Our Holiday Story

Kite Surfing Beach

(Michael and Me)

Hi everyone,
We have been so distracted the last few days with the magnitude of all the fires back home. We check the Herald Sun a few times an hour for news, and can’t believe how bad it must be to be there. I know there is nothing that we could have done if we’d been there, but it’s the uselessness of being so far away that gets to us in so many situations – the price of being away I suppose. So I thought, I could do a long post about how we are feeling in response to the fires, or I could tell you about our holiday, I thought the latter may break the constant bushfire news back home a little.
So – Off to Boracay went Rippon-McGregor!
We started out holiday in Suzhou on Friday 20th as it was cancelled due to severe weather – Beauty J
The weekend was spent huddled up under blankets, eating soup and watching Entourage! – Great
Chinese New Year came with an onslaught of fireworks, -Yay!
Finally Monday came and we were supposed to catch the bus to Pudong Airport in Shanghai and stay the night in a hotel there. To start with Kane got the time wrong on the bus ticket and we missed the bus to the airport. Luckily we were going a day early, so we went home, put the heater back on, cancelled the hotel and booked a car for 6am on Tuesday. Tuesday went well and we got to the airport with heaps of time and all good to Manila. The hotel was OK, but it was in a bad area called Malati. It scared us a bit outside on the road with many very poor people milling around and the cops talking to some people as well, kids were asking for money, etc. So another early morning on Wednesday, 4am and we caught a flight to Caiticlan. All good, we got to the hotel, it was beautiful and checked in early.

Alta Vista de BoracayA view of the golf course from our pool.
We rested and went into town for a look around. The rest of our holiday was spent swimming, resting, eating, reading, drinking, very cheap beer and cocktails. Another few people from school came to the same hotel as us, and that was great. It was good to have people to hang out with. There was a family from Perth (one boy is in my class) Australia and another 2 teachers (You will see some of these people in the photos). The beach is wonderful, like walking on icing sugar.

Puka Shell Beach


White Beach

The water was a turquoise blue and so warm, very little waves on the main beach, but a lot choppier on the others. The weather was average, being very windy and overcast for 8 out of the 10 days we were there.

Sunset on White Beach

We did a little shopping and bought some board shorts for Kane, 2 dresses for me and a ‘needle’ basket, like a wicker basket for coffee stuff.
We were supposed to come home on the Saturday 7th of Feb. We had booked a 7.25am flight from Caiticlan to Manila and an International flight from Manila to Shanghai at 12.25pm. We got up at 4.20am and checked out, got breakfast to go and hoped in the car, it was raining pretty steadily. We got to the ferry station and were very wet by the time we got under cover. We were saturated by the time we got to the ferry/very old boat(!), and enjoyed the choppy dripping, cold, windy trip to Caiticlan. We got in a car and ran to the airport terminal, drenched by then! I went to get our passports out and removed the breakfast we hadn’t eaten yet to be told we couldn’t take it in with us (Problem – Kane loves his food), they take some Boracay sand off me (sad), and tell us that the 7.25 flight has been cancelled, not too much of a problem because they have rescheduled us on the 7.05 flight. We started hear announcement cancelling flights and thought, we’ll be OK, they’ve told us J No – we were wrong, flight cancelled, catch a bus to Kalibo (1.5 hours away) and catch another flight. We told them about our international flight and a girl faxed through our details and we were told ‘someone will be waiting for you and they will usher you through quickly’, we were a little relieved. Now - we’re hungry. Not much food.
We got to Kalibo and they didn’t know we were coming. We had to wait around for all passengers to check in before we could find out if we would fit. There were 23 people standing in that airport, and only 18 people could get on the plane. Kane did a really good job trying to find out what was going on and we were so happy to get a ticket as we needed to catch the 12.25pm International flight to Shanghai from Manila. It was 11.00 when we got on the plane. When we landed 40 minutes later there were more issues, no one to meet us, we missed the flight.
It’s 2.00 and we still haven’t eaten.
Because it was a weather issue and PAL express had cancelled the flight it was not our fault that we missed the flight. So they put us up in a hotel with transfers and meals all for free and put us on the 6.35 to Shanghai. We finally eat at 4.00. We were well looked after with a buffet dinner worth a lot of money.
We waddled over to a shopping centre to have a look around and Kane bought some cigars.
Another early start 3.15am on Sunday 8th. While at the airport on Sunday it was then that I went on the Internet and started to read about the fires back home. I was in shock a little I think, because it was not until Sunday afternoon that we realised how bad it all was.
So we were due to land in Shanghai at 9.35, at 9.30 they tell us ‘we can’t land in Pudong, we must divert to Hangzhou’. Not really knowing what was going on we were thinking ‘shit, not again.’ We find out Pudong has zero visibility and we sit on Hangzhou runway for 2 hours. Finally we get to Pudong and had met a German with a driver going to Suzhou and get a lift with him.
36 hours since we left Boracay. I’m still shattered.
Yesterday we received an email from a trustee telling us that our school is feeling the financial downturn, so now we are all a bit scared about a meeting that will be held tomorrow night after school, we think we are going to lose our bonuses and possibley have take a pay cut, there are many rumours flying around. So I guess tomorrow we will find out.
I need to stop now because I am making so many mistakes while typing. Sorry if you’ve found some J
Take care,
Love to all,
Kelly

Sunset on White Beach at Nigi Nigi Noos Too (Kane, Michael and Ben)

(Nadine, Me and Monica)

The crew at Nigi Nigi's

Sunset

The very choppy snorkeling trip with added jelly fish!

Finding a safe snorkeling cove The boat

Boracay, Philippines

We have been here for a few days now. The first day was spent settling in, and the seconda day was spent by the resorts private, very windy and choppy beach. I have started to develop a lovely tan, Kane has a red belly! Our resort here is lovely. It is only 1 year old and the people are sensational, very polite and willing to help. We are in a quite part of the island, but they have a shuttle into town and to the most popular beach called white beach. Its very long, calm and has heap of restraranuts around for eating and drinking - holiday heaven. We havn't taken any shots from the beach yet, but here are some of our resorts called Alta Vista de Boracay.

Chinese New Year

Oh what to say about Chinese New Year - from me, as someone who is sick of being in China... not much positive. Suzhou in January is a cold, grey and miserable place. Shops are closed and the firework are never ending, most of them sounds like bombs going off outside your window, create a huge amount of air pollution and you should see the piles of burnt ash and red paper - EVERYWHERE.

So I hope the year or the cow, (it's Cow & not Ox, Yin, not Yang) hurrys up and starts because I for one can not wait for July to get here so I get the the #^%* out of this place.

Bored and cold

Today school was cancelled.

Suzhou put out a severe weather warning and all the schools had to close.

Winds from 34kph predicted with -1, but feels like -8. So far it hasn't been too windy, but I am cold. I think I will pump the heater up soon.

I am so bored. We started watching the series Entourage from the States, based on Mark Wahlburg's life in LA, we have watch nearly 9 episodes already!!!! We've eaten, the house is clean, I can't go to the gym, I'm writing a blog posts, but that'll only take 10 minutes.... We have 3.5 more days of this until we fly to the Philippines on Tuesday morning. We are catching the bus to Shanghai Airport on Monday afternoon and staying the night at the Airport Hotel for RMB298. When we get to Manila on Tuesday, we are staying one night at Bianca's Garden, a boutique hotel that used to be the residence of a wealthy Spanish family, apparently it has numerous antiques in the rooms, before flying out a 5.50AM!!!! to Caticlan to get to Boracay for 10 nights before heading back again. The gym is closed for CNY, so I can't do that, shops are shutting down left, right and center for the holiday. It's depressing and cold, and grey.

There is really nothing we can do for the wedding planning, so that's out the window. We could sit down and try to word the invitations, but that'll have to be confirmed once we get back too.

What to do, what to do...

Zen - Our Favourite Restaurant

I am a little low on what to write about this week. We have been doing the usual, eat, sleep, work, etc, etc.

Kane has been really sick this week. We have had a flu go through the school with 4-7 teachers out each day with fever, chills, sweating, aching bones, cough and sore throat, and it has been really contagious. Kane started to feel ill on Tuesday and needed to take Thursday off from work. I had to change his clothes at 10.30pm Wednesday night as he'd soaked through 4 layers! He slept most of the day, but I made him go to the doctors who gave him some medicine to try and help him. Now, he still doesn't look 100%, and has a rough cough. It'll probably take him a week or 2 to really get over it. It's hard when it's so cold outside and everyone has heaters on, and I suppose being cold in Suzhou, going to warm Malaysia and back to cold Suzhou doesn't help. I hope the Philippines does not do the same.

On Wednesday night we had the annual Chinese New Year Dinner. If is huge for Chinese. It is nearly 10 courses, and school had something like 120 prizes to give away, not counting the door prize that everyone gets, this year it was a micro-fiber blanket. Kane was down to go, but was too sick, so I grabbed his to. Last year we got bowls and chopstick type things. I didn't win any of the drawn prizes, but it was fun, a lot better than last years effort which was in the snow. I got up on stage and danced to Latin music in front of everyone and got a fluffy mobile phone holder - which I lost!!!! But of course, what is a traditional Suzhou Chinese meal without a chicken head or chicken feet... here it is -

It's hard to believe that we will be flying to the Philippines in like 10 days. I know everyone will be thinking I am an idiot for saying this, but Kane and I are a bit over travelling! We are really looking forward to being home and boring :)

So my post today is about our favourite restaurant Zen. It is right around the corner from our apartment, and we usually go once a month. Today we went with two couples and we ordered way too much, but Kane was happy we got left overs, and I was happy I did not have to cook!

Here is Zen, it's quite a big restaurant.

We had all types of Dim Sum. Mostly we order Prawn based dumplings, here are some different ones below.

(Photo's to be added later - blogger being an @sshole)

Also, my teaching partner Becki is getting quite big now, she only has 8 weeks to go, six of which she is working/teaching. She is staring to get really uncomfortable as it's a big bub. I am so glad I am not having babies here, I couldn't stand working right up until the birth. I really took this photo cause I liked the colour she was wearing ;)

Gone...

That is what this week has just done.

Pffftt.... GONE!

And to think, we only have 2 more weeks before we go back on holidays, this time to Boracay, Philippines. Really, it is just way to close to the last holiday, that means for the rest of the year, we will only have a 1 week break in May, and that really is not enough for the children and the teacher/s who deal with their tiredness, crankiness, squabbling, (oh, am I talking about the students, or the teachers ;))!!!

But, after CNY holiday, they year will zip on by. A few changes will happen for me. My pod partner has 10 weeks to go until she is due to give birth, so she will work right up until her due date and then I will either be teaching with a new person or her class will be split. Either way it will be a big difference as we teach and plan everything together, and I don't think I want to do that with a new person, not when Becki and I get along so well together. And in the other scenario, I will get two of her students. - We will see what happens. After that will happen there is April, May and June to go. In those months Kane and I will really be winding down, organising and packing to come home. Also Dahle and Jenny (newly engaged!), Kane's Dad, will come for a visit too.

It is really cold this weekend. Tonight it is supposed to get down to -10, with a wind chill to make it -18!!!! Can you believe it? With that, I went a finally caved... I bought an electric blanket and it is warming the bed as I speak. I won't be bringing it back to Aus though as it has the wrong socket. I don't think I'll trust an electric appliance that we sleep on that is made in China for too long anyway :)

Kane is out tonight wetting a babies head with another Australian Gerard, who comes from Myrtleford. I think I wrote about them awhile ago, the couple had a baby in early December. I am not sure what time he will be back, but he has be complaining of belly aches and feeling a bit dull this week, so I hope not too late, or he'll be a big baby all weekend, (Sorry Kane - but you know it's true xxxx)

Take care everyone,
I am looking forward to next summer with the boat working in Yack and the new jet skis!
Luv
Kelly
xxx

Tanjung Rhu Beach 31st Dec 08

This is the most beautiful beach that I've ever been to. It is at the top of Langkawi and as you look out you'd be looking towards Phi Phi Island in Thailand. It was in a small bay surrounded by tall limestone cliffs and islands and is where the most exclusive resorts are. We had a yummy lunch here and stayed for a few hours. Both of us got a little burnt, but the water was so beautiful. And OMG, was it hot!