Borneo

Borneo, Malaysia, the jungle... Longhouses.... It's all but a myth for tourists, so it seemed to me but got the chance to meet some dancers or stage performers in what they call traditional costums...
The people I met were absolutely lovely! Managed to get a glimpse of an orang utan in the process and got the chance to dive super expensive but exquisit Sipadan! It's a volcanic island in the Celebes Sea with plenty of marine life. So much that you don't actually know where to look. But more about that later! Our dancers were beautiful, the girls elegant, and the boys really funny! Great performances!

Bali

Sorry for letting you down after all this time. Was kept quite busy and I am not too fond of internet cafes. I do need a personal assistant!
So Bali was great, to say the least. And I was amazed by their traditional Legong dance. Very close to divine! I met my teacher in Ubud. She was very patient with me, as I didn't have a clue was it was all about when I first started. I can tell you it's really hard on the shoulders!!! And the costums are among the most beautiful I have ever seen. Difficult to believe that one can actually dance in a sarong and 10kg of metal on the head!

Franz Josef Glacier

A group of brave ladies only (the men were in the pub) decided to get on a helicopter high up onto the Franz Josef glacier. First time using crampons and ice axe! It was fun, really! And the weather was awesome that day. Wandered in some ice caves, between pinacles and all. Very impressive! And that's only the ice side of things. The helicopter bit was wow! And the wicked pilot find it very funny to do acrobatics in order to make the ladies scream. It works! I almost swallowed my own heart when he peaked onto the ice field...

Maori dancers

Met some Maori dancers in the thermal living village outside Rotorua. Lovely performance, intimidating men, passionate women! Very different to the Cook Island dance although the Maori are descendants of the Cook Islanders that departed the islands of the South Pacific in canoes over 700 year ago. It's interesting because today each culture is quite different and hold onto their heritage really strongly! The village is based on a geothermal spot! Geyser, hot mud pools, sulfuric fragrances... They cook their dinners in the hot springs. Not a bad way of saving energy. But when you feel the earth tremoring and a geyser pops up, I have to admit that I do feel unsafe...

New Zealand next?

My itinerary in NZ was: Auckland, Rotorua, Wellington. Then Christchurch, Tranzalpine train to Greymouth, Franz Josef Glacier, Queenstown, Dunedin, Lake Tekapo, back to Christchurch. Then plane to Wellington, collected my passport at the embassy of China, got my visa to India. And surprisingly went back to Rarotonga.
But here is a taster of the Tranzalpine train journey from rainy misty Christchurch to sunny Greymouth. It was foggy midway but the vistas were still pretty amazing! Grizzly had a great trip!

Some more on Rarotonga

Typical scenery on Rarotonga. Got to see E Matike dance up on the hills in the highland Paradise. Nice one. Or "sweet" as they say here!
A few days ago I did the cross island walk, in those hills in the background. I got lost and thought I was going to end up in the waterfall. Honestly, not worthy! You don't see anything but slippery slops, hanging onto roots (that's for the lost part) and are all the time in a dark rainforest with mosies buzzing away. Was happy when I got back to the coast!

Some more on Aitutaki

It has the reputation of being a honey moon island especially with couples from New Zealand and Australia. It has an absolutely stunning lagoon. Went on a cruise on it, explored some motus (small islands) and did some great snorkeling. We had a BBQ on one foot island.
But frankly, it's truly boring for a single traveller. You end up feeling like an oddity among the lovey dovey couples. Good thing I met a bunch of crazy aussie men who were there for an official fishing competition!

And that's the dive boat. We are taking a break during 2 dives. The funny guy in the hat is called Gary. He "survived" the hurricane that destroyed many homes and many lives in Manihiki in 1997. That small island is well known for it's black pearls. He used to have a pearl farm there before the hurricane. That's where he learned to dive. No PADI there then!

A pleasant dive experience

So yes, there is diving in Rarotonga.
Some say it doesn't have the best dives of the south seas, but it sure does have pretty divemasters! And they are very, very good! Kept my cool and all although I had only done 5 dives before heading here and that was in 2005!
Encountered some trigger fish, rays, clown fish, puff fish, reef sharks, octopus and many many more...
Sean (the guy on the right) danced the hula for me underwater. I have on video somewhere...

Aitutaki

For those of you who wander what the Cook Islands may look like, here is a very modest picture taken from the balcony outside the guesthouse I stayed in while on the island of Aitutaki. No fancy cocktail, or sunset, or sexy model in an orange bikini. The skies look a bit grey. That's because heavy rains from the South East Asia monsoon are on their way...

My feet were wet the 36hours that followed this moment!

Dancer of the Year Festival in the Cook Islands

There was something a bit scary about flying to a tiny island in the middle of the South Pacific to meet the hula dancers! But ay! What an amazing experience was awaiting myself and Grizzly in the Cook Islands! We took part in the Dancer of the Year contest as Papaas (visitors) and met beautiful people perform their traditional art with some much stamina and talent! They even call it Cook Island's aerobics! I met Rutera the organiser, who kindly invited me to attend rehearsals and performances in the Auditorium.

Ballet Prejlocaj

The Ballet Prejlocaj were over from France touring along the west cost of the US, presenting a piece called "the Four seasons". After discussion with Betsy, my artistic consultant, we decided to stay an other week in SF for the event. We got a chance to attend a worshop given by these fantastic athletic contemporary dancers who then showed us parts of their performance. I tried to join them. It was a hilarious disaster yet to be shown on tape. I may hide it away!

Breakdancers

We had an exciting time in San Francisco meeting professional dancers at the San Francisco Dance Centre, attending a show by Lines Ballet, captured sone breakdancers on the pier, and joined a workshop by the Ballet Prejlocaj from Aix en Provence (...)

Grizzly hanging around the Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts

The Cheese Cake Factory

A special one for the ladies!
Can't exactly go wrong, can it?

Grizzly at the Beach (San Francisco still)

It was a long walk from town to the twin peaks then ventured to an unknown side of the city. The locals were really helpful and myself and Grizzly ended up at the beach...

Grizzly in the Japanese Tea Garden

Grizzly went to the Golden Gate bridge

Computers here are really crap... And I havn't yet found an internet cafe...
So, more is too come as soon as I leave vibrant San Francisco for remote Rarontonga! I'm sure things will be easier then...
Have to tell you about the adventures of Grizzly in SF. He loves it here!
Although he was almost flown off the Golden Gate Bridge on tuesday, it was sooooo windy... Oh and yes. We decided to stay here an extra week!

Why do we dance?

"Some Musics vibrate in such a way that they touch the Soul. The energy coming from it then travels through the Body and is interprated by a Movement. That is where Dance originated." Kaloutie Ramjit 

"I don't know how to dance. People always tell me that I am out of rythm so I feel very counscious about it. But I love to dance and swing away to Latino music when I am on my own. It makes me feel good and joyful!" Nadine Nocnoc