Author: odohertyelaine

We’re heading off for the June bank holiday weekend to Berlin. Neither of us have been before so we’re looking forward to exploring from what I’ve heard is a very interesting city. After a busy week of work we head to the airport and manage to get a pass for the lounge….here’s to the long weekend ahead…

The flight is just under two hours and we arrive quite late but we do manage to get our first curry wurst and a Berliner beer!

We’re staying in Hotel Pestana which is by Tiergarten, one of the many parks in Berlin. We take the train from the airport to the zoo and walk about 15 minutes to our destination.

On Saturday morning we are up for parkrun in Hasenheide park. It’s my first where the briefing is in a foreign language but they do a special English briefing as there are lots of visitors.

Berlin’s colorful life-size Buddy Bears have been on tour around the world as Germany’s ambassadors of goodwill since 2002. We see lots of them positioned throughout the city.

We head back to the hotel for a quick shower and we are off again to explore the town…. Starting in Mitte with Alexanderplatz

Next we head over the bridge to Museum island. Berlin’s Museum Island is a grand work of art in and of itself: five museum buildings from the time of the Prussian rulers, together with the modern James Simon Gallery, form an exciting ensemble that was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status in 1999.. We also see the Berlin cathedral as we pass over the bridge.

And it’s lunchtime… for our first lunch in Berlin I go for a schnitzel because it’s very much a local staple and also I can’t understand anything else on the menu. We sit outside this old restaurant apparently established since 1270. Shane has a cold fish dish and overall it’s a really good meal.

Back on museum island there are so many museums, it would be impossible to visit them all and it’s even hard to pick one.

I’ve always loved seeing antiquities especially the Egyptian stuff so when I see a poster for the Neus museum and realise this is where Nefertiti is I get very excited and we have to go in. I’ve wanted to see this statue ever since I visited Egypt in 2009 but I thought it was in Frankfurt… so excited to get the opportunity to see her and pay €14 for the privilege.

Back outside in the sunshine we continue our way along the many museums. We notice people gathered at a building so take a look and realise this is the Neue Wache (new guardhouse) where in 1969 the remains of an unknown soldier and an unknown concentration camp prisoner were laid to rest. With a sculpture of “mother with her dead son” in the middle of an otherwise empty room, this has now become the Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Victims of War and Tyranny

We head to the Brandenburg gate. The light isn’t the best but we get a quick selfie and plan to come back tomorrow.

Our next stop is the holocaust memorial or to be more accurate The Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe. There are separate memorials for other minorities who were killed by the nazis including homosexuals, and gypsies. The memorial was built in 1999 and covers 19,000 square metres, on which the designer Eisenman placed 2,711 concrete stelae of different heights. The area is open day and night and accessible from all four sides. The memorial is on a slight slope and its wave-like form is different wherever you stand. It also has an uneven concrete floor. There are children running around playing, which is unavoidable in a structure like this but it certainly provides an opportunity for reflection.

It’s quite sobering as you’d imagine so I need a bit of cheer…. Time to try those crazy Berliner drinks…

We go to Zollpackhof beer garden and I have rosé served in a glass mug. It’s lovely! The sun in shining (although we are happy in the shade) and the place is fairly busy.

The food being ordered around us looks so good and I really am enjoying the rosé so we decide to have dinner here. We get pork knuckle and a smoked pork loin served with sauerkraut and chips (the later at my request of course!). The food is really good.

To get closer to home we take an S train which brings us to the main train station where we can get on the underground. As we pass through Washingtonplatz there’s a stage with a DJ cranking out a few tunes. This is no doubt the closest we will get to some techno music and a dance while we’re here!

We walk through Tiergarten, by the zoo and see some antelope or caribou or some type of large deer!

On to another beer garden… well it’s only 8pm! This is essentially our local and it’s called Cafe am Neuen See. I go for a large radler. We are a bit knackered and by the time we walk home have hit 30,000 steps.

On Sunday morning we set off and walk through Tiergarten which is a beautiful park in the city and it’s right on our doorstep.

As we walk along the road that runs through Tiergarten a large portion of it is closed to traffic and there’s some sort of festival going on – it’s called the Umwelt festival and there are stalls which seem to be advertising organic food.

We get a cup of tea and a coffee from a stand and it’s served in delph mugs which we’ll need to pay an extra €3 each as a deposit!! Hilarious!! We opt to drink our tea at the stand so he can have his mugs back safely. A few stands down we try a cinnamon pastry… a cinnamon swirl although it’s called something German obviously but I can’t remember!

Onward to the Brandenberg Tor (Tor means gate). The light is much better for a photo although the herds have gathered. The hotel to the left (not in this photo mind you) is where Michael Jackson dangled his baby from the window!

We are heading to the Berlin Wall and to where apparently is the best kebab or kebap!! If we hadn’t had that pastry to share this would count as a breakfast kebab but in fairness it’s lunch! Locals don’t ask for a kebab they just ask for a doner – it may be the best I’ve ever had…

We take the train to Ostbahnhof where the wall is painted with elaborate graffiti. It is the longest preserved section of the Wall at 1.3 kilometres long and it stands along the River Spree. It is called the East Side Gallery because the eastern side of the Wall was painted here by 118 artists from 21 countries. From February to September 1990 they were allowed to let their imagination run wild.We walk all the way and check out all the murals.

There are lots of people at the famous mural of “the kiss”

There’s a really nice looking bridge – Oberbaumbrucke and we can see molecule man from a distance up the river.

Onwards to get closer for a better view ….

From here we are heading to a brew bar that Shane wants to check out and surprise surprise it has a beer garden… it’s such a nice way to enjoy a Sunday evening. BRLO Brouhouse has cider (none of the beer gardens have so far) so I’m delighted and it’s really nice.

I’ve been looking at the list of the top 10 beer gardens in Berlin and we’ve only hit two of them so far… some are too far or too awkward to get to but one is near our “local” so on the way home we decide to stop there for one… it’s in Tiergarten again called Schleusenkrug. I think it’s time I got a round in…

People around us are ordering food and it looks really good. It also has a couple of things we have wanted to try… the flammkuchen (kinda German pizza!) and German meatballs. We are certainly not disappointed as the food is delicious.

It’s time to leave and we decide to stop for one in our local!! It is jam packed… we watch people arrive on small boats and have one more beer. I have a “radler” which I find out is actually a shandy.

It’s bank holiday Monday and our flight home tonight isn’t until 9:45pm so we leave our bags at the hotel and head out for a last day of exploring. We stop at a cafe for a cup of tea and a pastry – pastries are so good over here and they are everywhere!

We pass The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, which is the symbolic center of West Berlin and one of the city’s most popular sights. The original West Tower was partially destroyed during a bombing by the Allied Forces in 1943. It is a striking ruin and it’s free to go in.

We continue on and get the bus to Charlottenburg to see Schloss Charlottenburg but the palace is closed today so we walk around the grounds for a goo! The gardens are from the 17th century and are very pretty.

Back on the bus we head further along the same route (Bus M45) to Spandau. “So true funny how it seems” 🎶… Spandau actually means a German machine gun!

We visit the “old” town, not really sure how old it is but it’s very nice. A much smaller town outside the big smoke! We visit St Nickolas church. It’s a Protestant church so generally no sign of Mary but in the corner there’s a statue called the Spandau Madonna… I can’t read the history of this statue as it’s in German so I’m not sure how she got into this church!

There’s a brauhouse that looks like the perfect spot for lunch. The pollen is crazy high and I’m sneezing badly, there are visible pieces of flowers floating around… especially in the garden at the brauhouse… allergy city!

We continue to Spandau Citadel, a 16th-century fortress that hosts open-air concerts, is home to a history museum, and has a bat colony in its cellar. We also climb to the top of the tower for some good views.

We visit a UNESCO world heritage sight which is essentially an apartment block!! [Berlin Modernism Housing Estates consists of six housing estates that testify to innovative housing policies from 1910 to 1933, especially during the Weimar Republic, when the city of Berlin was particularly progressive socially, politically and culturally. The property is an outstanding example of the building reform movement that contributed to improving housing and living conditions for people with low incomes through novel approaches to town planning, architecture and garden design. The estates also provide exceptional examples of new urban and architectural typologies, featuring fresh design solutions, as well as technical and aesthetic innovations]

I could pretend that Shane dragged me here but honestly I was interested to see it, that said, it’s not the most exciting so I wouldn’t be suggesting going out of your way if you’re in Berlin to see it!

It’s thirsty work walking around Berlin in the sunshine so we stop for a cola… I’ve seen the Fritz Cola advertised quite a bit and reckon it has to be tasted.. it’s very good.

Back on the U-bahn, we head to Checkpoint Charlie – we passed here the first day but I missed it and I don’t want to leave Berlin without saying I was there.

I read about a book burning memorial at Bebelplatz. It’s easy to miss as it’s under the ground, viewed through glass in the ground. It’s hard to see as the sun is shining but it’s essentially a library with empty shelves that would fit 27,000 books – the amount of books that were burned in 1939 in this very square.

It does attract lots of students though…

I mentioned on day 1 that there are a lot of museums in Berlin. There are museums for absolutely everything.. I particularly like the look of this one and if I had more time I’d love to visit them all!

However our time has come to an end and we get the train to the airport for the homeward bound journey. Auf Wiedersehen Berlin!

I’ve been to Derry before, stayed in Carnlough and did the Giants Causeway but I’ve never been to the city and walked the walls… that changes this weekend…..

We arrive Friday evening and it is sunny and warm… woohoo!!! We’re staying in an Airbnb apartment on the Foyle River and we start by a walk along the river. I love the fact that Derry now has a peace bridge that connects what was (and possibly still is) a Catholic side with a Protestant side.

We walk across the bridge to The Walled City brewery and have an amazing meal. It’s quite fancy and not what you might expect at a brewery. I order a really nice glass of white wine so then I order another!!

The sky looks nice as we look back over the bridge and head home… no cardigans needed tonight, it’s roasting!!

Back on our side, we walk through the city instead of along the river and get our first view of the walls.

Beside the walls we walk up Waterloo street with a slew of busy bars one after the other… we might check these out tomorrow night, although they do appear a bit trendy and loud for us!!

On Saturday morning we’re up early and ready for… you guessed it… parkrun! The starting point is literally outside our apartment block – we couldn’t have picked a closer location.

We definitely have to factor in an Ulster fry while we’re up here so after a shower we go to the Pickled Duck cafe on Ship Quay which is said to have a great fry-up.

Post brekkie we head to the Guildhall. It’s a beautiful building inside and out.

There are some really nice stained glass windows…

And some dress up clothes…

In the main hall they are getting ready for an event….

Now it’s time to start the walls. We start at Magazine Gate where we were last night. The walls are really wide, not like ramparts I’ve walked in Europe.

Not far along the way we see the Derry Girls mural. It’s fab. If anyone reading this has not watched Derry Girls, you must watch it… it is fantastic.

The Derry Walls were built between 1613 and 1618. They include eight bastions and two platforms. The bastions project out from the Walls where the Walls change direction, which allowed soldiers to watch the long stretches of wall on either side. There are cannons positioned where they would have aimed and fired during the siege of Derry.

The walls consist of a 1.8-mile loop trail and there’s plenty to see along the way.

One of Derry’s most prominent buildings, St Columb’s Cathedral sits within Derry’s city walls and was built between 1628 and 1633. St Columb’s Cathedral is Derry’s oldest building and was the first Protestant cathedral built in Britain or Ireland following the reformation.

There’s another lovely old church with a picturesque graveyard (you know I love a graveyard!) further along also inside the walls. At Augustines is a neo-Gothic church from 1872. Built of whinstone with sandstone dressings, It is a very ancient church and is the site of St. Columba’s/Colmcille monastery, founded 546AD. That’s the same Columba aka Colmkille who founded Swords!

As we continue on, we look down to the road and can see the Free Derry sign. The sign, along with a memorial garden is in the middle of a fairly busy road and we are the only people there. A bloke crossing the road asks if he can take our photo so I hand him my phone and he walks a fair bit back to take our picture… in that moment I think he’s bound to run off with my phone but of course he doesn’t… he smiles and hands us back the camera having taken about 6 photos and wishes us a good day!

There are a lot of murals on the surrounding houses.

The Memorial garden is clearly from a republican standpoint. It’s quite sad reading about the hunger strikers and other people who were killed that I remember hearing on the news back in the 80’s. I have a lasting memory of the news on RTE, followed by the Northern Irish News (I wonder when that stopped (maybe my Ma or Da know)

There’s a small part of the walls to finish but it’s getting late into the afternoon and we have a causeway to see so we head back toward the apartment.

We get the car and set out for the causeway coast. First stop is the Musenden temple. We drive onto the beach (I was here just over a year ago worth the Texas Girls) and did a much better job then of parking!! Today having just read the sign that says “be careful of soft sand” I manage to drive straight into a soft patch that I can’t move the car out of… oh God, I’m mortified… Shane has to get out and push the car, with the help of a couple of young lads on the beach! I get onto some hard sand but I’m stressed now so I send Shane out to check out the beach and the view of the tower.

I’m happy to keep driving… I won’t ever make that mistake again! We continue on to Dunluce castle. I’ve visited this caste twice and I love it but I’ve only viewed it from up top, I’ve never actually gone in. I swore next time I was here I would go in. It’s nearly 4pm so we just about have enough time [by the way how ridiculous is it that somewhere like this closes at 5pm when there’s nearly five more hours of light!!]

I’m so pleased to see the castle from inside. It’s much bigger than you’d realise.

From here we drive through the small town of Bushmills and toward the Giants Causeway. It’s after 5pm when we get there and the visitor centre is closed but once we pay for parking we can visit the causeway at our leisure. We walk along the top which is a new view for me and descend down just past the popular spot where all the cool rocks are.

It’s a nice time of the evening to view the causeway

The step count is fairly high again and we’re a bit knackered so we jump in the car for the hour journey back into Derry city.

We head out for an easy dinner at Pykes and Pommes – good tacos and burgers here. We intend to hit a few pubs. We’ve had a few recommended so we start with Blackbird which has a good range of beer but it’s packed and very loud so we stand outside but it’s raining a bit and there’s no seat under the cover…. NEXT!! We look into the bars on Waterloo street – Peadar O’Donnells is very popular but it’s jammers so that’s a NO!

Finally a pub that works.. in fairness we walked past this a couple of times and I knew this would be the spot for us… looks like it’s in bits from outside and it certainly isn’t fancy inside but it’s comfy and welcoming and we can hear ourselves chat!

On Sunday morning we finish the walls and have a breakfast butty sitting outside a really nice cafe called 9 grounds. We decide we’ll visit the museum before we head back to Dublin. The museum is in the Tower by Magazine gate.

The museum tells the history of Derry chronologically and I read so much history it’s hard to take in and almost impossible to remember it all… there’s the siege of Derry, home rule, the troubles… it’s all in there.

I found out something interesting that I hadn’t realised. When we think of Home Rule (and by we I mean anyone who went to school in Ireland and learned Irish history) we think of Charles Stewart Parnell but the Home Rule organisation was created by Isaac Butt and he was a Protestant.

It’s just over a 3 hour drive to Dublin so we get on the road just after 1pm so it’s not too late when we get home (there’s some packing to do for the next adventure!). We’ve really enjoyed our trip to Derry.

Santorini is somewhere that’s been on my wish list for a long time. I’m very excited to see it even if it’s only for a short time. I’m heading off with Nina for a fun long weekend and then I’ll work from Monday to Wednesday before returning home. We are up at the crack of dawn for a 6:15am flight. It’s hard to believe that the airport is so busy but we get through without any issues. The flight is direct (which makes it a much easier destination than it has been in the past when you needed to fly through Athens) and after a four hour, ten minute flight time, we have made it to this beautiful island.

We are met at the airport by Panos who will take us to our Airbnb which is in Akrotiri by Red Beach. Traffic isn’t the best on the island and it takes just over half an hour to get there but sure we’re in no hurry. Panos gives us a bit of info about the island and we ask about transport… he tells us taxis are expensive but you can’t rely on the bus… sure we’ll see how we go!

The villa is fab….I think we’re going to be very happy here. We get the run of the place (most importantly how to work the jacuzzi) and then head out to explore our local neighbourhood.

Santorini is one of the Cycladic islands, along with its neighbours Crete, Naxos and Mykonos (to name a few). It’s capital is Fira (aka Thira) which is where the airport is and it’s most popular and developed town is Oia in the north (that’s the famous one where most of the iconic photos of Santorini are taken). We are staying in Akrotiri which is a quiet village, of great interest as it’s home to archeological ruins that are more that 4,000 years old. It is situated on the south west edge of Santorini, about 15 kilometers away from Fira and it offers exquisite views of the island.

It’s a stunning and unique looking beach. To get to the actual beach we’ll need to walk a path along the edge… it’s really windy so not today!

It’s quite a bit past lunchtime so we head to a local taverna – Peirasmos Grill and try our first pita. The bread itself and all the ingredients are so fresh it is amazing and at a price of €4!! We’re expecting Santorini to be expensive (and we will come across some of that) but this first meal of two pittas (a decent size), a large water and a carafe of wine comes to a total of €14. Happy out!

There’s a mini market across the street so we purchase the bare essentials – some bread and eggs for breakfast, milk for the tea, a packet of biscuits and a bottle of wine! Back at the villa we decide to check out the jacuzzi with a little tipple and plan our weekend to explore the island.

Next morning we are up early and ready to walk the island. We walk into the village and eventually the bus to Fira comes (it’s a bit late maybe because of some roadworks) but we’ve given ourselves lots of time and are delighted to be heading into the capital to start our walk to Oia.

At one point on the bus I joke about meeting anyone called Costas and low and behold a very “Costas” looking man appears on the bus. There’s a loud announcement: “ticket control”… lucky we held onto our tiny paper ticket.

Nina has done some research on the 12km hike that starts from the Atlantis hotel and essentially hugs the coastline until we reach the northern end of the island at Oia. The views are impressive from the very outset…

We continue walking and enjoy the beautiful white buildings and the views out to the Aegean Sea. [they must go through a massive amount of white paint in this town – everything is so clean and freshly painted] This walk is going to take a long time as we keep stopping to take it all in.

The online guide to the hike that we’re following (well I say we but Nina is the official guide and navigator!) mentions a worthy add-on out to Skarros rock. It’s a slight detour which is supposed to add about an hour to our hike. Looking out at this rock, we agree it’s a must do.

The views from out here are amazing.

Moving along, we get a few kilometres under our belt with a slightly different terrain.

We make it to Oia and are delighted to be here off season. I can only imagine how busy it gets in the height of summer. There’s a nice atmosphere but it’s not packed.

We are ready for food and decide to eat at a restaurant that was recommended by Irish Instagramer Eadoin Fitzmaurice. She gives great recommendations for Dublin so we thought we’d give it a go. It’s called Melitini, a tapas style restaurant serving Greek meze.

Once we’re fed and have had a bit of downtime we’re off again to walk to the tip of the island and see those famous views.

What an amazing day we’ve had. We continue to walk (we’re at 27,000 steps) and find the bus station….. there is a bus ready to leave for Firra so we jump on. We’re tired and ready to get the runners off. When we get to Firra there’s 15 minutes before the next bus leaves for home so we find a supermarket and grab some wine and goodies… the supermarket is clearly laid out for tourists as the front of the shop has all the booze, crisps and chocolate!! There’s a big queue so we end up with only a minute to spare and leggit back to the bus which is closing its doors as we arrive… I bang the door and shout Akrotiri (in my best Greek accent!) and he lets us on… phew!!! We are expecting to get dropped in the village but low and behold the bus actually goes all the way to Red Beach – we are delighted. It stops practically outside our villa. When we discussed the hike originally we thought we might have to take a taxi all the way back from Oia and were told by Panos it would cost approx €50! Well done us!

Within minutes of arriving home, the shoes are off, the wine is poured and we are in the jacuzzi. This is the life 😁

Next morning we have a leisurely start to the day and enjoy the sunshine reading our books over breakfast on the terrace. It’s Sunday so we’re a bit nervous as the bus timetable is a bit sketchy. We can’t believe how lucky we are when we walk outside and there’s a bus to Fira on our doorstep. We are heading back into town to take a boat trip.

We’re a bit early for the boat and it’s lunchtime so we have a snack and a beer while we wait for our trip. I get to try the “fava” which is a creamy mashed fava bean dip with red onion, served with doorstep fresh bread… it’s delicious!

We set off on the boat and stop at the hot springs. Nina gets into the cold water from the boat and swims to the hot muddy area… I stay on board and watch her and take a few photos!

Next we dock at the volcano alongside a few other boats. It’s a popular 3-hour trip (costs €25 for anyone who might be going)

We set off with a guide from the boat and climb to the top. It’s steep but not too high and fairly handy. There are a lot of loose stones as you’d imagine.

The views from here are amazing. We have a 360 view back to where we “live” (Red beach), straight across at Fira, the whole stretch of where we walked yesterday over to Oia – you can basically see the whole of Santorini island.

Heading back to the port we see the path back up to town….. no cable car for us we will walk the five hundred and ninety odd steps.

This pathway is famous for taking a donkey ride but seriously those poor donkeys, it’s so cruel. We take on the steps by foot and pass the donkeys and their poo (there’s a lot of it!). The sun is shining and the wind seems to have miraculously abated so we are roasting (and the poo is stinking!) but of course we make it and are delighted with ourselves

This evening we are heading to a restaurant that’s been recommended in Fira by a friend of Nina’s. It’s called Ouzeri. It’s really cute and we have a view out to the sea. The food is amazing.

For our mains we order mousaka which is served in these individual bowls and it’s definitely the best I’ve ever had… mine has mince, Nina’s is vegetarian- both are crispy on the top and creamy in the middle….just so good. I think the waiter is afraid we are going to tuck straight in and burn our mouths as he comes over and spoons some onto our plates (in fairness he thought ride!!). Nina has her first baklava which she’s now a fan of and of course we enjoy it all with the local white wine.

Early Monday morning before work we do a quick tour of the archeological site of Akrotiri – it is literally across the road from our villa. We do a bit of ear-wigging as there are a few bus loads of tourists with guides and it’s enough to get the gist of what we’re looking at.

Akrotiri was a Bronze Age settlement which was destroyed by a volcanic eruption in the 16th century BC. The city was buried in ash which preserved a lot of objects and frescoes (much like Pompei in Italy) but no human bones were ever found. The site was first excavated in 1967 and is believed to have been a very affluent town with evidence of trade and wealth.

Then it’s work for me and a day of leisure for Nina… in fairness this is not a bad view to look out at but I am inside on calls most of the day [ohh I can hear the “poor you” sighs!!]

On Monday evening we are off to catch the bus again…. We are practically locals. Two minutes after walking outside of the villa and a bus arrives… we can’t believe how lucky we are and how well the bus runs. €3.60 at the ready 😁

Tonight we are having a wander around the shops in Fira before we have some cocktails to watch the sunset. We arrive at VLounge where Nina has managed to get us a reservation and we are escorted behind a VIP rail to our seats…. LOVING IT!!!!

The views are amazing whichever way you look, left, right and down!

After a lovely surprise of some complimentary cocktails courtesy of Nina’s friend, we head for dinner. We go to a restaurant called Parea which is a really cute taverna with a great selection of Greek dishes and really friendly staff.

We have to get a taxi home tonight as the last bus left at 8pm so we take advantage and enjoy the nighttime views.

Next day, after an early morning jacuzzi (we were too late last night to jump in) and a breakfast of banana on toast, Nina, looking a million dollars heads off into town and leaves me here to do a days work… sob sob. I’m mostly on calls so I can’t even sit outside in the air! Ah well, it’s worth it just being here.

But it’s only a few hours until I finish work and this evening we walk to our local village of Akrotiri. It’s only about ten minutes away but along a windy road with no footpath. We climb up to the Venetian castle

There’s a cafe at the top (Punta Castelli) where a family live. We chat to Nicolita who tells us she has five kids and is slowly renovating the castle. The views are fab so we sit and have a beer and order the tomato balls (which in case you haven’t noticed are never actually served as balls!!)

Nicolita tells us where the lighthouse is (we hadn’t figured that out) and also points out the high mountain which is Mount Elias and has a monastery at the top. There’s no bus that goes up there but she offered to take us on a Sunday if we come back.

We head back down to the little village and choose a small but very busy restaurant called Zafora. It’s a bit windy (again!) and was a bit chilly in the outdoor cafe at the castle so we’re happy to sit toward the back, near the kitchen, where it’s nice and cosy.

There’s one waiter taking the orders and serving up the food and he’s run off his feet with no help. He does a great job though and the atmosphere is lovely. There are two American ladies sitting beside us (they’re twin sisters) and turns out one of their sons married a girl from Skerries! They’re dying to chat when they hear we are from Swords!After things quiet down the chef who appears to be the mama comes out from the kitchen for a little rest and chats to us (as best she can)… she’s delighted we enjoyed the food so much and that we were impressed with the waiter… she’s been run off her feet and is shattered!

Straight to the jacuzzi once back at the villa and one more glass to round off the night. About 20 minutes in, while we’re enjoying the bubbles there’s a power cut. Nina jumps up like a bat out of hell, not quite sure why, but she has a ninja response to the blackout and jumps to action (I’m still not sure what the action is but I’m not moving til the lights come back on). She goes inside and establishes that all power is gone but there is an emergency light that’s giving us some light in the villa. I can see from the jacuzzi (I haven’t moved!) that the whole area is in darkness bar some candles or solar lights from a neighbouring establishment. I convince her to get back in until it comes back (or we get cold cause there’s no power to keep the water hot) so she gets her phone and puts on her torch and we happily wait it out. All power returns within about half an hour and we go one more round of bubbles before calling it a night. Back on dry land (ie in the villa getting ready for bed), Nina notices a lump on her leg, we think maybe she’s been bitten but soon realise she must have banged herself when doing her ninja move out of the jacuzzi.. poor thing has a sore leg and a massive bruise!

It’s our last day in Santorini and it’s a busy one work wise for me plus the weather isn’t great so no last minute photos just a final meal in our local taverna (this is the closest to the villa), called Glaros. We have a meal for two which consists of tomato “balls” (again they are flat pancake shaped), fava (the delicious creamy bean dip), stuffed peppers and mousaka, all washed down with a final carafe of the local white wine. We have had an amazing time at this villa and seeing the sites of Santorini. It’s somewhere I would absolutely recommend (but don’t go peak season) and I really hope to come back some day.

It’s time to tick off a new country – Laos! It’s a small country, north of Thailand and west of Vietnam that I didn’t get to visit when I was in Southeast Asia in 2017 with Suzanne. Oh yeah and it’s landlocked. On Saturday morning we fly from Singapore direct to the capital city of Vientiane on a small airline called Scoot. It’s less than three hours away and we arrive to 33 degrees… it’s HOT!

We’re staying at a very “local” style hotel called Chanthapanya and have a huge room with a large bathroom and an amazing multi headed shower!!

We’re hungry for lunch and the guidebook mentions a nearby place that’s good for pho (soup with noodles for my mammy who won’t know!) so we head straight there …

We set off to explore Vientiane… it’s Saturday afternoon in the capital but it’s very quiet with very little traffic. We pass an interesting stupa with all sorts of greenery growing out of it. I find out later that it’s from the 16th century and known as the black stupa.

Along the streets there are lots of ATM’s in little booths like phone boxes and a lot of very interesting food. The electric wires are not quite Nepal bad but they’re a bit sketchy…

We continue walking the quiet streets and get to the victory gate – Patuxai or as we like to call it Punxsutawney Phil!!

There are vendors under the arch and I buy a hat as I forgot to pack one and it is seriously roasting!

We set out next morning to visit the key sites around town and to take in some of the not so key but interesting buildings…

We are going to see a lot of temples over the coming days. In Laos they call them wats. The names are really tricky and can be different on the map, on the sign outside them and on Google… we may have to give them some nicknames! We go to Wat Si Saket (or as we are calling it Sissy Spacek). It’s the oldest wat in Vientiane …

…. and is most famous for the more than 2,000 Buddhas in symmetrical niches in the walls of the cloister.

Across the street is what used to be the exclusive temple of the Laos kings. It’s called Haw Pha Kaew and it’s now a museum housing many (you guessed it) Buddhas!

The most important Buddha statue that was here until it was stolen by the Siamese in 1779 is the Emerald Buddha. The Emerald Buddha is on display in Bangkok and most people go to see it when they visit. Nobody mentions that it belongs to the Laos people.

There are so many wats and so many Buddhas…. I particularly love the reclining and the big belly Buddha.

We visit the COPE visitor centre. COPE stands for Cooperative Orthotic & Prosthetic Enterprise. COPE is an NGO supporting those injured from unexploded bombs leftover from the massive tonnage of bombs dropped by the US on Laos from 1964 to 1973. The bombs were mostly cluster bombs which are just terrifying when you see how many small explosives they turn into and how much damage they can do. I wasn’t aware of what they call the “secret war” on Laos so I’ll need to do a bit of research on that later.

It’s time to try a traditional Laos massage. When I arrive up to the massage parlour a young man comes outside and asks me what I’m looking for. He explains the Laos massage is stronger than a Thai massage (😳) and that it’s 80,000 Kip for one hour (that’s less than €5). He also mentions this isn’t his shop, he’s just a customer but he speaks English! I swap my flip flops for their indoor flip flops which are a giant men’s size and in I go. From here on in there is no common understanding of language… I sit down in a chair and a young girl brings a basin and washes my feet. Then she motions for me to follow her upstairs to a large room with 3 thin mattresses on the ground. The room is empty so she points to the middle mattress and hands me a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. [I’m pretty sure the shorts are men’s, most likely for the more ‘over-sized’ westerners!!].

I would describe the massage as a cross between a physio session and a hard-core 1:1 stretching class. The girl uses all of her body to stretch me out. She starts at the feet and presses her knuckles in hard, making her way up my legs. Every time I wince in pain she giggles and then I giggle and it’s all very funny! She seems surprised with my reaction to some of the stretches and I can only imagine my degree of flexibility is something she doesn’t come across every day. I reckon if this was a test I have been a massive fail!!! She has certainly loosened me out though and I’m happy to have had the experience.

There are so many good food options very close to the hotel. I’ve had a hankering for roti so tonight we have Indian and it doesn’t disappoint.

We’re up and out early next morning in an attempt to catch the cooler part of the day. It doesn’t feel much cooler to me. It’s still about 30 degrees. The sky is hazy as we take a forty minute tuk tuk ride to Buddha park.

I’m loving the Buddhas, even if it is a bit of a tourist trap… Shane not so much.. the gardens are lovely though with some colourful flowers. The garden goes to the river and again we get a view across to Thailand.

There’s a strange circular thing in the garden that has a low door to climb through….

I go in to take a look and it’s a weird circular cave with Buddhas in the centre. There are narrow steps that I climb to get to the top where there are many signs to say it’s slippy.. in fairness it’s a bit of a death trap. Shane takes my photo from below and I’m outta there!

Google told us that another temple (Pha That Luang) is closed today but the driver says it’s open and he can take us. This has a beautiful golden stupa which is the symbol of the Lao nation and appears on their money. (I checked and it’s on all the notes)

In front of the stupa is a statue of King Setthathirat

On either side there are monasteries so we take a peak into one of them but it’s very quiet with not much there. It’s a beautiful building though with with an impressive staircase.

Next door is another impressive building with an interesting Garuda flanking the pavilion.

Around the side is a tree with Buddhas all around….. love it… I can never have too many Buddhas!

We head back to our tuk tuk driver who’s waiting for us and realise there’s another section of temples and Buddhas I take a quick peek in and am delighted that there’s a large golden reclining Buddha (lazy Buddha as someone I know calls him!).

Time for the last temple of the day. It’s close by our hotel but we haven’t managed a visit yet. The name in the guidebook is different to the name on Google which is different again to what it says outside the building. We’ll go with Wat Ong Teu. It has a beautiful vibrantly coloured entrance.

All templed out we head for the national museum which seems to have relocated from about 10km away but alas it is closed for renovations (Google didn’t tell us that). So we’re a bit disappointed but there’s a craft beer bar around the corner so we head there for a well deserved rest and a beer.

Back to the hotel for a cool down in the pool before we get ready for a walk down to the river to see the sunset.

On the way back through the busy night market there’s an exercise class happening. We head to Sticky Fingers for a cocktail while we figure out what our final meal will be. On the way to the restaurant we’ve settled on, we pass a very casual eatery on the side of the street which has Mekong fish on the grill. We are tempted to stop but keep going….. alas the restaurant we’re heading to is not there, it must have closed down so we head back to the locals type establishment and have a gorgeous final dinner of grilled Mekong fish, pig intestines (they were actually quite tasty, chewy!), fried rice with shrimp, stir fried pork with basil and some bonus soup! An amazing final meal.

We are picked up at 7am and taken to the train station for our train to Luang Prabang. There was a bit of confusion yesterday and some emails exchanged with the tour company and we are now on a slightly later train. The journey to the train station is shorter than expected and we arrive with lots of time to spare so we sit in this new empty modern building in the middle of nowhere!!! I was about to say that there’s literally nothing in this train station but a small shop has just opened! Here’s to an enjoyable train journey north to Luang Prabang.

Today we take the train north to Luang Prabang. It’s approximately 300 kilometers away and takes just over 2 hours on the fast train. The train station and process for boarding is all very official…

When we board the train there are continuous announcements until we start moving and I’m sure the announcer keeps saying “some nut job”… we both hear it and are in stitches.

We arrive to Luang Prabang (hereafter LP) and are picked up by a young man who doesn’t converse with us at all but gets us safely to our hotel – Villa Maly. It is very impressive on arrival…

Luang Prabang was the royal capital of the country until 1975. It is full of temples and stupas and the whole end of the peninsula where it sits was deemed a UNESCO world heritage site in 1995. Today is Day 1 and we walk the length and breath of it – it’s quaint and beautiful

We finish lunch and pop into Joma bakery (recommended by the DK eyewitness guide book), which appears to be the Starbucks of Laos… it’s very popular with a certain cohort of tourists (you know who you are!!). I reckon Lonely Planet would have set us wide! Well I am happy with my valentine’s love heart cookie!

We’re on the move again… I can tell it’s going to be a high step count day! On the west of the peninsula is the Mekong river and to the east is the Nam Khan river. There are a couple of bamboo bridges that cross the Nam Khan. They are built every year after the rainy season, in November and taken down every June. We will definitely be crossing both, just not today.

It’s so quiet and peaceful around here, maybe it’s the change from the big city but it’s just gorgeous… I’m really captivated by the calm, the colours and the general vibe of it all.

We meander through the streets and then head back to throw ourselves into the pool (which by the way is freezing!)

Shane has booked a fancy restaurant for dinner tonight… well it is Valentines day so we’re treating ourselves! It’s called “MANDA de LAOS” and has been family run for generations. It has three lotus ponds which have been registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995. It is a stunning restaurant with excellent food

Day 2: We set of early to climb to the top of Mt Phousi… there’s a fair amount of steps but it’s an easy walk, done and dusted before breakfast.

On a clear day, with a blue sky, I’m sure the views are magnificent from the top, but the sky is hazy (and has been since we got here) so it’s not great.

As we head back for breakfast the morning market is in full swing.

After brekkie, we head back out. This time we are walking down the middle of the peninsula to see all the little streets we haven’t yet explored. We like to call it the “guts”. We visit a couple more wats…. Cause that’s what you do in this town!

It’s tiring all this walking in the heat and I really want Shane to try a local massage so we decide to try out one of the many massage places. It costs 80,000 Kip each that’s about €4! I have an hour of reflexology and Shane has the traditional Laos massage. I’m not hearing much groaning so I don’t think she’s been as tough on him as the lady in Vientiane was to me!

We stumble upon Wat Xiengthong which is on my list to see. The guidebook tells me it’s one of the most important wats in town (mind you it seems to say that about nearly all of them for some reason or other!). It was built in the 16th century so it’s one of the oldest and considered one of the most beautiful in LP. The complex is indeed beautiful…

It has an unusual uniqueness whereby there are glass mosaics on the exterior walls of some of the temple buildings….

Before heading back to the hotel for a little rest ahead of the evenings activities, we have lunch at a very low key restaurant… more laab, local green veg and some spring rolls… delicious!

After a quick change and a little respite it’s off to the bamboo bridge. We cross this first one and have a happy hour cocktail …….

…….then walk around the far side til we get to the other bamboo bridge and cross back. We arrive to the edge of he Mekong river just in time to see an amazing red sunset but not with enough time to photograph it… by the time we get into a good position it’s gone… bugger! But it’s captured in my minds eye 😁

We make our way through the night market which stretches about a kilometre along the road. It’s hard to believe there wasn’t a sign of this earlier when we walked down this road. When we get to the end of the stalls selling clothes and whatnot’s we arrive at the food market. We’ll grab something handy here tonight as we had a big lunch… it is packed with people and with lots of food options. Shane brings back grilled fish but when it’s my turn I get the real good stuff…. Roti!

Day 3: This morning we are heading out on a Mekong riverboat cruise. We have a light breakfast (well we try!) as we’re getting lunch on the boat.

Our boat is called the Nava Mekong and there are just two other couples onboard – one German, who barely say hello and the other English, who we have a great chat with. [They booked a trip travelling through Southeast Asia with Trailfinders and while loving it, they are exhausted as they’re packing all of the tourist stuff in and they are constantly with a guide – they look wrecked God love them]. It’s really relaxing and we sit upfront until the sun gets too hot and then move inside where there is some shade.

We visit a small village where they demonstrate how they distill the local firewater – some sort of whiskey and where they make scarves etc.. it’s the selling part of the day but that’s ok, we haven’t done any shopping and are happy to contribute to this little village.

Of course there’s also a temple here…..

Next we visit the Pak Ou caves. I hadn’t read much about these but they’re included in all the tours.. they’re pretty basic as caves go. Unusual in that they are full of Buddhas! They became a place of worship in the 18th century.

There’s an upper cave and a lower cave. Of course we climb the steps to the upper one (although everyone doesn’t).. not that exciting but I’m always happy to see another Buddha!

We take advantage of our beautiful hotel and have a couple of hours on the balcony this evening chatting and tasting the firewater and ordering wine (well that’s just me!) from the bar downstairs! It’s a nice temperature (I mean still seriously roasting for us Irish) but I’m coping… just about!!

We decide to eat at a small place close to our hotel. It’s full when we arrive but there is one table that we happily grab. Beside us are three men, with a fourth standing but drinking Beerlao with them. He also seems to be taking orders and delivering food. He’s mad to chat to Shane, wants to know where he’s from and clink glasses for cheers, santé and I tell him slainte! We have a great chat and giggle with him. He tells us he’s working putting in electric wiring and he has two little kids. His name is Ling. Every few minutes he cheers again, we are having great craic. There seems to be quite a rush on in the kitchen and I think a couple of tables are getting a bit impatient for their food. We’re grand as we’re on the beerlao. Ling decides to give Shane a plate of cucumber with soy sauce on it.. he says that’s how they eat it in Laos. It’s actually very nice, I might have cucumber like this all the time at home.

We do a loop and walk as far as the bamboo bridge. It’s pretty to see it at night with the lights.

Day 4: We get up at 5am to see the monks walk from their monasteries to Coll alms. The daily ritual is called Tak Bat (morning alms) and involves people placing food and personal care items into the alms bowls of the passing monks. This tradition has gone on for centuries but from what we observed, I think this has lost some (or dare I say most) of it’s true meaning. I accept that I (as a tourist) am part of the reason for that, but it feels like an event for the tourists.

We see tourists line the streets sitting on tiny plastic chairs with food ready to give to the monks. Sellers are everywhere ready to sell you more alms. Then the monks arrive, always in silence and in a steady row. We see their bowls overflowing but they continue to accept the alms offered. But having just received alms, from the tourists lining the streets, they drop them into a large open basket at the end of the row of chairs. It looks like people are selling tourists food to give to the monks and then the monks give it back to the them… hmmm maybe the baskets are for poor people who the monks share their food with… I’m generally not cynical about these things so I really hope I’m right that they’re giving away the alms to the poor.

A little further up we see what appears to be some local people giving money joysticks and praying – now that looks a little more authentic.

We probably didn’t need to up this early but we do see the whole thing play out.. from setting up the seats, selling the offerings and the clean up afterward. Bizarre. We head back to the hotel for an early breakfast (it’s not even 6:30am) and then go back to sleep for a while.

Late morning we take a wander to some local wats. One of them apparently has a Buddha with the huge Thai ears – I’m keen to see him. Alas they’re closed… guidebooks do lie! Beautiful to see from the outside though.

We continue our exploring and pass a large supermarket which is called JC’s. We have to take a look inside. It has absolutely everything so we pick up some local wine (dying to know what this tastes like) and some more odd flavoured crisps!

The weather was forecast to rain today so we purposely left our visit to the palace complex which is now the museum in case we needed to be indoors..… no rain came!

There are no photos allowed inside but we see the rooms where the royal family lived and lots of treasures they accumulated, in part gifts from other nations. We continue our ramble and find yet more temples to view… there is no end to them. (I mean that in a good way!)

We stay on the peninsula and watch the sunset from a bar with a view… it’s lovely and we have a few drinks to cheers our last night in Laos (or is it!).

We spotted a restaurant we like the look of around the corner so head there for our final Laos meal. As ever we are delighted with the feast. We have sausage, laab (the minced pork salad), fried rice with shrimp and some stir fry vegetables – they really do veggies well in this town.

Tomorrow we are due to fly to Bangkok and I leave at 2am so we’ve picked an area that sits on a canal and has a night market, a temple and a reclining Buddha and we plan to visit that before I head to the airport and Shane says overnight before flying on his onward journey the next day.

On Saturday morning Shane takes a look at the airport departures online and can’t find our flight. He soon realises that it actually left yesterday!!! Oh crap! I booked this one and before we met in Singapore I received a change of itinerary email which I read as a change in the time of the flight…. when we looked again it was also a change to the date (which was in small font and not highlighted at all)….. we had both missed it – not like us and a pretty big boo boo… I jump out of bed sick to my stomach but Shane is already sourcing other flights… Unfortunately Luang Prabang is tiny so we don’t have a lot of choice. There seems to be a flight to Bangkok at 12:15 (it’s currently 9am!) so we try to book it but there’s only one seat available. I book it for me as we don’t want me to miss my flight home and Shane has a little more wiggle room as he’s not leaving for Sydney until the next day. What a balls up. I have to leave him in Luang Prabang and go to Bangkok by myself…. I’m gutted 😩

I let the hotel know I need a car to the airport and that Shane needs to stay for another night (thankfully the room is free and he can stay put), pack fairly quickly and I’m off to the airport.

It’s a short 10/15 minute journey to the airport and costs anything from €2.75 to €8. It’s so small and has very little in it. When I get to the checkin desk, the guy checks me in, takes my bag and then says “are you aware the flight is delayed until 3pm”… that’s 4 hours from now! Well I’ve held it together this morning but now I’m ready for a little cry. I’m too sad to hang around this airport for that long so I get on the WI-FI and eventually get Shane (he was out exploring so had no cover) and we agree I’ll find some mode of transport from the airport and get back to town for a final visit to a Buddha, lunch or anything for a couple of hours….

Well that worked out great we visited two wats that we hadn’t managed to get to and sat in a nice cafe for an hour before I jumped in a tuk tuk and headed to the airport for the second time. The second goodbye is never as hard as the first. 😁

A little reflection on this trip. I never got sick and I barely got bitten so that’s a win. Yes we made a boo boo with the flight change but we figured it out with no drama (Shane doesn’t do drama) and I’m thankful for that… although the credit card is getting a bigger hit than planned – I don’t think travel insurance covers for being stupid 😳. Laos you have been fantastic and we enjoyed it all. Bon Voyage for now!

I’m heading to Singapore to meet himself and work for the week, well four days as we have our new Irish Bank Holiday in celebration of St. Brigid. The last time I was in Singapore was in 2004 (although I have a vague recollection of an overnight here in 2007 on a work trip) so quite a while ago. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s changed and if there’s anything I can remember.

I fly through Dubai with Emirates and arrive in Singapore a bit knackered on Saturday evening. It’s a fairly handy trip into the city and we’re staying at a nice hotel in a central location (Bencoolen street). We kick Sunday off by going for a traditional local breakfast – Kaya toast at “Toast Box”, a cute chain restaurant. In a toast set you get kaya toast (which is sweet with coconut milk, eggs and sugar), two soft / half boiled eggs and a tea or coffee. The toast is sweet with kaya and butter, the other is peanut butter. The tea is also sweet as they put evaporated milk in it!

We take a walk around the streets nearby… love the colourful Hindu temple…

And next door there’s plenty of activity around the Chinese temple as the lunar new year celebrations are not quite over…

We pass Raffles hotel, but don’t go in – it’s a bit early to enjoy an overpriced Singapore sling – and head toward the river.

Lots of opportunities for photos in the garden of mirror balls… (my name for it not an official one!)

We walk further along the river and look across to the Marina Bay Sands. This wasn’t here when I was last in Singapore!

We’re getting peckish for lunch so we head into one of the large hawker pavilions to see what’s on offer…. It is hard to take in… so many tiny food shops with so much variety of cuisine

It’s turning out to be a bit of a food tour today and why not, Singapore is famous for its food… there are so many exciting options everywhere you turn. We move along and find a very authentic looking stall offering fried Kway Teow which I’m assured is a must try…

We continue toward China town and I recognise this Hindu temple from my previous visit. I know I have photos of this somewhere at home… they might even be printed!

It’s very hot as we walk around (about 30 degrees) so we need a little respite in a place that has air conditioning… it just happens to be a craft beer bar!! Not long after we’re back on the road it starts lashing rain (I mean bucketing down) so we take refuge at the Mustafa centre which is quite a place to see…. I believe we have now gone from Chinatown to Little India.

It’s time for another stop on the food tour… another Shane must-try (in fairness he’s usually on the money with these things). This time it’s pani puri… little crispy hollow dough balls with potato inside that you pour in spicy tangy water and then shove in your mouth in one go! A little too much liquid in one bite for me! I did enjoy the side of pakora though.

We roll into the evening dodging the rain and going from hot outside to cold inside (turn down the air conditioning!!!) and enjoy some drinks in a couple of nice bars walking distance to home. I’m loving the sangria in the last place. Some noodles to finish off the food tour before a bit of jet lag hits and I need some sleep.

Shane is off to the office this morning and I have a holiday so I take myself off to explore Fort Canning park. It’s only a few minutes walk from the hotel. There’s a lot of ground to cover while the weather is dry… I walk through Farquhar garden and see the marker indicating the fortification line of ancient Singapura.

Fort Canning park was once called Bukit Larangan (which is Malay for Forbidden Hill), and it was the seat of the Malay kingdom also known as Singapura. The kingdom was found in 1299 and lasted until the colonists arrived in the 1800’s…

Along the walls leading to the large Fort Canning centre are Christian burial graves.

And some nice gates…

There’s lots to see in this park including a spice garden, sculpture garden, ruins found from a recent archeological dig, old British military stuff 🤪 and Raffles house. [Sidenote: Sir Stamford Raffles (known as the founder of modern Singapore) was a British officer who arrived in Singapore in 1819 and struck a deal with the Malay rulers to set up a British trading port. This would eventually lead to the colonisation of the island]

I particularly like looking out to the city. The Singapore government have done their utmost to make the city as green as possible, including building gardens on skyscrapers and putting trees everywhere possible. Apparently there is one tree for every 4 people living in Singapore. Recently they have changed their motto of having a garden in their city to aspiring to be a city within the garden of Singapore…..I like this idea and it’s evident as you walk around.

Phew! It’s a real bakery and I’m ready for some sort of breakfast item. I’m not disappointed … they bake fresh croissants every two hours and they have English breakfast tea with fresh milk! There’s a sign in the corner of the display case that says everything is served warm…suits me!

Continuing in a loop to get back to where I started I pass Fort Canning Lighthouse. It seems quite far inland for a lighthouse until you realise much of the land between it and the water was reclaimed in the last 100 years. In fact the lighthouse was closed in 1958 as the development of skyscrapers obstructed it from being seen by the sea.

I’m ready for some air conditioning after shlepping around the park so I head into the museum and spend a lot longer than I thought I would. It’s an interesting history of how this island became the modern city it is today.

I learn how Raffles was a keen botanist which I assume is partly why Singapore has remained so green; that the first garden I walked through to get to the park was named after William Farquhar who was a Scottish officer, considered the first citizen of Singapore; how there was a mutiny in 1915 where Indian soldiers based in Singapore rose up against the British government (there’s a chilling photo of the rebels lined up against a wall being shot… reminiscent of what happened in Kilmainham jail); that Japan invaded and ran the island for a couple of years and that in 1965 Singapore broke ties with Malaysia and became independent under the leadership of Lee Kwan Yew.

I’m a bit worn out after all that history so I head to an exhibit with an interactive “Garden” …. It’s peculiar but beautiful

The final sections of the museum show how Singapore progressed into a modern nation. Movies, pop songs, fashion… in particular I’m loving an actress Marrie Lee who played a very popular character in the 70’s called Cleopatra Wong. She was kick ass.

I head back to the hotel and have time to check out the pool before dinner.. the sky is grey but it’s really warm so nice to cool down in the pool.

We walk to a casual outdoor restaurant and have a delicious Chinese meal… maipo tofu, spicy green beans, aubergine (my fav), prawns and some special noodles…. and of course a Tiger beer. Yum 😋

Work next day and I set myself up from the hotel. It’s roasting outside but the air con is high indoors so I’m freezing… I’m back and forth between sweating and putting on a cardigan! Air con on / air con off!!! I’m sure I must be driving Shane mad! (I’m also pretty sure some of the heat episodes are not down to the temperature in Singapore… but we’ll speak no more of that! 🤫). A swim helps and I get a little sunburn on my back as I did 50 lengths this morning!

I love walking through these streets on the way back…

This evening we take a walk to Arab street and check out an area that looks like we could be in a different country.

It’s an interesting area to walk around with some cool old buildings and restaurants.

Next morning I get a few steps in and walk Shane to the mrt station (the underground) as he’ll be at the office today and out for dinner tonight so I’m on my lonesome and could get up to anything!!! There’s quite a few art deco buildings around this area…

So I start the day with a swim and pick up breakfast at a cafe called Huggs Collective – I’m not sure if I should expect a hug when I go in but it doesn’t happen 😭. I have a full day of work so grab some lunch at Food Dynasty which is next to the hotel. I go for a salted duck wellington.. quite unusual but very tasty. I try a different juice today – calamansi. It’s lovely and sweet with a hint of sour.

So those of you who have read my blogs in the past know I love to get a treatment when I go abroad. Well this massage (which I think was Thai style but not sure) was quite the experience. When I got on the table the lady asked me if I would like my massage soft or strong… of course I said strong (hoping I won’t regret it). The lady then proceeded to get up on the table and kneel on top of me… I mean her whole body was on mine and her knees were first of all digging into my legs, then my bum and then my shoulders.. I really don’t know how she did it. She asked me “you ok sista” to which I groaned “yeah”. She eventually got off me and cracked the length of my back with her elbows… holy jamoly this was seriously “strong”! Luckily enough the rest of the massage was a bit more what you’d expect, lots of elbows and strong hands…. In fairness I felt great afterward.

Another day starting with a swim in the pool followed by work with a hawker lunch and then I’m getting the train to Chinatown to meet himself…

This evening we’re going for dinner with Shane’s work colleagues so I take the train to Chinatown.

There are seven of us in a private dining room (with much appreciated air conditioning) called Oriental Palace. The menu is massive and the food ordering takes about half an hour!!! It is so worth it as the food is fantastic – an amazing feast!

It’s Friday and we’re both working from the hotel today, trying to wrap up things before our week off. Luckily our calls don’t happen to be scheduled at the same time….. Shanes are early, mine are late. We manage to get out for a quick lunch and I insist we try the durian puffs. (Remember the smelly fruit that’s not allowed on the train). I really want to taste this durian fruit it and I reckon in some crispy dough it couldn’t be that bad. They look so good….

Work calls finished, laptop switched off… it’s time to head for Singapores’ big attraction the Marina Bay Sands. The plan is to go to the top for a fancy cocktail but unfortunately the rain has come again and they’ve stopped allowing people up. It’s lashing so we find refuge in the HUGE shopping centre that’s underneath.

There are lots of dinner options in this huge centre, a lot of fancy fine dining, some big chefs places, American and Asian chain restaurants… lots of options. We settle on a beer and burger bar that has red wine (which I’ve set my mind on) and the most delicious wagyu burger. It’s a great final meal in Singapore and a bit of a palette cleanser as we move onto Laos cuisine tomorrow.

The rain eventually stops and we get outside to see the building all lit up.

Saturday morning it’s time to pack up and head to the airport. The expressway to the airport is lined with trees and we pass so many high rise apartment blocks, you realise this is how the 6 million population fit into such a small landmass.

After checking at the counter for our flight to Laos, we check out the waterfall which is a bit of a tourist attraction….

It’s been a nice week and we are ready for our holiday to start… bye bye Singapore!

I’ve been in Sydney for a couple of weeks and now heading to Bali for a proper restful (I hope!) holiday. The flight from Sydney should be just over 6 hours but we get diverted to Darwin to pick up extra fuel because of weather conditions… so we arrive very late to Denpasar. Luckily we are met by the manager of the villa we’ve booked so we don’t have to worry about finding it or how we get there. It’s 2am going to bed and a thunder and lightening storm hits for about three hours. I’ve never heard rain so heavy and it’s really hard to go asleep…. Cool to be in this place with the rain outside though!

Today we are going to need a restful day so after a bit of a lie in we head out to check out our local surroundings and hit the local supermarket for some essentials.

The house is amazing, it’s as much an outdoor house as it is indoor and it has a jungle vibe to it.

The streets are narrow, noisy and chaotic. Mopeds, scooters, motorbikes whatever you like to call them are everywhere and there doesn’t seem to be any rules of the road! Along the streets are shops, cafes, restaurants (called warungs) and so many tattoo shops! There are small offerings of flowers, placed on the ground, outside most shops or restaurants so between trying to avoid those and the dodgy paths you need your wits about you!

It’s all about the sunset in Bali …

We decide to join the masses for a cocktail while looking out at the ocean. There are so many people on the beach at this hour, I’ve never seen anything like it. We pass the famous La Plancha which seems a bit too busy and noisy for us but we’re keen to sit for a bit and check out the local music. Every beachfront establishment has a little stage with musicians each one vying to be the loudest!!

It’s a lovely temperature to sit outside so we have a couple of cocktails and some grub before walking back to villa

Next morning we take a walk to the market but it’s very quiet and a lot of stalls have already closed up. Everyone seems to be making the little offerings that we’ve seen.. maybe it’s some sort of feast day.

We continue a big walk around the main road and end up at the restaurant we want to try for lunch called Pork Star… we have pork 4 different ways and a lemon Bintang -love it!

We have a rest for the afternoon and I cool down in our very own pool

This evening we walk to the beach and check out the sunset – it’s a beautiful one tonight. We settle on a Thai restaurant on an outdoor veranda at the back of the Main Street so it’s nice and quiet.

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This morning we do a big walk (along different noisy chaotic streets!)

On the way back home we pass the memorial to those who lost their lives in the Bali bombing in 2002.

In the afternoon we are driving to the southwestern tip of the Bukit peninsula. En route we pass a parade heading toward the local temple…

We are heading to the giant statue that you can see from our beach at Seminyak – it’s at GWK – Garuda Wisni Kencara cultural park.

The statue is quite new, commissioned in 1993 and finished in 2018. It depicts Lord Wisnu, the preserver of Universal Equilibrium, riding the great Garuda, his trusted companion; representation of a human who endures a life of great responsibility.

It is the strangest “cultural” park we have possibly ever visited and we are somewhat perplexed!!

We continue climbing upwards and check out all the weird and wonderful statues until we get up close and personal to Garuda himself .

From there we continue the journey further south to Ulu Watu and the famous Pura Luhur Ula Watu temple. It’s perched on the tip of the peninsula with a sheer cliff drop that’s very popular to visit… it is packed with tourists and you can only imagine the posing that’s going on for photos.

Against our better judgement we are talked into getting tickets for the Kecak, which is a dance show. It starts with 70 men singing … well singing is a loose description of what they’re doing – they’re certainly making sounds… tika, tika, tika, tika, it’s interesting for about ten minutes and then it’s just a bit hard to listen to. There’s dancers who are telling s story about a goddess and a king and Garuda… it’s all a bit hard to follow and during the show people are jumping up to take photos of the sunset and monkeys are also causing commotion at the back. We are sitting right at the top and a monkey comes right up behind us and steels glasses from a young lads face… not sunglasses, his proper “I can’t see without these” glasses and runs off. The poor lad got a terrible fright. With the help of a steward he managed to get them back but it caused all sorts of commotion while the show was in full swing.

We were hoping to have a seafood dinner at one of the restaurants at Jimbaran beach but they are closed because of the festival that we saw happening earlier in the day. A bit disappointing but there’s a “restaurant” that Nyomen recommends where he knows the owner and Shane can get a fish head curry so needless to say “we” are delighted!! I have fried tuna which is very nice but served completely on its own, (where’s me chips!!) Afterward the ladies ask if they can take a photo with us… I feel like we could be up on their wall of fame!!

This morning we are off to explore more of the island with Nyomen. We start with a visit to a beautiful garden in the Celuk area that makes the famous luwak coffee. This little guy eats berries and poops out the seed which is essentially the coffee bean… yep you heard me right!! They’re washed (thoroughly!!) and made into the coffee.

We get a short tour and description of how the coffee is made..

and then have an opportunity to sit in the garden and taste some…

I don’t taste the luwak coffee but Shane is only delighted to. I’m happy to taste some teas though and I particularly like the lemongrass and mangosteen which I buy to bring home… apparently it has all sorts of health benefits!

Before we leave we check out the garden which is lovely and has a swing that I’m tempted but ultimately too scared to try. [We didn’t realise at this point but we’d see a lot more of these swings later!]

Although Bali is a fairly small island it takes a long time to cover any amount of ground because the traffic is horrible … there appear to be no clear rules for driving, who has right away etc and there are virtually no traffic lights (we saw a few on some “main” roads). So although we’ve only gotten started on our tour we already need to head to our lunch destination which we are very excited about as we are tasting babi guling (spit roasted pig) for the first time.

The location of the restaurant called Pande Egi is tricky to find as it’s in the middle of nowhere!!! But it’s beautifully situated along a rice paddy and the food is great…

While trying to find the restaurant I noticed signs for a waterfall so we decide to check it out.. it’s called Kanto Lampo…..

Next it’s onwards to Ubud and the rice terraces. We drive on some quiet country roads through some beautiful scenery….

……..so much quieter out here in the country and we see real farmers at work…

Then we arrive to the tourist destination “rice terraces” – pretty to look at but a bit “Disney-fied”!

You have to pay to look into the valley as the view is blocked by shops and cafes. It’s full of those big swings and places to take photos in – love hearts, nests (yes nests a couple can sit in) and of course you can imagine the serious amount of posing going on. Instagram has a lot to answer for!!

We continue on the Sacred Monkey forest sanctuary (another tourist trap if you ask me!), passing through small villages and seeing people heading to temple for the festival.

The monkey sanctuary is a strange place…. we walk around the gardens which are full of statues and monkeys! Apparently this place is the natural habitat of the Balinese long-tailed macaque.

Time to go home and hit a local warung for some Indonesian food which is always very tasty and spicy but generally served cold (ish) but on hot rice!!

We’re really enjoying our time at the villa, it’s so relaxing… we put up with the cat and might even be getting a little fond him.. I think he likes Shane more than me as I run away every time he tries to rub against my leg…. He cries and knocks on the door when we put the tv on so we let him in for a little bit ….

There’s a brunch club “porn cakes” that’s supposed to have amazing pancakes so we check it out… they’re soufflé type pancakes… quite strange as you can see from my face! By the way another thing about Bali is you can wear your beach gear all day long and everywhere you go!

We decide to have Nyoman take is back to Jimbarun (where the restaurants were closed due to the festival a couple of nights ago) and we walk along the beach which is a lot quieter than our local 66 beach.

You can see the big Garuda statue from here…

We have dinner at the New Moon cafe at a lovely table in the sand and enjoy a margarita while watching the sunset…

It’s our last day and we need to be out of the villa by 11am but our flights are not until late that night so we book ourselves into the hotel next door which has a pool and let’s us check in at 11:30… fantastic! It has a rooftop pool and an interesting view from up high! Who’s idea was this – genius!!

Our final meal is lunch and we head to Warung Kampung where I have my final nasi goreng of the holiday… it is delicious!

A swim and some relaxation time and then it’s off to the airport and goodbye to Bali…

We have had a lovely relaxing time and maybe we’ll get to explore other Indonesian islands in the future. Pamit dumun Bali!