Abrams Family World Travel

Auckland: Meeting Brigitte Bardot!

THE French seductress has changed a lot from when I last saw her, as a child watching French movies.

We saw her in downtown Auckland, at the beautiful marina. She was in town only for a short period. 

I'm talking about the Sea Shepherd, however, and not the outspoken actress the boat is named after because of her support for anti-whaling and cruelty to seals. She took a trip in 1977 with the founder of the Sea Shepherd and, presumably impressed, he had her image painted on the side of the boat named after her. Interestingly, the original painting had her wearing leggings, but she insisted they be removed so she looked more skimpy! 

We all took a tour of the vessel, to find out more about what they do and bought a T-shirt and a few other items as a way of lending support. There's not a lot of space on board, so you got an idea of the conditions the crew deal with, especially as they can be at sea for months at a time.

But when you think about the amount of whales still being harpooned and the reluctance of governments (with the exception of Chile) to become properly involved, thank goodness there are individuals like those who operate for Sea Shepherd and care for these wonderful, enormous creatures.

Sea Shepherd is a non-profit marine wildlife conservation organization. They are protecting not only whales, but also dolphins and other sea creatures being hunted close to extinction. 

Mornington Peninsula: The Mauritian Vibe Goes A Long Way

I'D seen her walk by with her dog several times. There was something about this lady - the skin colour, thin calves - that made me think: 'She's definitely a Mauritian'.

I can sort of identify Mauritians the way I can British people abroad. Maybe it's a kind of sixth sense.

So one morning this lady I'd seen several times stopped outside our tent, talking to another person. Jamie said to me, "I bet she's Mauritian." I told her, "That's exactly what I was thinking."

As she spoke, I recognised certain pronounciations made only by Mauritians when speaking English. So I moved in and struck up a conversation, asking her outright, "Are you from Mauritius?"

She said yes and added, "I was thinking the same of you. I'd seen you around several times."

The conversation went on, me asking her who she knew that I might know. Sure enough, what with Mauritius being a small island, she knew relations of mine, including my second cousin who lives in Melbourne with her kids. 

We parted after a great chat. I wrote down her name (Joan), because I was going to mention her to my father, to see if he knew/remembered her. She continued her walk along the beach and then, about an hour later, reappeared.

"Hi Claude," she said. "What's your dad's name?" she asked, as though something had been on her mind.  I told her and her face dropped, like she'd been told she had won the lottery. 

"My God! You're kidding." Turns out she knew my dad, uncles, aunts, grandparents etc. In fact, her cousin was married to one of my grandmother's brothers. So, through marriage rather than blood, we are related.

Jamie and I went out for the rest of the day and when we returned I went off to do some work on the computer. As I came back to the tent, there she was - with her German husband. She wanted to introduce us. 

She was as excited about our meeting as we were. She said after our initial meeting she had jumped on the phone the moment she got home and called her sister to tell her all about it. She also called her cousin in Mauritius, who, as it happened, was celebrating there with my uncle, who had turned 70!

Mauritians are fantastic, believe me - so warm and welcoming. I'm lucky to be half-Mauritian. She wanted us to come to dinner. Not only that, she wanted us to come and stay at her house. She wanted to drive us to the airport. She just wanted to help.

She was so disappointed we had met at the end of our Australian trip. But I get the feeling that somewhere, somehow, we will meet again. 

 

Melbourne: Caring For The Classics

CLASSICAL music didn't appeal to me in any way until, say, about 10 years ago. As a child, I remember my parents listening to it all the time. I suppose I reacted against it.

Maybe missing the European Cup final (as it was then known in 1976) between Bayern Munich and St. Etienne (I was a football nut) - to be dragged off instead to a classical music concert at the Albert Hall - cemented my decision to tune out Bach, Strauss and their contemporaries. 

But nowadays, for whatever reason, I find it relaxing and calming. When driving, which can be stressful, I'd much rather listen to classical than anything else.

Consciously, I haven't tried pushing my musical choices on to my children. Zenchai just happens to have a varied taste. For instance, he likes Bob Marley, Cat Stevens, Krishna Das, Norah Jones, Nirvana, but also classical music.

One morning, while chatting over breakfast here in Melbourne, Zenchai was listening to Classic FM (because it reminds him of his grandparents' home in England). 

And his ears pricked up when he heard of a 24-hour concert in Melbourne billed as Care Aware. The idea of a 24-hour concert seemed to confound him. The DJ then said to listeners to pick up something (weighing about the same as a violin) and to hold it in a violinist's position for around three minutes. Zenchai gave it a try, but couldn't do it.

I explained to him that in the concert the musicians would probably have to hold on to their instruments for the best part of a full day. He was intrigued.

The next step was to get tickets, as I knew he was interested. They were free, too. But as the concert by the 200-strong Impossible Orchestra was to raise awareness and money for the millions of carers in Australia who go unpaid, we made an online donation and booked our seats.

Seats could be booked for three-hour portions only, which was long enough for a six-year-old. The concert started at 5pm on a Saturday and finished at that time the following day. Zenchai and I went for the climax.

Zenchai particularly enjoyed getting dressed up and feeling more grown up, borrowing some clothes from a friend (thanks, Kyle). 

The gig took place in Melbourne city at Hamer Hall. We took the train in from Bonbeach and found the venue easily enough - about one minute walk from Flinders Street station. Collecting tickets was simple. The seats were comfy. We then listened and watched. One listener described it as an "educational eargasm".

I was surprised by how much Zenchai got into it, applauding after the various pieces were played and asking about the different instruments, the cameramen, lighting etc. I answered what I could. 

During one interval we went outside and wondered around the Sunday Market. At a stall (noworriescurries.com) selling Indian spices, Zenchai and I chatted with the owners. They were so taken with Zenchai that the lady kindly gave us some extras. 

We went back in for the conclusion of the concert. I didn't pressure Zenchai to stay until the end, but he chose to remain. It gave me an opportunity on the train on the way home to talk with him about carers and what they do and how selfless they are. How this affects him I don't know. 

But the outing, I know for sure, was a big success. 

Sydney: No Blues In The Mountains

FREQUENTLY we are asked how, financially, we are able to keep travelling the way we do.

It's a perfectly valid question, of course. But the answer is we have to be prudent with our funds and also find creative ways of making our bucks stretch further.

One way has been house-sitting, which we have been doing for nearly three years and involves caring for someone's home (and, usually, pets) while they are away, giving the owners peace of mind that their home is and animals are safe in their absence. In return, we get free accommodation, which is one of our biggest costs. 

We are members on two websites - trustedhousesitters.com and housecarers.com - and apply when we see house-sitting jobs become available where we are travelling or about to travel. We pride ourselves on doing a good job and leaving homes cleaner than when we arrived.

We have come to meet some genuinely amazing, gracious and generous people this way and see and stay in fantastic places from Notting Hill to Brecon to Huddersfield to Kuala Lumpur. Our most recent assignment was in the Blue Mountains, about an hour outside of Sydney. We stayed there - in a beautiful family home - 11 days, looking after a dog, rabbits and a hen.

It's a spectacular part of Australia, hence the advertising promo for the region which reads, "Easy to get to. Impossible to forget". The Blue Mountains is so called because of the density of Eucalyptus trees which emit into the atmosphere droplets of oil which, when combined with dust particles and water vapour, form rays of light that are predominantly blue.

There is so much to see and do in the region that you could live here years and not scratch the surface, so we took the more popular options, starting with the famous Three Sisters near Katoomba, which was about 45 minutes drive from where we stayed in Warrimoo.

The Blue Mountains covers some one million hectares and became a World Heritage site 12 years ago. In it you will see trees that have been around from before mankind and cave systems that have survived 350 million years.

At Echo Point in Katoomba is a large visitor centre and observation area where you can get the best views of The Three Sisters - three rock formations, each over 900m tall, that stand out side by side with a massive open landscape as a backdrop.

Aboriginal folklore says the rocks were three sisters who were turned to stone.

There is a walkway that extends for miles, it seems, around the cliff edge. It is all perfectly safe, spotless and perfectly maintained.

We didn't have time to see everything on our first visit, so returned to take in the Scenic Railway - the world's steepest incline railway - a cableway that takes you back to the top and a Scenic Skyway, another cable ride. You can purchase a ticket for all three with discounted rates for families and if you arrive before 11am.

Zenchai was particularly fascinated by the history of gold mining in the area and the log cabins for workers that have been preserved and some of the other equipment that was used.

Katoomba itself is a quiant little town that has a giant screen cinema (six stories high) showing film of the region's environmental value, but we didn't have time to check this out.

Fresh and organic food-lovers should make a trip to the food co-op on Ha'Penny Lane, just off the main high street, though we also found other stores in the region offering a wide and good selection of fruits, vegetables and such items.

Another destination we visited was Wentworth Falls, which, like in Katoomba, has special views and dramatic trails.

Being in the mountains was cooler than in the city. It felt so much fresher and healthier. We took several local walks, on one occasion - foolishly as it turned out - trying to follow a 5km trail from the house we were sitting, but got lost as the sun started to go down.

Thankfully, we came across a family riding their horses and they kindly offered to drive us most of the way back. Only then did we realise how far we had come - with Zenchai on foot and me carrying Kobra - and that the shortcut back to our 'home' would have involved scrambling through a overgrown bush trail.

As serious snakes and poisonous insects live in the region, the local lady thought better of suggesting we try this and dropped off all of us - dog included - where we could make it back safely, which we did. But, as someone once wrote, "If everything always went to plan there would be no adventures"!

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

 

 

Chiang Mai: Hot In Spring

THE temperature doesn't seem to fall much this time of year. We're experiencing varying degrees of hot and sweaty.

So why would we even contemplate heading east 40km out of town to the Hot Springs of Sankampaeng? The last thing I want to do is get hotter and sweat more.

But, much to my surprise, it's a pleasant place to visit and the mineral springs are so good for you.

Although the kids can take the heat for short periods only, they loved it. The main pool is large and has a type of waterfall which you sit under and feel like you are having a massage. The water is so full of minerals you can't even see clearly to the bottom, which makes it a bit awkward when trying to locate steps.

And the showers, nice and cool, are so refreshing afterwards.

Following the hot pool experience, you are bound to feel thirsty. Bring your own liquids and plenty of them. There are shops and restaurants selling food and beverages, but we found most of the juices to be heavily treated with sugar, which was a shame.

The Hot Springs has nice walking and picnic areas. It makes for a relaxing day out. You can get a foot or full body massage, too. There are streams with hot mineral water. Monks come and sit by it, soaking their feet. 

We found a children's play area also, but, because of the heat, even the most enthusiastic and energetic child would be challenged to play too long.

Instead we headed to where the water was really hot and you could buy eggs to boil and eat.

I'm the only one who has eggs - albeit very infrequently - but this seemed like a good time to try.

It was inexpensive. I gave Zenchai some money and he took the eggs (in a small basket) and hung them in the pool. We waited, taking in whiffs of sulphur in the air, until they were boiled.

Sankampaeng also has housing for those who want to be located nearby. There are lots of trees and pretty gardens.

The Springs were originally an energy source during a fuel crisis 40 years ago, but the government discovered it to be a more expensive alternative. 

Instead, though, they decided to convert Sankampaeng into a tourist location (since 1984).

It costs 40 baht (just under £1) per person to enter the complex and the same price to go into the pool, which is a real bargain for the experience and treatment. 

 

World Travel: Buffalo Soldier

I CAN'T pinpoint where Zenchai's love for Bob Marley started. But one thing I do know for certain is that it began while we were on the road, possibly in Brazil. Zenchai will be the first to spot the cliched One Love cafes that seem to be dotted all over the map. He will even find all the rasta paraphernalia. 

For whatever reason, the Marley classic Buffalo Soldier is his absolute favourite song and, given the chance, he plays it over and over. 

It was while in Varkala, India that we first realised he knew the words and heard him bellowing them out whilst playing by the pool.

It turned into an education for him when he started asking "what is a Buffalo Soldier?" We had fun guessing, but had to look up the explanation - the name given to black soldiers in the US army by native Americans during the US Civil War. More specifically, Marley wrote about those black soldiers who fought during the Indian Wars after 1866 and symbolised black resistance. 

Here is what Zenchai imagined a Buffalo Soldier to look like:

I'm not sure, but Zenchai could possibly be the first shaven-headed rasta in history.

(Gabriel, if you are reading this maybe you could answer. Actually, I think you have a lot to answer for).

Singapore: Shopping Malls, Skyscrapers And Cultural Diversity

THOUGH I was in Singapore only for four days, I was impressed by what I saw and experienced. 

It is particularly clean. Everything seems to run smoothly and without much of a hint of chaos. It is, like New York, very walkable. The pavements are wide and cars even stop to let you cross the road!

The signposting is clear. It's not so big that you have to rely on public transport to get everywhere. I walked solidly for about eight hours on my first day and covered a large portion of the city.

There is a lot going on - loads of attractions - and, for a city, there are plenty of trees and green spaces. No wonder Singapore is known as 'Garden City'. I noticed government initiatives in many places encouraging the population to make their city more ecologically friendly. 

The modern architecture is pretty spectacular. With the warm, humid climate, tall skyscrapers and waterfront, downtown has a Miami feel to it (without the tackiness), but with a touch of Monte Carlo thrown in and an atmosphere that is, for want of a better word, orderly.

There's a mostly Chinese and Indian culture served by Chinatown and Little India (the best place I found for internet shops). Languages spoken are English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. 

Foodwise, you can get almost anything you like. Actually, you can get your hands on everything here. Singapore is shopping mall crazy. They are abundant downtown and all are stunningly large, containing the designer stores. There's a Starbucks on every corner it seems. The economy, it appears, is booming. Singapore is, according to most lists, one of the richest countries in the world.

Although goods are not as cheap as in Thailand, it doesn't cost anywhere near as much to eat out in Singapore as it does in Europe or the US - if you operate prudently. 

For a more authentic feel, you can munch at the many hawker centres where the food markets are. They are everywhere. I also went into the ethnic areas for a more genuine feel of the city and to escape the giant malls. 

Little India has restaurant after restaurant and shops selling goods at discounted prices. There is also a small arab quarter and ample choice for vegetarians/vegans if you look hard enough.

But the Singaporians like their meat. Frogs are something of a delicacy, too. Most nights and especially on weekends, the streets are full of tables and restaurants jammed with customers. TV screens in restaurants show the Premiership football live from England. 

Remnants of the former British Empire are everywhere, not least The Raffles hotel, named after Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, who turned Singapore into a busy port and the city created by Raffles remains practically the same today in layout as it was nearly 200 years ago.

Singapore is a mix of old and new and contrasting cultures. People work hard and, from what I saw, spend hard, too. 

The island (only 604sq km) is densely populated and though everything seems so clean and controlled, Singapore is not without its problems, waste disposal being one of them. Most of it being incarcerated. But the need to find alternative solutions has prompted the urgency to work with the people to improve methods of recycling.

People clearly care about their city although the cost of living here is one of the highest in all of asia (behind Japan). I didn't notice it too much, probably because I declined to shop at all the modern stores. There's definitely a cheaper way to surviving a place like this, though the heftiest costs are for accommodation and schooling, something that is more difficult for most residents to avoid.

 

 

 

 

 

Fort Cochin, India: Who Needs A Washer-Dryer?

WE - or should I say Jamie? - do most, if not all, our washing by hand. I haven't seen a washing machine or dryer since I left the UK.

But that's how it's done in these parts - even for large loads. And if you have ever wondered how hotels etc get their sheets and bedding cleaned, you ought to pay a visit to the local laundrette.

The process is quite simple. Men and women stand in what look like stone booths filled with water and beat the laundry clean - washing, pounding and rinsing several times. It's almost like watching someone having a workout!

The laundry is then hung out to dry in the sun - there are lines and lines of sheets and clothing.

From there the items are folded, awaiting the hot irons, some of which are powered by electricity, but most are fuelled by burning old coconut shells. These black irons each weigh close to 10kgs. The 'ironers', barefoot on planks of thick wood,  stand there all day.

The laundry is then neatly folded and stacked ready for collection. The finished product looked as impressive as anything I had seen in a dry cleaners.

 

India: Tuk-Tuk Or Rickshaw?

WE prefer to call the three-wheeler transportation vehicles (usually black and yellow) that swarm over India's roads tuk-tuks. But, apparently, they are rickshaws. Or, more precisely, motor or auto rickshaws.

Still, some of the drivers in India refer to them as tuk-tuks - because that is what tourists know them as. The name originates from the sound of the engine.

If you read most of the signs, though, the word used is rickshaw, though originally rickshaws were pedalled vehicles.

Auto or motor rickshaws are common in developing countries and an inexpensive way of getting around. They have handle bars like on a motorbike, but with seating at the back and usually a roof. But we've seen them in pick-up versions and in many different styles. There's one, made by Indian car manufacturer Mahindra, which is bigger and sturdier.

As if India's roads are already not dangerous enough, drivers in India love to decorate their tuk-tuks, sometimes flamboyantly and almost to the point you cannot see clearly through the windscreen.

Zenchai adores them. He always immediately approaches the driver and asks if he can sit up front. Nine times out of 10 they will say yes. But in bigger cities and towns, where the roads are filled with traffic, we make sure he sits at the back with us.

But you would be surprised how many people can fit into one of these small vehicles. We shared a tuk-tuk with a Russian family once - a total of eight people including the driver!

I don't think we've seen the last of them. We're off to Thailand and other parts of eastern Asia where they also have them in abundance.