Sydney

Where do you think we are?

Unfolding ourselves from the wonderfully small and uncomfortable seats that Qantas provided us on the flight over to Sydney, we realised finally that we were on "holiday".  Far be it from us to whinge, but God was I happy to be able to stretch out properly again :)

A view to the left of Serina's terrace

Luke as welcoming as ever ;)

Saying that, we were off the plane, through Customs and in possession of our luggage in a jiffy.  Luke was waiting for us as promised and it wasn't long before we were being whisked off to Coogoo and able to relax properly.  The weather was perfect - blue skies with puffy clouds, a comfortable mid-20s and a light breeze.  This was to be the theme of our 3 week holiday out here and so if I don't mention it again, just bear that in mind.....March in Sydney is great.  

Golden Lung guarding the Kitchen

Melbourne...not so much, but that is the next post :)

Sis and Bro on Balcony

Serina came over straight from work and it was wonderful to see my sister in her hometown again.  It had been 6 years since I was last out here and it was without Julia, so I was really looking forward to the next 3 weeks, sharing all this with my wife.

Golden Lung and the Inhaler

What a lot we had to share.  We'll not do a blow by blow account, there would be a lot of "and we sat staring out of the windows at Serina's pad"......or......"so we relaxed in the sun/at Luke's/on beach" or.....etc...so I'll pick out the highlights.

Ladies at "work"

View of Bondi from Serina's Terrace

Little fluffy clouds over Bondi

First up - Serina's pad.  This is a highlight.  Fact.  Any Brit that has been to Sydney will have been to one of 2 places - Bondi or Manly Bay (yes it IS so named because the natives, all those years ago, looked so aggressive and strong).  Serina has an apartment on the cliffs overlooking Bondi Beach and the Pacific, sharing it with 2 lovely people, Erica and Fraser.  Fraser was off on holiday for 3 weeks a few days after we arrived, so we barely got to know him, but Erica became a fast friend.

The Wilga Ladies, Serina, Erica and Julia....with Huw "photo bombing" them in the background

The views from here were MAGNIFICENT.  Seriously, you could spend hours just staring.  So we did :)

On our way to see the match :)  Yes that IS Cantona on my shirt

"Why am I standing on the edge of the cliff at night?"

We also spent time with Luke and Sarah in Coogee, which was fantastic as well.  Aside from a beautiful apartment and a pair of "special" cats, Luke introduced us to Titans and Hugo.....the personal trainer Julia hooked me up with as an extended birthday present!  Indeed, what better way to celebrate your 37th, than with a training session.  To be fair it was great fun.

The views that sunrise were amazing

No Caption Needed

The walk to Coogee

I said there'd be no minutiae of the trip, but on the first morning we did wake up at the crack of poo to walk from Bondi to Coogee so that we could watch the United vs Real game.  I say so "we" could watch it.....anyone reading this that knows us will know I am using the Royal We.  I mention this not because of the game....that was rubbish....but because of the walk, which was wonderful and something we repeated.  The views along the coastline are insanely beautiful and will live with us forever.

Not sure how this qualifies as "an insanely beautiful coastline view"?!

Birthday beach walk

Some of the bays between Bondi and Coogee

Sydney just looked lovely almost every day - this one in Paddington

The first weekend we were there, we had a wonderful trip to Melbourne.  As I said, this will be described more in another post; let's just say the weather is rubbish, the city is great and the F1 was amazing.

Sarah in Saroian Salon

I mentioned I turned 37 in Sydney, I didn't mention the dinner Luke had organised.  Marque is an amazing restaurant in its own right.  The meal we had was testament to this greatness.  13 courses of goodness.....so good Julia could barely breathe by the end of the meal :)

Julia making a wunderbar and healthy salad

Ribs with your fries?

Sydney involves a lot of eating out, a lot of drinking out and a lot of .......out.  One thing it also does is force you to get your wallet out!  I am not sure I have ever been anywhere more expensive to share 3 weeks.  Still, in fairness, everything we did was classy and enjoyable.  If we ate, we ate well.  From the first meal with Fraser and Erica to the ribs at Hurricanes, from the meals cooked by our very own Masterchef Luke, to the lovely salads and healthy options at Serina's, every meal was a pleasure.  Even the rotisserie chicken we shared on a motor launch near Berowra tasted wonderful.

The Carnage after Hurricanes

Jarek, Luke and I

Sarah and Melody chez Kleiber

Outside the Boathouse at Palm Beach

Sure we had a few mishaps, like driving to Palm Beach and realising that a) I had forgotten my wallet, so we couldn't have lunch and b) we had no petrol left.  Driving home on an emergency tank was "fun".  Even so, that evening we went and watched a great film, "Barbara", which we heartily recommend....so everything was ok again :)

We went back to Palm Beach with Serina.  The three of us had a great time and it was superb to spend such quality time, Home and Away, as a trio of Saroians.  

Anyone recognise this?  You daggy dobber!

Saroians at Palm Beach Boathouse.....what a lovely lunch and milkshake :)

But it wasn't all Serina, Erica, Luke and Sarah.  

Erica, Julia, Laura and Serina (without Huw)

Jarek and Melody Kleiber joined us out when they could and even hosted an amazing meal at their beautiful place in Annandale.  Laura and Chris King did likewise (though at their place, not at Jarek's and Melody's....that would be ridiculous).  The effort our friends made to make our holiday great was incredible.  Something for which we will always be grateful.  From driving a 3 hour round trip to say goodbye on our last Saturday (Anna!) to joining us for dinner and drinks in Bondi (Huw), everyone went out of their way to be hospitable.

Julia happy with Erica's hair

Julia even opened a Salon in Sydney for one Saturday afternoon.  The ladies (Erica, Sarah and Melody) having their hair done whilst Serina, Jarek, Luke and I headed down to the beach.

Now you know why I am bald!

"NO!"

Last meal :(

Sydney also made an effort.  The Opera House and Bridge were as good as Julia had hoped they would be.  Just before we went to Jarek and Melody's for dinner we had some lovely drinks at the Opera House Bar and just chilled out after a trip over to Manly.

Kookaburra

The view from our super yacht

Serina reclining in the sun .....booze finished!

A really great way to spend a Sunday afternoon - shame Fraser couldn't be with us

We even saw some Kangaroos.  Serina and Erica joined us for a trip into the country to find some on our last Sunday in Sydney.  We drove out to Berowra Marina and hired a motorboat (or tin bath with motor) and spent a lovely few hours cruising along in the searing sunshine, stopping for a picnic in a small bay.

Then we got back in the car and went roo hunting.  We stopped at Hawkesbury for a quick beer and some of the locals advised us of where to go, so we headed out and luckily saw some almost immediately.  It was wonderful, such a treat to see the weird animals in their natural habitat.

Sydney was certainly an emotionally charged 3 weeks of our lives.  After so long on the road in South East Asia it was great to put some "roots" down for a while.  It was also great to see so many friends and of course family.  By the end I was sad to leave, but certainly looking forward to the great adventure to come, in New Zealand.

Our second last sunset out in the bush....shame and goodbye!

Under my skin and in my heart ....we love you Vietnam....bye for now

Good Morning Halong Bay

Can you guess what it is yet?

Waking up in Halong Bay has to be one of life's sweeter moments.  We drank strong coffee, ate good food, bathed in the beautiful views and shared more memories with our companions as we all began our "goodbye" phase.  The chef gave us a demonstration of his superb skills from the previous evening and yet another example of how this wonderful race of people just keep throwing up gems!  What skills!!

Carrot Net or Vege Flower?

We weighed anchor and slid past those misty, wooded rocks.  The sea was tranquil, but a fine mist of rain was falling from the leaden skies.  Back on the bus everyone was slightly subdued, lost in thoughts.

Anyone that has travelled with me has seen this pose

Julia insisted on including this one of my knee and it's
attendant Vietnamese Road Gunk

I stared at my wife, fast asleep in the seats next to me and wondered at all we had seen in South East Asia.  From the fantastic to the atrocious; from wonder to wonder, learning to learning and pleasure to quite intense pain on a Vietnamese mountain roadside.  We had certainly left part of ourselves here.....me in particular!









As if on cue, two particularly poignant songs popped up on the iPod and I stared at the countryside rolling by my window and sank into a very content reverie.  First up, our good friend Frankie S. dropped by to croon "I've got you....under my skin"....and I smiled.  It was too good to be true.

Then along comes that squeaky voiced specialist Gene Pitney with "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart".....well, if THAT isn't a sign WHAT is?  Hmmmm?

Either way, in two songs I realised that

a) Vietnam was my (and Julia's it turns out) favourite country in the world right now
b) I would never ever forget our time in this marvellous land.....from the moment we set foot and shook Mr. Lam's hand, to the crazy Chinese New Year's party with new found friends in Saigon, to mountain crashes and Vodka meals in Da Lat, Vietnam had delivered the goods on EVERY level

That evening proved the theory again.  After an excellent and chilled "private" afternoon wondering the streets with my wife, visiting post offices and wholesale markets stuffed to the rafters with Chinese tat (how romantic I hear you say!), we all met again for our final meal.  Night-time in Hanoi is very different to day-time.  Somehow it seems more vibrant.  The locals are all dressed up, seeing and being seen.

The meal was tucked away upstairs above a souvenir shop.  Ask me to find it again I'd laugh in your face.  Ask me if I WANT to find it again....I would sob and say "HOW?"....because it was great food.  The girls went to the loo (through the kitchen) at one point, apparently that took the shine off the food!  Still, best not to look at the kitchen in Asia as it's never going to make you smile and say "Wow, that place looks really hygienic!"

We said our thanks to Chi and I was asked to give a little speech and present our parting gift.  Then we split up - some heading off to the "Water Puppet Show"....others (us included) to the pub.  After our brush with Vietnamese "Opera" a show involving puppets, water and long tracts of classic stories in a language and culture we don't understand...well......you do the math!

The pub was better.  Let's just leave it there.  And we did.

Next morning there were hugs and kisses, promises to keep in touch and visit each other, then the group moved on.  We did too.  As with Saigon, we had booked another hotel for a couple of days, to unwind and pamper ourselves.  It was lovely to be able to relax in a huge comfy bed again.....to get a good internet connection and update our blog...to welcome civilisation with open arms.

He really isn't making much effort is he?

Asian B&Q

Traffic Cop and his "pokey stick"

They really don't want you to go down there :)

We did a short walk in Hanoi the next day, taking in some sights and learning that a "Happy House" is not only a clean toilet on the road in Asia, but also a restaurant by a lake.  We learned that Julia is viewed as a celebrity by certain young Asian girls and we learned that we were ready to move on.  Julia learned that she needs to be careful when wearing skirts as an old lady carrying her wares balanced on either end of a stick neatly caught her stick on her skirt and almost took it with her!

I wonder who they thought she was?

The birthplace of all those birdsnests they hang from telegraph poles!

There is some beautiful French colonial architecture tucked away in Hanoi

Next day we searched and searched for some traditional dress for Julia.  The ladies in our lounge all had a uniform that was traditional dress, but in lace not silk.  Julia loved it and having spent the morning in vain looking for a shop that might sell one, we even asked if they'd sell us a uniform.  Clearly this is not the thing to ask in such a hotel!  No no no sir!

The lovely ladies asked the tailor who makes them to come across to the hotel and measure Julia...and she  did......within the hour!  Does this country every stop giving?  So with the prospect of a souvenir when we reached Sydney, we packed up for the final time in Asia and went off to the airport.

Saying good-bye to some old friends

Next stop Australia and 3 weeks in Sydney with friends and family.  Having spent so long with total strangers who became good friends, it was now time to relax with those we knew and enjoy ourselves.

Oz here we come!