And so it starts

After months of waiting, preparing and thinking, finally the first week of our vacation is there! Our plans were: Friday party prepping, Saturday Rodie's birthday bash, and then just some packing and cleaning to do before we hand over the keys to our renter in Wednesday, then 1 night at Rodie's mum before we catch a plane on Thursday, arriving in Cairns Saturday morning. That were our plans at least...

It started out really good, had a lovely party with talks and hugs abound. But then came Tuesday morning... And bad weather. When I was packing our clothes into boxes a I suddenly heard the sound of cascading water... Inside the house? A quick run revealed the source of the clattering: we had a major leak in our kitchen! Rain just poured in! Of course a day before our renter would move in.  

Some quick phone calls and lovely helping friends further, it looks like we solved that problem. Luckily our renter was very understanding, and now there's just some painting left to do, but what an adrenaline rush! Not the most relaxing way to move out, I can tell you that.  

Anyway... We slept at Rodie's mum that night, and after an early breakfast headed to Schiphol Airport. We booked a flight that would leave at noon, and arrived at 9:15. And then couldn't find our flight at the departure overviews... Oh oh... After franticly checking our flight number it turned out our flight was scheduled to leave at 11:15. Whoops. Good thing we arrived early!

In the end our flight was delayed and we left at 12:15. After a 13 hour flight with lots of turbulence, we arrived in Singapore just in time to see the sunrise. 

Sunrise at Changi Airport

We have a 20 hour stopover in Singapore, and we had decided before we left, that if we felt like it, we would book a room at one of the transit hotels. After all, we're not that youthful anymore and love to sleep in a proper bed.  And oh boy, we were knackered when we came out of the plane! Although it was 7am in Singapore, in our biological time zone it was 1am. A room was available at 8:30am, so we booked it for 8hours.  What a good choice! It costs S$20 per hour, but so worth it. We got a nice room with two good beds, a clean and spacious bathroom and after we checked out of our room we got a complimentary meal and unlimited access to the lounge area (with free coffee!) and the rooftop pool. That is where I'm typing this little blogpost just now. 

If you haven't been to Singapore before you can always choose to do one of the free city tours, but we are happy with our choice so far. 

Counting down to take off

It's now the first week of June, and we'll leave the country mid June.  We've reached the countdown fase! I've got another week to work, I'm getting into the spirit now...  At my job people keep asking "When is your last day?" "Will I see you next week?" and "Will you be here next meeting?"

The answer to that last question is "No" ever more frequently! I'm handing over projects and saying my goodbyes. 

Getting in the mood

Now it's time to think about what we still need to do and who we want to see before we leave... we have planned a little birthday/bye bash in the last weekend before we go, so that's when we'll say most of our goodbyes. The house is mostly taken care off: just a few little things left to before the renter moves in: get our personal stuff out (clothing and administrative stuff) and a extra thorough round of cleaning. 

Off to Cairns

I think we have bought and decided on the stuff we want to take with us, though I am considering to buy a bikini.... Really! Booking that diving trip last night might've played a part in that sentiment.  As said before, we will start our trip in Cairns: one of the main gateways to the Great Barrier Reef. Now think about this; we've both been diving since our mid teens (see how I just avoided telling you how OLD we are?) and this will be our first trip to the GBR. So we decided to splurge: we have booked a 3 day/2 night diving trip! This does mean we can't afford to eat the week afterwards but hey... we all have to make choices. 

Let's just hope that there's enough alive of it to make it memorable in a good way, the headlines thes past few weeks have been frightening. 

Another big one

We try to travel as much as we can, while still holding on to a steady job. That usually means that we yearly do: 1 one-month trip (most likely has a 10-hour flight), 2 one-week trips, and a city trip for an extended weekend. But sometimes the travel bug is itching too hard and we decide that we 'need' a longer break.  Now is that time again.  

So.... What do we do? First, decide how badly we want to go. In other words: what are we willing to give up? And believe me, you do have to give up some stuff if you're going a way for any period longer than 3 months! You'll miss friends, family, birthdays, weddings and even deaths. That is a sure thing. 

And other things to consider: 

• Can you keep your job, and if not: are you willing to give it up? 
• Do you own/rent a house or flat and do you (sub-)let it? 
• What about your personal possessions? Give it away, sell it, put it in storage?
• What about insurances, healthcare and legal matters? Get vaccinations if needed.
• How much are you willing to spend?
• And last but not least... Where are you going to?????

The itch has been getting worse during 2015, and we started to seriously talk about going away during our Christmas break. We took a long hard look at our savings. The budget and destination are usually a combined consideration. Going to Asia usually means you need less money than going to Europe. And of course in some countries you can work a bit to boost your budget. 

We've been to Asia quite a few times, and decided we'd like toe xplore another continent this time. We got all exited about South America, and then the Zika-virus hit the headlines. After some thinking we felt too unsure about it, so went back to our scratch-a-map. And down under was still solid gold, that's where we'll go! Our decisions: 

• One of us should have a job when we get back, this means our back-up budget can be relatively small. 
• We will rent out our flat if possible.
• Our furniture and stays in the flat, the very personal stuff can go to brother/mother.
• We have to make arrangements in case something happens to us. 
• We want to travel for 6 months, aiming at spending €120 per day for 2 persons on average.  
• Probably 3-4 months in Australia, 6-8 wks New Zealand, and the other options depend on time and money.

We made these decisions in January 2016, as I'm writing this its May 2016, and were leaving in one month's time! Exciting! I am expected to be back at work in December, so that worked out fine. We have found someone that rents our flat, so that worked out great. One thing to never forget is to give someone you trust power of attorney. You'll  never know what will happen, and this means someone can take care of your business. Maybe you forget your PIN, you need a medical document, a sudden money transfer, or you need to sign a document while you're not in the country etc.. We got that taken care of now, and our travel and health insurance have worldwide coverage.

As for travel planning: we got a visa for Australia, booked a flight to Cairns and a room for the first 2 nights. We have a general idea where we want to go, booked a camper van from Sydney to Perth and leave the rest to chance. Last thing we have to decide it what to pack! 

Casa particular - Trinidad, Cuba

A fortnight into our trip on Cuba we arrived at Trinidad.  A city known for its 19th century architecture. We arrived in the dark, but since we were told that every other house in Trinidad was a casa particular (the Cuban version of a B&B)  we weren't too worried about finding a place to sleep.   We arrived after sunset, but luckily the bus station is in the centre of town.

Sunset over Plaza Mayor 

We walked to the first casa and they were fully booked. So was the second. And third. Then we decided to walk to what we guessed was the main street and started ringing the bell with every house that had a sign.  Conveniently in Cuba all registered casas must have a sign. A few didn't even answer the door and the others were full. And it started to rain. Time for a change of plans.

Living room

We walked into a quieter street, looking for casa signs. First one: fully booked again, but could they recommend a place? Not really.... At that point a neighbour passed by, heard our question, and came to our rescue. He rang the bell at a door with a somewhat weathered casa sign, asked the old man that opened if he had room, and he did! We ended up with Miguel: in an amazing house, with a lovely courtyard and that had a very colonial era atmosphere.  Truely a hidden gem. (For more photos)
It turned out that everything during our stay in Cuba (November '15) was overbooked: so may people wanted to visit before the country opened up in 2016.

Breakfast spot

Miguel works as a physician in the mornings, but is a lovely host after that. He speaks both French and English and loves a chat, but doesn't bother you. Each morning a young couple arrives at the casa; she makes breakfasts and does the housekeeping, he takes care of the house, plants and animals; a large portion of the courtyard is dedicated to bird cages.  Imagine having your breakfast in a luscious green courtyard, with the chatter of birds. And those funny curly tailed lizards!

Curly tailed lizards

The house itself: very heigh ceilings, pastel colours, decorative tiles, shady veranda, and the furniture and bathroom came right out of the 1930s! We really enjoyed our relaxing stay

Traditional temple stay - Koya San

Japans Kii peninsula has long been a mystic area, and therefor is littered with sacred sites. Koya San is one of them. This is where the tomb of Kobo Dashi: the founder of the Shingon school of Buddhism, is. Koya San is a mountain, or rather a plateau, where you will find more temples than houses. The place to spend the night here, is of course in one of these temples. So we did.

Cable car up the mountain 

We took a train from Osaka to the base of the mountain. Once there,  a steep ride with the cable car brings you to the top.  We took bus for the final leg to 'our temple': Muryoko-in.  Once registered, we got our slippers, and a monk showed us to our room.
This was a simple Japanese room: separated by paper walls, futons to sleep on, a few cushions to sit on and yukata (casual kimono) to wear.

Our room, with red slippers in the hallway

After our check in we walked a bit through the town, and then back to our room for dinner. This was a traditional Buddhist dinner: vegetarian and without strong smelling ingredients like garlic or onions. With a quiet knock on the door the monk announced his arrival, and then entered the room with neatly stacked tray tables. Like all food in Japan, this was beautifully displayed.  And tasty too!

Dinner is served

After dinner we took a quick dip in the traditional (shared) Ofuro, layed out our futons and were asleep by 10 pm. The next morning our alarm was set to 5 am! 

We had been invited to join the Gotomaki fire ritual, and being in a temple, we really wanted to. With some other guests, we sat in the back row of the ceremonial room.  The ceremony took about 80 minutes and we both were really glad we were there.  What was it like?

The room was very dimly lit, and one monk was continuously chanting. The other monks joined him intermittently. A fire burned, being fed by one of the younger monks. The whole esoteric atmosphere kind of drew us in. At the end we were invited to participate by adding to the fire and joining the final chant. We didn't take photos but just enjoyed it.

Koya San street view

During our visit a Swiss monk lived in the temple, and he invited us for a little chat afterwards. While drinking tea with some sweets he explained the ritual, the different elements of the Shingon Buddhism and temple live in general. This really added that bit extra to our temple stay. And after our chat.... it was time for breakfast, which we had in a communal room with the other guests.

One of our breakfast dishes

Impressive Iguazu - Argentina

In October 2012 we went on our first trip to South America, and so far our only one. Though not because it wasn't good... because it was good!

We had decided to fly into Argentina, and out of Chile. After booking our flights we sat down to decide what we wanted to see and do. Most people might plan a trip the other way 'round, but this method works for us!

On our way to the main falls

So what did we want to see? It came down to Buenos Aires (of course!), the area around Salta on the Argentinian side of the Andes, the area around San Pedro de Atacama on the Chilean side of the Andes and of course.....  the Iguazu falls!

Many birds near the falls, like this black vulture

The Iguazu falls are basically a big collection of waterfalls, and it is simply impossible to seen them all at the same time, unless you take a helicopter ride. The sheer size of it was like nothing I could of imagined.

We did spot a monkey!

Most impressive is the moment when you walk onto the viewing platform at the 'Devil's Throat'. Hearing the the roar of water while you are surrounded by the eternal mists is a moment to remember.  But not one that I could photograph. I suggest you use Google for better photos!

This is a tiny butterfly we spotted, but look at that pattern...

We spent a whole day in Iguazu National Park, as we wanted to get most out of our ticket of course! The walkways near the falls are where the most visitors are, and these can get busy at certain times. Though not nearly as busy as I expected them to be. You walk to the falls on walkways, that are either paved or boardwalk.  You get amazing views of the falls from any different angles, and you can see many birds. We saw different vultures and even a toucan!

Wild guinea pigs! I used to have a guinea pig as a pet

But it is possible to do some really nice, pretty secluded walks through the park. And while you seen mostly the omnipresent coatis at the main routes, you can see some pretty nice animal life if you wander a bit. One of the walks we did was from one entrance to the Devil's Throat. You can take a little train as transport, but walking is nice too!

And to give an impression of the Devil's Throat, this is a short video.

Cuban colours

I just returned from Cuba: a nation in transition. I'll leave my deeper thoughts for a next post, but right now I just want to share a few photos that are in my mind typical for Cuba.  The colours of her streets.

Typical art deco building in Havana's Vedado

In Havana you can easily distinguish in which area you are, by looking in at the buildings.  Vedado was built in the first halve of the 20th century: Think roaring twenties, art deco in pastel.

Wandering in the streets of Havana Vieja

Havana Vieja is, at the name says, the old part of the city. Though nowadays you can argue about the 'old':  This area is tourist town, and heavily renovated. But very respectfully renovated I must add.

Walking in Trinidad

Trinidad was built during the sugar boom in the 19th century. Colonial style buildings, super high ceilings, wrought iron lattices, and cobbled streets.

Camaguey

Camagüey is one of the very few cities in Cuba that isn't built in a grid like street pattern. Because it was raided several times by pirates it was actually designed as a maze.

Camaguey