Himalayas - Part 2

I was back in Uttarkhand in November, this time with about 80 kids!  A very different trip but still great fun.  We were near Rishikesh and camped in various locations (or should that be glamped?) in the foothills and then along the River Ganges.  Our days were full and busy.  These were some of the things that we did: yoga in the morning, visiting a local orphanage, trekking to a hilltop village, visiting a local school, spending time in a temple and rafting down the Ganges. 

Unfortunately, I don't have photos of the white water rafting, but I was thrown in a number of times by treacherous, mutinous students, the water was bloody freezing and for those two days my abiding memory is one of cold.....brrrrr.  I have turned into a weedy tropical flower I think.  At night, I was sleeping in long johns, x3 tops and a wooly hat.  And I still felt a little chilly!

The kids (and teachers) threw themselves into everything and I think we have all come away feeling a bit more mindful and grateful for what we have, which really was the whole purpose of the trip.

Practicing 5-finger gratitude, tree pose and a little chanting at the Hindu temple to Shiva

A waterfall, tucked away, but flowing eventually into the Ganges

After our hill trek.  We finally reached the top, despite lots of complaining, chivvying etc.  Honestly, I think they all need to go on an outward bound course!

The Ganga - early morning

The source of the Ganga!

Our camp by the Ganga, early morning.  On our last day, we did our yoga facing this direction.  We did our sun salutations, with the sun just peeking over the ridge, which seemed very appropriate.

Himalayas - Part 1

October half term.  We made the pilgrimage to Uttarkhand, in Northern India for trekking and relaxing in the Himalayas.  We stayed in a very small resort with no electricity or internet and had three blissful days cut off from the rest of the world.  Here are a few photographic highlights:

The food was absolutely amazing - this is us tucking into our first lunch.  As you can see, we weren't slumming it!  The chef was an ex-Tibetan monk and he knew his way around a kitchen.  We were surprised to see the latest Ottolenghi cookbook gracing his shelves!

Marajuana is grown everywhere in this part of the world!  This is us, in front of a fragrant crop.

 

Not by the hairs of my chinny chin chin!  Real Pashmina goats.

Looking down at a village from on high - these little villages were dotted around the mountainside, holding on for dear life.

After a 5:30 start and a 3 hour near-vertical climb, we reached the top and had stunning views.

Early morning cloud and sunrise on our day of departure

On our last night we had a huge storm, but it cleared the air and meant that our early morning drive was littered with views like this and the snowy mountains were finally visible.

Me, a little grumpy I have to admit, after our very long climb on an empty stomach!

Maaaaargaret River

Me and a kiwi - Queenstown

Post-Christmas dinner

Tiny Tim having a dip in the lake

Christmas with the Kiwis

Well, I take it all back about people not being in the holiday mood. Last night there was lots of madness in the campsite (Tim thinks its because it's almost a full moon) and today there are MANY Santa hats in evidence. I offered to take a shot of our campsite neighbours this morning for them to send home - they had their hats on, and two bowls of cornflakes for their 'Christmas dinner'. Comedy. By the lakeshore, everyone is out sun bathing, BBQing and drinking. As well as the Santa hats, much tinsel was in evidence when we cycled past - wrapped around midriffs and in hair. So it is very festive!

After a late start, we got on our bikes and headed out for a long ride - actually much longer than we anticipated so we are both cream crackered and Tim has obviously pulled down the shades of the van for a little power nap. The bike ride itself was gorgeous, going over some ground that we had already covered when we were in Arrowtown, but running parallel to the Shotover river (best river in NZ for gold) and with stunning views of the mountains - will upload pics in due course. Tim had a much needed dip in one of the lakes we passed - he loves doing that.

We have our Christmas 'lunch' booked for 6 so we are going to head down into town shortly.

All that remains is for me to wish you a very Happy Christmas!

Anchored down in Arrowtown

I am writing now from Arrowtown, about 20km north of Queenstown, our eventual destination for Christmas. Arrowtown is a former gold rush town where gold was first discovered in 1862. During the day, the place is awash with day trippers but in the evening when the buses have departed and just the locals are left, it has a definite charm. We've decided we like the vibe so much we are going to stay an extra night and tomorrow we are hiring bikes in the morning and then having lunch in a famous vineyard, because this is also wine country.

The beauty of the camper van is the flexibility that we have. We hadn't really planned our trip at all before we arrived, but it has taken shape through recommendations from Kiwi friends and Kiwis we've met on the road. If we want to stay an extra night then we can. We haven't ventured down to Queenstown yet, but Arrowtown is small and we think probably a bit more chilled than the adventure capital of NZ.

Last Thursday we were in glacier country (Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers) after making our way south from the lovely Lake Mahinapua. We had been told to visit a place called Lake Matheson by friends and to sample the food at the nearby Cafe Matheson. After one of those days when we hadn't eaten much, the prospect of a really good feed was very motivational as we set up camp and did all our chores. However, the meal was a disappointment. It soon transpired that their signature cooking technique was to drown everything in sauce. Gross! I ordered the salmon which was swimming in a tangy, marmeladey sauce - an acquired taste. I realised if Dad had been there he would have immediately sussed the place out for what it was: a clip joint. Anyway, we were going to write off the lake on account of the restaurant but decided a post-prandial constitutional would help us digest. It was a good decision, because the lake, small and perfectly formed, looked very special in the evening light. It is famously known as the mirror lake because on a clear, still day it offers beautiful views of Mount Tasman. My attempt, below, is imperfect but hopefully you get the idea.

The coastline all around Fox, which I'm sure is spectacular in better weather, really wasn't looking its best the next day in driving rain, so we didn't hang around. We did a short bush walk in the hope of seeing some breeding penguins but when we eventually emerged onto the windswept beach, it was deserted. We continued on, crossing back over the Southern Alps through the Haast Pass in Mount Aspiring National Park. We drove in rain along a wide river plain carved by glaciers in the last Ice Age with steep sided mountains covered in the such dense, lush rainforest. Just stunning. What we couldn't get our heads around was within half an hour we were on the other side of the Alps, driving along Lake Wanaka in 25 degree heat. The green gave way to much drier conditions and a totally different topography. That's one of the things that I love about New Zealand - there is such huge variety in the landscape.

We freedom camped by Lake Hawea on Friday night in a Department of Conservation (DOC) site down a 6km dirt road, which obviously put most people off. Technically we are not insured on unsealed roads, but Tim is an adventurer and unconcerned with such trivialities. It was a lovely spot and so quiet, apart from two large families with kids (disturbers of the peace) who seemed to have set up camp for the holidays. Lake Hawea is the poorer sister to the famous Lake Wanaka which, in bright sunshine yesterday really did look spectacular. Picture below.

It does feel a lot busier now that we are closer to Queenstown and everyone is on the move for Christmas. Apart from hearing Michael Buble's Christmas album everywhere we go, there isn't much sign that people are in the Christmas mood.

The photos below are (in order):

1. Lake Hawea - you can just see the campsite in the curve of the shore
2. View of Mount Tasman from Lake Matheson - it is called the mirror lake as the reflection in the morning/evening is like a mirror. This is not quite mirror quality but near enough
3. Doing some planning with our map of Middle Earth (AL!!)
4. Lake Wanaka

Ps forgive any typos - I'm doing this on the iPad which isn't the easiest...

Greetings from Middle Earth

I am sitting in our campervan in the shadow of Mounts Cook and Tasman, we've had the most glorious sunshine all day and to be honest, it really doesn't feel like Christmas. But we are having a fantastic time and falling in love all over again with New Zealand.

It's day 5 of our trip and we've travelled from Christchurch, through the Southern Alps via Arthur's Pass and now we are working our way down the West Coast with the aim of spending Christmas in Queenstown. The best bits of the trip so far have been when we have gone off the beaten track: 'freedom camping' in Lake Mahinapua where we swam in the lake in the rain and the next morning, in bright sunshine; kayaking on the empty Orakito lagoon through temperate rainforest filled with unusual bird life, with Mount Tasman and the Southern Alps as our dramatic backdrop.

Internet connection is extremely patchy but I'm going to try and update this with pics and more chat in the next week or so. But here are a few shots to get you started.

Seasons!

Where has October gone? Well it's passed me by in a blur of planning and marking and now I find myself in an autumnal England, for half-term week.  And I'm so grateful to be here! Seeing my family again been brilliant/funny/emotional. As we are not coming home for Christmas, my Mum organised an early Christmas lunch (with a little Thanksgiving thrown in) on Sunday. And my sisters organised a stocking, full of helpful things for our Christmas trip to New Zealand, including a map of 'Middle Earth', On The Road by Jack Kerouac and an egg sandwich (family tradition for long car trips - we normally have to eat them about half an hour after we set off as they can be extremely whiffy).  It all felt very overwhelming and you know when you are with people you miss, after some time apart, you realise how much you actually miss them? Well that has been happening all over the place since I've been back.

Yesterday I went for a run by the river and I was nearly alone, apart from a few ducks and a solitary sculler.  I had one of those 'I'm so happy to be alive' moments, sitting by the river listening to life move around me, with the beauty of Autumn as backdrop (which is breathtaking to eyes used to tropical evergreens).

Today, I'm heading into London to see friends and for shopping; a whole bunch of other reasons to remind me of how lucky I am.

Back to school

It's Monday and I was at work today.  For the first time in I can't remember how long.  I have loved all my free time, but being back at the grindstone felt surprisingly normal.  After all, I have worked more Mondays than I have had free Mondays.

What made me giggle today: I asked one class to suggest a signal I could give during group activities to bring them back to me, this is especially useful when they are dispersed outside the classroom.  Today I got them to act out the Prologue to Romeo & Juliet.  One kid suggested I do the Usain Bolt salute, with the arms.  And then another kid suggested that the class could do the MoBot in return.  So, at the end of that lesson, mostly just for fun, I did the Usain Bolt arms and I had three rows of MoBots staring back at me.  Funny and effective!

If you don't know what I'm on about, you can follow this very long link for a pic of Usain and Mo Farah saluting each other at the Olympics: 

http://www.google.com/imgres?num=10&um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1776&bih=855&tbm=isch&tbnid=v-wNkRvnm6EzOM:&imgrefurl=http://www.news.com.au/sport/london-olympics/usain-bolt-celebrates-mobot-style-after-jamaicas-4x100m-olympic-relay-win/story-fndpudxd-1226448469391&docid=K2Q3UJ1STpXO8M&imgurl=http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2012/08/12/1226448/468268-usain-bolt-and-mo-farrah.jpg&w=650&h=366&ei=dO1WUPmMNMrLrQfmp4GQCg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1053&vpy=149&dur=347&hovh=168&hovw=299&tx=103&ty=61&sig=114083691277517888225&sqi=2&page=1&tbnh=80&tbnw=142&start=0&ndsp=50&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:0,i:90

Night shoot

I've been doing a photography course in the last few weeks and on Sunday we went on a night shoot down by the Marina Bay.  In Singapore, the light is really only good at sunrise and sunset because of the way the sun hits us, right on the equator.  And it was actually amazing to see how our photos improved as the light faded.  Anyway, here are few shots of the Esplanade and the Marina Bay Sands lit up at night.

Twilight and the Esplanade

A boat passing in front of the Esplanade

Night time with the Marina Bay Sands lit up

Particulars

The first time I was asked for my particulars, I was a little affronted but needlessly, because actually your particulars are you details. An example of the use of 'particulars' is when I attempted to pick up our Formula 1 tickets from the post office yesterday (specifically, tickets to the Katy Perry concert - Tim is like, her biggest fan).  I turned up with all the paperwork including a form signed by Tim saying that I could collect them his behalf.  But the lady took one look at it all and said 'Where is Mr G particulars?' (grammar note: no possessive, no plural). In this case she meant: where is the photocopy of Mr G's passport or employment pass so that I can verify his details and therefore release the tickets to you?  But I knew what she meant.

Also can

I noticed, during my recent trip to the UK, that my English is deteriorating.  I had to book a physiotherapy session while I was there, and this is how the conversation went (abbreviated):

Me: Hello, I'd like to book an appointment for tomorrow.
Them: We have a slot at 8am.
Me: Great
Them: What exercise have you done recently?
Me: Well, on Monday I done yoga in the morning, and then I done a run in the evening.

I didn't even notice.  It was only when I put the phone down that I realised how bad that sounded.  I am obviously spending too much time with the wrong kind of people.  Singlish is English words using a Mandarin grammatical construction, so you do hear some very weird expressions here.  Some of my favourites are:

off/on the light - e.g. 'Please on the light'.  I really had no clue what the person was on about the first time I heard this - it's amazing how the omission of part of the verb can confuse the native speaker!

isn't it? or is it? at the end of every sentence, with the intonation rising and falling. I have no idea why the locals do this, but Tim and I have started to do this as well - sometimes ironically, but often not.

can - this means, 'yes, I can' example: Me: "Please can you take the next left". Taxi driver: "Can."

also can - 'yes, I can also do this' example: Me: "Can you take this next left?" Taxi driver: "Also can"

cannot - 'I'm sorry, I cannot do that'


And then there's pronunciation, but that is a whole other story....

National Pride Down Under

The Margaret River - the trees were white like bones sticking out of the water

In the last two weeks, I've been feeling very, very proud to be British, from 13,000 miles away.  For the last two weeks I have been asking myself, and Tim, why we weren't there to join in on the fun and celebrate in the city that for 12 years was our home.  I think, and I hate to admit it, that we were in the group of doomsayers who thought the whole thing was going to be a fiasco (travel chaos, huge crowds a la Twenty Twelve, if you caught it) and it was better to stay away.  But how wrong we were!  I got up at 4am to watch the Opening Ceremony live and since then, I have been suffering from a severe case of Olympic fever.  Team GB have given us so much to feel immensely proud about and to shed the odd tear over, which is what I was just doing as I watched a montage on ESPN.  I am wondering how I am going to fill my time for the rest of the summer holiday...

I did return to the UK briefly at the beginning of July and because I was a bit miz about coming back to Singapore (leaving my family, sniff) Tim booked us a week's holiday in the Margaret River, south of Perth.  It's an easy five hour flight from Singapore and then a case of pointing the car south and driving straight for another three hours.  It's winter down there at the moment, but it felt more like a British spring and we had a few days of absolutely glorious sunshine - t-shirt weather, with hardly a cloud in the sky.  Margaret River is a famous wine region, with a very similar climate to Bordeaux and that is why a lot of people visit, but it was the natural beauty of the region that appealed to me.  The skies were huge, the ocean a patchwork of different blues and turquoises and for the most part, the beaches were totally deserted.  The coast is bordered by a national park which runs the length of the peninsula and we were able to walk part of the Cape to Cape walk which took us past hidden coves (like Bob's Hollow) and on to fantastic beaches.  It was glorious to be in jeans and a sweatshirt, to get the walking shoes on, to eat (a lot of) fresh local food and feel close to nature (even if nature in Australia means a lot of things that could kill you).  It's the simple things.

We didn't get too many opportunities to rib the locals about the Australian medal tally but you could tell they were smarting from the lack of a gold rush!

Anyway, here are few snaps of our trip.

Dipping a toe on Redgate Beach

The tallest lighthouse in Australia apparently!

Having a picnic in Bob's Hollow

Gratitude List

• Feeling very loved
• A day off work
• Spending QT with Mr T
• Being thoroughly entertained for 2.5 hours in the cinema this morning watching the Avengers
• Listening again to the awesome birthday mix my sis sent me
• The smell of rain and the anticipation of a thunder storm to follow  
• A delicious cup of tea

A bit more from Japan

Blossom at night

The money shot at Chidorigafuchi

Sunset over the city

Blossoming

Easter weekend saw us in Tokyo and we were right in time to join the locals in the orgy of cherry blossom viewing that took place over the weekend.  Due to a harsh winter the blossom arrived a couple of weeks late, which was all to our advantage.  It was delicate, beautiful, ethereal...and witnessing the unbridled delight on the faces of everyone around us was extremely heart-warming.

You have your picnic facing the blossom, obviously

We were not the only ones there - to be honest it was like being at a rock concert

We came across this street linked with cherry trees in the middle of the business district

The best way to see it all was by boat

Eco-tourism and education

Sunset from Bali airport

I can't say that we live a very 'green' life in Singapore.  There isn't a big push to recycle and with all the flying that we do we are hardly what you would call an environmentally friendly couple.  So, perhaps to alleviate some of our guilt, we decided to go 'green' for the first four days of our recent holiday in Bali.  We stayed in a hut on stilts in a place called Bambu Indah.  It was rustic, open-air (in the case of the bathroom) and creaky, but quite charming.  We shared our open air bathroom with a cockroach and, at night, moths the size of baseballs, but in that rustic setting it was not alarming at all. We had views of distant rice paddies and a river gorge right below us. Instead of your standard swimming pool, the owners had installed a 'natural pool' - filtered water teaming with clever American bacteria that apparently keep the water clean.  I was a little freaked out about not being able to see the bottom and then getting caught up in some slimy, long, green snaky thing (just a big of algae it turned out!) but after that first dip, I just loved it.  Somehow so much more refreshing than a normal swimming pool and minus the chlorine.

Every care had been taken for the retreat to blend with and respect the natural environment.  There was a lot of bamboo, including (cleverly we thought) bamboo straws.  Why doesn't everyone use bamboo straws?  They feel SO much nicer than the plastic variety.  All our food came from the garden which I really appreciated.  I loved the fact that the journey from source to plate was so short. 

We hired a moped while we were there, for the princely sum of $5 a day.  As you know, Tim loves anything with an engine and he was soon moving very confidently through the streets of Ubud, perhaps a little too confidently at times.  I am lucky to have returned to Singapore with ten toes - I nearly lost a little toe from each foot in two separate (but not too serious) accidents.  I think he forgot I was on the back - but apparently my weight really impacted performance...how rude.

I have a Singapore friend who recently moved to Bali and she happens to work for the school set up by the owner of Bambu Indah - The Green School (http://www.greenschool.org/).  We took her up on her offer of a visit and so we took to the moped armed with two very basic maps, my excellent sense of direction and a reasonable hope that we would reach our destination in time for lunch.  The school is special because 1) it is all made of bamboo and all the classrooms are open-air 2) it's very focused on experiential learning and educating the kids to be socially responsible and environmentally aware 3) it is VERY green, a bit like the place we stayed.  An issue taxing them at the moment is that they are 'still on the grid' i.e. they are still pulling electricity from the mainframe and not fully self-sufficient.  Imagine being vexed by such an issue!  Also, which I thought was kind of cool, they have two loos in every cubicle.  One for number ones, one for number twos (complete with a bucket of sawdust to throw over your brown snakes once you've finished). Sorry to lower the tone, but I thought it was cool.

Anyway, we thought it was all fascinating and it definitely got us thinking about the point of education.  Is education about THE NOW - doing really worthwhile stuff that may not have 'conventional' academic value but certainly enriches a person's life or is it about THE FUTURE - knowing that school may not always be fascinating day-to-day, but the knowledge the kids are acquiring will serve them well later on.  Ideally, I suppose it should be a bit of both.  As a teacher, sometimes 'the future' is a hard sell. Most of the time, students are very much in the present.  I know how important it is for my students to learn how to read for understanding, analyse a text, string a sentence together, punctuate properly, but oftentimes they can't imagine a future where they might need these skills.  Of course, by the time they realise it, it is too late.  Aaaahhh, the wisdom of old age!

Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure.

Colourful offerings to the spirits, available for purchase in the market!

Our hut in the background and the natural pool

The view from Bambu Indah

It's all made of bamboo!  The Green School

The iconic Green School bridge

Inside school and more bamboo - it's just such a versatile wood

Bamboo desks and chairs in school