Confession and Apology
My apologies to those of you who have been waiting for this post. I know my audience of interested readers is very small but I have actually been asked (and more than once) "When...?". So, I'm sorry. I confess that I have been lazy in not getting on with this task earlier. I must also confess that I've had so much fun playing with testing the camera in my new Galaxy S7 smartphone (it's so nice) that I haven't taken my trusty old companion "7D" everywhere with me. Well, now I've started, and I'll try not to be side-tracked again.
I've been away from home for 3 weeks, but only on campus in Bali for 2 weeks. Why did I take so long to get here? I travelled first to Chiang Mai and then to Singapore before arriving in Bali.
Before I start posting images of my Bali experiences I'll present some from "along the way".
Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok
After the 9 hour flight from Melbourne to Bangkok it was good to get off and stretch my legs as I walked around the huge airport and found the departure lounge for my flight north to Chiang Mai. A toilet is always a welcome sight after a long flight - and here is one in the airport at Bangkok. Yes, I did feel "relief" but I wouldn't go so far as to describe the experience as a "Happy Moment".
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| Happy Moments, anyone? Toilet in Bangkok Airport |
After my "Happy Moment - that wasn't" I thought a small snack would help me pass the time before the next flight. The few food stalls in my area didn't offer anything especially appealing - except a moment's amusement. Dare I describe it as a "Happy Moment"?
The names of some countries can be easily confused. Like "Iceland" and "Ireland". There are no leprechauns in Iceland, and no volcanoes in Ireland. Still, they are easily confused, as are Slovakia and Slovenia for those with little interest in geography
Now for another pair of countries. First Austria.
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| The Coat of Arms of Austria (from Wikipedia) |
That's quite a distinctive Coat of Arms. Now Australia. It should be easy to spot the difference between the 2 Coats of Arms.
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| The Coat of Arms of Australia (Wikipedia) |
Wait a minute, Australia's got Raspberry Torte? No, it's our coat of arms, but why does it say "Austria"?
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| Austria - are these a "few of my favourite things"? No! They are not. |
On closer examination the pastries seemed better to look at than to try, so I just took a picture rather than a bite and went to the departure lounge.
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Here my intention was to "catch up" rather than to get around, even though Chiang Mai is an interesting city to visit. I had come to visit Little, Joe and son "LJ". At the time of my last visit in August 2014 LJ was just a couple of months old. My, how he's grown since then. Our visit in February 2013 was a very special occasion - Judy and I assumed the role of Little's late parents and "walked her down the aisle" at her wedding to Joe.
The 3 stage journey, with waits in transit, had taken about 22 hours. A visit to a Baan Suan Ka Fe, spa-cafe-coffee shop in the hills around Chiang Mai was a definite "Happy Moment". We arrived well before the rush which often sees this place bustling with patrons - good for business but not for visitors and patrons here to enjoy the tranquil surrounds. On the weekends traffic wardens are needed to control trffic arrangements and to manage the parking problem! The health centre is a few meters up the hillslope from the cafe which has a stream flowing through it.
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| Baan Suan Ka Fe in the hills surrounding Chiang Mai. (Image: the business listing and review section of TripAdvisor) |
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| Proceed up the garden path for a range of reinvigorating massages |
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| "First in, best dressed" - or here, first in gets the pick of the lounges. |
Being early has its advantages - no waiting and the pick of the lounges on the verandah where you rest beneath the fans and gaze into the valley as skilled hands massage aching feet, cramping calf muscles and a neck stiff and sore from travel and sleeping in an aircraft seat. Ah, such bliss. It was a pity to move on.
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| This is not the rainforest surrounding the Baan Suan Ka Fe. |
My visit ended just a couple of days before Little's birthday, so it was my "treat" to take the family out for an early birthday dinner. At the Khaomoo-Khaofang restaurant it's like dining in the forest, but under cover. The forest is all around you. It is a most unusual sensation.
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| "Granpa Paul" shows LJ the fish in the pool |
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| Birthday dinner out at Khaomoo-Khaofang |
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| Birthday dinner out at Khaomoo-Khaofang; joined by Little's cousin Jaeng |
This visit to Chiang Mai gave me the chance to renew old friendships. Way back in the early "2000 and something" a young Jirasith Thima stayed at our house before and after joining the international contingent of a youth camp and convention just to the north of Adelaide. I've been fortunate enough to meet Jirasith on each of my 4 trips to Chiang Mai.
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| Time for lunch and a chat. |
I had intended to stay 2 more days in Chiang Mai before travelling on to Denpasar, Bali, but the connecting flight I had booked was cancelled and as the service didn't run daily I was foced to leave Chiang Mai sooner, or reach Bali later than planned. I decided to take a 2-day stopover in Singapore.
Singapore
Singapore's suburbs have an eclectic mix of names and origins - British, Chinese, Malay, Indian and more. I stayed in the "sub-zone" of Lavender, one of the oldest areas of British settlement in the early 1800s.
Next to, and in the shadow of my hotel was a Buddhist Temple. Each time I went past I heard bells ringing, saw flags fluttering and smelt the characteristic odour of incense and prayer sticks. On some occasions there was a good deal of smoke from an outdoor furnace that looked something like a large pizza oven.
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| The large prayer wheel at the temple. On the wall beside it was a poster with instructions - a sort of "follow the numbers" guide to using it. |
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| Colourfully decorated entrance to the temple. |
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| A quick and discrete view of the inside of the temple. |
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| Looking "through" a large piece of sculpture towards the Merlion. |
The day was hot and sticky with overcast, washed-out skies. As Judy would tell me, I'm either concerned that the sky has absolutely no colour, or I'm complaining that the bright sunshine has created dense shadows with too great a contrast range. Sometimes photographers are a picky lot. On this day I didn't have to worry much about shadows. Here are a few images taken around the Bay area.
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| The "Olympic rings" commemorate Singpapore as the host city for the Olympic Youth Summer Games in August 2010. |
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| The Lotus shaped "ArtScience" museum and gallery |
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| A novel window display in the shopping gallery at Marina Bay. As I took this photo a "beauty consultant" approached me and offered me a tiny sachet with a sample of a wonder creme to soften the lines at the corners of my eyes. A sweet lass, bless her! I declined saying that they were the very least of my worries! |
It's not far on the map, but with aching legs on a hot day, the Gardens By The Bay were only just within reach. In 2014 we visited here but had to evacuate the Tropical Rain Forest when the fire alarms sounded. It was a false alarm but didn't have enough time to hang around.
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| The indoor mountain with rain forest and cascading waterfall. |
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| Workmen in harnesses abseil down the walls/roof of the large glasshouse to clean the windows. |
Although the "Rainforest Dome" is impressive, I had really come to see the display in the other glasshouse where it is "always spring". In 2014 the seasonal disply was "In A Persian Garden". This time the flowering orchids were the stars of the show. I'll let the flowers do the talking.
Scattered around the displays were a few sculptures or other art works. This was quite unusual. Occasionally people fondly remember a favourite place and say that when leaving the place "they left a little piece of themselves behind". I don't know if the saying inspired the sculptor. It looks as if this trio left behind quite a lot more than just "a little piece".
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| Winnie the Pooh and his little friend "Roo" enjoy the garden. |
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| One end of the large glass house. |
News broadcasts in Singapore mentioned the clouds of smoke which were drifting across Singapore and Malaysia from the fires of the illegal forest clearers. On my second day In Singapore the smell of smoke was quite pronounced. This was quite clearly an "indoors day". There were no distant views to be had. This is what "The Bay" looked like from the roof of the National Gallery.
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| Smoke from distant fires obscures views in Singapore. |
Paul in Bali
September 2016
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