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....

Barcelona snacks

Uploaded by ladyhedda.

Tapas and Vino. What can go wrong?

Well, nothing went wrong..... But 3 bottles of wine plus whatever beer was in the refrigerator and we are hungover.
The tapas were delicious, the wine was really tasty and I had a blast.

Headed back to the UK for a couple of weeks... My mum and I are working on a couple of 'craft' projects for my niece/nephew. Hehe. I wonder if my brother is reading this.... Ben, be afraid, be very afraid.

And it will be finished when?

la sagrada familia
Uploaded by yobosayo.

I'm in Barcelona, with Christine and Mike, and we're sightseeing. Our schedule is relaxed - involving one, or maybe two sights a day, a nice lunch (with wine), a siesta and then dinner (more wine) and relaxing.

Today we visited La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's unfinished temple. Construction started in 1882, and is due to end in 2026. I'm not sure I'm convinced they'll be done by then, it looks like there's a long way to go. The place is beautiful and crazy all at the same time. I particularly liked the Passion facade on the West side, it's like nothing I've ever seen before.
We took the lift up to the top of one of the towers - where I was reminded of the fact that I do not do heights. The view overlooking Barcelona was fantastic, it was just the moment when taking a photo of Christine and Mike meant stepping out onto a balcony, that was when my knees started to physically shake. We descended the 427 steps on this spiral staircase, and I was happy to be on the ground.

Waffle

I know, I know, I'm a horrible blogger. I don't know what's come over me, I just can't find anything to write about. It's not that nothing is happening, I think I've just been crazy busy...
Whatever.
I'm in the UK, I've been here for a week, and already the weather has me packing my bags. I'm off to Barcelona for a few days to meet up with Christine and Mike - who are a couple of weeks into their own round the world adventure.
It has not stopped raining. Not only is it raining, but flooding too. Yikes. Floods in the UK in JULY, the weather has got it all wrong. It's supposed to be summer time now. I am not supposed to be inside knitting, looking at torrential rain.

The main reason for my visit was the wedding of Vicki & Tim, which took place up in Nottingham last week. Fortunately we managed to stay afloat, none of the (quite spectacular) hats blew away, we danced and a great time was had by all. Photos are below...

The shoes? Birkenstocks of course

I rolled the luggage trolley over my foot the minute I touched down in London. Voila, one purple fractured toe. The foot is so bruised and swollen that I can't fit it into my spectacular gold shoes. So Birkenstocks it is, and that makes the dancing a whole lot easier.

When in Singapore. Eat

I'm in Singapore. I got here 2 days ago, one short step on the long journey to Los Angeles. Singapore is a great city for just wandering around. The food is amazing, I have been feasting on dim sum lunches and Indian dinners.
Tomorrow I get on a plane to Tokyo, and then to LA. I can't really believe it. I'm excited, but it feels strange to be leaving Asia. I really love it here.
I went to a 'craft shop' today - to buy some goodies to keep me occupied on the plane. Cross-stitch, knitting - you get the idea! Oh lordy, it's gonna be a long day.....

Leaving Asia

Today is our last full day together for what feels like a really long time. Tomorrow Michael is flying to Sumatra, and then on to Nias for some quality surf. On Sunday, I fly to Singapore, where I will have 2 days to adjust before getting on a plane to the US of A.
I am ridiculously excited to see friends, I am also looking forward to eating some of Della's cooking, buying some new music, and having a bath.

I have also been thinking of my beautiful Shackleton, and how I can't wait to see him barking at the squirrels.









After a week in the USA I will be flying to London for a wedding. Vicki is gettin' hitched, and I intend on being there to throw stuff (and any other such responsibilities that may come my way).
I'm not sure how long I'll be staying. I gotta figure out some stuff....

I will post photos of our recent travels very soon. I promise. Just dealing with a nasty virus on my SD card.... Yuck.

I have volcanic rock in my shoes and my legs ache

Here are some photos from our climb up Gunung Rinjani. It was really difficult. The top section of the summit is all loose volcanic gravel. Every step you take your feet slide backwards. It's a scramble for the last hour of the summit climb.

We climbed to the crater rim on the first day, spent half a night, then got up at 3am to start the ascent to the summit. Yes 3am. WTF. It took a very long and painful 3 hours, but we made it for sunrise. Was it worth it? Yes. The view was amazing.

After sliding down (pretty scary) back to camp we ate breakfast and then started the trek down into the crater. We ate lunch by the lake, and then climbed out the other side. I was at the summit at 6am, and on the opposite rim at 6pm. That's a long day!

Gunung Rinjani here I come

After a quick transfer in Bali, we are now in Lombok. We're here because I want to climb a volcano. The surfboards are in storage (don't panic, it's only temporary) and Michael is coming too.
Tomorrow we will get up at 5.30am and head to Gunung Rinjani, where we will start climbing. We'll spend the night on the crater rim. The following morning we'll get up at 3am and start the final ascent to the summit for sunrise. The Rinjani summit is at 3726m/12,224ft. After the summit we're heading down into the crater to some hot springs and the crater lake. Then it's back out of the crater on the other side and downhill all the way home.

I only just got my toenail back after the battering my feet took in Nepal. Hopefully this will be a little easier!

I remembered to grab my bra

We've spent the last few nights of our time in Sumba in the fishing village of Pero. It's on the very Western tip of the island - there's no land between here and Africa.

The village itself is set on either side of a single road that leads directly to the ocean. The houses are a mixture of bamboo or stone. My favorite time of day here is the early evening, when I can walk down to the sea and watch the fishermen prepare their boats for the nights fishing. The main catch here is cumi-cumi (squid). They use bright lanterns, which make the horizon look like a floating city when the sun has set.

We have been staying at a small 'Homestay' a short walk from the ocean. The outdoor mandi (tub of water with a bucket that you use to scoop water over yourself) is refreshed daily with water from the well, and most recently with rain water. Electricity is available in the evenings, when the whole town seems to watch the same TV channel.

On our last night there was no power, so Michael and I were in bed reading by flashlight. We heard voices shouting. Initially it sounded like a party, but I remember the moment when Michael and I looked at each other as we both realized that people were screaming. We were out from under our mosquito nets quickly. Michael ran to the front door to see what was going on. People were running up the road shouting and screaming. I frantically pulled on my sneakers and we headed out the door - ready to run.

The house immediately next door was engulfed in flames. The smoke was black and I was left in shock at how quickly the fire started, consumed the contents of a house, and was then put out by the neighbours with buckets of water. Luckily the house was of the brick variety. If it had been one of the bamboo ones, it would have burned to the ground.

There's no fire brigade & no home insurance. It makes you think about what it means to lose everything.

According to this map, which renames US States for countries with similar GDP's - we're in Louisiana.....

I think I'd rather fly

We're in Sumba. And I already can tell that I'm going to like it here. It's just a feeling, but a good feeling!

The trip from Roti to Timor was fun. We were on the 'fast' ferry. (The slow ferry sank in 2006, with many lives lost). The fast ferry is a passenger ferry. A passenger and chicken ferry. With a stack of surfboards and a moped strapped onto the deck.
Michael and I had seats deep in the basement, right in the front row, in the bow of the boat. There were no windows in front of us which is probably a good idea. I prefer not to know what we are sailing into.
The crossing was fast and flat for the first half of the trip. Then we crossed into the channel, where the sea was 'a little choppy'. At times the windows on either side of the boat were underwater, we were cresting over waves and then dropping with a loud thwak. There was vomiting, screaming and the ladies across the aisle were chanting 'Hallelulah Yesus, Hallelulah Yesus, Hallelulah Yesus', their arms in the air. It was like the best /worst roller coaster ride, with extras.

On the move

We've been on Rote / Roti for the last couple of weeks. No internet access, no telephone service and slightly salty well water for washing!

We're back in Kupang, W.Timor for a night of fun. Tomorrow we fly to Waingpau on Sumba Island. I predict another 2 weeks without internet access!

As soon as I am at a computer I'll give you the news from our travels.....

(We did have a frantic 24 hours on Roti. Two words: Tsunami Warning.)