Post #158 4 November 2017

Gentlefolk,

This post covers events / activities in October 2017.

We arrived back in Canberra on 21 September 2017 after our visit to Indonesia and Perth (see Posts #147 - #157).  We settled back into our usual life very quickly - one of the benefits of living in an apartment.

It is Spring here in the Southern Hemisphere and the weather in late-September and October was great - cool nights (down to zero C sometimes), but usually clear, sunny, days (maximums around 20 C) and relatively little wind.  So much better than this time last year, when we arrived back from China - the weather then was cold, overcast, rainy, and windy.

First some photos in Sydney, then in Canberra.

When we have time in Sydney a favourite trip is to take the ferry from Circular Quay to Manly.

A view of Manly Beach; it was a lovely day and some people were swimming, but still too cold for us.

Replica of the Endeavour at Darling Harbour. How did men cross vast oceans in such small ships? Brave.

We had dinner at a restaurant in Dixon Street, Chinatown, with a German tourist we met Bernard Jensch (his hobby is plane-spotting,  and he loves holidaying in Australia). Very busy - lots of people, eating, walking around. Balmy night, many diners sat outside.  We walked  back to Andrew's apartment after dinner and were really surprised at how many people were about - in contrast, Canberra on a Sunday night is very quiet indeed.

As a change we took a ferry from Circular Quay to Parramatta (90 minutes).  We were surprised how big Sydney Harbour is and how little highrise development has been allowed (only at Homebush and Parramatta).  

We had a look around Parramatta and then caught a train back to Central - only one stop, at Strathfield, so quick trip.

Our friends Angie and Howard Eakins visited us for a weekend, and we took in the annual Spring Flower Show called Floriade.  Very nice.

Here are some photos around Floriade.

Not only flowers at Floriade!

The day we sent to Floriade was "Doggie Day", lots of people brought their four-legged pets.

Vera's cousin, Ailan, and about 20 others flew from Perth to Canberra to attend a wedding.

The wedding took place in St Andrew's Church.

The Choir of St Andrew's Church sang hymns during the marriage ceremony.

Paul Milton and Niniek (Caroline's parents) visited from Sydney.  Heath McMichael joined us for dinner at the Canberra German Club.

Dinner with old friends Jim O'Callaghan and Yvonne.  We met at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta 1988-90.  Jim was head of the Immigration Section and I was in the Trade Section.  We both loved running with the Hash House Harriers.

We have started dancing again - New Vogue or Sequence Dancing - with the Canberra Old Time Dance Club (on Thursday nights) and at the Southern Cross Club (Wednesday nights, fortnightly). After about 8 years ... the steps slowly come back ...

Canberra Old Time Dance Club barbeque at Bob & Kay Stoddard's place.  Some of the old stalwarts: from left Diane, Brian, John, Elizabeth, and Glennis.  Nice to catch up with old friends.

We finally got around to hanging some family pictures in the study.  Good memories of Jennifer and Andrew as they were growing up.

We attended a talk and book signing by Ex-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in Canberra to promote the first volume of his autobiography "Not for the faint-hearted".  We met Kevin and Therese at the Australian Embassy in Beijing in 1985-6 (Kevin was in the Political Section, and I was in the Trade Section). I have long been an admirer - he is a man of  vision and intellect - who could/should have been a great leader of Australia. 

On 30 October I gave a talk to the Australia China Friendship Society on "Aspects of Chinese Culture".  Questions I addressed during the talk included: Why does one see so few old people in China?  Why doesn't the game Chinese Whispers work in China? Why do many young Chinese admire Jews? Why does China only have a single time-zone? Are there left-handed Chinese? etc.  Also gave similar talks to the Pan Pacific Women's Association and the University of Third Age.

With Brian Keil at the ACFS talk on Aspects of Chinese Culture.

On 31 October, three siblings celebrated Angie's birthday with lunch at Batemans Bay.

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Many important developments in September/October, including:

Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy, died aged 91.
Independence referendum by the Kurds (in Iraq), and by Catalonia (in Spain).
Shooting in Las Vegas (58 dead, hundreds injured).
Eight people killed by terrorist in Lower Manhattan (I rode a bike on that same pathway).
19th Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC); another 5 years for Xi Jin Ping.
High Court ruled five Members of Parliament were unable to serve (including Barnaby Joyce, Deputy Prime Minister) due to their dual-citizen status (S44 of Australian Constitution).
In the AFL Final, Richmond Tigers 108 beat Adelaide Crows 60; in the NRL Melbourne Storm 34 beat North Queensland Cowboys 6.
The Houston Astros beat the LA Dodgers to win the 2017 Baseball World Series.

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The first thing I do every morning is check CNN and The Washington Post for the latest on President Donald Trump.  He is an incredibly intriguing person and a constant source of interest and puzzlement - news is so much more interesting now!  No one can really fathom the way he thinks and acts.

The first indictments in Robert Mueller's Russia - US Election investigation have taken place; more to come???

President Trump is off to Asia next week - sure to be interesting.

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Well, I'm happy to have caught up my blog with our recent travels.

Don't forget, only 50 shopping days left till Xmas!

Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Alex Olah & Vera Olah
Canberra, Australia
Saturday 4 November 2017

Post #157 2 November 2017

Gentlefolk,

This post describes our visit to Perth, Western Australia, 14 - 19 September 2017.

The main reason for visiting Perth was to see old friends Graeme & Cora Stephens and Sean & Alexandra O'Shaughnessy.

We had 5 days in Perth, then a couple of days in Sydney before finally driving back to Canberra.  We'd been away 2 months, saw lots, met many old (and new) friends, had a great time.

As much as we enjoyed our trip, it's always nice to come back to home sweet home, familiar surroundings, sleep in our own bed, etc.

Spring in Canberra this year was amazing, cool nights but warm, clear, sunny days, very little wind and rain (so different from when we arrived here one year ago).  That will be covered in subsequent posts.

 Perth is the capital of Western Australia (the largest State in Australia).  It is a great place, but isolated.  The nearest big city is Adelaide, 2,130 km and Perth to Sydney is 3,280 km. Our flying time from Bali to Perth was 4 hours, which explains why so many Western Australians go there for holidays.

With its population of  2 million, Perth dominates all aspects of Western Australia (total population 2.6 m).

Perth is almost the ideal city (except for its isolated position): situated on the beautiful Swan River; its port is picturesque Fremantle; many accessible beaches, parks and gardens; there is little pollution.  It has a comfortable climate; annual rainfall of about 80 cm, enjoys much sunshine, mean maximum temperature of 25C, mean minimum temperature of 13C.

We stayed 3 nights with old friends Graeme and Cora Stephens.  We first met them in 1980, in Rio de Janeiro.  I was at the Australian Consulate, and Graeme was CEO of an American oil company. We kept in touch and managed to see each other in different places around Asia.  They visited us in Beijing in 1986, and we visited them in Kuala Lumpur in 1989. Later we met up in Perth and in Canberra. This was the first time we had seen them for about 8 years. Graeme started as a rock geologist before switching to oil & gas; successful career - he had a knack for finding "black gold" ! 

Graeme & Cora's impressive modern home in the suburb of Beerliar in Perth.

Graeme in one of the lovely living areas in his house.  They have extensive collections of Chinese blue & white porcelain; rare coins; old books; and fossils.  

Graeme used to love playing squash and tennis, and riding his bike, but with two knee replacements he has had to slow down.  Now often takes his pet bird "Sunny" on walks around the area, to the great delight of neighbourhood kids (and adults).

Graeme and Cora invited neighbours Ian & Robyn around for dinner.  They are all mad-keen Aussie Rules fans; we watched the Quarter finals: Geelong Cats beat Sydney Swans tonight, and then Western Sydney Giants beat the Perth Eagles the following night.  Graeme and Cora's son, David, was a very good footballer, he is now a budding film director.

One day Graeme took us down to Mandurah, a rapidly-growing area about 60 km south of Perth.  We had lunch by the marina, lots of nice boats.  A good freeway makes for an easy drive down the coast (there is also a good rail service between Mandurah and Perth), the infrastructure here is really good and they plan ahead, impressive.  

Then we stayed with Alexandra and Sean O'Shaughnessy.  They live in the suburb of Winthrop.  They have two married daughters, Nicole and Karen, and 4 grandkids (all girls!). I first met Sean way back in the 1950s when we were both students at St Patrick's Primary School in Cooma NSW, and we have stayed friends ever since. Sean has a great sense of humour and is a great joke-teller.

Sean took us up to Kings Park which has wonderful views of Perth and surrounds. It was a Sunday afternoon, and the Park was crowded with locals and visitors enjoying a lovely Spring day.

A view of Perth CBD from Kings Park.

Monday Sean & Alexandra showed us around parts of Perth: Booragoon, Applecross, City Beach (coffee), Cottesloe Beach, then lunch at Calangelo's Restaurant at Fremantle. 

Cottesloe Beach.  It was only Spring, but there were quite a few people on the beach with some even swimming and surfing. 

We saw this beautiful eagle.

Some more bird life at Cottesloe Beach.

Saying goodbye to Alexandra and Sean at Perth Airport on Tuesday 19 September 2017.  Our flight left at 9.45am and arrived in Sydney at 3.55pm (time difference).  We had a couple of days in Andrew's apartment (they were away) and then drove back to good old Canberra.  Our two-month holiday was over.

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So ended our two-month trip (Sydney, Bali, Java, Bali, Perth); now back to the East Coast.

It has taken a while to catch up with my blog - but good to re-live recent events again.

My next post will be about 'normal life' again.

...

Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah
Canberra, Australia
2 November 2017

Post #156 27 October 2017

Gentlefolk,

This post describes our second visit to Bali, 8 - 14 September 2017.

We started this journey in Bali, 26 July - 3 August, then had a month travelling around Java, now back to Bali for another 6 days before flying to Perth, Western Australia.

This time we stayed in Sanur (2 nights), Ubud (2 nights), Singaraja / Lovina Beach (1 night), and Kuta (1 night).

A highlight was visiting the old Palace at Klungkung (aka Semarapura). Vera grew up in the house next to the Puri (Palace) and knew the Raja's (King's) family well (he had 25 wives!!!). Those days are long gone, but it was still fun re-connecting.

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This was the end of our 6 weeks in Bali & Java. I'll do summary comments / impressions at the end of this post.

This time we stayed in Sanur (near Denpasar), then drove to Ubud (cultural center of Bali) via Klungkung where Vera grew up.  Andre and Iis picked us up and we drove to Kintamani (lunch) and then on to Lovina Beach near Singaraja on the North Coast (home town of Vera's mother). Then back to Kuta via Sukasada and Bedugul. Bali is actually quite a small island, but its mountainous and roads are congested and slow.

View from the plane during our flight from Bandung to Bali. There is a "spine" of volcanoes which runs down the middle of Java; quite spectacular.  From the air you can also see why this island is one of the most densely populated places on earth - you can see village after village and town after town, and not many kilometers between; amazing.

More majestic volcanos.

You can see the Sea of Sand which surrounds famous Mount Bromo (2392m). We've been there a couple of times, dramatic landscape.  To the left you can see Gunung Semeru (3676m) the highest peak on Java which still occasionally blows smoke and ash.

In Sanur we stayed in a bungalow in the Inna Grand Bali Hotel.  The beach at Sanur is protected by a reef.  This was low tide and we were surprised that people could walk all the way out to the reef.  I guess it was full moon and perhaps the tides were bigger than usual - a variation of at least two meters, maybe more. 

This was a view of the beach in front of the Inna Hotel, at high tide.  You can see the waves breaking on the reef, about 150 meters out.

This was the main swimming pool at the Inna Hotel, near the high-rise hotel.  We normally used a pool closer to our bungalow.

We visited the Museum La Mayeur; these are busts of the artist and his wife.  Le Mayeur (1880 - 1958) arrived in Bali in 1932 - a veritable paradise then - and married beautiful dancer Ni Polok (he was 55, she just 15).  The house they lived in was turned into a museum (pretty run down now) which displays some of his paintings.  

Every morning we did the long walk along the beach.

A wedding party set up on the beach - pity we missed the ceremony!

Morning yoga class on the beach.

We had breakfast at this cafe on the beach.

Old friend Nuraka and his German wife Corrine live at the end of Sanur Beach.  They were both tour guides, now retired.  We met Nuraka in Vancouver in 1977 and he came with us when we drove down to San Francisco. 

Vera and Corrine in the garden of the Inna Hotel.

We had lunch with Nuraka and Corrine at a restaurant on Sanur Beach.

Lobster anyone?

The Balinese are Hindu and have many, many ceremonies.

We visited the Puri (Palace) at Klungkung - Vera knew many of the older folk and was welcomed like a long lost friend!

Vera meeting a childhood friend, Tjokorda Istri Rai, with whom she went to primary school.

Some of the younger generation men in the Palace.

Vera with Tjokorda Alit and his sister Tjokorda Istri Anom, neighbours and friends from primary school.

We had lunch at the restaurant between Klungkung and Ubud.

Beautiful rice terraces around Ubud.

In Ubud we stayed at the Saka Village Bungalows.  It was difficult to find (no signs on the road!), and far from the center of Ubud.  One big positive -we discovered  a bar & restaurant called Juno's close by.  They had an "Open Mic" night which was great fun, lots of good music & acts, including a German girl who read some of her poetry. We had dinner with David & Nadia (Nadia is the daughter of my old friend Budi Daroe in Surabaya; she married an Aussie, David is doing a year as a Volunteer at a clinic in Ubud).

Nice garden at the Saka Village.

The gardeners used hand-shears to cut the grass!

The breakfast area overlooked the swimming pool, but only 5 x 4 m, too small to swim.

We found this lovely cafe nearby Saka Village Hotel.

Coffee & cake at the cafe.

Many villas being built everywhere around Ubud - rice paddies disappearing as urbanisation takes over!

View across the lotus pond to the Pura TAman Saraswati temple at the Lotus Restaurant in the center of Ubud. Dance performances are held there at night, which must be lovely, but our hotel was unfortunately too far away.  We have come to this restaurant in the past - it's still good, but seems to have lost some of its magic.  Across the street was the main market, and the Ubud Palace (Puri Saren Agung) is close by and open to visitors.  Ubud is known for its art and culture.  Balinese are talented artists: they can play music and dance, carve wood and stone, paint, silverware - its in their DNA. The following photos were taken around Ubud.

We drove from Ubud to Singaraja via Kintamani where we had lunch.  Spectacular views of Lake (Donau) Batur in the crater of what must have been a huge eruption.  Views of Gunung (Mount) Batur (1717 m)to the left, and Gunung Abang (2152m) to the right.  Years ago I caught a boat across the lake to a Terunyan Village, very primitive with unusual burial traditions.

Driving from Kintamani to Singaraja we stopped at this cock fight.  Still a popular pastime, even though the government has tried to control it.  Enthusiastic crowd, lots of money changed hands.

We stayed in the Hotel Suma at Lovina Beach, about 8 km west of Singaraja.  The north coast of Bali has black-sand beaches,  These boats take tourists out to see dolphins at sunrise.

The swimming pool in our hotel at Lovina Beach.

Vera in front of the door of our hotel room.

This design of mosquito net was not very functional, but luckily there were no mosquitos during our stay.

The next morning we spent a couple of hours exploring Singaraja.  This was where Vera's mother grew up - her father, Pak Natih, was an official in the Customs Office. We met up with Pak Komang, Vera's uncle, who still lives in the old family house. Singaraja used to be the capital of Bali under the Dutch - but don't know why because there was no natural harbour (breakwater had to be constructed).  We hoped to see some old colonial buildings, but very little has survived.  We came across this impressive old Chinese temple near the harbour.

Then we drove back to Kuta, via Bedugul and Donau Bratan.Some of the signs include Balinese sanskrit writing - interesting - don't think many people can read old Balinese these days, but I guess the government is trying to maintain culture.

Pura Ulum Danu Bratan, a 17th century Hindu-Buddhist temple dedicated to Dewi Danu, the goddess of water.

Part of the impressive botanical gardens surrounding the Temple.

From Bedugul we drove back to Kuta, for our last night in Bali.  Ita got us a great deal in the Golden Tulip Hotel.  It turned out to be a very nice hotel, with easy access to the Airport - only took us 15 minutes to get to the International Terminal for our flight to Perth.

Photo from our room balcony at the Golden Tulip Hotel, across the lovely garden to the large pool and the circular gym.  The hotels in Bali are great - you certainly get much more for your money than in Australia!!

Our last night in Bali.  Here are Vera and Andre watching the sunset.  Lots of people around, bands playing, fun atmosphere.  We've been so lucky with the weather - it has been great.

We were lucky as the sunset was probably the best we saw during our time in Bali.  Afterwards we had dinner in "24 hour Dim Sum" part of an American chain.  A great night to finish our 6 weeks in Indonesia.

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The following day we caught a flight to Perth, Western Australia - the subject of my next post.

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I'll summarise our thoughts/impressons on our 6 weeks in Bali and Java, as follows:

Overall

Most people poor, struggle, but smile and seem happy; beautiful people!

Beautiful countryside: rice paddies, coconut palms, volcanoes, etc. 

Smoker's paradise (cheap, plentiful cigarettes).

Traffic congestion, but good drivers slow & steady (we only saw one accident).

Millions of motor bikes.

Taxis cheap, but still "Grab Motor Bikes" and Uber popular.

Lots of hotels and restaurants everywhere, and inexpensive by Aussie standards.

Now 10% govt tax in all restaurants and hotels (formerly small were exempt).

Most restaurants still use MSG.

Tropical climate, lush gardens, flowers and trees.

So many people, so crowded - still don't understand how it all works (and gets better).

Bali

Bali,  Island of the Gods, still great.

Many small shops selling similar things, competitive.

So many massage parlours and beauty & tattoo salons.

Big new airport terminal

All roads are congested, slow traffic, although sometimes the traffic flows alright - why?

More mosques reflect the increasing number of Javanese.

Lot more umbrellas and chairs for hire on the beach; many surf schools; music at night.

Don't see much toplessness these days - western girls wearing tops.

Java

Lots of adverts on TV for glossy hair, but almost all women now wear hijab (so why?).

Jakarta is huge, many highrise buildings, Surabaya a few.

Trains not bad, a bit slow (like Australia) but comfortable and inexpensive.

Highways now are almost continuous housing/shops. 

Bad traffic everywhere; becaks and dokars still in most places.

Jogja = batik heaven. 

What we'll miss

Indonesian (especially Balinese) people, smiling, friendly, helpful.

Vibrant colours: flowers, trees, bushes, vegetation.

Strong flavours: fruit, food, fresh fruit & vegetable juices.

Free Wifi available almost everywhere.

Swimming in water 27 - 30C.

Sunsets on beaches.

Convenient shopping and eating, till late at night.

Inexpensive food, drinks (including beer and bottled water), taxis, clothes.

Friends and relatives, and Vera speaking Indonesian and Balinese.

What we won't miss

Smoking

Traffic

No sidewalks (footpaths)

Crowds

Heat

MSG in food

Personal questions

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I could go on and on, but that will do.

We had a really good visit.  The time went very quickly and we were never bored.  The fact that Vera had friends and relatives in most cities certainly helped; it's always nice to have a local show you around.  And we were blessed with good weather - it only rained a couple of times.

We only got upset tummies once each - and even then not too bad - so that was a great boon.

Of course, Vera speaking Indonesian (and Balinese) helped a lot in getting around.

All-in-all a most enjoyable 6 weeks.

The Simadibrata Family is planning another reunion in 2 years, so that will be the timing of our next visit to Indonesia.

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Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah

Canberra, Australia

Friday 27 October 2017