I <3 Langkawi

Published on July 13, 2023 by Donna1 Comment

I am sitting here with an ice cold drink, upstairs in this wonderful house. My view is of the ocean with Thailand in the distance. I can hear the waves crashing on the shore as I reflect on our time here. I am feeling cool at last with the afternoon breeze coming in and having just got out of the pool. Only an hour ago I had sweat dripping off me, into my eyes, off the end of my nose. I was raking up some leaves and I felt someone’s gaze. I looked around there was a monkey sitting on the driveway watching me. He took off when I came toward him, I said hello to him up the tree as I passed, and he looked right at me and opened his mouth in a big smile. They look so cute, but those teeth look sharp! I had a sudden panic that he might jump at me and bite me – a smiling assassin! So I hightailed it back to the house. A reality check – that’s right, we are in Asia, wow! We really are, sometimes I have to pinch myself.

We are almost finished this house sit, 8 weeks have gone so fast. We have had such a great time here in Langkawi, what a little gem. We have always loved Malaysia and we are yet to be disappointed. Langkawi is a very chill island. Nothing really matters, you can be your own person here and no one will judge. “Island Time” is alive and well. The people are so friendly and welcoming and very generous.

We were sitting at the café/restaurant next door one rainy night and got talking to the couple at the table beside us. We ended up swapping phone numbers and made a date to meet up the next week. Well, that was the beginning of a wonderful friendship. We have since been to their house for traditional Nasi Lamak, out for a couple of meals, and they have been here for dinner. Just a few days ago, we went to their house for a cooking lesson, Beef Ball Noodle Soup. We cooked outside, on a simple gas cooker right beside the paddy field, surrounded by their beautiful gardens. We often get asked “why?” “why do you like doing this so much?” well this is why; it is the people we meet along the way that enrich our lives so much.

Ad and Saj
All ready for the pot
Great day for cooking ourside
Beef Ball Noodle Soup – Delicious

Our neighbour Suzie, has been amazing. She has “Eagleye”, a wonderful little guest house with a bar. We have joined in with her guests and friends as if we are part of the family. She has introduced to Malaysian traditional food and presented me with a bottle of bubbles on my birthday. “My house is your house – you are my neighbour – that’s it” By just being there she has made our stay here extra special.

Through Suzie we have met some amazing people. Sabine is from Germany and travels alone, she is a photographer – travelling and taking photos; my dream job! And Shannim, who is from Malaysia, is a spirited pathfinder! She also travels alone to places far and wide, never really knowing where the next wind will take her but embraces every step with bubbling excitement and enthusiasm. Shannim writes all about her adventures too. It has been so exciting to meet both of these inspirational women.

Check out their awesome photos and stories:-

https://instagram.com/flow.photography.sabine?igshid=Y2IzZGU1MTFhOQ==

https://instagram.com/epicadventuress?igshid=Y2IzZGU1MTFhOQ==

http://www.epicadventuress.com

Shannim (in White) and friends
Fire on the beach right with the Eagleye crew
Uncle Jonnie playing the Gambler

Shila, our housekeeper brings us treats almost every time she comes, Chicken Curry, Samosa and these little sweet white balls covered in coconut called Ondeh Ondeh. Her daughter makes the best Curry Puffs on the island, we are getting so spoilt!

There is a little round lady in the store at the end of our driveway. She is only open in the afternoons, but she does sell beer, along with hammers and nails, plastic table cloths, chain and bath plugs. We go in fairly regularly and get a couple of Tigers on the way home. She doesn’t speak a stick of English and just laughs every time we speak to her, so we laugh with her and that’s it, we understand each other perfectly! We get the biggest wave and smile every time we go past. She probably thinks we are mad!

There is a craft place down the road, it is a tourist attraction, has all sorts of traditional Malaysian clothing, jewellery, art etc etc. there are also 2 museums on site. We have been a couple of times and I got talking to the batik painting guy and arranged for a day to go in and do some batik painting myself. He designed 3 small frames with the flowers I chose, and he helped me paint the dye onto the fabric. It was so much fun and very relaxing and rewarding. I was very surprised and pleased with the results. He only took equ. $8NZD.

Kraft Kompleks Langkawi

We have had so many wonderful interactions with the people here, the Roti shop, the Chinese supermarket, the Night Market stall holders. We even got 10% off the bill when we went to the Tanjung Rhu Resort for all you can eat breakfast. The lady at the “1 o’clock” restaurant; we named it that as she opens at 1 o’clock each day, she makes the best Keow Teow Goreng on the island and whenever we go her son comes out to talk to us and practice his English. It’s a wonderful place.

The Island is so beautiful. So green with thick, lush vegetation. If you are not looking at the sea, you are looking at the rugged mountains, so spectacular in their own right. There are mangroves in the estuary’s, caves and picturesque outer islands, rivers, and many waterfalls. We did a boat tour through the mangroves which took us out onto the Andaman Sea, we got to see the island from a different perspective. And, as you know, Donna and Chris are very happy when they are on a boat!

The Bat Cave
Looking back up the estuary
View of Tanjung Rhu with rugged backdrop

Langkawi is sitting at 6 degrees Latitude North, pretty close to the equator and what we notice mostly is there is hardly any dawn or twilight. 0710 is sunrise, according to google, but it is still dark until only about 10 minutes before. Same in the evening, the sun goes down really quickly, if you don’t remember to look, you will miss the sunset!

The Seven Wells Waterfall, stunning. 600 steps to climb to get here
Crystal clear, cold water – so nice!
Telega Tujuh Waterfall, the seven wells are above this fall

Another waterfall within a cycle distance from home, Durian Perangin Waterfall

We have been out on the kayaks twice while being here. The first time our dear, loyal HobNob wanted to follow. We were a couple hundred meters out when we realised that he seriously did want to come with us! He was swimming and swimming. He gave us a bit of a scare, who knows how well this dog can swim! So we went straight back in, close to shore and, yes, he followed – phew! It became a very short paddle along the shoreline with loyal puppy following us along the beach.

The next time we went out, we sneaked around the back of the house so he didn’t see us go. We had a great paddle with an encounter with a pod of dolphin. That was the last thing we expected. There were about 6 or 7 including a baby. Most were grey and had blunt dorsal fins which were mottled pink and their faces were blotchy pink, almost looked like they were sunburnt. A variety we have never seen before. They were not in a hurry to get away from us so we just enjoyed their company, thinking how lucky are we! We googled it afterwards and found they were Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin. We were so surprised to see them, it was a great thrill.

It is rainy season now but we haven’t had as much rain as they say we should have had by now. We feel quite lucky! But not so lucky with the mosquitos! They are the size of helicopters here and so quick! The bush mozzies will bite all over, fast as lightening and the bites will itch for about 15 minutes then its all gone. There is another variety around and when they bite, the bite will itch for days and swell up into a red lump. Thankfully it is mostly the bush variety.

Nasi Campur in the rain

We are flying to Penang soon, the next chapter is about to begin!

Thank you Langkawi, you have been amazing! See you again soon!

Thank you for reading our story

Kuala Lumpur In May

Published on June 22, 2023 by Donna5 Comments

It is hard to believe we have spent another year house sitting. From New South Wales in Australia, to Puerto Rico, then Thailand to India. That was 2022 – done ^TICK

A few months back down under to regroup and reset with friends and family and we are off again.

We have decided to do things a bit differently this year. Each year we have been house sitting we have started at the beginning, gone from house sit to house sit and made our way from one country to the next, optimising our time and following a course which eventually leads us back to New Zealand, about a year later. This year we will return to Australia between big trips. So this trip will only be 3 months long.

So start in Malaysia, only a nine hour flight from Queensland Australia where we have been recently based.

KLIA Express, direct from the airport to Sentral Station

First stop Kuala Lumpur, one of our favourite cities. We are very excited to be back in Malaysia. The food is outstanding and the people are always so warm and welcoming. We stayed in a small basic hotel right outside the main entrance of the NU Sentral Mall, which is part of Sentral Station. The public transport is so efficient and really easy to understand. It is a very simple commute from KLIA international airport straight to Sentral Station, and right to our accommodation. The warmth and smells that great us are overwhelming, sparking fond memories – WE ARE BACK!

We had 3 nights here, re acquainting ourselves with the cuisine. Eating our way around all our old favourite places. We were very close to the Indian quarter and found restaurants with all the Indian delicacies we were enjoying while in Chennai.

Kuala Lumpur is a super modern city, but still holds the charm of the old world. China Town and Little India are like walking back in time, yet you go to the Petronas Twin Towers or the Berjaya Times Square and you are immediately transported to the, almost , futuristic state-of-the-art centres with everything on steroids! We love both, maybe erring on the side of the oldie-worldie but loving the super modern, bright and shinny too.

We spend a lot of time walking around and pointing out places we have been before, restaurants we have been in, 7Elevens we have frequented and found the cheapest beer. But also discovering new things, new sights, especially as we have not been here since COVID and we do notice a change. China Town seemed very quiet now – still busy by our terms, but not that frantic business that was the total manic vibe of the place. There were not as many street hawkers or market stalls. Our old ladies pushing carts full of ice and cold drinks were nowhere to be found. It must have been pretty tough here during the pandemic, very sad.

China Town
Petronas Twin Towers
Brickfields Little India

In amongst the chaos of this busy incredible city is the Botanical Gardens. A beautiful piece of green-belt right there, hidden away from the madness. We spent a few hours here and thoroughly enjoyed the change of pace. It is a little run-down in places, but still a great respite from the heat (in all ways) of the city.

It’s a lot hotter here than what we have been used to for the last few months, we are very thankful for our air conditioning in our room. It’s a welcome relief to get onto the trains for the cool of their air conditioning. It is so cheap to ride the trains and as I said, so easy! Just have to find the right train line you want to go on, use the touch screen to say where you want to go and boom, out comes a little blue token and off you go! All over the city, anywhere you want to go for about equivalent to $1.

A few nights back here is like coming home, it had to be done, but we have puppies to look after!

Our next stop is Langkawi, an Island off the west coast right up by the Thailand border. We have been there once before for a week vacation, this time we will be there for 2 months. We love the city, but we have had our fill, lets slow our pace down a bit and get ourselves back to some Island Time!

See you in Langkawi!

Thank you for reading our story 🙂

There Is Something About A Saree

Published on January 18, 2023 by Donna4 Comments

Chennai, India. We never thought we would go to India, it was never on the “bucket list” so to speak, but here we are and it is almost time to leave.

Chennai, on the Bay of Bengal in eastern India, the capital city of the state of Tamil Nadu. We are based in an apartment right in the thick of everything, Besant Nagar, only 15 minute walk to the beach. We were told this was a good first place to visit in India as it is safe and friendly. A good place to “get the hang of it” before you take the training wheels off.

We haven’t been any further than the city this trip, I would love to get out and see the country side, but that will be the next trip. It has been great to really get to know one place. This is one of the things we love about house sitting, you get right off the tourist route and generally stay longer than just a holiday so you do get to know the local people. It has been harder here to get to know the locals as there is a very definite language barrier, but that doesn’t stop us trying! A lot of Indian people can speak English, but they have such a strong accent, it is hard to believe that we are speaking the same language.

We get a lot of attention here as we look so different. It is the young, probably late teenage girls who stare mostly at me, but when I look at them and smile, wow the smiles that break out on their beautiful faces just melts my heart. They sometimes say hello, or just shyly wave. I am thinking that seeing me, dressed in my ordinary, colour-less western clothing, must be like us in New Zealand seeing someone dressed in a bright coloured Saree walking down our main street. I guess we, also, would take a second look.

This city is a place of extremes. It is so loud and so colourful. I don’t think I have been in a place with so much vibrant colour. The pride in their presentation is palpable. Mens crisp white shirts ironed to within an inch of their life. The small children, immaculately dressed. Girls in beautiful dresses and sparkly jewellery that you would only expect to see on dolls in shop windows in the western world. The little boys with waistcaost and tie, hair slicked down perfectly. And the women, I try not to stare, but they are so beautiful. I cannot tell you how many different colours, shades of colours, colour combinations, depths of colours there are. I don’t think I have seen two Saree the same. Sparkle, silver, gold, flowers, all on their person, it is just stunning. I am guessing when I say 90% of women are wearing traditional Saree, or if not Saree, then other traditional dress like Shalwar and Kameez, and you can tell they wear it with pride and respect. Whether they are selling bangles on the side if the street or at the beach, they are still wearing their Saree – blows my mind!

FUN FACT, the Saree, sometimes spelt Sari, is made from hand woven, uncut cloth and is on average 8.5 metres long. It can be draped over 100 different ways. The first Saree can be traced back to 2800 and 1800BC. The word “Sari” is believed to be derived from a Sanskirt word meaning “strip of cloth”. Traditionally worn alone until the prudish Victorian era, when it was recommended to wear a petticoat and blouse underneath. AND, if you do it right, (the drape) then you don’t need any safety pins! I would so love to try one on! 11 Million people are employed by the saree cloth weaving industry!

Indian people are so business minded, if you don’t have a physical shop, then set one up on the street. There is a guy down the road with a sewing machine on the sidewalk under a tarpaulin. Sometimes you see him cutting cloth on the concrete. What fascinates me most about this one is that behind him are some old wooden shelves filled with books. They look like fabric sample books. This is literally on the street, out in the open, and not very well protected from the weather, this is his office and workroom, just amazing.

Then there is the man fixing suitcases, nothing goes to waste here it seems. The guy fixing bicycles. Mending bikes so old and rusted, they look like they have been around since the first Saree.

The man stuffing fluffy cushions to sell

The shoe selling lady, sandals and jandals all piled up on the footpath ready for you, the customer.

The lady sitting on the concrete, painting terracotta pots to sell.

And then there is the ironing guy. This is the one I like the best. The irons are cast iron and full of hot coals, they look so heavy. There are often two people ironing in the little hut on the street, all day, ironing, ironing. I guess no ironing is done if it is raining.

The bicycle cart which sells fruit and veg and coconuts, the ladies sitting at a table on the street all day, every day, tying flower garlands. The man on a bike with a flask and paper cups selling cups of coffee. The man with the Samosa on a tray on his head, he carries a plastic box too, so when you want to buy, he puts the box down as a temporary stand – he has obviously got this down to a very fine art.

When they do have premises, they can be so small. No bigger than a cupboard with a counter at the front. All their goods hanging all around the opening. Everything from sweets to mobile phones. Fruit, veg, brooms and baskets, you name it! Rice? What kind of rice do you want? There is a counter with about two dozen trays of different rice and grains, there is always a line at this counter. They choose what they want and get a sack of it. So many shops, we often wonder how they all keep a float.

And then there are the shopping malls. No city is complete, anywhere in the world, without a shopping mall with the same high street stores and restaurants. Starbucks, McDonalds and Dominos, they are all here, Marks and Spencer, Sephora, Pandora, Tommy Hilfiger etc etc.

I mentioned extremes, there is great poverty here too. It surprises us sometimes the smallness of the gap between the two. I don’t want to dwell on it, it is a fact of life in every city. But everyone seems happy, I guess it is all perspective.

Chennai is a sensory overload. The colours, the smells and the sounds, all on steroids, an assault on the senses. But we love it. This adventure was not on the bucket list……….. Sometimes you just have to take the plunge, take the acute angle and give it a go, you might just be surprised at how good it is – because life is far too short not to!

Tag: kiwisabroard