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House Sitting in Southeast Asia: A Rustic Paradise

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House sitting in Southeast Asia, we just keep coming back!

It was an interesting journey to get here this time, but once on the ground, everything just slotted back into place.

We love Malaysia, and Langkawi is a fabulous island. It is not super busy or highly modern, in fact, some might say it is very rustic. And this is what we love. It is nice to become part of the village, part of the place. Malaysian people are so caring and giving and very accepting of everyone. No matter what your religion or nationality, they never judge or disapprove; beautiful people.

We commence a very pleasant five weeks. We reacquaint ourselves with our favourite foods and reconnect with dear friends we made on the last trip. Lots of walks on the beach, plunging in the pool and duty free beer! We quickly remember the feeling of being in a constant state of sweatiness and mosquito bites! The time flies by, how can these weeks go so fast? It is true what they say – time flies when you are having fun!

We have been to this house sit before, one year ago. So we know the drill, and the dogs, HobNob and BD know us. This is the most magical spot. The house is open so there is a constant breeze coming through. We share the space with all manner of beasties including snakes and the resident Tokay Gecko. The Gecko hangs out upstairs and hides behind the picture frames and talks to us every night. We dont see the snakes but the snake skins are around, which tells us they are there somewhere! We saw centipedes, flying termites and of course mosquitos, we all learn to live together in relative harmony.

There are monkeys in the trees out the back but they don’t try to come in because of the dogs. There is so much bird life here, it is like being in David Attenborough documentary. A pack of Hornbills live on the property, they are always flying around or hopping around the base of the palm trees with their white baggy pants on. A couple of pairs of Greater Racket-tailed Drongs are nesting in the coconut palm, we see them foraging on the tree trunk, eating bugs with their flag-like tail feathers swishing around. It is so amazing, so much nature all around us.

Open air house, perfect spot of yoga – HobNob joining in
Racket-tailed Drongo (Google)
Tokay Gecko (Google)

This time in Langkawi we get to go up the SkyCab gondola to the SkyBridge. Our friend from NZ had called into Langkawi on her way to Thailand so this was the perfect opportunity to play tourist. If you ever get to Langkawi this is a must see!  At 125 metres, the SkyBridge is the longest free span and curved bridge in the world. The bridge deck is 600 metres above sea level and as we are on a small island, that makes it a long way straight up! It is an incredible engineering feat and well worth the visit to see it up close. We had the best day for it too. The bridge is closed if the wind is too high and often the bridge and the mountain peaks around it are shrouded in cloud, so we timed it perfectly.

We are here again in the rainy season, but again, there is not much rain. The rainy season is April to November but it is the worst in September/October. We had forgotten the intensity of the humidity here, consistently being in a “sweaty mess”

We went up to the 7 Wells waterfall and was so surprised at the lack of water, it was a sure tell-tale of how dry the island has been. Drag the arrow to see the difference.

July 23 V May 24
No wonder we are in a constant sweaty mess!
HobNob and BD
The Tiga Pulau – means Three Islands – right in front of our house, that is Thailand at the back!

From Langkawi we make our way by train to Kuala Lumpur. We love travelling by train and it is a nice change. We were not in a hurry to get anywhere so this was the perfect option. Air travel within Southeast Asia is so cheap and you can fly from Langkawi to KL for about the same as the train. It is always so surprising when converting into New Zealand dollars, just how cheap some things are over this part of the world. $42NZD one way flight, KL – LK, crazy!

Our room in the East wing of the Berjaya Times Square

We have 4 nights in KL, really just to fill in time as we cannot enter Thailand until 11 June as we need the full 60 days in Thailand to complete the 2 house sits we have booked there. The Thai government has announced that the tourist visa-on-arrival has changed from 30 days to 60 days, as of 1 June. This is great news as it means we won’t have to get an extension when we get there – but wait one caller!!  On arrival at Bangkok airport, we only get 30 days. We very politely questioned this and were told “oh no, 60 days on arrival is only a concept” OK so we will have to go get an extension.

It is funny how things work out. This is the third year in a row that we have come to Thailand, to this area near Hua Hin. We didn’t actually plan it this way, it just happened! The first 2 years we were here to house sit for Cristina at Paws and Tails. Check out those stories by the links below! 44 dogs is not for the faint hearted! We met some awesome people through Cristina while we were here during those times, and now we are back and sitting for them. We hardly use the housesitting web sites now, we are either doing repeat sits or being requested through word of mouth. So we have two sits ahead, both for friends. In between these sits we will have a few days looking after the dogs at Paws and Tails.

Pantai Kuala Muda

What is it that keep taking us back to Southeast Asia? Malaysia? Thailand, the land of smiles?. Well, it is the food, that’s for sure, the warmth of course and mostly it’s the people! The friendships we make along the way are what it is all about!

Stories of Paws and Tails

The Tale Of Paws And Tails
Another Tale Of Paws And Tails
As the sun sets on Langkawi…… just me and my dog
See you in Thailand, our next adventure has just begun!

Thank you for reading our story

“Time Flies” Metaphore. Time appears to pass more quickly when engaged in something you enjoy

Retimed To Langkawi

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We seem to be faced with many reschedules, cancellations and delays to journeys these days, it is becoming a bit of a worry. Is this a thing now or is it just me?

Flying over Mount Taranaki, North Island, New Zealand

Last year our flights to South East Asia were changed last minute, and we had a major re shuffle just days before flying. Now this year, similar things happened.

Chris had a flight booked, a through ticket, Auckland to Langkawi. We have had a couple of bad experiences with 3rd party booking sites in the past, so now we always make sure to book with the airline itself. Not sure if this is recommended by all, but we feel it must be a little safer. On the long journeys we like to book afternoon flights, so they go through the night and with a “get to the airport 3 hours prior” we don’t have to get up at stupid-o’clock to get to the airport.

So, Chris is booked for Sunday night 1800 take off, Auckland to Langkawi. A few weeks before, he received an email – your flight has been retimed. What’s this new word we keep hearing – retimed?? Hmmmm, is that to make it not sound so problematic? Anyway, his flight is “retimed” to 0630 Monday morning. Really? That means getting to the airport at 0330!! NOT our favourite thing to be doing.  

Whitianga, New Zealand

The flight has two stops, Perth and Kuala Lumpur. Remembering this is a Through-ticket, the first 2 flights have been retimed but the KL – Langkawi leg remains the same – that is, it is leaving KL before it arrives. Well, this wont work. A couple of emails later, they change that leg to work with the rest. Nice.

4 days before the flight, another email to say the flight has been retimed. And again, only the first half changed, which means, again, that he would arrive in KL after the flight to Langkawi has left. No mention of this in the email, it is as if they don’t notice it, or mention it, then it isn’t a problem. It is a problem for Chris though, how is he meant to get to Langkawi? There is not other flight until the next day. So he chooses, this time, for full cancellation and refund. Cutting it fine though, this is 4 days before he is due to be meeting me in Langkawi to start a house sit.

A new ticket is bought, leaving Sunday night (no stupid-o’clock get up) arriving in KL in plenty of time to get a flight up to Langkawi – but via China! Oh Well, at least he will get there, though be it, the long way round.

Papamoa, New Zealand

Meantime, I am flying from Brisbane to Langkawi, a through ticket, booked through the airline, via Denpasar and Kuala Lumpur. And I DID have an early get-up! I Checked-in online so line up to drop my bag. Where is your onward ticket from Malaysia, she asks? Eh? You cannot board the plane without an onward ticket from Malaysia, she said. Really? We have been to Malaysia several times, is this new? I really think that different airlines have different interpretations of the rules. Chris did not have to have a forwarding ticket. But you cannot argue, you cannot question, they have all the power in the world to stop you from boarding the plane at the end of the day. So over to a chair I go to book and pay for a flight out of Malaysia. Done.

Back into line. You have to pick up your bag in Kuala Lumpur, she says. Dam, but this is a through ticket! Why? Again, you cannot question. Ok, whatever you say.

My plane was 90 minutes late leaving Brisbane, we didn’t get off the plane in Denpasar, 1 hour on the ground. I won’t have much time in KL to get to my Langkawi flight.

Sunshine Coast, Australia

On arrival at KL, I see on the board that my flight has been “retimed” yay I have an extra hour to get through. I go through immigration, (by the way, he didn’t want to know about my onward ticket!!) I make my way to the carousel; my bag is nowhere to be seen. I ask at the lost luggage desk, he says that as I am effectively in transit, then I should have gone to the transit desk air side and my bag would have been there. Oh? I say, dam, missed that memo.

Ok so I have to get back through. By now I am running out of time and feeling a bit panicked. I am talking to Chris on the phone, he is here at the airport too but at terminal 2, and about to board his plane to Langkawi.

I finally find the place to go through to domestic departures and show my boarding pass to be told that my plane has left! Eh? Did I miss read the board? I actually did question this this time and took the lady to the board to show her, I had also received an email about the retiming, so I was pretty confident that I was right. So yes, the flight had NOT gone, and she let me through.

I got to the gate and told the attendant that I didn’t know where my bag was, that I was told to pick it up and it might still be at the transit desk at international arrivals, but I didn’t know where that was. He was so very kind and said, Madam, take a seat and relax, it will be fine, you bag will be on the plane. So, I sit, and the plane is delayed again, so I have lots of time to unwind the tight coil of worry that has wound up around me. At least I was at the gate, and I had not missed the flight.

I arrived in Langkawi and there was Chris to meet me and, to my amazement, there is my bag!! Miracles do happen.

David, our home owner, picked us up and we went to Cocos bar and that first Tiger beer did not hit the sides and was delicious.

As the sun goes down on Langkawi, so good to be here!

We made it!

Thank you for reading our story!!

Papamoa, New Zealand

This Is Better Than Flying!

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The story of the Cruise Ship – It just gets better and better!!

We feel we are lucky to have chosen this transatlantic crossing as our first cruise. It is 11 days long and we will not hit another port until we get to Miami. That is a lot of days to be at sea, nothing to do but be on the boat. It is a re-location voyage; this ship goes on to cruise the Caribbean for the season. No ports? Perfect for us as we feel that it has really given us a chance to get to know the boat. If this had only been 5 days for example, we would not have discovered all the hidden gems that we have done. We have walked and explored every corner of this ship. There is so much to see and do. We have loved every minute.

The weather has not been the best, but as we progress toward USA, the outside temperatures are getting higher.  We were in fog for at least one whole day where every 2 minutes there was a 5 second blast on the horn – fog signal. Once the fog cleared the drizzle started and the swell got bigger and bigger. 10-meter seas, 40 knot winds, she got a bit rocky there for a while, about 3 days at its worst. The captain gives an update every morning at 10am and this is normal for the North Atlantic Ocean. We knew the weather was coming up when we saw the vomit bags being put out at the stair wells at every level.

The Observation lounge is one level above the bridge and has a fabulous view forward. We would sit up there and watch the ship riding up and down the swells. This is a huge ship, yet we managed to spray water up and over the bow as we dipped into the troughs and ploughed up and through the wall of water ahead – exhilarating! Each time another big swell came there was a collective “wow” from all watching, followed by nervous giggles! Day 8 the wind dropped to around 20 knots, and as we have been travelling at a constant 17knots, it is felt a lot calmer. This was just one day; the wind has been around 40 knots for most of the trip.

When we left Southampton, we did not expect to see land again until we came into Miami. On the evening of day 3 we had an announcement to say that there was a medical emergency, and someone needed to go to hospital so we would be altering our course to go to Azores Islands to medivac the patient. They were not sure at this stage whether we would go in and dock or stay off and transfer the patient by boat. We were a long way off these islands so would not arrive until 0500 in the morning.  Of course, I had to get up to see this!

0445 I got up and could see the lights of the island in the distance. We stopped just outside the harbour of Ponta Delgarda. It was dark, but you could see the beach not far from us. The captain kept position using the starboard thrusters, the wind was pushing against our port side. The pilot boat approached and came alongside beautifully, and they loaded the poor man from the lower deck in a stretcher. He was waving so I felt happy that he was at least conscious and aware of what was going on, we never did find out what actually happened to him. The Pilot boat left, and we slowly moved off and headed back on our way. The diversion was a welcome change and something quite different. I was fascinated in the while process, having been involved in this sort of operation back in New Zealand. It was great work by all involved, very efficient and professional.

  • The lights of the Azores
  • Our diversion track around the islands

This ship can carry 3800 passengers and 1600 crew. We have heard that there are only 1000 passengers onboard! So that means there are more crew than passengers! We feel, again, so lucky that this is the case as it is not crowded at all. We try to imagine how different it would be with another, near enough, 3000 people on board. But as we have never done this before, we don’t have anything to compare.

  • The sun is out, so we have to try – its only 19 degrees and so windy!

There are over 13 bars – (we know because we pub-crawled 13 all in one day – took 8 hours, but that is a story for another day!!) There are 11 restaurants, a casino, car racing track, kids water slides, swimming pools, a library, cigar lounge, theatre, full spa, art gallery and shopping mall selling the best diamonds in the world. It has to be seen to be believed. There are millions of dollars’ worth of paintings onboard, Dürer, Dali and Rembrandt just to name a few. Full on art auctions are taking place under our noses. The bars all have themes, the Beatles are at the Cavern club, whisky “by the jar” at the Maltings, Mojito’s at the Sugarcane or 70 different craft beers at the Brewhouse. You want cocktails with breakfast – feel free, its all here, and no one will judge!! Gives new meaning to the concept of day drinking.

  • Half way through our pub crawl – we are still looking ok!!

The food is incredible. We have tried all the restaurants that are part of our package and they do not disappoint. Whether we have A la Carte or the buffet, the food quality is sensational. We had one meal at the steakhouse as it was part of our “specialty dining package” OH MY, WORD! 5-star dining, 500g steak perfectly cooked, 4 courses, outstanding! And it is free! We are still so blown away by what is on offer, and we continue to pinch ourselves every day.

The Garden Café is the buffet restaurant and is the typical buffet style with multiple dishes of many cuisines. They usually have a different theme each night or a specific roasted meat. Rib Eye, pork, lamb, chicken and turkey, its all been pretty good. We are certainly not going without our protein! One night they were advertising “Steamship” as the specialty. We asked, what is this? Beef, they said. Ok lets have a look. Have you ever seen a whole cow leg roasted? Well, that is what Steamship is. We could not believe our eyes at the size of this roasted piece of meat, complete with bone out of the top! 10 hours cooking at 120 deg apparently, and it was delicious.

A Whole leg of beef – the Steamship

The staff are so friendly, everyone has a smile and hello. I have been amazed to see the natalities of the staff. Everyone’s name badge has where they are from. I read somewhere that the crew are made up of over 50 different nationalities. It is a wonderful mix. Evening 10 after the Broadway Cabaret, a huge collection of the staff came onto the stage for a farewell. Representatives from every part of the ship from the engine room, catering, housekeeping, retail, bar and restaurant, to the captain, were there. As they filed out, up the stairs of the theatre we were able to say thankyou and show our appreciation. As we then filed out of the theatre, they were all there, almost as a guard of honour, thanking us! I was quite overcome by this gesture; this could almost be my highlight of the trip.

Thank you to all the crew!

We have not spent much time out on deck because of the weather. We thought that we would start getting better weather by the time we were a few days out from Miami. Surprisingly this was not the case. The temperature got up to 20°C on the last day, but the wind was still cold. The pools remained closed and half empty until day 8, a small handful of brave soles got in.

  • not a lot going on out on deck

We were at sea for 11 days, I saw 2 other boats on day 11, we had our Medi-vac on day 4, but other than that we have not seen any other signs of life besides what is here on this ship. It has been so peaceful. We have been able to find quiet spots and been able to relax and just ponder this amazing planet and the enormity of the ocean in front of us which is 5km deep right here. Watching the ever-changing clouds and the colours, the swells and currents. The gentle hum of the engines underfoot and the slight sideways rock is reassuring as we make our way towards land.

7752km behind us is Southampton.

This really is so much better than flying!

Thank you for reading our story!!

How Did We Get Here?

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The Story Of The Cruise Ship

After a few months in Europe, we start looking at ways to get back down under. We are wanting to go to Vieques, Puerto Rico, on the way home (yes, I know! It is hardly “on the way” haha, but oh well!) to visit friends we have made during the 2 six-month house sits we have done there. Flights from Portugal to San Juan? Amsterdam to Miami? Or should we get to London and then try for Boston or New York, then down to Puerto Rico? It is all very expensive. I mentioned this in my last story that we feel travel has become a lot more expensive since COVID and a lot more troublesome, flight schedule changes etc etc. But we don’t give up and ponder for a few days then come up with this AWESOME plan.

We are both boatie people; we love being on the water – why don’t we go by boat!! So that is how the plan was hatched. On investigation we find there is a Transatlantic cruise with Norwegian Cruise Line, leaving Southampton on 13 February, arriving in Miami on 24 February. This is perfect. Cost? Yes, it is a bit more expensive than flying, but you get 11 days accommodation, full board i.e. we WILL get the all-inclusive bar package, and we get from A to B in the process. Perfect! The deal was really good but ending in a few days. We just needed a couple of days to think about it. The deal ended, but the new deal was even better, it dropped another 200 Euro each. No more thinking – BOOKED! We are sailing all the way to the USA from The United Kingdom.

Transatlantic, WOW this is quite a trip. It will take 11 full days at sea, no ports to call into, just plain sailing non-stop. I feel this trip is quite close to my heart and I never thought I would ever do something like this. My Father crossed the Atlantic as part of the trip with his family back in 1960. He was only a teenager at the time and the family were immigrating from Scotland to Australia and New Zealand on the five-pound passage incentive programme. Big deal for them back then and I think the whole trip took 6 weeks. So, I feel I am following a little bit in their footsteps.

Chris has done this crossing before. He was on a refrigerated ship carrying Kiwi fruit for export from New Zealand to Europe. They went through the Panama Canal and then across the Atlantic, in the opposite direction, his trip took 4 weeks, in 2013.

The day comes for us to set sail. We are house sitting in Shoreham-by-Sea so have to get a train to Southampton. There is a lot of industrial action going on with the English rail workers at the moment and our train is now going to be “part bus” But we still make it in plenty of time to make our embarkation slot of 1230. We walk the 1 km from the train station to the port. It is raining and as we round the corner we see her, the Norwegian Joy! She is so big; she will be our home for the next 11 days.

This is brand new for us, neither of us have been on a cruise before so do not know what to expect regarding ……. well, anything!!  We had checked-in online, our bags get tagged and taken away and we join the queue. Passport control is just like an airport and is a very slick operation, they have 1000’s of passengers to process and it goes quickly. Then onto security and same, really easy; hand luggage through the Xray, laptops out and belts off, through the person Xray, done! We are cruising!

Following the corridor to the ship, up, up, up we go, everyone is so welcoming and smiling, there is happy music playing, I am feeling so excited I can hardly contain myself.

We booked a window cabin and found out 2 days before sailing that we had been upgraded to a balcony cabin, we went from level 5 to 13 on this 20-level ship. We are so happy with the cabin; it is a 3 berth which means there is extra room, and the balcony has a table and chairs. Lots of storage space, TV, fridge and a big bathroom, WOW this is awesome!

We find the buffet restaurant and have a late lunch and of course we have a glass of wine with lunch, then go to the main lobby area where a lot of people are gathering. This looks like the place to be and there is a bar. We test our key cards again and ask for bubbly – of course madam/sir – ok cool! We found a couple of very comfy chairs right by the floor to ceiling windows on the starboard side, we can see out over cloudy rainy Southampton, and we sit here and literally pinch ourselves! Is the really happening?? How did we get here? A waiter makes sure we are not without a cocktail and the set-sail party begins. Lots of music, laughter, the atmosphere is awesome, and then we move slowly off the dock, next stop Miami! This is going to be so much fun!!!

Thank you for reading our story!

More coming soon!!!

A Quick Trip To South England

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Weymouth, United Kingdom, January 2024

After a whirlwind visit to Western Europe to catch up with friends we have made it to England. It has been many, many years since either Chris, or I have been in the UK.

Travelling from Belgium to England was very easy, we have had a few near misses and were not expecting it to have been quite so easy. We took the train to Brussels International Airport, and went straight through passport control and security quickly and efficiently. On arrival at Heathrow, we were both stunned at how easy it was getting through. Back in the day, Heathrow was a nightmare, mega long queues, oodles of questions of your “right to be there”, which infuriated Chris back then, so much so that he was not too keen to be back.  New Zealand is part of the British Commonwealth, we are under the same King. 1000’s of New Zealand soldiers lost while fighting in the World Wars alongside Britain, but still multiple questions of our right to enter. But this time? We didn’t talk to one person! It was all automated. We scanned our own passport, picked up our bags and walked straight out. We looked at each other and thought there must be more…. No, all done!

So here we are, back in the UK.

Heading to our first house sit, Weymouth. Weymouth is on the South Coast of England. A train from Heathrow to Bournemouth then a bus to Weymouth. After a couple of hours, we were there.

We had a fabulous evening getting to know our homeowners and their lovely pets, Bonnie (Cockapoo dog) and Maisie and Polly (jet black cats). We have been so lucky with our house sits, we always have amazing people to spend time with, people we would never have normally met. This is far and away the best part of what we do. The next morning, we send them off on their holiday and settle in.

  • Bonnie

Weymouth is a lovely town, long sweeping beach with bathing beach boxes and cafes dotted most of the way along. It was a 4 km walk from the house into the centre of town. We did this once then got a bus pass and used the busses every day. We had fantastic weather but there had been a lot of rain, so the ground was soddened, lots of mud and puddles.

We took Bonnie on the coastal pathway walk, towards the Smugglers pub. It was 5.5 km and we thought we would head there for a pub lunch. There was so much mud! The path was impassable in places, we had to climb the fence and walk along the farmers paddocks at times just to get through. It was also very slippery and the 1.5 hour walk took us over 2 hours! Bonnie had a wonderful time, at only 2ys old she was very happily running back and forth, trying to hurry us up! By the time we got there the soles of our boots were clogged with sticky mud, mine were leaking through the split in my sole so I had muddy sox. We wondered if we would be allowed inside the pub in this state, but we were, this was obviously not an unusual sight for the people here.

Smugglers Pub

We had a good lunch at this oldie-worldie pub, complete with thatch roof, then headed home. But there was no way I was going to try to traverse all that slippery mud again and was very glad when we decided that we would get the bus home. We headed up to the road to find that the buses were few and far between way out here, so we ended up walking all the way home. Surprisingly enough, we found another pub very close to home and, of course, had to stop. Bonnie by now is feeling a bit tired, and so are we.

On our first walk into town, we came across this monument. We were very surprised to see it. Made us feel very proud. Then I found online that during WW1 120,000 Australia and NZ Army Corps (ANZAC’s) convalesced in Weymouth after being injured at Gallipoli. The existing army camps and mild climate made it an ideal location. Most of the soldiers we repatriated in 1919, but some stayed and married local women. We find history of brave New Zealanders all over the word!

We found a few more pubs and, of course, had fish and chips more than once! We love the ancientness of the old English towns, the low ceilings in the pubs, the quaint narrow streets. It would be so amazing to be transported back in time to see it 500 years ago. It would be fascinating.

We took Bonnie with us on the bus most days, she was so good. We were surprised how dog friendly it is here. Most shops and cafes/pubs allow dogs, they even have doggie treats on the counters – and Bonnie knows it!

We took the bus to the Isle of Portland and walked out to the end of the peninsular to see the lighthouses. Portland Bill lighthouse is an active lighthouse. She was built early 20th century and took over from the two lighthouses that had been in use since 1716. Looking over the cliffs you can see the desperate need for safe navigation into Portland and Weymouth harbour. The sheer cliffs and rugged coastline is spectacular, but so dangerous to shipping.

  • Portland Bill Lighthouse
  • The old Lower Lighthouse

The RNLI has had a lifeboat station here since 1869, and is currently one of the busiest in the country. It was very cool to see the Weymouth Severn Class lifeboat tied up. I was lucky enough to go out on one of her sister ships from the Staithes and Runswick RNLI Station about 15 years ago. It is always interesting for both Chris and I to see these harbour towns and anything to do with maritime search and rescue and boating safety, as we were heavily involved in this back in New Zealand for so long.

But all good things must come to an end and after just 10 days we have to say goodbye. We have loved Weymouth, we are very much looking forward to returning one day.

On the road again!!

Thank you for reading our story!!

A Little Bit Of Stress Is Good For You

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Greece to Belgium and two countries in between.

We seem to be encountering more mishaps, or stressful moments as we travel these days. I am not sure whether it is all “Post COVID” fallout, or just that we are getting older, but we are finding that travel is not as easy as it used to be. And it is so much more expensive.

We flew from Brisbane to Zurich via Doha with no problems at all. Leaving Germany to get back to Zurich (train ride) was fraught with stress, but we got there on time and made it to our flight to Athens.

To read that story, click here – https://kiwisdofly.blog/2024/01/10/be-careful-what-you-wish-for/

Getting to Leros Island, in the Dodecanese island group, there are 2 options. A 10 hour ferry ride from Piraeus or a flight on a 30 (or so) seater plane 3 or 4 times a week – depending on the weather. We chose the flight and it was perfect, on time, smooth and spectacular views as we flew into Leros. We could recognise the whole island from above and got pretty excited to be coming back.

Our awesome house owner came to pick us up and we fell instantly in-love with the island all over again. We were here at the end of 2019 for 7 weeks doing this same house sit and we loved it. It is so wonderful to see Michael and all the cats again.

Life on the island has not changed a lot. We felt instantly at home and spent many hours walking the tracks and hills, finding new routes and going over old favourites. The scenery is fabulous and the hospitality is still very Greek – ie so welcoming and generous. Chris did a bit of snorkelling and found more WWII relics including a pistol thingie and many bullets.

Sadly all our house sits have to come to an end at some point. The weather had been really nice, around 16-18 degC most day until the last week. The temperature dropped and the wind came up. 5 days out from our departure, we were studying the weather forecast. We had booked the plane to leave on Saturday, the forecast was not looking good. We had 2 nights accomodation in booked in Athens and a flight to Paris booked for Monday.

What are we going to do if the flight is cancelled? Just to put it into perspective, we have been on the island and experienced 4 departures, 2 were cancelled, so that is 50% chance of being cancelled and the weather was not looking good. We found there was a ferry leaving on Thursday night and Sunday night. If out flight was cancelled then we could get the next flight on Tuesday or the ferry on Sunday, but either way we would lose our accommodation and miss the flight to Paris.

Thursday morning we made the decision to leave the island early. We took the overnight ferry on Thursday night and arrived in Athens a day early, but at lease we got there. We had a fabulous extra day in Athens and on Saturday we watched to see if the flight we were supposed to be on went ……..it did not! We made a good call! But how stressful was that for the last few days on Leros?

Athens is a great city, we loved being there and it turned out to be a bonus that we had an extra day. The Parthenon and the Acropolis were breath-taking. The history and ancientness is almost incomprehensible.

Next stop Paris. Then a very easy trip from Charles De Gaulle through the Metro system to meet a BlaBlaCar in the city centre – I think the Arc de Triomphe was right above us! Our driver took us to Chatellerault. Yes! We are going back to the Chateau!

Read our Fairy tail castle story here – https://kiwisdofly.blog/2019/11/15/our-fairy-tale-in-france/

I cant really describe how wonderful it was to be back. We feel very much part of this family after having 3 months here with them in 2019. They have been super busy the last four years and there are many changes and improvements, and the whole estate is looking amazing! We met the current house sitters and had 3 days of wonderful company, food and lots of laughs.

But, again, it is time to move on. Train, Train, bus – all the way to Amsterdam. When we get to Paris we have 90 minutes to get from Montparnasse to Bercy Seine, google says it is a 30 minute journey. Cool, we can make it. Oh no, here comes our friend “travel stress” The train from Chatellerault, on time. Train to from Poitiers to Paris – delayed 45 minutes. Oh crap, we have a good idea how to get from Montparnasse to Bercy, but it will be 11pm and dark. Sitting at the station, tap tap tapping our feet just praying it all works out. The bus from Paris is an overnight bus, leaving at midnight, if we miss this, then what? Tap tap tap….. 45 minutes late becomes 35 minutes late – yes! And once we were on the train, the driver must have put his foot down because we were only 25 minutes late getting in. phew. we did it!

The Metro system in Paris is so easy. The sign posts and information is so clear, we made it to Bercy Sein Bus station in plenty of time.

The bus ride was great, Blablabus this time, really comfortable seats and we both managed to get a bit of sleep.

Our friends were there at 0630 to pick us up and oh what a fabulous weekend we had. There was still some snow in Holland, which made everything look so beautiful. We did some sight-seeing, saw clogs being made, saw loads of windmills – even went inside one! Saw a frozen lake, watched Mama Mia (well the girls did, the boys went to the brewery!) and ate a lot of wonderful food! So the motto of the weekend was “I am so full – or am I just still full” Again, so wonderful to see friends we have not seen in 4 years.

But yes, it is time to move on again! This time down to Brussels to meet the plane to London. Denis drove us all the way from Holland which was over and above, but we appreciated it so much. A rainy day in Brussels, a few beers and of course frits (French fries) and that is it, our 90 days here in Europe is done and dusted.

Brussels

Fun Fact

French Fries actually originate in Belgium. Yes its a fact! During WWI, American soldiers stationed in Belgium discovered these fried potatos. But because most people in the southern part of Belgium spoke French, they ended up calling these little slices of heaven “French Fries”

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Be Careful What You Wish For

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Engen, Germany November 2023

It is November and here we are back in Europe. It has been 4 years since we were here last, and we have been really looking forward to coming back. Sadly, it is Autumn (Fall) and will be full on winter soon, but we love Europe and how cold can it really get? (remember I said that!)

We are met at Zurich airport by our lovely homeowner and accompanied through the three-change train journey up to and into the village of Engen in Germany. It is a sunny day, so everything looks so pretty as we make our way through into the German country side.

The two dogs we will be looking after are shy to start with but soon come round and are so lovely. We have not had anything to do with Sighthounds before and found these two to have such gentle natures and are so loving . It did not take long for us both to fall in love.

Lumin
Rana

The village of Engen is small, only 10,000 population. We were staying in the “Old Town”, very cute and very old. A High Street with a beautiful church and a castle. It is said to be one of the best preserved medieval urban ensembles in Southern Germany. Our house was toasty and warm, built right under the castle.  With only one external wall, it was as if the house had been sculptured and pressed into a mound of clay that hardened into the bedrock that was the castle’s foundation. The house was 4 levels high, and the walls were near enough half a metre think. Shutters on the windows, door opening right onto the street, so pretty.

Living in the bedrock

The dogs were gorgeous! Such elegant faces and long legs. It was fascinating watching them sit and curl up with those long legs, they seemed to fold up like a builder’s measuring tape. We walked with them 3 or 4 times each day, there was so much beautiful countryside to explore. It was not very warm so the doggies had coats to wear if it was below 10°C, – they only went without their coats once! The colours were beautiful as the leaves had changed and were falling, we expected that all the leaves would be gone by the time we left.

I really admire people who speak multiple languages. We can only speak English but can usually get away with being understood with various hand gestures and of course “Google Translate” We love the challenge of being understood, but this one takes the cake. Our gorgeous neighbour, Maria, has lived in that same house for sixty years. She is originally from Italy and is so lovely. She would knock knock on our window and bring us espresso – Italian espresso that she had made, or a bottle of Italian Rosé. We would sit and have a conversation. We don’t speak German or Italian, she does not speak English and prefers not to speak German. So we manage with a bit of everything – a bit of Spanish even comes out. So funny! the laughs we had over that Italian Rosé, unforgettable moments we will never forget.

I had researched the weather in Engen before we got there and was told (by Google – so must be true!) to expect 4 snow days in November and that the average high would be 7°C and low of 1°C. I would love to see the snow! We do get snow in New Zealand but not, generally, in the North Island where we are from, unless you go up the mountains to ski. It was starting to get colder and colder; my app was starting to show the snow icon and the lows were getting lower and lower as the weeks went by. I could not believe what I was seeing when it predicted -13°C.

One night it said it would snow at 11pm. We went to put the light out at 11:15 and as a joke I said to Chris “is it snowing yet?” He looked out the window and we could hardly believe what we were seeing! It was snowing! OMG it was actually snowing!

Our house with the blue shutters, tucked in under the castle
A light dusting of snow…..
And more snow!

In the morning there was a dusting of snow and that was the beginning. It carried on snowing and snowing and snowing, the trees, the fences, the cars, the roads, getting whiter and whiter and whiter. The sky was quite grey to start with but the dogs loved being out in the snow, we double coated them as it was quite wet. Then the sun came out and the whole place became a fairy tale, like a scene from a Christmas card, it was so pretty with the blue sky making all the white sparkle. It was such a treat to be here in these conditions, everything I had hoped for.

  • Just had to have a go at making a snowman with Helen, Reinhard and Olivia

Sunday, the day before we leave. It has been snowing heavily for days but the sun is now shining and the sky is a brilliant blue. We have met Helen, who is from New Zealand, we all decide to go build a snowman. The snow is as soft as silk and so dry that our snowman turns out a little unconventional. Reinhard pulls a few beers out of a basket in the trunk to celebrate our fabulous snowman making skills! What goes with Beer? Sausages! Well, this IS Germany, Right? but it is Sunday! everything is closed. So we just “pop” over to Switzerland to the supermarket – Switzerland is NOT closed! This is the most bizarre concept for us, to be able to just pop over to another country to buy sausages! But we did, and we had sausages and more beer back at their house. The sausages were even cooked on a BBQ, after the BBQ was dig out of the snow! What a fantastic day!

The snow was unusually heavy for this time of the year and on our day of departure the trains on the route we needed to take to Zurich airport were not running as snow laden trees had fallen across the tracks and damaged the electrics. They had put on a replacement bus from our first train-change to a destination we could use to pick up a train to connect with the one to the airport. We had to take a taxi from the house as we could not wheel our bags through the snow. We were so thankful that out awesome homeowner came with us and we decided to take the taxi all the way to the bus pick up point. Thank goodness he was with us; we don’t think we would have found the place on our own. Then we waited and waited. The bus finally turned up and we are looking at our watches thinking “ok we will still make it”

BUT…The bus driver would not let us on the bus. A whole line of people standing in the snow outside the bus while he reclined his seat, crossed his arms across his chest and closed his eyes!

At least he is nice and warm in there!

20 minutes later he let us all on and we were heading out of town. Will we make it? The bus seemed to go the long way, cross-country through narrow streets and we really are thinking we will not make it. We had three options once we got to Schaffhausen, and as time marched on, each option became an impossibility. Then we stopped, about 5 minutes ahead of what my google maps was telling me. We ran to find the train that was our “if all else fails” option for getting to the airport on time. Made it! But we did ask two different people if this was the right train to the airport, it wasn’t showing as a stop on the screen and we didn’t trust that we wouldn’t end up on a train going in the opposite direction. Anyway, all’s well that ends well, we made it and got to the airport in time!

Looking back, our trip to Engen was wonderful, beautiful pets, wonderful people, cute village and the prettiest snow covered landscape I have ever seen – a bit of stress getting out of there – but hey! thats what travel is all about – expect the unexpected!

Perfect time for drinking Gluhwein
More Gluhwein at the Christmas Market

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The Story Of Mr Peanut And Friends

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Sunshine Coast August – October

It has been 3 and a half months since we left Thailand. I remember my Mum saying that time will go faster and faster the older you get, and I am seeing how right she was! Where has this year gone?

My darling Mum, New Zealand

Since Thailand, we’ve been on a roll! We’ve rocked 2 house sits, 1 camping trip and had a blast hanging out with friends and family. No dull moments thats for sure!

I took a week in NZ on the way back to Australia to see family and friends. My youngest daughter Tay, flew back to Australia with me to see her sister. It was so good to have two weeks with her and to have my two beautiful girls together, even for such a short time.

We did a four week house sit in a small village at the northern end of the Sunshine Coast called Pomona. We usually like to stay on the coast and be by the ocean, so this was a change for us being in the hinterland. We thoroughly enjoyed the peace and tranquillity of the area. We had 1 dog, 4 cats, 4 geese and 2 chickens to look after. There were kangaroos regularly visiting right into the back yard and the bird life was amazing. King parrots, Cockatoos and Kookaburras to name just a few. The Australian bush is so unique with the smell of the gumtrees and is so full of life. We spent a lot of time walking with Redley around the outskirts of the village through the bush. We did not see any snakes, that would be taking the wildlife a little bit to extremes!

Redley is a beautiful girl, an Australian Kelpie with a gentle nature, we both fell instantly in love. She was such great company and constantly entertaining.

The Geese were a new one for us. We could let them out in the afternoons about 4pm and they would run around in a line, flapping their wings squawking or is it honking?? eating up all the oranges that had fallen to the ground. Redley would round them and the chickens up, it was so funny to watch, around and around the house they would go, bums wabbling, wings flapping. The chickens, John and Jon, laid eggs most days but we had a mystery on our hands. We would find broken eggs in strange places, outside of the coop. There was one wooden egg in the nesting box to encourage laying, that egg ended up in all sorts of weird places too, then it would disappear for a couple of days then turn up again. How is this happening? The coop is fox proof, there were no markings on the dirt of a snake or lizard. Turns out it was a crow! Chris did some temporary crow-proofing and we started getting more eggs for the pan. Those crows are clever though and found a way in, again! The geese started to lay, the crows never picked any of these big beauties up! Very cool to have goose eggs which were made into bacon and egg pies!

Chicken V Goose

Though we loved being out in the country, the time came for us to leave, it was good to be by back on the coast. Chris stayed at his apartment in Marcoola, and I went on to look after my dear friend Shelley’s cat, Mr Peanut, while she went on holiday.

Shelley’s house is out in the hinterland, so I am back in the country. Kookaburras start laughing even before it is light around here! Again, so peaceful and pitch black at night showing up the beautiful stars in the sky.

The health and wellbeing of the pets we care for is always a very big concern for us when house sitting. What is normal behaviour for these pets? and what is out of the ordinary? As we don’t have that “parent intuition” it can sometimes be a bit of a guessing game. We are learning more and more what a huge responsibility this is and how much trust our home/pet owners are putting into us to do the right thing for their beloved pets.

Mr Peanut had an adventure a few years ago where he got lost and did not return for 3.5 years. It is quite a miracle really and a story we will never know fully. If only Mr Peanut could talk! Since then, he has been a bit of a “scardy cat” One day he got such a fright he took off under the house and out the other side toward the paddocks. He stumbled at the fence then ran, hell for leather, down toward the bush. Leigh (my daughter) was there at the time and we tried to find him. We called and called and traipsed up and down the paddocks and even into the bush, no sign. Oh boy! I am hoping it is not going to be another 3.5 years until we see him again!!

Mr Peanut

He didn’t come home that night, Leigh stayed over and we searched again the next day. I made a flyer and got my cousin to print it out to distribute around the neighbourhood the next day if he didn’t turn up. Late that second night he meowed at the door. He was filthy and hungry, my relief was unmeasurable, he was back!! But he was broken! Something very wrong with his face, and he was dribbling and couldn’t eat, but he was purring and he was back! I couldn’t figure out what had happened, I tried to think of all scenarios even thinking he may have had a stroke as the side of his face was droopy.

Leigh and I took him to the vet the next day and were hoping that the vet would be able to solve the puzzle of what could have happened to poor Mr Peanut. He was none the wiser other than the fact that his jaw was dislocated, and as he was examining him it just popped it back in! That looks better already! But an Xray was still needed to check the rest of his face. After consultation with his Mum, Mr Peanut stayed in overnight and had surgery the next day to wire his broken jaw. Poor boy! What a thing to go through.

He came home and was so brave. He hated the big blue collar he had to wear and didn’t much like the runny, soupy food he had to eat, but otherwise all fixed. The wire would come out in 6 weeks. Now he is shaved we think we know what happened. As he ran through the fence, the bottom wire went between his teeth into his mouth and that is why he stumbled, pretty much stopped dead in his tracks, the momentum dislocated and broke his jaw. What a freak accident.

Poor Mr Peanut.

Our last 3 weeks on the Sunshine Coast was filled with lots of friends visiting from NZ and spending as much time as possible with our friends and family who live here. We are heading to Europe and are not entirely sure when we will be returning to Australia. We have been having a very social time thats for sure! who would ever have time to fit work into this very busy schedule!

We did managed to squeeze in a quick 2 night camping trip with Steve and Shelley at Inskip Point. This is a favourite spot and never disappoints. A roast pork in the camp oven, lots of beach time and of course plenty of wine.

I feel so very lucky to have so many beautiful friends and of course my family, who are my best friends of all!

SO it is good bye to Australia for now, see you when we see you!

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Another Tale Of Paws And Tails

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It’s a dogs life – that’s for sure

We returned to Pran Brui Thailand in July for a couple of weeks with no less that 44 dogs. This is a house sit not for the faint hearted, by the time we are finished here we will be ready for another holiday.

Oscar, originally came from Denmark with Cristina

We were here 8 months ago, since then, sadly, 2 dogs have passed, but ten more have joined the team.

We have fallen straight back into the routine we had before, like we have never been away. We are pretty sure most of the dogs remember us and we have broken through some of the barriers we had last time with the stubborn ones.

Fighsty, 18 years old, happy to nap in my arms, such a cutie!

You know it is so interesting watching this pack. There are many different personalities, some leaders, some followers, the shit stirrers and the complacent. The puppies have grown into naughty teenagers, testing the boundaries at every opportunity. The OAP’s are sitting back laughing at the whole circus in front of them. The policeman and the colonel are still ruling but have a bit of opposition from new and younger ones challenging for the “top dog” position. It’s a whole community, a village, with its management and hierarchy very much intact.

  • FlipFlop
  • I can be really naughty when Mum and Dad are away!

Feeding time is a noisy affair. 44 bowls of food of varying sizes, containing a variety of vitamins and boosters. Bone broth for the sick one, Chihuahua food for the chihuahuas, coloured bowls for the poodles. We feed in batches, some are food crazy and need to be separated, others are very polite and wait their turn. We have a great routine and can get them all fed, mostly without incident, twice a day. The dogs can get quite possessive at feeding time and one day a fight broke out, while our backs were turned, under the prep table. It was fascinating to watch as Bob, the policeman, left his bowl and charged in, separating them. He stood growling at them – you could clearly see him saying “stop that you lot! If you are going to fight, take it outside!!!!” and they did! Wow, Go Bob!

  • At times its hard to find a place to put your feet without stepping on a dog

Within the pack, we have blind and infirm, crippled and deformed, but each one has been brought to this beautiful place and loved and cared for by Cristina and her volunteers with unmatched dedication and love. There is about 2 acres of land here for them to run around in. Everyone has a warm and safe bed to sleep in and a loving hand to cuddle and care. It is a paradise for these dogs who otherwise would have a very cruel and painful life.

Most evenings after we have fed the dogs, we go for a walk to the bottom of the garden to hang out for a while as the evening starts to cool a bit. We take Nimbus, the most severely disabled, in the “golden chariot” (old wheelbarrow) down there too. Even though he has little use of his hind legs he can get around really fast. All the different smells are heaven for dogs, they love it. So funny though how they don’t go down that way much unless the humans go there, they are like children, only want to be where you are.

We spent 16 days here on our own. Chris, a volunteer, comes twice a week to help out. We are so grateful for her steady nature and knowledge of the dogs, we couldn’t have done it without her. Pang, a cleaner, comes three times a week to help with all the laundry, cleaning of the dog kitchen and picking up poo. She is a wonderful help and, again, a vital cog in this operation, we were very grateful for all her help.

Volunteer Chris, you are awesome!

When the sun goes down we put the doggies to bed. They all have their place and life goes quiet. Peace…….. Chris and I sit and have a beer and reflect on our day and congratulate each other that we made it through another one!

August in Thailand is supposed to be the rainy season, we had a couple of downpours but not enough rain to do any good. It is very hot and dusty. 34 deg C feels like 41deg C. Watering the garden is becoming a daily affair and jumping into the pool every few hours to cool off. Its not glamourous! Buckets of sweat, mixed with dust and generous amounts of dog slobber from all the loving licks of 44 hot wet tongues.

With having the help of Chris and Pang means we get time out to explore the area. We have a car and motorbike to use along with bikes. The beach is a 35 minute bike ride away so we get down there a couple of times. The water is not perfectly clear and is very shallow, but so nice to get into the ocean.

The food is wonderful – I know I do go on a bit about the food – but it is truly awesome, and so affordable. The markets are fascinating, and we love trying new things – but we do draw the line at the chicken feet and congealed blood. Thai people eat every part of the animal, so glad they do but I can’t bring myself to join in on that tradition, Sorry! The Pork in this part of the world is fantastic! Crispy, pulled, boiled, every style yum yum yum!!

We took a trip down to the Phraya Nakhon Cave. The hike is quite tough but so worth the effort. 110 feet up steep steps to the entrance of the cave then another steep decline into the cave. The cave is huge and there has been a small pavilion built inside. If you get there at the right time, the sun rays flood into the cavern illuminating the golden pavilion, lighting it up like magic. Though we went early enough to see the magical spectacle, it was overcast so we didn’t see it at its best, but still, absolutely amazing! We were the only ones in there and it was very humbling, so very magical.

We had a great time here again. I would so love to take a few dogs home, it would be hard to choose which though, they all have their own personalities and are all great dogs. We Might have a few favourites….cant help but love them!

  • Exactly 44 – all present and accounted for

Thank you Cristina and Paul for bestowing your trust in us to look after your furry kids, we know how much they mean and we are feel privileged to be the caretakers – or perhaps Auntie and Uncle!!

Good Night Team xx

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Almost Forgot George Town

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Chew Jetty, George Town, Penang, Malaysia

I was sitting on a bus in New Zealand, travelling from Tauranga to Auckland writing my story about our trip to Thailand when I realised I had forgotten all about our trip to George Town.

How could I forget George Town?? I reminisce about this beautiful town on the island of Penang, Malaysia as I go through my 1000’s of photos.

We came to Penang from Langkawi to spend a night with Chris’s brother and nephew as they were holidaying here. It was wonderful to see them and share a meal and a few Tigers.

  • Bernard and Ashley

We love Penang, almost as much at Langkawi! And George Town is a very photogenic town, with its famous street art, little surprises around every corner. I love the Chinese shop-houses, the more run down the better! The chipping paint and miss matching shutters are fascinating. We thoroughly enjoyed our 2 nights there. It was like putting on an old favourite comfy jumper, going to the same old places we have loved, seeing things again with fresh eyes but the same awe and appreciation.

George Town is recognised as having a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere else in Southeast Asia and contains one of the largest collections of pre-war buildings in S.E.A. George Town became a UNESCO world heritage site in 2008 and is the second largest city in Malaysia.

I hope you enjoy this photo journey through George Town and it reminds you of the time you were here, or it inspires you to make the trip to Malaysia.

Penang is definitely worth a trip! If you are in Malaysia, don’t miss it out! And of course the FOOD IS FABULOUS!

And a bonus – We got to watch the All Blacks beat South Africa.

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