Going There Doing That

Author: The Kozels

  • New Zealand – Auckland and away

    Charis: Before we knew it we were back in Auckland for the last week of our trip. We were staying with friends (one of whom is a fellow radiologist) in Mt Eden, a neighbourhood formed around a small dormant volcano just south of the city centre. It was lovely to see them both after a…

  • New Zealand – South Island

    Charis: Our first stop off the ferry was at the Alpine Lodge at St Arnaud in the Nelson Lakes National Park. A comfortable night’s sleep followed by coffee in the Austrian-feeling hotel restaurant and the first of several wonderful hikes around gorgeous lakes (yes, this will be a theme for this post). There had been…

  • New Zealand – North Island

    Charis: The flight from Sydney to Auckland was quick and straightforward. Wrangling the hire car didn’t take too long either and we got into the suburbs before it got too late. We headed for Al’s house – Derek had met a lovely gentleman about a year earlier when he asked for help on a radio…

  • Japan – Uji, Nara and a bit more Kyoto

    Derek: The region of Uji, on the south eastern edge of Kyoto, is a center for the growing of tea in Japan. The formal tea ceremony is one of the bits of Japanese culture which everyone seems to be aware of, but the details about both the ceremony and matcha tea were a bit superficial…

  • Japan – Tokyo

    Derek: We landed in Tokyo (for the second time this trip) late evening and had a free taxi waiting for us thanks to having made so many hotel bookings recently… Tokyo has many neighborhoods and we decided to stay in Asakusa, located north east of the center but a quick subway or train ride from…

  • Japan – Yugawara, Nakasendo, and Kyoto

    Charis: From Tokyo we caught a local train to Yugawara, a small town slightly south of Tokyo on the coast. We were headed for Goen No Mori, a vegan onsen nestled between the mountains and the sea. We arrived a smidge early, but were soon taken up to our room, ‘Asking to the Mountain’ to…

  • Bali – Amed and Kintamani

    Bali – Amed and Kintamani

    Derek: Part of Balinese culture which has been increasingly offered to visitors is the water purification ritual. Water is considered holy as it is so fundamental to life, and particularly present in the rice paddies and environment here. We learned more later about the theme of purification and cleansing which is present in Balinese life…

  • Bali – Ubud

    Bali – Ubud

    Charis: The first place we stayed in Ubud was in a small villa along Subak Juwuk Manis, a pedestrian and bike only path to the north of town at the start of the rice fields. This gave us the perfect setting for many beautiful early morning walks, watching the ducks splash in the soaked rice…

  • Bali – Sanur

    Derek: Up up and away! The US and Canada had been good to us over the last two months, but Asia had always been at the forefront of our minds in planning this trip. We had intended to spend several weeks in Japan, then South Korea, Taiwan, and continue south over the course of July…

  • Vancouver(s)

    Vancouver(s)

    Derek: After a slight false start where we ended up 6th car left in line when the morning ferry filled up, we caught an early afternoon one and crossed the Salish Sea over to Victoria, entering Canadian waters halfway across. The Pacific ocean’s waves and weather come straight in through this 15 mile (24 km)…