What they don’t tell you about Bali

Sanur, Bali, Nov 5th, 2012

It’s hot, humid and sticky.

Luckily I traveled in my twenties. Today, when changing money at a small “Government Authorized” money changer, we counted out the money together. Then just as I was about to take the money, he (the money changer) picks it up to count again, and as he does so he drops some of it into his lap hoping I won’t notice and will leave shortchanged. Luckily, I’d been shortchanged before, two decades before. Now I’m waiting for the guy who needs a few dollars to get the bus, the guy who tells us his wallet’s been stolen, the guy with the fast hands ….

Oh, did I mention, It’s hot, humid and sticky. Tomorrow, we’re off to malaria country.

Shabbat with the Maisel Family, Sydney hosts of the year

Fri 2nd, Sat 3rd Nov, 2012

We were fortunate to spend Shabbat with the Maisel Family, winner of “Sydney hosts of the year” for eight years running. Not only did they arrange for us an apartment in Dover Heights,  Bondi with a view from the opera house to Bondi Beach, they hosted us every day from Tuesday until Sunday. For those who care, Sydney boerewors is as good as any.

Why is Avia sad? See photo for a clue.

Sydney, Australia. November 1, 2012

Avia is sad because, in the end, Madam Butterfly kills herself. I’m impressed that all three kids sat through and claim to have enjoyed opera at the the Sydney Opera House. It’s still an iconic building. Photos don’t do it justice. It sits out on a promontory so that it is the central, standout building of Sydney’s harbour. And it is beautiful and proud. It’s made more special by the event of “going to the opera”. The weather is good and it is still light when the opera starts so people gather at the extensive Opera sited restaurants and bars in advance, creating a real buzz and a sense of anticipation.

Sydney’s best kept secret: Shelley Beach

Manly, Sydney, NSW – Oct 29th, 2012

Shelley Beach is awesome. We did some snorkeling. Saw some big fish but the sea was a chilling 19 degrees centigrade. We only lasted about 20 minutes. On a warm day, this is the place to be.

Featherdale Zoo

Featherdale Zoo exhibits Australian animals. They’re weird and wacky. And there are alot of varieties. At Featherdale you can pet the Koala and touch other animals. See Avia’s slideshow of our visit. Click Here.

Avia breaks Abseiling record in the Blue Mountains, Australia

Katoomba, NSW, Friday October 26th, 2012

Abseiling, is the art of sliding at speed down a rope like an elevator rope but usually its a rope on the outside of a building or mountainside. It’s like sliding down a long fireman’s pole. So as you can imagine the ride is quite a thrill.

The difficult part is finding the courage to walk backwards off of a cliff. Once you’ve conquered this fear, abseiling is easy.

You need to keep your feet high enough on descent so that when you swing towards the mountainside, you connect feet first, not face first for what our guide called “a complementary face massage”.

We abseiled 5m, 15m and 30m. In abseiling the 15m cliff, Avia broke the local record for shortest person to abseil 15m in the Katoomba area, and one of the few 8 year olds to do it. She caught her foot on the cliff-side and hung there for a few minutes. The she thought she was about to land on the top of a tree.

Here are Yannay and Daniela going down a 15m overhang.

http://youtu.be/WJY0i9UohJc

and here they keep on going

Boomerang Championships, Muri Mittagar, NSW – Video

Muri Mittagar Aboriginal Cultural Center, 25th October, 2012

Outstanding footage from the recent Boomerang champs.

Margherita Index

The Margherita Index tracks the price of a Pizza Margherita in cities around the world. The cheaper the Margherita, the lower we assume the cost of living to be.

Place                                           Price in Local Currency                  Rating Price in USD

Rarotonga – Roadside                                     NZ$ 7.00                    *****

Rarotonga – Restaurant                                   NZ$ 17.00                       *

Tahiti – Roadside                                         XPF  850                       *****

Tahiti – Restaurant                                      XPF  1,180                                                                                              *****

Auckland – Restaurant                                    NZ$ 10.40                                                                                              **1/2

Katoomba – Restaurant                    A$17.00                         ***

Manly – Restaurant                                       A$ 16.00                         ****1/2

Bondi Pizza, Sydney – Restaurant A$24 **

Permuteran, Bali RP40,000 **

Ubud – Bali RP35,000 ****

Jemeluk Bay – Bali RP35,000 **

Vietnam

Cambodia $3 – 6 ****

Time Travel 2

What scares Daniela? It’s not a shark or a stingray.

Surrounded on all sides by the dreaded needle fish, Daniela strenghtened her resolve; searching for any gap between the fish, she swam for an opening. Whew, made it.

The needle fish is a little, transparent, sardine like fish with a pointed nose.

Editor Comment: Daniela reminded me that they do resemble mini barracuda, which we agree can be agressive.