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Expat repatriated (temporarily)
Landing at Heathrow last week felt really strange. As the clouds parted and I saw green fields, trees and the neat rows of terraced houses on the approach to west London it dawned on me that England no longer feels like home. Of course, in one respect England will always be home. I have family, friends and even two cats in England. I grew up here and have spent periods of my adult life here. But at the moment I live in Australia and have commitments there like my job, daft things like my car and of course, the life I share with my partner. A few months ago my…
Montrueil sur mer – or is it?
Gorgeous little Montreuil-sur-mer, according to any sensible person’s expectations (one that knows some French that is), should be by the sea, but is in fact a small town inland from France’s north west coast. The town was founded in Roman times when the sea came up the Canuche estuary, hence the name, because back then it was by the sea. The water is long gone now but the rather misleading name remains. The town was famous for its cloth industry in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and its ramparts date back to the ninth century. It has an interesting history peppered with plundering raids by naughty Kings, the English King…
Cruising Barbados
Barbados is an amazing little island. It is a beautiful place with something for everyone, but its beauty cannot be truly appreciated unless you hit the high seas and take in the views from a cruise. Luckily several operators offer catamaran cruises up the West coast of Barbados, out of Bridgetown Careenage. These are the best cruising waters as the Atlantic pounds the East coast making the water rougher. The catamaran cruises operate large catamarans that easily take about 30 people and probably more. As they round the south west point of Barbados it can be a bit choppy but as soon as you are around that point the bar…
Tips for Expat Success
Life as an expat offers challenges not faced by those living in their home countries. Of course these challenges vary depending where you are from and where you move and many things can have an impact on how successfully you adapt to expat life. These are my tips for expat success. Explore Getting out and exploring your new territory should definitely be a priority. What do the locals have that you don’t? Local knowledge. It is invaluable when trying to fit in somewhere new and granted, it does not come overnight, but at least if you know the names of local places and make your own observations you at least…
A Tale of Two Massages
Walking most streets in Bali you are ambushed on all sides by the colour and the chaos that surrounds you. During a stroll in Legian and whilst doing our best not to fall off the dodgy pavements and get hit by the magically appearing mopeds, our ears were accosted with the cries of “DVDs!” “Fish pedicures!” and “Look at my shop!” One cry caught my attention especially, “Come for massage!” This is a story of two massages. Well, it turned into about four massages in the end, but it is the difference between two particular massages that I wish to highlight. There are many activities in Bali that can be…
Wave Rock
Hyden is one of the many towns littered across Western Australia’s Wheatbelt region and makes a great stop on the drive between Perth and Esperance. The rock and its surroundings are yet another fantastic example of all Australia can offer of the great outdoors. The drive from Esperance to Perth is long. It takes nine hours driving and longer if you stop for lunch. We like a roadtrip and the few different routes between Perth and Esperance seem to offer little difference by way of the time the drive takes, so we vary it and last time drove via Hyden. Hyden is a small town of about 300 people 350…
To Kindle or not to Kindle
Reading has been a source of great pleasure for me for my whole life. So, perhaps it was inevitable when the ‘digital book’ was launched that I would be keen to check it out. Being a frequent traveller they had huge appeal, but I also had some reservations. I came to the conclusion that I love them though. Here is why. Size The Kindle is smaller than the average paperback. It is a light, slimline and barely noticeable addition to any travellers bag, but one that could make a long airport delay more bearable. Combine this with the capacity to store hundreds of books electronically and you have oodles of…
A year away
Time passes quickly these days. I have been away from the UK, my family and most of my friends, for a year now and here share the emotional journey of my expat year. Escaping or exploring? Firstly I ought to explain that I was not unhappy in the UK. Despite a fairly vagabondish life I am familiar with things there and surrounded by people I know in the UK. I was however, sick of London commuting, the endlessly grim news reports about the recession and I was definitely over the weather and the perpetual greyness. With Australia as an option, we decided to see what it could offer us. Whilst…
Australian wildlife parks
Australia has some fantastic animals to boast about, as well as some of the weirdest critters and deadliest species around. A visit downunder is not complete without meeting some of the locals. Of course, ideally visitors would see these animals in the wild. Spend enough time in Australia and you will probably see a lot of the wildlife in its natural surroundings, including the less appealing ones. The cunning Aussies are aware that visitors don’t travel all the way here in the hopes of seeing these animals, they want to definitely see them, so wildlife parks have sprung up across the country. Most Australian wildlife parks can be relied upon…
The Aussie Way – Part 3
The longer I spend downunder the more I notice. I feel I have graduated a level in understanding Australian ways recently, as I have noticed more of the subtler differences in everyday life. Have you always wanted to be a fireman? Australia likes to think of itself as a land of opportunity and in the volunteering field it most certainly is. There is a vast array of activities carried out by volunteer teams, such as fire and rescue services, marine rescue, community event management and environmental activities are just a few. Compared to the UK where fewer organisations are operated by volunteers it gives people the opportunity to commit to…
