An unexpected stop off in Brunei

On our flight back to London we had a three hour stop-over in Brunei. As with most stop-overs, we were planning to sit in the lounge in a haze of tiredness, staring blankly into space, hoping that time would somehow disappear into a vacuum as we waited for our connecting flight.

It turns out Brunei had a very special treat in store for us to help pass the time.

We were very pleasantly surprised to find that Royal Air Brunei were running a stop-over shuttle bus tour through the main city. While we were initially a tad apprehensive about the whole thing on account of the dodgy looking signage, having no idea what the conversion rate to the Brunei Dollar was and therefore fearing that we were about to get ripped off, the general sense of complete disorganization on behalf of the people organizing the tour, and the obvious risk that if anything went wrong we were going to be stranded somewhere in the middle of Asia (come on…as if anyone actually knows where Brunei is!). Despite all this, we thought we would go for it. We felt it would be quite against everything that we stand for to pass up the opportunity of chalking off another country.

It turned out to be a great move. Aside from making the time pass a whole lot quicker, we both got to experience our first taste of Asia. We got to see a water village, some big and impressive looking mosques, and finish the tour by strolling through a night market.

While it really was the most fleeting of visits, it was great to get an insight into a new culture and way of life, which was again quite unique to anywhere we had visited before.

Despite our slight trepidation, everything went smoothly (we were assured that there is no traffic in Brunei in which to get stuck). We returned to the airport safe, sound, and most importantly on time.  

Three weeks back home

Welcome to the first blog post of 2013!

We must admit, when we had the idea of doing a travel blog way back in August 2011, we never imagined that 18 months and 138 blog posts later we would still be updating it….life sure takes some unexpected twists and turns along the way.

For those out there that don’t know, we decided to brave the UK cold for longer than our work permits allowed. To make this happen, we had to fly home to Australia for three weeks to get new visas.

While it was slightly annoying to travel 27 hours to the other side of the world just to post our passports to Manila, three weeks in the glorious Australian sun hanging out with our family and friends was more than worth it.

We had an incredible time, full to the brim with five birthday celebrations, family dinners, camping trips, outdoor concerts, barbeques, coffees, and plenty of vitamin D.

We were once again reminded of how lucky we are to have such wonderfully loving, supportive and encouraging family and friends. We felt truly blessed.

While it was definitely that hardest goodbye so far, it was nice to know that Melbourne and all its charms is still there, the best people on the planet have got our back, and that one day we’ll be home again feeling like we never left.

Bring on 2013.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year...from London

It’s hard to believe that another year has passed us by. It honestly feels like just the other day that we were sitting in Holland providing our last Christmas update. Without a doubt, this year has been the fastest ever.

We have had a lovely and relaxing Christmas and New Years break. With 11 and 12 days off work respectively, we have caught up on plenty of sleep, while also making the most of being in London by busying ourselves with lots of fun activities. Upon reflection, December has been a really fun month! A few highlights include….

Paris on film

It has been a lot of fun learning how to shoot with the Lomo Diana F+. Shooting on film is such a different game compared to digital, especially on the Lomo. While there are have been some really tough and disappointing lessons, the results have also been incredibly rewarding.

Buying a roll of black and white film for Paris was a great move. For the record, the shots above are straight out of the camera – no editing or adjustments.

Our 2 year wedding anniversary...in Paris!

  

Waaayyyyyyyyy back in July we decided to head across to Paris to celebrate our two-year wedding anniversary. It was a lovely and relaxing few days. While we definitely did a fair bit of touristy stuff, we also made sure that we took some time to take it easy and soak in the Paris atmosphere.

A few highlights included….

> Staying in a beautiful top floor corner hotel room overlooking The Pantheon...

> A daily routine of sitting outside at a brasserie, eating croissants, crepes and omelettes, and watching the world go by...

> Making a trip out to Versailles and reliving the incredible gardens of the Palace, and Marie Antoinette’s hamlet...

> Somewhat unexpectedly having an amazing night out at a Paris swing-dancing club...

> Toughing out the long queue to go up the tower of Notre Dame. Seeing the ubiquitous gargoyles overlooking Paris was well worth the wait...

> Getting caught in the rain at The Louvre. It cleared the square of people, giving us the rare opportunity to take some tourist-free photos. The cost…we got drenched!

The Souks, bartering, the people, and a closing word

Morocco was definitely the most extreme destination that we have been to so far on our adventures. The culture and the pace of life was radically different to anything we had previously experienced, which was at times exhilarating, and at times really tiring...

Blood in the streets of Fez

It really was quite an experience being out and about on the Eve of the Eid – ‘Feast of the Sacrifice’ - the second most significant festival on the Muslim calendar. Like Christmas for us, there was a genuine buzz of excitement in the air, with people making last minute preparations and purchases in readiness for a week of feasting and family time.

The one key difference, however, was that rather than going to Safeway to buy some nicely pre-butchered and pre-packed meat…people were out and about picking up a sheep so that they could DIY.