Its full of stars

We had not planned on doing anything today apart from chill by the hut and wander down to the beach. It's our last day so we were going to make the most of a chance to relax before travelling tomorrow.
At around 10am we suddenly had the urge for a little final adventuring and so booked a car to take us to the north of the island. We had heard tell of a beach that was full of starfish. Its a local wonder and is imaginatively called "starfish beach". With all the development that is planed for Phu Quoc in the next few years we guessed that starfish beach wont have any starfish much longer so we had better see it while it still does.  The car arived at 1130 and to our surprise it was Mr Bronchitis,  the guy that had originally picked us up from the airport on our arrival. Amidst coughing bouts we set off to the fabled beach. It was  a long drive along unmade roads as there is not much infrastructure in the north of the island. After bouncing and rattling along for about an hour over unmade roads we arrived at a small parking lot that was busy with taxi, minibus and scooter. The driver set up his hammock and we set off down the path. We walked onto the beach and to our total surprise it was stunning. Powder white sands, calm blue water and verdant green palm trees. A true picture of tropical splendour.  Its always a worry  when places are hyped up that it will be a dissappointment, they usually are, but this place was spectacular. We found a quiet spot under a palm tree amd got settled. There were people there but not so many as to call it busy or make it feel commercial in any way. A few shack restaurant lined the beach but not much else. Crispy was in the water like a rat down a drain in search of the fabled starfish. It wasnt long before she found them. They were everywhere and it was difficult to walk in the shallow water without standing on them. Bright red stars, hundreds of them, covered the sea bed. It was amazing. We walked among them wondering why they all seemed to congregate on this particular beach. We had not seen any on the other beaches we had been on. I must ask the google for an answer when we get home. After we had had our fill of the bright red wonders we made our way further down the beach to some fishing nets set out in the shallows and had lunch under a palm leaf shade on childrens plastic furniture. I dont quite get this anomaly,  all the beach restaurants use childrens brightly coloured plastic tables and chairs.  They are uncomfortable and make you feel like you are back in primary school waiting for storytime.
Its bizarre to see 6 foot russian guys crumpled up with their knees under their chins trying to eat their noodles while sat in a bright red childrens chairs.
Lunch was gorgeous. We have not had a single bad meal since being here. We are definitely fans of Vietnamese cuisine in all its varied forms.
With exception perhaps of snake, frog, cat and dog ( to be honest we have not seen any cat or dog other than the furry running about pet variety).
After lunch we had a swim and saunter around before heading back to the car. Our driver was fsst asleep in the shade, peaceful in his hammock. It seemed a shame to wake him but there were other wonders in store before we headed back to the hut. Back in the car and again off down unmade roads to the widely advertised "forest walk". Its a path through native forest and jungle. The driver pulled over and pointed to a small jungle trail in the middle of nowhere. His English being as good as our Vietnamese our instruction was scarce other than "go, come back".
Obediently we set off through the jungle headed god knows where. We expected the path to lead to a viewpoint, glorious waterfall or ther natural wonder but after 30 minutes trudging through jungle all we could see was the path weaving deeper into the foliage. We gave up and turned around. It seems there is no natural wonder other than the single path
going nowhere in particular for no reason in particular. It was a bit like the fish sauce factory in so much as on an island with not many "attractions" they are clutching at straws to create some for the hoards of expected tourists. The strange thing is that they dont need "attractions" as the beauty and charm of the island is more than enough to keep people enchanted. From there we visited a temple. A glorious chinese pagoda set amongst spectacular walled gardens. We struggled to discover to which diety the temple served as it was unlike any we had seen before. It was unusual as it was curiously martial in its layout. Carvings of warriors and a definite sharp pointy weapon theme going on.
After a little mooching around we found an information board that filled us in on the detail. It wasnt a temple at all but a shrine to some Vietnamese warrior who in the early 1800's kicked the shit out of some french invaders and burnt a warship called the "Esperance". I was immediately a fan of this guy and doffed my flat cap to his memory.
From here there was a short ride back to the hut after a quick stop to look at Cambodia from a viewpoint on the most northern point of the Island.
Its only 4km from here to Cambodia so at a push with armbands and a packed lunch you could probrably swim it.
Back at the hut we showered and readied ourselves for a quiet meal to celebrate our time in Nam. It did not go exactly to plan. It seemed news of our intended departure in the morning had spread and everyone at the huts wanted to be our friend. People with whom thus far had been happy with a cordial "good morning" or "hello" joined us at our table and a messy night of international bonding took place. Summer, the owner of the huts, whispered in our ear that all drinks tonight were free for Crispy and me as we were great people and neither her or the staff wanted us to go. At 11pm it was getting noisy and raucous as Ferdinanee, Oliver, Sophie and Jill imbibed more and more Gin and cocktails. We decided to make our escape while international relations were still on good terms and no one at this point had mentioned Brexit. As we were leaving a young English girl, who had been in bed till this point, appeared and asked if anyone was good with scorpion. It seems she had one in her room. I was just about to go to her rescue and remove the offending critter when Oliver jumped up like a latter day Sir Lancelot and sped to the young ladies aid. We went to bed.
In the morning we go to the airport to fly back to Ho Chi Min before once again returning to Singapore for the long overnight flight home to Crispy HQ.

Bare and Crispy signing off, the hut, Phu Quoc, Vietnam.......

The beach

Last night we decided it was time to see a little more of the Island. As there is no public transport here and the taxi are relatively expensive we booked an organised tour. We are not really fans of the excursion thing but here we have not much choice if we want a look around. We decided on the southern islands boat and snorkling trip, the trip promised cultural highlights such as the pearl factory, bee farm, island tour in a "speed boat" and the highlight of the tour the fish sauce factory. We were so excited we couldn't contain ourselves with expectation.
At 08:30 a mini bus arrived and a smiley young man introduced himself as Henry. Our tour guide.  We were the first pick up and climbed aboard the bus.
We set off and called at a couple of hotels in the city to collect our travelling companions for the day.. Nothing like our huts these were very nice hotels in Duan Dong. The tourist resort of the island approximately 7 km from Ong Lang where we were staying. Phu Quoc is in that intermediate stage between being relatively original and a full on tourist destination. In Duan Dong there are nice hotels but they are in what is essentially a working rural town so you get a nice hotel built down an unmade side road next to a recycling shed or woodyard. Every other building close by is trying to convert from shop, butcher, laundry to restaurant or bar to cater to the wants of the tourist. I know this is commerce and development but I do find it a tad sad.
We picked up three other couples. A young Vietnamese couple on holiday from central Viet Nam. A couple of French Canadians, who were on the last leg of a Vietnamese tour, and a couple from Hungary.
The Canadians were using the excursion as a cheap way to get to the Islands for their final few days and would not be with us after the harbour.
They were taking a "slow boat" and we were on a "speed boat". It was at this point Crispy started to worry about the "speed" aspect of the trip.
The first point of call was the pearl factory. There is always a couple of stops on these excursions where they show you something original for 5 minutes and then spend an hour trying to get you to part with you're hard earned cash buying something you dont really want or could possibly need. In North africa its rugs, in Malaysia wood carvings and India everything from statues to elephants. This however was different. The pearl farm shows how they culture pearls. They take a young oyster and impregnate it with a nucleus made from oyster shell. A small incision is made inside the oyster in a very particular way and the nucleus along with donor membrane from another oyster is carefully inserted. A small dose of antibiotic and it is job done. 2 years back in the sea and you have a cultured pearl. Obviously the longer you leave it in the sea the bigger the pearl will be. After the tour of the rest of the factory you are hearded upstairs to the showroom to buy said pearls. The nice thing was there was absolutely no pressure to buy anything. Crispy bought something.
From there we headed to the harbour to catch the boat. We parted company from the Canadians who went off to catch the "slow boat" and we boarded our's. It was a big sleek speed boat and the size of the engine showed that it meant buisness. All on board we chugged out of the harbour before the driver opened it up and we shot out into the South China Sea. It was insane the speed it went and we were airbourne as much as in the water as it bounced over the waves. Crispy, although now great on boats, is not a huge fan of speed. Her face was a grimace with dilated pupil and clenched teeth as we shot over the water. I though she had learned vietnamese as the noises she was making could not be deciphered as English. This persisted for around 30 minutes till we arrived at the first of four islands. Even Crispy agreed the journey wad worth it as we pulled into a lagoon on a spectacularly gorgeous island paradise. The beach was like something from a movie. Crystal clear waters and talcum powder sands. We swam and walked around for a while before again boarding the boat to the next island and lunch.
Lunch was included in the price so I didn't expect anything amazing.
Wrong again. This trip was getting better by the second. After another whirlwind crossing we pulled into what essentially was a fishermans trading post. They had set tables under bamboo covers at the edge of another stunning beach. There were tourists on trips but mostly fishermen sorting catches, chiling and getting boats ready. On the way across in the middle of  the sea the boat had stopped as there was someone in the water. It turned out to be a spearfisherman and he climbed aboard the boat and handed the driver his catch of huge grouper before jumping back in the sea and disappearing from view.
The food on the island was amazing. Sea food noodle. Grilled shrimp, rice, veg, chicken (kfc style) and clams. The clams were the best we have ever had. A couple of beers a swim in the sea and then back on the boat to the next island for snorkeling.  At the previous islands the boat stops just off the beach so its a waist high paddle through the surf. Here the boat anchored fifty yard from the shore over a coral reef. Crispy is not a fan of deep water so stayed on the boat while I jumped off and snorkeled over the reef. It was at most 20 feet deep but the coral in places formed underwater mounds that almost broke the surface. It was nice to be able to swim between them and explore the coral reef. I am always wary of caves and dark places underwater as the imagination runs wild as to what creatures of the deep may be lurking in wait in them. As much as reason and logic should prevail there is always a primal fear that something big and bitey is going to spring out and take your leg for lunch. I remember nearly drowning in Bulgaria. I was swimming down to the mouth of a small cave when suddenly a large fish swam out in front of my mask. Instinct took over and I shouted in surprise. Being ten feet underwater shouting is not a good idea and I spat my snorkel out and tried to breath sea water. It frightened me and I have been wary since.
The people on the beach must have seen me splashing about like a maniac when I broke the surface and I tried to look calm and collected when I got back to the shore. Probrably mot very convincingly.
It turned out there was nothing  more scary than multi coloured fish amongst the reef and I returned to the boat intact.
Another semi airbourne jaunt across the bay saw us just off shore for a spot of fishing. We used hand reels for small grouper and Crispy won hands down.  6 nice sized grouper to my one ugly spikey brown bottom dweller. I dont know what it was but you wouldnt want to eat it.
After that it was back to the harbour and once again on the coach.
Now was the advertised highlight of the tip. The fish sauce factory.
It seems Phu Quoc is the centre of the universe in Viet Nam when it comes to this culinary staple. Nothing is cooked here without it being added. To the average Vietnamese this place is Nirvana. A fishy mecca that people come from all over to  marvel at its wonders. We didn't know quite what to expect. Maybe fish themed fun fair rides. Anchovy centered shows. No. It was a pair of open garage doors in a small car park where you could gaze longingly inside at the huge red painted vats of fermenting fish and revel in the overwhelming fishy aroma. It stunk to high heaven. A young lady in a bright red uniform offered a sample taste
of the powerful elixir whist recanting a 30 second dialogue of how it is made. Basically put a load of fish, salt and water in a big wooden bucket and leave it for 6 months. It seems there is a "secret" ingredient but it is  very closely guarded and known only to the few. We wont lose sleep pondering what it could be. The entire visit took less than 5 minutes and we can't say it was the highlight of the trip.
From there we visited a bee farm to see some bees. Crispy was a little anxious that we were going to be stung to death but it turns out that the bees are Italian and very friendly. Being Italian I asked the young guy showing us round how the bees understood Vietnamese but the joke was lost on him.
This being the last "attraction" we boarded the bus and headed back to the hut. All in all it was a brilliant day and by far the best "tour" we have ever been on.
After dinner we turned in for an early night. We have been playing cards to pass the evenings by the hut. Crispy must be the world champion at 7 card brag. No matter how I try I cant beat her, I think she must have an extra pack of cards up her knicker leg. There is a scene in the deer hunter movie where they are playing Russian roulette in a Vietnamese opium den for money. If  I can find a similar thing here with seven card brag we will be onto a winner..

We have a squatter in our hut. A large foot long lizard with purple spots that lives over the bed. It is a living bug control unit and as such is welcome to stay so long as it stays on the walls and not in the bed.
I think we will call it "Larry".

Bare and Crispy signing off, the hut, Ong Lang

In the night market

Another uneventful day spent at the hut and beach. Its nice just to chill and Crispy is in her element. The sea is like a bath. Its only ever been southern Asia that we have been able to walk into the sea without the deep breathing and tantric chanting that normally accompanies sea water immersion. Here it is a perfect temperature. The water is crystal clear and a smooth sandy bottom that stays shallow for at least 100 yards. We haven't been any further out than that as there are lots of things that want to bite, sting or eat you here.
The government has not kept or published shark attack statistics since 2010. In 2009 there were 79 confirmed "significant" attacks.
(2010 is around he year mass tourism started)
The South China Sea contains a large population of shark due to the water temperature never falling below 20 degrees. The government states that most of these are now very friendly and dont like to eat tourists which is very reassuring. There is probrably some science around this as sharks, we are told, dont like shallow water or noisy areas.
The biggest waterbourne threat here are jellyfish. Particularly box jellyfish. They are lethal to humans and happily drift all over this region.
These it seems are not averse to noisy tourists. We came across these in Malaysia and although we didn't see any live ones there were a few washed up on the beach where we stayed. In fact the day begore we arrived in Malaysia a European woman had died from box on our beach.
I find these more scary than things with teeth as they are virtually invisible in the water. Plus it would be a very brave shark to take on Crispy.
After a day on the beach we headed back for showers and arranged a taxi to the night markets. They are a good way away as we are staying "out in the sticks". We have been to night markets in various places. Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and they are always a great experience. Plus they are the best places to try the local delicacies. They are always a noisy feverish affair. Hundreds of locals and tourists in a chaotic crush amongst stalls selling everything from live food to tourist tat.
This was no different. We sauntered around stopping for the occasional beer (crispy found a bar doing Mojito so was well impressed). The choice of foods is mindblowing and includes everything imaginable. Stalls specialising in water snakes and frogs. Meats that I have no idea where they came from. Ice cream rolls and of course noodle dishes.
We decided on seafood and found a stall that seemed busy. We never go to the places that look nicest but always head for the buisiest. That way there is a good chance that food is used quickly and cooked fresh.
This was definitely fresh as most of it was still crawling around our swimming about in a tank. There is something reassuring about being introduced to your dinner before eating it. I chose some large shrimp and after a quick hello waved them goodbye as they were carried away to the barbie. When we next met a few minutes later they were less mobile but tasted wonderful in a chilli sauce. Crispy had vegetable fried rice as shes not keen on seafood at the best of times especially when you have been on first name terms.
The most bizarre foods on sale where poisonous water snake. A real delicacy I believe and one I would like to try whole we are here. These are in seperate sealed tanks and are very aggresive. No surprise really as they most likely realise that they are not the star attraction in a zoo but the next potential main course.
Crispy quickly dropped back into shopping mode and it was a struggle to drag here away before she could buy up all the tourist tat.
Back to the hut with just enough time for a cheeky beer before bed.

Bare and Crispy signing off from the night market, phu Quoc.

Got some interweb

Just managed to get some interweb connection.
Heres the pics from the previous posts

Ong lang beach

Slept really really well. We are planning to spend the next few days relaxing by the hut and on the beach. We have no real schedule whilst we are here as its just a stopover to break the flights back to Blighty. We may go to the night markets and have a look around the island but its difficult without public transport. We plan to spend a couple of months travelling around Viet Nam, Cambodia and Laos in the not to distant future so its nice just to kick back and relax..
The foods good, the beers cheap, the sea is warm and we are staying in a really cool place so theres not much need to mooch around. There is jungle to the north of us with jungle trails and Crispy loves a bit of jungle exploring . We may head on up there at some point. We will see how the wind blows.
What is interesting is that all the youngsters talk about the Vietnamese being forgiving people in respect of America during the Viet Nam war.
They see America as Aggressor's who invaded their country. I am no expert on the subject but as I understood it the Americans came to liberate the south from communist suppression by the north. Makes you wonder what is being taught in schools. Still what do I know.
The other thing is that Viet Nam was once a french colony and there are lots of french here. I guess everywhere has its downside (The small case f's were deliberate).

Other than that not much to report from Nam at the moment.

Bare and Crispy Signing off, Phu Quoq, Viet Nam.

Goooooooood morning Viet Nam

Saturday was spent on the beach with all the family swimming in the south pacific. Omaha is not a regular surf beach but today someone forgot to remind the ocean of this fact. It was a glorious day and the sea was blue and calm. Right upto the  point that we got in it. The rollers came in snd sneaked up on us. Sploosh, caught off guard the waves hit the girls like a tsunami. There were legs, tits and bare arses everywhere as the girls were tumbled in the surf. The rest of the beach was calm yet our small area looked like a shipwreck. I wish I had the photos.
(Talking of which the eyepod is once again upto its old tricks and is refusing to publish photos on the blob.
That coupled with the fact that we are now in Viet Nam and the wifi is solar powered. As soon as I get good access to the interweb I will try and post the pics. Till then use your imagination.)
After the beach the rest of Locwoods family turned up and we spent a good few hours eating, playing games and getting to know each other better. The Snapper went down very well I am pleased to say and there was no more gut squeezing kina. James you know what I mean and I will say no more.....
As soon as the bbq was over the boys set to like an army and within ten minutes the house was spick and span. They can come to our parties anytime they like.
The next morning we set off back to Lynn's in preparation for our flights back to Singapore, Ho chi Min and finaly Phu Quoq.
We said our goodbyes and Lynn ran us to the airport. Its never sad as we know it wont be long before we meet up again.
The flight was due to leave Auckland at 0125 but due to a problem with the luggage loader the airport closed before we could take off. It seems Auckland international airport closes between 2 and 4am. As we were still on the runway they turned the airport lights off. Picked up their buttie boxes and went home. The captain turned off the engine put his feet on the dash and we all settled down for a three hour delay. It seems its a regular occurance. Auckland get your act together. Its 2019 and youre a busy international airport.
At 4am the lights came on and we set of for Singapore. The delay in itself wasn't a problem but we had a tight connecting flight to Ho Chi Min and another to Phu Quoc. If we missed the connection there was no other flight to the island for 24 hours. We would have to try to find accomodation in Ho Chi Min which would not have been the end of the world but not ideal after 15 hours traveling. As it stood we would have an 18 minute window at Singapore to get across 2 terminals and catch our planned flight to Ho Chi Min (I'm getting  fed up of typing Ho Chi Min so from now on I shall refer to it by its old nsme, Saigon). I had a chat with Poon the cabin manager and he suggested that prior to landing we move to first class to fascilitate a quick getaway. It was very nice. Crispy loved it and looked the part in her private compartment. We even got champagne as it was her birthday. The posh people in first class looked miffed that the poor people from stowage were gate crashing their party.
As soon as the plane landed and pulled into the terminal we were off like the proverbial shit off a stick. A quick dash across the airport saw us safely esconsed on our connecting flight to Saigon. The airline had held the flight for us till we got there so hats off to Singapore airlines.
We arrived in Saigon with a couple of hours to spare which was great as we had no boarding cards plus the airport domestic terminal was manic. I have never seen so many people. It was like a match day at the reebok (macron, whatever it is called now) on a match day when they used to have fans. Onto the flight and 40 minutes later we were in Phu Quoq.
I had arranged for the place we are staying to pick us up from the airport as there is no public transport on the island and the place is hard to find.
As promised we were met outside the terminal by a guy with a placard.
He spoke no English but as none was needed we jumped into his little silver car and were off.  The guy must have been a heavy smoker as there was a continual concert of coughing, snurtching and growling interspaced with enthusiastic and imaginative nose picking for the entire 30 minute ride.
He proceeded along a small road lined with small garages engine shops food stalls and shops before going off grid down small country roads.
The place we are staying is definitely backpacker standard. A collection of thatched cottages around a central pool area and gardens. Its by no means luxury but perfect for our needs. We are on the edge of jungle and the only sounds are various forms of wildlife. The little rooms are clean, comfy with an en suite outdoor bathroom. Crispy only has 2 stipulations when travelling and that is a clean toilet and clean bed. This has both so its a winner. There is no air con but a big ceiling fan and mosquito nets. Its like sleeping in a tent and works wonderfully well.
There is a communal area for food, which is really tasty, and alcohol which is Really cheap. Perfect.
About the money. At present a beer costs 20000 Viet Dong. A meal aroud 60000 Viet Dong.  The exchange rate is 29798.00 VD to the pound.
So its cheap as chips except they dont know what chips are.
Tomorrow we are going to the beach

Bare and Crispy signing off, a fruit farm in Phu Quoc

Gone fishing

Friday after the wedding everyone was a tad exhausted. James and I had decided we would head north to the bay of islands and try to catch some snapper for the bbq on saturday.  Locwoods family are coming to the beach house on saturday. Its a kiwi bbq and as such everyone brings something to the feast. We though fresh snapper would be good.
Its a 3 hour frive north to the bay but its one of the best fishing grounds.
We were booked on a snapper boat at 1330 and arrived just in time as the roads were shocking. Apart from the main motorway around Auckland they are all A roads and as in the UK they do the roadworks at the busiest times. As it turns out the boat was 15 minutes late arriving at the quay
So it wasn't a problem. The boat takes a maximum of eight people and there were seven of us on it. A very loud American from colorado who was constantly reminding us all of his name. It was something like Quinoa but I cant remember it.  Four kiwi and us. He was even more annoying because he caught the most fish. Both James and I kept looking at each other and it didn't take words to know that we were both thinking the same thing that we were hoping the shite would fall in. The rest of us were blanking and the Kiwi's started kicking off. The sea was too rough, too smooth, the tide was wrong, it was too sunny, too cloudy. Eventually they all agreed that it was definitely the skippers fault that we there were no fish. It was bubbling towards mutiny when James eventually broke the deadlock by catching a beautiful big snapper. Bigger than any of our colonial friends fish so far. We looked at other approvingly and knew without words it was UK one, America nil. The Kiwi's were about to turn their angling frustrations onto us when we all started to catch. We had hit the motherload and the snapper came in thick and fast. The Kiwi's now agreed with each other that it was a perfect day for fishing and the skipper was "good as".
6 hours later we pulled back into the quay and set off back to Leigh with our "chiller" stocked with snapper. We drove back knowing we had done good and provided the feast. We were the ultimate hunter gatherers and the girls would be stood outside "calling" us home as hero's.
As it turns out they had gone to the pub, but did bring us pizza.

Marena, the wedding

Its the wedding day and all systems are go. The wedding is at 2pm so the girls are busy with hair, makeup and nails. All the neccessary preperations to make the day special. Being male it is all a mystery to me so James and I took ourselves away for a walk along the beach.
Its a long sweeping expanse of sand with sporadic Tiki,s spaced along the foreshore. Keeping a close eye on the clock we wandered a while and made our way back to the house. Things were in full swing so the boys kept out of the way until it was time to go to the venue. In truth it was very calm and sedate. Kiwi,s as a rule are pretty laid back and theres not much rush in them.
The wedding was perfect. Beautiful location, perfect weather. Great people.
Everyone was very friendly and welcoming. Locwoods family is large and greatly outnumbered the small UK contingent but It was nice to finally meet all the people that we have heard Lynn, Anna and Locwood talk so much about.
Anna was the perfect bride and Locwood the dashing groom in his Maori cloak and adidas trainers.
A very pleasent  evening was spent talking and meeting people. Crispy was in her element.  Some of Locwoods family had been diving and caught crayfish, paua and kina for a seafood table. We have had crayfish and paua before and both are really good. The kina is a different story. It is sea urchin and a Maori delicacy. It is the yellow tongues from inside the hard black shell. It looks bad and tastes interesting. Cold, slimy and very fishy. Not my favourite delicacy by any stretch of the imagination.
As if this wasn't enough we were warned only to eat a little as it would cause a runny bottom and horrendous offensive farts. My advice guys is to give it up and stick to chip shop fish.. You know it makes sense and there really is no need to eat that stuff if other less hazardous options are available.

After dinner, which was excellent, came the speeches and Lynn delivered her speech in Maori which was very much appreciated by Locwoods family. After the speeches came the Haka. It went quiet and a group of guys, including Locwoods brothers and father, approached the top table and called him out. They then gave a very aggresive haka warning Locwood not to disrespect his new wife or family. It was quite chilling to watch and you could feel the energy and passion.  Again it was a priveledge to be able to  witness this very special occasion. I didn't know but there are numerous haka for different situations. Its not all about rugby it seems.

After the haka things resumed to normal and a great evening was spent in the company of our new extended family. Tomorrow James and I are heading 3 hours north to the bay of islands to try and catch some red snapper for the bbq on saturday. I hope we catch because I have a sneaky feeling that kina is going to be on the menu......

Bare and Crispy, Omaha beach, NZ

Sunny Leigh by the sea

The morning was spent preparing for the journey to the beach. We left Lynn's and went to meet Anna and Katy at their house in Papakura. The little car was packed to capacity. Everything anyone could possibly need from food to flippers was carefully stowed into the back, sides and front of the little black car. Crispy is a natural packer and will easily defy  the laws of physics, mass and math when fitting the infinite amount of shite into a finite area of space. There was just enough room for the human cargo as long as no one needed to move or breath.
Anna, Katy, Locwood and Alec (Katy,s boyfriend) all share a new build house on a new estate just outside Papakura. Its a lovely house and suits their needs perfectly.
The one thing that has struck us on this visit is the amount of building and development that is going on. Its massive and taking place on a monumental scale. We first visited NZ 20 years ago and the change is really quite startling. Auckland feels like it has tripled its size over that time and its busy.
We got to the house, rearranged the cargo into several vehicles and set off for Leigh. 2 hours later we arrived. Its beautiful. We are staying in a big new build beachfront house on the Omaha penninsula just 5 minutes from the wedding venue. Everyone met for the wedding rehersal before going back to the house for a Barbie. A very nice evening was spent catching up with friends and family. As I mentioned before this is the first time that all the family has been together in NZ at the same time and its lovely. We have all got here by different routes. Crispy and me via Singapore. David and Lisa via Australia after several days visiting Lisa's family in the outback. Emma and James after several weeks touring North Island. Everyone swapped their tales of daring do and adventure whilst imbibing various forms of alcohol. Lynn and I sat up to the wee hours drinking Southern Comfort and chatting shite. We are good at that and covered every subject from family to Religion. I do enjoy our erudite discourses.
The wedding is at 2pm tomorrow so not too sure what the morning will hold but I'm sure we will think of something.
James and I have booked onto a snapper fishing trip on Friday 2 hours up the coast at a port called Russel so I am really looking forward to that. Hopefully we will catch the fish course for the BBQ on saturday...

Bare and Crispy signing off, Leigh, NZ

You can see from the pics the startling similarity between Leigh NZ and Leigh Lancashire.  Its spooky........

Tauranga

Up nice and early. Today we needed to do a little shopping for some supplies to see us through our time at the beach house in Leigh.
We had a quick sojourn into Pukey upy (Its actually called Pukehoe but I think pukey upy sounds better.) to purchase said supplies. Its quite a rural location and the little town feels very quaint and friendly. We are only forty minutes from the city but it feels quiet and calm. Most of the area is farmland but the town has everything you could need.
We got our supplies, including the obligatory alcohol, and headed back to Lynns.
Anna and Locwood, the happy couple, called round to see us which was lovely and a very pleasent surprise as we knew that they are really busy preparing for the wedding.
We had not expected to see them till we got to the beach. They had very kindly brought us presents of Tauranga. Special green stone pendants that had been made, blessed and named for us. Its a rare honour and we feel very privelidged and humbled.  These are not the regular tourist tokens but true treasures that are not given lightly. We love them and will treasure them always.
Mine is called whaikaha which means strentgh and determination. Crispy, s is caled manaarki which means caring for others. Perfect...

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and meeting Lynns neighbours. A small amount of beer was involved and tomorrow we set off to the beach house to meet up with the rest of the family in Leigh. We have been to Leigh on a previous visit to swim in a protected marine zone and it is stunning so we are really looking forward to it. We have packed the snorkels and flippers. I must remind Crispy about the sharks as I dont want her damaging the finely balanced eco system by getting eaten.

Bare and Crispy, signing off, Pukey upy , New Zealand

Kia Ora, New Zealand

Up early and fully refreshed we left the hotel at 6am. Out of the door and down the steps of the MRT. The metro starts at 0600 so we were one of the first on the platform waiting for the first train to Changi airport. The journey takes 36 minutes exactly with only one change at expo station from the downtown line to the east west line that terminates at the airport terminal.  The metro here is clean, ultra modern and very efficient. The audio safety warnings are brilliant if somewhat bizarre.  They are repeated in four languages. A very aristocratic English "Please mind the gap on leaving the train". The same phrase is then repeated in Chinese and then Malay. Finally a really cool Bob Marley impersination that says " Yo man, be happy happy on the platform".  I have no idea what this is about but every time the doors opened it made us smile.
We arrived at the airport in plenty time and found our gate without incident. The flight was on time and we left Singapore dead on schedule.
It is a nine hour flight from Singapore to Auckland and the route takes you all the way across Australia from Darwen in the west to Brisbane in the east before crossing the Tasman sea to New Zealand. It crosses several more time zones so again you fly into the night. We arrived at Auckland just before midnight, NZ time.  Lynn was waiting for us with Crispys mother, Magrat, who had travelled out before  us and had already been in NZ a week. Straight out to the car and off to Lynns house in Pukehoe. A few little drinks, a catch up chat and before we knew it it was 3am. Bed time. Not bad for us as in Singapore time it was only 10pm. Poor Lynn and Magrat were on NZ time and must have been knackered bless them.  Tomorrow is a settle in anfdshopping day to purchase supplies before heading off to the beach and the wedding venue. Lynn has told us that the beach is in Leigh, Thats Leigh, New Zealand with the beach on the South Pacific. Not Leigh, Lancashire with the beach on the banks of the Leeds Liverpool canal. I dont suppose there will be much difference.

Another Singapore Sling

Were here. Once again in SG (thats Singapore). The flight from Manchester was excellent. No delays, uneventful boarding and a direct flight that made good time. 10 hours 50 minutes so the captain really put his foot down to get us here. There is no easy way to travel east because the timezones conspire to bite your arse at every turn. We left Manchester at 11am. Flew continually for 11 hours, approx, which means in real terms we landed at 10pm uk time but 0730 Singapore time. This means effectively that you arrive at your natural bed time but the destination is just waking up. The hotel did not except check in before 2pm but with a little charm, Crispy,s puss in boots expression and a few extra dollars we managed to get the room for 11am so we could get our heads down for a couple of hours. The hotel is in the heart of Chinatown and next door to the metro. Its nothing special but its cheap, friendly well placed and so perfect for our needs.  Feeling a little more refreshed we set out for a walk around the harbour. We have seen the sights here on previous visits so the stop over was predominately just to break the flights and avoid any jetlag issues on arriving in New Zealand. Its hot, humid and 35 degrees. We had forgotten just how humid it is here. Just the thought of walking up a staircase is enough to cause sweating of biblical proportions. After a walk around the harbour and a visit to the Merlion we went back to the hawkers market for Dinner and had a great meal with a couple of drinks for a few dollars. I again made the same mistake of ordering another "spicy" dish and struggled to get through it. I fear it will have no difficulty in getting through me tomorrow.. In a country that considers all food to require significant heat only a fool would order something that the locals consider "spicy". 
Crispy has gone to bed now and I have had a wander into chinatown for a couple of beers. I knew of a backpackers bar on Mosque street that has a happy hour with cheap beer so called in for a couple before heading home.

We need to catch the MRT (metro) at 6.30 to get us to Changi airport for our 0845 flight to Auckland. Hopefully it will go without hitch and we will be in NZ once more.

Bare and Crispy signing off ...... Chinatown. Singapore