Danau Toba

Sam my friend from Uni and his girlfriend Athina the Greek from Scotland have left Australia, leaving behind a washing machine and some rock climbing gear to remember them by.  They moved to Australia soon after us, but they have now headed out on an epic trip back to Europe starting in Thailand following the Silk road all the way to Athens.  However they will be back, as their employer has given them both permanent contracts starting in a years time so this will not be the last we see of them and their washing machine will not have to live in our shed forever.  The three of us had a little goodbye dinner at the Moor's Head on Thornbury High street, Barnadi was working so unable to join us.  The Moor's head specialises in inauthentic Lebanese inspired pizzas using lots of hummus and pumpkin.  Sam offered to pay as a thank you for looking after their stuff while they are gone, but as he had forgotten his PIN number it turned out dinner was on Athina.

The next day Barnadi and I started our own trip although not as epic, we headed out to Indonesia with our friend Rae and Stuart.  Leaving Goofy and Jesse in the capable hands of Adam and Coralee.  Our flight got delayed and so we arrived in Jakarta later than planned. Even though we were late Agus, Barnadi's brother in law, who was meant to be picking us up was nowhere to be seen.  The lift was eventually co-ordinated when Barnadi managed to get his phone working and called his sister to find out where Agus was hiding.  We then headed straight to Barnadi's sister's house where we spent our first night.  Rae and Stuart had a nap, Barnadi went with Bariah his sister to have his fillings replaced (Bariah just happens to be a dentist), and I stayed back and played with Barnadi's naughty nephew and niece. 

We arrived in Jakarta in the middle of the rainy season which after a week of 40+ days in Melbourne made a refreshing change.  It did cause a lot of flooding in Jakarta, and not a day went past when the word 'banjir' didn't feature in the news headlines.  We managed to avoid the worst of the flooding as the very next day we had a ride to Bandung.  Bandung is the third largest city in Indonesia and is located in the mountains of West Java, it is also a good base from which to visit some of our favourite sites in the area, Kawah Putih a large sulphurous volcanic lake and Tangkuban perahu a large dormant volcano with a huge steaming crater on the top, and a smaller side crater full of bubbling pools, some cool enough to paddle in, others so hot you could boil an egg in them.  Bandung is also known as the Paris of the east, although how the connection was made is not entirely clear.  Like most cities in Indonesia it is dirty and polluted and old architecturally important buildings are left to go to ruin while new ugly and poorly constructed high rises take their place.



Tangkuban perahu

From Bandung we then headed to our house in Puncak where we spent a relaxing few days doing very little, kept in most days by the rain.  Barnadi and Rae filled the time with cooking while Stuart and I filled it with eating.  The few excursions we did manage were short walks to some of the local temples, the markets and the botanical gardens in Cibodas.  Our time in Puncak had to come to an end, and we were picked up by Toni, Barnadi's brother, who drove us back to Jakarta. 

After a couple of nights in Jakarta we managed to escape again this time to Sumatra and lake Toba.  We were not travelling alone as Bariah, Agus and their two children, Samantha and Suren came with us.  Agus is originally from Sumatra and the whole family return every year to visit his family for Chinese new year.  Agus's family own a taxi company and so when we touched down in Medan airport a couple of cars were waiting to take us directly down to Lake Toba.  The journey took a lot longer than the 2 hours Agus insisted, and the constant cutting in and out of lanes round blind bends made it a less than relaxing trip.  When we arrived at Parapat, on the banks of Lake Toba, the sun was setting and we still needed to get a ferry across to Samosir island to the resort Barnadi had booked.  The car ferry which was meant to run every hour had decided that because it was quiet it would wait until 9pm before it ran again, if it was going to run at all.  It turned out there was also a passenger ferry, and although it wasn't scheduled to go where we were heading, a little extra rupiah and they were willing to take a detour.  So we temporarily ditched the cars grabbed our cases and boarded a passenger ferry, stepping over the buffalo carcass slung across the deck, we begun to wonder if we had made the right decision.  As the boat pulled away and the disco lights started to flash and loud music started pumping it really was the strangest boat ride I had ever been on.

We docked directly at the resort Mas cottages just outside Tuk tuk, and were shown to our rooms.  The resort had two types of rooms; standard rooms, like in any hotel and traditional Batak houses.  Although we were originally planning to stay in a traditional Batak house, they were far from bug proof (mossies being the biggest worry) and they had no hot water, so disappointingly we resorted to a standard room.   When the sun rose over the horizon the following morning, the previous days long and excruciating journey melted into insignificance.  It was all worth it.  The vast expanse of the lake, the  imposing surrounding mountains and the pink fluffy clouds above made the location so picture postcard perfect, it was hard to believe it could all be real.

Lake Toba

The next few days were easily the highlight of the trip, lazy days swimming in the lake and exploring the local historical sites, such as the stone chairs and kings tomb.  Rae got down to business haggling over old textiles, but that was about as energised as the trip became.  The town of Tuk tuk itself is very much a tourist hot spot, crammed with over sized hotels, souvenir shops and restaurants advertising the availability of magic mushrooms, we were lucky that our own resort was far enough out of Tuk tuk to not have to get involved in that side of things.

Lake Toba itself is the largest volcanic lake in the world, covering an area over 1700km2, that's 1000km2 bigger than Singapore.  The Volcano underneath has been dormant for the last 40,000 or so years, it's last eruption however is thought to have been the largest volcanic eruption in human history.  Volcanic ash from the eruption has been located as far away as Malawi, and a layer 6m thick has been located in parts of India.

All good things must come to an end, and we had to face the long drive back to Medan, after 1 night there we continued a journey home with a change of planes in Jakarta and Bali before finally arriving back in Melbourne.  It is sad how quickly a holiday can feel like it never happened once back into the normal routine of work.  It was however good to get back to see Jessie and Goofy, and see how much bigger they had grown in only two weeks.

Resolutions

2013 was an emotionally mixed year, but focusing on the positives; we got our own house, I got a perminant contract at work and we got our cat and dog.  As we begin our third year in Melbourne we can honestly say we are well and truly settled.  So what is next for us? After all you've got to have a plan, and the new year is a perfect time to set yourself some new goals.  Barnadi is now obsessed with the idea of owning a second home by the sea, my goals are a little simpler in concept but equally unlikely to achieve before the end of he year.

Resolution 1: Become fluent in Indonesian.
Languages have never been my strongest point, I even struggle with English most of the time.  I have been attempting to learn Indonesian now for years, and have still made very little progress, but as we visit Barnadi's family at least once a year, I feel it is time to make a more concerted effort.

Resolution 2: Write a novel.
As I have previously mentioned, I am disturbed by how my imagination has declined over the years.  Saying this I still have lots of ideas for stories buzzing around my head just waiting to be written.

Resolution 3: Do more housework.
Nothing more to say.

Resolution 4: Start running again.
Since running the Bristol half marathon I have not really maintained any form of exercise.  It is time to change that, having Goofy is bound to help this one.

Resolution 5: Learn to cook again.
Having a great chef as a husband has left me completely incapable of preparing a meal for my self.  This urgently needs to change.

Christmas Highlights

Jessie and Goofy are not the only two characters to have joined our household over the last couple of months.  A few days after we first brought Jessie home we rescued a young couple from the Wicked Witch of the West(ern Australia).  Adam and Coralee both used to work with Barnadi at the Green Park Brasserie in Bath and the have recently been travelling the globe.  Their first stop in Australia was Perth where they stayed with Coralee's Aunty and although she might describe herself as a witch, she is not really that wicked.  She believed the place where Adam had been working was haunted, so every night would have to perform an exorcism in order to purge the house of the evil spirits he inadvertently brought back with him.  The tensions eventually got too great and so they cut their time in Perth short by a couple of months and came to stay with us, just in time for Christmas.

Instead of staying at home to cook Christmas dinner Barnadi decided this year he wanted a traditional Aussie Christmas, a BBQ on the beach.  Instead of going to the overly popular and crowded beaches like St Kilda or Brighton, Barnadi had a very specific stretch of coast line in mind, the Bellarine peninsula.  The little bit of land that sticks out into Port Phillip bay just south of Geelong is a very underrated bit of coastline, with more people heading down its counterpart the Mornington.  It is quite a long drive so we had planned to leave early, but unfortunately Adam and Coralee had other ideas, they had gone out on Christmas eve and were not prepared to be seeing anything of the day until after noon. Even once they were up, the journey was pretty torturous with sudden turns bringing on waves on nausea in our hung-over back seat companions.  By the time we arrived at the Bellarine peninsula, the hangovers had lifted, but all the available BBQs were in use.  So instead we found a nice quite beach hidden behind a small cliff and went for a swim/paddle in the calm shallow waters.  Goofy was a little undecided over his first swim but he took to it like a duck to water, or in his case a dog to water.  As we came back up from our swim we saw that all the BBQs had become available and so a Christmas dinner of Sausages, steak, lamb and turkey burgers could go ahead.  With suitably full bellies my four passengers slept the whole way home. 

Starting a family

I would be the first to admit when we started looking to buy our own house, one of my biggest incentives was being able to have pets.  Proper pets I mean, of the mammalian variety (no offence to our lovely goldfish Lilo, Lila and all that have gone before).  No sooner had we moved in to our new house than we begun looking, but problems beseeched us every step of the way.  Promising adverts for free kittens ended up leading to disappointment when we called to find they had all been taken.  Puppies became available, but not in the breeds or colours Barnadi was after.  We got close to getting a kitten from one of Barnadi's customers at work, but it ran away from home before we could even pick it up.  Our search went on a back burner as pre-booked holidays approached and priorities got realigned. 

Then on a perfectly ordinary Saturday I opened up Gumtree and saw her, one of a litter of four ginger kittens, available immediately.  Cautiously, after previous disappointment, I phoned the number on the advert and spoke to an old Greek man who informed me there were still two left and it was a first come first served operation, so if we were interested we should head over.  We didn't need to be asked twice and got straight into the car.  When we arrived we were shown around the side of the house by the old man's daughter and entered what appeared to be a zoo of domesticated animals, rabbits, birds, dogs and eventually the kittens.  There where still two left and despite Barnadi's desire to take them both, the old man informed us someone else was also on their way, so he couldn't give us both.  He handed me the slightly larger of the two, a completely ginger kitten and unto Barnadi he bestowed the smaller ginger and white kitten, with whom he instantly fell in love.


Jessie

"Don't ask me what sex they are" grumbled the old Greek man as we pondered the decision of which of the two irresistibly cute bundles we would take with us.  To Barnadi however, it was no contest, the kitten in his arms won outright with her white socks and bright blue eyes (which incidentally have no turned green).  The kitten cried and hid under Barnadi's jacket the whole way home, whilst we discussed unisex names, a quick look indicated the kitten was female, but it wouldn't be the first time a mistake like that has been made.  Using one of my own middle names as inspiration we decided on Jessie, or Jess for short.  Once we were out the car and we had her fed and watered and settled in she started to look a little more relaxed and even begun to purr.  This is how we adopted our first child.





Goofy

Barnadi has always wanted to get another dog, preferably a border collie in either brown or blue Merle.  I have never had a dog, but out of principle have always been in favour of cross breeds.  The same weekend we found Jess we found another advert for a litter of 11 border collie and maremma cross puppies.  In one of the photo's on the advert sat away from the rest of the litter was a fawn, white and black boy, which as soon as Barnadi saw, he knew had to be the one.  We phoned straight away, not expecting to get that lucky twice in a row, but all the puppies were available including the one in the photo that they had already christened Goofy.  The puppies weren't going to be ready to take away from their mother for another couple of weeks, but to ensure they kept Goofy for us we put down a deposit.  The two weeks seemed to drag on and on, but in that time Jess got braver and braver exploring more of the house and garden, and making it hers.  Then the day came that we could pick up Goofy, so we got up early and drove down to Frankston, he was the last of the litter to be collected and his mother watched us with immense distrust and resentment as we walked off with her last remaining baby.  The trauma of being separated from his mother affected Goofy as badly as it had affected Jessie and he cried and cried in the car.  We did not go straight home however as we had driven so far we stopped and had lunch in Mornington before heading off. 

The introduction between Goofy and Jessie was an unnerving experience, we first brought Goofy around the back into the garden, then I went to fetch Jess.  She came out bounding around as usual, until suddenly she saw him.  The transformation was instantaneous.  Her back arched, her hair stood on end and her whole body shook with terror.  I took her back inside quickly and calmed her down.  Once she was calm I took her back this time to the kitchen window, when she saw him it immediately elicited the same reaction.  So we gave her a bit more time to calm herself back down before we tried again.  This time Barnadi held Goofy and I held Jess and we edged closer to each other until they could cautiously sniff each other.  That night they slept side by side as if they had been friends for life.  They still fight like Cats and Dogs during the day, but as they sleep they are like angels.  This is how we adopted our second child.

Little Angels?

It seems we are now well and truly settled into our life in Australia, we both have full time permanent jobs, we have our own house and we have now started our own family.  What more could we possibly need.

Trick or Treat

Halloween is not anything I have ever before paid much attention to except through the Simpsons or other American sitcoms.  Usually Halloween night involves closing all the curtains, turning all the lights off and pretending I'm not at home.  This year was no exception, Barnadi was working and I was home alone, sitting watching TV in the dark and trying to ignore the doorbell. After the third pack of trick or treaters had been and gone, I get a call from Barnadi to inform me he had bought some chocolates for the very purpose of giving to our neighbours kids.  An unexpected change of heart from Barnadi based on an idea that now we have bought a house we should be more friendly and involved with the local community.  So for the final ring of the door bell I reluctantly opened the door to a little 5 year old devil and his big sister and filled his pumpkin basket with as many chocolates as he could carry.

We have been experiencing a lot of treats ourselves of late, making use of presents we received almost a year ago.  The first was a night down at Lindenderry winery at Red Hill, and the second a 5 course dinner at Estelle restaurant in Northcote.

Lindenderry, Red Hill

Driving down the Eastlink last weekend, it looked at first like we had picked a bad day to use our voucher for a night down the Mornington Peninsula, the rain getting heavier the further south we went.  But as we arrived in Portsea in time for lunch the weather had pretty much dried up.  After some fish and chips we drove on into the Nepean park where we parked our car at the Nepean cemetery and took a walk along the beach and over the hills towards Fort Pearce an old abandoned military barracks.  We didn't get as far as Fort Nepean or the tip of the peninsula however, as we hoped to get back to Red Hill into time for afternoon tea which was being served from 2-4pm.  We pulled up at the winery with only minutes to spare after a longer than expected winding journey up Arthurs seat  road and enjoyed High Tea in the library.   The Voucher also included dinner in their restaurant, Barnadi wasn't too impressed with his starter, but we both enjoyed our mains, and the bottle of Semillon Sauvignon Blanc went down well.  The following day rained and so we headed home earlier than planned, after a little detour through Point Leo and some other smaller towns on the eastern coast of the peninsula.

Last night we caught the tram down to our old home of Northcote for a posh 5 course degustation menu at Estelle restaurant.  The courses seemed small, but were surprisingly filling, and with a "snack" at the start and the end it ended up being 7 courses.  Our meal included a starter of corn and fetta, some tuna shishami, a beautiful steak and a flavoursome fillet of john dory.  The New Zealand Pinot Gris  was a good accompaniment and the cocktails that followed left us feeling rather merry as we headed out into the fresh air to get our tram home.  Unfortunately the tram was cancelled due to an accident somewhere along the line, so we were forced to stay out and enjoy a few more drinks.  Time slipped away and we didn't crawl into bed until 3 this morning.

Throw another shrimp on the barbie

Being born in October and growing up in the northern hemisphere, the concept of being able to celebrate my birthday with a BBQ was something I had never even contemplated.  Yet here we are living it up in the southern hemisphere, swapping the unpredictable Autumn weather of Bath to the equally unpredictable Spring weather of Melbourne.  So as a combined birthday and very belated housewarming celebration, we opened up our house and garden to around 50 of our friends for a BBQ of epic proportions.



A selection of Barnadi's baking

Barnadi went all out in preparation, baking, cooking and decorating to create an event that was so well prepared it seemed almost effortless.  A clever illusion.  All that preparation payed off as the weather not only stayed dry, but it was the hottest day so far this Spring, the only downside was the insatiable wind that insisted on either popping or blowing away all the balloons, and removing all the table cloths.  The turn out was much better than I could have expected, with several friends we hadn't had a chance to catch up with since we first moved to Australia making the effort. 


Still in order to keep with tradition for my birthday itself, it rained.

Life goes on

Nine months ago I started taking Isoniazid to treat latent TB that was diagnosed after I started working at the Alfred hospital.  Today I took my very last dose, my liver is still intact, I still have complete feeling in all my peripheries and I can finally start to enjoy the pleasures of alcohol again.  But did the treatment work or do I still have latent TB?  The answer to that question is something I will never know, as I now have antibodies to the mycobacterium that causes TB I will always give a positive result to the Quantiferon Gold test.

With the mixed sunny/wet weather our garden is going crazy, with the lawn needing mowing almost every week, all 45 rose bushes coming into bloom and a never ending supply of limes.  We have even set up a small veggie patch at the back where we are growing 4 varieties of tomatoes, courgettes, spring onions, carrots and radishes, add this to the banana plant, rhubbarb, 2 chilli plants, peach tree, lemon tree, lime tree, passion fruit vine, cherry tree and plum tree we are well on the way to becoming self sufficient, at least in the way of fresh produce.

Barnadi is becoming increasingly addicted to Groupon, spotting deals for items he has never even thought about wanting before, and instantly realising he can't live without them.  It is not just items that Groupon sells, but tickets to events, activities and experiences.  It was on Groupon that Barnadi found a deal for a half day photo tour, which we both attended on a beautiful sunny Sunday.  Starting at Federation Square and ending along Southbank, the course covered all the basics in exposure. We both learnt a lot on the course and I have definitely noticed a change in the quality of both mine and Barnadi's photos.

With the financial security of having a permanent contract, and no longer needing to save every penny to put into a deposit on a house, Barnadi and I have started to exploit the cultural offerings that Melbourne provides, going to the theatre twice in the last week.  On Wednesday we went to watch the Graduate at her majesty's theatre, which was an unfortunate disappointment, much better was the Opera Cho Cho we went to see on Saturday at the Arts Centre.  Cho Cho is a collaborative piece sung in both Chinese and English, and is a reinvention of the classic opera Madam Butterfly.