Maria Davis

Leilani’s Long Awaited Arrival

Maria — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:54:54 +0000

July 15, 2010 at 4:45am marks the official arrival day of our beautiful daughter, Leilani. After 32 hours of enduring labor, with the incredible support of Elias, my dear friend-Val, and our midwife-Elaine (Mighty Oaktree Midwifery), Leilani entered our world. She was super alert from the first minute of life outside the womb. Regardless of the exhaustion, I suddenly became alert also and overwhelmed with love for her. Within a few minutes of meeting her, the name became so obvious to us…with her olive skin and black hair, she seemed to be the perfect Leilani (Hawaiian for heavenly flower), our Polynesian Princess. She weighed 6lb 12oz and has her Daddys height at 52.5cm long.

…click on the thumbnail to view larger/slideshow…

After a few days in hospital, Leilani was ready to meet the world. Her Auntie Jo and Grampa and Nana adore her. She will be meeting her relatives from Austria very soon and also relatives from New Zealand are on their way to greet her too.

Being born into a family of photographers means that she is going to be photographed and filmed all the time. Here are just a few shots so far…

…CLICK on the PICASA photo album link above for more images…

Waiting Game on the Thompson River

Maria — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 01:27:16 +0000

What do you do when you are over 40 weeks pregnant and in Kamloops, BC with temperatures in the mid-high 30′s (degree celsius)? Float on the river!

Fortunately, my parents live on the South Thompson River which makes for a nice day at the beach, whether it is hiding in the shade of the Willows or soaking up some sunshine floating on the river. Elias had his afternoon booked with paddling Kali everywhere to make belief lands…but he stayed hydrated. Lucky for me, Val and Cohen wanted to stay in the shade most of the day with me and eat snacks all afternoon.

Looking forward to more days spent at the river throughout this hot summer. Baby will learn very quickly to rock to sleep in a hammock on the river shore.

Birthday on a Tropical Island

Maria — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:58:09 +0000

Thank you for all the birthday wishes. It was a fabulous day spent fishing and snorkeling in the Gulf of Thailand. Then we went for a lovely seafood dinner and cocktails on the beach and watched a storm roll in. The hangover the next day reminded me how old I am.

We flew from Siem Reap (Cambodia) back to Saigon to connect to another flight to Phu Quoc Island a few days ago. Relaxing at the beach is the best way to end such an epic journey. It is South of Saigon and is considered one of the few true tropical islands that hasn’t yet become overly developed. It is picture postcard, with coconut lined beaches that go for miles and miles. We completely lucked out with a standby flight of only $40 and a bungalow on the beach for $30.

Watching the fisherman in the morning was a highlight. They crank in the nets manually until it is so close to shore that they get in the water and walk the nets. They make a tight circle and go in with nets and scoop the fish out. This net even caught a small stingray that they took to the markets too.

We also visited an oyster farm. The island is a major exporter of pearls (and fish sauce). Lucky for Elias, I am not a big pearl fan and the money stayed in the wallet.

Now, reality is close at hand. We are sitting in the airport in Saigon complaining about how much we just paid for a lousy airport meal. Tonight we fly to Kuala Lumpur and then onwards to Australia and then finally the next day back to Canada. No more cocktail hours & endless seafood. It was a good one while it lasted.

…more photos in the Vietnam album in the Photo Gallery above.

Temples of Angkor

Maria — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:57:35 +0000

The Angkor temples are considered the heart and soul of Cambodia and are the largest religious structure in the world. They are a national pride to all Khmers as they struggle to rebuild their lives after years of terror and trauma. They date back to as early as 800AD. The architecture differ depending in which dynasty they were built & which religion (Hindu or Buddism). At various times throughout history, they may served various rulers and religions. If a temple was built under Buddism control but taken over years later by Hindu, all the buddas and associated symbols were cut out of the rock and new carvings were placed on top. They were rediscovered in 1860 by a French party and sadly, it has been raided since. Statue heads have been removed (stolen) and sold worldwide to private collectors. There were various walls with thousands of holes in them, where once precious gems (rubys, sapphires the size of baseballs) where set. To date, one man (French) in the early 1930′s was prosecuted for robbing the temples. Then the country has been in civil war up until only 20 years ago, where the grounds were used as battle fields and administration centers including the Vietnam War. Various corporations, associations and other governments (Germany, Japan) have dedicated staff and funds to help recover the temples from the strangling jungle and restore them for further study and tourism. There are signs cautioning you to stay on the trails due to live land mines in the bush. It is still a place of worship – while we were leaving one of the temples, the Prime Minister and the King arrived with their armed guards for prayer. It is also a common place for local wedding photos. We were lucky enough to come across this – the bride and groom rent “traditional costumes” to have their photos taken in. Also… it was the site of the Angelina Jolie movie “Tomb Raider”. She is fondly liked here simply because she adopted a young Cambodian boy. Cambodia is overflowing with orphanages.

We spent 2 days “templing” but you could easily spend up 6 days as there is so much to see and know. On our first day, we hired a knowledgeable guide that made a huge difference. Not only did he educate us on the history and significance of the temples and associated religions, but he was invaluable on enlightening us about Cambodia in general. There is still so much corruption from lower level (police) to the top government. Also, there is so much hatred and despair between their neighbors Vietnam and Thailand. It has been front news papers everyday we have been here. But still, the people are always smiling and friendly!

The weather has been so much fun. It gets so hot and humid that it is hardly bearable and then the sky opens up for 10 minutes and just downpours so hard. Then the temperature becomes better for about an hour and them the cycle begins. It downpours about 3 times a day but like I said, only for minutes and it is still above 30 degrees.

…many, many more photos in the Gallery above.

Cambodia’s Floating Village of Chong Kneas

Maria — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:12:54 +0000

We arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia this morning from Ho Chi Minh City. It was a one hour flight that followed the Mekong River. We instantly fell in love with Cambodia – it is so lush and the people are so beautifully friendly…. not to mention the fantastic food.

Only a short TukTuk ride from Siem Reap we boarded a boat on the ebb of the largest lake in Asia to visit Chong Kneas – a floating commune. The floating village moves with the water. Currently the lake is at it’s fullest and over the next few months, it will start receding so the village moves with it. By Feb/Mar (dry season), the area will be almost half. The village has infrastrature such as schools (5), church, doctors. There was even a basketball court. The main industry is fishing but within their community everyone has a job… blacksmith, mechanic, clothes maker…etc.

After a day on the water, we walked into the “old market” area for dinner and a fish foot massage…yes, that’s right. You sit with your feet in a pool, where tiny fish eat away the dead cells on your feet. At first it’s an unbearable tickle, but once you get that under control it is great. Your feet feel so much smoother afterwards and refreshed. Note the photos of Elias’ feet – all the fish in the pool settled on his feet and chowed down.

Tomorrow we rise early to visit Day 1 of the famous Angkor Wat.

…more photos in the Gallery above…

Hanging in Ho Chi Minh City

Maria — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:59:04 +0000

We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon as it was previously called) last night. There is over 7 million people in this city and I am fairly sure I saw every single person and dodged them in the traffic. The city was somewhat disappointing in a way. There really isn’t too much to see or do. The sights are limited and the area is huge. We just walked around the downtown area and soaked in the chaos of the big city life.
We did mission out to visit the War Remnants Museum which was insightful and painful. It was once called the Chinese & American War Crime Museum – for a reason. Outside were some of the actual tanks, planes and helicopters but the exhibitions inside were the most powerful. There was several photographic collections showing the very graphic destruction to the land and people by the illegal use of Agent Orange by the Americans. There were aerial photographs of the land depicting the before and after of vital forests and mangrove biospheres. Still now, there are watersheds polluted by this toxin. The images of the deformed next generation were beyond comprehension.
Refuge was found on the Rex Hotel rooftop bar with a few Long Island Iceteas and Strawberry Margarettas. Oh yeah…I went for another spa massage while Elias went in search of a hamburger. Now we plan our Cambodia adventure….

Sunshine, Spas & Study

Maria — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:09:53 +0000

It was a beautiful day to lay on Nha Trang beach today. It was our first official “lay on the beach and do nothing day” of our entire trip. It was perfect. We lived it high today and rented beach loungers ($1) at the Sailing Club. Nice and comfy and then you don’t get bothered by the beach vendors. I listened to new music on my ipod and soaked up some Vitamin D. Elias, on the other hand, played it safe and relaxed in the shade and studied his Avalanche manual. Pretty funny to see him in his board shorts & sunglasses reading a book about deadly snow.

Ahh… the spa – that was relaxing. I figured if I was going to do it, I should do it properly, so I visited the most exclusive spa. It was as beautiful and professional as the one I visited in Dubai. For only $40, I had a 100 minute full body Vietnamese massage and a facial. The Vietnamese massage was a bit of a surprise as I didn’t really understand that it was a different style of massage. It consisted on standard techniques of deep tissue hand massage and then all of a sudden I felt a tool on my back that was quite hot. It was applied with hard pressure and then all of a sudden I felt the oddest sensation – part pain, part pleasure. The tools were different sized glass cups. The rim is covered in some kind of “tiger balm” remedy and then massaged into your muscle. At the end of each stroke, suction has formed and they pull it off creating a lift of the muscle. I don’t exactly know what the benefit of that is, but it was good. Oh…I almost forgot…I had a pedicure later too. Couldn’t resist – only $5 for pretty beach toes.

Beach Capital of Vietnam

Maria — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 12:12:52 +0000

Nha Trang – turquoise water and beautiful beaches. It is a very touristy beach community. You can’t really go anywhere or sit in a restaurant without multiple vendors approaching you, but it does have a beach charm. It is low season and we were able to barter a really nice room for $14/n with sat. TV and Wifi. The weather has been somewhat cloudy and drizzly so we have kept busy sightseeing instead of beaching.

We had some dirty fun at the Trap Ba Hot Spring Center. We soaked in private mud pools followed by a mineral water power hydro shower and then a soak in a private mineral water pool. After we finally got all the mud and mineral smell off (not too bad especially to the thermals of New Zealand). our skin was so soft.

We enjoyed some culture too… visiting the stunning Long Son Pagoda then climbed the 200 stone steps to the giant Buddha sitting in a lotus blossom that over looks the city. At the base of the Buddha was series of memorial alleys with gravestones of many Vietnamese soldiers lost in the war.

I made a cardinal sin of any traveler a few days ago and am now regretting it. I had a drink from the street vendor with ICE…I knew that was a mistake but only stopped drinking it after half of it was gone (it was really good, fresh orange juice and I was thirsty). Needless to say, I have had some harsh stomach cramps and visited many toilets in the past 2 days. I managed to find some crystallized ginger in a market today that is helping somewhat. Another travel note/warning worth mentioning… the first time ever after almost 20yrs of traveling, I had my backpack slashed open. I had my luggage (with a Pac-Safe backpack lock on it) stored at a reputable hotel while on a hike and someone cut into it with a knife. The odd thing is that nothing was removed – had my laptop and other electronics in there too. Lucky, I guess but proof that that kind of stuff happens unfortunately.

Hoi An – a Romantic Town

Maria — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:27:55 +0000

We flew from Hanoi to Danang for $40 and drove to Hoi An. It is considered a Unesco World Heritage site now. It survived the war and still has it’s original narrow cobble streets and colonial buildings. It has many architectural influences from the previous occupants such as France, China & Japan. It is pretty touristy here – you can’t go by a shop or restaurant without someone yelling for you to come in and buy something. The town is also known for its tailoring – Elias got some board shorts for $5. You can get a suit made for $50 or a gown made for $30. Needless to say, we have no need for this stuff so we are still traveling lightly. During the day it is dusty and busy, but at night, it becomes a beautiful, romantic town. It has limitations on when you can drove motorbikes through the streets, so at night, you can stroll around without the fear of being run over and all the buildings have glowing, colored Chinese lanterns hanging from them. Also, happy hour is really popular here. Last night we found a 2 for 1 bar…lets just say, I had probably one to many pina coladas last night and was overly enthusiastic about the colored lanterns on the walk home. The beach is 4km from the town, so the past few days we have rented bicycles and peddled to the beach. Yesterday, we made the mistake of riding back around 5pm (rush hour). That was scary.

…more photos in the Photo Gallery above

Bac Ha Markets

Maria — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 11:17:57 +0000

We woke up in Sapa this morning to finally see the mountains for a short period. The fog moves in and out of there so much that catching a glimpse of the mountains is a treat.

Our mission today was to travel 2 hours by car through a windy mountain pass to Bac Ha which is a remote town that holds the largest markets of the North. It is a magnet for all the Hill Tribe people to come and trade and buy. There were many different peoples, but the dazzling colorfully dressed people were the H’mong Flower people. The main industry of Bac Ha is producing/exporting Corn Wine – of course we had to try it! It is very strong – 60% and didn’t taste too good. In the photos, that is what the old women are selling in the big plastic containers. You can buy something as small as tiger balm for $1 (which I needed after the previous 2 days of hiking) to a water buffalo for $700, and everything in between. A great place to people watch and take in all the cultures and colors.

…more photos in the Gallery Page

…check out this video clip (15s) of Elias the Giant walking through the market. I never lost him – he was always towering over everyone by a couple of feet. (You need to click on the link which opens another page and then click on the link there) … Bac Ha Market

We returned to Lao Cai which borders China. Tonight we are catching the night train again to Hanoi and then flying to Da Nang.