October 30th - 31st

Oct 30th
The Mayor of Saga's welcoming party started exactly at 7.30pm ( everything here is run with precision). A video showing the mornings flights was accompanied by a famous Saga singer, singing a song about balloons flying up into the sky, he was good and got everyone clapping and singing along.



After the usual speaches, the buffet was open to all. Great food was to be had, if only we could get at it. Everyone descended on the tables at the same time, crazy!! After some eating and much drinking, a few of the rowdies got up on stage and started messing with the flags.!!!!!!!!!!!! Look who is in the center of the picture!!!!!!!!!

Met up with Dennys homestay family from his visit in '06. They send their best wishes and want you to return to Saga. Denny how can you refuse this lovely family!!!!!!!!
Oct 31st.
Great weather again today. The competition starts each morning at 7.20 am, meanwhile, there are a few balloons that fly around the lanch area, to entertain the crowds. The wind was so calm that most of the balloons hovered just feet away from the stands, people were reaching up to touch the baskets. We had plenty of crew to help today, so inflation was a breeze!!!!!!!!!! get it!!!!



After we all shouted " Good Luck" derek was on his way. The wind was very slow, but he made it to the target areas, just couldn't get in close enough to the actual target. This morning he was in 20 th place out of 100. Think that will change though, because we lost one marker in the reeds by the river, no target there , not sure what he was aiming at! Afternoon briefing is at 2.30pm, so we'll see how the afternoon flight goes.

October 29th - 30th

October 29th - 30th

Mr Tanaka arranged for a taxi to take us to the evening parade. Each year pilots are selected to turn on the lights for the start of the parade, then join in the parade. This parade is to celebrate
the Start of the Saga Balloon Festival. The whole town joins in. Derek jumped on one of the motorbikes that were in the parade, and the owner was only too pleased to have a Balloon Pilot on his bike!!!!


Quite a few women tottering around in kimonos, so had to get a picture. Parade started with a few balloonists using their burners, with pilots walking behind, brass bands, Halloween costumed kids etc..... All good fun and lots of hype.
Brass band was very good, and kept a good beat going. After the parade, there were stalls with Bingo, singing, sake, and plenty of food. After the parade , we were walking back to the car, when a live t.v. interviewer asked Derek for an interview . Very surprised that he could respond in Japanese, he is becoming or has become a favorite pilot with the Saga Media. And , oh yeah he loves it!!!!!
Oct 30.
Up at 5.30 for our morning briefing at 6.30. Weather is still looking good, so first flight of the competition went well. Hardly any wind, so not many pilots made the targets, but at least it affected everyone. Derek's beanbag landed 40meters from the target , so that's not too bad. In the afternoon the wind picked up, 16 mph. So afternoon flight was cancelled. Everyone disappointed as the competitive spirit is stirring. Tonight is the Welcome Party hosted by the Mayor of Saga. ( The Balloon Festive really is a big thing here). Lots of food and drink, buffet style. Great way to try food that we don't recognize. Hopefully won't be too late a night.

October 27th - 29th

Oct 27th,
Derek went to sort out the rental van and the pick-up of the balloon from the shippers yard. I stayed at homestay and unpacked and done laundry-just routine things today.
Oct 28th
Got up at 6am, for a practice flight. Beautiful sunny day,light winds. Managed to land and swap out crew ( homestay family) so everyone got a flight. Got back by 10am, and the local radio station wanted to interview Derek. The skippy radio car turned up outside the house minutes later, to have a live interview. Derek answered all the questions in Japanese, with a little help from Mr Tanaka's niece. Everyone was very impressed!. Took out bicycles again, and cycled downtown as the land is so flat and weather so good. Then had family dinner of spegetti, and KFC ! Not sure if this is normal food for japanese , or if its just for us! Niece said the KFC is VERY popular here.
Oct 29th.
Up again at 6am for second practice flight. Same weather as yesterday. I went up with Derek for my first Saga flight. A lot more balloons taking off today, as propane is provided for today. Done some target practice ( one on the road-good, one in the river -bad) Need a few more practice flights but competition starts tomorrow. Landed in farmers field, where all the farmers gathered and were eager to pack our balloon away. Surprised at how many elderly women farmers there are, who can lift and carry just like the men. The farmers are actually happy that we land in their fields, yesterday, we landed behind Mr Tanakas house, and the farmer came to the house with 3 boxes of hot steaming fish, as a thank you gift, for landing so close to his house., he had never seen a balloon so close and thanked us for this!!! We need to have a ride business over here !!!!!!!!

A few photos

Setting out from our Saga home.
















Sushi dinner.
















The Tanaka family.

October 25th/26th

October 25th/26th

Derek got up at 12.45am to watch Chelsea v Blackburn Rovers game. Good result 5-0 to Chelsea. Our room was tiny at Friendlys , but the bed and pillows were really comfortable. Today is a traveling day. Caught a taxi from Malate to Manili Airport -30mins. Flight from Manila to Osaka took 4 hrs, arrived 7pm. Took train from airport to Osaka bus station took 40mins. Searching for the right bus -1hr!!!!!!! Caught overnight bus at 10pm, arrived at Fukuoka at 7am. Caught a train to Saga - 45mins. Where Mr Tanaka and family ( homestay family) were waiting to take us to their home. Finally, after 24hrs of traveling we arrived at their home!!!! After a cuppa and some chocolate biscuits, and a quick nap, we were good to go. So we took the bikes out for a ride around the harbour. Couldn't quite understand how Derek was zooming ahead of me, I was really working hard at keeping up with him , until he let me in on his secret--He had an electric assisted bike. Crafty little bugger! Made him swap over for a while, as I needed to get my breath back. It's pretty neat, hardly any effort and the bike practically goes by itself! Came back to a lovely Sushi Dinner, that all the family attended. Great evening! and we got to have that much needed early night.

October 24th

Oct 24th
Woke up at 5am, as we had to pack and check-in at the airport at 6.00. Breakfast today was Nasai Lemak which is a traditional Malaysian breakfast, consisting of boiled eggs, rice, curry and crispy anchovies topped off with peanuts. Most of the food, regardless of what meal it is tends to be spicy food and rice. Caught flight to Clark AFB, Philippines at 7.20am, flight took 4hrs, then we took a bus to Manila, approx 2hrs. Couldn't see any signs of the massive flooding they experienced on 10/4. Staying at Friendlies Guesthouse in Malate. Arrived in Manila at 2.30pm, sunny and breezy. Bedrooms are small, with just enough room for a bed-as you can see from the photo , but they have a lovely large lounge room, and tonight is Cheese and wine party !! Walked around the town, and guy with horse and cart offered ride for 50-- took him up on it , and toured the waterfront, lovely ride and the drive was very informative. When we got off, he said the ride was $50- We told him , he said 50 meaning 50 peso's (1.00). I thought that was a bit cheap , even for here, as the ride was about 1/2hr. He said because we didn't want to pay, he would accept $25-!! yeah , right!!!!! Derek told him he'd give him 50 peso's ONLY!!! We were going to pay and walk away, but Derek only has a 1,000.00 note !!! I thought we were going to be here for a long time!!!! Eventually, we decided to get change in the burger place, pay them 50 and run!!!!!!
Not a good first experience in this place. We then walked along the beach front, which was absolutely filthy with trash, but despite this, kids were playing on the beach and people were swimming in the water!!!!!! It looked like the city rubbish dump!!!!!!!!! As we were walking back we saw the local Jeepneys- which are what the philippines use as their bus system. They are all individually decorated and crammed with as many people as possible! We took this Jeepnies last year, and they are hot and cramped, but we had to do it !! We walked back to the guesthouse, and joined in the wine and cheese night, which turned out to be great. The wine was flowing until everyone had their fill, and plenty of food was provided. This place definately has it's bonus points!!!!!! Maybe we won't even notice how small the rooms are, or maybe that's their plan!!!!!! Good way to socialize ! The manager attended Portland State and lived
in the next city to ours-- small world!! The lounge area in this place is great, with free Wi-Fi, dvd's, kitchen, books and it's all on the 5th floor ( great views of Manila) very friendly staff. Definately would come here again. Not catching a flight till tomorrow afternoon, so looking forward to a nice lay-in. Actually, the quality of the wine is very good, they're not serving cheap table wine !! Enjoying this evening very much! Hic..... Hic.... excuse me!! Nightie night....................

October 23rd

Oct 23rd
Woke up to another sunny day-yeah!! After breakfast , we took the scooter out for the morning, and drove around the rest of the island. Beautiful place.








There's quite a difference between the housing. Some homes are like this beautiful one, and just in the next field there would be a home that looks like it's going to collapse in the next storm.











When I stopped to take this photo, the children came out of the house, and were smiling and waving at us. The people are very friendly.









In the afternoon, we went to the beach, and enjoyed a few rays of sunshine. ( Yes I know I look as white as the sand !!) We had to be back at the guesthouse for our taxi at 4pm to take us to the airport, for our flight to KL. Arrived KL at 6pm, checked in at Tune Hotel, for one night, an early one as we're catching a 7am flight tomorrow morning to Clark AFB, Philippines.I

October 22nd

Oct 22nd
Awoke to a beautiful sunny day! Our new best friends, told us about the 'Cactus cafe' , just past the luxury resort. Went there for breakfast had scrambled egg on toast, 2 extra toast, jam & butter, fresh fruit, freshly squeezed orange juice and coffee, all for 2 buckeroos !!!!!! Decided to rent out a scooter and head for the Langkawi Cable Car. It goes to the top of Gunung Machincang mountain, and it has the steepest gradient in the world at 42 o. Also has the longest single rope cable in the world at 919.5m. We took the coastal road and the views were great. It took us about 30 mins to get there. The island is quite small, the circular road is approx 70kl. We were on the cable car for a few mins when it stopped and slowly starting swinging . Derek was looking a bit green as he has a fear of heights. It normally would only take a few minutes to get to the top. After about 15 mins, he was looking worse and starting to sweat. Luckily, the car started moving again, but stopped just before we reached the first platform at 650 m. Again, we waited for 15/20 mins, now dereks shirt is wet and his eyes are wild !!! All the time we are swaying , and watching the other cars bouncing around on this Longest Single Rope Cable, just when I thought derek was getting ready to jump out we started moving again and arrived at the first platform. We were told that the cable car was having mechanical problems and we'd have to wait 1/2hr for them to fix it. By now derek just wanted to get down , so we crossed over to the opposite platform and waited . Eventually, the cars were moving again, but just barely crawling, we got in and went down! The whole ride took over 2 hrs to the first platform, should have been 5 mins! Glad to get back on our scooter and head to our favorite resort, remembered my camera this time. Photo shows the swimming pool in our guest house, then Derek in the resorts pool-- Big difference ! Sat around on the beach for a couple of hours, weather was great!! In the evening , we drove to Kuah, which is the islands main town, quite small and geared around tourists. Lovely evening drive home, dodging monkeys, dogs and Water buffalo ! This really is a beautiful island, small commercial areas but otherwise unspoilt. It's very mountainous , covered with tropical forests. The roads are in great condition, and the place is very clean. I'm liking this place more each day!

October 21st

Oct 21st
Woke up to pouring rain, so we watched Shrek 3. It was really funny! Rain had stopped, so we decided to walk to the beach. Another couple of English tourist told us about a luxury resort at the end of the pathway, opposite our guesthouse. They have been using all the facilities ( pool, beach loungers, jacuzzi etc..) for the past week. So we gave it a try- it was great- nobody questioned us, so we're going again tomorrow! Forgot to bring the camera, but we'll get pics tomorrow.
In the evening we walked along the beach, watching 5 parasailing companies processing tourists. Each ride took approx 5 mins! Fun to watch the staff catch the people as they came down on the beach. It seemed hit or miss as to whether they caught them or not!! Watched some very hard landings.

Went back to Tomatos Curry house for a great curry. We had approx. 40 curries to choose from! They had a nan bread station, and a roti station, along with the all you can eat curries! See photos----Eat your heart out Steve!!!!!!!!!
Went back to the guesthouse to watch a movie, The Good Shepherd. Need to watch it again to understand it, one of those movies !!! It's now 12.35 am so time for bed as Derek needs to get up at 2.45 for his Chelsea game.

October 20th

Tues 20th
We can now say that we have experienced monsoon rain! The roar of the rain was so loud it woke both of us up in a panic. We opened our door and watched the pathways become mini rivers! It actually hurt to stand out in the rain, it was coming down with such force. Because we were awake most of the night, we did sleep in this morning till 11.30!!!! At least by then, it was raining normally, and amazingly most of the rain had been absorbed into the ground. We decided that today was a walking about day, as the sky was still really dark. We found a travel agency called " Del boy is coming" weird and coincidental!! Saw cows eat through a pile of trash in plastic bags- Recycling Malaysian style. Found the fantastic beach, shame it was raining, but we're hoping that tomorrow will be better weather.

Photo: Deluxe room in Langkawi

October 19th

Mon 19th

Nice lay in, checked out 10am. Decided to wait around airport till flight at 4pm, as bus into town takes 1hr, didnt want to chance it. Found eatery where the airport workers eat, had great veg/curry and rice , expresso coffee and chocolate ( loving this curry and chocolate combo). Caught our 1hr flight to Langkawi, looks mountainous , and very green - beautiful. Langkawi is one of 104 islands off the NW coast of Malaysia. Taxi was approx.20 mins to Zacherys Guest House. Huge room, but very mildewy, dumpy looking. Shared bathroom , which has a leak from the bowl and the tiolet BUT very nice lounge area. Tea/coffee avail. 24 hrs, kitchen facilities, T.V. with loads of movies and a bar. Beer is on an honesty tab system--derek is loving this!!!!! I was okay with dumpy room until we went back to it and spent 1/2hr chasing 1 or 2 cockroaches around the room with a shoe! Those buggers move very fast!!! Got 1 but can't find the other-maybe there was just 1. Put duct tape across the very large hole in the wall ( how did that happen?) Knew duct tape would come in handy!! About 8pm walked down to shops for dinner, pitch black in areas, kept seeing movement to my right, it was only when a car was coming towards us shining his headlights that we saw a herd of Water Buffalo coming along side us, as we froze, they passed by withing feet and crossed the road !!!! They were more comfortable with people than we were with the Buffalo. Wish I had my camera with me, but because I was shaking so much, not sure the photo would come out !!! Did have a nice noodle dinner, and cautiously walked back to Guest house. Planning on renting out motor bikes tomorrow, but people are saying the rain is coming tomorrow-monsoons ???? Going to bed now, but first I have to check the mattressess !!! Sweet dreams!!!!!!!

Oct 11th

Photo: Afternoon tea outside Derek's Mum's flat.

Petronas Towers

Photo: Outside the famous Petronas Towers.

October 18th

Sun 18th
We remembered to pack out camping kettle, so we had coffee and kit kats for breakfast in bed. Had to eat the whole pack of kitkats (3bars) as it's so hot here, they were melting !!! Caught a bus into downtown and had lunch with our Malaysian balloon pilot friends. Great curry lunch, so far this day is turning out great, my 2 favorite foods !!!!! Walked through Central Market, around China Town, through Petaling Street Market ( great knock-off market ) and ended up at the Petronas Twin Towers. Finally, got back to our hotel by 10.30pm, ready for another good nights sleep.

Oct 17th

Sat 17th
We did sleep on the flight!! Arrived at KL 9.30pm . Loaded the backpacks on and walked to Tune Hotel, located 2 car parks away from the airport. Not far, but we had forgotton how hot and humid this place is ( 34c at night!!!!). Tiny rooms but VERY comfortable beds..... good nights sleep.

October 14th - 16th

Photo: Elliot, Anna, and Ezmay


Wed 14th.
Went to Bury St. Edmonds with Ang and Steve.(Maureens sister and brother-in-law) Quaint town with cobblestone roads and Tudor Buildings. Wednesday is market day, which brings out all the villagers. Also, is home to The Nutshell, which is the smallest pub in England!! Total capacity 9! Which explains why the 4 of us didn't go in for a drink. Great day out.

Thurs 15th
Drove into Ipswich town to have lunch with family, and some shopping.

Fri 16th
Cycled to Ang's son Elliots house way out in the country. Took 1 1/2 hrs to get there, had tea and cycled back through beautiful countryside. Very windy coming back, pedalled like mad, but I'm sure we were going backwards at some point! Arrived home exhausted, hope we'll sleep well on the 13hr flight to KL tonight!!

October 13th

Since the family had to work today, we decided to try and counteract some of our over-eating of our favorite British foods by going for a bike ride in the country-side of Suffolk. So after packing a picnic lunch we donned the required safety gear and headed off on our borrowed bikes. The weather was quite nice, a little chilly, but sunny. Ended up cycling for a good couple of hours, meandering through the quaint English villages.

Outside Derek's school