Trans-Atlantic Cruise

November 17, 2023 richardpieper Leave a comment

Our transatlantic cruise started in Italy at the main cruise ship port, Civitavecchia, which is about 60 km northwest of Rome. For us, it was a short train ride (costing under 5 euros each) in a comfortable air-conditioned train from central Rome. I mention this because we found out that others on the ship organised vehicle transportation and paid hundreds of euros for the pleasure of doing so.

Civitavecchia has two main parts, the local part that is fun, reasonably priced and entirely pleasurable and then there is the tourist part, that is grossly overpriced and designed merely to bilk the tourist dollar. The best example of this was our dinner. We ate at a local taverna and had amazingly good seafood pasta (despite one looking like baked beans), washed down with local beer and ended up with a bill of 38 euros. The next day I had a coffee in the tourist zone and we had some (small) pastries (Jill had a cannoli while I had a Sfogliatella) and the bill for a single coffee and some pastries was 19 euros.

The town of Civitavecchia dates back to the 2nd century and still retains some of its original features (like the Roman dock). The port also includes the 16th-century Michelangelo Fort. The town itself is kinda nice with some odd little quirks. The only real issue of the town is the taxis. They are absolutely obscene in the prices that they charge a bunch of oldies getting on an off the cruise ships.

The town is small and, once on the ship, our conversations with other passengers revealed that they had paid around 30 euros for a 1-2 kilometre ride to the port. Similarly, they caught big bills from the train station to the hotel. Being grotty backpackers, we avoided these as we walked the 1.3 kilometers to our accommodation and the 400 meters to the bus station the next morning.

Having reached and navigated our way through the departure point we boarded our ship and were met with a VIP luncheon (we paid a little extra for the key). The key gives you full internet access while on board as well as some VIP accesses to shows etc for about the same price as the internet access alone.

Our itinerary involved a bunch of sea days as we traversed the Atlantic Ocean so that the ship could operate out of Miami for the next sailing season.

Cartagena, Spain

Our first port of call was in the town of Cartagena in Spain. We liked the idea of this as a bit later on we would be hitting the port of Cartagena in Colombia and the symmetry of going to both amused me. The one in Spain was founded around 200 BC and has been continually inhabited ever since, mostly serving as a major trading port. Today it has about 220,000 people living here.

The port was pretty and was about a 1.5 km leisurely stroll along tree lined and very nicely paved streets to get to the heart of town. Here you are met with the usual tourist hustle and bustle, but on a very relaxed and manageable level. There was a HOHO bus available for those not up to the walk but it was flat and easy and the HOHO line was a bit long, so we chose to walk.

Once in town, cool streets and shops follow, along with the usual eclectic mix of funky restaurants and cafes. Then you can add on the religious bling of the churches with their glittering displays and you have had a pretty nice day out in a typical southern European town.

We followed the main path until the end and looped around the whole town coming back to the main tourist attraction as a last (once the initial surge of humanity had powered through it). And this was of course the Roman Theatre and Archaeological Museum, set right in the heart of town. The main drag came much later and was designed to skirt around it, while never being far away.

In fact, if you just did the main drag it is possible to miss the thing entirely. My favourite part of the the place was when we stopped at a nice, local, out-of-the-way cafe for a coffee and some churros. We got two really good coffees and 7 churros with change from a fiver (the ones in the tourist strip were about triple that price). It was so good that afterwards we got another 7 churros, but this time with the hot chocolate dipping sauce.

The Canary Islands, Spain

The next two stops would be in the Canary Islands. These are a Spanish owned archipelago of 7 main islands off the northwestern coast of Africa.

The seven main islands are (from largest to smallest in the area) Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro. The area also includes many smaller islands and islets and several major rocks. In ancient times, they were known as “the Fortunate Isles”.

Lanzarote

Our first port of call in the Canaries was Lanzarote (by the way…not a canary in sight…in case you were wondering). Lanzarote is known for its year-round warm weather, beaches and volcanic landscape. The place is pretty stark with black volcanic rock and cactus gardens dominating everything that you see.

Once again we were delivered a bit over a kilometer from the heart of town and did the hike to see what was on offer. As usual, when the crowds went left, we went right. This took us on a lovely seaside walk, past the marina, a lighthouse, some ruins and along until you get to the Castilo de San Jose which is an historic fortress that has since been converted to an art museum.

From here were a bunch of stark landscapes and volcano-looking things, so we turned and headed back towards the tourist throngs. The diversion ramped up our activity and step count, but after a few days on the ship, this was well needed. The town itself was again lovely and well laid out for the cruise ship tourist clientele.

It was flat, well paved, with wide pedestrian streets and limited intersections where the tourist and the local traffic would come to loggerheads. We liked the place but if we were to come again we would be more likely to hire a car and go further afield to explore some of the stark volcanic landscapes, beaches and sights.

Gran Canaria

This was our last stop before what would be another 7 days of nothing but sailing, as we crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Gran Canaria is located about 150 km off the northwest coast of Africa and about 1,350 km from Europe. It has a population of around 850,000 and is predominantly known for its beaches.

The place was conquered by the Spanish in the late 1400’s and has its origins in volcanic activity (mostly made of fissure vents). It is almost round with a diameter of around 50 km and rains so infrequently that it is considered a desert climate.

This was our least favourite of our stops on the boat. The town itself is OK without being amazing with clean neat streets and a few touristy type spots. But for the most part the place is used as one of those all inclusive holiday destinations that Europe seems so keen on. As you wander around to the other side of town you come across the beach of Playa de las Canteras that is filled with poorly attired, visiting European tourists.

The biggest issue that we came across was under employment. There was huge volumes of people (typically of African origin in their early 20’s) just milling about in large (ish) groups with little or nothing to do other than hanging out on street corners in packs. This is the first time since Naples in Italy that we had felt concern for our safety.

I must say that we were not approached or harassed in any way but the groups prompted me to move the wallet from the back pocket to the front pocket, with my hand over the top. Our years of travel have us highly attuned to our surroundings and things that don’t “feel” right and sadly, this is what we got from our time on Gran Canaria.

The ship

Having finished off our ports, all that was left was the seven days of cruising that we had ahead of us. Our ship was the Royal Caribbean Ship, Explorer of the seas.

The Explorer of the Seas was built in 2000 and refurbished in 2014 and can carry 4,200 passengers and almost 1,200 staff across its 15 decks. The ship is one of the smaller to mid-sized in the fleet but includes entertainment like an ice skating rink, rock climbing wall, mini golf course and the Flowrider (a surfing simulator).

Up until now, we had been paying extra for balcony-type rooms or suites that offer better viewing and are closer to the available amenities (and obviously cost more). Our room for this trip was down the bottom of the ship in an outside room on level 3. In fact, our next few cruises will see us in the dodgy cheap rooms, so stay tuned to see if they are any good.

Well if this is the dodgy room down the bottom, I will take it any day of the week. It was lovely. A huge porthole behind the bed meant that you woke up to the ocean every morning. It was so nice that we never even tried to close the curtains.

We wandered the ship, ate and drank at the bars and restaurants, listened to some of the entertainment and generally just had a lovely trans-Atlantic journey. The thing that did throw us was the constant time changes. It seemed like every day or two we had to wind the clock forward as we gained another hour as we progressed towards Miami. The staff loved it, as they got an extra hour of sleep each time (this works backwards when coming the other way). But for those of us with a sleep pattern, I woke up an hour earlier every day.

The cruise itself was great, but it is one of the older cruises that you can do with the average age well into the 70’s and almost half of all those on board at the higher levels of the rewards program.

The ship was probably the biggest letdown. There was lots to see and do but there was no real hidey holes where you could avoid the crowds. This meant that you were hiding in your room or stuck in busy communal areas. Other ships we have been on had little quiet zones dotted around the place where you could sit quietly and read, or do a crossword, but sadly, this was missing on this ship.

Fiji

October 22, 2023 richardpieper Leave a comment

Fiji in an island nation made up of over 300 individual islands. It is a famous tourist destination and has been established and set up with this entirely in mind. It is renowned for rugged landscapes, palm-lined beaches, coral reefs and clear lagoons.

Ever since I was a kid I remember seeing those Fiji package holidays that were always being advertised. They always seemed to include an idyllic resort, flights included and more often than not, they were under a thousand dollars. While the price has gone up (considerably) all of the rest is still available today.

Our trip would take in 3 separate resorts and also include a night at a B&B in Nadi (mainly to avoid a long drive and potential drama on the final travel day). So for the most part we should get a nice spread of what is here.

The first and biggest issue that we had on arrival was getting access to WIFI, and this was our first real introduction to life in Fiji. In order to get access to the mobile data network at the airport, be prepared to hand over your first-born child as the prices are obscene. We had just left Samoa where we got a SIM card with data for 5 tala (about $3) for the month and found that we were now paying $70 Fijian ($55 AUD) for 15 days. And for this amount of money you got a patchy spotty service that kept dropping in and out the whole time.

This got even worse once we got to our second resort, where we were told that if we wanted WIFI in our room then we had to pay an additional $40 Fijian for 3 days access.

This service was slower and even more spotty than at the first place.

Before we go any further, the first thing that must be discussed is Fiji Beer. It is terrible and costs more money than you would pay for beer back home. There are three main options (Fiji Bitter, Fiji Gold and Vonu) and they are all atrocious to drink. Fiji Bitter tastes acrid, while gold is tasteless. Vonu at least borders on passable but if you are given any other choice, I would drink that. I ended up finding Camel (a Hanoi beer) and grabbed that.

Add to this the price. The cheapest that we could buy a stubbie at a resort was $10 ($6.9) and this went up to $17 ($11.75) at the last place. Before we left Australia, we were buying cans for $3.50 at the Emu Park RSL and the beer actually tasted good.

Fijian resorts

Fiji is full of resorts and they are all pretty similar. The 5 star options offer high end service at high end prices and really don’t give you a sense that you are anywhere near Fiji (you could just as easily be anywhere (beachy) in the world. As for the lower star options, they are all pretty much interchangeable with a limited (westernised) menu and drink and food prices that rival anything that you would pay back home and more in many cases.

Every menu that we came across in our time here had the following options steak, fish and chips, burger, pizza, fish curry, chicken curry and vegetarian curry. And that is what you will have available at almost every resort, for every meal, for your whole time here. There will be a daily special (lunch will almost certainly be a club sandwich or chicken wrap) and the dinner special might be a chicken schnitzel with chips. Every now and then you will get a nod towards something local, like Kokoda (the Fijian version of Oka or Ceviche) but it will be overcooked (sit in lime too long) and made bland.

Don’t get me wrong, the food is nice enough. The options are just extremely limited and over an extended period (more than a few days) they get pretty boring.

Let’s get a few things straight on our accommodation. They were all absolute beachfront, with green grass, swimming pools, palm trees and idyllic locations. All the rooms were private, en-suited, clean and serviced regularly and they all offered similar services and tours. They were all quite remote (far from villages) so you had to get in a cab to see things. Across the board the food was poor and overpriced as was the beer and cocktails (only the level of overpriced changed).

So in the grand scheme of things, all of them were fine. There was nothing stopping you from having a good time at any of the resorts for a week or two. But that said, there was still stuff that put us off some of them.

Resort One

Our first resort was a cheap and cheerful 3-star number. It was fun and quirky with an open-air bathroom. The place was nice but was completely overrun with free-range dogs. This seemed to be a plus for many but was a bit annoying for us at meal times or when the dogs decided to scuffle with each other. But at $155 Aussie a night, I could not help but imagine all of the coastal towns back home where you would find similar digs with better food and cheaper drinks.

Stars	Night Price (AUD)	Beer Price (Fiji)	Meal Price (Fiji)	WIFI	Massage (Fiji)
***	155	10-14	28	Patchy	40/hr

The big winner here though was the $40 massage. Don’t get me wrong, Fijian massages are terrible if you have anything that needs attention. There is very little therapeutic about them, but if you are looking for a light, easy, relaxing way to kill an hour, then you cannot go wrong. I was there early in the day and the ladies were doing nothing so I ended up with a four hands massage for my $28 Aussie.

The biggest issue that we had here was the staff. They were friendly, but the place was their own private playground and you as a guest happened to be infesting. This meant that the music was at unbearable volumes almost all of the time and if they wanted to talk to each other, they just yelled to each other, across the entire resort. This wore very thin after a while.

Resort 2

Resort number two was a step up in stars, but inexplicably a step down in expenditure. For no apparent reason we went from 3 to 4 stars but saved ourselves $35 a night. The room was bigger and nicer, with indoor plumbing and was entirely lovely. The staff were just as friendly, but without the yelling, the dogs were there but were fewer and much better behaved.

Stars	Night Price (AUD)	Beer Price (Fiji)	Meal Price (Fiji)	WIFI	Massage (Fiji)
****	120	12-15	36	$40 for 3 days	70/hr

The beach at resort two was a bit nicer than the first but had the benefit of some lovely blue starfish to be seen straight off the sand in front of your room.

No real snorkelling to speak of but that was the same for all three of the resorts.

In reality, resort two was probably our pick of the three but it was also plagued with the poor food and terrible internet options that all three had. But importantly, it did have a big screen TV that allowed me to wake up at 3am and sit with the security guard watching the world cup rugby Quarter final games between Fiji and England, closely followed by South Africa against France.

Resort 3

This was at the high end, positioned on one of the best beaches in Fiji and upon arrival it was clear that the extra money was for the beach. The room was smaller and less well appointed than Resort two and the prices across the board were higher, in fact all of the prices here were through the roof. But the beach was magnificent.

Stars	Night Price (AUD)	Beer Price (Fiji)	Meal Price (Fiji)	WIFI	Massage (Fiji)
****	$215	$15-17	$45	Patchy and slow	$140/hr

Jill and I have spent a lot of time talking about Fiji and its attractions and charms. Neither of us have anything adverse or bad to say about Fiji at all. The people are friendly, the location is stunning, and as beach holidays go this is a fine place to come. And sure once upon a time, when it was cheap, this would definitely be the place to come. But the days of a cheap Fiji holiday are mostly gone.

For the prices that you pay here today, you could get as good (if not better) options all the way up and down the Australian coastlines. The food would be better, the drinks prices would be cheaper and you would have saved yourself a plane fare.

Sigatoka is a small town wedged about halfway in between resorts two and three. As we had lain about enough, we decided to hop a bus into town and check out the local markets (being a Saturday and all). Sigatoka is now commonly dubbed as “Rugby Town” due to the local rugby team’s influence on the Fiji national rugby scene.

This is where we got to do some local shopping and mingling with the community rather than being trapped in a resort. I managed to grab myself a Fijian Rugby shirt and a Bula Shirt and we got some reasonably priced beer, wine and snacks. I even managed to grab a few roti wraps (with a chicken and potato curry filling and a tuna filling) for about a buck each.

Fijian Food

This will not really be a fair section to write as the food that we had was almost always resort food and it was bland, templated and made for western tastes (at least the perceived ones). I am certain that if we were able to have gotten out and about more then our food experience may have been vastly different.

The food options were a mix of Indian and Chinese with a bunch of local fruit and root vegetables thrown into the mix. Over time the Indian and Chinese foods had both been localised somewhat and did not really resemble their roots. But they were still ok. Particularly the Indian, ignore the lack of chilli, the flavours were good.

Kava is the traditional drink made from ground-up roots of the Piper methysticum. The root is traditionally crushed or ground in water and drunk as tea. Kava has been used in ceremonies and cultural events in the Pacific region.

And it tastes like mud.

Nadi

Nadi was a breath of fresh air after having spent so much time on the beaches and in the resorts. The beaches were lovely but the resort food was pretty bad and the prices were through the roof. We got a place near the airport (but still on the water) and immediately were happy. The beaches were nowhere near the standard of the resorts and neither was the water.

But the price for a stubbie of beer went from $17 to $5 and the food was better and a ton cheaper and even the cocktails were reasonably priced. In reality the best meals that we had in our fortnight in Fiji was here and not in the flash beachside resorts.

Overview

I rate Fiji as a lovely place to visit and we are glad that we came, but in hindsight neither of us think that we would return. There are many more beachy type destinations around that offer as much (if not more) than Fiji at a fraction of the cost.

I have already mentioned the stay at home (in Australia) options, but if you were determined to head overseas then the other options that I would include would be:

The Maldives,
- Malaysian Islands,
Philippine Islands,
Sri Lankan beaches,
Samoa and
even some of the lesser Greek Islands.

All of these offer the same sort of relaxing beachy feel and will set you back about a half to a third of what you would pay here in Fiji (granted the Maldives does also have the super high-end options that would blow these prices out of the water). And importantly they will all offer good authentic food and drink options at far better prices.

The night in Nadi slightly changed our opinion and softened our view of Fiji, but the cost of the resorts is too exorbitant for it to be a go-to option.

samoa

Samoa

October 11, 2023 richardpieper Leave a comment

Samoa is a Polynesian island country (officially the Independent State of Samoa) and until 1997 was known as Western Samoa.

Between 1899 and 1915 it was a colony of the German Empire. It then came under a joint British and New Zealand colonial administration until 1962, when it became independent. The nation is made up of two main islands (Upolu and Savai’i), two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono and Apolima) and several smaller, uninhabited islands.

Samoa gained its independence from New Zealand in 1962 after more than a century of foreign influence and domination, but it remains a member of the Commonwealth. The country was known as Western Samoa until 1997. Its capital and main commercial centre is Apia, on the island of Upolu.

Fale is the Samoan word for all types of houses, from small to large. In general, traditional Samoan architecture is characterized by an oval or circular shape, with wooden posts holding up a domed roof.

All of the building elements are ‘lashed’ or bound together, originally with a plaited rope made from dried coconut fibre. The fale’s open structure allows strong winds to pass straight through it, and the complex system of lashing offers flexible movement and strength in the face of ever-changing winds. The roof is curved allowing the winds that hit to move around its surface without meeting resistance.

The population of the Samoan Islands is around 225,000. However, there are another 240,000 in the United States, a further 183,000 in New Zealand and around 100,000 in Australia.

Upolo

Our arrival saw us land into the airport in the capital, Apia, on the island of Upolu. Apia is not seen as a town but 45 separate villages, but they are so condensed that it would be hard to make out the difference between them.

The overnight flight and lack of sleep saw us napping fairly early on after our arrival.

Thanks to Fiame, a close friend of my sister’s -and now close family friend- we had an offer of accommodation and even an airport pickup (at 5am) and unofficial impromptu tour guide (her cousin Pam).

On our first day after napping, Pam took us on a tour of the southern half of the island.

There is a ring road and a cross-island road so doing loops is a pretty easy and sensible way of splitting up your sightseeing.

OK so meet the Banded Rail. These speedy little suckers are all over the place and while driving along they dart out onto the road, in front of the car and cause minor heart palpitations as you keep waiting for the bump (which never comes).

These cute little suckers are the next to meet as they are ubiquitous as they float around free range throughout the island.

The next thing that you have to meet is the Samoan local bus. These are highly colourful, with locally manufactured (typically wooden) cabins stuck onto old truck chassis. To say these are old clunkers is being very generous, but they do reek of style. To catch a bus, just wave it down – there are no bus stops. And when you want to get off, pull the cord along the roof of the bus. Simple!

All buses are named with their destination, but you may want to make sure and ask the driver if you are unsure. They run on ‘island time’, so using it for the airport run may not be advisable (unless you are leaving plenty of time).

The first among all of the tourist attractions in Samoa has to be the To Sua Trench. This is a spectacular 30-metre deep swimming hole. The blurb tells me that the hole was formed when an ancient lava tube caved in and thousands of years of erosion did the rest. And of course today it is full of bikini-clad tourists and an impossibly steep set of stairs to get down into the pool.

Around the To Sua is an amazingly lush landscaped area looking out onto the ocean. Some of the greenest grass and bluest skies that you will ever see combine to make this place simply amazing.

A short way down the road we found a nice secluded quiet beach near the village of Lotofoga where we were able to have a nice little dip, with the beach to ourselves (and Pam’s grandkids).

We checked the tourism “what’s on” and as luck would have it we were in town on the last Friday of the month, which meant that we were here for the Waterfront Night Market. So we headed on down to check them out. Unfortunately, the markets were not really supported and were little more than a sad bouncy castle, a couple of tents selling lavalavas (the Polynesian version of a sarong) and some carved wooden items (which customs would not let us bring into the country).

We did however get to see a very inventive version of a kid’s train.

The things you can do with a used 44 gallon drum.

The market was held in the heart of town, at the Samoa Cultural Village. The Cultural Village features tapa making (traditional cloth), traditional tattooing (tatau), carving cultural artefacts, and the preparation of the “umu” (earth oven). Here is where you can learn about the Samoan Way (Fa’a Samoa). It is the essence of the Samoan culture and dictates how Samoans are meant to behave and their obligations to their elders, superiors, family, community, church and the environment.

The Sopo’aga viewpoint is similarly easy to access off the Main South Coast Road and is probably the prettiest waterfall – it’s majestic in its dense jungle scene.

Papase’ea sliding rocks is a waterfall that has been worn smooth(ish) by the running water. While it is only 16 foot high, the slide has made it a favourite.

The Papapapaitai (I gave up even trying to pronounce this sucker) viewing spot is just off the cross island road.

These spectacular falls plunge 500 feet into a volcanic crater, surrounded by a lush rainforest. For these reasons, it is one of the most photographed falls in Samoa.

The next morning we were up early and did the schlepp to the fresh fish markets. Advice from the barflies was that this was definitely worth the effort so at 5 am we were up and walking the 2.2 km (each way) to buy ourselves some fresh seafood. Our haul saw us bring home about a 1.3 kg slab of yellowfin tuna, a fresh crab, and a couple of bugs, all for the princely sum of about $22.

A few days after our first trip of the southern part of the island, Pam again picked us up and we did the northern loop. This included a stop at one of the flash resorts for lunch, as nice as it may have been, that sort of thing just didn’t do it for me. The weather the second time around was not as kind with intermittent rain for most of the day (not enough to keep Jill out of the water though).

The Museum of Samoa is housed in a historic colonial building in Apia which used to be a German school. It contains a huge collection of artefacts and images which tell the story of Samoa’s history and rich culture. according to the blurb the museum is home to a pottery and stone adze which was discovered in Samoa and thought to be 3,000 years old. Given my love of old pottery, I skipped this.

The famous Scottish author, Robert Louis Stevenson, spent the last 4 years of his life here in Samoa and is buried high on the hill overlooking the island.

His former residence has been converted into a museum that is dedicated to his life. On chatting with Pam my question was “is it worth going to or is it just a pretty colonial building”? Her answer was “just a pretty colonial building”. So we did the obligatory loop of the driveway, got a photo or two and left.

Church is at the centre of almost everything that it means to be Samoan. Every village has at least one church, and people actually attend them (religiously). The main show in town is right on the waterfront and is the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

But quite literally, there are churches everywhere throughout Samoa. All of differing shapes and sizes. It is estimated that there are over 310 villages in Samoa and every one of these has (at least one) church. Going to church is central to everything that happens here in Samoa. So much so that virtually everything is closed on Sunday. Our chat with our impromptu tour guide Pam informed us that Sunday is for going to church, having a meal with your family and sleeping.

The Palolo Deep Marine Reserve is only five minutes walk from the centre of Apia (head east to Vaiala Beach) and importantly was about 150 m from our accommodation.

After a few days to ourselves and with Pam ferrying us about, our hostess returned from an overseas trip. Up until now we had been just milling about in her house as rather uncomfortable interlopers (being looked after by Utu the chef and Grace the part time cleaner). But after her arrival we were finally able to have a good catch-up (punctuated by amazing food yet again) and all was right with the world.

Talking to our hostess we were told that the Piula Cave Pool was her favourite and that it should not be missed.

So the next day we were up again and Pam picked us up and ran us out to this beautiful crystal clear freshwater spring pool and cave. The pool originated from an old lava tube and is now a crystal clear (if a little cold) pool to swim in.

This was followed up by another nice lunch and another great day was had.

Savai’i

Savai’i is the larger of the two main islands and at it’s centre is lies the volcano, Mount Silisili, the highest point on the island. Talking to the local bar flies (cos that’s where we hang out) they reckon that visiting Savai’i was like going back to the flintstones era.

In Polynesian mythology, Hawaiki is the original home of the Polynesians, before their dispersal across Polynesia. According to legend, Savai‘i island is said to be Hawaiki, the Polynesian homeland and is therefore known as the “Cradle of Polynesia”.

So we called on poor Pam once again, who met us at about 4:30am so that we could drive the 1 hr to the ferry terminal in time to make the 6am ferry to Salelaloga. A 90 minute ferry ride and we were on the big island and on the hunt for a rental car. The two main attractions that are on the island are the Lava field and the blowholes. Given that the blowholes were only 45 mins away (and it was low tide) the lady at the rental place suggested a right (rather than left) turn at the only set of lights. this way we circumnavigated most of the island seeing the sights while the tide rose.

Saleaula Lava Fields is a quick and easy stop as you traverse the island. A remnant of the 1905-1911 volcanic eruptions of Mt Matavanu the lava flowed northwards towards the coast destroying villages in its path. The lava flowed over 100 km² of countryside and the depth of the lava flow in some parts was 400 feet. For a measly WST$10 (about $6) you can walk on the lava flow and see the impact it had on the village (including the swallowing up of the church). There is also a quick and informative history from the ladies on-site.

You used to be able to follow the lava flow down to the ocean but as it was aging the lava was becoming brittle in parts and they could not guarantee your safety so this was discouraged.

The next main attraction was the Falealupo Canopy Walk. I am finding that as I get older, the thought of heights is getting less and less appealing. Unfortunately, this one fit in firmly into that category. While I am happy to admire this, the thought of heading out along this walkway just didn’t tick any boxes for me.

Alofaaga Blowholes – These impressive blowholes are a major treat to see in real life.

Situated in the village of Taga on south-west Savai’i the blowholes shoot a roaring jet of water hundreds of feet up into the air.

They were created by lava flows making a series of tubes connecting a flat clifftop of lava rock with the ocean below.

As the waves break against the lower end of the tubes it sends water at high pressure up through the tubes making fountains that spray every few seconds.

The amazing thing was that there was no safety rails, just a red line spray painted on the rocks saying ‘stop here’. If the red line didn’t stop you then the roar of the water and the power of nature surely had to make you think twice. I am certain that some vacuous Instagrammers will push the bounds but the aussies and kiwis who were visiting when we were there all seemed to follow the very sensible advice provided by the spray paint.

Our accommodation on Savai’i was an issue and it started very poorly. Having booked our room (for 220) and paid our deposit, we were told our room would be 260 as the owner had put the rates up on the 1st of the month. After an argument that was poorly understood, we just paid the extra 40 and headed to the restaurant for a late lunch. At this point we were greeted by a menu of about 25 items to be told that all but 3 of them were not available.

We tried to ascertain whether more food would come before the dinner service (as there were very few restaurant options). After another unsuccessful chat, we ordered a burger and a club sandwich. When these arrived there was some bizarre salmon paste on both of them. Needless to say, salmon paste doesn’t work that well on a cheeseburger and Jill only managed one bite of her club sandwich.

As it turned out, dinner was a steak (that was ok) and the next morning the owner found us and apologised for the mix-up (for the room rate) and refunded us our extra 40. We felt infinitely better in the knowledge that the place did not suck, just that they were struggling with the training and retention of decent staff.

Samoan Food

Samoan food is relatively simple on first glance with the appearance of taro, breadfruit, rice and green bananas as staples. Add to this some various local fruits, salads and thin soups and the basics are done. But even the simple stuff is kicked to another level due to the appearance of coconut cream. My first foray into breadfruit and taro were pretty tasteless and were just a starchy filler. But the addition of coconut cream makes them both super yummy and not bland at all. And of course, then the rest kicks in.

Our first taste sensation was Palusami. A simple dish of taro leaves, onion and coconut cream.

Granted it didn’t look like much but the taste is amazing.

The next was Oka which is a Samoan version of ceviche.

It is basically a raw fish salad with the recipe changing from place to place and no two alike.

The main thing is fresh raw fish, coconut milk/cream and citrus with the option of chilli and anything else you may wish to add.

Being on an island, the seafood is to die for and by Aussie standards is dirt cheap. It is truly the catch of the day, both at the markets and in the restaurants. It has been clear, from our time here in Samoa, how little of the fish that we get back at home is truly fresh.

The main thing that was eaten was fresh fish, often raw, in a Japanese sashimi style or as oka. And it was magnificent. Then you add the cooked stuff and it too was amazing. For a bloke who has always loved seafood (especially the shellfish) this fish stuff is pretty ok too.

As one of our last meals, we were taken to the other side of the island where we had lunch on the water at a Filipino beach shack. This brought into play the crispy pork goodness that is Lechon and crispy pata. Add this to the fish and selection of dips with taro chips and another fantastic meal was had.

Samoan beer was a bit hit-and-miss.

We only found two real beers and one was good (Taula) and the other (Vailima) we had one and never tried again.

If I was to be harsh, the only real detraction that we came across while in Samoa was the free-range dogs. This was also an issue in Sri Lanka and many parts of Asia. But here we were met with some that were a touch more aggressive than those elsewhere. For the most part, they just wander about harmlessly, but others…not so much. it got to the point that if we were going out after dark, we would have to walk with a stick to protect from the dogs.

The thing that really needs to be mentioned is the Samoan people. At no point in time did we ever feel upset or unsafe (except maybe from the dogs). Everywhere we went we were met with huge smiles and welcoming tones. Our first foray into the bar saw us best friends with almost everyone and when we returned the next day we were welcomed like old friends.

On 31 May 2023 the central bank of Samoa issued the commemorative 60 Tala note, commemorating Samoa’s 60th Anniversary of Independence.

It honours the first Prime Minster and Independence Day in 1962 while embracing the future with the first female Prime Minister 60 years later.

The banknote honors and recognises Samoa’s core strength as its foundation in God.

We enjoyed every second of being in Samoa, and the extended timeframe allowed us to truly embrace the place rather than just dart about seeing the tourist highlights. This is a place we would both (and likely will) return to.

Sri Lanka

September 26, 2023 richardpieper Leave a comment

This was a break stop to avoid the killer long flight back to Australia, while we meandered back home.

For long-time readers, you may recall that back in 2013 we went to Guilin in China and met an amazing Sri Lankan couple (Ruwan and Dilani). While chatting they asked if we were planning to visit Sri Lanka (which we were not). So we rejigged our plans, visited Sri Lanka and loved it.

So this stopover was all about catching up with them and breaking an otherwise long flight to get back home.

But first, a quick note about our almost empty flight over to Sri Lanka from Dubai. We have never been on such an empty flight. Business and Premium economy were pretty full, but for us plebs at the back of the plane, we had entire rows to ourselves.

After arriving we were collected our bags and made it through customs and immigration in record time and then had to contest with the taxi drivers and touts. As we arrived late we stayed at an area called Negombo. This is a nice beach spot relatively close to the airport. We planned to stay with Ruwan on the trip but due to the late arrival the first night was here.

After ridiculous offers of cab fares to our accommodation (4500 rupees) we fought a patchy internet connection to order a car from the Pickme app which suggested that 2000 was more reasonable. After the Wi-Fi connection dropped in and out (losing our ride each time) we eventually got ourselves a tuk tuk. This meant we needed to walk (past the Buddha statue), out to the road where we got met by our man.

Negombo

From here a quick ride, with a lovely breeze, over to the seaside town just north of Colombo. Our accommodation was amazing, and less than half the price of what we had been paying in all of our travels through Europe and the Middle East.

The next morning we were up for a walk along the beach before Ruwan came to pick us up for our journey to begin properly. Our first adventure was on the hunt for mud crabs. Jill’s Uncle Terry had posted to try them on my Facebook and Ruwan had seen this so now we were on a mission. After a false start or two (through the local fish markets etc.), we found the local mud crab exporter and shipper at the local piggery (an obvious place to find it). The big thing about the mudcrabs was that in Australia the going rate sits at around $50-60 a kilo and in Sri Lanka it is more like $20.

Colombo

Well, Colombo has certainly grown up a lot since our last visit. When we arrived a decade ago, there were virtually no buildings over about 5 storeys high. During the past decade, China has funded the construction of massive infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka. There are numerous high-rises all around that were not here a decade ago. The most obvious of these is the Lotus Tower.

The lotus tower “Nelum Kuluna” is the tallest skyscraper in the country.

It stands 351.5m tall and cost US $113 million to build. The official blurb tells us that the lotus symbolises purity and represents the country’s flourishing development.

But the lotus is also the symbol of the political party that the President at the time (Mahinda Rajapaksa) hailed from.

Added to the above, the Chinese investment has been spent on building are some massive white elephants (notably the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport and Port City). These developments have sent Sri Lanka into a debt crisis. The lunacy of these investments has been publicly described as (I love this one) “monuments to fiscal profligacy”.

Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) was assigned 2000 hectares of land with the funding to build it ($190 million) coming from the Chinese government in the form of high interest development loans.

Built during the presidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa the location of the airport just happened to coincide with where he lived. He also built the Hambantota International Port there (the port has been leased to China on a 99 year lease) and tried to get an international cricket stadium built there too.

The first stage of the airport was completed with projections to serve one million passengers and handle 45,000 metric tonnes of air cargo each year. It opened in 2013 however, due to low demand, all of the international airlines left by 2018. On average now 4 flights per month land in MRIA.

Port City was next in line. It is a 269-hectare ocean reclamation development funded by Chinese direct foreign investment however the project was seen by many to be merely a Chinese debt trap.

When completed, Port City Colombo will have over 5.6 million square meters of built space, boasting the best in design and standards. The development will comprise of 5 different precincts including a Financial District, Central Park Living, Island Living, Marina and the International Island. The loan agreement allowed two Chinese companies to jointly operate the terminal and take a 65% stake in the port for the next 35 years.

When the land was being reclaimed, plane loads of workers were flown in from China, they were housed and fed in on-site accommodation. The only real benefit that was derived for the local people was that the rock and gravel used for the fill were sourced from Sri Lanka.

In addition to the projects above the former President also sought Chinese investment in the financing and construction of ports, power plants, roads and mines. According to Wiki, Sri Lanka’s foreign debt increased US$11.3 billion in 2005 to $56.3 billion in 2020. Foreign debt in 2019 was about 42% of GDP but by 2021 it rose to 119% due to these loans. Sri Lanka has defaulted on these and is unable to make even interest payments on loans. In 2015 surrounded by screams of alleged cronyism and corruption, he lost a bid for a third term.

The mismanagement of Sri Lanka has led to some terrible things being done to its people. We were told of the on the ground impacts that followed from defaulting on the international debts. No vehicle (or any other large imported item) has been brought into the country for the last 3 years, petrol was scarce for months at a time and the community has been saddled with high taxation to pay back the debts that were incurred. In the meantime, the projects that incurred the debts were folly and sit as white elephants.

Anyway, the sad realities dealt with, let’s talk about travelling and exploring this amazing country.

Ruwan had been monitoring our travels up until now and had been observing the sorts of things that we had been doing and seeing. Being the cracking fella that he is, he tried to organise things that were totally different for us to do, while we were in Sri Lanka. The first thing on the agenda was a 5am wakeup so that we could get on the road and head to the Elephant Transit Centre.

The Elephant Transit Centre is a wildlife protection facility in the Udawalawe National Park. On our first trip, we had visited the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage which took care of orphaned elephants. This one was similar but the focus here was about getting them back into the wild. Because of this, there was much less human interaction and, for the most part, all of the elephants were babies.

We missed the morning session and had a few hours to kill so we hung with Ruwan’s handyman (whose sister worked at the centre). We went to his home, walked through the countryside and got to see a taste of real Sri Lankan life. This included the sheer joy that he could share this experience with a couple of foreigners. The hospitality was overwhelming, including the fact that they fed us. The meal was something a little out of left field as we sat by the riverbank and ate an incredibly hot (spicy) porcupine curry.

Yep, you read that right. Porcupine, yet another animal to add to the weird animals that we have eaten list.

The thing that Ruwan has done since we first met was to turn himself into a superstar photographer. Being stuck at home through COVID has prompted him to amuse himself so he has bought a flash camera and a monster lens and has been taking some absolutely amazing wildlife shots. As you can see from his photos below, he has some serious skill and my little phone camera really doesn’t cut it.

I put him in a headlock (metaphorically) and got some photography lessons from him, so my photos may improve. Anyway, the next thing on the list of things that he had organised for us was a safari at the Yala National Park. Moving on from the elephant centre we kept going to our accommodation for the night, Ruwan had us booked into a safari lodge. This involved a really dodgy night roughing it in a tent in the middle of the jungle. I posted the photos on Facebook and everyone questioned my description suggesting that it was more “Glamping” than roughing it. Anyway you can make up your own mind on just how tough we did it.

As you can see from the photos above it was a hardship roughing it in the jungle at a safari lodge (Mahoora).

Yala National Park

The next morning it was up at 5 am where we met our Safari Jeep and headed out for the first entry into the Yala National Park.

Yala was designated a wildlife sanctuary in 1900 and became a national park in 1938.

Ironically, the park was initially used as a hunting ground for the elite under British rule.

Yala is made up of 130,000 hectares of land which combines a strict nature reserve with a national park. It is divided into 5 blocks (2 of which are accessible to the public) consisting of light forests, scrubs, grasslands, tanks and lagoons. It is home to 44 varieties of mammal and 215 bird species.

Among its more famous residents are the world’s biggest concentration of leopards, elephants, sloth bears, sambars, jackals, spotted deer, peacocks, and crocodiles. Pretty much all of which we got to see (with the exception of the sloth bears).

Of particular interest was an up close and personal experience with a bull elephant. While perched high in our jeep the elephant came out of the jungle and took exception to our presence. So it walked over to the jeep and head butted the car trying to push it over, while we were sitting in the back of it.

While zipping along we got word of a leopard, and turned and chased it. We got lucky and caught the last minute before it disappeared back into the jungle. In case you were wondering…it was a boy leopard.

Tourist Prices

This was a bugbear for me last time we were here in Sri Lanka and it remains one today. Almost everywhere you go in the world, there are two pricing scales, one for the locals and one for the tourists. This we are used to and have come to expect and in some cases even embraced. But Sri Lanka takes this concept too far.

They did last time and continue to do so to this day. Originally the open gouging of tourists was confined to the tourist sights run by the government but now this has grown to be common practice throughout the tourism industry in Sri Lanka.

I guess that this was a little more evident this time around as we were travelling with locals everywhere we went. On our original visit I was complaining that our Sigiriya trip would cost a local 40 rupees to get in but would cost us 3900 and Polonnaruwa was 50 for a local and 3250 for the foreigner.

So our accommodation cost was organised by Ruwan (he got it for 7,000 but the cheapest we could do online was 12,000) this translates to the difference between $35 and $60 for the night’s accommodation. We had the BBQ dinner at the safari lodge and the cost for Ruwan and Dilani was 700 rupees ($3.50) while the price for us was $US22 (7,100 rupees). We sat at the same table and ate the same food. Below is a list of some of these differences that you may be subjected to.

Item	Local Price	Foreigner Price
Sigiriya	100	9,700
Polonnaruwa	free	8,100
Lotus Tower	500	6,500
Yala National Park	970	14,000
Udawalawe National Park	150	9500
Elephant Transit Centre	115	1900

Sri Lankan Food

Sri Lankan food is amazing and made even better because Dilani was a spectacularly good cook. The range and variety of local foods was fantastic (albeit that she toned the spiciness level down for Jill). Mudcrabs, prawns, dahl, veggies, curries, string hoppers, accompaniments. Really how could anybody ever complain at feasting on a wide variety of yummy food every night.

The last stop that we made was at a local stall on the side of the road where we got fresh curds with treacle (or local honey in our case). Eaten in a clay pot with a banana leaf shard as our spoon.

Once again we have visited and loved Sri Lanka. We are already talking about when we can come back. Add to that the proximity to the Maldives, this may become a regular holiday run.

UAE

Dubai

September 19, 2023 richardpieper Leave a comment

Dubai is thought to have been established in the 18th century as a fishing village, however ceramics dating back to the 3rd and 4th century, have been found in the area. In 1822, a British naval surveyor noted that Dubai was populated with a thousand people living in an oval-shaped town surrounded by a mud wall, scattered with goats and camels.

Dubai is a constitutional monarchy that has been ruled by the Al Maktoum family since 1833. In 1901 it was established as a free port with no taxation on imports or exports and also gave merchants parcels of land and guarantees of protection and tolerance. In the 1950s an airport was built on the salt flats and the first hotel sprung up in 1959. And in 1966 oil was discovered which prompted a construction boom that brought an influx of foreign workers, boosting the population by 300% in 7 years.

But they knew that the oil reserve was limited when oil revenue started to flow in 1969 one of the first projects was to establish deep water free port.

This was the first of a heap of projects designed to create a modern trading infrastructure, including roads, bridges, schools and hospitals.

After many conflicts in the Middle East Dubai kept its focus on free trade and tourism. but it was not until after the Gulf War that this started to be realised.

In the 1980s and 1990’s the city took a strategic decision to become a leading international tourism destination. This stalled for a while with all of the conflict in the Middle East but after the Gulf War, everything really took off. With massive investment in advanced infrastructure and the completion of incredible projects with unmatched speed and scale, the city has become one of the most futuristic cities in the world.

It has quickly become a city with the world’s tallest building, richest horse race, tallest choreographed fountains, largest man-made island, most luxurious seven-star hotel and the most visited mall. It has the second most five star hotels (behind London). And ours was one of them. And importantly, we scored yet another room upgrade.

Dubai has been a centre for regional and international trade since the early 20th century, but oil only made up 1% of Dubai’s GDP. Its economy now relies on revenues from trade, tourism, aviation, real estate, and financial services. The real estate boom has seen some of the most fantastic marina and land reclamation developments ever conceived. So much so it needed a google earth capture to show it properly.

Most importantly, I got to catch up with yet another old rugby buddy (Dave) who had set up camp with his wife (Emma) and kids in Dubai.

Getting their take on life in Dubai was truly fascinating.

Our evening involved a fantastic catch-up over some of the most expensive beers that we have had since being in Iceland. We had dodged the booze throughout the Middle East until now because the pricing was ridiculous. But a couple with an old mate seemed obligatory.

The transport system is huge (however mostly still for vehicles). That said, there is a metro system in place for the downtown area and a bus system connecting the major hubs. We used the Metro to head to the Dubai Mall and Burj Kalifa and found out a few interesting things in our travels.

The Metro is largely used by the lower paid workers:

these tend to be mainly South Asian or African
their jobs tend to be more physical in nature
their jobs tend to be more exposed to the elements

These factors combine violently (particularly in an Olfactory sense) especially in combined spaces. As cool, cheap and air conditioned as the Metro is, there is another price that needs to be paid.

The fun thing about the metro is that you go past the car yard section of town. So from perched high on your train you get to look down on more supercars than you can count as you whizz past.

But in the grand scheme of things, Dubai is a city of roads, traffic jams and skyscrapers.

The real estate boom has led to the construction of some of the tallest skyscrapers and the largest building projects in the world. Some of these include:

But of course, the big show in town is the Burj Khalifa. This is the worlds tallest building. It is an 830m-tall (163 storey) skyscraper that dominates a skyline that is filled with skyscrapers.

According to Guinness World Records. It takes 2,909 stairs to get to level 160, and ladders are used for the last three floors

We did get a recommendation (thanks KAT) to have the afternoon tea on the 152nd floor of the Burj Khalifa. He did warn that it was expensive, so we looked into it. For Jill and I to have tea and tiny cakes with a window seat towards the top of the Burj Khalifa would have set us back $571 Australian. We passed.

At the bottom of the building is the Dubai Fountain. This is the world’s tallest performing fountain. At around 275 meters long the fountain sits on a lake of 30 acres (Burj Lake) and at the appropriate times it performs to a selection of different melodies (from classical to contemporary Arabic and world music). The fountain has five circles (of varying sizes), two arcs (with powerful water nozzles), over 6,600 lights and 25 colour projectors. When operational, the fountain has over 80,000 litres of water in the air at any given moment.

The fountain starts going off at 6 pm and goes off at 30-minute intervals from then through until around 11 pm.

Once the sun goes down the Burj Khalifa chimes in on the 15-minute mark with a bit of a light show of its own just to add to the spectacle. As I’m sure you can imagine, this place is a favourite for the Instagram crowd.

The Burj Al Arab is the world’s only 7-star hotel. It has been built on its own artificial island off the coast.

Interestingly, the cheaper room prices start at a little over $220 a night.

But on closer inspection, the price to simply have a tour and look around (when not staying there) started at over $100 Aussie a head ($170 with a glass of bubbles) and there was an option to have a cappuccino with gold sprinkled on it (cos you need that). Needless to say 7 star luxury does not gel with our backpacker budget and we did not make it here. We did see it several times (through the smog) as we travelled around, but did not enter the building itself.

The beach area is nice, and importantly it is free. Unlike Europe, there was no exorbitant prices for daybeds, no obscene pricing for food and drinks just an accessible outdoor space for people to enjoy. And the vast majority of the people who were there enjoying the beach were Russian. In fact the majority of the people at our hotel, on the streets, and in the restaurants were all Russian. Clearly, there has been a mass exodus of people fleeing the war and setting up camp in Dubai.

I must admit the camel rides up and down the beach did throw us a little. One thing that stood out was Ain Dubai (a big Ferris Wheel thing). It joined a bunch of cities with such structures but being Dubai it had to be bigger than all that had gone before it. Opened in 2021, it operated for 5 months before it was closed for enhancement work. It has been closed ever since (no real explanation).

The Dubai Mall is the world’s largest shopping mall, complete with indoor go karts, cinemas, Olympic sized ice skating rink, Aquarium & Underwater Zoo, trampolining, haunted house, a 150 million year old dinosaur skeleton, and even the National Opera House. Oh there is a shop or two in there too (more than 1200 actually). But my favourite bit of all was the air conditioning.

The Museum of the Future is a stunning building that we flew past on the metro. The museum aims to give an insight as to some possible futures based on imagination, innovation and progress, thereby offering visitors a “glimpse into the limitless possibilities that lie ahead”.

We read the reviews and while the building looked awesome, the experience allegedly fell short, so we passed.

After catching up with Dave and Emma we tried to hop the Metro back to our hotel, but at 10:30 it was too late. The metro had shut down and been locked up. The place was full and bodies were everywhere, but the only cheap transport option had been removed. So we hopped a car to take us back. This blew our price out dramatically and more importantly put us in contact with dodgy transport drivers and shonks. The metro ride was 8 AED each, a ride share would have been 70 AED and the shonk that we got tried to charge us 150 AED. After some choice words (form both Jill and I) he got 100 (mainly because I only had 50’s and he was not going to give any change).

Transport operators, the world over, are typically terrible and are the source of the most rip-offs, and scams of tourists. Having to deal with these has been one of our biggest frustrations and has consistently left us with a sour taste in our mouths. This sort of thing has dramatically tainted our overall views of several cities and countries and is a big factor in whether or not we would ever return.

Look Dubai was not for us, but we did still see the attraction that it could hold. For the same money that you would pay for accommodation (modest) in Europe, you get lavish accommodation here. The beaches are better and the shopping is as good if not better. The sights are amazing (if you like modern urban landscapes) and the attractions are world class.

From a barren desert in the early 1990’s the city has come an incredibly long way and is unrecognisable. It is a perfect example of what can be achieved if you turn your mind (and open your wallet) to something. So the real question is what could seriously be next for a city like Dubai.

Obviously, it is the Downtown Circle.

The Downtown Circle project will seek to establish ” a sustainable and self-sufficient vertical urbanism.” I have no idea what that means but what is proposed is to build a 5-storey high, 550 meter tall mega structure to encircle the Burj Kalifa. The circle will have a three-kilometre circumference and will be composed of two main rings, which are held together by a continuous green belt – the “Skypark”.

The Skypark has been designed to act as a green lung, seeking to replenish the air with oxygen and intends to incorporate a series of activities and research centres. A fleet of suspended peripheral tram-like pods (hanging underneath) have been designed to transport passengers from one node to another in the Downtown circle. The projection is that this will come to pass by around 2040.

So in a very Las Vegas fake kind of way, Dubai has it all. I certainly don’t want to bag the place because it has a lot going for it. Unfortunately, those things (like super shopping malls) are not the sort of things that Jill and I tend to want to seek out.

Oman

September 18, 2023 richardpieper Leave a comment

Oman (officially the Sultanate of Oman) sits at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia and the UAE (west) and Yemen (southwest), while sharing maritime borders with Iran and Pakistan.

It has a population of a bit under 5.5 million.

The Rub’ al Khali or the Empty Quarter is the desert portion of Oman but also encompasses parts of the UAE, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. It is 1,000 kilometres long, and 500 kilometres wide and has sand dunes with heights of up to 250 metres

Our early research had us a little more excited about Oman as at first glance there seemed to be plenty to see and do. We were a little terrified coming into it as our Aussie dollar exchange rate came in at 25 cents. This meant that one of their real was worth $4 for us. Jill put us right in the heart of tourist land.

Our hotel room was not a shadow on our one from Abu Dhabi. It was the width of a bed and this was the door.

As I am a touch taller than Jill, I sconned myself on this door (and others around the hotel) on several occasions.

One of these has given me a gash to the head, concussion and likely brain damage.

The seaside area of Mutrah was to be our home for the next few days. Sadly the room paled in comparison with the luxury that we had in Abu Dhabi but the location was fantastic. Looking straight out of our window we had direct views of (and about a 300 m walk to) the Mutrah Fort.

At the bottom of our hill (250m), we were on the Mutrah Corniche. This is a 3km long promenade along the waterfront, which of course is lined with cafes, restaurants, and markets. You have views of the Oman Port and harbour (including the Sultans Yacht) and the Hajar Mountains with its Portuguese watchtowers on the other side.

Our first task was getting up at 6 am and walking along the Corniche to the fish market and dhow harbour before breakfast. Even the dodgy, smelly fish market was impressive. Stainless steel troughs. mosaic tiled walls and of course the freshest of fish that you could find.

As finding food in the Middle East had proven a touch challenging at times we have taken to getting breakfast included in our hotel. And so far, Oman is winning.

After our breakfast, we climbed the hill, paid our admission and hit the fort. Now this was a first. There was nobody there. We had the entire fort to ourselves for about 30 minutes. We roamed and explored and took our photographs with absolutely nobody else to contend with. When we were finished and were walking out the door, we passed the baton to two German guys who then also had it to themselves. Hitting the bottom though a group of about 10 arrived, so their solitude would have been short lived.

Having finished at the fort we hopped the local bus for a 4-5km ride to the National Museum of Oman.

Along the way you see a bizarre space ship looking thing on the right.

Apparently to celebrate the 20th National Day of Oman in 1990 this monumental incense burner was built on top of a prominent hill at Riyam Park.

Getting off the bus was a bit of a catch all as within a short walk of where the bus drops you off, you have the Museum, the Al Alam Palace (the official palace of the sultan), two Portuguese forts of Al Jalali and Al Mirani and some major government buildings.

But the Museum was first.

The palace was the next obvious place to head as it was only a few hundred meters away in a straight line. But it was also in full sun with no shade and no respite.

The next was the forts, which were basically each side of the palace. Unlike the Mutrah Fort, these were unable to be entered and climbed upon. But they were kind of big enough and obvious enough to get some nice photos.

At this point we had melted. While the actual temperature of Oman is lower than places like Saudi Arabi, the humidity raises the “feels like” factor considerably. While walking around at 1:30 in the afternoon we got our own personal record when we hit the “feels like” temperature of 52 degrees centigrade. We were cooked.

The last stop before running away to hide from the heat was the Muscat Gate Museum.

Having got our gate photos we grabbed drinks (melting) and were waiting the 5 minutes for the bus to arrive. At this point a taxi pulled up and beeped (a common thing-touting for business). But this guy already had a customer. He was already being paid and was going past the Souk (our get off point) and took us for free – just to save us waiting in the sun. Now that was a first.

So after hiding through the afternoon (after showers and attempts to wash the sweat from clothing) we waited for early evening and made our way down the hill to the Mutrah Souk. This is one of the oldest markets in Oman and was right on our doorstep. We had briefly wandered through during the afternoon but it is the evening when the Souk really takes off.

The next day, another amazing breakfast and on a bus back towards town to see the things we had passed on our way in. Stop number one, the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. It was officially opened in 2001 and has become Oman’s most important spiritual site. It was closed on the Sunday that we tried to visit. While we did not get to enter the mosque we still had access to wander the grounds outside and get some happy snaps. The mosque was built to hold 20,000 worshippers and is home to the world’s biggest 1-piece handmade Iranian carpet and the second-largest chandelier in the world.

Directly opposite the grand mosque is the Omani Parliament building. It was built in 2013 and sits on more than 100,000 square metres. It has more than 5 km of facade and the centrepiece is a 64 m clock tower (the highest in Oman) with each of the clocks having a 4.8 metre diameter. The building is known locally as the Majlis Oman.

According to the blurb the Parliament building has been equipped with a range of well-paced spotlights, with modern LED technology and underground lighting fixtures. This means that at night the whole 38-metre high wall is illuminated with a controlled washing effect over almost all of the surface.

The Royal Opera House area which is an event in itself. The building is imposing and our first glimpse of it was in the taxi on the way in (mosque and parliament too), which prompted us to get back here a few days later. It isn’t just the opera house but more of an entire precinct for the arts and cultural pursuits. It is regularly used and has the capacity for 1,000-seat concert and opera theatre. But with 15,000+ square metres, over six levels with three basement floors, it can easily change its configuration to cater to most events.

So Oman is our favourite so far. It is authentic. It has actively resisted the current trend (looking at you UAE) of advancement at all costs and has maintained those things that make it special. There are tons of forts all over the country and deserts and oases worthy of exploring.

UAE

Abu Dhabi

September 13, 2023 richardpieper Leave a comment

Abu Dhabi is both a city and an Emirate and is situated on an island in the Persian Gulf. The annual rainfall for the area is less than 2 inches. The majority of the city is on the island but most of the residents live in suburban districts on the mainland. The city is connected by bridges to the rest of the country.

The Al-Mafraq bridge is a multi-layer interchange bridge and it has 27 lanes which allow roughly 25,000 automobiles to move per hour.

The city was planned in the late 1960’s by a Japanese architect for an expected population of 40,000 (now around 1.5 million). Abu Dhabi has a 2030 plan that seeks to build numerous skyscrapers. It has a number already built and more under construction. There are also, many other skyscrapers over 150 m either proposed or already approved for construction.

Having hopped off the plane we were aiming for our hotel. To get there using a taxi would have been 170, the Uber was 130 and the bus was 8. So the bus it was and we got delivered about 250 meters from our hotel. Upon arrival, we found out that the room that we had booked was fully sold out. So they chose to upgrade us to a suite. And what a lovely suite it was too. No more grotty backpacking for us. We were on the 16th floor of a 19 story, hotel with multiple rooms, a laundry, a kitchenette and just generally an incredibly lovely place to be.

As we drove in on the bus we drove past possibly the most colossal building that we had ever seen. This was the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. So the next morning it was back on the bus to check this out properly.

The mosque was started in 1996 and more than 3,000 workers and 38 contracting companies worked over the next decade to build the mosque. It was designed to last and the materials chosen in its construction reflect this. These materials include marble, stone, gold, semi-precious stones, crystals, and ceramics. Overall it covers over 2.2 hectares and can safely hold 41,000 people. It is the largest mosque in the UAE and the third largest in the world.

We have been to some pretty amazing places over the years and this one is right up there with the best of them. the manicured gardens coupled with the quality of workmanship, inlaid marble, gemstones the whole thing just reminded me of a modern day Taj Mahal, but bigger. Oh and based on the photos above, can you tell the difference between Jill’s phone and mine.

Qasr Al Wasan is the presidential palace of the United Arab Emirates. It was built in 2017 and opened to the public in 2019. It is primarily used for official purposes like hosting foreign leaders and for meetings of the country’s supreme council and federal cabinet.

Yas Island is a purely commercial enterprise here in Abu Dhabi aimed entirely at the tourism market. It is a 25 km² island and one of the largest tourism projects in Abu Dhabi. It is most famous for the Marina Circuit that has held the Formula One Grand Prix since 2009.

But beyond the racing, the Island hosts numerous 5 star hotels, golf course, high end residential developments a huge water park and a Warner bros theme park. Entirely manufactured Yas Island was named the world’s leading tourism project in 2009.

Ferrari World is a mostly indoors theme park based on the famous car brand. It has the world’s fastest roller coaster (Formula Rossa) and the ability (if you meet the criteria) to do fast laps in a Ferrari.

Oh and obviously someone from Abu Dhabi had been to Las Vegas. The ground in certain areas of the city was littered with the business cards of the local hookers.

Something that I first saw in Las Vegas back in the 1990’s (and still occurs today).

Well Abu Dhabi has learned and embraced this too.

Abu Dhabi was ok. Our hotel was fantastic, and the things that we saw were good but most of the tourist things on offer (theme parks and shopping malls) were not really to our tastes. The architecture is amazing and everywhere you look when you are driving around you see fantastic buildings on monumental scales. The city has certainly come a long way from its fishing and pearl diving roots.

Qatar

September 11, 2023 richardpieper Leave a comment

Qatar occupies a peninsula of land (100km wide and 200 km long) that juts into the Arabian Gulf. Since its independence from Britain in 1971, Qatar has emerged as one of the world’s most important producers of oil and gas.

It shares a southern land border with Saudi Arabia and maritime borders with Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Iran. Qatar includes several islands the largest of which are, Halul, Shraouh and Al-Asshat.

Before we get into the Doha post a special mention has to go out to the Flynas Airline. This is a Saudi budget airline that actually have their seats set at reasonable distances apart. Jill and I got on the plane and actually had legroom (something that Qantas had done away with decades ago). This was only a short flight (about an hour) but that little bit of extra space made it very comfortable and pleasant.

We were not in business and did not pay extra, they just had their seats set at reasonable intervals. So much so that I had about 3-4 inches of space between my knees and the seat in front. It even meant that when that person reclined, there were no issues. And all of this from a budget airline. Take note Qantas, one or two less rows of seats in a plane greatly increases comfort and customer satisfaction.

Doha

We had transited here once before on our way to Greece, but never made it out of the airport (but we did enjoy the platinum lounge) and got to take some happy snaps around the airport. This time we got off and got to experience the friendliest and most helpful airport (possibly) on the planet. Granted it is not as efficient as places like Kuala Lumpur or Singapore, but it is much more friendly and welcoming.

We were approached (which is all too commonplace at foreign airports) as soon as we had cleared customs and hit the outer terminal. But this time it was not by a tout, a taxi driver or a sim card seller. It was by a paid information officer. He wanted nothing, other than to help us with the smooth transition towards what we wanted. In our case, this was to find the metro and buy tickets to take us to our hotel. He was one of many, was super friendly and super helpful.

The metro was stunning, clean, air-conditioned, cheap, easy to decipher and a pleasure to ride on. I immediately loved Doha. Hopping off the Metro we were still a way from our hotel so we then hopped an Uber to take us the rest of the way. This too was clean, cheap and efficient. Doha was such a refreshing change after Saudi Arabia.

It was hot, seriously hot. We had lost 5 degrees in actual heat (from 44 to 39) but had picked up 60% more humidity. This has the effect of increasing the (feels like) component of the weather.

Souq Waqif ( سوق واقف) is the old marketplace in Doha – dating back to the late 19th to early 20th centuries. It is the Middle Eastern experience that we had been hoping for from the beginning. It is a traditional market selling garments, spices, handicrafts, and souvenirs. It is also full of (overpriced) cafes, restaurants and shisha lounges.

We came early in the afternoon – before it had really opened – so got to experience it before the true bedlam set in (typically around 5 pm). Stunning buildings with narrow alleys and the sights and smells of spices were all amazing. We of course were spotted as tourists and drew the throng of touts offering sightseeing trips.

Fanar Mosque towers above the area of the Souq Waqif and the Corniche. It is unique due to its spiral design. Until 2009 it was the largest mosque in the country but still remains the tallest.

It performs as a mosque and also as the Qatar Islamic Culture Center.

The Corniche is one of Doha’s most iconic attractions. It is basically a seven kilometer stretch of waterfront promenade. It has a crescent shaped walkway around Doha Bay and offers the best views of the skyline (if you can see through the smog). We walked along the Corniche for a while but the almost 40 degree, high humidity day precluded doing the full stretch (obviously).

Dhow Harbour is the area that offers the best views of the city (smog permitting). The thing that we weren’t expecting was the abundance of Dhows. Dhows are the traditional Arabian wooden boats that have been used in the region for centuries. Originally they were used in the fishing and pearl diving industries, but today they are almost solely used for nighttime dinner cruises for tourists.

Our research identified an amazing space ship looking building that ended up being the National Museum of Qatar. So the metro once again got a run for our happy snaps and then an Uber home as it was getting seriously hot by now.

The next thing that I wanted to see was the Pearl. It is one of the largest real-estate developments in the Middle East that sits on 4 square kilometers of reclaimed land. Once fully completed it was expected to create over 32 kilometers of new coastline and increase housing for up to 45,000 residents. We got off the free transfer bus from the metro in the qanat quarter which is a Venice-like community complete with an extensive canal system, pedestrian friendly squares. piazzas and beachfront townhouses.

While we looked at the Qanat quarter we did get to drive past the numerous high-end residential towers and malls that make up the rest of the Pearl Island development. To get a real idea I had to grab one of their promo aerial shots from the tourist website.

Museum of Islamic Art is at one end of the Corniche and obviously holds a collection of historical Islamic Art.

Katara Towers is a seriously bizarre circular style building looking a bit like pincers. It was allegedly inspired by the national emblem of Qatar, which features traditional scimitar swords. I grabbed the first photo from the tourist website just to show the difference that the smog makes in real life.

The Torch is a hotel that stands 300 meters tall beside the Khalifa International Stadium. It was built for the Asian Games in 2006.

Zig Zag Towers is an apartment building in the West Bay Lagoon area. They are the highest and largest residential zig-zag twin towers in the world.

It is also connected to the Lagoona shopping mall. The idea of major shopping malls has been huge throughout the middle east so far. As two people who hate shopping malls our only real entries have been to hide from the extreme heat at times.

Qatar was lovely. We were here at the worst time of year for weather purposes, but if we had picked our timing better, I am certain that we would love this place. The food was great, the people welcoming. The only detraction was the air quality.

Saudi Arabia

September 10, 2023 richardpieper Leave a comment

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia occupies most of the Arabian Peninsula and is most famous for its oil and the fact that 85+% of the population worship the ultraconservative form of Sunni Islam.

Because of this there are some fairly strict rules in place, particularly when it comes to dress standards. Local laws require both men and women to dress modestly covering shoulders and knees in public. They should also avoid tight-fitting clothing or clothes with rude language or images.

Most men still tend to wear the traditional Saudi Arabian dress (Thobe) on a daily basis.

This is a long flowing (mainly white) robe and a ghutra (a white or red and white checked headdress, held in place by a double black cord known as an iqal.

For me it meant in extreme heat I had to wear long pants and a long sleeved shirt the whole time.

Since 2019, it is no longer mandatory for female travellers to wear the traditional robe or abaya (a loose-fitting, long robe that covers the entire body save for the face, hands, and feet) and veil. This eased the pressure on Jill to fully cover up (although she had already bought the scarf just in case).

Saudi Arabia is bordered by the Red Sea (west), Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait (north), the Persian Gulf, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (east), Yemen (south), and Oman (southeast). It has the third most valuable natural resource reserves in the world (petroleum and natural gas) making it one of the top twenty economies in the world.

The country is home to Mecca, Islam’s holiest city and the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad. Mecca is 70 km inland from the Red Sea, in a narrow valley 277 with a population of around 1.5 million.

The first thing that strikes you about the place is (obviously) the heat. We got off our plane in Riyadh at 3 am to be greeted by 31 degrees. Jill had arranged with the hotel for a driver to pick us up which took away any potential airport drama (specifically the money exchange and taxis) in the middle of the night.

The second thing to hit you is that at that time of the morning the place is busy. Not just the airport, but the whole place. I guess as a symptom of debilitating heat during the day the work pattern has shifted and the evening and early morning hours are where stuff gets done.

Given our early arrival off the flight and 3:45 arrival at the hotel it took another 45 minutes to wind down before we could sleep. We set an alarm for a few hours later so we could get up for breakfast, and then went back to sleep. Avoiding the heat of the day at all costs (in reality everything is quiet during the heat) we hid in our room until after dark before heading out for dinner.

Stepping out of our hotel at 7:15 pm we were punched in the face with a 38 degree hot wind. Clearly, our decision to avoid the afternoon heat had been a good one. A check of temperatures later on when we got home showed that 46 was on the cards but the wind (breeze) kept it down to 44.

Riyadh

Riyadh is the capital of Saudi Arabia and is the main financial hub. It sits on a desert plateau in the centre of the country and is home to almost 7.7 million people. The physical layout was designed and structured to be uniform with 2km x 2km city blocks running along a north/south and east/west axis. Within this grid are more than 4,000 mosques and numerous busy (air-conditioned) shopping centres.

The next thing that hits you is the sheer size of everything. All the roads from the airport to town were a minimum of 3 lanes and up to 8 in parts. Add to this the buildings that you drive past that are all very large and imposing.

Our hotel choice was almost perfect. It was the little cheapie (comparatively) on Olaya Street, directly across the road from the Kingdom Centre (RHS of this picture).

The Kingdom Center is one of the city’s major tourist icons.

It is a 99-storey skyscraper that was built in 2002 making it the tallest building in the country. As you would expect, it has been surpassed several times since then. The building features a 300 meter high sky bridge that connects the 2 towers. And of course, of an evening the lights cycle through a range of colours changing the appearance every 20 seconds or so.

Once you have paid your entrance fee there are two lifts needed to get to the bridge. The first will take you to the 77th floor, and then another to the 99th. Arriving at the 99th floor you immediately come out onto the skybridge with amazing views north and south. And if you are super keen you can lean over and get a photo looking down.

Dinner at the Kingdom Centre was a failure (something that became commonplace in our time in Saudi Arabia) and ended up being an overpriced, bland meal from a shopping centre food court. In fact all of the meals that we had in Saudi Arabia were fails, with the exception of the hotel breakfasts.

We had high hopes for the food but each attempt failed. It was virtually impossible to find a restaurant (other than chain store junk food). Maybe home cooking is the go, maybe we were just in the wrong spot. But our culinary exposure in Saudi Arabia was less than stellar.

The next day we once again hid from the heat of the day, not venturing out until 5 pm. As we walked out of the air-conditioned hotel we were once again hit with 41 degrees while we waited for our Uber to take us to the historical Deira district. The aim of the journey was to visit the Masmak Fort and its museum.

The fort was built in 1865 and is made almost entirely out of wood, straw and mud. The fort is made up of six distinct parts: the gate, the mosque, the majlis (sitting room), the well, the towers and the courtyard.

Just like the building opposite us, after dark they light up the fort in a rotating set of colours too.

Along the way, you do pass some fairly interesting buildings and architecture. Some of these include the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, the National museum, the Al Murabba Palace Museum, and the Al Rajhi Grand mosque. But these tend to all look and feel the same. They are all 2-5 storey, yellowish, sandstone blocks (which seem to be pretty much everywhere in town.

Who would have thought that in the middle of a desert, there would be sand, sandstone and yellow-coloured buildings? The broad, flat, low profile of the buildings probably relates mainly on the base (sand) that they are built upon. This is all very logical and sensible, but in terms of visual appeal, it is all very much the same.

The amazing thing to us was the traffic. With 3-8 lanes of traffic available everywhere, it was almost always in gridlock.

It took us about 40 minutes to travel the 12 km to the fort and about the same to get back. The next day (while hiding from the heat and looking out the window) it was considerably worse (and this was Sunday afternoon).

The car is king here, there is virtually no such thing as public transport (but there is a plan). The “King Abdulaziz Project for Riyadh Public Transport” is underway to develop and deliver a public transport network (metro and buses) that will eventually move 3.6 million passengers daily. The finished product is supposed to have: 6 metro lines (with 84 stations), 180 bus routes (with 2860 stops and 842 buses).

But, today there are no metro lines and only 24 of the proposed 180 bus routes are in operation. There is no cycling (that we have seen) and in the heat, the pedestrian traffic is virtually non-existent. So you drive, take an Uber or taxi or stay put. An all of this in a city of over 7 and a half million people.

Needless to say, this level of automobile use comes with a pollution issue. The place is shrouded in a constant haze. This was a real surprise to me, as I expected clear desert skies and not a constant smog film. This obviously wreaks havoc on our photographs.

At the other end of our little strip of road you will find the Faisaliyah Tower. This and the Kingdom Centre kind of bookend this strip of Riyadh. I have seen them described as the bottle opener (Kingdom Centre) and the Pointy one.

Faisaliyah Tower (also called the star dome) is at the other end of the strip and was the first high-rise built in Saudi Arabia.

The round bit at the top is a three storey, fine dining, restaurant called “The Globe” that offers 360 degree views of the city.

As you would expect, the Globe is one of the most sought-after restaurants in Riyadh, with a price tag to match. The website dictates a minimum consumption of SAR 288 (about $120 aussie) per person. This doesn’t seem ridiculously steep, but when you look at the menu, finding something that cheap may be a challenge. The cheapest tasting menu starts at $170 and the 7 course kicks in at $320, each.

For what is on offer the numbers are not crazy, but sadly they were outside of our budget (photos from their Facebook page).

The edge of the world is the name of the 1,131 m height cliff that lies about 100 km from Riyadh. It sits at the end of the 800 km Tuwaik Mountain range. Given its distance from town, the expense of tours, the warnings about remoteness and the major hike required to get here we did not even entertain going.

The one thing that absolutely disgusted me was the attitude of the Saudis (predominately the men). There was an overwhelming sense of arrogance and entitlement that the rules did not apply to them. We were treated fantastically at every interaction. But we witnessed some of the most atrocious behaviour and treatment of others that we had ever seen.

Example 1: While leaving the country we were waiting in the airport line to check in and get our boarding passes when a 13 (ish) year old Saudi boy was verbally abusing, talking down to and berating a porter (non-Saudi adult). This immediately rubbed me up the wrong way and if he had tried talking to me that way the would have received quite the attitude adjustment.

Example 2: On the plane, we were seated in row 2 directly behind business class. One person was in row 1 (who had clearly paid extra) but the Saudi man (about 50) opposite us berated and was rude to the flight attendants because he was not allowed to sit there. When she explained that the other guy had paid for the privilege this was not a good enough answer and pointed to his outfit and claimed that this should override the lack of paying for the business class seat.

Example 3: On the next flight we were further back the plane when a Saudi Male (about 25) reclined his seat while still at the gate. The flight attendant asked him to put his seat back up and he objected. She pushed the button and sat him upright. As soon as she turned he reclined. She saw this and sat him upright again. This pattern recurred a further 12+ times until she finally just gave up.

Example 4: On every one of these flights, after the don’t use your phones announcement Saudis (both male and female) kept talking on their phones right through the takeoff and landings.

Saudi Arabia itself was okay, but for the most part, we were unable (or unwilling) to get out and about to see the sights due to the heat and poor transportation system. So this meant that much of our time here was spent waiting around the hotel room for a time that was suitable to go out and explore.

In reality, this is probably our failure in not resetting our travel patterns appropriately. The people were lovely to us, but had an overwhelming demeanor that the rules just did not apply to them. While we can now say that we have been and spent some time here, I probably would not put this on the comeback list.

Albania

September 7, 2023 richardpieper Leave a comment

Albania is a nation that shares land borders with Montenegro (northwest), Kosovo (northeast), North Macedonia (east) and Greece (south). There is evidence of habitation in the area since the Neolithic era (around 7000 BCE).

The Albania of today provides universal health care and free education (primary and secondary) to its citizens.

Tirana

Well, this one surprised us. We looked online at the local tourist attractions and the list looked pretty lean. Our time was short but given the list of things to see it had a fair bit of downtime in there too. Once we arrived and started looking we saw much more than we had bargained for.

Add to this that it was listed as a developing country, our experience was very different. It had many of the baselines for a developed nation (footpaths and lighting etc) that we had been missing in many of the last six countries we had been in. Granted, the traffic was a nightmare and the sewerage at times questionable but for the most part this place is extremely civilised and pleasant.

So the main thing on the tourist schedule for Tirana is Skanderbeg Square. This is the main central square in the heart of town. At one end is the National Historical Museum and at the opposite side is the statue of Gjergj Skanderbeg.

This is the third time we had run into Skanderbeg having also seen his statues in Skopje and Pristina.

According to the history books, Skanderbeg’s led a 10,000 strong army that waged war in Ottoman territory. For 25 years, (between 1443 and 1468) they kept winning against consistently larger and better-supplied Ottoman forces.

A war memorial dedicated to the victims of the Kosovo War is present in Skanderbeg Square along with a series of photographs depicting those missing from the conflict.

There is much construction still going on in the city and the thing that is enthusing me is that they are not building boring concrete and glass cubes. The Architects have been to work and are putting together something that may end up being an interesting cityscape.

While there was not huge amounts to see and do, we liked Tirana and would happily come back. Getting around was easy and cheap and the people were mainly friendly. Albania would make for a nice base to launch longer European forays (daytips etc) while not killing the budget.

Tirana represented the end of this phase of our European adventure. We now start heading back to Australia (briefly) but we are doing it the slow way with several stops in the Middle East, Sri Lanka (again) and then into Brisbane via Kuala Lumpur and Sydney.

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