Adlibing Asia

Day 768 - Final flights

2009-07-14T08:34:00.009+08:00

An early departure meant that we'd already completed our thank you's and goodbyes the night before, and at around 6am our taxi came to take us for our final ride to the airport.

At the airport we did airport things and as a bonus got to hang out with Iona who was also flying home to New Zealand today.

The flight from Melbourne to Christchurch was one of growing excitement as we slowly inched the adlibing tour home. The flight over the Southern Alps was the most amazing welcome home, easily illustrating that New Zealand has a goldmine of amazing sights equivalent to the wonders that we travelled so hard to see during our tour through Asia.
It was an excruciating 2 hour wait in Christchurch knowing that we were home in New Zealand but still another flight from our family. When we finally boarded the 45 minute flight to Wellington it seemed to take forever to arrive but the second the seat belt sign was off, we were charging through the arrival gate into the arms of family, some of whom we were meeting for the first time. It was the easiest journey from the airport to our night's accommodation we've ever had and a wonderful way to end the Adlibing Asia tour! To top it all off, we had a home cooked meal waiting for us.

Adlibing it home!!!

Day 767 - Art and Architecture

2009-07-13T08:33:00.004+08:00

This morning the three of us headed out by tram to the city where we met Iona at the National Gallery of Victoria. It was great to continue seeing yet another friend that we hadn't had a chance to chill with in many years. Even better is that fact that we'll get to hang out in NZ as well!!

On our way to the Gallery we walked through a chilly Melbourne morning, along the canal and past many aging, but still beautiful, buildings.

At the gallery we were spellbound for hours on end at the Salvador Dali Liquid Desire exhibition that displayed art from his beginnings at age 14 to his masterpieces in his 70s. You could honestly walk through the exhibition and right back to the beginning and still be entranced for a second trip around.

After saying goodbye to Iona, the three of us blended in with the Melbourne lunch crowd at an alleyway cafe before heading on a tram journey around town. The tourist tram that circles Mebouurne city takes in many sites, and best of all is totally free!!

We eventually disembarked near the Melbourne Museum, beside Parliament House, and enjoyed walking around the grounds.

In the evening we had dinner and chilled out with the guys, for our last night before finally returning to that paradise we call home!

Adlibing Dali's work.

Day 766 - Hungover hanging out

2009-07-12T08:32:00.002+08:00

While the rest of the crew slept through their hangovers, Liv ventured out and up to the Greek Quarter of Melbourne for a nosy around and a look at the cute shops along the way. After stopping at the supermarket for supplies, Liv returned home way past lunch time to a still-quiet house.

Once the others finally stumbled out of bed, we all headed down to a nearby cafe for lunch and much needed coffee!!

In the evening the boys went to IMAX to watch Transformers, while Liv and Rita hung out at home with Amanda and Esther.

Adlibing a very subdued Sunday.

Day 765 - Alley art and Melbourne Museum

2009-07-11T08:27:00.005+08:00

This morning the three of us and Matt and Amanda caught the tram into the city and headed off to check out the graffiti art that covers many of Melbourne's inner city alleyways.

From the allyways we made our way by Historic Red Tram to the lovely State Library of Victoria. Here we looked down on the huge library, complete with green reading lamps, and checked out a few of the exhibitions, including the Ned Kelly one complete with his original armour.

By this stage we were rather starving, so we enjoyed a quick bite at one of the locals favourite sushi bar before wandering our way past more of the city's sites, including a number of glorious churches.

Soon, Adam, Matt and Amanda were ready to pick up drinks and head home to prepare for the evening.

Rita and Liv hung out at a book fair and had afternoon tea, before going to the supermarket to buy supplies for a great dinner and cocktails courtesy of Rita!!!

After chilling at home with cocktails and guests, we headed down to the local bar for a few more drinks.

While Liv crashed out at home, the others headed back into town for a night of djs and dancing, not making their way home till the wee hours of the morning!

Adlibing art.

Day 764 - Classical Mystery Tour

2009-07-10T14:45:00.005+08:00

While our hosts went off to work this morning (oh shit, we're going to have to do that soon), the three of us blissfully slept in until around lunch time!!! After that we awoke to a friendly message, breakfast supplies, directions towards shops, and a communication tool we think is called a cell-phone!!

Most of the afternoon was spent doing mundane western things, like buying groceries and winter warms so we don't freeze to death in the southern hemisphere. It's pretty cool to be able to wander the streets, easily reading street names, talk to shop people and follow the full conversation. It's particularly nice to blend in - for the first time in years we don't feel like highly visible tourists even though we actually still are tourists here checking out the sights!

Come evening we caught the tram into town and met for a drink at a proper bar, with great live music, where we had a few drinks before making our way to the the Hamer Hall Arts Centre in central Melbourne.

On the way to the Arts Centre we admired the shining lights that bathe the Melbourne waterways, glorious churches, and a huge Ferris wheel in the distance.

Rory brought Adam back to student days in a hurry by popping wine bottles out of his backpack which we began to drink at pace before being told by police to put it away!!

The next few hours were spent singing along to The Beatles accompanied by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. It was just so spot-on that they almost had us fooled that we were watching The Beatles! Having the orchestra play along with them just heightened the experience - it was great that in such a stunning setting there was nothing wrong with singing along and jumping up in the aisles and having a dance!

At the end of the evening we wandered through town before jumping back on the tram to get back home, where the boys settled into some more drinks and a good chinwag.

Adlibing The Beatles.

Day 763 - Out of Asia

2009-07-09T14:44:00.005+08:00

After a not-so-successful sleep, we "woke" up, went shopping at the airport supermarket for breakfast, and set about filling up the hours until our lunch-time flight.

The highlights during this waiting time were buying Liv a pair of shoes at a bargain price, and getting changed into normal clothes (jeans, shoes and jerseys) for our flight back into the Western World! Obviously our last few hours in Asia were fairly non-eventful! There was quite a bit of excitement when we thought we might be able to get some roti channai for lunch, but it wasn't to be!

Just before it was time to board, Rita and Liv went over to the food court and bought mee goreng galore to sustain us for the long flight to Brisbane. You're not meant to bring food onto the Air Asia flights, but being the budgeteers we are there's no way we're going to pay 9 ringit for mee goreng on the plane, when you can get it for 3 ringit at the food court!!

At 11.30am we began the checked in process, in typical Asian style it took an agonisingly long time for a short line to be dealt with before we could passed through security, and went to our gate, where we realised our flight to Melbourne was almost an hour late. Usually this wouldn't matter as we don't really follow any time frames, but our good friends Rory and Matt are meeting us at the airport at midnight, so to make them wait another hour sucks!

As we flew out of Asia for the first time in 2 years (well, 763 days, to be exact), we reflected over what we had done and seen over this time. We feel so blessed to have called Asia our home for 2 years. She treated us like friends , welcomed us like family, and fed us like royalty. Thanks Asia.

At just after midnight we arrived to freezing cold Melbourne, and the smiling faces of friends. Oh, and we need to be careful what we say to each other, as everyone here can understand us!

Adlibing it one step closer to home.

Day 762 - Back to KL one last time

2009-07-08T14:44:00.003+08:00

As today is our last day in Bali, we had a few last minute things to do - you know ... shopping, walking along the beach, getting massages, eating Indonesian food - those kinds of things!!! Needless to say we managed to fill our day quite nicely!

When the time came to jump in a taxi and make our way to the airport, it finally dawned on us that our Asian adventure was almost coming to an end - only one more night in Asia left!

At 8pm we boarded our flight back to Kuala Lumpur, and as we flew out over Kuta beach we got to say one final farewell to Bali - the small island paradise that has been our home for almost 3 weeks.

Just before midnight we landed at KL airport, during the quarter of an hour it took us to find a lovely piece of concrete to sleep on the clock What a way to celebrate the last 8 years!!! We tried to ignore the noise (and the fact that we were sleeping on the ground), and get some sleep!!

Adlibing our last night in Asia in the airport!

Day 761 - Last night in Bali

2009-07-07T14:25:00.006+08:00

Today is our last full day left in Bali, so we set out the make the most of one of our last days of relaxation.

Apart from buying the things on the shopping list that was emailed to us from mumbles and pops, we managed to get quite of lot of relaxing done today.

Marvellous mango juices and a traditional breakfast at our local was a great start, and later on we had lunch at another fancy restaurant along the beach.

During our shopping expeditions, we enjoyed watching everyday Bali life, where people sell all kinds of things in all kinds of places.We passed many temples adorned in glorious colours where the devoted lay colourful offerings. But the Balinese don't confine the offerings to the temples alone, and on every corner and at every house / shop these beautiful baskets are a sign of their devotion.

After chilling out with our books on our balcony we decided a few aches and pains needed addressing and headed off for a full body massage for the price of a coffee in NZ!!

Utterly relaxed from our massage we decided we should probably indulge once again in another upper class dining experience that we're unlikely to be able to afford back home, and once again capped off the night with a sublime stroll along the beach.

Adlibing meals and massages.

Day 760 - Sunset in paradise

2009-07-06T14:17:00.006+08:00

Last night Adam was once again struck down by the recurring mystery Mongolian virus - and after a night of conversation with the toilet, Adam was left rather drained and so we took it easy this morning.

After a late brekky we made use of our balcony and chairs to read, relax and maintain our holiday vibe. It's great to be on holiday and just be able to sit around without that constant push to experience as much of the country you're in.

In the evening we caught another killer sunset. Once again both Balinese and tourists were out in force, enjoying the warm waters and the colours upon them. Adam couldn't resist diving in for a swim, and was eyeing up the surfboards that line the beach. Hopefully he'll have enough energy for another surf before we leave summer and return to the cold climate of New Zealand.

Returning home after dinner, it finally dawned on us just how much stuff we have to transport home, despite giving heaps to mum and dad to take home for us!! We just hope we're able to carry on our fragile stuff, and don't have to wear too many of our clothes on the plane to cut back on weight!!

Adlibing it with piles of stuff.

Day 759 - ATM attacks

2009-07-05T14:17:00.002+08:00

This morning Adam shot off for a surfing lesson with our next door neighbour who was set on having Adam ride a real wave instead of heading straight for the beach on the whitewash. A few hours in the water eventually paid off in fist pumping screams of excitement a product of the rush of riding a real wave.

We continued our obsession with shopping, and spent some time at the photo shop getting some of our favourite travel shots blown up and developed.

After an afternoon of lazy beach side activities and a lovely dinner of local cuisine, we headed to the ATM to refill our wallets. And that's when we were attacked, well more like robbed, by the ATM!! After putting in our card and our PIN the ATM decided to give us our money, but keep the card!

This resulted in an evening of hanging out beside the ATM, stopping others using it, and waiting for a technician to come and rescue us. We filled the time by re-telling our favourite Peter stories - even though he departed our adlibing team a few months ago, he still manages to cheer us up and make us laugh!

Luckily we only had to wait an hour and a half, and we got our card back - to be honest we expected many more hours, and possibly a night sleeping beside the ATM. Nice work Bali Bank!

Adlibing it with our card back.

Day 758 - Farewell for now

2009-07-04T14:16:00.002+08:00

As it is mumbles and pops' last day in Bali - we decided to give them full control over the activities for the day. We were quite happy with the first selected activity which involved sunning ourselves by the pool, and after exhausting ourselves with this we headed off to the mall at Kuta beach, in search of yet more bargains.

Shopping in the mall seemed so abnormal for us so we kind of just aimlessly wandered around, while mum and dad managed to find some real bargains.

Back out the the heat we had a mammoth task of trying to find a nice but cheap restaurant to eat in and have a beer, as Kuta is really busy and has more upmarket restaurants for the 2-week tourists.

For mum and dad's last dinner, Made came out the join us -unfortunately neither of the kids could come out because last time Putu was on the back of Made's motorbike at night, she fell asleep!! Only in Asia would this happen - could you imagine falling asleep on the back of a motorbike ... and your father continuing to drive home regardless!

It was sad to say goodbye to mumbles and pops, but it's not exactly a long time until we'll be backpacking it in their bedroom downstairs in Wellington!

Adlibing goodbyes.

Day 757 - Throwing a couple of extras into the Bali routine

2009-07-03T13:14:00.006+08:00

Much as we've done for the last week, we woke to a beautifully warm, sunny day which enticed us nearer to the beach for our daily breakfast of nasi goreng and mango smoothies. After an exhausting breakfast like that, the only logical step to recover is a trip to the swimming pool!

After 2 years of not buying anything we've kind of let the cheap prices of Bali get the better of us, and day by day the piles of purchases are stacking up. We spent most of the morning haggling with shop owners before dragging our purchases home.

In the afternoon we hung out at the beach, and though on holiday and spending up large, we're still too cheap to pay for umbrellas and so ended up caked in sand after our salty swim.In the evening just the two of us had a romantic dinner at our favourite sea side restaurant, where we indulged in dishes that are expensive by Bali standards are a pittance of what we'd pay in New Zealand for a nice dinner out.

We had watched the sun settle over the horizon while we ate, and then walked along the starlit beach to get home.

Adlibing a starry night.

Day 756 - To do list

2009-07-02T13:06:00.005+08:00

Wake up whenever
Wander in search of a cheap street-side brekky
Visit mumbles and pops (and their pool!)
Swim
Laze in the sun beside the pool
Amble along the beach front in search of a lunch spot with a view
Check emails
Shop for family (gifts galore!)
Pick up brand new, tailor-made suits
Buy beer for fridge
Visit family again
Evening meal with the surf in the background
Go to sleep to the sound of Bali

Adlibing an accomplished list.

Day 755 – A misty volcano

2009-07-01T05:55:00.005+08:00

Once again we jumped in the car and battled with the Balinese traffic and its seemingly rule-less set of drivers! The further into our 2 and a half hour drive we got the more rural and beautiful it got – soon we were climbing through small villages based around rice paddies.

This is short flight from NZ, but the scenery couldn't be more different: bamboo forests are harvested and pointy hats bend over fields with handfuls of green plants to be submerged in mud. Matching the difference in scenery is the lifestyle where barefooted women balance everything from buckets of water to food to bundles of firewood on their head, one we noticed while balancing her load was walking down steep steps, with a child in her arms.

Although we had to resort to the map a lot, we made it to the base of Mt Agung (the day's destination) without much hassle. Here we got to see the Puru Pasar Agung (Mt temple) shrouded in a blanket of mist. While this gave it a surreal feeling it also meant that we couldn't see the volcano we were about to climb, nor the views down over Bali.

We wandered through the forest for an hour or 2, but eventually headed back due to too limited time and the mist that was gradually suffocating more and more of the scenery.

Before reaching the car we stopped to enjoy a picnic lunch – Rita's introduction to vegemite was a complete failure, but not unexpected!!

We wound our way along the coastal roads back to Legian where we all separated to rest our weary bodies – it's just not right to wake up before 7am on your holiday!!

In the evening the original Adlibers hung out at a cheapy restaurant attempting to maintain a grasp on their cheap travelling days - none of this hiring cars business!! Though we love having mumbles and pops do it for us!!

Adlibing it with a chauffeur.

Day 754 – Small town life

2009-06-30T05:54:00.003+08:00

With pops in the driving seat the 5 of us headed out for the 1 and a half hour drive to see Made and the family again. On the way we stopped of at a beautiful black sand beach, just add variety to the beaches we're experiences on our Balinese getaway!

Our arrival in Gianjar was overshadowed by the death of Made's uncle, but ever the welcoming family, we were treated to cold drinks before we left mumbles to have a financial chat with the parents. In the meantime the rest of us were shown around Gianjar by Putu – the eldest daughter of Made and Niluh. It was great fun submerging ourselves in a non-touristy market and enjoying the colours that caught our eyes from all directions: fruit and veges in one corner, bright flowers in another, and then all the temple clothing and offerings one needs to led the Hindu life that most Balinese follow.

The only hiccup in the market adventure was the disappearance of Rita – not really a problem but for 12 year old tour guide Putu it was a major disaster, until our missing person was re-found!

Back at the house Niluh had once again cooked up a total traditional feast for us, and then afterwards Made showed us around the kitchen and educated us on the process of making ceremonial cooked chicken. This is Niluh's part time business, and the day after tomorrow she had an order of 25 chickens to cook – all on wood fires and a clay oven. Made continued the education by showing an interested Adam how to carry 50 litres of water to the cows each morning, and having a good laugh as Adam attempted to be a Balinese waterboy. Depsite our own personal detour on route to Gianjar to a black sand beach, Made insisted on showing us new bungalow developments at the water's edge, just in case we were interested in buying some Bali land! The beach was lovely, and watching the families collecting shellfish at the tideline was enjoyable.

From here we decided to take a drive through nearby Ubud – a thriving arts town full of rice fields and galleries. The drive took us through upmarket areas along one road and then in the blink of an eye into rundown streets where kids flew kites amongst the green foliage.

Unfortunatly we didn't know where on earth we were going and managed to get ourselves quite lost – but we had a great time looking around the things we did find before getting the car in gear and heading towards out beachside home.

When we got home we found a message from our friends Sean and Wendy who we met in Thailand and caught up with in Malaysia. They are now in Bali so we met up for dinner and a great catch up on all their adventures through Indonesia over the last 2 months.

Adlibing family and friends.

Day 753 – Slow start

2009-06-29T05:53:00.002+08:00

This morning we managed to sleep in and then chillax the morning away by reading on our porch while frangipanis fluttered down from the trees that fill the courtyard of our wonderful losmen (homestay/guesthouse). We were so lucky to get this room, as we came just as someone checked out and we leave the day before the next booking – otherwise the whole place is booked up for months!

We wandered down the street and decided to have lunch on our own as we haven't had much time as just the original adlibers in the last few months, and then joined mumbles and pops on their balcony for some more chats, drinks and snacks.

In the evening we went for a wander to find somewhere for dinner, and the manager of Goodys convinced us to dine at his Italian/Greek place by giving us 10% off the bill – woohoo!!

Unfortunately we couldn't find a phone to call Mindy on her birthday but we did squeeze in an email: Happy Birthday Big Sis!!!

Adlibing an even slower end.

Day 752 – A good ol' day of doing nothing much!

2009-06-28T05:50:00.005+08:00

We're loving the Bali holiday life so much at the moment! It really seems like we're on holiday mode, just taking our time and chilling out! We spent the morning at our wonderful guesthouse, then managed to wile away the afternoon hours eating, swimming and hanging out with mumbles and pops. Suprisingly enough we had another delicious meal for dinner, with great company!

Adlibing the Bali life!

Day 751 - Surfing

2009-06-27T14:24:00.003+08:00

Around 10am, quite a nice hour to be heading out, we wandered down to the beach with our neighbour's surfboard in hand. While Liv stood on the sidelines Adam attempted to ride waves for the first time in about 3 years. After an eternity of getting smashed by waves on his way out beyond the breakers, Liv ended up missing Adam standing up and riding the very first wave he paddled for!! Not to worry though, there were plenty more after that, and soon Adam was riding in exhausted after less than 2 hours in the water. Adam strutted on the walk back home, blending in with everyone else with a board under their arms, and finally met up with Liv at the JK pool. The hours by the pool drifted away while the sun gently dried us between dips in the water. In the afternoon Adam and Pops headed to a bar to watch the All Blacks play Italy – as most tourists in Bali seem to be Australian is wasn't surprising that they were the only 2 in the whole bar! At least they got their drinks quickly, and Adam's first All Blacks game in 2 years was a victory!

In the meantime Liv and mumbles were off walking the streets in search of a bargain, ending up at the supermarket for a stock up on snacks to go with the drinks that occupy most of our peaceful evenings on the balcony.

The Adlibers took mumbles and pops out for a cheapy dinner at the place Adam dined alone at yesterday – although the ambience isn't quite the same, the local Balinese food was excellent!

Adlibing it like a surfer.

Day 750 - Birthday bliss

2009-06-26T05:48:00.001+08:00

Even though Liv's birthday isn't for another 4 weeks, she got truly spoilt today in advance! First off, Carly treated her to a 2 hour massage and body scrub – which mum and dad couldn't resist partaking in! It was 2 hours full of blissful pampering that an exhausted traveller's body was well in need of!

In the meantime Adam was waiting to see if our hotel neighbour would return from his morning's surfing in time for Adam to hit the waves, but it was not to be … hopefully tomorrow!
For lunch, the girls went out for lunch by the beach, while Adam had a cheap meal and then some beers at the JK with Pops.

With Carly's departure time looming, the day's schedule only allowed for an hour of pool time – which the girls filled with practising roly-polys in the water! The last item on Carly's must-do list was to return to the jewellry shop from yesterday and get some more beautiful pieces – and it was here that Liv was treated to birthday present number 2, with mumbles buying her 2 lovely pairs of earings!!

For dinner we ate at yet another beachside restaurant – we're getting used to these fancy restaurants where the food is presented as amazing as it tastes.

Just before 9pm Liv and mumbles took a taxi to the airport with Carly to say our last goodbyes until we can catch up again in NZ – which hopefully won't be too far away! The boys happily occupied the balcony with beers in hand – seeing an end to another day in the Balinese paradise.

Adlibing an advanced birthday.

Day 749 - Pools and jewels

2009-06-25T05:47:00.002+08:00

Our bodies are getting into the swing of being on holiday, so by the time we finished breakfast it was well into the heat of the mid morning, with only one solution: the JK swimming pool!! And here it was that we spent the next few hours in and out of the refreshing water!

Just before lunch time we went out shopping with Carly, where poor Adam got stuck in jewellery shop after jewellery shop while the girls window shopped to their hearts desires! There was no consolation in the lunch stop, as the restaurant let down our taste buds.

After more time at the pool and hanging out with Mumbles and Pops, we wandered out to the beach (a very draining 15m away) to enjoy watching the sun disappear for another day.

After a great meal with Made for Kim and Russell's last night, Liv set off for another night at Carly's hotel for some much needed sister time, before Carl heads back to Auckland tomorrow night.

Adlibing jewellery.

Day 748 – An unfinished giant

2009-06-24T13:43:00.001+08:00

As Liv had a sleepover at Carly's hotel last night, Adam met the girls for brekky by the pool, before we wandered over to the JK to meet the rest of the gang!

From there we jumped in a car, with Russell as driver and Pops as navigator, and headed out for the GWK – a cultural centre with a supposedly huge statue of Garuda and Wishnu. Mumbles, Pops, Kim and Russell came here about 4 years ago when the statue was still in the process of being built and wanted to see the final product – however it seems that since then nothing's been done and the statue is just the same!!The vision is that the final product will soar 150m into the sky with a wingspan of over 60m! Obviously this vision isn't going to be realised any time soon!! Oh well, it was a nice drive out there, and after navigator Pops took us on a wrong road, we ended up with great views out over the ocean and the volcano looming in the distance.

On the way home we popped into Jimbaran Bay, a quiet beach with blue water and golden sand that's home to a fishing fleet that was gently bobbing in the swell.

We soaked in some rays with our feet submerged in the soft sand and gazed over the waters towards our home at Legian beach.

Once we returned home we went straight to the JK for some time by the pool. Even though the temperature in Bali is much better than the furnace of Malaysia, there's nothing like diving into the clean and clear waters of a swimming pool before lazing on a deck chair and reading the afternoon away. In the evening Carly and Rita helped us order some tailor-made suits – a process that can do anyone's head in: choose the tailor, choose the fabric, choose the style (from an 80s magazine) and then negotiate the price!!! Then walk away with fingers crossed that it'll all work out ok!
We then spent the rest of the night eating great food with our family – something we haven't had until this week, and a clear example of life's simple pleasures.

Adlibing it before it's done.

Day 747 – Living the hard life

2009-06-23T05:52:00.001+08:00

If we didn't have flights already booked that would take us away from this island dream, it's quite likely we'd easily lose ourselves in today's daily routine. A lazy morning at the pool with mum and dad, lunch at a streetside restaurant with Carly, then shopping at the many small shops along the streets, an afternoon at the pool, and finally dinner overlooking the ocean while the waves sing their song. Not too much to complain about, and definitely a holiday period unlike our last 2 years of travelling!

Adlibing it on holiday.

Day 746 - Sneaking into the pool

2009-06-22T17:32:00.005+08:00

Before checking out of our fancy room, we found a cheap one around the corner, then hung around until checkout to use the pool - we had to take advantage of it while we had it!!!It doesn't really matter that our new cheap place doesn't have a pool, because we just headed over to the JK where were found mumbles and pops by the pool, with chairs and towels already reserved for us! Thanks Jayakarta!!!

We managed to wile away the morning and early afternoon by the pool, before Carly and Jody arrived, and we decided to change scenes and go out for lunch at Batu Belig beach about 4km away. The taxi ride there took us past typical Balinese shops and the odd temple squeezed in amongst it all! We had a great meal with the waves striking the beach and providing the background music, and since we're on holiday and have time up our sleeves, we walked the 4km back along the beach. As we ate up the sandy distance we tried to avoid walking on the mini crab villages dotted out of the sand - it's really cool to see: the crabs make tiny little balls of sand as they dig their holes deeper, and as the sand balls roll on the surface they create neat little patterns. We made it back to the JK in time for the sunset, which was amazing!It was almost like we got treated to 2 sunsets, as it reflected in the thin layer of water still lazing on the flat sand. It was really cool to see everyone (locals and tourists) out and about, making the most of the cool evening - football games with mixed local/tourist teams, tennis, running, and even a father out teaching his sons karate and stretches. After some refreshing ales and chips on the balcony we went out for dinner down the road. Even though the men asked for their food spicy, it came out pretty mild and had to be spiced up with bowls of freshly chopped chillies - Adam learnt the hard way that you shouldn't touch your face after handling these red-hot chillies!! We figure that other tourists come in asking for spicy food, but can't actually handle it, which is why the meals came out mild - little do they know that these guys love their chillies!!

The people staying in the fancy JK (ie mumbles, pops, Kim and Russell) were keen to check out the rooms of the budget travellers, and then we all settled in for the night.

Adlibing it along the beach.

Day 745 - Visiting the Bali family

2009-06-21T15:53:00.006+08:00

This morning all 9 of us (mum, dad, Carly and friend Jody, family friends Kim and Russell and the 3 of us) all met at mum's hotel (the Jayakarta - from here on known as the JK) where we jumped into 2 cars and taxi drivers Pops and Russell negotiated their way through the streets of Bali. Mumbles was in charge of navigation and did a great job - only taking one wrong turn. Not that we minded - it just meant we got to see more of this beautiful island.

Along the way we picked up Nahoko, the Porters' Japanese daughter, and her friend Miko - and then we were 11!!

After about 2 hours in the car we made it to Gianyar, a small village only 30km away from where we are staying - why it took so long can be explained by the terrible traffic, but it was a lovely ride along the coast with the blue sea on one side and the green rice fields on the other.
When we arrived at Made's family home, we were greeted by all his family of brothers, sisters, (and their partners), mums, dads, and uncle and aunties - and then of course all the kids!!! All in all there were about 30 of them, so with the 11 of us it was a real party!

Made and his wife Niluh had gone to a lot of effort to make the day special for everyone - they spent the day yesterday shopping at the markets for food, and then today preparing the feast of traditional foods. In the 2 years we've been travelling there have been only a few occasions where we have had the honour to join in with a real local family and see how life really goes on outside of the tourist towns.

Liv's parents along with Kim and Russell have been supporting Made's family for about 10 years now, and it's truly rewarding to see how the family has benefited. Although the money isn't much, and Made and Niluh both work extremely hard, the little bit extra guarantees an education for the 2 girls, and helps out with the house and farm. One of the special parts of the day was looking into Made's mum's eyes, a lady who speaks no English, and seeing the pure gratitude, hidden behind tears she was too proud to shed.
After a few gifts (including a bag full of second hand clothes from NZ) were given to the family, Made surprised us all with gifts made in the local woodcarving village where we works. We enjoyed cold drinks before being led on a group excursion into the rice fields to see the 3 cows the family owns. Along the way we really saw how Made's eldest daughter had grown - taking care of her younger sister Gemma Olivia. After wandering the palm-shaded fields, where farmers buzzed about their work, and learning all about looking after cows, we returned to the Bali-NZ compound for the feast and an afternoon of fun. The meat-eaters had the privilege of trying Niluh's ceremonial chicken - a rare treat!! But everyone's taste-buds were on overdrive as flavours from all the meals made a dish at a restaurant look like a microwave meal!!

We jumped in the cars for a visit to the wood gallery where Made works, where we got to see the artists outside creating their masterpieces.

It wasn't until 5pm that we started heading home - and we got amazing views of one of Bali's volcanoes surrounded by a halo of cloud.

The journey home resulted in a tiki-tour of Kuta, as we lost each other, but we eventually made it back to the JK for some well deserved beers (or "refreshing ales" as the men like to say!).

Much later in the evening we went out for a light meal - still stuffed from the family feast, and in doing so appreciated Niluh's food 10 times over.

Adlibing the Bali-NZ family.

Day 744 - Flying to family

2009-06-20T15:47:00.002+08:00

Our morning was spent in preparation for our afternoon flight to Bali - we spent some time on the internet and stocked up on food supplies for the flight (as you don't get food on Air Asia unless you pay for it).

Once at the airport we settled in for an extended wait, as our plane was delayed - the first time in 2 years and the only time we had people waiting for us at the other end!!! The flight went really quickly, we even got to see the sun set from the sky, and soon we were whizzing through customs and into the arms of Mumbles and Pops!

It was wonderful to see Made and Putu - the father and daughter of the Balinese family the Porters met years ago in Bali. We grabbed some wheels and headed to the hotel that Mumbles and Pops booked for us - not only did this mean we didn't have to search for a room, but also that we got a beautiful place with a pool - nothing we could have afforded ourselves! And we were confident we wouldn't walk away with bedbugs here!!

The evening was spent in fast forwarded chatter as the family caught up on a year gone by - the last time we saw Mumbles and Pops was on their visit to China a year ago. Even though we chat regularly on the internet, nothing compares to face-to-face conversation and laughter, as the evening was just amazing.

Before heading out for a meal, the night got even better by Carly's arrival - 2 out of 3 sisters isn't bad!!

Even though it was midnight by the time we got home, we couldn't resist testing the waters of our first ever pool on our 2 year travels! Unfortunately it was freezing, so it was off to bed to sleep in a real bed, and await another day of family fun.

Adlibing it to the Porters.

Day 743 - Into Islam

2009-06-19T19:43:00.007+08:00

With only 2 days in KL we want to see as much as possible, so we set off early this morning for another day of sightseeing, though our feet were still cursing us after yesterday! Our first port of call was the Old Kuala Lumpur train station (built in 1911), where we basically had the entire station to ourselves - not too many trains run from this beautiful, Moorish- and Mogul - style station anymore. The glistening dome of the National Mosque soon drew us towards it, and even though we couldn't enter we could appreciate its modern, geometrical designs from the outside. If it had been any other day we would have been able to enter for a look, but today is Friday - the most sacred day for Muslims.

At the mosque we could see the turquoise dome of the Islamic Arts Museum, and skipped across the road to leave the heat of the day in our wake. After 2 hours in this glorious museum we were forced to leave or else freeze to death - on the way out we glanced at the thermostat. It was a chilly 25 degrees!!! We're not sure how we're going to handle the NZ winter if we find we're freezing at 25!

It was really cool checking out all the exhibits at the Museum. The main exhibition on at the moment is a photographic display from a British photographer who captures Muslim life throughout the world, allowing the rest of us a glimpse we might not have otherwise.

The architecture exhibit really caught our eye as it had photos and models of famous Islamic buildings from all round the world - and we'd been to 4 of them: from China, Kazakhstan, India and Malaysia.

As we wandered the streets we were constantly reminded that we are in a predominantly Muslim country, with women in all walks of life wearing the headscarf with pride. As the drizzle arrived we relaxed in our room, and then set off to explore the many tea shops around China Town - picking up our favourite Jasmine Pearl tea from home!

We stuffed our faces with roti canai once again, in fact we'd still eat roti if we weren't even hungry! This provided the much needed energy to battle the claustrophobia markets on the other side of the road that we missed out last night!! And we emerged with bags in hands and made a beeline for our hotel to give our tired feet a rest!
When darkness came we were drawn like moths to the light of the sparkling Petronas Towers. Looking up from the ground, we found them much more dazzling by night, than the views they gave us from the skybridge during the day. Adlibing the twinkling towers.

Day 742 - High above KL

2009-06-18T16:41:00.007+08:00

Alarm issues meant that our early morning wake-up was harder to deal with than anticipated, but after years on the road our bodies have become used to waking up and starting the day of touring. We made it to the Pertronas Twin Towers still early enough to get in line for the limited free tickets available each day and headed up to the 41st floor where the footbridge joining the two towers lies. Although the buildings are 82 stories high, making up 452m, we were at 170m and got great views out over the city - although the pollution and glass meant there wasn't a crystal clear view. With our high altitude sight-seeing completed for the day we headed back to the hustle and bustle of China town for some cheap roti and coffee for breakfast. As KL is a compact city, and most of its sights being close together, we made a vague plan of where to go and what to see.

Our feet first delivered us to the Dataran Merdeka - puportedly the worlds tallest flagpole, flying the Malaysian flag high and proud. This area was surrounded by some gorgeous buildings housing the History Museum and National Gallery, but both were closed.

From here we went to check out the Masjid Jamek (Friday Mosque) - a small Mosque surrounded by palm trees and glowing pink in the hazy sky. Unfortunately it was prayer time, and as we're not Muslim we couldn't go in for a look, but we got great views of it from across the river. We went for a stroll through Little India, where it seemed that the only things for sale were headscarves by the millions, rip-off dvds, and of course lots of curries!

We made our way to the cricket ground, where we entered the gorgeous St Marys Cathedral, where its small size seemed out of place in modern KL where everything else is towering above. We then walked past the Royal Selangor Club where Hash House Harriers began, but now it's just a home for KL's elite.

On our way back to China Town we zigged zagged through the streets checking out the rainbow colours of the shop-houses, adding much needed colour to the steel skyscrapers that dominate here. These old buildings from the early 1900s retain some of KL's heritage, most of which has been lost to the growing modernity.

We visited a few Chinese temples, where giant spiral incense hovered overhead and as they burned the wishes of the faithful floated into the sky. Finally, on our walk back to the hotel we passed through the streets markets, full of fresh fruit like these spiky delights - our favourite rambutans. Tonight we spent hours wandering through the lively night market in the centre of China Town, though that was only enough time to see one side of the jam-packed market street. We'll have to do the other side tomorrow ...

Adlibing the sights of KL.

Day 741 - F L Y 2 K L

2009-06-17T16:40:00.002+08:00

We've been in the Philippines for almost 2 weeks now, and have loved it thoroughly. We've especially loved the honest people, that is until today (our last day in the country) when we tried to get a jeepney to the airport a few kilometres away. We got a hassle free jeep to a junction where plenty of public jeeps displaying signs for the airport were waiting - however everyone we spoke to told us they didn't go to the airport and we needed a "special" jeep just for the 3 of us, of course at a much higher price. We ignored everyone and just jumped on a public jeep and waited to see how much other people paid - it turned out to be 9 each, verses the 70 each it would have cost for a private one!! We got dropped off right at the terminal, but it was such a shame that on our last day here we had to experience something we are more used to dealing with in the rest of South East Asia.

On the flight Adam's boarding pass held the sequence number 36, which saw him victoriously grasp his Air Asia souvenir as the winner of a lucky draw contest!!

Soon we were bouncing along the runway, as we returned to the Malaysian mainland. With roti canai calling our names we bolted for the skybus and headed straight to China Town in central KL, to find a room and some good Malaysian food.

In the evening we walked around the famous Petaling Market, where we can buy everything we could buy in China, but more expensive! If you're in the market for fake designer goods, this market could be a lot of fun!

Adlibing prizes.

Day 740 - Back to dodgy Dau

2009-06-16T19:25:00.003+08:00

With our flight to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow, we decided we'd better sleep closer to the airport rather than risk missing our flight. So, we headed back to Dau, where we spent our first night in the Philippines almost 2 weeks ago. In a country that boasts 7,107 islands, its funny to think we only saw 1!!

As we got on the bus all passengers were given a free English Newspaper - it was so cool to see everyone reading - with a 99% English literacy rate here it's not unusual to see people reading in English. As an illustration of the panic H1N1 flu has created in the world, The front page was devoted to the disease - something else to bear in mind as we continue our travels.

On the bus we were treated to a Hollywood movie (the first we've seen in months!!) and then as we are now back in a town that rents rooms by the hour spent the next 5 hours with our bags in order to get a cheaper rate!! All we did was go between fast food outlets and browse the supermarket!

We tried to find a public phone that makes international phonecalls to wish Dee Dee a happy birthday, but there are none at all!!! Sorry Dee, we were thinking of you - HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We'll celebrate it in a month!

Adlibing a room by the hour.

Day 739 - Shopping heaven!

2009-06-15T19:25:00.002+08:00

We joyfully departed our hideous room and did the reversal of our walk-jeep-bus journey of 2 days previously. The only down side was that we had to stand for the 1 and a half hour bus ride into Manila!

We quickly returned to the nice hotel room in Manila where we had a shower that actually made us feel cleaner, instead of dirtier like at the last place!

As the rain threatened to flood the streets we took shelter in the nearby Robinsons Mall, which ended up with nearly 5 hours of shopping luxury - well for the female members of the adlibing crew anyway!! With prices like NZ$30 for an original pair of levi jeans, and NZ$30 for a Lee shirt, how could we resist?!!! The result was a few kilos of extra weight for our bags!!

Another benefit of huge malls like this is that they are full of fast food joints - this seems like the only diet of choice for most Filipinos, it sure is the only food we can afford here in Manila. Seems like a surefire recipe for creating a population of diabetics ... We weren't complaining though, with our $3 pizza and pasta set!

Adlibing it with even fuller bags!

Day 738 - A steaming volcano

2009-06-14T19:24:00.005+08:00

Today we jumped in a boat and headed out to the main crater of Taal Volcano. It was an enjoyable ride as we closed in on this deadly volcano - most of this area was only brought to existence in the devastating eruptions in 1911. At the island, despite the oppressive heat, we decided to walk to the top of the crater instead of hiring a horse. The hour long walk through volcanic rock and sand was sticky but enjoyable - it was fun to see the lake that surrounds the crater grow in size the higher we walked. We met a group of young girls along the way, trying to sell water to the wary travellers - they were so bubbly and full of life, we had an enjoyable 10 minutes relaxing in the sun with them.

At the top we were mesmerized by the glistening green crater lake but were not so keen to go for a dip in the smoldering sulphuric waters that have left the rim of the lake a poisonous looking yellow.

We enjoyed our picnic lunch while taking in the 360 degree views, and then went for a walk around part of the rim, where we got views down over Taal lake and the fishing villages that line its edges.

On the boat ride back we convinced the driver the stop in the middle and allow us to plunge into the green waters of Taal Lake - though we were slightly skeptical of its level of cleanliness!!

Just as we jumped back in the boat we hit the rain, but we were already wet so it didn't really matter!

Back at our hotel we re-entered our room with a look of despair - the accommodation standards in the Philippines has been shockingly low, especially on our budget! Though this is really our only complaint about the Philippines, as we've thoroughly enjoyed our time here.

For dinner we dined on a picnic of steamed rice, fresh tomatoes, and canned chickpeas/tuna while watching kids fishing from a nearby wharf as the sun set over the lake, and battled with the mosquitoes - the winner was clearly of the winged variety!

Adlibing a volcano.

Day 737 - Between feet and motors

2009-06-13T18:31:00.003+08:00

Today we spent the majority of our time skipping between slow and fast forms of transportation. Lugging our packs around while using footpower was considerably more difficult than dumping them in a jeepney. We walked from our hotel and jumped on a jeep that battled peak hour Manila traffic and eventually dropped us at an intersection where we walked in search of a bus. Our bus repeated the intersection drop-off and soon we were walking in search of another jeep that drove us to Talisay. In Talisay we walk some more before jamming the 3 of us into a tricycle for the journey 3km out of town. It was at this stage that our day really started going downhill as we began the search for the best of the bad accommodation available here!

Accommodation sorted we attempted to find a restaurant only to be told there weren't any, and that we'd have to make do with the street vendors selling fried chicken and eggs.

The only real positive aspect of our day was that we're perched right on the edge of Taal Lake - which is home to Taal Volcano, one of the worlds smallest and deadliest. The volcano has 47 craters and 35 volcanic cones - the most stunning is Binitiang Malaki, which we had amazing view of from our hotel.Adlibing it to Lake Taal.

Day 736 - Making it to Manila .... late

2009-06-12T10:52:00.007+08:00

After freezing our butts off last night, we finally rolled into Manila 3 hours late this morning. On the bus we met Jon and Lisa from Denmark, who'd been to Manila before and led us on a cheap journey to the street with cheap hotels. We checked into the cheapest room (basically a cupboard), while the others went for nicer rooms across the street.

We met up with Rita, Jon and Lisa for a walk through Rizal Park, where hundreds of people were enjoying their Independence Day by lazing in the shade of the trees. From here we made our way to Intramuros, the old Spanish area of town. Along the way we passed many mobile street vendors - their merchandise balanced on their bicycles. We passed under the arched gateway off the walled town, and set off to explore some of its delights. We saw a contrast of sights ranging from graffiti street art on the remaining walls of destroyed buildings, to the gloriously rebuilt Manila Cathedral. At the Cathedral we were dazzled by the colours of the stained glass windows and taken back by the immense size of the beautiful building. We had to talk in whispers to avoid our voices echoing down the long hall.

Still within the walls of the city we went to Fort Santiago - originally from the 16th Century, the fort has endured a lifetime of defence against all nationalities who have invaded its walls: Chinese, Dutch, British, American, and Japanese. The fort (and in fact all of Intramuros) was destroyed by bombs from WWII.

From the walls of the fort we got a great view out over the river and China Town that lies on the other side. Its cool to see the new-aged towers of Manila blooming in the distance, while we stand within the walls of the past. With China Town calling we set off on foot across the river and into the madness. Here the contrast between rich and poor and old and new really showed through: beggars and their naked kids line the streets that Mercedes cars race down, slum-like houses sit shadowed by the concrete and glass apartment blocks of the upper-class. We loved walking the market streets, though our short little Adliber was easily lost in the chaos!On our wanders we passed a cute little girl sitting in her doorway (photo coming ...), absolutely lost in the world the words of the book had created.

After leaving the innocence of this girl, we walked straight into the middle of a peaceful march where protesters carried flames high and flags with pride. The participants loved seeing us, and were more than happy to play up for the camera!!As we made our way back home night began to arrive - the dodgy, seedy feel of Manila engulfed us. It seemed like every second door we passed was full of prostitutes or aggressive street kids, leaving us with the feeling that we needed to hang on tight to our stuff and get inside as quick as possible.

When we returned to the hotel it looked like our night was going to finish on a positive note, as a trio of bongo drummers were banging up a storm in the hotel cafe. However as we settled in for our much deserved sleep, an itchy feeling took over, and soon Adam was engaged in a battle for a refund so we could leave our bed-bug infested cupboard behind and check into the hotel we should have forked out the few extra dollars for in the first place!

Adlibing vibrant Manila.

Day 735 - Time up our sleeves

2009-06-11T10:11:00.004+08:00

While waiting for our night train to Manila tonight we managed to spend the day catching up on the blog, doing some last minute souvenir shopping and walking around town in between the rain showers. The most enjoyable part of the day was when we woke up, relaxed in the sunshine on our balcony overlooking the rice terraces where we'd wandered yesterday.

We returned to a small shop hidden amongst the trees that we'd stumbled upon yesterday, and found the old lady doing some traditional weaving on the large loom in her shop.

At 7pm we walked to the bus, jumped on board and began to freeze due to the air-con - a process that continued throughout the night until our body temperature was dangerously low!

Adlibing it frozen.

Day 734 - It's all about the rice

2009-06-10T09:58:00.005+08:00

As the rain tends to come every afternoon, we set off bright and early this morning for our adventures amongst the fields. The first 10 minutes were spent wandering along the road past small shops but we quickly descended into the rice paddies below. We stopped off in Tam-an, a tiny village, where we got directions into the paddies, and started our way to Poitan, where the odd traditional Ifugao house still exists. In Poitan we were greeted by a group of men, and a pack of barking dogs - most elderly villagers work the fields, while the younger generation are more keen on being guides, driving jeepneys, or getting an office job. A 67 year old man who we met along the way told us that this makes it harder to keep the fields maintained and the crops harvested.

On the way down we were mesmerised by the rice fields and their different colours: from light green to golden yellow, accompanied by dominant dark green. Being out in the open and having full vista-like views was the reward for being out in the burning sun.
From Poitan it was a climb back up to the road, and the higher we got, the more fierce the sun's punishment on our tired bodies became. Each time we entered the forest, the break from the sun was magic.

Even more magical was arriving at a waterfall that spouted from the paddies above and fed the ones below. Here we took a well earned break and cooled off under the waters, and had a picnic lunch that we'd been lugging along the way. At Bocos we got our last directions to the view point, and happily set off following the irrigation network as instructed - this served as our makeshift guide and path, though it did require a fair amount of balancing. While walking along the skinny edge, we occasionally fell into the water, our eyes having been distracted by the astounding views. After ascending higher than the view point, and winding in and out of a number of valleys, we soon found ourselves shadowed in the forest and far from any rice paddies or farmers to point us in the right direction.

Since Adam's shoe had broken more than an hour ago, and we'd already been walking for 6 hours, we decided to head back through Bocos and down to Banaue. Adam's barefoot wander got a number of comments from the locals, but as an old man commented, it's how it was done back in the day!!

In Banaue we got some well deserved food and drinks, had a refreshing shower and cleaned the mud off our gear!

Adlibing a rice world.

Day 733 - A bumpy ride

2009-06-09T09:58:00.003+08:00

We've loved our 3 days in Sagada so much, that it was with a little sadness that we packed up our things and caught a jeepney out of town to Bontoc. In Bontoc we had some local coffee and cake, went to the fruit market, and checked out a cool museum. After the quiet reprieve in Sagada, we were immersed back into bustling Philippine town-life, where the roads are congested with jeepneys and tricycles (converted motorbikes with a side car for passengers).
At 12pm we jumped on another jeepney to take us to Banaue - a World Heritage site famous for its rice terraces built 2,000 years ago. As we bumped our way along the mountainside, Liv and Rita in the front had amazing views out over the valleys full of rice fields, dissected by a clear, blue river. The driver was awesome - telling us interesting facts along the way and stopping to let us take photos. Adam, unfortunately, was jammed in the back with an old man sleeping and drooling on his shoulder, and couldn't really see anything!!

We arrived in Banaue accompanied by our faithful companion: rain! We grabbed out wet packs off the roof and found a room.

We spent the afternoon sitting at a small restaurant drinking hot tea and taking in the wonderful views of the rice fields that cover the hill sides and the small villages that are submerged within the green.

Adlibing jeepneys.

Day 732 - 2 years on the road

2009-06-08T18:26:00.006+08:00

This time 2007, we were boarding a plane that would deposit us in Thailand where we began our Adlibing Asia Tour!!! 2 years on, and we're still having the time of our lives!! When we think back over everything we've done, our brains get tired as there's just too much to look back on. One things for sure: we've seen and done some truly amazing things, and we feel privileged to have experienced it all.

Today we set off for some more exploration of Sagada, and wandered our way out of town until our attention was caught by some more of the region's famous Hanging Coffins - these ones the Sugong Coffins. We went down a path to try and get a better view, but just ended up having a nice walk around the forest and limestone caves.

We continued the journey past local kids having a ball on bikes and playing with their pet dogs - there are hundreds of kids and puppies around here!!

We headed along a trail under a pine tree canopy that led to Lumiang Burial Cave, where over a hundred coffins are stacked in the cave entrance - the oldest is thought to date back 500 years.
From here we made our way to Sumaging Cave ("Big Cave") which is famous for having weird calcium formations inside. While Liv turned around a few minutes after entering this slippery cave, Rita and Adam continued down. Unfortunately Rita stopped a few minutes later, while Adam plunged into the depths to see what he could find. Adam's "few minutes" exploration turned into an hour, which left poor Rita alone with the bat poo!

In the cave Adam discarded his shoes in favour of his Nike Bares, which provided grip on the limestone rocks that are submerged under the crystal clear river that flows through the cave. As always, Adam had to jump in one of the pools for a swim!

We got back to town and back to the kids, then engaged in some shopping therapy - since we are coming home soon (!!!) we're not so worried about what we're carrying around on our backs!

Since Sagada has a 9pm curfew, we had a lovely meal at Masferres - the late Mr Masferres is a famous Filipino photographer and some of his photos are on display here.

Adlibing coffins and caves.

Day 731 - Hanging coffins

2009-06-07T18:29:00.014+08:00

We woke up this morning to the sunlight shining through our windows, and after brekky set off for a day exploring this awesome mountain area. Sagada is set amongst the Cordeillera Mountain Range and is famous for many things, including the limestone caves and the coffins that hang from their cliffs. The area's notorious for intercepting pathways that often send tourists in the wrong direct and it's recommended to take a guide. But Adam was adamant we didn't need one, so the 3 of us set off with Adam as our trusty guide!

After a stroll past St Marys Church and the cemetery behind, we arrived at a lookout that gave us views out over the stunning valleys that house the many villages in the region. From here we scrambled down limestone formations and slipped along the paths littered with pine needles, to the valley floor. Here we were privileged enough to be able to see the hanging coffins of Echo Valley, and while Liv and Rita enjoyed them from a distance, Adam went up to the base of the cliff. At the bottom a group of men were preparing the cliff for a new coffin, and were more than happy to chat away with Adam and tell him more about the coffins and the area. At first Adam thought some of the small coffins were for children, but the men informed him that elderly people left the world in the fetal position - much the same as how you arrive from the womb. They also pointed us in the direction of the cliff where the oldest coffins in the regions are. In the photo below on the left hand side is where the coffins you see above are located - just to put into perspective their position in this world and the next.
After this we continued along the valley floor following a path that meandered next to the river, only to come to a huge landslide which meant we had to retrace our steps or else brave the raging waters inside the Latang Cave.

We stopped of at Sagada Weaving to watch the women making beautiful crafts in the local designs of the regions - we even did some shopping for ourselves.

From here we found the path leading through the golden rice terraces and getting us up, close and personal with the workers harvesting the rice. No machines in sight - just back breaking hard labour. This path ended up taking us to the river, so while Adam balanced skilfully on the slippery rocks, Liv and Rita just jumped in to wade their way across the waist-deep water. Soon we were at Bokong Waterfall where we found lots of local kids and teenagers enjoying the deep water. Adam ran across to the other side for photos with the guys!!Some of the bravest boys even dived from the top of the falls into the pool at the bottom - and of course Adam couldn't resist a jump either!! We took a different route back into town, that led us up a steep cliff and then back along a quiet backroad, full of kids and dogs playing.

Just before the rain came we had a hot shower and ate some food on our balcony overlooking the misty mountains in the distance.

Adlibing it with Guide Adam.

Day 730 - Crusing to the Cordilleras

2009-06-06T18:08:00.011+08:00

We woke, got dressed and put on our rain jackets on the assumption that it would be pissing down outside and were then extremely delighted to find that it wasn't raining!!

We thought we'd walk to the bus station for our bus to Sagada, but after talking to some locals we found out it was quite a distance, so we jumped on a jeepney for the 10 minute ride through the busy Filipino traffic. For those of you who haven't been to the Philippines (which you should, because it's awesome) a "Jeepney" is a converted and extended jeep used as a local bus equivalent. You waved one down that's going your way (the destinations listed on the side) and tap the roof when you want to get off. A cool thing about jeepneys is their colourful, personalised appearances, which add some brightness to an otherwise quite dreary town.

We time our arrival at the bus station perfectly, and our bus to Sagada started to roll the minute we got on board! The 7 hour ride was a combination of mist shrouded scenery we were unable to see and the break through panoramas that revealed green landscapes, terraces, and a multitude of waterfalls - some even straight onto the road!

When we arrived in the small mountain town of Sagada we found a great room with a view, and then headed out for a walk. We took a path behind town that led upwards to reveal the town below nestled in the picturesque valley. As we wandered along narrow pathways we encountered so many friendly Filipinos - some off for their afternoon walk, others tending their gorgeous gardens full of colourful flowers and green veges.

The path we took allowed us to look down on the golden rice terraces that lie amongst the mountains. At night we met some guys here for a mountain summit, and when they offered Liv a bug to eat she firmly said no but offered up Adam for the taste!! When he came out of the room to listen to the guys playing harmonica and guitar, he had little choice but to indulge in a bug, but at least he had tequila to wash it down!!

Adlibing scenic Sagada.

Day 729 - Rain, rain go away

2009-06-05T19:49:00.003+08:00

It turns out our optimistic thinking about the rain going away didn't help at all, and so we've spent today in the rain, which seems to get worse and worse!! The positive side is that we only had to wait 15 minutes at the bus station (thankfully under shelter) until a bus going our way was ready to roll.

The bus ride to Baguio took about 5 hours, complete with snack stops, was a pretty smooth ride - occasionally we got a view out over the green rice field and terraces with farmers and their buffalo knee-deep in mud. Every now and then a mountain popped out of the distant grey shadow that was hiding it.

In Baguio we got a free ride to the cheapest hostel in town, before braving the torrential rain (not an over-statement: the roads are flooded!) and making our way to the SM Mall (the biggest chain of mall in the Philippines). Here we picked up some groceries, munched down a meal, and jumped on the world wide web.

Hopefully tomorrow we'll be in the mountains and the rain will have stopped. But it's likely only one of those 2 will come to be!!

Adlibing rain.

Day 728 - Waiting for wings this time

2009-06-04T19:49:00.002+08:00

When our overnight bus finally deposited us in the capital at 4am this morning, we had a few hours to wait until the local buses started running into the centre, 10kms away. So we dumped our bags and bunked down on the benches with the other locals - anything to save a few dollars (the other tourists grabbed a taxi into town instead)!!

Come 6am we were on a bus that led us to another bus that eventually dropped us in familiar territory - though everything in town was still closed at this hour. So we sat in a park, ate some muesli, and waited for the town to awake around us. We also managed to squeeze in a look at the Atkinson Clock tower - a memorial relic from WWII.

At 10.30 we jumped on the bus to take us out to the airport for our flight to Manila, Philippines! We managed to wile away the few hours waiting for our plane - although travelling involves a lot of doing and seeing, it also involves a lot of sitting around and waiting, which is exactly what we ended up doing this afternoon!!!

We arrived in rainy Philippines at 5.30pm - after 2 years of travel we've managed to time our visits to each country perfectly by missing rainy seasons and very hot seasons, but this is the first time we've come to a country when we know that the time's wrong for travel!! We'll just have to hope it doesn't rain too much ... though the locals we've spoken to have all said that it rains all day, everyday ... hmmmmm.

The pain about Air Asia's cheap flights to Manila is that we didn't arrive at the main Manila airport, but one 2 hours north of the capital. This didn't really matter as we're heading north anyway, but unfortunately we couldn't find much information about public transport from here, so we had to take a taxi into Dau, a town 10km away.

In Dau (which turns out to be a complete "nothing" town) we spent a while trying to work out buses for tomorrow and then walking around in the dark, rainy night in search of a place to stay that wasn't either too expensive, or a total filth-pit. We ended up in a rather dingy place, that usually rents by the hour - but it had a bed and clean sheets, and since we haven't really slept in the last few days, it did us just fine!!!

Adlibing it to the Philippines.

Day 727 - Waiting for a water taxi

2009-06-03T19:36:00.003+08:00

As today is our last day on Mabul, and our bags are totally packed we refrained from splashing in the water (plus it was Welly-windy) but it didn't stop us from gazing at the life living underneath us in the perfect turquoise water - we were glad not to be in the water when a huge gathering of hundreds of jellyfish floated passed!!

When the wind cleared away some of the clouds, we could see world-famous Sipidan Island in the distance. This is a dive mecca, and though Adam couldn't dive there on this trip, as only 100 divers get a permit each day, it has definitely been added to the "to-do-list".

Here's a pic of Adam and his dive master, Rex, out of water for a change:
We had a hard day full of reading and lazing on the deck chairs, in between meals, before our boat took us for a ride back to the mainland. The day was brilliantly clear by this stage, and we were gifted with a glimpse of a picture-perfect, tiny, sandy island sitting in the middle of the ocean. The kind a 5-year old would draw if they were asked to draw a picture of a deserted island.

Back on the mainland in Semporna, we had some food and then jumped onto a 9 hour overnight bus to take us back to Sabah's capital: Kota Kinabalu.

Adlibing it above an ocean TV.

Day 726 - Turtle time

2009-06-02T19:19:00.002+08:00

The divers got lucky this morning and scored a free dive out under an abandoned oil rig that is now home to gigantic schools of all sorts of fish who have no problems of coming to within a few centimetres of your mask, as if tyring to work out what place you have in their underwater world. The rest of the day was spent hanging out, waiting for the sun to break through the thick layer of cloud. But when the sunshine comes, you well and truly know that you're on a tropical island!When the temperature picked up, we headed out to a dive sight, aptly named paradise, and spent the next 2 hours snorkelling in the tropical waters searching for things to see - which isn't very hard. If you know what to look for with just a snorkel you can see lion fish, moray eels, crocodile fish, trumpet fish (and the rarer golden trumpet fish), needle fish, trigger fish, and spectacularly colourful angel and butterfly fish.

And for those who can hold their breath there was even one big hawksbill turtle - you had to earn the privilege of seeing him though, as he was feeding at about 10m deep. As if all this colourful marine life wasn't enough, as we did this the sun was setting in all its magnificent glory, colouring the water's surface as if competing with the colourful fish below.

Even the kids who have this watery wonderland to play in daily, still have something to entertain them!

The evening was spent continuing our day of aquatic observation, and when you live directly above the water we can just gaze at the water with a dive light - much better than any tv show! Imagine finishing dinner then watching an octopus crawling towards its home, while strangely shaped scorpion fish flutter amongst puffer fish! We even got to see another turtle floating in the waist-deep waters below us.

Adlibing a hawksbill.

Day 725 - Advanced Divers!!

2009-06-01T19:06:00.002+08:00

While the divers went out for more diving fun, Liv hung out with a group we met while at Uncle Tan's in the Jungle, playing cards and scrabble and chatting the morning away. Liv also went for a walk around the island meeting friendly kids along the way and finding plenty of hermit crabs to watch - when you're on an island in the middle of the ocean you can see marine life, without even getting wet!!Underwater, Adam and Rita were intoxicated by the marine life, or perhaps it was the fact the were more than 30m below the surface.

At those depths marine life gets a lot bigger. As they made their way along the reef wall they were stoked to see their first green turtle and Adam spent a blissful 20m gliding above the majestic swimmer.

Back on the surface, the adlibing team rejoined and to our horror the music began for the third night in a row!! The only good thing was a free beer from Uncle Chang!!

We continued to be amazed by the stunning sunsets and lightning shows that utilise clouds as props as if teasing us by hiding its full colourful force.

Adlibing bubbles.

Day 724 - Back in the water

2009-05-31T18:48:00.002+08:00

While eating brekky this morning, these kids came floating past - when you live on the water you're never without a playground. It's amazing to see what freedom have in such a potentially dangerous environment.
Rita and Adam are on their way to becoming advance divers, and so mid-morning they set off for dive number 1, with Liv joining them in the boat to go snorkelling above their bubbles!! We could try to describe the plentiful marine life below us, but our words would be more like a black and white description rather than the rainbow of colours these waters hold. You want to see it ... come for yourselves!! But so we're not teasing you, here's something you can find above water!While Liv enjoyed the night sky and lightning from our floating home, Adam and Rita set off for their first night dive. You'd be amazed at what you can see in the dark with a strong light, but more amazed when you turn the light off and find yourself surrounded by a star-like luminescent display of dancing plankton.

The divers arrived back buzzing, but the feeling was soon banged out of them, a the band from last night was playing in full force again, but this time way drunker. We have nothing against music, normally we love live music, but we do object to having our eardrums hurt from music 100 times too loud, sung by a guy who really shouldn't be singing. Plus we were getting pretty sick of hearing the same 5 songs sung over and over again.

We eventually went to our room where the noise was marginally better, though we still had to yell to each other to be heard ... and then tried to sleep through the pain.

Adlibing noise.

Day 723 - Small Island life

2009-05-30T18:04:00.004+08:00

An early morning rise had us bouncing our way across the waters off the coast of Borneo on course to Mabul Island - a tiny piece of sandy earth dotted with palm trees and surrounded with the stilt houses of the locals. As we made our way to the island we were stunned to see communities on stilts in the middle of the ocean.

We landed at Uncle Chang's - this guesthouse also built on stilts - and launched into our second brekky for the day! But soon just hovering over the water and looking for creatures wasn't sufficient so we wandered the bridge pathways onto the island, passing many village houses on the way. It's crazy to be walking down an alleyway, with only the ocean below!

We grabbed our snorkels and bounded into the warm waters - we're talking 28 degrees underwater! We spent the next few hour lost in the underwater world floating centimetres above the coral reef unable to count the hundreds of colour flashes below us.

In the evening we sat on the balcony watching the amazing sunset accompanied by a local band at full volume and battling with the English lyrics - but it was pretty cool ... well, for the first hour or two. After that our heads started to throb and it got hard to enjoy the lightning show over the dark waters in the distance.

Adlibing it to Mabul.

Day 722 - Bye-bye bugs, hello shower

2009-05-29T18:02:00.007+08:00

While Liv slept everyone else got a bonus morning boat safari that started off with the river dressed in a mysterious mist, and though it wasn't as fruitful as yesterday, Adam spotted a huge monitor lizard nearly 2m long on the river bank! They also saw more gibbons, birds of all kinds, and macaques. The highlight of this safari was how close they got to the first of the 2 orangutans we saw today. When we first arrived he was only about 5m away, but retreated to a safe 10m higher up in the trees - here we watched him as he precariously dangled between branches while grabbing at the red fruit that filled the tree.

At 10am we reluctantly left this jungle land - it was sad to say goodbye to both the wildlife and the amazing staff who work here. Adam was so good at spotting wild things that the nature guide offered him a job if he came back!!

By 11.30 we were on a bus headed for Semporna, a town on the coast of Eastern Sabah - a gateway to the Tun Sakaran Marine Park that we'll spend the next few days exploring. Yes, you guessed it, we're heading back to the beach bum life!!

From our hotel window we have great views out over the stilt houses that extend into the bay, and the mosque sitting amongst it all.

Adlibing goodbyes.