Asia – Kiwis Do Fly

We Put The Turbo Boosters On And Found Our Wings

Published on January 15, 2025January 15, 2025 by kiwisdofly24 Comments

2024 – it’s a wrap!

Recently I made a reel of all our 2024 house-sits, it was awesome, it turned out so well. Trusted House-sitters prompted that reel as a competition and I was hoping we would win a go-pro haha – of course I thought our house-sits and our pets were the BEST, and was very surprised that we did not win the competition.

As I was going through the photos and making that reel, I realised that the house-sits for last year were only a part of what 2024 was for us. Since 2017, (excluding the COVID 1.5 years and 2018 when we tried time back in the real world and worked), House-sitting has been our top focus. We have traveled around the world several times. Like bees, we have moved from flower to flower and from country to country. We always have the next 6 months or more booked up. But last year was different, we tried to slow things down a bit – HA!

The years go by so fast, don’t they? We are already almost half way through January and If I wanted to wrap up last year, then I better get on with it because before we know it we will be half way through July!

So, 2024, what did that look like for us? 12 months from the beginning of December 2023 looked like this:-

Lumin and Rana, Engin Germany, the snow was outstanding!

December we were in Engin, Germany, doing a new (for us)house-sit. We fell in love with 2 beautiful Sight Hounds, were enchanted with the village, especially when it snowed, and made awesome new friends. Then off to Leros, Greece to do a sit we have done before, we feel so at home on Leros. That was house-sits 1 and 2.

A few nights in Athens being tourists then off to Paris. 3 nights in Thure, France, catching up with friends we made while house-sitting there in 2019, then up to The Netherlands. We never visit Europe without a visit to our friends in Holland, we always have the best time, even though it is often years between visits.

Château de La Barbelinière, Thure, France – She still looks stunning through the mid-winter fog (house-sit 2019)

We cannot be in this part of the world without a visit to Belgium – even if it is purely to drink beer! And that is exactly what we did. 3 nights in Brussels, 1^st time visiting this city. Now, across the channel, House-sit 3 and 4 in South England, Weymouth then Shoreham-by-Sea. Some more new pets to get to know and love, and awesome homeowners/new friends.

We want to head over to Puerto Rico, not to house-sit this time but purely to visit all the wonderful people we had met there during the 2 X 6 month sits we have done in the past. So, this time we jump on a ship and sail from Southampton to Miami. 11 days crossing the Atlantic – truly a bucket list item! On arrival we fly straight to Puerto Rico and then on to Vieques. Two weeks was not enough, but we must move on.

By now it is March and our next stop New Zealand. Now this is novel, haven’t had much time here in the last few years. We have a full immersion into our family and friends. It is awesome! Exhausting but fantastic. We make our way up and down and around the country and have a great old time. Chris spends 8 weeks here and I have 6. I opted to head over to Queensland, Australia for 2 weeks to spend a bit of time catching up with friends and family there.

Precious time with the family – all in the same country at once for a change!

It is now May and we each jump back on a plane. Chris flies from Auckland. I fly from Brisbane. We meet in Langkawi, Malaysia. Back to a house-sit we have done before; this is house sit-number 5. From Langkawi it is a quick 3-day visit to Kuala Lumpur to be tourists again. We just love Malaysia, the food, the people the warmth – everything! But now time for Thailand.

We have been to Hua Hin, Thailand several times now. While there, we have made great friends. We have 3 house-sits here over the next 2 months, all through word-of-mouth for friends. Of course, it wouldn’t be a trip to Thailand without a sit for the 44+ dogs and our dear friend Cristina. We are so glad to be able to be there so she can get away for a break. That was house-sits 6, 7 and 8.

August we head to The Sunshine Coast, Australia. Maybe put our feet up for a bit? Fat chance! Chris stays for 4 weeks and heads back to Langkawi to do that sit again that we did in May. House-sit number 9. I chose to sit this one out and stayed put in Australia for about 2½ months. Meanwhile Chris finishes in Langkawi. He heads first to Kuala Lumpur then to Tioman Island, Malaysia to be tourist for a few weeks. He absolutely loves it – though he says it was not the same without me…..

I have 2 weeks in New Zealand again and by late October Chris arrives into New Zealand also. Only for a week though, November we head off to the most remote house-sit we have ever done. Uoleva, Tonga. House sit-number 10. And here we are, halfway through this 4 month sit. Lots of time to reminisce over the past 12 / 13 months. Wow we have been busy! I am feeling exhausted just thinking about it.

What a year!

10 house sits, 63 pets. 13 countries, we won’t count USA, we only transited, 12 international journeys together and 7 separately, that’s average 15½ each.

We travelled between places by ferry 3 times, bus 8 times, train 3 times, were driven by car twice and sailed on a ship once. I can’t remember how many domestic flights we took while in New Zealand. It was more than I can count on two hands!

During this year, we celebrated an awesome milestones. Our daughter Tayla and her partner Jesse got engaged! Huge congratulations to them both, we are so very proud. Such a privilege to have been there to celebrate with them! WOW, It has been quite a year.

So that is a year in the life of the house-sitters. How did we ever have time to work a 9 – 5?

We often get asked how do we do this? How do we step away from the conventional? My answer? what is normal? And often a comment comes back, oh I could never do that! but you know what? you can! All you need to do is put your mind to it and just take that first step. It’s just one foot in front of the other. I say just go for it, go on! give it a chance. Life is too short and you never know what you’re gonna find out there. There are so many wonderful people to meet and sights to see. Give it a go! you might just surprise yourself.

We have each and every one of these stories in detail with loads more cool photos. If you want to see more, check out the rest of our blog……https://kiwisdofly.blog/

Boarding the Ferry in Leros heading to Athens

A big year but nicely balanced, exhausting and exciting all at the same time.

Thank you for reading our story

House Sitting in Southeast Asia: A Rustic Paradise

Published on July 28, 2024 by kiwisdofly22 Comments

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

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.

No wonder we are in a constant sweaty mess!

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.

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

Published on June 24, 2024 by kiwisdofly2Leave a comment

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 3^rd 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.

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.

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.

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.

Tag: Asia

We Put The Turbo Boosters On And Found Our Wings

2024 – it’s a wrap!

What a year!

Thank you for reading our story

House Sitting in Southeast Asia: A Rustic Paradise

See you in Thailand, our next adventure has just begun!

Thank you for reading our story

Retimed To Langkawi

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?

We made it!

Thank you for reading our story!!