Monday 17th May - Back Home

Sorry no photos but it was dark (and 31C) when we got up at 4 a.m. today ready for our limo pick up. Marvellous to learn on line that England had beaten the Aussies in the 20-20 final. The drive to the airport only took 30 minutes so we were in very good time for the flight. Check in was very fast and efficient and we were soon in the Emirates lounge enjoying breakfast and resisting the temptations provided by the free bar. The news was somewhat worrying as there were reports of UK airspace being affected by the return of the volcanic ash cloud but our flight was called on schedule and we were soon being bussed out to the far end of the airport to board our plane.

We werre soon comfortably seated and Dave enjoyed his welcoming glass of Bollinger. Rosena thought that it was too early. The flight was uneventful apart from a three glass lunch. All too soon we were on the ground in Glasgow but a nice man in a Mercedes helped us escape to the bosom of our wonderful family who awaited our arrival with a home cooked supper and cries of "Where are our pressies?". It was great to travel to the bit of the world that we did but it was also great to be back home in time for Linlithgow Rose's appearance in the Junior Cup Final.

Sunday - The Last Supper

A normal working day in Dubai so Tim had to go to work this morning. We had another lie in followed by a swim in the pool and breakfast before a serious session of luggage packing. Where did all of this stuff come from? Rosena and Shelagh went to Waitrose to buy stuff for lunch - it's almost as civilised as Scotland here. After lunch the three of us took Flat Stanley to the Ibn Battuta Mall where there are themed halls based on the travels of the medieval Moroccan scholar. We also had the slightly surreal experience of shopping in a French Geant supermarket where all of the notices are in English and Arabic. Tim cooked tonight's last supper of fish, squid and prawns. All too soon it was time to turn in for our 4.30 a.m car collection.

Saturday - A very busy day

A lie-in this morning, followed by a trip to the beach.Even at 8.30 a.m. the beach was busy - later in the day the sun gets very hot and people tend to hide inside. The sea is turquoise, warm and very salty and there were a few waves today. There were small fish clearly visible using goggles. We had a good splash and a swim, leaving as it started to get really hot.


After breakfast we set out to take a trip on Dubai's brand new and very smart metro system. Some stations have still not opened so there are a limited number of places to go to. We opted for the Mall of the Emirates, about five stations north. The whole system is very clean and air conditioned, a big plus in the climate. The trains are driverless and from the end coach you get brilliant views along the elevated trackway in the southern part of the city.

We just had time for a quick mezze lunch in the flat before heading off to the Wildlife
reserve where we spent some time watching the birds. Once again the flamingos had opted to group themselves on the far side of the reserve but there were some interesting herons and waders to watch on our side of the creek. It is odd to shift the focus from the birds to the vast new buildings going up all around. One of these is the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world (2,717 feet).


Our next destination was very close to the base of this tower. The Dubai Mall is even bigger and more splendid than the Mall of the Emirates, incorporating an aquarium and a massive waterfall. We strolled around taking these in on our way to the man-made lake between the Mall and the Burj Khalifa where spectacular fountains are activated at regular intervals. There was a bit of cloud cover developing by now and a gentle breeze so it was quite pleasant standing by the lake to watch the show.

We were so impressed that we stayed to watch the next show before dashing home for a quick shower, change and cocktail before heading out to a nearby restaurant for supper. Rosena got totally glammed up in the posh outfit. Dave was such a scruff that the staff tried to hide him behind the cruet.

Friday - A trip to the mountains

Today's plan included a trip into the mountains to visit Hatta, about an hour and a
half's drive to the east. On the way we tried very hard to find the Dubai Wildlife Sanctuary and Bird Reserve but failed. There is an awful lot of development going on and it looks like the reserve might have become a victim. The desert scenery unfolded as we drove out of the city and we saw oodles of camels as we sped by on the motorway.

Despite being in the mountains Hatta was very hot, sitting in a bowl surrounded by rugged and bare rocky peaks. We climbed to a view point near the centre of the village and took photographs but the heat was taking its toll and we had to adjourn to a nearby resort hotel for a/c and refreshment. We had huge salad lunches in the hotel coffee shop overlooking the pool and cooled down. On the way home we looked for opportunities for camel photos but all we could find were some mangy brutes eating rubbish out of a skip. We did find the Wildlife Reserve on the way back but it closes on Fridays. Through the fence we could see the flamingos in the distance.

We went home via the Mall of the Emirates - shopping heaven for some but for us a chance to buy steaks and also to admire the indoor Ski slope and ice flume. The air temperature in the ski centre was -3C whilst in the open air it was well into the 30s C. This place really is amazing. P.S. The steaks were great.

Thursday - Abras cadabra

We had a good night's sleep and after a leisurely breakfast we were ready to shop. Tim drove us up to the origial centre of Dubai which was based around the creek about 25 km north of where they live in the Jumeira Beach Residences. The Dubai skyline is sensa-tional and there is still an enormous amount of building going on.


We parked up and then went on foot to the Souk where Rosena bought most of a spice shop. This was a very different retail experince as we were invited to take a seat and offered chilled drinks while the shopkeeper and his henchmen admired Rosena's binoculars. They showed us video clips on a mobile phone of going hunting goats and geese in Iran. We moved on to the waterside where we caught one of the Abras, a wooden built passenger ferry, that ran regularly across the creek. Our desination was another souk on the opposite bank. The waterway is very busy with abras, tourist boats and heavily laden dhows which operate around the Gulf and as far as India. These carry anything and everything piled high on the decks.


We strolled around declining the entreaties of the vendors, who were mainly selling textile products including one stall with Lastcost polo shirts complete with crocodile badge. We went to a waterside restaurant for lunch and ordered mezze with lemon and mint drinks. Once again the food was delicious but this time I remembered to take a picture. After lunch there were more shops to visit before returning home for smoko.


Thursday evening in Dubai is the start of the weekend and the traffic is horrendous. We went out for cocktails to Trader Vic's, a taxi ride back towards town. This was part of a large hotel complex which had its own creek with its own abras. The cocktails were splendid.

Wednesday - Dubai

After a sleep on the plane and breakfast we were raring to go as we arrived at 6 a.m. with the temperature already at 31C. Clearing immigration and customs was straightforward but things got a bit more complicated when the man driving the car tried to deliver us to the wrong place. With Shelagh's help we got it sorted and were soon Chez Jordan, drinking tea on the 11th floor balcony and admiring the sea view. Next up was breakfast (it had been about 3 hours since our last one) and then a swim in the open air pool. The temperature was steadily rising and we decided that it would be good to get a few things done this morning before we wilted in the heat. Shelagh drove us to the Ibn Battuta Mall which is huge and splendidly fitted out. We had coffees and a shop in the Geant supermarket before heading off to a ladies lunch with friends of Shelagh's.


The temperature by now must have been over 100F and after lunch we had to have a lie-down. Shelagh woke us at 5.30 p.m. by which time Tim was home from work. While we idlers had been sleeping she had put the finishing touches to one of her wonderful French Apple Tarts, specially requested by Dave.

For some reason tonight had been declared a special occasion and champagne and smoked salmon appeared. We could get used to this life. Raclette for supper was absolutely perfect and the evening was made complete when we got to eat the previously discussed Apple Tart.

Tuesday - The Mile High Pub

Our last day in Oz. The weather did not disappoint and was forecast to be a little
warmer at 26C. We finished our packing and headed to the waterfront for breakfast. Eggs
Benedict eaten in the sunshine has a lot going for it. Today is a bit of a bonus day as the flight does not leave until 21.00. Rosena insisted on the Art Gallery which was OK if you like that sort of thing. She pronounced the Canalletto to be inferior and was very taken with a man called Bunny. There was some interesting Aboriginal Art but photos were not allowed so have this one I took elsewhere.


After a couple of hours Dave's feet began to hurt so we adjourned to a hostelry for lunch. Chilli squid for R and lamb cutlets for D if you must know. The Maritme Museum was next on the agenda, with the twin benefits of free admission and air conditioning, after which we mooched around Darling Harbour and watched the sky go grey. We later discovered that this was as a result of the controlled burning of undergrowth 100km away in the Blue Mountains.


We decided to go back to the hotel just in case the car turned up early. The driver had the same plan so we were in good time to check in and make full use of the facilities in the Emirates Lounge. Rosena felt that her Veuve-Cliquot had been insufficiently chilled but otherwise it was very good. All too soon it was time to board our flight. The Airbus A380 is very impressive, particularly when you are travelling on the upper deck. We got comfortable, had dinner and then went to the bar. I wonder what the poor are doing tonight.

Fish, Ferry and Fatoush

Sydneys's bright and sunny winter continues. Today's plan was to visit the Fish
Market and look at the Inner West so after a quick visit to our friendly convenience store to upload the last two day's blog we strode out across the bridge over Darling Harbour. How to get into the market was a well kept secret but we smelled it before we saw it, and marvelled over the weird and wonderful fish on display. Rosena was very taken with the pink snapper and thinks we should be able to get them in Linlithgow.


We walked a bit further out into the suburb of Glebe but it was not particularly exciting, so given the option to catch a tram back into town, we took the ride to Central Station and then the free bus service up to Circular Quay. As it was such a sunny day we decided that another boat trip was in order and, after grabbing a sandwich, we boarded the "Dawn Fraser", for the Rivercat trip to Watsons Bay. There were an awful lot of other people with the same idea and I don't believe that all of them were Watsons. This small suburb on the south side of the entrance to Sydney Harbour had splendid views back to the city as well as over the ocean from the cliffs. We wandered around for a couple of hours and then opted for the very exciting bus trip back into the City. Sydney bus drivers are in a league of their own and take no prisoners.


It was getting on for the cocktail hour so we donned our gladrags and headed to a more
lively part of the Inner West, stopping for a beer at a pub where a tame cockatoo has free run of the bar, before picking a Lebanese spot for tonight's culinary feast. The food was so good that we actually forgot to take pictures of it so you will just have to take our word for it.

Sunday - Australian Mothers' Day

Still no change in the weather. We strode north through the city centre to catch the 9 a.m ferry to Manly. This sails down Sydney Harbour, almost to the ocean before veering left into Manly Cove on the inland side of an isthmus. A short walk took us down to the surf beach where the Pacific rollers crash in. We walked the promenade to the north end of the beach and then walked back along the waterline as we admired the prowess of (some of) the surfers. Some of the others were rubbish. All of this walking soon builds up an appetite and we adjourned to a cafe just off the beach for fish, calamari and chips. Yummy.


By now the beach was getting very busy so we headed back to the ferry and got ourselves pole position, right at the front of the boat as we headed back to the city. The ferries going the other way were jam full of people taking their mothers out for the day. By now it was quite hot and the prospect of a route march across the city centre did not appeal but we were saved by a central loop free bus service which dropped us two blocks from the hotel. A quick check on the ninternet when we got back to the hotel revealed the marvellous news that Leeds United had won promotion.

Tonight we decided to look at a nearby area that has a number of Spanish restaurants and chose one that operates within an old fashioned pub called the Sir John Young. Having placed our order and poured a glass each from a bottle of Tempranillo we sat back to relax. When the food began to arrive we realised with horror that the portions were about three times the size of those we get in Edinburgh. Our luck held as the waitress who took our order had missed off two items and we were able to finish most of what was delivered. Her inefficiency earned her a decent tip for saving our faces.

Saturday - Paddo, Paddy's and Pyrotechnics

Slept in a bit this morning but not long enough for there to be a result to the election. Fine and sunny again but with a slight cooling breeze. After breakfast we popped into a local convenience store to upload the blog and check our e-mail before heading out to Paddington markets. These were billed as a big deal in the guide books but mainly consisted of stalls selling designer dog pyjamas for about £100 a throw. The rest of them had even less grasp of reality so we headed back downtown stopping at a couple of pub jumble sales where the prices were even more outrageous. Our shopping day was saved by a visit to Paddy's Market in Chinatown where retail sanity still survives.


After an initial recce we headed to the food court for an excellent lunch. Sydney is not far behind Singapore when it comes to easily accessible and interesting Asian food, Rosena was very taken with the cosmopolitain vibe and even stumped up for a spell in a massage parlour. I don't think that anyone that we know spotted us and we made our escape via the Buddha's birthday celebrations in the park adjacent to Darling Harbour.

Tonight we promenaded around Darling Harbour, a mere step across the urban motorway from where we are staying. Most of the people here look like they shopped in Livingston but the atmosphere is much more relaxed. We dined at a restaurant recommended in the Lonely Planet guide which turned out to be spot on, The food was Indian but with a few twists and the staff were very helpful and friendly. Probably the most expensive meal we have had here but definitely worth it. After eating we continued our stroll around the harbour and discovered that there was to be a firework display. We were lucky enough to get good seats on the harbourside for a real spectacular.

Friday - Stanley's Day Out, D&R's Night Out

Seemed very strange when we switched on the TV for this morning's news and weather to be seeing pictures of the General Election count at Sunderland. Clear blue skies and sunshine here so we had to dig the summer clothes back out of the bag before setting out to the Botanic Gardens. This is in a magnificent setting overlooking the harbour and not only has an interesting collection of plants but is also home to a very large colony of flying foxes which roost in the trees here.


From the gardens we moved on to the shoreline where there were great views of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. If you look closely you can see some of the happy souls who pay well over £100 to be roped together and walk up the outside of the spans of the bridge. By now it was lunchtime so we treated ourselves to a sausage in a bun from the Rocks Farmers Market which we ate while listening to an accordionist in Bavarian costume who was playing the Birdie song. We completed the circuit of the waterfront back to Darling Harbour and the Crowne Plaza where we discovered that there was still no result for the UK election but we did find a laundry 50 yards fronm the front door of the hotel. Hooray!


We got ourselves sorted out for a night out. A couple of happy hour drinks in the city centre and then it was time to head out east. A small restaurant caught Rosena's eye and we had excellent Italian food there before moving on to Darlingshurst for more refreshment. We made our way back into town via Kings Cross where we treated ourselves to puds to take back to the hotel at a local delicacy stall. Still no election result when we get back and Aussie TV is getting bored. At least Dave got the chance to see the end of England beating Pakistan.

Thursday - Chinatown

Woke up to a bright, sunny day and after breakfast we did some more exploring along the cliffs around Echo Point. On our way back to the motel we heard then saw a pair of yellow tailed black cockatoos at close quarters. Rosena was thrilled. We then packed the car and made up our lunch before setting off towards Sydney. The road down from the Blue Mountains consisted of about 30 miles of continuous roadworks until eventually becoming motorway. We diverted off this into Penrith where a very nice lady at the Tourist Information told us where we could find somewhere to vacuum the outback dust out of the car.


We had our last picnic lunch on the road in a park, which we had to ourselves before rejoining the motorway and heading into Sydney city centre. The traffic was horrendous and the fact that both of our maps were very vague in the area of our destination hotel meant that after several circuits of the one way system we gave up and went straight to the Avis depot. The car was promptly checked in and we found ourselves on the pavement with our mountain of luggage. Fortunately we got a taxi with no real difficulty and soon saw where we had been going wrong in trying to find the hotel.

After getting settled in to our rather nice 10th floor room we went out to explore the local area. We found a couple of decent pubs and plenty of 24 hour shops to provide us with the necessities of life. We decided to go to Chinatown for supper and checked out a couple of places recommended in the guide books. We settled on the Emporer's Garden BBQ and Noodle House where Dave demonstrated his lack of prowess with chopsticks.

Wednesday - The Zig Zag Railway

We were woken in the early hours by heavy rain drumming on the cabin roof. It was almost loud enough to drown out the noise of the trains but not quite. Today is Dave's highlight of the entire visit - a visit to the Zig Zag railway where steam trains operate up and down a spectacular section of the now by-passed main line to the west from Sydney. Even Rosena was a bit impressed while Dave was absolutely thrilled to be invited into the signal box while the loco ran round the train at the bottom of the zigzag. The only thing to detract from a perfect morning was the fact that it was so cold and wet that we were in cagoules, long trousers, shoes and socks for the first time since we got here.

After lunch the weather improved and we had a scenic drive through the Blue Mountains to Katoomba where we found a nice motel with wifi within walking distance of Echo Point, a lookout with tremendous views of the bluffs and canyons of this part of the world. We spent a couple of hours exploring the tracks around the visitor park and soaking up the views and the fresh air. When we got back to the motel Dave was able to watch the traditional ritual of England making a mess of playing cricket against a bunch of minnows (Ireland). This time England were just saved by the rain.

The evening was dry but quite chilly and we walked into the town centre for a beer and something to eat. The meals were enormous but we had managed to work up an appetite and nearly finished them. It was nice to talk to our nearest and dearest on Skype and we look forward to seeing you soon.

Tuesday - Lithgow not Lithgae

Woke up to thick fog in the Hunter Valley. It was more like east coast Scotland than east coast Australia. We tackled our gourmet breakfast pack, rather nice bacon and eggs cooked in an electric frying pan. The fog started to break up and we set off on our travels. Today's destination was Lithgow in the Blue Mountains, twinned with Flagstaff, Arizona amongst other places. Our route took us through wooded mountains on steep and winding roads.


We broke our journey at the Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens where we took a stroll and a picnic lunch. One of the trees featured here is the Wollemi Pine, a tree known as a fossil but only discovered actually growing in 1994. The blue skies of the morning clouded over after lunch and for a short spell it actually rained quite heavily. By the time we got to our destination the sun was out again and normal service had been restored.


The tourist information office pointed us at a camp site that had self contained cabins available and advised us that the town library had internet access. We took the chance to get the blog up to date and got provisioned up. Back at the cabin we discovered that the location benefitted from hot and cold running trains - some of them about half a mile long. Dave was not popular tonight.

Monday - Day of Wine and Roses

We were really idle this morning and slept in until after 7 a.m. The weather is a little bit cooler today and there is some cloud cover to give us respite from the blazing autumn sun. The Pacific Highway is a bit more like a proper road this far south and we made good progress as far as Hexham where the signs ran out and we took a wrong turn. After 5 miles in the wrong direction we established whose fault this was and turned round. Our intention today was to visit the Hunter Valley vineyards. The gateway to the wine country is a quaint pit village called Cessnock, not as classy as its Glaswegian namesake.

We made our way to the Tourist Information where we spotted a special offer on a Studio Villa (bedsit) that we could almost afford. Sorry about the inheritance girls. When we got there it turned out to be rather nice with hot and cold running labradors, a dishwasher that wasn't Dave and views out towards the mountains.

Having hung up our washing to dry we went out to explore the wine country. Rosena drove whilst Dave took photos and sampled some local produce. We had been recommended to try a local emporium - The Smelly Cheese Shop. Apparently the locals consider this to be the bees knees but it didn't have much that you can't get in Sainsbury's for about 30% of the price. We visited a couple of the wine houses and were stunned by the prices. Wine sold for £5.99 in Tesco was more than twice as much here so we just swallied the freebies and looked like we were unimpressed. The best part of the afternoon was spent in the car park of the Hunter Valley Gardens where we saw several previously unspotted birds.

Sunday - Towards the Bluey Yonder.

Back to the early starts. We slipped out of the B&B at 6 a.m. to go birdwatching at the nearby National Park. We were on the Skywalk, above the forest canopy as the sun rose, supposedly a good time for birdwatching but today it was thin - possibly due to the bitterly cold 10C which Australians believe is the start of a new ice age.


After an excellent breakfast which included scrambled eggs with smoked salmon we made our farewells and drove back down towards the coast. For the next section of our journey we had no alternative but to use the Pacific Highway. The traffic was quieter today and we made good progress towards Australia's Great Lakes area. You didn't know that did you? These are just inland and are rather pretty. We found a motel called Bluey's by the Beach in a small town called Bluey's Beach. We shopped at Bluey's Supamart, bought wine at Bluey's Cellars and Deli and had a beer at Huey's@Bluey's. Isn't family great.


Rosena requested a plodge in the Pacific so we made our way to the eponymous beach which was almost deserted. Those of you familiar with the Watsons might expect to see a picture of Rosena knee deep in the Pacific Ocean at this point. Here's one of Dave instead. Back at Bluey's we swam a few lengths in the pool just to show willing. Tonight's gourmet delight included Afghan Dip-ins, a cross between pitta bread and roofing tiles that are a serious danger to dental fillings.

Saturday - A wild night out.

Byron Bay redeemed itself a little bit this morning. There was little evidence of party animals as we drove through the town to Cape Byron, the most easterly point on the Australian mainland. We walked out along the headland which had terrific views to either side and saw lots of birds including a sea eagle which soared along the shoreline below us. We also spotted dolphins and a couple from Edinburgh who had been stranded in Oz for two weeks due to the Icelandic volcano.

We hit the Pacific Highway south through the sugar cane fields and over several large rivers. Whereas this road is motorway standard from Brisbane past the Gold Coast, in northern New South Wales stretches of it are very ordinary single carriageway road carrying huge amounts of traffic, all of it intent on driving at 10 kph above the speed limit. The traffic cannot be transfered to rail because the gauge in Queensland is smaller than that in NSW. After about 170 km we got bored with this road and cut inland through the mountains finishing up in a small town called Dorrigo.

At 3 p.m. on a Saturday Dorrigo felt like a one horse town with an equine deficiency and the picturesque hotel was fully booked, but a nice lady in the tourist office recommended a B&B which had a vacancy. We were able to take a look at what is claimed to be the world's largest collection of railway locomotives and rolling stock, all gently rusting and rotting in fields because of a planning dispute with the local council. After checking in to our digs where we were made to feel very welcome, we headed back into town for a beer and a meal. The hotel may look like Dodge City on the outside but inside the bar was very definitely Doncaster. Our B&B host had recommended the RSL (Returned Servicemen's League) for dining and her tip was pretty good. Rosena had Barramundi (again) and Dave had the best rissoles he has ever had in Australia.

Friday - An O'Reilly Sad Day.

Up again in time for the bird walk. Today this was led by Michael O'Reilly, a second generation member of the family, who was much more focused on the birds and trees than gobby Glen. Rosena doesn't think that he makes toast as well though. No new species this morning but Michael did identify some of the birds that we saw and photographed yesterday afternoon. After another hearty breakfast we packed up our belongings before doing a bit more birdwatching to kill the time until smoko. On our way down from the mountain we stopped to do a quick 4.5km stroll to visit Moran's Falls which were pretty spectacular.


We were sad to be leaving the Green Mountains but hey - there's a lot more of Australia to do. We skirted the Gold Coast, which looks like Manhattan from a distance , but which apparently makes Blackpool look refined. Heading south on the Pacific Coast Motor way into New South Wales we were joined by most of the population of Brisbane as this is a Bank Holiday weekend in Queensland (for the second week running). On cue the sky turned an ominous grey colour. After an hour or so we reached the Byron Bay turn off - today's destination of choice for most of Brisbane. The traffic congestion in this small town was horrendous but we eventually got to our lodgings for the night. A very pleasant spot with a palm tree full of lorikeets outside the front door.

After unloading the car we headed back into the town centre to explore. It was pretty ghastly if you are over 25. Both of us felt somewhat out of time. Rosena absolutely rejects the idea of wearing cowboy boots with her rah-rah skirt which makes her very much the odd girl out here. Australia is a land of evolutionary oddities and there have been some remarkable survival stories such as the amazing tale of Woolworths who have evolved into a supermarket rather than becoming extinct like back home.


The Dolphins Motel is the billet of Rosena's dreams as they not only supply an electric wok for tonight's banana prawn stir-fry, but also have galahs on the lawn and a small but perfectly formed lizard in the en-suite. The management apologised for the lack of frogs - it's a problem which is toadaly out of their control.