Abrams Family World Travel

Vancouver: Growing To Love It

THIS city continues to grow on us. Even during our wet, grey reception period following our arrival, we were never disillusioned. Coming from England, I felt at home.

We haven't yet explored a fraction of all this city and its surroundings has to offer. But so far we like what we have seen.

As a city, Vancouver isn't so big that you can't get around. We live in the suburbs, but the bus services are great and we can get downtown in no time. If I were living here longer, I would definitely consider hiring or buying a bike to get around. 

Although I've met a lot of people who've been in car accidents, the driving doesn't seem particularly aggressive or perilous. 

And when you try to cross the road - not even at a pedestrian crossing - nine times out of ten cars will slow down for you. It happened to us in Australia quite often and we thought it strange (probably because we'd just arrived from Bali in Indonesia, where it's manic). But in Vancouver it's the done thing. I rarely, if ever, see any signs of road rage.

Being a Londoner, I have a gripe with expensive public transport, but in Vancouver I can buy a pass for $91 (£58) per month that gives me unlimited access to buses, trains and ferries. And on Sundays my pass covers the whole family. In the UK I'd be spending close to that in one week for an off-peak ticket!

I've touched on the wonderful food options here in a previous post. Vancouver also offers amazing views of the surrounding snow-capped mountains, where you can ski, and it's close enough to the ocean to go surfing. 

The downside is that the cost of living is high. Rent is expensive and the locals complain about it. But what I like most about being here is the people - they are so friendly and engaging. 

Passengers on the bus will thank the driver when leaving. It's contageous. On a recent journey, Zenchai hailed: "Thank you, bus driver," as we got off at our stop. 

I can't recall how many times I have been places with one or both of the kids and ended up getting into long conversations. People approach me and are approachable.

We have also met many parents who are raising their children in a like-minded way, either homeschooling or 'unschooling'. There are plenty of options for alternative education. 

In terms of safety, Vancouver rates highly. There are some areas downtown which are probably best to steer away from, but that's the same for most big cities. Where we are, on the west side, it feels very secure. We're in a beautiful neighbourhood. 

Now that the weather has turned, we've ventured out more. Over Easter we enjoyed near-summer-like conditions. It was glorious. We went to Stanley Park, the biggest in Vancouver. It seemed like the rest of the city was there also that day. 

It was fun for us all, especially the kids. We walked along the coast, visited a playground, Zenchai got to experiment with Parkour wherever he could and, once we were able to catch a bus home, we stopped off for a bite to eat at one of our favourite places, TeraVburger, where Zenchai said he wanted to spend his birthday.

Guess we'll be heading back there again then.

 

 

 

 

World Travel: Wherever We Lay Our Hats...

HERE'S a question we get a lot (and for obvious reasons): "So, where's home?"

We've been travelling so long that we don't really know. Often we say, "wherever we are". And that's the truth. Home is where we (as a family) are. We don't own a house and Kobra, for instance, hasn't lived anywhere for more than six months. 

This year, travelling mostly through Asia before getting to Australia and then New Zealand, we have had to relocate 35 times!

We've stayed in hostels, houses, concrete apartment complexes without views, boats, tents, campervans, resorts, hotels, homestays and with family, strangers and friends. 

It's been an interesting year, starting in India, finishing in New Zealand, taking in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia in between. We have met many amazing people, forged some strong friendships, faced many challenges and learned some incredible lessons.

So we thought we'd make the rest of this blog somewhat visual, showing the places we have stayed, and thanking you all for following and sharing in our journey. 

First port of call, Varkala Beach in India

Preparing for sun and beach on our balcony

  In search of a better deal, we find a new apartment

  And then, for a great price, a resort with a pool

  An excellent hostel in Alleppey, recommended by Lonely Planet

Followed by a night on the backwaters

  In Fort Cochin, the night Liverpool win the Carling Cup

Stopping over in Kuala Lumpur for a few nights

From one hotel to another - in Chiang Mai, Thailand

The Greenhill apartments in Chiangers - and lobby transport

Penang beach living in Batu Ferringgi, but it doesn't work out for us there

We head by coach to Kuala Lumpur for a spot of apartment-sitting in Bangsar

Renting nine floors up in Chan So Lin, Kuala Lumpur

In Subang Jaya to take care of cats

House sharing off the beaten track as we return to Chiang Mai

Birthday celebrations in a seventh-floor Chiang Mai apartment

A weekend in Singapore, where we got ripped off buying durian

A stopover in scorching Phuket on our way to Bali


 

A couple of nights by a main road and with noisy neighbours in Ubud

Renting a two-story home in Ubud for £10 a day

House-sitting and caring for a dog, rabbits and a chicken in the stunning Blue Mountains outside Sydney

 A townhouse in the Sydney suburbs

 Campervanning our way to Melbourne from Sydney

Magical sunset in Bonbeach, a stone's throw from where we stayed

  Camping by the beach in Mornington, near Melbourne 

Pretty cool, family-friendly hostel in Parnell, Auckland

  A family home in Auckland, caring for a dog and two cats

 

Bali: Island Life In Pictures

Magnificent temple houses on every corner

A buriel ceremony within days of our arrival

And everyone gets involved

One way of drumming up new business

Are Balinese the most talented artists on earth? These types of shops are everywhere

 The wonderful Monkey Forest, where we (and the long-tailed macaques) had some fun

Hard at work in the rice fields

Are we watching them or are they watching us?

The Galungan festival - children take to the street and dress up in costume

Amazing rice paddies - they are everywhere

Another fabulous street procession brings us to a standstill

The local women are so hard-working and there seems to be no such thing as retirement

 

 By the ocean - in Sanur - and Kobra has her own ideas about sun block!

We get out before the rush - this is the motorbike car park (or part of it) by the beach

Hitching a ride, Kobra thumbs a lift from a generous local

Duck-herding, Bali-style...they come and go really quickly, so I moved fast to get this shot

 

 

Ubud: Driving Rules? There Are No Rules

MY heading is a bit misleading, but there are certain things you need to know before taking to the roads here. Of course, there are rules. It's not complete chaos - like driving in India or Cairo. But at times it feels like it. Actually, most of the time.

It doesn't help most of the roads are so narrow and full of holes and that there are scores of motorbikes, most of which overtake without hesitation on the inside and out. Near-misses are a daily occurrence. Jamie refuses to drive here.

At least the Balinese mostly wear helmets (which isn't the case in Chiang Mai, for instance). But you see three or four people to a bike and sometimes a parent carrying a small child who is fast asleep!

There is plenty of pollution because traffic in the centre can build up. We keep the windows up and AC on when we get into town - even though we dislike using AC. 

But driving in this charming town is made a little harder because our cheap car rental doesn't have much oomph. Just the other day it conked out going up a steep hill. I had to yank up the handbrake and start it up again with a long line of impatient traffic behind me. Even in first gear and with plenty of gas, it choked its way up.

Much of the time our Suzuki feels like a tank. It's not quite swift enough to dodge the barking mutts out in the street, some of whom just laze in the road and don't even move as you approach, which doesn't help when you need to swerve around it and a vehicle is approaching from the opposite direction. Then there are all the chickens, roosters, the pedestrians, children, people carrying large loads…you really need to have your wits about you.

If you get out of town, you might encounter cattle and pigs along the road, too. We've found the signposting in some more remote areas out of town almost non-existent. It's really a case of knowing your geography, having a map and asking directions. But I've been advised to always get a second opinion. Balinese are polite people, so will give you any direction rather than say they don't know.

At major junctions it is not clear who has the right of way. I really couldn't figure it out. In the end, I just forced my way out. Then I read an article from a local trying to make sense of it. She said it's about eye contact! That didn't help me, seeing most cars have tinted windows and motorcyclists helmets. Big trucks and buses usually won't take their turn, so beware!

If a car flashes you in England, it usually means the car is letting you pass. But here it signals the opposite. I got caught out a few times and it's hairy.

And if a car puts on its hazard lights at a junction it usually means the vehicle is going straight and not that it has a problem. 

Parking can be a hassle as well. With the roads being so narrow, you need to find either an official parking spot or stop to the side, leaving enough space for passing traffic. 

Be careful not to go too far to the side on the small side streets, because they all have deep gutters (used for burning litter). Once you're in there, you're not coming out - without the help of a tow truck. I've seen a few motorbikes being fished out.

And in the centre of town, where it's really busy, parking is harder. In some areas if you find a spot (not too difficult early in the day), the chances are you will be charged, though the fee is minimal. Don't bother trying to argue because there are no signs saying you must pay to park. 

However, I did complain when parking at the Monkey Forest for that very reason. Someone just turned up as we left and demanded payment. I told him he needed to inform me in advance and not when I had finished. 

But that's how things work around here. If they can extract another 1,000 rupees from you they will. 

When all is said and done, having a car (even our slow one, pictured above) is better than not having one - unless you are located centrally.

The alternative is taking taxis and, as visitors, we've been overcharged several times. Bargain hard with them. Everyone here seems to be a taxi driver. 

Although I prefer to walk when I can, it isn't always an easy option, particularly in heat and with young children. In places there are no pavements and where there are, often they are horribly uneven. 

Zenchai, for one, prefers getting around by car, but that's because he didn't enjoy the street dogs all barking at him.

The Balinese people aren't so aggressive, though. In fact, they are on the whole very friendly. And even on the roads, it's more a case of volume of traffic and disorder and worn road surfaces than terrible driving which makes getting around feel so perilous. However, my wife isn't convinced about how capable the Balinese are of controlling their vehicles. 

Ubud: Renting A Home

HAVING now found a place to stay for the remainder of our time in Bali, we are wiser than we were before our arrival. We did as we have done in most new locations and checked into a hotel for a few days (five in this case), the idea being to give ourselves time to see (house-wise) what was on offer.

Prior to arriving in Ubud, we searched online to see what was available and with anyone we knew living in town (we had some friends here). Most, if not all, online options, particularly short-term, were too expensive.

We thought five days would be sufficient to score a home. But, as ever, not everything went to plan. We followed our leads, the main one being to check the large notice boards (try outside most of the health food shops and restaurants/cafes: Bali Buddha, a local and popular cafe; Down To Earth; Alchemy, a raw food joint; Kafe and the public library). We made some inquiries and then waited for return calls or positive responses.

Nothing much happened, though. People in the property market told us that nothing much within walking distance of the town centre was available for what a low-budget family like ourselves desired.

If you have money - and many visitors who come here do - then there is plenty around. Ubud caters well for the wealthy. You can have stunning views, tranquility and a swimming pool. 

But with our five-day hotel stay rapidly reaching an end and no house or villa to stay in, we had to reassess.

We wanted a home that was clean, safe, with a kitchen (to self-cater) and some space for the kids to play. Too much to ask for? 

We booked a few more days in a hotel (but a different one, which meant re-packing and lugging our stuff literally across the street) and opted to rent a car, the idea being that with more mobility we could conduct a search further afield.

Finding a car was relatively easy (several phone calls) and cheap - only £5 per day - but you get what you pay for. When was the last time you drove a car with a choke? And our Suzuki rattled as it drove and felt like the wheels would fall off every time I hit one of the many pot-holes along the road!

With wheels, we cast our net wider and finally had some success when inquiring about an ad we saw posted at a hair salon near Sopa, another cafe where we like to eat. The two-floor house in a quiet neighbourhood was about 4km from the centre, where it can be too noisy.

We checked it out, liked the place and the price (around £10 per day, including water and electricity) and concluded the deal. 

For anyone on a tight budget heading to Ubud, I'd recommend hiring a vehicle (or motorcycle if you don't have children) and heading away from the centre of town. There you get much more for your money. 

Asia: Close Encounters Of The Animal Kind

I STILL wrestle with my decision whenever I visit zoos. So often the animals look so sad, isolated in cages, appearing painfully thin or bored.

Even under these circumstances, I still wonder whether life for them is better in captivity, where they are (usually) well fed and kept safe, or in their natural habitat, where many species are continually under threat, ironically from us, humans.

However, zoos and wildlife parks offer us the opportunity to see wild animals up close. And in Chiang Mai the zoo is better than most I have experienced. Many of the animals roam freely or in large spaces. 

They have in Chiang Mai a zoo and a popular attraction called the Night Safari (although it is open during the day also).

And our kids have been fortunate to have experienced some intimate, close encounters with animals they would never have seen other than on television or computers or in books and magazines.

Zenchai and Kobra loved feeding giraffes in Chiang Mai, where you can buy food for the animals and hand it to them. 

These tremendously tall creatures with incredibly long tongues literally took food from my young daughter's hands and kept coming back for more. 

The same happened with elephants, those awesome, big animals, though I couldn't help but feel sorry for them having to wear such clumsy, large chains around their ankles.

We saw elephants up close in India, too, where they are 'used' in so many of the street parades.

In Ubud, Bali, our animal experience got even better at the Monkey Forest. Here although the monkeys live wildly in the trees, they are at ease with humans, probably because they are fed by them every day.

They still have to be approached with caution, as do most wild animals, but essentially they are only after your food. And if you treat them with respect (and don't stroke their heads), all should be okay. One or two people did complain of being bitten, though we saw tourists throwing them sweets and other food items clearly not suited for monkeys.

On our first visit we took with us one banana (though they can be purchased at the forest entrances) and almost before Zenchai could take it out of our bag a monkey swooped and grabbed it off him.

I had a unique moment with one infant monkey, though. I just held out my arm high to the side with a piece of food in my palm and the fearless monkey climbed up me and, resting on my hands, happily ate away. At one point the monkey even looked me in the eye and pinched my nose, more out of curiosity than anything else. His padded hands were so soft. 

I think at this point Zenchai could see he had little to fear, especially from the small ones, and he endeavoured to feed them, first picking up pieces of sweet potato that had been chopped and left for them by the forest attendants and then old coconuts.

He had more success with the latter, picking up a shell that had been left aside and then offering it to a larger monkey, who extended his hand and took it for consumption.

This was a real, live and priceless educational experience for my kids - one they could see, smell and feel. 

It wasn't just about being around monkeys and feeding them, but understanding how they live, feed and survive and also how we humans treat and value them. 

Zenchai, as ever, asked many questions, but also liked the monkeys so much that he said he wanted one for himself, which opened up the discussion as to why wild animals are called wild and should remain precisely that. 

Phuket: Quick Dose Of Beach Life

HOW good it felt to be back by the ocean again. We stopped in Phuket for a day to break up our journey from Chiang Mai to Bali. We're glad we did.

The kids played outdoors practically the whole time, but there was a price to pay. The sun was scorching. For the first time ever, Zenchai got mildly sun-burned. In fact, we all did - and it didn't take long. Be warned.

It is said that Phuket has two seasons: hot and wet; and bloody hot! Officially, it was rainy season and our hotel was practically deserted. We had a few trickles of rain, but it was mostly sunny.

We didn't surface until late in the day as we had left Chiang Mai on an overnight flight and arrived in the ealy hours of the morning. We were all tired.

But after breakfast the kids were in the pool, which they had all to themselves. Zenchai swam and entertained himself by making boats from banana leaves and banana flowers, make-believing they were pirate ships.

It felt good to be back by the coast again, even if it was only for a day. 

I took an exploratory walk, to see what the neighbourhood had to offer, which wasn't a great deal.

I noticed, though, from the moment we landed that everything in Phuket is about three times the price it is in Chiang Mai.

Getting a taxi after midnight, when we landed, cost us 400b (£8), the taxi drivers insisting the journey was 15 minutes when it was actually five! But what can you do when there was no alternative?

The next day, as I searched for food and fruit for snacking for our kids, I again noticed the inflated prices - and no fruit shops in sight!

We were staying close to the airport, so the rest of the island, particularly where it is busier, is likely to be different. 

However, the light at the end of this proverbial tunnel I was walking was the golden 
beach. It was about a 15-minute walk from our hotel and the ocean was a beautiful warm temperature and the sand nice underfoot - not too sticky and no glass or sharp objects to be found.

We went there late in the day, around 5pm, when the sun wasn't as fierce - or so we thought. It was still hot even as we played in the water.

Kobra made friends with an older local boy while Zenchai was busy building castles and moats. Eventually, the boy, who barely spoke English, joined Zenchai and they all played together, digging, running races etc. 

They played until the sun went down and it was time to eat. The beach is lined with restaurants and we didn't know which one to choose. We picked one in the end and the food was nice even if the experience was spoiled by insects dive-bombing our table. 

In the dark, we headed back to the hotel, showered up, packed our bags again in readiness for rising at 4am for our flight and hit the sack. 

World Travel: Emptying The Bucket List

WE are soon to be leaving Chiang Mai, Thailand. Our visas are about to expire. We debated about whether to leave and return, thus extending our stay in Thailand, or to visit the local immigration office to pay to have our visas extended or to travel onwards.

Chiang Mai has grown on us. We've made some good contacts and acquaintances and slowly started to enjoy the lifestyle. The cost of living and availability of fresh, organic produce has been a major plus. We will particularly miss going to Crossfit, the daily coconuts and Jamie has enjoyed getting back into yoga. However, we may yet return again.

However, although we have been travelling for more than two-and-a-half years, Jamie and I both have places we would still like to visit, especially on this side of the world.

For Jamie, Bali has always been on her list. And for me it is Australia. 

I've tried to go to Australia before but something has always stopped me - like getting a dream job. 

It's now or never - at least it feels that way. And while we are there it would be criminal not to go to New Zealand, where Jamie has lived before and has many friends. Jamie has also been to Oz several times. 

Our timing, though, could not be worse. Australia is now an expensive place to stay and I thought that we would just not be able to afford it.

But then an opportunity came our way when one of Jamie's Aussie friends offered us the chance to house-sit in Melbourne while they are away on holiday (in Thailand, ironically).

It was too good to pass up. So we are on our way Down Under, landing in Sydney and then, if we can find a deal, taking an RV (campervan) - which is another dream of ours - to Melbourne. But first will stop in Bali for about a month.