kiwisdofly – Page 2 – Kiwis Do Fly

Be Careful What You Wish For

Published on January 10, 2024 by kiwisdofly21 Comment

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.

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.

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

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!

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!

Thank you for reading our story!

The Story Of Mr Peanut And Friends

Published on November 22, 2023 by kiwisdofly2Leave a comment

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?

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!

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!!

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!

Thank you for reading our story

Another Tale Of Paws And Tails

Published on August 30, 2023 by kiwisdofly24 Comments

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.

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!!

Thank you for reading our story

Tiga Pulau – Three Islands

Published on June 29, 2023 by kiwisdofly23 Comments

Langkawi, Malaysia

Tiga Pilau, this is the name of the place we are staying here on Langkawi Island, Malaysia. We only found out the other day the significance of the name, we couldn’t work out the reason for the reference to tigers. It turns out that Tiga is Malay for Three and when you look out from the beach right Infront if us there are three islands, it really is quite beautiful. They are three of 99 islands which make up Langkawi. Beyond those three islands, you can see more land, it is a magnificent backdrop and it is actually Thailand that you can see.

Langkawi is approx.. 478km2, 29km long by 16km wide, 99,000 population. Only 4 of the 99 islands are inhabited. Fun fact – Langkawi is an amalgamation of the Malay vocabulary “helang” (eagle) and “kawi” Sanskrit for the bird’s reddish-brown tone.

It is a very easy and cheap flight from Kuala Lumpur, less that $40NZD each. Our lovely home owners were at the airport when we arrived. This is a really popular place for Malaysians to come for vacation as it is only an hour flight from KL and you are transported into another world. A lot slower world. The term “island time” springs to mind.

We have 4 days with our owners. Doing the usual familiarisation of the house, pets, and surrounding community. We find that there is everything you could ever need right here in this village. Then it is our turn for a trip to the airport to see them off on their 8 week trip to Europe and Canada.

We have 2 dogs here to look after and a separate little house which is used as an Air BnB, which has guests for the first week. The property is huge with loads of trees and lots of grass to mow. There is a jungle area out the back as well, complete with monkeys! And lets hope – no snakes!

The house is amazing, it has been built to blend into its surroundings. it is completely open throughout the main areas which allows the breeze to come straight through. The pool is right in the middle of the house which has an air-conditioner effect of keeping the place cool.

We have settled into a nice routine with walking the dogs on the beach morning and night, doing a bit of garden maintenance in the mornings, picking up fallen branches, leaf raking, mowing and trimming, then we head off to explore in the afternoons. We are so lucky to have been left a couple of Ebikes, kayaks and a car.

Being right on the beach means we, almost always, have a breeze. It is so hot here. We thought that Vieques, Puerto Rico was our hottest location so far with its high humidity, but we think this tipped the scale. So having the sea right there is a Godsend! It is a sandy beach but from the mid-tide water line there are lot of rocks so it is not the best for swimming, but we only have to go 2-300m down the beach and are able to get in for a dip. We have found that just a 15 minute bike ride from here is Tanjung Rhu beach. What a beautiful spot! Wide white sand beach with water a bit clearer than our beach, lots of shade trees AND a restaurant! We spend a bit of time here, reading our books under a tree and dipping into the water to cool off – the sea temperature is hardy cooling though at 30°C (86°F), it is like a bath and you depend on the breeze after you get out to do the “cooling”. The water generally on this side of Malaysia is not the crystal, gin clear water that we have seen in other places, but still pretty good.

Tanjung Rhu Beach
Locals will light little fires right there, under the trees, to cook their lunch

Langkawi is a duty-free island! Yes that is a fact! It was awarded duty-free status in 1987, to make tourism more affordable for Malaysian tourists, since then, international tourism has also increased. So the beer and spirits are very cheap. The wine is about what you would pay at home – but it is duty-free, so doesn’t really make sense. A bottle of New Zealand Mud House Sav is 55MYR, but a litre bottle of Stoli Vodka is 34MYR ($11 NZD) and a 24 case of Tiger is 60MYR. But you must admit, there is nothing nicer than an ice-cold beer on a hot day! And at those prices, we are not holding back!

The food here in Malaysia is wonderful and Langkawi is no exception. Here in our little village we have many restaurants and food stalls. You would never go hungry in this place. And everything is so reasonably priced too! There are also dry goods supermarkets, fruit stalls and veg shops. Sweets stands, ice-cream, fried bananas – everything for Breakfast lunch or dinner and everything in between. Thai food, Malay food, western food, fried food, steamed food, noodles, rice, chicken, fish, anything you could ever desire. It is always a bit of a lottery as to what will be open and when. Breakfast goes until about 1pm and lunch is still considered lunch at 4 in the afternoon. I think you just eat when you are hungry and eat whatever you feel like at that time. It is not unusual to have curry for breakfast and it is quite palatable especially if it is at 11am. Nasi Lemak and Roti Canai are usually eaten in the first half of the day.

Nasi Campur – rice with smorgasbord of many dishes
one of our regular Nasi Campur restaurants
The burger stall

We have the best night market of the island. There is a Night market every single night somewhere on the island. Our Market is on a Friday night and it really is fantastic! There are so many stalls, all the stall holders are so friendly. We just cannot help ourselves and always come home with enough food for two days! Fried Chriken, Koew Teow, sweet corn pancakes, Nasi Goering, Vegitable Baji etc etc etc…. a lot of it is “deep fried goodness” as my gorgeous friend Karen would say – but oh so delicious! Each dish will usually have some sort of sauce in a small plastic bag tied up with a rubber band to go with it, yumm, Friday is our favourite day of the week.

Our village is called Ayer Hangat, we are on the North side of the island. With the geography of the island we are actually facing West and we get the most beautiful sunsets. We are a bit away from Pantai Cenang, which is the really touristy part of Langkawi. We are also on the opposite side to the main town of Kuah (which, by-the-way, means “gravy”!) This part of the island is very traditional, not so many tourists over here. It is so funny when you see a car over this side with a big red “M” sticker on the windshield, to get a free drink going through the McDonalds drive-through. It seems so crazy to think that only 20 km away is a McDonalds, KFC, Shell Gas, cappuccino’s and latte’s, when we’re out here in this very traditional village, with food on the street and a cash only society.

We love cycling through the Kampongs, the little villages in behind the main roads. The roads are so narrow, one car width, sometimes gravel, sometimes tarmac. It’s absolutely beautiful and so peaceful. There is a variety of traditional houses and really huge modern homes. There are always kids running around, playing on the streets. They always have a big wave and “Hello”. As you look up you can see the mountains behind, so rugged and lush covered in jungle. Cycling alongside a little stream almost reminds me of the towpaths and Holland except when you look around you see banana trees, coconut palms, the odd little grove of sugar cane, it’s all very green and lush and very much Asia. The water in the stream is pretty milky looking but there are still Lily pads and Lily flowers. Then you come to the rice paddy fields and the roads criss cross the paddy fields. Bright green rice fields, with cows seeming to be roaming free. One of our favourite places to go.

We are loving being part of the community here, we are being recognised by shop and restaurant owners and have made some lovely friends.

Thank you for reading our story!!

There is more to come of this awesome place, see you soon xx

There Is Something About A Saree

Published on January 18, 2023 by kiwisdofly24 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!

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed our story 🙂

Back In The Land Of Roti

Published on November 29, 2022 by kiwisdofly21 Comment

Indonesia and Malaysia

After almost 7 months on a house sit in the Caribbean, it is time for catching up with friends and having a holiday. We had a fabulous week in Boston, now lets head to South East Asia.

We are going to Jakarta to visit with a friend we met 5 years ago, while in between house sits, on Pangkor Island, Malaysia. Pangkor is predominantly Muslim, and we were finding it difficult to find beer. The strip of restaurants had entrances on the roadside but they also had entrances from straight from the beach, they went right through. You could sit at the tables on the sand out the back, very cool. We had just walked into this one place, to find, yet again – no beer. We pretended to look at the beach and then, as we turned to leave, a voice came out of the shadows, “hey bro, you can get beer at the shop over there” What? Who was that? And how did he know what we were looking for? We had a good laugh about this and arranged to meet him later at the beach for a few beers (bought from that 1 shop). We ended up having dinner together and Chris and Nitin have remained good friends ever since. We have tried a few times in the last five years to catch up again but one thing and another got in the way – COVID was one rather large thing. But here we are flying 14.5 hours from Boston to Tokyo, change planes and another 8 hours to Jakarta. Arriving at midnight, Nitin was there, bouncing with excitement, and so were we! So good to be here!

We had a wonderful week catching up on the last five years… We ate so much wonderful food – oh how we have missed Asian food! AND we didn’t have any problems finding beer! Nitin looked after us so well, took us to amazing restaurants, we met his parents and girlfriend and felt like part of the family. Nitin’s Mum taught us how to make Chapati and I showed her how to make the bread like I had learnt on Vieques. We followed this “sharing of knowledge” with a wonderful family meal. We had six days of great laughs and loads of fun!

We are very sad to leave but so thankful, yet again, for these wonderful people coming into our lives in the most unexpected ways!

Now up to Penang, Malaysia for a week of rest.

We are staying in a little place called the Rassa Motel, at Batu Ferringhi Beach. Very basic but at $30NZD a night we cannot complain. One street back from the beach. We have stayed here before and know the location is perfect. AND, it is just around the corner from the best Roti restaurant in Malaysia – according to the “Donna and Chris research group”. So, every morning we would walk around the corner and see the Roti maker and enjoy our favourite breakfast with thick dark coffee with a splash of condensed milk – match made in heaven!.

We went for a walk up to a waterfall one morning after our Roti. The track got smaller and smaller, but we were confident that we would find our way and maybe even join up with a walk along the aqueduct, which we did last time we were in Penang. Well it did, but not until we passed through a hole in a padlocked gate. What could possibly go wrong? It was a lovely walk, and we end up in the area that we recognise. Cute buildings periodically along the trail. An Aqueduct will move water by gravity flow alone and this one is still channelling raw water to a treatment plant in Tanjung Bungah.

But we were not meant to be there-apparently! So that was what the lock on the gate meant…. A car of 4 guards drove by and stopped and asked where we were from……..

New Zealand!

No, where have you come from, you shouldn’t be here!

Oh OK.

Leave now!

Yes sir!

We reached the entrance after 17000 steps to be met by a police officer who gestured for us to go back, go back the way you came! Really? Sending us back into a restricted area for another hour and a half? You cannot come out this way! He relented in the end and let us out, whoops! Our host at the hotel said that it has been closed since COVID. We really did think there for a minute that we were going to have to walk another 17000 steps, but thankfully that was not the case – it was a great walk!

After 6 nights at Batu Ferringhi we took the hair raising bus trip to Georgetown for 1 night before we take the ferry to the mainland to get the overnight train to Thailand. A walk around the old town of Georgetown is a must not miss! The street art and old buildings are fantastic. Great markets and food halls and very safe.

As we check out we bump into a man from Pakistan. He was checking out too. He said “are you going to Langkawi?” we said no, we are going to Thailand. He said “oh, we want to go to Thailand, we will follow you!” Then him and is 3 friends did indeed, follow us to the ferry. It was all a bit confusing about where they were trying to get to, but they liked the idea of Krabi (Thailand) – but they kept saying they were going to Langkawi (Malaysia) Oh well, they were big boys. They were so funny and casual about where they were going to end up. They came on the ferry with us and then, after a 4 hour wait at the train station, came on the Komuter train to the Thai border, that is where we lost them. I would love to know where they ended up. Chris asked them if they liked beer – if they were going to Langkawi, it is a dutyfree town. Oh no, we don’t drink! Then one of the guys sidled up to Chris and whispered….. “I like alcohol” he said he had half a bottle of vodka in his suitcase, would he be able to take it with him across the border? Poor man! Oh we laughed at this for days.

The Malaysia – Thailand border at Padang Besar is interesting. You line up and go through passport control to exit Malaysia, then walk around the back of the offices and line up again to go through another passport control, in the opposite direction, back into the same hall, to enter Thailand. There is a fence between that you cannot get through, but it is right there, it’s all in the same space. The guy who stamped our passport leaving Malaysia had forgotten to change the date on his stamp so had us leaving the day before. We got escorted, bags and all, back around the offices, back to the immigration officer for a correction in our passport. Meanwhile, the train was sitting there ready to leave and the conductors were being told there are 2 more passengers, don’t go without them! This has been the most bazar trip!

Finally on our way to Thailand!

We are on our own now, no family or friends with us and we spend a lot of time talking and thinking of all the wonderful people in our lives. We are grateful to the friends we are making during this adventure, and the friends we can reconnect with while travelling. We also take the time to think about and feel so thankful for the ones at home. Our wonderful friends up and down New Zealand and Australia, our families who love and support us in these, sometime crazy adventures. We miss you so much and so appreciate your love and understanding that we are not in your lives day to day. Some of our friends and family are struggling with illness, loss and other things that life sometimes throws at you. We don’t forget this and hope that we can help out, as best we can, when or if the time is right. The world has become a smaller place with the ease of communication, and although we keep in touch via messages, facebook, emails and calls, we understand that it is not the same as being there. xxxx

Thank you for reading our story!

Florianopolis – The Friendly Isle

Published on September 25, 2019November 26, 2019 by kiwisdofly2Leave a comment

Brazil September 2019

I was asked today by our lovely house owners, what do we appreciate most so far? Well that’s a big question. This is a wonderful place and it put Chris and I into a serious discussion on what IS actually what we like the most?? We are loving so many things about Floripa! But the best thing we have found are the people. We cycled south yesterday to a point on the map where we thought would be the closest point across the dunes to the beach. We got it a bit wrong but kept exploring. We locked our bikes up and walked towards the dunes. Hello, a man walking toward us with a New Zealand Beanie on. So we stopped him and had a chat. He has been to NZ, did some surfing in Raglan and also had been in Australia. So he told us where his house was and suggested we should get together for a BBQ. We agreed that we would go and knock on his door some time. He said he loves his country and loved NZ but it showed him how much he has here in Floripa and just LOVES that a Kiwis are here and enjoying it. We parted and carried on our walk. When we returned we had a note attached to our bikes with phone number and have since been in touch and WILL go and have a beer next week!

Every day we have another example of the friendliness of the Brazilian people – too much to write, as it will bore you to tears, but I just want to stress just how awesome this has been. We make friends everywhere we go, people just want to talk and they do not get cranky if we don’t understand each other at first, in fact I think they enjoy the challenge and love trying to speak in English. Everyone is interested too, they want to engage and have a chat and they go out of their way to help. The security guards at the apartment, the supermarket checkout, the restaurants, the passers by, the guy in the bus line, WOW great people. AND big hugs when we said good bye! Maravilhosa Brazil!!

#floripa #friendlypeople #dunes #zerotohero #speakportuguese #travel