Australia Countdown has Begun!

Six weeks from today I will head home to Alaska for Christmas and after that, on 31 December, I will hop on a plane to Melbourne, Australia to spend a month communing with the dingos and the wallabees.

Goonder bought a ticket too and will spend 2 weeks with me. (Yaay!)

The count down to Oz has begun people. All free time will now be spent planning, researching and anticipating.

Please include any and all travel tips and must sees in the comment section.

My Kenai Lake

"The ultra-fine silt that gives the Kenai its chalky blue-green color - which defies accurate description because it changes with the seasons and the amount and angle of sunlight - stretches from it's glacial river beginnings to its river finale where it meets the saltwater of Cook Inlet. While the color may remain throughout the river and lake's length, the Kenai is by no means a homogeneous ribbon of water from start to finish. In fact, major portions of the river are so completely different that, from an angling standpoint, they can almost be treated as entirely different rivers."

Funnily enough, my Kenai Lake doesn't actually involve that much fishing.

My Kenai Lake has a cabin, a pebble beach, cottonwood trees, and tall tall mountains. It has cold grey coffee mornings and warm hammock afternoons. It has moose that stop by for breakfast and mountain sheep that are always there but only spotted through the binoculars. My Kenai Lake is always too cold to swim in.

My Kenai Lake has grampa, my brother, my cousins and sometimes "just one friend" who could be invited to join us for the weekend. My Kenai Lake has Applets and Cotlets from Agnes, flowers from Mrs. Thomas, and warnings from mom to stay off of the other "weird" neighbor's property.

My Kenai Lake has gold in Shackleford Creek, cotton to be picked at the top of Snug Harbour Road, and a Fairy Trail that only my family can find. It has dogs that stop by to visit, that steal socks, and prefer outside to in which is good when their feet are too muddy to be let in the cabin anyway.

My Kenai Lake has old yellowed Archie comic books, races to the climbing wall and rocks that skip on the lake. It has fishing at midnight in the twilight and getting to drive for the first time on a dusty back road. It has hours filled with playing Sorry, Rubick's Race and books that make Lauri and I laugh until we cried by Patrick F. McManus.

"My Kenai Lake defies accurate description because it changes with the seasons and the people and the amount and angle of sunlight - it stretches from almost my memory's beginning and will likely reach until my final resting place. My Kenai Lake is completely different from anyone else's Kenai Lake, so much so that it can almost be treated as an entirely different lake."

I Bless The Rains Down in Africa

I can't even begin to describe it. It was truly amazing. Here's a small sliver.

We arrived last Tuesday night to 40˚C (114˚F) weather and the last few hours of daylight in Burkina Faso. Some of my first impressions:

• I don't speak enough French. Eveyone speaks French and very little English. I speak very little French but compared to the folks who came from the States I was practically fluent! If you want to travel in Africa, learn the French.
• It was hot. Damn hot. Real hot. So hot I could drop an egg in my shorts and do a little crotch pot cooking (name that movie) and yet, somehow still manageable. You wouldn't dare lay by the pool but if you just slowed down your pace you could get by in the heat just fine.
• The landscape was filled with red dry dirt and small green trees. It looked like I expected this part of Africa to look. Later, when we got out of the city, we saw bigger trees and green areas around lakes and rivers - but for the most part, it's a very dry place near the southern edge of the Sahara.
• It was very civilized. There was a definite order to things. Everyone rode their bikes and motorcycles (see photos) but they had their own lane and used it and didn't really compete with cars. Everyone was working, activity levels were high.
• Colourful. Everywhere you looked were people in colourful outfits - not a black or khaki t-shirt in the bunch. I got some great photos.

What impressed me most in Burkina Faso were the people. You can't help but watch them in a bit of wonder. It all has a very good vibe to it. I was expecting people to want hand outs when they saw a westerner. I was expecting to just pay exorbanent prices for the handicrafts as soon as they saw a white person coming. Neither of these were true. People wanted to do business. People wanted to bargain with you on prices and feel like you respected them because you were doing business with them. Accepting the first offer is an insult. Tipping for a job well done is just plain confusing. They were just doing the job they were hired to do. People were very willing to work hard (and do work hard) but what seems to be lacking is the opportunity. A story:

We hired a driver for the day after the event and for $150 (that includes petrol for the car) he drove us west for the full day to see crocodiles and tortoises and towns and villages along the way. He had a nice car. Air conditioning and all! We took some taxis that were bare bones of cars, that they couldn't turn off the engine for fear of not starting again. This man was well off with his nice car and business of driving the westerners out to see the sites.

Over lunch in our nice garden restaurant, he asked us (in French with Thor translating) if white people could marry Africans in the US. Was this allowed? It was a shocking reminder of where we were in the world. These questions still exist. He then went on to gently tease me that I would make a good African wife because I work hard. This lead to us asking about his life and he told us about his 5 children (2 boys & 3 girls) and his hopes for them and then he talked about the opportunities that Africans see in Europe and the US.

He said, there is no industry for the young people in Burkina Faso. His son, at 23 years old, well unless you are in the military, there's no real work. Those that do have work, work all day for very bad pay. He said, in his mind, the best thing about the US and Europe is that if work hard all day you get paid a fair wage. You are fairly compensated. That's why so many Africans leave he said. To find opportunity. His son was in Euopre (I'm guessing France) to make money. As a father, he saves and spends his money on sending his son away to where there was opportunity.

One word. Opportunity. That's what he really wanted for his kids.

Needless to say, I'm going to remember that story the next time my job sucks. I'm going to remember that story and not be so angry about the little things I don't have and be thankful for the things I do. I was lucky to be born into a life that is filled with opportunity. So are all of you.

Ouagadougou Photos

Can't type now but if you'd like to see some photos click here and here. More later!

Ougadougou, Burkina Faso

Like the headline? I have just confirmed today that Ougadougou is where I am headed next on business. I had never even heard of it until about a month or so ago and now I am headed there myself in June. This is what I know:

• I need to apply for a visa
• I need to get a yellow fever shot and take some malaria pills
• I should get the hepatitis series of vaccinations
• It's also been advised that I also get a rabies vaccination

No mind you, Burkina Faso will let me in without these but the USA might not let me back in without proof that I have had them. Shots start next week!

A quick perusal of the CIA Factbook (one of the BEST online resources EVER) tells me the following:

• The Chief of State is President Compaore
• The Head of Government is Prime Minister Yonli
• The life expectancy at birth of the average Burkinabe is 49 years
• One of the poorest countries in the world, landlocked Burkina Faso has few natural resources and a weak industrial base.
• About 90% of the population is engaged in subsistence agriculture, which is vulnerable to periodic drought. Cotton is the main cash crop.

So now you know what I know. It's a bit exciting to think I am going to a place that I would never have even considered if work circumstances were not what they were. It's going to be 3 days of hard work but in the end, should be one hell of an adventure! Cape Town has nothing on Ougadougou!

Seeing as how I have no life these days...

I might as well blog a little. I have a few monkeys on my back that I have been feeling ever so guilty about. Here we go:

Singapore:
I was in Singapore for almost a week, staying with the fab-u-lous Mr Wootton. His flat was the perfect Singapore launching ground. He has gorgeous wood floors, a rooftop pool that looks over the city skyline and a location that makes not shopping impossible. I walked to Orchard Road everyday.

The Rob and the Shaun had warned me that the number one past time in Singapore was shopping but I don't think I ever really believed it until I arrived. If you are looking for a uniquely Asian experience...well, this is definitely unique in Asia. Singapore is extremely western tourist friendly. Everyone speaks English. The signs are all in English. The stores and brands are almost all familiar to Westerners (except the Japanese grocer where I got the best grocery store sushi EVER). There's a Borders Books, a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and we ate lunch at California Pizza Kitchen.

I kept trying to compare it to something I knew, because it felt like somewhere I had been before. I decided it was a hybrid of LA, London and Vegas. Everything was extremely clean and orderly and in most places shiny new and the warm/muggy temperature never changes (like the hotels in Vegas). Image was pretty important (like LA) as were labels and fine luxury goods (like London).

Then again, I don't think you'd ever see a Hello Kitty themed wedding in the USA or be invited to choose your own frog out of a tank on the street for your dinner (well, maybe in Vegas).

Tourist Highlights include: The botanical gardens, Chinatown, the constant queue to shop at Louis Vuitton, eating under the stars at IndoChine in Clarke Quay, eating in a hawker center, the midnight swim in the pool on Rob's rooftop and the spa on Sentosa Island.

Oh, and if you ever do make it Singapore, don't be disappointed if you spend a lot of time in the Changi Airport, the noodle bar, pedicure place, and outdoor pool are a holiday in and of themselves!

Many many thanks to the Rob and the Shaun for the good times.

Friday's Top Five: The Other Side of the World

Well, since apparently ONLY CHERRYRIDE MISSED ME (hrmph), there will be no full trip report today. Just the highlights. I give you Friday's Top Five.

1. Singapore is a city, an island, and a country all rolled into one...and it reminded me of LA meeting London in an Asian climate. I ate at California Pizza Kitchen and drank Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf every day. The most Asian thing about Singapore was the heat.
2. Perth and Western Australia were amazing. I spent a few days in Perth and then the rest of the time in Dunsborough (about 3 hours drive south). I loved everything. EVERYTHING. From fantastic seafood, to the fresh air, to wine country, to the pristine beaches, to chasing dolphins, to the friendly people, to the birds called Shags, to the muscle cars (which made me laugh), to bartenders that try to make a martini with cointreau. *sigh* I loved Australia.
3. Aussie men are hot. Seriously. Hot.
4. There is nothing to do in Perth on a Wednesday night except hang out with a rock band from LA. (I am soooo famous).
5. An American accent can be an asset. Especially in Oz.

Happy Friday all!

Don't y'all know y'all can't hold me down

Back in London for a minute (3 days exactly) before I fly away to Singapore and Perth, Australia. As I struggle with jet lag today, I have applied for my electronic visa thingie for Australia, got my books on Singapore and Australia here at my desk, and am looking forward to the 12+ hour flight (not).


I don't even begin to know how to recover from that kind of flight + time change. It's not the most anticipated part of the trip. I think spending St Patrick's day in an Irish pub in Singapore might be!


Weather today in Singapore: 82F/28C and mostly cloudy. I can live with that.
Weather today in Perth: 75F/24C and fair. I can also live with that.


What I can't live with is the discussion of beach time in Perth and the thought I may have to put on a bikini in March. Even though I knew it was coming, I am just not prepared. Maybe I can find a hidden cove somewhere...or will I get eaten by a croc if I do that?