blog archive

19/09/08 - Switzerland - Maia

Last blog from Switzerland - just to say I have put the hangbauhaus experience and pics onto my hang page, as it felt like that is more where it belongs.

Also for a bit of trivia, our friend Thomas went out last night with a mate, and when he got back he said they had gone to Germany for dinner. Such  a bizarre concept for an Aussie, to pop across the border into an entirely different country for a few hours!

We're off to Italy tomorrow so there is likely to be a bit of a 'blog gap' for at least a week...! (Maybe more...who knows what internet scenario we'll find for uploading website updates :o)

No advanced notes on our first few destinations in Italy...I have plotted them as a bit of a surprise for Sahayak!  

17/09/08 - Switzerland - Maia

Wow with a capital W.O.W. !!! Highlight of the trip  so far has been a visit to the Hangbauhaus in Bern, where they make the hang instruments. There's a whole, amazing story in that, but just a quick entry to say we're still alive and kicking and for  a mega quick update...just been busy traipsing around so blog comes off second best (and fair enough!). After the visit to Bern, which also took in the city centre, we went to Interlaken, which means 'between two lakes' - and totally stunning and amazing it is. While there we visited another waterfall called Trummelbachfalle (after having only a few days earlier visited 'Rheinfall', the biggest waterfall in Europe) and we got to walk around in the caves around it. We took some amazing shots, which we will at some stage edit and add to the blog pics. Will embellish on these recent adventures as soon as I get the chance.

13/09/08 - Switzerland - Maia

The Swiss have certainly earned their reputation for design and innovation...it's been quite interesting to experience it every which way you turn. It's also such a tidy, orderly, 'picturebook' place. I'm not sure that 'chaos' is in their dictionary.

It was very satisfying to be able to go shopping in a FairTrade supermarket, and no supermarkets have plastic bags! Mega yay! Thomas (whose place we are staying at) was explaining the heating system here - very clever, simple, sustainable, and self sufficient. I also had a massage yesterday in which the modality included lying on a large, air-filled cushion thing called a schwingkissen. It was extremely comfortable and enhanced the massage's benefits. (I'll be mentioning it to my favourite massage therapists back home!)

Thomas' home is full of innovation, and also lots of examples of his creative genius - his photography blown up into posters, his unique sculptures, and incredibly, there's an external mini stairway spanning three stories for his sister's cats to come and go...(see blog pics)! Interestingly, it is also mandatory in Switzerland to build a bunker into the basement, or alternatively you can 'buy a spot' in a public one near where you live.

We went to some thermal springs yesterday and totally ignored the recommendation for staying in 20 minutes - 90 minutes on and we reluctantly got out. Felt pretty floaty and tired after that, which was no surprise.

The rain seems to have followed us from Thailand, having settled in for what feels like a long stay. Fingers crossed it clears soon.

Looking forward to our visit to the hangbauhaus on Monday...can't wait to update the blog on that one!

11/09/08 - Switzerland - Maia

We wrapped up our Thai adventures by flying out of Bangkok early yesterday morning, after visiting my sister-in-law's family (who live in Bangkok)the night before.
 
With our bags full anyway, and an intention to not be too consumerist, I'm proud to say I came away from six days in Thailand without a single purchase (other than food). Sahayak did just as well, though availed himself of the budget opportunity to update his reading glasses prescription.

I also came away from Thailand with the potential for some work, after having helped the resort improve some of their English promotional material.

I still feel quite struck by the tsunami vibe around that area, and it was a bit strange being in a beach hut some 30 metres from the beach in a resort where many people died. One cannot help but imagine how it must have been.

On a different note, I thought the traffic light system was fabulous - where there is a second countdown to lights changing colour. Very handy for if you are driving and want to give your attention to something else for a short time (text messages, a drink of water, change CD, etc). I also reflected on how much I would have appreciated such a system when I used to tow a horse float! Traffic lights were very tricky at times and I ended up having a run a few red lights to protect my precious cargo.

We flew to Zurich via Doha with Qatar Airways, and due to Ramadan the flights were light on passengers, which meant we very fortunately got to stretch out over 3 or 4 seats to have a decent kip. Between that and some travel flower essences and arriving in the evening (will aim for that in future) and the wonderful luggage etc. support from Sahayak, I've not been knocked sideways as is usually the case with jet lag.

Things have changed in the 12 years since my last international travel. With video and audio on demand it is great to be able to choose what  want to listen to or watch from a huge selection of movies, TV shows, documentaries, CDs etc. which all helps to pass the time and make long haul flights more enjoyable. (Airline food is still tragic though!)

Some trivia from Qatar...apparently its citizens are paid not to work. The oil rich country (just west of United Arab Emerates) can afford to pay the locals to entice them to stay living in the country (and enjoy themselves in the process), with most of the work being carried out by ex-pats...including a very sizeable chunk of  Nepalese refugees as cheap labour.

So now we are in Zurich for 10 days, staying with a family friend (Thomas). Not much news to tell yet, as we only arrived late last night, thogh I'm sure there'll be an interesting update very soon!

08/09/08 - Thailand - Maia

Yesterday was a day for temples and lots of driving in between, that offered an unfolding landscape of daily life in Thailand. It rained heavily for most of the day (actually, it has been raining most of the time we have been here, which for me has been disappointing mostly because it has forced beach closures and all the beautiful ocean swims I envisoned have not come to pass...major bummer!)

We were both snap happy with all the aesthetic fodder Thailand offers to professional and amateur photographers alike...with brollies to keep the cameras dry!

We've made a nice connect with the resort manager, and have had a few chats about marketing the resort. I offered some professional input, which has been appreciated, and I've provided some editing support to improve their best efforts at English translation.

The resort is worth promoting - the service and friendliness is exemplary...nothing is too much trouble and it's a genuine philosophy which has more to do with the culture than with a marketing strategy.

We're off to Bangkok tomorrow for an overnighter before flying to Zurich. In Bangkok we will meet up with my Thai sister-in-law Nil's family for a few hours.

Loving the tropical climate and not keen on the idea of leaving it...from winter in Oz to autumn in Europe with winter not too far away...anyone who knows me will know this scenario is sooooooooooo not how I like it!

06/09/08 - Thailand - Maia

We arrived safe and well at La Flora Resort on September 3. It's about an hour's drive from Phuket, right on the beach at a place called Khao Lak. The climate is seventh heaven for me, with the ocean temperature perfect as well (i.e. warm!)

This location was planned by Sahayak as a birthday surprise for me, so I had no idea until we got here.

It's lovely, but what I like the most is that by being here we are contributing to a region that is still recovering from the tsunami.

Sahayak had some more surprises in store for my birthday (today) and with the day only half over, there are more surprises to come. A bit of a dampener on the day was that my back flared up quite angrily, so I have been struggling a bit, and feeling a bit sorry for myself that it happened on my special day!

We are also planning to visit some Buddhist temples tomorrow. Only a brief blog from me today just to get it up...will add more once we get to Switzerland (uploading the website via wireless hotspot here in Thailand is proving a bit tricky!)

05/09/08 - Thailand - Sahayak

Wow, this certainly is an incredibly exciting time for Maia and myself. Many adventures and inspirations shall unfold. We have started our journey in tropical Thailand; Phuket actually. We are tucked away in an idyllic ocean resort with our spacious wooden cottage only a stone's throw from the vast Andaman Sea.

I love Thailand and have been blessed to be here on a number of occasions, the last being on a spiritual retreat in Chaing Mai with my meditation master Sri Chinmoy. For me any time spent in SE Asia is confirmation of previous lifetimes spent in service to the Buddhist communtiy, and so I class Asia as my home-away-from home. I am drawn intuitively to the serene Buddhist temples, three of which we will be spending quiet contemplative times in, in two days time.

Whenever I am in Asia my body craves the richness and diversity of the selections of vegetables, coconut and banana sweets, exotic tropical fruit and coconuts this country has in abundance, and in accordance with this, I have found the cheapest source - the local markets, only 15 minuites walk from the resort, where prices are extremely cheap.

Time for a reality check - three years ago this section of the coastline received the full force of the Boxing Day tsunami, claiming over 10,000 lives. Entire resorts, communities, families and businesses disappeared under the catastropic force of the two waves that bore down on this section of Phuket island.

I befriended the owner of the local grocery shop, Noi, whose husband perished. She was five months pregnant and ran to the local Buddhist temple to escape the force of the second wave. Her entire business and the two storey building in which her home and business were housed were washed away!

In the temple she, and the hundreds of other locals and tourists who sought refuge, waited for  three days before food and fresh water were delivered by the army.

In that time she nursed a Swiss tourist who had suffered a badly shattered leg. That same tourist, in appreciation of the care and attention Noi had shown him in spite of her own tragic losses, later gave her over 100,000 baht to help her rebuild her life.

So now when I look around in my walks, I reflect that  behind the smiles and welcomes expressed by the business staff and stall owners as I pass, Noi's tragic story will have been repeated again and again. Not that the average tourist would be aware, as in typical Thai style their friendliness is what captures your heart.

As a constant reminder of the force of the tsunami a large Thai police patrol boat lies beached approx 1km inland, and now sits facing out to sea in the middle of a farmer's field.

19/09/08 - Switzerland - Sahayak

You have no doubtedly noticed that I haven't written too much in recent days(weeks). Suffice to say that I will write when the inspiration really grabs me, but let me say that my impressions of Switzerland are - the tidiest farms, the cutest villages with cottages dating back to the 1600's! Towering mountains, Swiss flags, tidiness everywhere, the most innovative architecture, rest seats dotted throughout the forests, mile after mile of walking and cycling paths through large tracks of forests, villages connected by narrow pathways across the greenest farmlands and so many varieties of  the yummiest chocolates and crispiest breads. In between my comments please feel free to read Maia's more detailed accounts of our travels.