as we travel

Saw a slogan that said "Australia "IS" what California wants to be....." That about sums it up. It is surf culture, drinking culture, historical culture, kangaroos, wombats and tasmainian devils, they are a proud people and love their Australia!

Someone said to me "you can tell an Australian....but you can't tell an Australian". They will just agree to disagree I guess...and that's ok.  Everyone is friendly and quick with a G-day or a How ya goin?

We started out in Perth at our friends the Cooks who have graciously taken us in and shown us around the town a bit. We then moved to Freemantle (2 days) (Victoria on steroids)...great little city. Now we are down in Margaret River,(think Qualicum only younger and way more hip....) at the Cooks relatives, summer place (thank you Rob & Sharon!) Margaret River is wine country big time and surfing....not a bad combo!

Weather down here has been rough (wind & rain) but we are seeing big surf! Have gone to the Mammoth caves, they are big...and plan to go to the lighthouse (another local historical attraction).
 
Kangaroos are everywhere....think "like deer on vancouver Island". It is odd to pull up here to the cottage and see one bounding away off into the forest. Forests are a lot different here...no pines or firs here. It's more big massive leafy trees and smaller other odd trees and plants....very open through the forest with the soil rocky and sandy. (very beautiful).It would be good for hiking (walkabout) as you don't have to slug through underbrush.
Don't look for a liquor store here...they are "bottle shops". In one we met a young guy (Canadian) from Kelowna...HA! He seemed pretty happy to see and talk to Canadians...he said he was heading home this year as he misses the 4 seasons, likes to ski, plus he would be going home to summer and Shambala. Here right now it is heading into "winter".

Anyway....we wait for the storms to subside so we can grab a board and hit the waves...or in my case hit the sand probably!HA!!

Later mates...
Jon

We loved Malaysia and all of it's variety and color but we are still happy to feel dry for a change.  The weather in Perth is beautiful, although the Aussie's say it's cold.  There is not a single cloud in the sky and the sky is so blue.  Looking out at the ocean it seems huge as there is nothing in sight.  Not like at home where we can see the mainland mountains. 

Our first adventure was to the Aquatic Centre, where we got to see up close all the underwater creatures and plants of Australia.  The next day we ventured off to a wildlife park to see all the land creatures.

We are staying with our good friends here and that makes us feel like we aren't really that far from home.  However, sampling Australian beer and wine, adds an "on the road" flavour to our visit. 

We just spent three nights in the jungle at Taman Negara and two nights in a village at Kampung Cita-Cita.  Today we have arrived in Georgetown Penang.  There is just so much to write about from our last five days that it is going to take us some time to get it all together.  We have already done so much here in Panang that I feel like I need to start here and fill in the blanks from the previous days later.  Although I will be uploading more pictures to flickr and as they say "pictures are worth....." leeches and all! 

We arrived in Georgetown after disemparking from a 40 cent ferry ride.  Can you believe that?  OK, well the ferry wasn't as nice as good ol' BC ferries, but it did the job.  After settling into the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion for some well deserved hot water and air conditioning, we had a quick buffet meal and bagged up our laundry.  Jon has taken to buying shirts in lieu of laundry for the last few days!  We had a chance to rest up before dinner and catch up on email....umm hey, no email from family and friends???  After that we headed off to dinner.  On the way we had a chance to visit an old Christian Cemetery where we visited the grave of Penang's founder Sir Frances Light and the husband of Anna (Thomas Leonowens) in the story of "Anna and the King". We have recently traveled through some of the locations used in the film "Anna and the King" so we will be watching that movie with new eyes in the near future. 

We has some free time after dinner so it was time to down some drinks.  Right next door to the mansion is the Red Dragon night market.  However, it's a night market for drinking and eating, not shopping.  After a couple of buckets of beer we decided to check out the night clubs.  A walk down the night club strip was enough to make us realize we did not want to go to that kind of drinking hole, so we ventured off to something more local.  This type of nightspot was definitely frequented by locals.  When you enter the "market", you pass through the halal side (no pork or alchohol) and saw predominately Muslim patrons.  On the other side where the beer was, it was predominately Chinese and then us.  We took a seat right near the wall that separates the seating for the beer and food vendors and the sea.  Here we could watch the locals pass the time fishing. As always, the walk there and back was an adventure.  I'd say that walking along the streets and crossing them is truly an art form.  If we had come here alone, I would still be standing on the side of the road waiting to cross.  However, we have been truly initiated into the art of street crossing and do it as a pack quite elegantly.

~Heidi

Squat toilets are common here in Malaysia, no seat.  For the guys, well, it's 50% percent easy.  For the gals it's a little more work.  It's a hole in the floor, maybe a couple of raised foot pads, one each side of the hole.  Pretty simple stuff.  There is a tap with a rubber hose beside it, used for rinsing.  Not sure exactly how that works but it became the topic of conversation over beers in the evening.  We freely discussed different techniques and squatting methods.  It would have been helpful to learn from each other sooner.

The toilet on our old converted fishing boat that took us snorkeling was like a small closet.  About maybe 4.5 feet tall by 2.5 feet wide, like a small wooden box.  You fold yourself into it and do your thing.  If the boat is tossing you don't have to worry because you are already crammed into it so no bouncing around.  You get someone to close and latch the door for you and then let you out when done.  Pretty hilarious stuff.  You flush it by throwing a small bucket on a rope over board and then dumping the bucket of sea water into the hole.  We almost lost a group member when he threw the bucket over and it caught water and went under.  He had to hang on tight for that one. He joked later that he felt the boats diesel engine strained under the immense drag load.

~Jon