with all the travelling i have been fortunate to experience, i had never had the opportunity to visit the hawaiian islands.  all that changed a few weeks ago when my aunt sent me a harmless email telling me she had this crazy idea and i might just be crazy enough to do it.  they had just purchased a vacation property on the lush south west coast of the big island in a small community called kona paradise, 26 miles south of kailua-kona town.  after we talked over various scenarios, it was decided that i would head to hawaii with my 13 y/o son j and get this place together as a family vacation destination as well as a vacation rental – all with the outside dream that my aunt and uncle might eventually be able to spend more and more time there.

as i pushed my rented wrangler south down the winding hawaii belt road at times hitting elevations of 3,000 feet above sea level, i could see what drew people to the island.  waves crashing against the hard lava coastlines gave way to small coves lined with almost personal sized beaches; bougainvillea dripped onto the roadway alongside giant agave americana and cactus.  closer to kona paradise sat a hillside cemetery under a grove of tropical trees with huge trunks each supporting a sprawling canopy that covered the roadway.  in my 10 days here i would learn every twist and bend of  this 26 mile stretch of winding road intimately as i scoured the small hamlet of kailua-kona town for everything needed to make this house a tropical home and schlepping it back.

upon arriving at the house, you can’t help but be impressed.  built 900 feet above sea level, on stilts, the glass fronted home rises out of the it’s lush, deeply sloped lot surrounded by coconut palms swaying in the trade winds, avocado and mango trees bearing fruit and a complete array of foliage and flowers filling in every nook and cranny available.  geckos scurry up the tree trunks almost racing you as you climb the stairs up to the lanai where you are immediately struck by a sunset view of the mighty pacific ocean, with only a coconut palm or two to ground you.  i spend many an evening watching the sun dip into the water colouring the sky with every tone of red, orange and tangerine available to mother nature.

now the work began.  the previous tenants left an array of issues to be dealt with including a enormous tv armoire, complete with a non-functioning tv, old mattresses (remember, the house is on stilts!) and a carpet looking like perhaps they were mud wrestlers in their spare time.  the beautiful garden was overgrown, and the coconuts a hazard!  i was gonna need some muscle – luckily the aloha spirit is alive and well in kona paradise and in a matter of a few days john agreed to provide the muscle that would be needed over the next few weeks to bring this diamond in the rough back to her rightful place on the street.  mealani, john is her ’sweetie’, had already agreed to clean the house between visitors.  i felt fortunate to meet these two friends early in the trip, they put my mind at ease and provided me with some information that i would need to complete the project.

delivery to kona paradise seemed to be more difficult than i had imagined but luckily i started to build a relationship with greg, the sales person at gray’s furniture in kailua-kona town, and he was able to find someone that wasn’t afraid of a little hard work and only a few days after i arrived he delivered several mattresses, their box springs, along with several pieces of furniture i had picked out.  the place was starting to come together.

when it comes to putting a house together, speed is not something i strive for.  making decisions on design in hurry and choosing furniture that will remain with you for years to come needs without time to think things through leads to mistakes being made.  working from scratch on an incredibly short time frame was going to challenge me.  not only did i have to worry about big things, i had to worry about all the little things that one would need on vacation away from home.  dishes needed to be bought, towels chosen – what about a knife set?  for these things, i chose target.  i was there so much that the cashiers knew me by name and would comment on my choices, even remembering what i had previously purchased.  now, if we could only get a target here in vancouver.

despite being called the big island, there is nothing big about it.  most of the furniture purchases ended up coming from two dealers in kailua-kona town;  fine bamboo and teak furniture and gray’s furniture located just down the road from each other.  i felt like i was haunting the stores by the time i left the island.  every day coming in, measuring, pairing things up – collecting furniture.  then every day loading up the jeep and making the drive back down the island where j and i would lug our finds up the stairs and carefully arrange them to take full advantage off the views and space.

as our time on the island came to end, i was thrilled with what i accomplished in the short time i was there.  there would always be more things to do, more things to add and more ideas to come and with a long rainy vancouver monsoon season on the horizon, perhaps i will just have to pop over there and work on some more things!

i know it has been while since i have written anything or posted any pictures of the garden.  i do apologise, and really i have no excuse other than the usual.  as many of you know, vancouver didn’t have a stellar winter, and even now there are remnants of the destruction (how dramatic) it caused on our gardens.  i still have not replaced the giant cordyline at the front door, and i still see mouldy flax in many people’s yards.  it’s not coming back people, time to move on.  but besides the ugly winter and the spring which just cannot move on – my garden is coming along just fine.  i have created a new wire basket for succulents that i am now searching for.  it will hang over the edge of the concrete in the front garden and will get sun all afternoon.  in the winter i will be able to move the whole enchilada to the greenhouse more easily i was able to move the succulents last fall.  i already have more plants than places to put them and it only may, so there will more ingenuity  on my part to come.

after a week in saigon (minus a few days in hoi an to which i did not bring a camera battery – so you will see no pictures), i travelled to bangkok to meet up with b, who had never been to asia before, for a week of vacation silliness in a city still known for its wild side.  if i had to choose only one country to vacation to, it would be thailand.  having been twice before, this third trip to the kingdom would be my shortest, and the first time i would not leave bangkok for the duration of my trip.  there are plenty of hotels to choose from in bangkok; from the top-of-the-line to backpacker-chique.  i am partial to the sheraton royal orchid on the chayo praya river, besides i can stay on points.  all rooms in the hotel have been (or are being) renovated and have river views.  the ferry, a free luxury that all river hotels have, takes you to saphin thaksin bts (skytrain) station and you can ride the modern convenience throughout the central area of bangkok and up to the jj market.  even though taxis are inexpensive, using the skytrain system sometimes can prove easier near the main shopping area.  in the evenings taxis (or when you are up for a thrill, a tuk-tuk) can take you directly to your destination for very little.

as i have mentioned before, i do enjoy relaxing by the pool, eating and shopping on a vacation and bangkok offers exactly what i was looking for.  siam centre, still my favourite place to shop, is located along side the downright luxurious siam paragon centre, mbk centre – the place for leather goods and various quality levels of knock-offs and another dud mall, siam discovery, that i usually avoid.  for a bit of culture thrown in, jim thompson house is located a short walk from this corner as is worth seeing, if only to see a traditional thai style house, right in the middle of this bustling metropolis.

of course i have a favourite restaurant in bangkok – eat me, located on convent road a few blocks from sala dang bts station, has had me coming back several times each time i am in town.  the intimately scaled, yet open style of this tropical restaurant is a favourite haunt for travelers in the know, expats from the world over and hi-so thais not only because of its delectable internationally flavoured menu but also the informative longtime owner darren hausler, who can often be seen chatting-up other guests and the headwaiter, who’s seductive voice could at easily talk you into a second dessert.  the city of angels is also known for its street food as bangkokians spend much of their evenings and time off out, on the street.  this way of life has lead to some of the most diverse street food that i have seen in my travels.  the smells and sights will excite the true foodie, and anyone with a sense of adventure will want to try a snippet from many a cart.  as a good rule of thumb with any restaurant, if it’s not busy, don’t eat there!

i have an every increasing list of things to do when in bangkok.  i have never made it through.

there are many thoughts and images that come to mind when one thinks of vietnam.  it is a country that has weathered many occupations, wars and calamities.  for many, it is synonymous with a failed war, befittingly called the american war here.  before that the french occupied the area and going back before that the chinese left their legacy of rule.  the influence of america’s war, french colonial rule and chinese control can be seen in the architecture, food, religion and the population itself.  though i am familiar with south east asia, this was my first trip to vietnam and i was not disappointed.  many travel writers have compared saigon of present to bangkok 10 to 15 years ago.  and while there can be many parallels drawn between the two, saigon and bangkok are unique gems in their own rights.  in these writers’ defense saigon is, as bangkok was (or in a more limited capacity is), still a city that has many draws for the ‘backpack in one hand, lonely planet in the other’ crowd of travelers that help open the world of travel to the masses.  i however, travelled to saigon with luggage on wheels, my laptop, several cameras and lenses sans a lonely planet guide under my arm – and still managed.

visiting saigon was prompted by my friend s who is living in vietnam for one year in order to adopt her second child.  s, who i have know since high school, already has her beautiful 3 year old daughter m, who she adopted from china several years ago, and together they are living outside the tourist zones of saigon in quận 8.  having lived in the city since january, s was a tour guide that could help navigate such a whirlwind of a city as well as offer some sound advice on the idiosyncrasies that make saigon both unique and possibly treacherous.

the first thing one might notice after leaving the airport in the relative comfort of a taxi, other than the heat and humidity of course, is the sheer number of motorbikes on the road.  as  our taxi weaves through the sea of literally thousands of motorbikes, each using their horns as a type of echo location device, it dawns on me that this might be as close to controlled chaos as i have ever been.  i am reminded of traveling through india many years ago – but it is only a glimmer – as the city unfolding before me takes centre stage in my mind’s eye.  as i had landed after 10 pm, traffic was actually light and we made it south from the airport to s’s place in less than half-an-hour.  as saigon, and vietnam as a whole, continues to develop, the middle class continues to grow as evidenced by the relatively new homes that have been built throughout the city’s many districts or quận(s).  as we pull up the house s shares with a couple who is also living in vietnam to adopt two children (3 and 12), i am struck by the difference in architecture compared to an average home in vancouver or toronto.  as with most newer homes in saigon, s’s home is a row house with 4 floors.  the front of the house literally opens up completely, both to act as a front door and a garage door.  it seems that if you are lucky enough to afford an automobile in saigon, you must also park it in your living room.  with no cars at the house, the living room merely had to cope with two motorbikes.

ah, the motorbikes.  i was quickly initiated into saigon’s motorcycle culture the next morning when s, along with m strapped in, and i head out into the blurry streets in search of breakfast that didn’t include noodles.  heading further from the city centre, towards a newer enclave of homes and shops being built for the booming expat populations that have begun descending on this relatively undiscovered south east asian gem, we stop at vietnam’s answer to starbucks – highland’s coffee and have a delicious breakfast of eggs, french bread, fruits and yogurt.  the french’s lasting influence on the cuisine in vietnam cannot be ignored.

after fueling up on breakfast (and espresso) we get back on the donorcycle and head into the thick of saigon’s quận 1, the central business, tourist and shopping district.  the roar of the traffic, the echoing horns and palpable energy pulsing through the air, continue to rise as we move closer to the heart of the city.  while the average resident of saigon is not unaccustomed to seeing foreigners throughout the city, two europeans with a chinese toddler (often sleeping!) riding through the crowded city streets on a motorbike still draws it’s fair share of smiles, add to that that it is the woman driving and you have the perfect recipe for some outright laughter.  as the throngs of motorcycles squeeze through the streets, jockeying for space amongst the buses, cars and taxis you are reminded of just how fragile we as humans really are.

for me, traveling is often about meeting people, eating and shopping – with my fair share of lazing by a pool thrown in – and less about sightseeing.  i hate to schedule every moment of a trip as much of the more interesting days seem to unfold all on their own.  district 1 offers plenty of distractions for everyone, from the backpacker in the group to the gucci girl of the pack.  shopping is a pastime that can easily engulf an entire week in saigon – from the comfort of the air conditioned plazas to the dozens upon dozens of shops lining every street throughout district 1 – there is no end to shopping, at any price point.

for the foodie in the group, stumbling upon saigon – with it’s thousands of street vendors and hundreds of restaurants offering local specialities, and specialties from throughout the country – it is easy to immerse yourself into vietnamese food on a grand scale.  with its history of french occupation saigon is also home to many french restaurants and bistros… for those craving a baguette and a glass of wine for lunch the refinery, located near the park hyatt, is a perfect place to stop while exploring the city.  saigon is also home to a few 5 star hotels, each with their own way to eat, and experience the city.  firstly, the rex hotel – the choice of foreign journalists during the war -  with its sparkling, almost kitchy, rooftop restaurant brings you just far enough up from one of the district’s main intersections without disconnecting you from the pulsating rhythm.  it is worth a dinner on a friday or saturday  night before exploring the nightlife.  Secondly, bringing you up much further – the 23rd floor to be exact – is the bar/restaurant of sheraton saigon towers.  the view is stunning and brings you far above the crowded city streets, and if you happen upon here at dusk you’ll be able to see the bats swooping and performing aerial acrobatics in search of the evening’s meal.  the sheraton also offers two towers for guests and is the hotel that i spend my last night in before heading to bangkok.  lastly, for the 5 star afternoon tea break, i suggest the hotel majestic’s street level restaurant.  one cannot discuss food in saigon without mentioning the famous quan an ngon, located near reunification palace.  this restaurant, popular with locals and expats alike is an open air oasis allowing you to dine on some of saigon’s best street food under the rustle of banana leaves and palm trees.  despite all this, sharing phở, rice noodles and beef strips in a beef broth, with locals, late at night at a street vendor’s seating area on the sidewalk, remains a highlight of my trip.

a week anywhere would be hard without seeing some of the sites.  throughout the city there is evidence of the french occupation.  wide streets, lined with beautiful examples of french architecture are prominent throughout district 1.  the central post office exemplifies this and is a popular tourist destination.  perhaps one of the most disappointing tourist spots is the reunification palace – which looks less like a a palace and more like a university designed in the 70s.  the park located across from it however, is a lovely expanse of grass and trees and provides a quiet refuge during a hot day.  though hard to find, the emperor jade pagoda provided a glimpse into some of the chinese influence on vietnam and gave me a chance to take some pictures with my new lens.

with the world economy in its present uncertain state, it is hard to say if saigon will continue to change at its present pace, but regardless, like many other times in its history saigon seems to be at a pivotal moment and is sure to continue to draw more and more tourists eager to see and experience its charms.

it feels like only yesterday that summer began and yet here we are already in fall – there’s a chill in the air to prove it!  despite the cooler temperatures september is traditionally a decent month for sun in vancouver and yesterday (and today) it has graced us with its presence.  i got a few shots that i am happy in the afternoon with the sunlight filtering through the bamboo.

i am experimenting with using flickr to host my photos – i think i like it, though it does take more time to post.

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