Home

So we're home. Some of you may know where that is, some of you may not. So this entry is dedicated to just that.



We currently live with Cam's family in Farnham House. It's a beautiful old house that is also occupied by the rest of his family. So there are 12 of us all living in one house - it needs to be a bit on the big side!

We've been catching up with all Cam's family even the ones we last saw in Italy are back now.





And of course Janes folks too, we've been hard at work in any spare time helping them renovate their house for an upcoming sale...



so if anybody wants a beautiful two bedder with a massive garden in a lovely street in Ashfield... anyway enough of THAT! we have managed to notice that pretty much anyone in Sydney is capable of talking about is real estate, it is both riveting and it really puts into perspective what are friends in the developing world are missing out on

Other residents of the house include various animals. Several fish. A dog called Guinness


and a cat called Tybalt who has rather taken to his new role as luggage security.


Jane has already thrown herself into the arts scene again with professional stage managment work for the Australian Bradenburgs recent concernt season as well as some ametuer highjinks helping mentor younger stagemanagers on the show "Cabaret".



We've both got jobs (Jane's new one starts soon updates to follow!) and Cam is working close to home in the local book shop (a job that he has secretly wanted for about 15 years!) while he looks for science and conservation work.

This little catchup is just to let you know that we are still alive and (despite the cold) managing well enough in Sydney... well Cam is anyway Jane is off on a little excursion in Darwin so her fabulous additions to the blog will return shortly and focus on that little adventure.

What's Been Happening...

Ok. So it's been a while since we've updated this. Mostly we've been busy settling back into Sydney, looking for jobs etc. It doesn't seem like all that much has happened in the month and a half since we've been back, but thought it was time to write anyway.

Firstly, it's been cold. Especially when compared to PNG or Vietnam. Despite how cold it has been, Cam has still managed to go diving (Jane was happily warm and sleeping at the time). He even managed to uncurl his cold-cramped fingers for long enough to take some photos!





Otherwise he has been working at the local bookshop while writing applications for work in the marine biology field. So, he's fairly happy surrounded by books until he can get into the water again.

Jane has been working with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra on their latest concert series. Mostly she helped out the Orchestra Manager and performers while listening to beautiful music. Anyone who's interested in listening to beautiful music too should look up Philippe Jaroussky on Youtube - he's just amazing! She's also had a couple of job interviews for more work so she can..well...live. Sydney is a bit more expensive than PNG was (although thankfully not as expensive as Europe or the UK).

Otherwise we have been catching up with family and friends. Events worth special mention:

*PNG at Home - Cam volunteered at a Biodiversity Extinction Crisis Conference and met many Papua New Guineans, and people working in PNG. So he decided to invite them all over to dinner. It was a great night, and he even tried to cook some local PNG cuisine including claypot-style starch vegetables in coconut milk, and of course bulli and noodles. Unfortunately their were no Milne Bayans there, but it was nice to be surrounded by tok pisin again, and to meet new people - especially those working to preserve and protect the unique and amazing wildlife in PNG.



*Life Force Poetry and Prose afternoon - a lovely afternoon held by Lifeforce (a cancer support group) where actors and celebrities are asked to read their favourite poems and/or prose. It is held as a fundraiser so as to keep the group and their wonderful service going. It was great to share the poetry and prose and get an added insight into those who chose and read the pieces. It was all quite inspiring for a variety of reasons.

*Random going to the pub night - highlight was definately Cam and Jeff drinking whisky out of jam jars. Enough said.



Anyway, that's it for now. But we will definately endeavour to make this a regular thing again. Now that we're getting back into the swing of things it shouldn't be too hard : )

Hanging Around Halong Bay...

After we left Hue we caught a plane up to Hanoi - another one of our favourite places (there are quite a few of them)!

Our hotel was right in the depths of the colourful and lively Old Quarter of Hanoi, which met we were in the thick of things as soon as we stepped outside. We were met on our first day by the lovely Phuong Anh, who works with the Fred Hollows
Foundation in Hanoi. She showed us around, and took us to see the new and improved eye hospital. Here she poses with one of the many 'typical' Vietnam bicycles - so stacked with goods we don't know how they move. And this one is filled with ceramics!



The day after we arrived Phuong Anh took us for a drive to meet Giap. The drive itself was interesting (and the driving, again, quite scary), but meeting Giap was a really awesome experience. For those of you living in and around Sydney, you may have seen photos of Giap as a young boy, with Cam's dad Fred - they're often up at bus stops and other public places. Cam's dad Fred actually operated on his eyes and restored his sight around 15 years ago. So it was a special moment when they met each other as adults.



We had a lovely lunch and translated conversations. It was great to learn that Giap is half way through a university degree in Maths teaching - no mean feat.



After lunch we had to head back to Hanoi - another 3 hour trip! We did have one quick stop to buy young coconuts from the side of the road - Cam's favourite drink.



While we were enjoying Hanoi, we decided we had to get out to Halong Bay - one of the world's natural wonders. So the next day we caught a bus with a small group of people from our hotel, and tried to ignore the near-death driving habits of the Vietnamese people.



On arriving in Halong Bay we were overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of other tourists and lots of boats. We were shepheded by our tour guide (it is truly amazing how quickly tourists are moved on and off the boats - it's a smooth operation) to our boat, which we had to walk the plank and cross two other boats to get onto. On arriving safely and handing over our passports we retired to the top deck with a drink or two.



We cruised around the bay, past many islands and rocky formations - headed by our dragon (each boat has a dragon at the front for good luck). After a HUGE and fabulous lunch we were told to get off the boat and walk up a lot of stairs. While this may have been a bit of a mission the caves at the top of the stairs were amazing, and truly vast.



After walking down all the stairs again we were then taken to a kayaking site (they may give you a lot of food, but they make you work it off). We paddled around for a bit, trying not to fall in as the water didn't look all that clean and pleasant. Our guide took us through a pass that only small boats can fit through, and suddenly we were surrounded by what must have once been a huge cave. It was so beautiful, and worth the effort.





All the exercise done for the day, we got back on the boat (via all the fresh seafood that had been caught and was still alive in water filled 'cages' - a bit sad). We watched the sunset and had a drink, then another feast called 'dinner'. For evening entertainment we were called upon to teach some of the old uni drinking games - the things you find yourself doing in random places!

The next day we woke up, ate breakfast, and then were put off the boat and told to walk up lots of stairs again (is there a pattern here?) even more stairs than the day before! At the top there was a 360 degree view of Halong Bay, so perhaps it was worth the pain. Cam even met 'God' up the top.





Once we had recovered sufficiently we managed to walk down the stairs again, passing some small Vietnamese men carrying their body weight in steel cables. A bit of a reality check for us soft (and puffing, panting, and sweating) Westerners. There was a lovely beach down the bottom (real or artificial we're not sure), and a stall hiring out swimming costumers. Ewww.



Our Halong Bay trip almost at an end we cruised back to shore where we were fed another huge meal. After this one we sat on a bus for a few hours, and got to sleep - probably wise. Although most of us were awake to see a poor man lose a load of wire clothing stands off the back of his bike. It's amazing he could get them all on their in the first place...

We only had a few more days in Hanoi. We spent time walking around the shops, looking and buying - there were just so many lovely things! We met up with our Halong Bay friends for dinner and drinks at the jazz club one night. Cam received plenty of admiring glances surrounded by all the ladies.



After more delicious meals (including sinful and refreshing ice creams at 'Fanny's', pho and Vietnamese spring rolls), final shopping (there's so much we didn't buy, but we still had trouble packing everything) and trips to the post office, it was time to leave Hanoi.

And so our overseas adventures have ended for the moment (but not this blog!). We've had an amazing time, met some great people and seen some special places. Thanks to everyone who helped us, put up with us and caught up with us! We'd love to return the favour sometime...perhaps when we have jobs and a place of our own!

Scootin' Around in Vietnam...

The UK and European part of our trip over, we boarded planes to take us to Vietnam. Gee, we were glad the trip was only 12 hours long! It's a great way to catch up on 3 or 4 movies (while you're trying to ignore how much you need to go to the toilet so you don't have to ask the nice stranger to move again).



Anyway, we got off the plane at Ho Chi Minh City and experienced 'real' summer in the tropics. It was back to shorts and singets, trying to ignore that our luggage was full of jumpers, and cold weather paraphenalia (yes we were in Europe and the UK during summer - but it was still COLD!). We only spent one day in Ho Chi Minh City, but we still managed to have a good look around and get a feel for the place. Industrious people, persistant cyclo riders, and interesting aromas. We went to the Rex hotel for a drink (probably one of the most expensive things we did), and ate plenty of Pho.



The next day we caught a plane to Danang where we visited the office of the Fred Hollows Foundation and met (and were well looked after) by the staff. They showed us around Danang, which is really a very pretty place, and took us to lovely eating spots to experience the local cuisine. We also were taken to the local eye hospital, and even got all 'scrubbed up' to see the end of an eye operation. Quite an experience!





Next stop was Hoi An. By this time we were ready to settle down for a few days, and this was the perfect place to do so. It's small and fairly quiet, but certainly knows about tourism. There were tailors and little shops and restaurants everywhere!



We spent lots of time walking around (in 45 degree heat - no wonder the locals think tourists are a little bit mad!), swimming, getting massaged (sigh), and of course getting some clothes made. Cam hired a motorbike to get around town quickly, and Jane hopped on the back loaded up with bags in true Vietnamese style. Even though it was a quiet town, it was still a nerve-racking business for all involved! We also managed to get on a boat one morning and went for a couple of dives. The water was lovely, but sadly there were few fish...probably on account of huge populations in South East Asia (and the rest of the world) eating so many sea creatures.



After our few days of relaxing in Hoi An, we caught a bus to Hue. The bus ride in itself was an experience! Brakes are used rarely and the horn is almost used instead - if you hear beeping, then get out of the way. We think that people who ride motorbikes in Vietnam should not be allowed to drive buses. Anyway, we arrived in Hue in one piece, even if we had lost a few litres of sweat from fear and heat.

Hue was an amazing place. We visited the old, imperial city, which was partly destroyed in the war, but is still amazing. Didn't spend long in the old city, but we took cyclos around and so managed to see alot in a short time, including the house that Ho Chi Minh lived in when he was a boy.



And so ends this post, but will write a bit more about the rest of our time in Vietnam (specifically Hanoi and Halong Bay) very soon...

Punting in Oxford...

Unfortunately we only spent one day in Oxford, but that day certainly deserves a post of its own...

We caught the Oxford tube in London and mostly slept through the 2 hour trip, so when we woke up we were magically in Oxford. Quite a pretty city really. The first thing we did was go to lunch with a family friend, Simon. He took us to a lovely little place called the Trout Inn, where some of the Inspector Morse series have been filmed. We ate a lovely lunch seemingly surrounded by fellow Australians and ducks.



After lunch we went to visit the Pitt and Rivers museum - a lovely small museum with everything from dinosaurs to shrunken heads, and specimens that you could play with as well! We also made sure that Cam got a photo with one of his heros Charles Darwin.



In the afternoon we met up with some friends, Will and Sandy - 2 doctors we met in Papua New Guinea when they were doing their final elective. They took us out and made sure our short stay in Oxford was memorable. They took us on a lightning tour of some of the historical colleges - we squeaked the mound, and saw the choir stalls at New. But the first really important stops were a couple of pubs, including the one where Bob Hawke had set the record for the fastest 'down' of a yard glass...



The boys pointed out that one can't visit Oxford without punting, so they bought supplies and we spent the next few hours on the Thames (known as the Issis in Oxford) in a punt.



For those not familiar with punts, they are small square bottomed boats that aren't all that stable. Although they had both punted before we explored a part of the river neither of them had ever been to, and boy were there some surprises in store. After a while the river became overgrown and we kept drifting through the foliage, getting scratched, covered in pollen, and trying not to wet ourselves with laughter.




There were also incidents of the pole getting stuck in the water, and the pole getting stuck in the trees above which led to a very wet Will. Although it may not sound like much, let us assure you that this was possibly the most hilarious part of our whole trip.

After drying off we departed for a bbq 'Oxford style'. Comforting to know that student parties are the same world round - we ended up drinking cocktails out of a saucepan. We also caught up with an old friend of Cam's, Sebastian.

Oxford was a lovely place, and we must thank Will and Sandy for showing us such a great time! We hope that we return to you both the same hospitality on this side of the world sometime!

Little Old London Town

Well, it's not really. Quite big actually, with a population ranging between 12 and 14 million depending on where you stop counting. We're not sure how many British we actually met though, as London is packed full of Australians and everyone else from around the world...but it probably didn't help that we were staying with Aussie mates while we were there.

So anyway, we left ourselves a week and a half for London - a good amount of time to catch up with people, but not so good for the finances. We couldn't believe just how expensive London was, no matter how much we had been warned. But enough about money - we'll worry about all that when we get home...

Highlights of our time in English capital include:

*Visting many museums - the natural history museum, with it's stuffed animals and skeletons of those long dead. Cam particularly liked the icthyosaurs (fish lizards), which makes sense considering his love of all things from the sea.



We also went on a behind the scenes Darwin tour, where we saw some of Darwin's original specimens from his voyage on the Beagle , as well as specimens of Coelacanths (very old, thought-to-be-extinct fish); and a 8.7m specimen of Archy the Giant Squid (Architeuthis). Very Bloody Cool.

*The Victoria and Albert museum. Of particular interest was the fashion through the ages exhibition. No really, it was interesting. Particularly liked the underpants and glove set. There were also cool sculptures and an Oriental Exhibition.



*The Science Museum. A place Cam could have visited many times. Of particular interest were the Spitfire exhibition (interesting for Jane too, as she found out they were mostly made by women during the war), the boat exhibition, and of course the Scuba Diving exhibition. Even the Maths stuff was interesting, and quite pretty too. And of course, there was an awesome gift shop, which included some useful stuff, being a science museum and all...



*The Greenwich Meridian Line. We were only there for a short period, but we had lots of fun being in both the East and West hemispheres at the same time...we also didn't buy anything from the first shop in the world.



*The theatre scene. You can't go to London and not visit West End! Even Cam was enthused about it. We saw Avenue Q together - a musical with puppets made for people who aren't usually musical fans. Very funny. And Jane went to see Wicked by herself, so that Cam didn't get a musical overdose. We also went to see Othello at Shakespeares Globe Theatre. We paid for standing room only, and while it was great to experience it as many once did, it would probably be preferable to see any other 3 1/2 hour performance sitting down.



Of course there was lots of site seeing - we went to Hyde Park and watched all the sun-starved Londoners in their bikinis on a surprisingly fair weekend. We walked past Buckingham Palace, watched some great street performers at Covent Garden, ate dinner at Brick Lane, and tried to collect as many 'monopoly places' as possible (we were still missing a few when we left).

The best thing was definately the catch ups though. Thanks to those who took us out and put us up (hopefully we weren't there too long for you to put up with us). We had a great time. This last photo is in honour of friends - for those who bring Papua New Guinean penis gourds across the world for their mates, and for those mates who try them on enthusiastically as soon as the gift is received (yes, alcohol was involved). We just want it known, that it was requested by the wearer of this penis gourd to post this picture. Cheers Alex - you would make the Papua New Guineans...proud...

The Lovely Llangollen

We arrived in Llangollen, Wales, cold and tired, after 6 hours of (exhorbitantly priced) train travel. But we were received warmly by the Brown family, and instantly felt better.



We only spent a few days in Llangollen (this is the shortened spelling - photo above shows proper spelling!), but it was just so beautiful there (and so green compared to Australian landscape). The weather was wet and grey, so we sat inside in front of the fire for a while, and ate delicious food - some of which Cam cooked. It was a real treat, and every traveller needs to slow down once in a while.



But we did get out and look around. We visited the house of the Ladies of Llangollen - two women who lived in a romantic fashion in the 18th century, and had a list of impressive visitors that included the Duke of Wellington and Lord Byron. The house is just amazing - there are curious carvings everywhere - and many interesting stories accompany it.



We also walked by the canal which was picturesque, even if people kept steering their boats into the walls. There is also a very big aqueduct that we walked over (the highest navigable aqueduct in the world), which was interesting, but slightly frightening when overtaking people with prams or dogs who were also walking over it. It is quite high.

Big thanks must go to the Browns - thanks Phil, Ingy, James and Rose for having us, putting on discos, and teaching us rainy weather games. We had a wonderful time!