascinating culture, and NO other tourists.7. Climbing Rinjani on Lombok. I hated it at the time..... Too much fucking volcanic gravel, and I am just not good at 3am, no matter what the reason for being up so early. The view is spectacular.

8. Taking my PADI diving course in Malaysia with Christine.

9. Joining a local festival in Flores.

10. Traveling with surfboards can be challenging at best. We've had some moments, including a couple of dings when the locals thought that standing on the boards, on the roof of a bus, was a good idea....

On being back in Asia

My last four weekends in Europe and the US were really special for me, it couldn't have happened better if I had planned it all. First I got to spend time with Della and Carolyn in Los Angeles, the next weekend I was in England with Vicki, the weekend after that it was wine in Barcelona with Christine, and the weekend after that I was drunk in Maidstone with Claire. Four weekends, five amazing girlfriends.
I admit it. I was sad to be leaving Europe in such a hurry, there were so many plans I had made, so many things that I was looking forward to. The birth of my niece... Visiting the Netherlands, Belgium and France... Spending time with my family... Hanging out with friends....
But the feeling that I had on returning to Indonesia was exhilarating. It was easy to slip back into the swing of things. I landed in Medan early in the morning and after finding my way through immigration and passport control, I collected my luggage and set out to find my way around town. For me there is nothing like the excitement of that first day in a new place. Finding somewhere to stay, figuring out the local food and making your way in a new environment.
My priority was 1st to find the hospital, then to find myself a place to sleep. It all happened so easily, my Indonesian language skills did me proud - I was amazed at how much came out of my mouth in that first taxi ride to the hospital. I think the driver was surprised too. I couldn't stop talking. He seemed to understand what I was saying, either that, or he was too polite to tell me to shut the hell up.
Now, we're coming to the end of our time in Indonesia, and the end of our time in Asia. I'm sad. Sad to be leaving. We've had so many amazing experiences here and met so many fantastic people. But.... The adventure continues and as we make plans for the next leg of the journey I am looking forward to Australia. Looking forward to New Zealand. And, looking forward to South America (whenever we get there!).

He's eating brownies and ice cream in Bali

Michael has been writing about his Dengue experience here, here and here.

No more cold food

Uploaded by m_hagen.

After 12 days in hospital, 11 days on a drip Michael has finally been discharged. He's a little wobbly on his feet, he's been in bed for two weeks but other than that he's feeling much better.
We've managed to get tickets to Bali tomorrow, now I have to find somewhere to stay. Close to the beach methinks!

Here she is....

DSC01412
Uploaded by benji_staines.

I bought that piggie in Ho Chi Minh City, packed it up and shipped it to London. We'd been celebrating the Vietnamese Tet holiday (New Year) in Hanoi, and 2007 is the Year of the Pig. So, I can call little India a piggy and not get into trouble with her parents.

He's a dad

Uploaded by ladyhedda.

And that makes me an Aunt.

My brother Ben and his wife Emma went to the hospital last night at 10.30pm, my new niece was born 1 1/4 hours later. I guess she was in a hurry?

I've moved onto the cross-stitch

The good news is Michael's platelet count has increased enough for him to be taken off the drip. Unfortunately he still feels pretty crappy - mostly headaches and nausea.
Hopefully he'll be discharged soon (I think Friday).... Then we can head to Bali, where he can recuperate at the beach.

Nothing to do but knit

Michael is getting better every day, and getting more and more cantankerous as he does! He's fed up with being attached to the drip, fed up with being in bed, fed up with being sick.
His platelet count (some blood level that they are testing daily) is on the increase, so hopefully he'll be discharged by the end of the week. And I will be happy when he is, as I am not a good nurse.

Patient update....

Surprise! I'm in Indonesia. Again. I bet you weren't expecting that....
Last Tuesday I got a phone call from Michael. He had been admitted to the local 'clinic' suffering from hallucinations and a high fever. The initial diagnosis was Typhoid (or some such nasty).
To be able to call me, he had disconnected himself from a drip and paid a nurse to drive him (on the back of a moped) to the local telephone office. He could barely stand, I could hardly hear him, and all he could tell me was where he was and what they thought was wrong.
Fortunately we had travel insurance (the BEST money ever spent).... I called them up, and within 24 hours they had located him and 'activated' a local agent. After the agent did some research they decided that Michael needed to be moved as soon as possible. So, he flew from Jakarta to Medan (on Sumatra) where he chartered a plane, showed up at the clinic, found Michael, packed Michael's belongings - including the surfboards (admit it you were worried about the surfboard weren't you), and flew with Michael (and the surfboards) to Medan. To a hospital. With Doctors and Nurses, where they feed you.

Michael is now being treated for a bad case of Dengue fever. He's on a drip, and is recovering as we speak. The hospital is great, he's being well cared for and we're hoping he'll be discharged on either Wednesday or Thursday.

He has some interesting (scary?) stories to tell about the clinic. Like the time the drip ran out and his blood started pumping back up the tube, filling up the bag. Or the time when he was banging on the wall with a shoe, yelling for assistance to change his drip. No-one came. So he had to remove it himself.
I'll leave him to tell you the rest of the stories, as soon as he's out of the hospital.

And that is pronounced how?

Woo Hoo! I've booked my plane ticket for the next (small, but still very exciting) part of the adventure. I am off to the Netherlands to see Miffy. That's right, me and Miffy are going to spend some quality time together.

In Utrecht there is a special place called the Dick Bruna Huis, that is an exhibition of all things Miffy, and I am going to visit. Miffy is known as Nijntje in the Netherlands. Hopefully someone in Utrecht will tell me how the hell you pronounce that.

In other (non Miffy) news, I heard from Michael yesterday. He's still happily surfing on some island off Sumatra. The waves are perfect and there are only 3 other surfers around. There, don't you feel better now knowing that he's in surf heaven.

Nitmiluk Gorge is gorgeous

We spent a couple of nights at the Nitmiluk National Park where we rented a lil canoe and went for a paddle. The Nitmiluk Gorge is so pretty, and it was really quiet and tranquil. The sun was hot, so we were heading for the shade in the afternoon, but the freshwater crocodiles are nesting, so we couldn't pull onto any beaches, so we swam from the canoe....

Maidstone. Centre of the Universe

Uploaded by ladyhedda.

I made the trip down to sunny Maidstone this weekend to visit my friend Claire. Claire and I met on our very first day at college, she came walking down the stairs as I was unloading my crap and wondering how I was going to live in such a ridiculously small room.

We sifted through so many funny, scary and downright embarrassing photos over the course of the weekend. This photo is vintage Aldous & Staines.

It was a fantastic weekend, with Claire and I behaving as if we were still in college. Check out the photos below. Am I capable of taking a photo without feeling the need to pull a face at the camera? Who knows....