Fabulous Philippines

What a surprise to find amazing mountainous scenery in the north of the Philippines when heading for the famous rice terraces like amphitheatres! 

 Travelling here reminded me of Kyrgyzstan as we squashed into jeepnies (small buses) and tricycles careering up and down mountains round very hairy hairpin bends, rock falls and mudslides with 200 m precipices on one side.  

 

The transport was often covered in slogans, family names or Bible verses acting like lucky charms. 

The rice terraces were amazing with their stone dyke walls instead of the more frequent, less substantial mud walls and the journey there and back by tricycle was adventurous to say the least as we slipped and slid across mud, puddles, rock falls and road works.  

Watching locals working on various stages of rice production in the streets and removing slugs from the paddy fields by hand made me realise how labour intensive rice production is in Asia and wondered how rice can be sold so cheaply in the UK but  I suppose rice must be imported from bigger concerns.  

Another first was to see old coffins hanging from ropes on rock faces dating back to old religious beliefs about death. This area also had a waterfall and caves but after successfully finding our way there on foot we struggled to see where the route finished when faced with a river to cross.  After wading through the river and clambering up the muddy banks we met a guided walking group who pointed out the correct river crossing to the the caves where we met another guide who pointed out the route through the caves with his torch and back onto the path.  Our (2 Chinese, 1 Polish girl and myself) reward was yellow meringue pie and coffee at the Lemon Cafe and, yes, we were allowed in even in out wet and muddy state.  

In these northern mountainous areas layering clothes was necessary to cope with the cool mornings and evenings and the heat of the day. 

The houses are often built on cliffs and the villages had many steep rocky paths which the locals seemed to scamper up and down. 

The food is rather bland and often served cold but occasionally I found some tasty treats at roadside stalls.

The villagers make many crafts to sell mainly from ebony (real and fake), other  wood, soapstone and stripey woven fabric. Some posed for photographs in their national costumes playing musical instruments and dancing for donations but as some locals go to the market in their national dress their photos are free.  

With the mountainous landscape travelling is long and arduous but rewarding with stunning scenery. It took 12 hours in daytime in a jeepney (squashed in with boxes of live chickens, baskets of fruit and sacks of flour), minibus and 2 regular buses across country and up and down mountain tracks to reach a town in the north east influenced by the Spanish. However with my travelling companion (Polish but brought up in France and now works in China) it was a great adventure.  

The town was rather run down with no hostels and so I'd to upgrade to a cheap hotel which had antique wooden furniture and paintings but needed Agi to clean it up and "changing rooms"to upgrade the decor. 

Visited a few small weaving industries producing the national stripey material and would have bought more had luggage not been an issue.

Had a second 12 hour trip but travelled overnight stretched out on the back seat of a bus trying to switch off to the music alternating with horror films being blasted throughout the night and in the early morning boarding a ferry (a bangta boat with bamboo "arms") 

and finally, by tricycle, reaching a quiet beach resort, near to where the Raes were last based, in time for breakfast.  I was delighted to find the accommodation was beside the beach rather like the OMF guesthouse in Thailand, I was the only guest so was treated like family, was given "missionary" rates and had fun entertaining the 3 year old granddaughter. On arrival 4 traders appeared from nowhere to sell me jewellery and offer massage services. After buying some things and relaxing with a body massage it was easier to fend off other vendors. 

Enjoyed swimming in the wavy sea although it sometimes felt stingy possibly from jellyfish lurking in the cloudy water, snorkelling (mask only as still can't use a snorkle), 

climbing to a waterfall up steep rocky paths with a guide who even put down extra stepping stones to help me cross the river 

returning through a special wooden housed village 

selling high quality basketwork amongst them replicas of their sturdy bamboo bridge. Also had 2 epic trips to church, the first on foot as I hadn't realised that the distance was 3km and hadn't brought money for a tricycle. On the return trip it was dark and the heavens opened so it took much longer as we ducked into shops to shelter during the heaviest showers and tried to avoid the huge puddles. At this midweek prayer meeting there were about 600 folk present and then about 1000 for the Sunday service. They seemed to use the US system of having Sunday school first for different age groups/sexes followed by a service for everyone. All this lasted 4 hours but it didn't seem so long as there was some English in amongst the Tagalog and lots happening. The return trip with 12 of us on a tricycle was fun and a drier option to the previous trip.

It was excellent staying with the Raes in Manila and seeing where they live, work and worship (International church alternating with a Filippino church) and meeting their colleagues at an OMF pm. The children proudly gave me the "grand tour" of their school, Faith Academy, and we enjoyed using the swimming pool there. 

Their local shanty town was fascinating and seem to sell everything. At the last minute I got my hair cut nearly as short as the hairdresser's skinhead until I protested and and also had my first pedicure in the same salon. I was particularly happy as the cost for each was 1 pound but guess airfares would prohibit regular visits and recommending it to friends outside the Philippines.  

Rachel gave me a guided tour of a small market, large cathedral, fort and a huge crowded market, the first time I'd felt crowded on this trip.  It was also good to meet up with Rachel's sister and brother-in-law, Cat and Paul, and hear about their family holiday in Palawan. Cat and Paul kindly took some stuff, including my latest shell/stone collection, back to Scotland for me. 

There's still lots more to see in the Philippines so apart from fending off over eager shop assistants/vendors it would be good to return to some day.

 Ps Got some help with aligning photos but still need help with text wrapping. Any suggestions?

Belated Christmas Greetings

Belated Christmas greetings to you all from NZ down under and thanks for all your good wishes!

It's been hard to take in that Christmas has come and gone despite attending a nativity play and 2 carol services in Australia, a Christmas eve carol service in Wellington, 




viewing many Christmas displays/trees/banners/food in

streets, shops and houses, doing some Christmas shopping and wearing Christmas earrings but a cold, wet 24 December did help. 

Even a Glasweigan who has lived in NZ for 30 years admitted that Christmas in the summer still doesn't seem right! 







However the lack of Christmas feeling didn't detract from 
the celebration of Christmas being a reminder of
the reality of the angel's message "to you has been born a Saviour, Christ the Lord"(Luke 2:11).

Like the turkeys I've been "getting stuffed" with Christmas party food and a Christmas meal in Oz, 2 Christmas buffet dinners with friends' families in Auckland and in Wellington both on warm sunny days and a special breakfast in a cafe and dessert at a restaurant on Christmas eve to celebrate my friends' daughter's birthday with of course birthday cake. Santa paid me a visit in Wellington although I'd already sat on his knee in Hamilton but maybe that's how he knew where I'd be on Christmas eve?! 

Also celebrated New Year's eve well with friends and their friends whilst in New Plymouth with another buffet meal followed by fireworks,

a walk through a colourfully lit park in the town ( maybe similar to the Enchanted Forest near Pitlochry?) and a game of Bananarama while more fireworks exploded around our motel.

Folk have been asking if I'm not getting tired of travelling but the answer is "No, I'm still quite happy living out of a rucksack and enjoying touring around and meeting different people" but the questions are whether I'll be able to settle back down in Dingwall once I return in May and what's next.



And so before 2014 advances any further I wish you all God's blessing and

NZ Christmas tree (Pohutukawa)

help for whatever comes your way this year as His "plans are...to give us a future and hope" (Jeremiah 29:11).

Love from
Anne x

Ps Sorry to be so far behind with blogs but hope to rectify this before leaving NZ at the end of February.

Malaysia's Marvellous Meals

In Malaysia, where hibiscus is the national flower, flipflops are the national footwear, traffic is crazy with lots of jams, not raspberry or even mango,and sadly the people generally not as smiley and friendly as in Thailand, with the cultural mix of Indian, Chinese and Malaysians the food was "the best". 

My friends Teck Wah and Shu Huae

 
ensured that  I tried every type of meal,fruit/veg most of which I enjoyed especially if it contained coconut or chilli or both. Normally I enjoy spicy food but by the end of this trip I was able to eat crushed dried chillies! Even chickens' feet were quite tasty in Malaysia and I was surprised that I was able to eat cockles. I discovered that there are different types of durian and Jack fruit and many segments inside the spiky skins. My preference was for Jack fruit.  Public buildings usually ban durian due to it's strong smell                                                                    It was great to catch up with my friends and meet their family and church family. It was also fun helping to entertain, Ashleigh, their 2 year old granddaughter. 

 My personal guides helped me to explore KL by sky train and by car at weekends when it was quiet enough to drive around.  There was lots to see and do and of course eat: the museum where I learned about Malaysia down through the ages; the twin towers which sparkled far into the sky at night but were outshone by the fountains and park in daytime; an exhibition showing KL in miniature by night and day; aerial views of the city from the KL tower as the rain swept over the city; the old station with it's Victorian style white buildings; Chinatown adorned with lanterns, many stalls and Chinese food ("crockpot" chicken was delicious, Chinese burgers?!); the night markets selling a mixture of food and clothes;  the bird park where I saw my first hornbill (they are huge!) and was able to film small, colourful birds close up; 

a sample rainforest set up with most types of tree and vegetation preparing me for the real thing in Borneo; the local park with a childrens' play area, jogging tracks, forest walks, a pond housing terrapins and fish and monkeys looking for tit bits; a swimming pool in a condominium complex with the standard 36 floors of flats/condos; a huge shopping complex with the biggest Ikea in the world outside Sweden.


From KL we visited small fishing villages built on wooden platforms selling their catches, homemade fishballs (didn't like the texture), tasty prawn crackers and deliciously fresh seafood meals;


a town with a leaning clock tower (a London clock) illuminated colourfully at night, a hawker's market, Gluttons' Square, where stalls sell different food around a main eating area and I tried a refreshing iced dessert made with kidney beans, coconut milk, sugar cane and colouring; a holiday resort popular with  Malaysians for its nearby  a historical town from Portuguese times reflected in the style of the buildings and with a bustling "walking" street.  When out of the city much of the land was used for growing fruit and veg, sugar cane and huge plantations of palm trees (coconut and oil.) Also saw many birds, mainly egrets and swiftlets often flying around special concrete buildings for them to build their nests as birds nests are a lucrative business for birds's nest soup and no, I didn't try it! Traffic drives on the left and the roads wide and in good condition possibly due to collecting many toll  fees.                                                                                                                       
Instead of Japan, my friends suggested East Malaysia (Borneo) which was a cheaper and "different" option.  It was cheaper and faster to fly given the time frame but although the planes were bigger than I'd expected for the short flights they flew low enough to appreciated the remaining dense virgin rainforest. Most of the towns I visited were on the coast or rivers and longboats were the main form of transport. Some children travelled for 11 hours on these to get to school boarding there until the weekend. My friends also used these boats to travel to the interior with all their gear and food for childrens' camps which sounds like no mean feat. How we take our  transport systems for granted despite delays and pot holed roads!

In Sarawak, Kuching is attractively situated on a river with fishing boats and river "buses" services to the more traditional villages opposite (wooden houses on stilts made from bamboo and rattan), leafy promenade, parks and an assortment of old and new buildings. It is a cat lovers' paradise being named "cat city" with a cat museum and many cat statues, souvenirs and some of the "real thing".                                                     From here there are various trips like seeing the largest flower in the rainforest and visiting an orangutan reserve but, in the time available, I opted to visit a cultural village. Here you could walk round and through different styles of tribal houses 

 set out attractively in a park where people in tribal costumes demonstrated cookery, music and craft work finishing with a colourful cultural show featuring music, dance and drama.  This was followed by a torrential downpour where it seemed like buckets of water were being tipped out from the sky. 
                           
Miri, had a few pretty parks but mainly acted as a link to Mulu, a UNESCO world heritage site. However, Mrs Lee, manager of the hostel, made up for the town's lack of character by her friendliness and helpfulness even treating a Korean student traveller and myself to a lunch near the market which specialised in cooking rainforest roots and plants, taking us to the "fresh" market where these plants were on sale and dropping us off at the local Olympic sized swimming pool.  Enjoyed a foot massage and a full body massage (5 pounds) and all the more so when it was so cheap. Also the town  did sell reasonably priced batteries and memory cards for my camera and serve the best satay from a well established family run restaurant. Enjoyed chatting to some Malysians over dinner and also some fellow travellers tho' still no Scots in sight! 


Mulu was one of the highlights of trip with the rainforest experience on canopy/ board walks spotting  lizards, 1 snake, a huge stick insect, a lantern bug, pygmy squirrels and exploring 5 limestone caves with many amazing illuminated formations inside, the one leaf plant outside and millions of bats of different species which on a "good" evening fly out in funnels hunting for food along with swiftlets. We were fortunate to see this spectacle lasting for about an hour at dusk and to see some hornbills flying over too. Walking back alone in the then darkened forest was quite scary being unable to identify the various "songs" but then came across a film crew from KL who were trying to promote this area to the Malaysians and so got back in one piece. We were then rewarded with an amazing sunset followed by a sparkling night sky set against a velvet backdrop. Another highlight was to glide along the peaceful river on longboats through leafy vegetation with only the occasional "hiccup" when grounded on stones. As well as cruising to some of the caves by boat we visited a small native village where ladies, some with huge holes in their ears, were selling their crafts. It would have been good to have spent more time in the village but maybe the "locals" found it less obtrusive this way.
Accommodation was mainly homestays and with mine being near the river it was easier to wash there than to have a bucket shower although care had to be taken not to be swept away by the strong current. Meals were served in the longhouse (rice porridge and fresh fish and vegetable dishes) letting us see how the wider family functions there.  


For connecting toManilla I'd to fly further east to Kota Kinabalu (referred to as KK) in Sabah, with it's famous Mount Kinabalu and surrounding islands with white sands and good snorkling.  I ventured over to one of these islands on a bumpy speedboat but have no photos of this having decided to leave my camera in the hostel.  My mask was uncomfortable, the snorkle mouthpiece too large (can you believe that?!) causing me difficulty in breathing and water intake but by using just the mask it was possible to make short dives. I found that when swimming through large shoals of fish it was freaking me out although I did appreciate the small colourful fish and live coral.There were also interesting shells to add to my collection which by now will have reached Scotland. I was glad to return to the mainland on a smoother crossing but later while at dinner in an "eatery" overlooking the sea I was amazed to see  boats still operating in very blustery conditions tho' life jackets were provided.

My friends suggested that I use KL as a base for a future trip as it's a central hub for flights and cheaper than Singapore so I may be back...

Meanwhile, with my clothes all much tighter, it was off to Manilla for my last stop in Asia.

Ps Sorry for the delay in getting this posted and for the blue underlined section which I can't seem to alter. Hope to get the next post out before leaving Oz.

Revamped itinerary

Whew, after numerous attempts, managed to get some photos on the blog for Thailand and now may be able to go back and add some to the previous blogs so watch this space! Also might be able to improve the presentation by using a different template.

Have mentioned to a few folk that when trying to switch the travel dates to Japan with the Philippines it wasn't possible which made me rethink the trip to Japan and realise that it wasn't fair to land on the Nakahashis when they had just moved to near Sendai, their house needs attention and they're looking for work.

Meanwhile, my friends in KL have let me stay on longer with them and have helped me to plan an alterative trip to Sarawak for 8 days. From there it's possible to fly directly to Manila and then Perth by transitting through Singapore (after 3 weeks there once there's no need to return) and  rather than doing a stopover which takes me to 16 October.  This will all work out cheaper than going to Japan but hopefully in the future I can visit Japan in the spring for the blossom and see how my friends have settled into their new home and hopefully work.

From Perth hope to cross over to Melbourne, Adelaide and then Sydney taking about 2 months. From there it's over to NZ for 3months leaving 2 months to travel in the US and to Thetis Island, off Vancouver Island, to see my nephew who starts at a theological college soon for 6 months.  Need to be back in London by the end of April and, if not "travelled out", may spend May travelling home via various friends and relatives.  Remember if any of my trip appeals to you let me know we could team up.  Can hardly take in that it's been nearly 5 months of travelling already.

Thanks to all of you who have been in touch keeping me up to date with local and national news. Some messages may have got stuck in my old email box as when travelling I'm using a gmail address (acraig56@gmail.com) but think I will continue to use this even when home although I have been able to contact some of you through Facebook.

Thailand Tales

The "kindness to strangers" theme continued in Thailand through
Thai English speakers interpreting for me on long bus trips; helping with  my luggage after my accident; accompanying me to the post office to help me post more parcels and directing to me to the right bus/station after being misdirected.

However when rating kindness, my friends, Jan and Bob, came up trumps as they helped me to recuperate after falling out of a white water raft and badly bruising my right hip and side on the rocks (had been enjoying the experience up until then in very scenic area) when they themselves had just moved house and were settling back into life in Thailand. They also helped me be more aware of and thankful for God's protection and help on my travels. It was good to visit a few of the many churches with them as they have watched them being formed and grow over the last 30 years.

They gave me a lift to Bangkok and encouraged me to join them at an OMF guesthouse on the beach which they were managing for a week. Wow, I only once remember staying right on the beach and that was at Achmelvich YH.  After the busyness of Bangkok it was so quiet and soothing to fall asleep to the noise of waves lapping on the shore. It was almost like having a private beach. 

The white sand, 3 rocks offshore, shells and jellyfish (small to large, clear with darker tubes inside) reminded me of North Berwick except the water was warm and there were coconut palms. 
As "fresh" markets are few and far between in Scotland I enjoy wandering through then in other countries, usually finding something to photograph.
With so many more exotic fruits and veg being imported to UK I
was amazed at just how many fruits and veg were new to me in Thailand -suppose soft fruits aren't so easy to export. (Still waiting to see watermelons growing.) Most leaves and flowers are used for cooking (banana leaves in particular are used for plates, wrapping and displays)

as well as many things which move. Saw tubs of live frogs, skinned and flat packed frogs ready to cook and pairs of cooked frogs on skewers.  Eating frogs legs long ago in Edinburgh was easier than seeing eyes staring at you from the stick so didn't succumb to buying them. Two other tourists encouraged me to try silk worms and crickets

 
but the silk worm didn't taste so good and the cricket was just crunchy.  Plucked but not cooked chickens were displayed on top of cages containing live ones. With 2 fellow travellers experienced a hot pot one evening (a metal semi-sphere upturned in a bowl of water over a pot of charcoal) and, once we realised the need to melt fat on top first to prevent burning, we cooked a selection of  meats, veg and noodles more successfully. It reminded me of fondues.  
Tried drinking from a coconut, eating dragon fruit which is such a dark pink with white or black seeds but not so tasty and sampled Thai ice cream-more like fruit sorbet. 

Also enjoy exploring other types of markets especially if there's a bargain to be had but the weekend night markets in Chiang Mai were even a challenge for me. After 6 hours I still hadn't seen everything and by then it was midnight so I conceded defeat and with my few bargains tried to find my way back to the hostel which took longer than I'd remembered as the streets in the old city are like a maze. Some folk from the hilltribes dressed in their national costumes with very ornate
headgear sell their crafts at these markets and passed through some of their villages with their wooden houses on stilts en route to white water rafting.

At this time of year Thailand was very green with many plantations of bananas, coconut palms, sugar beet, paddy fields (hadn't remembered rice being bright green), mangoes, papayas, rambutans (not orangutans) to name but a few. In the paddy fields gangs of folk under coolie hats would be bent over working on the rice.  Although oxen and water buffalos pulled carts there were some tractors and combines in use which has a knock on effect on labour and costs.  Central Thailand is famous for it's water buffalos and host large markets there.  Wandered through an orchid house but many folk have orchids growing in their garden. I love the way they plant hanging gardens on tree trunks and branches and so many of the flowering shrubs and trees have beautiful perfume.  The Thai are very good at displaying  food, flowers and plants and doing topiary.

Around Chiang Mai, in the North, it was more touristy with plenty of opportunities for extreme sports and close encounters with animals.  Learned how to ride, feed and wash an elephant after overcoming the initial fear of riding bareback so high off the ground. The elephants had peach coloured ears with dark spots and thick bristles around their heads. I was disappointed that they didn't hose me down although we apparently needed another command for them to do so.  Later on at the beach resorts I saw monkeys in the wild for the 1st time - or had I seen them in Kenya?
One troupe were small baboon types which were quite aggressive but responded to a Burmese tourist who pointed a magazine at them until it was snatched away by one of them. (Don't think he wanted to read it as he was holding it upside down.)

The other troupe were spectacle monkeys (white circles round eyes) which were more placid but were getting fed daily by humans. There were baby monkeys in both troupes and it was interesting to watch the interaction with the mothers who made sure they were securely clinging under them before they swung off. Saw butterflies of all sizes and colours in butterfly world, but mostly in the countryside and gardens where they flitted around so much it was hard to film them. Spotted a few different birds: hoopoes; fantails; flycatchers; egrets and spotted redshanks (or were they stilts?) amongst some more familiar species.
With Thailand being a Buddhist country there were plenty of opportunites to visit wats and stuppas and shrines can be seen in many gardens or at street corners. Some of the statues look so menacing that I couldn't bring myself to film them.  In Bangkok there is a very ornate palace which took a few hours to visit once we'd crossed the city by MRT, BTS and ferry taking another few hours on a good tranport system in the midst of  myriad of  rickshaws and motorbikes.  Artists were touching up some of the intricate art work on the walls with very fine brushes and using a stick with a padded head to support their arms. Wow, that must take some patience and precision. Here too was the Queen's Silk Museum where I discovered that silk comes from the worm's cocoon and is not spun like the thread from a spider.  Everyone, not just children, was ushered through to the activity room where you could dress in Thai costume so why would Pedro, my Brazilian companion for the day, not dress up? Also visited a massive reclining Buddha in a nearby wat where again I could appreciate the art work but find it hard to understand the attraction in worshipping statues. Had to take shelter here when there was a massive thunder and lightening storm - the nearest place being just outside the mens' toilets. Some enterprising folk were paddling around trying to sell us umbrellas and/or plastic raincoats despite seeing my umbrella.  Think that must have been the biggest storm I've experienced. The thunder was so loud and the flashes of lightening so bright that it made you wince. Also noticed that white t-shirts become see through in the rain but was able to double up the sarong, given to me by receptionist at the hostel to act as a skirt in the palace/wat, to make a dress and thus keep my dignity. 

Found a new art and cultural centre in Bangkok where the art exhibition tho' entitled "Crossstitch" was a multimedia exhibition by Thai youngsters. The centre was also exhibiting photography for "the blinds" (plastercasts of the photos for them to feel) and hosting a free short video and film festival so watched 1.5 hours of a variety of films (introduced to bee boxing in one) directed by Singaporeans.

Managed to fit in a visit to a small touristy floating market mainly selling seafood for lunches but giving me an idea of how they live in the houses on stilts and use the canal - spotted someone moving house by barge.

Was surpised that the traffic in Bangkok was less crazy than in China and only experienced motorbikes on the pavement on one occasion. Visited some giant supermarkets and Boots but not Tescos altho' they were there. Shopping in these stores felt liked I'd been tranported back home.

Thailand is also home to limestone caves and it was amazing to see the network/formations in one, along with the bats. It seemed to be undersold to tourists as it was a case of hire a torch for a DIY tour. Some of the caves are around the shoreline and it was fun crawling through one trying to avoid being slashed by the razor sharp barnacles on the rocks whilst trying to spot underwater life.

Enjoyed beachcombing for shells but had to choose a small selection for sending
home. What enormous oyster shells they have and beautifully patterned and shaped shells. Did wonder if some of the pearly pieces could be used to make jewellery once back home.

Before I knew it the 30 day visa allowance for Thailand was running out so I wrenched myself away from the idyllic beach resort and took an overnight bus (seats reclined to bed) and day bus (given a food pack and shown films like on flights), so much more comfortable than ones in UK, down to my friends in KL. Malaysia here I come...