Lava-ing my lava rock

I am a lucky girl.  But ssshhh don’t tell anyone I admitted it.   

You see, when we were in Malang, Indonesia we stayed in this beautiful hotel, the Tugu Malang Hotel.  It was part museum, part resort.   In the Lonely Planet guide for Indonesia it is actually listed as one of the sights in Malang.  A truly beautiful hotel, each of the rooms is decked out in antiques that are from the owner’s collection.  It’s rich, elegant and decadent.  Opulent is a fitting adjective in this instance.  It groans beneath the weight of its treasures, about to burst at the seams.

At the main road entrance to the restaurant is a lovely little store.  Glass cabinets flank an antique cash register; little gems of prettiness nestle on red velvet, twinkling invitingly at you.  And then, as I ran my finger over the keys of the cash register, they caught my eye.  Jet black, bold, symmetrical, unique.  I longed for them.  But we were on holidays, surviving on a budget and I realised – sometimes you don’t get what you want.

 The antique cash register

High wattage

Exotic South East Asia: when I think about it my mind conjures up a languid, gilded image, smudged by the humidity, blurred by traffic, twinkling beneath a blanket of fairy lights and steaming from the spice of chilli.

It is a region comprised of disparate countries, distinct cultures and diverse people and customs.  Yet all are inextricably linked through a shared history which has defined their modern selves.  Evidence of these linkages is dotted through each of the countries, a geographical game of connect the dots: a Khmer temple in Thailand, a Buddhist temple in Indonesia.

These are incongruous images when held up against these now uber-modern metropolises.  But they also provide a door way to the past, providing a brief glimpse to ancient disputes, the spread of customs, the expansion of religions, changing borders and the dispersion of people.  The consequences of some of these events are still evident today, the tensions along the Thai/Cambodia border is one example.

It is nearly impossible to go to South East Asia and not been drawn the through the gateway of at least one temple or shrines.  It’s easy to finish a day of sight seeing in Thailand weary eyed, sore footed, lethargic and literally watted (temple-d) out.  But that ice cold Chang (or Bintang) beer is totally well deserved.

A SEA of love for South East Asia

I have been putting off writing this post for some time.  It’s as if it symbolises the end of the adventure.  Truthfully, it has more to do with the fact that I don’t know where to start.   Logically, the beginning would seem like a good place, but after ruminating on this issue for some time, I’ve decided that I don’t want this to be a blow-by-blow travelogue-esque type blog.  No.  So in the end it’s not quite that simple.

We’ve travelled to South East Asia a few times over the years.  There is something about the place that keeps drawing us back in.  It goes beyond the mere fact that I have Thai heritage, because I have a love for more than just Thailand.  In all of our adventures to the place I have always been impressed by one thing.  No, it’s not the culture or the food.  Nor is it the history or the pristine natural environments.  Yes, all of these things are amazing.  But it’s the memory of the people that has always struck a chord with me.

Village boy at the warung near Sunda Kelapa

An impromptu village sing-a-long

Rapscallionism in Rutherglen

I don't know whether what happened in Rutherglen was actually rapscallionism, but I do like the sound of that the alliteration makes, and that's all that really counts right?

About a week ago M, my dad and I took a trip to Rutherglen.  It’s about a 4 hour drive from Canberra, through Holbrook, passed Albury / Wodonga in north-eastern Victoria.    

The area is probably most famous as a wine region.  However, with stretches of dry paddocks, windmills and the odd dilapidated corrugated iron shed, Rutherglen is also quintessential regional Australia.  It is at once quaint, small and feels somewhat remote and isolated, while at the same time it is cultured offering beautiful wines, fine dining and amazing produce.

A Rutherglen paddock in the morning ©dhdesign

Thai Tham Boon - December 2011

Back in November I told you all that the reason for our impending holiday is to visit my Mum’s village for a tham boon.  You were all probably wondering what a tham boon is, right?  Well, even if you weren't you are going to find out now.

Tham boon means to ‘make merit’.  Making merit is an intrinsic part of Thai culture and Thai Buddhism.  The act of making merit can take many forms – giving alms to monks, taking offerings to the temple to marking milestones in a person’s life.

The tham boon that my family is hosting in Thailand relates to the blessing of a cho fah which has recently been built.  The cho fah will house a bronze statue of a monk who was very close to my mum when she was a young girl. 

The cho fah be dedicated to my grandparents on both sides of the family, and other relatives who are no longer with us.  My brother and sister-in-law will also have their marriage blessed.

The exterior of the cho fah

The interior the cho fah.

An itinerant traveller part 2: Indonesia

Just a week ago I filled you all in about the Thailand leg of our trip.  Well, here is part two, where I’m going to show you what we’re doing when we head to the world’s fourth most populace country: Indonesia.

We’ve never been there before, and through all of our research it has become apparent that Indonesia is filled with diversity, offering something for everyone: breathtaking volcanic landscapes, extraordinary flora and fauna, pollution choked metropolises, peaceful countryside, stretches of long sandy beaches and swathes of jade ocean... and that’s only the natural wonders!

Comprised of thousands of islands (around 18 000, but less when the tide is high), Indonesia’s landscape is almost diverse as its people.  A melting pot of languages, religions, and cultures.

An itinerant traveller - part 1

M and I are planning our next overseas sojourn - first stop Thailand, followed by a few weeks in Indonesia.

I do enjoy planning, and we're slowly getting there.  I thought I'd share itinerary stage 1 with you:

26 Dec 2011	Bangkok We’ll be arriving late… but hopefully there’ll be some time to get some Tom Yum from my favourite vendor.  When we were last in Bangkok I think I ate there at least one every day!
27  – 31 Dec	Khorat The whole reason for the trip – a tham boon to celebrate and bless the cha wat recently built at the temple in my mother’s village (more on this later, it deserves a blog post of its own.)
31 Dec 11 – 4 Jan 12	Back to Bangkok We will be ringing in the new year in the city of angels (no, not LA - Bangkok's full name Krung Thep Maha Nakhon means 'city of angels'….)  Hopefully, a spot of watting, plenty of shopping and enjoying what Thailand’s biggest metropolis has to offer.
4 – 8 Jan	Krabi Thailand is famed for its beaches, and I’m told that some of the most beautiful are located near the Andaman Sea.  Long days island hopping and sipping cocktails is definitely in order!

This is a map that plots our itinerary that I put together using ScribbleMaps.  What a clever little tool!