travel

The gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable forest

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The rest of 2018 passed in a flurry of unexpected changes in our life taking us back to our hometown of Vancouver and a different lifestyle. Still, I want to finish writing about the second half of our experiences with the Ugandan mountain gorillas. Since the memories have become more distant I will let the photos do the talking.

Our first day seeing the Oruzogo family of gorillas started with a short drive from the Bakiga Lodge to the ranger station early in the morning. We were welcomed and instructed of the “to dos and to do not around gorillas” by a group of guides and guards and assigned to another couple from Sweden to be our small group for the day.  The lodge had looked after food, snacks and water for our hike which could take up to 8 hours. And with another half hour drive from the ranger station we ended up in a small village where we were able to hire our porters for 15 US per person and start our adventure. We each chose to have our own porter for our backpacks and to help us with difficult terrain if that was needed. And boy were we glad we had the help! Our 45 min hike to the 18 animal group sounded short enough, but entailed very steep and muddy paths through a tea plantation and the rain forest. As the entire hike happened above 2,000 m elevation our ability to cope with the climbing and the thin air was severely challenged and the helping hand when climbing up or down the many muddy 50 cm “steps” much appreciated. All the huffing and puffing was definitely worth it when we saw “our family” relaxing under the trees and in the deep grass. This group was one of the largest in Uganda and was led by a silver-back male whose brothers stayed with the family as well. Making it unique with 4 silver-backs around. While we stood among the trees and marveled at the family resting and the small ones playing the gorillas eventually were done and started moving past us. One silver-back stepping so close to my husband that he could have touched him and was asked by our rangers to move back a little.

 

Our porters
Silverback on approach

 

 

one of the younger silverbacks
A mother with 2 year-old

The entire day was finished at about 11 am when we were driven back to the ranger station for our certificate of participation. We were so elated that we managed to finish this hike without having to call in the “Ugandan helicopter”, a service which transports an injured or incapacitated hiker back to civilization. We were able to see one in action on our next day at the ranger station in Buhoma when a lady with knee problems had hired it in advance for the entire hike: it was a car seat (with seat belt I think) mounted on a sturdy platform with four arms to be carried by four to six strong people.

After our breathlessness at the high elevation our drive to Buhoma was relaxing and the acclimatization to an elevation around 1,550 m in the Haven lodge was easy. Still, after the very breathtaking hiking experience in the Ruhija area I was a little concerned about the longer hike in this part of the forest to find the Mubare family group. On this tour we were a larger group of 9 visitors with one ranger and two armed guards. The guards, we were told, were necessary to protect us from potentially aggressive elephants which occasionally can be encountered. We never saw one and thought that they may as well have been for protection from armed poachers or smugglers which cross the border from the Democratic Republic of Congo that runs right through the middle of the National Park.

 

adult female grazing
Silver-back leader of the group
1- and 4 year old playing
Female snacking on leaves in a tree

 

As on our first day we hired a porter each while most other visitors chose to carry their own luggage. Tourists in this group included an older couple which despite the easy hike ended up needing some assistance from our porters – as they had chosen not to hire one – to help them after a fall and through some trickier spots of the trail. Being part of a larger group made for more challenging viewing of the gorillas as more than once other members just thrust their cameras or bodies right in front of our line of sight to take their best photo. So, we held back a little and were rewarded with our most amazing experience of this adventure: a four year-old gorilla girl decided she wanted to cross to another spot and walked right between my husband and me (trying to stand as still as possible) brushing along my pant leg and slapping my husband playfully on  his thigh. What a badge of honour to be touched by a gorilla in the wild. Admittedly, I would have been scared to death if this would have been an adult female or the silver-back.

Our day-long car drive back impressed us again with its beautiful views of the agricultural country-side and the many colourful storefronts along the way.

 

Restaurant and rest stop at the equator
Roadside Advertisement
Colourful building
Storefronts

Motorcycles, named border-border, as they are used to transport anything and anyone from border to border or just the next village are everywhere.

 

Border-border mortorcycles
transport of people
..and.bananas
… and everything one can imagine

We spent our last night at the same hotel, 2 friends Beach hotel,  in Entebbe and enjoyed a delicious dinner on the beach along Lake Victoria. Having seen just such a small part of the country we hope we can return and explore more parks with wildlife and natural wonders.

To a Happy 2019!

Yours, Maike

 

 

Uganda – from Entebbe to Bwindi Impenetrable forest

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One item on our travel bucket list was visiting and observing the wild mountain gorillas in Africa. There are three countries which offer these trek safaris: Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Rwanda and Uganda are both currently safe to travel in as long as one avoids certain border areas where militants from neighbouring countries may cause disruptions. Our choice fell on Uganda since there was a non-stop flight available and because they charge (in 2018) 600 USD per person/day to visit (compared to 1,500 USD charged in Rwanda). We booked a 4-day tour with Insight Safari tours which included the drive from Entebbe to the forest and back on day 1 and 4, two days trekking gorillas, all accommodations and food. We can highly recommend them and loved talking to our guide Nasser.

 

Arrived in Entebbe
Our welcome drink – a local beer
2 friends Hotel, pool and bar area

After arriving at Entebbe airport we were picked up by a shuttle from the 2 friends Beach hotel we had booked for the first and last night. The hotel is located a short 10-minute drive (outside rush hour) from the airport and some rooms have a view towards Lake Victoria, the second largest fresh water lake in the world and the source of the Nile river. The beach for all the hotels in this area can be found across a small road, but is for scenery only as swimming in the lake is forbidden due to bilharzia (Schistomosiasis), an infectious flat worm.

We were not sure if we  would have time to explore the city. But from leaving the plane to arriving at the hotel less than an hour passed and after a short rest we walked the 10 minutes to the Botanical Gardens and paid 10 USD for two (or 20,000 Ugandan shilling) for the visit. A student gave us a tour (10,000 shilling for 1-1.5 hours) and showed us the most interesting of trees and locations.

 

Starfruit tree
Cannonball tree (fruits)
view towards Lake Victoria

The garden looks a bit overgrown and disheveled which is no surprise when there is only 10 staff (4 of them horticulturists) attending to the 40 hectares. Being one of the oldest (founded in 1898) in Africa its rain forest area had been used for the 1951 Tarzan movie with Lex Barker.

 

Tarzan movie shot here
Capok fruit capsule and fibre
cocoa fruit

A kapok tree and its fruits filled with fibre caught my attention and will be another hand-spinning experiment. Commercially Kapok fibre is used for stuffing pillows. But I like to see what happens when spun or even knit. As much as we enjoyed the tour it would have been better to be a little more prepared with our cash. We didn’t have many small US dollar bills and had not exchanged USD for Ugandan Shilling, yet. Thus, paid more then needed for the fee and tour. But as our guide queried politely: “Do we have to go hungry?” No, definitively not and the people are poor and can use the money for food, clothes and their studies.

 

Geckos, our favourite insect killer
On the equator
Our comfortable 4-wheel drive van
Our cafe at the equator

It did not dawn on us how little the local people had in life until we traveled through the countryside on our way to Bwindi Impenetrable forest. We saw small children barefoot and in probably the only piece of clothes they owned playing in the red sand on the side of the road. No toys neither or electronic gadgets as some areas are not connected to the electric grid or have access to drinking water from a faucet. Most families own a small plot to grow vegetables to feed themselves and once in a while sell the surplus for a little money to buy other food items. With over 50% unemployment this subsistence farming is their lifeline. We were surprised to see the ingenuity to help make a little money: from cutting papyrus on public land to make mats to making ones own bricks to build a house were just a few of the activities we observed.

 

Loved the advertisements
Roadside market full of fresh fruits and vegetables
Our first lodge – very environmentally friendly
The view from our porch over the Bwindi forest peaks

Many buildings created a little money by having their walls painted with advertisement. Those slogans and colours were fun and vivid. Every few kilometers one could buy fresh vegetables and fruits. The mini bananas being our favourite with their sweetness balanced by a little tartness (a hint of lemon). Yum! After a good 10 hours on the road and half of it along gravel tracks we were happy to arrive at Bakiga Lodge. It gave us a true being-off-the-grid feeling as the lodge is located about 2,000 m above sea level and in a remote area close to the Bwindi forest. No electricity, only what can be produced with solar cells for lights and charging phones for 3-5 hours/day and water from rain collection. A true Eco lodge which supports the neighbouring area with water collection tanks and employment for locals through their tourist dollars. It did get quite cold in the evening (early March) and we were happy to sleep under a few warm blankets and with a hot water bottle at our feet. With great food cooked over a wood-fired stove we were ready to go on our first gorilla trekking adventure…..

To be continued…

Thank you, for reading my blog! Cheers, Maike

 

 

Camel race in Al Marmoom

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One of the events of Emirati life we wanted to experience was a camel race. We knew they were held regularly at one racetrack or another in the desert in the emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, but finding information in English was difficult to come by. Often we learned about a race after the event. But finally we were lucky: on a flight returning to Abu Dhabi I was offered this in-flight magazine and found a date and time to go. If you look closely you will see that the first races start a 6:30 am which is the more common time. But luckily there were races at 2 pm as well and easy for us to arrive on time.

Dubai magazine
Camel race date aoounced

Typically, camel races are a male dominated sport in the UAE and we did notice that the there were expat families, men and women in attendance, but no traditionally dressed Emirati women or girls. Everyone involved in the care-taking before and after the race was male. Still, this race which was sponsored by Sheik Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the son of the ruler of Dubai, expected visitors and had buses at the ready to drive us along the owners cars and the camels to see how the race was unfolding. We arrived after around 2 pm and parked close to the start line which was covered by a bridge for spectators with a great bird’s eye view to see the camels in their gates – always a few to each one – and the start. Before the race the animals were held in a big area often together with a companion who was not racing. We assumed it was to keep them calm before the race.

Dubai camel race club logo
holding area before the race
Young camels getting ready

You can see the companion camels with their blue and white blankets while the race camels are wearing their small electronic jockey which can spur them on with a short, remote-controlled whip. Once they were guided into the gates some restless shoving and pushing ensued despite the caretakers trying to calm them. When the gate opened with a big “clang” the race began and most contenders started forward in their loping, gangly running style. Since the track is 8 km long the camel owners follow their animal alongside on a paved or gravel track by car. This way they can call out to them for motivation or start the whip to garner more speed.

The remote-controlled “jockey” is mounted
In the gates -ready to go

The race we followed alongside in the bus was great! We watched the last camel which lagged behind by about 100 meters for most of the race. But once we reached the 6,000 meter mark it started to catch up. This contender was running at the same speed for the entire track while the others started to tire and slow down. Interestingly, no matter how much the whip was used once a camel was done running it just didn’t care and continued on at its own speed. In the end the one lagging behind made third place just by having the endurance to run consistently for the entire 8,000 meters.

Knitting in between races…
The next pair of socks

Between events I continued knitting on a pair of socks I really wanted to finish that day to use the needles for the next pair (purple and rainbow colours).

bus for viewers to follow along the race
after the race
free snacks and water

After the race the remote-controlled whips were quickly removed and the camel covered in a Blue-white blanket to keep it from cooling off too quickly. While they were guided back to their stables we were offered some free water, Arabian coffee and snacks. The chocolate flavoured camel milk was delicious and filling and the cardamom pudding jelly with crunchy almonds on top was a treat which went really well with the coffee. Filled with food and a fantastic experience we drove home.

Information about camel races in Dubai can be found here. Generally, camel races happen during big festivals in the winter and spring. In Abu Dhabi the Sheik Zayed Heritage festival which starts at the beginning of December organizes a few races during the first week. Another race can be seen during the Liwa Sports festival at the Tal Moreeb dune. This festival runs for one week starting close to Dec 30th. If you know a camel owner even better. They will be able to tell you all about it. A truly local experience worth the effort of finding.

Thank you, for reading and following along with my adventures. Until next time!

Maike

 

December impressions

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While we had a busy year traveling through four continents December was our craziest month trying to find Christmas spirit in different parts of the world and celebrate the year’s end with a big bang in a new location.

Our first destination was Melbourne for a long weekend with plenty of monsoon rains. Despite it being summer in Australia the decorations along the streets and in the malls were festive and gave us our first sense of Christmas approaching.

Yarra river view
Christmas tree in downtown

It was a nice start into the season, but still not as it can be experienced in Northern Europe. The lack of early evening darkness, frosty temperatures and any sense of snow makes it less effective than seeing the markets in Germany. There it is not only the decorations everywhere to light up the dark, long nights, but it is a part of life as people gather with friends and coworkers after work at the food stalls to warm up with a glass of mulled wine, hot chocolate or hearty sausage. On the weekends families go out for downtown Christmas shopping and stop to have a “Bratwurst” and some “Schmalzkuchen” (deep fried dough similar to small donuts) for a lunch or dinner snack. The aromas of roasted, sugared almonds and maroons, barbecued meat and hot fruit or alcohol punch combined with freezing temperatures create an enchanting winter environment. The eyes are drawn to the many craft and gift item stalls all lined up to form outdoor wooden hut markets with people mingling among them throughout the month of December. It is a time to “hang out” with friends and family and huddle around against the chill until it is time to go home.

Pedestrian zone decorations
Lights everywhere
Traditional Hamburg Christmas market
A maroon seller
Even the train stations are decorated

Thus motivated we set up a little Christmas in our own home.

Yearly Christmas calendar garland
Crochet gift ornaments

And found that there were areas in Abu Dhabi decorated with effort and style to make it feel festive, too. With our personal highlight being invited to a Christmas Day picnic with friends in the desert. We found a spot in a small dip overlooked by sand dunes on three sides. Perfect for setting up tables and chairs and a cosy campfire after sunset. Stories of  huge camel spiders running after people made it an memorable and slightly spooky evening. 🙂

Artificial trees with snow
Enormous tree in the Fairmont hotel lobby
Even the banisters were wrapped nicely

We had not made any specific plans for finishing the year and on a spur of the moment flew to Sydney to participate in the big New Years Eve festivities to be among the first in the world to see the beginning of 2018.

Tourist information booth Sydney
Chinatown gate, Sydney

Our hotel, the Holiday Inn Darling Harbour, sits on the edge of Sydney’s Chinatown, a 15 minute walk from the  harbour’s restaurants and the museum station with direct access to the airport. Despite our overnight flight we felt refreshed and enjoyed the walk along the waterfront with its street performers and bustling with people visiting from all over the world. An evening market in Chinatown allowed for some additional entertainment and interesting views. Our dinner meals were Malaysian one night, Australian pies the second and Korean Bibimbap the third. The advantages of staying in this part of town. Arriving this last minute meant we had not obtained tickets to some of the waterfront parks or events to see the famous fireworks from a preferred spot. As we didn’t want to pay thousands of dollars to have guaranteed seating at the Opera House or the Botanical Gardens since more affordable locations were sold out, or had planned on sitting in a park for 12 hours to have a view, we decided to “wing it” on New Year’s eve. We had the idea to walk over to the Rocks as we had been there earlier and noticed that some areas were elevated enough to see through the line of buildings to the Harbour bridge. After 40 minutes walking we found a spot on a street corner in front of a small hotel and pub overlooking the houses and a good view. Just in time to see the fireworks and exchange New Years Cheers with our newly met Australian acquaintances. This event did not disappoint with multiple firework barges along the bay and view of sparkling cascades in any direction we looked. Sydney truly has the biggest, most spectacular fireworks on New Years eve!

The event planner…
Harbour bridge fireworks

To a happy, healthy and peaceful 2018 around the world and you, my dear readers! Thank you!

Yours, Maike

Getting stuck in Paris….

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A little while ago we tried to fly home to Canada and opted for a few different routes, but were unable to get across the Atlantic. As it happened on our third try we flew to Paris hoping to find a seat with any airline, but realized after a few hours that would not happen. Thus, after a quick online booking the Hotel Mercure Opera Louvre became our home for the next four days and we were all set to explore Paris. We thought we were lucky to stay in this nice, old building built around 1900 and converted into a hotel. It was in a central location with easy walking access to the Opera, Galleries Lafayette shopping, many covered shopping passages, metro stations and even the Louvre. We booked a premium room with a terrace on the fifth floor and loved it. Looking over the roofs of the surrounding buildings we enjoyed afternoon snacks and some easy dinners in the fresh air on our own little patio.

 

Galleries Lafayette
Breakfast room in our hotel
Our rooftop terrace

On our very first 3-day-visit years ago we skipped the main attractions of the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre museum afraid that the masses would repel us and lessen our enjoyment. But I had since the chance to explore both with a friend and learn about the best visitation hours: We knew arriving early in the day when the attractions open would carry the lowest risk of crowds. Don’t get me wrong: it is still busy, but there is room to move around, the wait for tickets is less than half an hour and one is not stuck in a mass of bodies. The views from the Eiffel tower are all worth it and we even had time to go to the lower deck and learn about the construction of the tower for the World Fair in 1889 and the family history of its engineer Mr Gustave Eiffel.

 

Eiffeltower
View towards Ecole miitaire
Montmatre’s Sacre Coeur in th emist

One can easily recognize many of the important buildings and landmarks: Montmatre’s Sacre Coeur church, the Seine winding its way to the Louvre, The Arc de Triomphe and the beautiful gardens leading to the Military school (Ecole Militaire). The Rodin museum was chosen by my husband as our next destination, a good 45 minute walk from the Eiffel tower. Rodin’s “The Thinker” drew us there The Rodin museum surprised us in more than one way: beautiful gardens showing his larger sculptures next to a cafe/bistro to sit surrounded by green trees, bushes and flowers to enjoy a snack or lunch. All for quite decent prices given that many restaurants offer only 3-course lunch menus which were often too much for us. We enjoyed strolling through the park finding many of his pieces displayed next to benches or chairs to rest and contemplate the view. It takes a good hour to visit the park and another hour to see the exhibits of his smaller works, sketches and antique arts collection. My favourite piece was “Age of maturity” for its dynamic of a mature man  being wooed by death and leaving youth behind. We skipped the Kiefer-Rodin display in the entrance building since our capacity to enjoy any more art had been saturated. This museum is definitely worth a visit and particularly on a sunny or overcast day. It never felt crowded even with the many visitors.

 

Rodin museum current exhibit
Rodin’s “The Thinker” in the park
“The Cathedral” sculpture
“L’Age mur” maturity- a riveting composition

Our next day brought us to the Louvre, a behemoth of a museum and soon to open an offspring in Abu Dhabi, to have a look at three specific areas: Islamic art, Italian and French masters. We started with the Islamic art which was a “poor” decision in hindsight as that particular exhibit is never really busy. Next came the Italian masters which were amazing with their evolution of art from strictly Theological topics towards landscape scenes and family portraits. By accident – there were so many signs and arrows one couldn’t miss it – we ended up in the room displaying the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. It was already somewhat crowded in front of the that highly guarded painting hidden behind two layers of glass/Plexiglas and two adjacent security staff. We were still able to snap a photo of the most well-know painting on Earth. But with the shiny layers on top reflections were distorting the beauty of it and made the snapshot more a memento than a photograph to display. Once we left the room the tour groups started to arrive and the air became warm and sticky. Time to escape to the French masters which didn’t draw the tourists as much. After two hours steeped in art and in close proximity of too many tourists it was time to enjoy some fresh air and find my favourite French family restaurant “Vero Dodat” for lunch again. A great two-course menu with a quiet rest in the old shopping passage was what we needed to feel relaxed and ready to see more of Paris.

 

Louvre: the crowds are arriving
Mural in Montmatre

A leisurely walk from our hotel brought us to the lower parts of Montmatre with its quirky, small shops and restaurants. A real Belgian waffle and ice-cream stand just opened for the evening and tempted us with some salted caramel in a waffle cone. We found this glass mural (photo above) on one of the buildings and marveled at the Quarters history and architecture.

 

public chairs to enjoy the Luxembourg Gardens
Palais de Luxembourg
Voltaire’s tomb and statue
Foucault’s Pendulum in the Pantheon

For our last day we wanted to explore a bit more on foot  and made our way to the Jardins De Luxembourg, a big park for the enjoyment of locals and visitors alike. Besides large green spaces and beautiful horticulture (among others an apple garden with tenths of varietals) one could find facilities to play tennis and boule, a playground and lots of chairs and benches to sit and enjoy the views. Many sculptures decorated the park and small plaques told of political events and gestures. This is a great spot to take family and friends for a picnic and a stroll. A further twenty minute walk brought us to the Pantheon, a building built as a church and nowadays a mausoleum, dedicated to the historic figures and legends of France. Big wall murals depict the life of Joan D’ Arc and St Genevieve on the main floor, which houses Foucault’s pendulum (proof of the rotation of the earth) under one dome as well. The basement hosts the remains and coffins of important members of French society. From Voltaire and Rousseau to writer Alexandre Dumas to scientists Marie and Pierre Curie and more have been buried there. A walk through the crypt is less creepy than one might think and the history present is impressive. Compared to other burial grounds of famous people the tombs are well marked and it is not too crowded to read and find a particular person of interest.

Saturated with good food, wine and many impressions of a beautiful city we left to embrace our summer at home.

Thank you, for visiting and reading my blog! Until next time, Maike

 

Singapore – another 36 hours

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Just a few months after our first weekend to Singapore we decided on a spur of a moment to visit again for 36 hours and to meet with friends from Europe and Canada. Thus, limiting the time for sightseeing and still experiencing something new along the way. This time we stayed at the Mercure Singapore Bugis hotel, a 10 minute walk from the Bugis metro-station and were surprised about the modern and quirky layout. The room was compact with all the needed amenities and had a huge window for amazing views over the neighbourhood. The infinity pool, kept at a crispy (for us being used to 30C pools) 22C, was a delight to swim in. We couldn’t get enough of the views in the half hour we managed to find before we checked out again.

 

7th floor infinity pool, Mercure Singapore Bugis hotel
roof top terrace, Mercure Bgis

After arriving around lunch time we had time to clean up and relax before we headed out to the Marina Bay Sands hotel. We not only enjoyed drinks at their roof top bar, but had a nice sushi dinner in their next door restaurant. After nightfall our friend’s daughter had suggested to go to the Gardens by the bay to see the light-show in the artificial trees. It was an amazing and fun event of listening to 15 minutes of musical tunes (Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables and many more) free of charge and great for all ages.

 

Marina Bay Sands hotel at night
giant artificial tree-structure during the light show

Impressed and happily humming some of the tunes we walked to the Fairmont hotel for a night-cap and further to our hotel for a good nights sleep. Meeting with our other friends at lunch time we had a few hours in the morning and decided to grab a tart and coffee at a  coffee place around the corner before heading out for a walk to Chinatown. We enjoyed the sights along the way much more than our destination as we had to turn back when we reached the first block or two of the old Chinese quarter.

 

Gate to the Chinese Chamber of commerce
Sculpture next to an art gallery
River cruises anyone\/
Trees planted on high-rise terraces

The Chinese Chamber of commerce impressed with an elaborate wooden gate sheltered by a roof with glazed tiles. The sculptures and architecture we found along the way added interest to our walk. We crossed the river and saw river cruise boats anchored along the sides: this would be on our to-do-list for next time. After a quick snack of a BBQ-pork bun we headed back to explore another area with our friends. They walked us past a modern building with very striking designs of the Art Deco era. The building could have easily played the background for any Batman-Gotham-based movie with its sculptures and wooden-paneled two-story bar.

 

A strong woman
dancer on a shell
relief picture of a muscle man
Art Deco bar

We wandered ahead towards the area known as the Arabic quarter and were treated to small streets with two-story wooden houses which held a store or restaurant on the main floor and apartments on the second. A bar with outdoor fans was our destination for lunch and cooling off in the swirling air. To be followed with more walking through other small streets with lovely craft stores and small restaurants.

We still have not seen the zoo at night or visited any of the museums or the area of Little India. So, I suppose, we may be back to experience more.

Thank you, for traveling with me in my blog. To happy journeys!

Yours, Maike

Liwa date festival

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Every year beginning in the middle of July Liwa city/Mezairaa located close to the Rub al Khali desert (“The Empty quarter”, a good 150 minute drive from Abu Dhabi) hosts the Liwa date festival. We visited on the second weekend towards the end and stayed at the Tilal Liwa hotel. The one-night stay was wonderful with the hotel sitting among low sand dunes and beautiful views over the desert and towards some small oasis settlements. We booked the hotel including breakfast, dinner and a massage package. The one night was almost too short, with us arriving after lunch and leaving shortly after to visit the date festival to enjoy dates and an adjacent, big cultural exhibition. We enjoyed the infinity pool with a desert view and the spa the next morning, just before leaving to the Tal Moreeb dune on our way home.

Tilal Liwa Hotel lobby fountain
Tilal Liwa dates and coffee welcome the guests

The views from the parking lot in front of the exhibition tents made us feel welcome right away. The poster shows a date farmer at harvest and had been guiding us along the highway to our destination where a beautiful wrought-iron fence and a gate reminiscent of an entrance to a local fort greeted the visitors.

The date and fruit exhibition was smaller than expected as the date grading and the prizes had been done the previous weekend. Still, there was ample opportunity to try and buy many varieties of dates. The multi-coloured bushel of dates shows the different ripeness grades of the fruit: from green and bitter tasting, to just ripe (yellow, crunchy with bite and a little sweet) to fully ripe (in red/brown) with a more intense and sweeter flavour. All of them were delicious with a hot cup of tea or Arabic coffee.

prize dates
sampler of dates and fruits

Other fruits on display and grown in the UAE were limes, mangoes and lemons. The other half of the exhibition hall was a huge market place with hand-made local products ranging from beautiful woven baskets, bags and mats from palm leaves to colourful dresses and home-made sweets. The quality and designs were some of the best ones I have found so far.

handbags woven from palm leaves
colourful dresses
woven baskets
woven mats, preserves and dates

One stall sold hand-spun yarn from local sheep. Yay! Finally, I was able to purchase a local yarn. The naturally off-white yarn is a pretty big ball and a little coarse. I am sure it is great for weaving mats or pillows, but not something to wear close to the skin. I will measure the yarn’s yardage at one point and then decide what it will be knit or crochet into.

camels dressed up
view from our room
Tal Moreeb – the highest dune in the UAE

A last look at the desert and some impressions of the Liwa oasis and surroundings on our way home: camels, a small oasis and the Tal Moreeb, one of the highest dunes in the world with over 300 m at the highest point.

Greetings from the hot and dry summer desert, yours Maike

Handicraft centre at General Women’s Union, Abu Dhabi

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The Handicraft centre at the Genera Women’s Union, close to the Royal Stables is one of the hidden tourist attractions of Abu Dhabi. I had visited it for the first time in July 2016, but was only able to visit the Heritage exhibition as the Handicraft centre was closed during Ramadan, school holidays, statutory holidays and on weekends. The opening hours are Sunday to Thursday 7 am to 4 pm. It is always a good idea to check their Facebook site here before going. Or their website here. Their website is in Arabic, but Google translate does a decent job in translating the events. The entrance fee is 5 Dirhams when the handicraft centre is open and one can see the women and some men working on weaving (Sadoo), palm leave weaving (Khoos), Telli- or Talli-embroidery and sewing of caftans decorated with Telli.

Entrance to the Heritage exhibition hall
Handicraft center pavillions

The heritage exhibition is open throughout the year and by itself is free of charge. A few weeks ago I visited with a friend on a Thursday and we were able to observe weaving, Telli and Khoos-weaving. It was wonderful to interact with the women who speak mostly Arabic. But hand gestures and a friendly smile with a little English will make communication possible.

Sadoo-woven table runners
Traditional colours of Sadoo
A modern turn on Sadoo weaving

Traditional Sadoo weaving on a frame loom and some hand-weaving for key chains were demonstrated in the first pavilion we visited. Red, Black and white are the traditional colours you will see in many Emirati restaurants on their cushions and wall covers. The yellow-green-white-black version shows the traditional pattern, but in a new, more modern colour combination. I didn’t take any photos in the palm-leave weaving room since we were treated to some tasty dates and Arabic coffee while watching the Khoos-weavers.

Telli braiding
Cotton and silver metal braiding
Keychain coin purse in Telli

The Telli-embroidery room was busy with at least 15 women working. Telli is a form of braiding silk thread around a flat silver or gold thread. The finished braid is then used to decorate cuffs and necklines on traditional dresses which makes them look as if they had been embroidered. The heritage hall’s gift shop offers some items made with Telli, Khoos or Sadoo: from Sadoo-woven table runners to Telli-embroidered dresses there was something for everyone. A keychain coin purse caught my eye and went home with me. Decorative and practical at the same time…

Thank you, for reading my blog! Maike

 

Perth, city of young people…

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A concert of the US folk/rock band The Lumineers brought us to the Western Australian city of Perth, a part of Australia we had not visited, yet. We had heard about good wine along the Swan river which flows through the city and micro breweries along the coast in Fremantle. I searched for a yarn store as well and found Bilby yarns in Willagee, but in the end it was too difficult to get there by bus on Saturday during their opening hours on our way to Fremantle. Which was great for not acquiring more fibre stash (they sell fibre from local sheep!), but sad as well since I think it may have been my once in a lifetime chance to visit the store. But back to our plans to see the city and surroundings. We stayed at the Pensione Hotel Perth, a budget boutique hotel close to the Central Business District. The rooms are very small with tight space surrounding the bed, but equipped with everything one needs. We loved the central location walking distance to the river, to the concert venue, cafes, train station and museums.

Swan Bells tower
Swan Bells history
View from “The Lucky Shag”-Pub
Sculpture at Elizabeth Quay

Our first walk-about brought us to the Swan river and a nice stroll alongside until we reached Barrack Square with its river ferry docks, the Swan Bells Tower, restaurants and bars. It was a warm day and we enjoyed our view with a cold beer at the “Lucky Shag” Pub.

Breakfast
Decorative wine leaves
A family windery
View from the tasting station at Lancaster winery

For the next day we had planned a slow morning for a leisurely breakfast with a muffin and the quintessential Australian coffee, a flat white. Our winery tour with Swan Valley tours started on a bus about lunch with a visit to two wineries: Houghton wines, the oldest and largest in the Swan Valley, and Lancaster. The latter is a smaller family-run business with great wines, only available at the winery, paired with tasty, local cheese. The wines were excellent and we bought a couple of bottles to enjoy in Abu Dhabi. The wine tasting was followed by a visit to a small chocolate factory with an opportunity to taste some of their hand-made products. Then it was off to the Swan River for a two-hour cruise with coffee, tea, cake and more wine back to Elizabeth Quay in downtown Perth. That evening was pretty short with a quick Japanese noodle dinner and a long nights sleep to be ready for our train trip to Fremantle.

Travelling in the Transperth public transit system is easy and affordable. A family day pass was the cheapest option for us to go by train to the old town of Fremantle on the Indian Ocean and back. It takes about 35 Minutes from the Perth Central station. On a sunny day we enjoyed walking the lovely maintained “old” downtown of Fremantle and the views along the ocean.

180 degree view at the beach
Little Creatures Micro-brews
Lumineers concert

Lunch and beer-tasting at Little Creatures microbrewery was a delight and we were ready to travel back to Perth to have a nap before the start of the Lumineers concert at 8 pm. We expected to see an opening band and were surprised to hear a local band opening for the opening band. That Perth band played music with acoustic rhythms and good song-writing well aligned with the Lumineers-style.  Too bad we didn’t hear the name and couldn’t find it online neither. In contrast, the official opening band relied heavily on over-tuned and loud guitar sounds that obliterated the singers voice and made me count the minutes until they were done. But the Lumineers who started their show at 9:15 pm were absolutely amazing! Two songs were performed without any electronic amplifier and just with acoustic guitar, cello, piano and voice. They were showing the craftmanship of the songwriting and music composition. One of the best bands I have seen live in concert! And luckily, in a relatively small space which held about 1,000 fans. My favourite way to enjoy any kind of music.

Art gallery of Western Australia
A sneaker exhibit!
Luminous – art glass exhibit
Glass helmet that can be worn
Glass house cinema showing movie scenes

For our last day we picked the art gallery of Western Australia as our activity. It was in walking distance of our hotel and the entrance fee was by donation: a great way to donate all of our change for a good cause. The gallery specializes in modern art with a focus on artists in Western Australia. The “funniest” exhibit was the display of hundreds of designer sneakers collected by one person who had not even worn them. Who would have thought that a collection of sneakers can be considered art? The most touching show was “In plain speak” where aboriginal artists of Western Australia explored their past and current life and the view and language of society relating to them. It was shocking to see and hear the experiences and how equality was and still seems impossible for them. The endemic problems reminded us of the situation of many indigenous people in Canada. Change seems to be very slow and difficult to achieve. The most uplifting display were the glass objects in the “Luminous” room. The Tom Malone prize is awarded yearly to a glass design that pushes the boundaries of what glass can be used for. My favourite being the glass helmet which was created with an opening to be worn if so desired. I would have loved to try it out and still imagine how the world will look like from inside…

Our overall impression of Perth is that it is a city full of the Young. We mostly saw people in their 20s-30s and left wondering where the 40+ year-olds were. On occasion we saw someone walking through the pedestrian area, but that was it. We are still speculating if the older people move away from downtown and live mostly in the suburbs or is the percentage of 40+-aged persons really that low in Western Australia? Or may be it was the late time of day we spent in the downtown area when young people are out and about for parties and a good time? I guess, we will have to go back for a bit longer and figure it out…

Thank you, for reading my blog! Maike

 

 

A weekend in Singapore

~ beecosydesign ~ 4 Comments

Our first 36 hr-visit to Singapore happened during Monsoon season and we had a fabulous time exploring the area surrounding the Intercontinental hotel. We even managed to miss all the downpours as we were either on the train or inside when they happened. What to do in those few hours? First we connected with an old university friend of my husband’s and were invited to meet her in a bar on the roof terrace of the Marina Bay Sands hotel. It is that remarkable building of three towers connected on the top by a level that looks like a canoe. Visiting the Sky-park level costs about 23 SGD (Singapore Dollars) and can be applied to drinks and food at the restaurants. “Spago” requires a reservation, but CeLaVi is usually accessible in the late afternoon without. On our way we visited the world famous Raffles hotel to enjoy a Singapore sling cocktail which had been invented right there. Unfortunately, the traditional Long Bar was under renovation and we went to the Bar and Billiard room which took over in the interim. Not a bad choice as our most expensive drinks (32 SGD for the Singapore Sling and 28 SGD for the Gin Fizz, another Raffles signature drink) came with a complementary bag of peanuts.

Raflles Hotel main entrance
directions to the bar
Singapore Sling (pink) and Gin Fizz

The peanuts settled the slight peckishness we were experiencing at this point and tied us over until we arrived at the CeLaVi bar at the Marina Bay Sands hotel.

Marina Sands hotel building
Art work covering a generator and parkade
artist

Despite the humidity and heat we decided to walk from Raffles to the Marina Bay Sands hotel for about 45 minutes. It was hot and we were delighted to be able to cool off in the air-conditioned hotel before taking the elevator up to the 57th floor for some beer and snacks. We happened to be there on May 5th and the entire bar was being decorated for the Cinco de Mayo-party later on. We couldn”t stop smiling and thinking about our dear Canadian-Mexican friends in Vancouver who would be celebrating their own party that evening.

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180-view from the CeLaVi bar deck, right next to the infinity hotel pool
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180 -view from the other side

The views were amazing! We had a wonderful time connecting with our friend and cooling off in the slight breeze. Since we were in town for only one night we were invited to a family dinner at a Tamarind Hill Thai-restaurant in an old, colonial “black-and-white house” – a whitewashed structure accented with black beams – and located on a hill surrounded by a park. It was a magical place with excellent food and we were sad not being able to see much in the sparsely lit darkness. It must have had a lovely view during the day time. When we returned to our hotel we were not tired, yet, and decided to walk around its neighborhood. To our surprise we discovered that one of the smaller roads had been closed for traffic so the mostly Chinese and Korean restaurants were able to have seating on the pavement. We were looking for a small, sweet treat, but were a bit overwhelmed with the selection of pastries and sweet dumplings that we just ogled all the places and their customers. What a nice surprise…

For the next day we planned a train trip to the Botanical gardens and were even more smitten with the public transit system and its underground walkways lined with stores and services. We could have walked half of our distance to the Marina Bay Sands hotel in this much more pleasant area had we known the day before. The train delivered us right after a heavy rain shower and we could admire the rain drops on the grass and plants surrounding us. The Botanical Gardens are huge and free for the public with the exception of the National Orchid Garden. The entrance fee of 5 SGD is absolutely worth this marvel of an orchid exhibition. We couldn’t stop taking picture of evermore beautiful flowers and did not even see them all.

Entrance to the Orchid Garden
Gardeners tools-beautiful
A colonial black-and-white house

Even the garden tools fashioned from bamboo were beautiful and added to the serenity of the surroundings.

Orchids in all imaginable colours and shapes! After feasting our eyes it was time to meet for a good-bye lunch with our friend in a one of the small restaurants across the road from our hotel and enjoy some food with tiger beer in the shade. Soon after we headed to the airport with the wish to visit soon again. There is so much more to explore!

Until our next adventure! Cheers, Maike