First day in Bali and Kim's 11th

My first impression of Bali was not the best... Kim was sick as soon as we got off the plane (nausea and vomiting), luggage porters took advantage of the situation to force us into using their (useless) services, we got robbed on the US $ currency exchange at the airport and then we were harrassed by taxi drivers for the ride to Sanur. The usual unpleasantness of holidaying in hyper touristic and cheap countries. On the way, the traffic was horrendous (as expected), the taxi driver complaining about it and trying to sell his services for the following days (as expected) and the number of tourist boutiques selling wood carving, statues (for the temples and hotels), sarongs, jewelry and other trinkets just unbelievable.

Sanur is made up of 2 parallel streets along a lazy beach jammed packed with hotels, guest houses and tourist boutiques... But also small, private temples are everywhere and luxuriant vegetation springs out of any gap in the buildings. When we finally got to our guest house (The Flashback's) we just wanted to hang out there, protected from the aggressive tourist business, in a little heaven of greenery and architectural beauty.

On our second day in Bali (24 Nov), we headed for the Orchid Garden which was nice although a bit dried up... not the right season for those water loving plants.

Then, a little visit to the markets of the capital city Denpensar. Starting with the bird market (Pasar Burung).

followed by the fruit & fish market (Pasar Badung)

and finally the textile market (Pasar Kumbasari. It was an interesting walk in heavy heat, strong smells and bright colours. The girls bargained some very yummy lollies (Rp 50,000 for 500 gr; a deal?) and we found a local bakery for Kim's birthday cake that looked quite the part but didn't taste anything like the real thing.

On the way, we spotted a little French soccer supporter with a Ribery shirt!

Finally, the big day for Kim who was able to start using her much loved IPod touch and enjoy an exotic birthday at the Flasback's air conditioned retaurant (The Porch) with all her favourites: nachos & coca-cola.

Stop-over in Sydney

An evening in Sydney just enough for a stroll in the fantastic aquarium (Sea Life) and a walk around the Rock to the Opera House... Lot's of people around Darling Harbour in their best attire, readying themselves for a dinner cruise. A bit of a shock after empty Nuku Alofa also due to a gloomy overcast sky and 18 c. only!

Still, a day to remember for Kim who got her birthday present at the Sydney Airport duty free : the Ipod Touch of her dreams... :-)

Bye Tonga... Hello Sydney

21 Nov, our last full day in Tonga... We took a day trip to paradise island Fafa; under german management so all eco-proper but still "traditional" Tongan. All staff was from Fidji where they understand demanding tourists. We thoroughly enjoyed what the isalnd had to offer out of the water, in the water and under...

Spot the 2 clown fish!

For our last night we stayed at Selita's BB and as we were her first customers we were treated like royalty. We also treated ourselves to a beautiful meal at the select Water Front restaurant.

Just enough time to go to the market for a few more gorgeous Tapa cloths, before flying out to Sydney on our fourth plane of the holidays.

Tonga - Eua Island

To get to Eua, 40 Kms away from TongaTapu the ferry seemed the best/cheapest option. OMG what a ride! Both girls were sea-sick as hell and I was scared to death... Benoit chose the wise option and slept (or tried to sleep) through the entire ordeal. But it was all worth it. On our first day, a Sunday, we went to the local church at Ohonua to listen to the powerful choir sing and to watch all the locals in their best "Sunday clothes", a mix of traditional and colourful contemporary...

We walked back to our very basic accomodation at The Hideaway through beautiful landscapes, surrounded by monarch butterflies and gorgeous king fisher birds.

After church we took an "un-guided" tour into Eua National Park; not a good idea as we got lost and didn't see much except for a huge Banyan tree and overgrown paths... The girls were brave little soldiers; well done.

Our second day was the inevitable 4WD touyr of the Island with Henry, our friendly Tongan guide. I managed a quick walk to the beach 10 minutes away at Tufuvai village, before the tour.

The tour was perfect and we were super lucky to spot a turtle and to see wild horses at the Southern tip of the island (Liangahu o a Maui) and also a beautiful Tala bird very close up... not to mention fregates and black gannets.

On the way, Henry explain all about tapa cloth making and we were able to see locals preaparing huge pieces for a newly built church at Honuma (in the North).

To end the day, a very safe snorkel in a large rock pool at Ha aluma Beach.

Our last morning at Eua is spent at the Tufuvai beach, playing in the water and the rock pools, collecting shells and building a hutt.

The girls had a busy afternoon with a traditional weaving "class" for Kim and an hour of horse riding for Lilou (on a "horse with no name", a in the song).

And... just in case you wondered; NO we didn't take the ferry back but a little plane that smoothly and safely landed us back in Nuku Alofa in 10 minutes...

Bye NZ... Hello Tonga

Early start for our holidays leaving our friend's (Ben & Seb) at dawn (4:30 am) to stumbled into Gollum at the Wellington airport, Lilou's greatest nightmare...

We're all a bit down, Lilou with a tummy bug, Val with stomach burns, Kim with a bad cold/blocked ears and Ben with an aching back... All symtoms of our attachment to NZ and the stress of leaving that great chapter of our lives behind (maybe to be re-opened)... But at 12:30 bang on time were're in Nuku'Alofa, Tonga... No pick-up, Ben calls to find out that our taxi had a "flat tyre", yeah right. Va'a, an ex-international rugby player (No 8)takes us to his gastly and ghostly "resort" that looks like it's been abandonned for years (the Good Samaritain). We refused to stay there, so he kindly took us to three other resorts before we opted for the very nice (and rather expensive) The Vakaloa at Kanakupolu... The hilight of the day was Ben spotting a humpback whale & calf from the dining table, about 400 meters from the shore. Our second day in Tonga was much better, we started to relax, rented a car and toured the island to see the Houma Blow Holes (pict), Captain Cook's landing site, the Trilithon stone arch (first jewelery shopping for the girls), Oholei beach, the Anahulu cave and Abel Tasman's landing site.

Sorry no time for more..

Chamboulements pre-départ

Depuis un mois, le rythme des préparatifs s'accélère... Vente des meubles sur TradeMe; avec pas moins de 74 annonces $1.5 à plus de $400! Il faut prendre les photos, rédiger et publier les annonces en ligne, surveiller les enchères et, plus difficile, convenir du mode de règlement et du moment du pick-up. Quasiment un job à temps plein. En parallèle c'est le gros rangement pour vider les meubles que nous vendons; ci-dessous les filles en train de trier leur montagne de dessins et autres oeuvres d'importance. Puis, cela a été le tour des jouets, de la papeterie, des vêtements, des livres, des DVDs, des coquillages...

Plus agréable mais non moins prenant, la préparation des vacances... Nous avons nos billets pour Tonga (7 jours), Sydney (1 jour), Bali (12 jours), Bornéo (12 jours) puis Paris et même jusqu'au TGV pour Le Mans. Le jeu est de surfer le net et de lire les guides pour planifier les activités, réserver les "Guest houses" et s'enquérir des moyens de transport; bref un véritable travail de logisticien. C'est quasi fait sauf quelques confirmations sur Bornéo... Enfin il faut préparer les valises, essayer maillots, masques et palmes... comme Benoît ci-dessous...

Mais, entre deux cartons et une réservation de voiture à Bali la vie continue. Nous avons vu Alex et Hugo à Porirua pour le "Cook Islands Celebration day" fin Septembre, puis Antoine nous a rejoint et m'a fait un énorme plaisir avec croissants maison et tarte au chocolat pour mon anniversaire; c'est pas tous les jours qu'on a un boulanger-pâtissier à demeure! Les filles continuent l'école jusqu'au 9 Novembre et participent avec toujours autant d'enthousiasme aux activités (ici de la danse Irlandaise Céili, dans la cours). Prochaine grosse étape dire au revoir aux amis.