Turnbull Family Pacific Tour 2015

While visiting Wellington we stayed at a hobby farm, or what they call a "lifestyle block". The kids enjoyed playing with the owners' kids, a boy named Dominique who was a year older than John, and a girl named Celina who was a year younger than Elizabeth. It was great to see them play with soccer balls and skateboards, and interact with the neighbour's dog and cat. Dominique had just purchased a dirt bike, and showed off for us by riding it over the nearby hills and across the stream. They had all the usual animals like chickens and sheep, along with an unusual collection of donkeys, and were just in the process of purchasing a pony for Celina, which was to arrive on the day of our departure. While the kids were all playing together, Catheleen and I chatted with the owners, Roland and Angie. We stayed two nights and both nights we stayed up to tell stories and share some food and drink. Angie is originally from Switzerland, and it was interesting to hear her tales of...

While we're having a good relaxing time on the whole, there are regular annoyances. The beach is the great selling feature of Legian. Otherwise the area is a bit too touristy for us with little to offer in the way of local culture. The hawkers are everywhere we go and a constant irritant. I suppose they get enough business to make their sales approach worthwhile. Sitting on the beach, I am asked to purchase either a watch, sunglasses, hat, ice cream or massage on a rotating basis. I'm pretty sure the same guy who had asked me to purchase a hat an hour ago asked me again. Another guy asked John if he wanted a henna tattoo with a typical sales approach- "Boy! Tattoo?" John laughed afterwards and thought it was odd that the seller thought he would have the money or decision making power for that. The ATMs have been another pain here in Indonesia. It took awhile to catch on, but I learned that the ATMs from the big three banks do not work for me. In fact, one of these ban...

We've been staying in Legian, Bali the last few days. The weather is perfect with sunny days and consistent highs of 28 with lows of 24 Celsius. The kids had two days of surfing lessons, two hours each day. They acquired a lot of rashes and scrapes from their lessons though, so they took a break today to rest and heal up. John's fingertips were scraped up somehow, and when he did his math homework on his iPad later in the day he complained that some blood was streaking his screen - yuck. They might try skipping the lessons tomorrow and we'll just rent the boards. I might try a boogie board - that's more my speed I think. We have been strolling along the beach near sundown the last couple of days. The first time we walked along the long beach we went south and walked through a couple of small streams which were emptying into the sea. After the second stream we noticed a sewage smell. We cleaned our feet after that and started walking the other way. There is definitely ro...

Yesterday was our last day on the island of Java. We had a late flight, so we were able to visit Prambanan, a 9th century Hindu temple compound, on the way to the airport. It contained about six stone temples, all tall pointed towers that we could walk around and into. There were statues in the temples dedicated one way or another to Hinduism's expression of God as the creator Brahma, the preserver Vishnu, or the destroyer Shiva. I understand this temple was built shortly after the Borobudur temple was built, partly as a response to the Borobudur structure. Funny to think that groups were competing in the 9th century on the island of Java to see who could build the most impressive architecture. But I suppose this has been going on in many places for a long time and is still going on today. There were few tourists at the site so we were able to walk around freely and visit each of the temples in turn. The reliefs on the temples were my favourite part since they were artistic...

John started wearing a face mask in Laos when he wasn't feeling well. He said he wanted to "keep the germs away". He has recently focused on the fact the tourists usually pay more for things than locals, and so he wants to get local prices by going undercover. When he explained this to a fellow tourist from Australia I was speaking with, she hinted to John that his hair may still be a giveaway. I see local ladies riding their motorcycles and mopeds completely covered with no skin showing. They'll wear cloth masks, jackets and even coverings for their hands. I'm told lighter skin is a sign of beauty here, and so women are trying to avoid getting a tan. This might explain why I see so few locals on the beach. Maybe they are on to something since too much sun is damaging. I'm always amazed by what I witness everyday on the back of a motorcycle. Everything I could possibly imagine and more is carted around on the back of them. Just yesterday I saw a live pig in a ...

We went to An Bang beach today, and as I arrived I felt immediately at ease. The ocean front was very beautiful with its fine tan coloured sand, refreshing ocean, cool breeze, and views of islands ahead and the skyscrapers of Da Nang in the distance to the north. But what struck me the most is how undeveloped the beachfront was. Besides lounge chairs, sun umbrellas and some really basic looking restaurant buildings made with bamboo and straw façade over correlated sheet metal roofs, there wasn't much else here. I'm sure that will change soon enough but it was a nice change from the usual built up beaches we've visited over the years. As we left the taxi and walked onto the beach we were greeted by someone from one of the nearby beach restaurants who wanted us to use her lounge chairs and sun shades in return for having lunch and drinks from her restaurant. We agreed and spend a good day at the beach. The kids stayed nearly the whole time in the ocean enjoying the waves. On...

Last day pool-side in Koh Samui before we go sailing for a few days. We were told last minute that the sail boat operator wanted cash payment so we needed to rush to find the right combination of bank card and ATM to meet the payment. I really dislike these last minute scrambles but that's travelling for you. John was disappointed when there were no geocaches in the area, so I convinced him to place his own geocache for others to find. He needed some help but he found a container, hiding place, and learned how to log the information on the geocache site. Elizabeth was the first person to test out finding the cache, and managed to locate it with some hints. We went back to the same resort yet again for more time by the pool and the sea. I do like floating in a warm ocean, which I've been able to do the last few days. I think most people these days would rather use the pool at the resort overlooking the ocean with a drink in hand. I like that too but there's a peaceful pleasu...

We all slept in late this morning after a long travel day yesterday. I woke up to find the kids trying to manage an adolescent grey tabby that tried desperately to enter our condo. This was the same cat that visited us last evening and did make it into our living room briefly before I laid down the law - the cat stays outside and no feeding him. The kids seemed to comply, at least when I'm around. Perhaps it was the couches, cushions and indoor-meets-outdoor feel that lured us in, but we did enjoy the Fisherman's House restaurant on the tourist strip. They made great banana pancakes, which seems to be a favourite here, and the coffee menu ran on for pages. We'll be back. I noticed a small sign at the restaurant that said "You look even more beautiful when you smile." I think that sums up the tone here in this tourist haven. People from around the world come here, partly I'm sure because the locals are genuinely friendly and accommodating. The only thing left ...

If you like looking at trees, mountains, and the ocean then Vancouver Island is a good place to go. Besides the logging industry, it does seem to run at a slower pace, at least around where we are staying near Ladysmith . Our hosts Barb and Jim kept us busy today as we travelled along logging roads with trips to old growth forests along the way to  Port Renfrew .  There we spent the afternoon climbing along the rocky shoreline, peering in tidal pools looking for unusual sea life on an ebbing tide. We did see some brightly coloured sea urchins and anemones. Jim was a good source of info since he's from the area. He was kind enough to point out the edible berries along the way which were new to us - salmon berries and huckleberries. We also drove along a dry riverbed. I understand that there was so little snow last winter and rain this spring that the rivers and creeks are running very low. It will be hard going for the salmon this year as they try to make their way up th...