Heather Hapeta lives in Aotearoa-New Zealand: real travel, real adventures, real stories, real photos. Recent destinations Vietnam, Cambodia, Taiwan and Hong Kong – now NZ destinations due to COVID travel restrictions
What can I say, there is no doubt I am a lockdown failure. I’d originally planned to do heaps of things during this time of being alone in my apartment. Here are just a few:
improve my level of te Reo Maori (the Maori language)
visit art galleries and museums around the world
write numerous blogs
complete a bio of my life – only halfway through it
eat well – succeeded but just ate too much
catch up on my reading pile – sort of completed (but bought more for my e-reader)
However, what I did do was travel. Armchair travel via a few of my thousands and thousands of photos and I’ve set aside a few to show you.
So this is the first of my gratitude blogs. I still cannot believe that someone who had only left New Zealand a couple of times before I was 50 years old (a couple of weeks in Australia, and a month in the USA -mostly the Pacific Northwest.
Looking at my photos I’m amazed at the amazing life I’ve led. So in no particular order, and chosen for no particular reason, here are a few of my memories – memory lanes I’ve slipped down while I should have been exploring or studying all sorts of things.
King of Cambodia shakes hand with me
glad I’m a travel writer
I’m given some tea by a salt pan family. Gujarat
Rain Forest World Music Festival Sarawak, Malaysia
While in Kuching a month ago, immediately after the Rainforest World Music Festival, I unexpectedly met Dato Lim Kian Hock. He told me about a group of past New Zealand military personnel who were going to Sarawak for the commemoration, and unveiling, of a plaque honouring their help to Malaya at the end of August. As my ex-husband (now deceased) was posted in Malaya (as it was then called) during that time, I was interested in what was happening.
He (Dato Lim Kian Hock) is the chair of Sarawak Tourism Federation Heritage Development Committee will be also sharing his wealth of knowledge on World War II and local war-related sites to ‘What About Kuching (WAK) 2017’ this October.
In an email sent to me and the New Zealand participants, he said “We feel blessed to share your happy moments in this historical commemoration and the successful unveiling of your MNZVA commemorative Plaque, your first memorial in the world, consecrated here in Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo on 29th August 2017. The morning shower has even failed to dampen your “combatant” spirit of gallantry” proudly displayed by your colourful parade led by Kaumatua in the Māori tradition. I feel so touched by your singing in Māori verses too and your explanation that the rain drops are the showers of blessing.
Above all, we shared your pride of the hour, when His Excellency the High Commissioner of New Zealand to Malaysia Dr. John Subritzky, officially announced the NZ decision to repatriate the remains of your NZ fallen heroes back home to NZ at Kuching, City of Unity in Borneo. A greater “spiritual rewards” to all your Kiwi veterans especially you all during the Confrontation period. You and your team has thus created a lifelong historical pride to your New Zealand Battalion. We wholeheartedly congratulate you and share this proud accomplishment of yours with all friends in the world.”
Twenty-Seven New Zealand veterans returned to remember their time in the Malaya and to see the commemorative plaque being unveiled at the Heroes Memorial Park. See this YouTube video of edited highlights https://youtu.be/4reMe8FYUHo
The New Zealand High Commissioner to Malaysia Dr John Subritzky also attended and said it was easy for those not directly involved with the Emergency and the Indonesian Confrontation to forget how difficult and challenging those campaigns were.
He continued, “I want to acknowledge the sacrifices that were made during those conflicts. The veterans who are here today are living embodiment of one of the crucial foundations of this special relationship between New Zealand with Malaysia and Sarawak.”
As well as the Sarawak Tourism Federation (STF) Heritage Development Committee chairman Datu Lim Kian Hock, others present included the NZMVA president David Fenton and members of the Malaysian Infantry Veterans Division and the Malaysian First Infantry Division. Many thanks to Bill Russell, VP of the MVA, for the use of his photos in this slideshow.
The Kiwitravelwriter fails at sucking – even when given a lesson in eating these snails!
Many thanks to Rash (Jo’s Bamboo Cuisine) who really tried hard to teach me to get the insides out of these native snail while at the Sarawak Cultural Village and the Rainforest World Music Festival (#RWMF) earlier this month.
While she and other locals made it seem so easy, it became very obvious I need to practise sucking more, or, carry a pin to winkle them out next time!
it’s easy,
then eat!
just suck,
“It’s easy, just suck, then eat.” As she also told me … they’re like rubbery chewing gum!
Arriving at the Sarawak Wetlands National ParkHeather shelters from the sun and heat --- with Swiss Christophe Erade who is accompanying the Congo group NdimaTree number 8 being planted
These three photos are copyright to the Sarawak Tourism Board and were taken by the official Rainforest World Music Fesival photographers
Confessions from a travel writer: I’m not as perfect as my blogs may imply!
No doubt with a book called Naked in Budapest you could assume my confessions will be racy – sorry to disappoint you but these confessions are about packing and any ‘racy confessions’ will stay in my travel memoir – not this blog.
So, confession #1
Despite having written a few really popular and helpful blogs about packing for travel and another about carry-on luggage, or for cruising, I occasionally fail by not reading my own words of wisdom, and if i do, not heeding that voice in my head that says “Heather, I hope you are listening (in this case via reading’) to yourself”.
My recent trip to the USA saw me break my cardinal rule of don’t take anything for ‘just in case.’ and although I think I wore everything once, there was too much in my bag.
I guess swimming gear doesn’t really count – its hard to use what we Kiwi call ‘togs’ for anything else but in the water or poolside. (mine were only worn twice, once swimming with the Florida manatee and a very quick dip in the Pacific, despite the heat)
A soiree in Atlanta – at the Coca Cola site
Confession #2
I’m now gathering things together for my trip to the Rainforest World Music Festival (#RWMF) and already I know I have way too much to even choose from. So I’m taking myself in hand by writing this confession and hopefully shaming myself into taking what I need – not what I want, or think I want. I will also, this time, reread my helpful packing tips!
One of the issues around packing decisions is the variety of activities we often have to do in one trip.
The USA trip saw me attending a convention, a couple of parties, shopping, hiking, exploring tourist places and checking out restaurants.
My August trip to the music festival, in Malaysian Borneo, also has its challenges: a fancy dinner reception, surviving the photographers mosh-pit, planting a tree as part of ‘greening the festival’ – possibly in a mangrove area, attending performers’ interviews, meetings with tourism officials, exploring Kuching, AND spending part of my significant birthday in a drumming circle.
So, once again, many occasions, and very hot weather, meaning I need to think layers and interchangeable tops and bottoms and colours that mix and match.
Photo of the end result for boarding tomorrow … red bag for checked luggage, plus my carry-on and personal handbag (combined they weigh just under the 7kg rules – and the ‘handbag’ could be put into the grey carry-on which is mostly my electronic gear: of course NONE of which I needed when I first started travelling :):)
It’s also where I will be planting mangrove trees next week as part of the “Greening of the Festival” which Sarawak Tourism does with all the festivals it hosts – this time with wonderful Rainforest World Music Festival. I did the same a year ago, helping to offset the carbon I’ve spent getting to Malaysian Borneo.
I plant mangroves in the Kuching Wetlands National Park in 2014
The park is a mostly saline mangrove system of many waterways and tidal creeks connecting the two major rivers that form the boundaries of the park.
An important spawning and nursery ground for fish and prawn species and it also has a wide diversity of wildlife, including proboscis monkeys, long-tailed macaque monkeys, silver-leaf monkeys, monitor lizards, estuarine crocodiles and a range of bird life, including kingfishers, white-bellied sea eagles and shorebirds, including the rare lesser adjutant stork.
In 2005 Malaysia designated the park as a Ramsar site, a wetland of international importance. To explore this park you need to travel on the river and a number of tour operators offer coastal and river cruises in and around the park.
We walk the plank from boat to the site we will work. Note: Mount Santubong is just visible behind the tents
Kiwi Travel Writer talks food, travel, and tips 