Giving up the (Linus) Blanket

Posted on 16 March 2012 by Thea Stainsby

Since we started our journey nearly five weeks ago we have travelled in the comfort of familiarity.

Our first stop was Kuala Lumpur, which we knew well.  Next was Tioman Island – a resort on a tropical island, blissfully easy.

We then visited Dubai and Egypt, travelling with a tour group, both old and new friends.

Now we are leaving the Linus Blanket behind and travelling to parts unknown and without the support of tour groups and pre-arranged bookings.

First stops will probably be Jordan and Turkey.  After that Bruce thinks our next stop will be Greece, whereas I have plans to see Roumania and Bulgaria.  Let’s see!

Meanwhile – here is the group (minus Bruce, who was behind the camera) at the Mohammad Ali Citadel in Cairo.  Great crew!!  Travel home safely all.

The group in front of the Mosque of Muhammad Ali (Alabaster Mosque), Cairo

The group in front of the Mosque of Muhammad Ali (Alabaster Mosque), Cairo

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Headers – Egypt

Posted on 16 March 2012 by Thea Stainsby

I have changed the header pics again – this time they represent our time in Egypt, from the sand storms of Cairo and the pyramids to the sunshine and temples of the upper Nile and the heights of Mt Sinai.

By the way, Bruce has published his snaps – you are welcome to look and comment.  My photos are “on the way”.

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The Colours of Isis

Posted on 10 March 2012 by Thea Stainsby

Most tour groups are led by a knowledgeable person with an umbrella or some little quirky thing on a stick to keep the troops in line.

On our Egyptian adventure our tour guide, the gorgeous Isis, used colour to help keep us together – the colour of her clothes!

And Isis’ knowledge of Egyptology matched her extravagant choice of colours. It was excellent – informative, romantic and of course colourful.

Every day we would wait to see the colour of Isis today – red, green, blue, purple, orange, turquoise. And every colour was matched with jewellery, shoes and hand bag. She told me she has more than a hundred watches to match her outfits.

It was not hard to locate Isis, our tour guide, in the madding crowds, so long as her colour of the day was in your head.

And at the cocktail evening on the boat she even selected a cocktail that matched her gorgeous turquoise outfit of the evening.

In fact the only part of her costuming that broke the colour rule of the day was her multi-coloured toe nails!

Some of Isis colours

Some of Isis colours

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Blown away by the Pyramids

Posted on 3 March 2012 by Thea Stainsby

Our first sighting of the pyramids was from the Cairo Tower near our hotel. The sun was low and the sky hazy however we could make out the shapes of both the Giza and the Step pyramids.

The following day, in the midst of a traffic jam, with the tips of the pyramids in sight, a vote was taken – continue today or try again tomorrow. The sky was blue and the sun warm for winter, so I was pleased that the majority agreed with me to continue today.

As we arrived the sky darkened and the wind increased. Unbelievably we were to experience our second sandstorm (first was in Dubai and cancelled our desert safari). The wind was vicious and stinging and the visibility dropped. It was awful. I don’t envy the Egyptians when they suffer this weather.

We fought the stinging, howling wind and visited the 3 great pyramids of Giza, the recovered and reconstructed boat of Cheop and the Sphynx.  We continued on to explore the Step Pyramid and the wonderful, supporting tombs and temples.

You have to marvel at their wonderful construction. The fact that the ancient Egyptian kings spent their entire reign planning their place of rest, because life didn’t end with death and so the preparation for the afterlife was as important as ruling their kingdom.

Contrary to popular belief it was not slaves that constructed the pyramids but loyal subjects who loved and adored their kings.

NOTE: Thanks to Trish for coining the phrase that heads this blog.

Thea battling the sandstorm at the Pyramids of Giza

Thea battling the sandstorm at the Pyramids of Giza

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Dubai-est

Posted on 27 February 2012 by Thea Stainsby

We have spent three days in Dubai seeing the tall-est building, the fast-est lift, the bigg-est shopping mall, the larg-est aquarium glass front, the expensiv-est hotel, the new-est metro… and so the list goes on.

We marvelled at the slickness, friendliness and order of the place.

But we also enjoyed the “old” Dubai, the souks, the dhows, the abras. Photos and stories are up on the Dubai page.

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Living a Western Life Style

Posted on 26 February 2012 by Thea Stainsby

We spent our last day in Kuala Lumpur at the telecommunications tower with great views of the city and its many parklands. We then spent time on the Hop On Hop Off Bus, avoiding the rain.

Last dinner was at a local Indian Restaurant where we had the best Tandoori Chicken and Lamb Rogan Josh for the princely sum of 27.50 Ringgits. The rest of the 151 Ringgits was for the beer and wine!

The Middle East will be interesting, perhaps time for some AFDs.

By the way, there about 10 Ringgits for every $AUD3.

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Header Banners – Tioman Island

Posted on 24 February 2012 by Thea Stainsby

I use PhotoSynth on my iPhone to take panorama photos.  Great app, easy to use and does a nice job of stitching the individual photos together to make a panorama, which I edit in Adobe Photoshop Elements.

I have now changed from the Sandy sunsets to pictures on our travels.  The first set, up now, are from Tioman Island in Malaysia.  Hope you enjoy them!

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Stories to tell – in “Nomads in 2012”

Posted on 21 February 2012 by Thea Stainsby

I have started writing about our adventures and adding some photos.  They are in a new page called “Nomads in 2012”.  I will just add interesting snippets to this “Home” page.

I can’t promise to be totally up to date – it will be dependant on internet availability and also time to sit and edit photos and write stuff.  Here goes…

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Homeless & Nomadic

Posted on 19 February 2012 by Thea Stainsby
Bruce & Thea with luggage to last a year

Bruce & Thea with luggage to last a year

So we are now on a long adventure to Malaysia, Dubai, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey,… and eventually Spain around August. The rough plan is to spend 6 months travelling and then try to rent an apartment in Spain for a few weeks.

I checked in with 14.7kg and 4.5kg hand luggage (Bruce checked in with 17.9kg + 7.4kg). Can we manage to live like this for 6 months on the move and 8-12 months away?

Just wait and see.

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Couch Surfing

Posted on 13 February 2012 by Thea Stainsby

Johnny Davies with Sally & ChloeWe have had an amazing 3 weeks with friends and family between vacating our apartment and flying out.

After 4 “interesting” nights at the Sandy pub, we invaded the Davies’ peace and quiet.  Sally, Bruce & I had a wonderful time sharing doggy walking, cooking, washing and internet time.  The tennis was in full swing, so there were some late nights.  Rumours abounded that we may stay forever, but we do have airline tickets to use. Thank you Ali & John for your kind hospitality.  Thank you Chloe for sharing your food and bones with Sally.

le chat MoloneyWe then invaded the Moloney’s and kindly shared their newspapers.  Michele & I shopped ’till we dropped whilst Bruce busied himself finishing Steve Job’s biography.  We enjoyed Brendan’s endless tall stories during delightful dinners on their deck.  We also enjoyed the company of Erica, Judy & Rob.  Thank you Brendan, Michele and “le chat Moloney” for your kind hospitality.

Our next stop was with Ev and Steph on the dark side of town in Fitzroy.  Botticelli kept us entertained with his antics, particularly when we presented him with 2 yabbies and 16 neons (tiny fish).  Last count one yabbie was hanging on for grim life and 2 neons were keeping well out of his way!Hayley meets Bott

Bruce & Ev having a father/son moment in front of TVWe did dinner in, sharing the cooking, and dinner out in wonderful Fitzroy.  We even escaped to spend a night with Rob and Lorraine.  Thank you Ev and Steph for giving up your biggest and best towels and for letting us learn more about life in Fitzroy.

 

 

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