1) My wife arrived on Praslin.
2) I kinda felt like I had nothing worth saying.
3) I had some stuff to sort out in the real world.
So now I decided to write for one main reason It's Dec 21st 2012. Some people think it means it's the end of the world, others think there's a dimension shift (the end of the world as we know it), finally there are those that laugh at the former. I belong in camp number 2.
Click the image above for a full explanation of all the symbols in the Mayan calendar. Be warned, it will mess with your head, Guaranteed!
CORRECTION: After further research, I've found that the stone above is Aztec and is often confused with the actual Mayan calendar, shown below:
The Mayan calendar ended, but hey my copy of Windows 7 only takes me to 2099, I'm sure that doesn't mean the end of the world, although I'm sure the world and tech will have changed a lot by then! If the world ends at midnight at least I've documented the past few months.
Coming here from the UK with a group of 6 others, it was much easier to settle down and aclimatise to the local environment. Mrs Lau had it pretty tough in that she wasn't really prepared for the heat or the extended drought. I didn't mind the drought too much living alone, as I'd fill up bottles when the water was on and also collect rain water, sometimes I'd collect 80 litres of rain water in 3 hours! But the issue with the drought is that the water is turned off during the day-between 9am and 4.30pm- during that time Suki is usually at home.
Needless to say, turning on the tap and nothing coming out has started to grate a little and I think we'll be pressuring our landlord for a water tank soon. A couple of very good friends have been kind enough to ask us what we want for Christmas, things that we miss. I guess the only things we miss are reliable running water and a vacuum cleaner. I don't think anyone owns a vac out here. Sweeping every other day is now a routine as is cleaning up gecko poo. Not much fun.
But this blog is not an emo rant, so lets keep it trill and on the positive tip. Here's some fun things we've been upto over the past 3 months:
Le Domaine de L Orangeraie La Digue. CHILLING:
Scuba at St Pierre with Simona at White Tip Divers:
Batfish. Slightly off topic, but we also saw TDKR, what an awesome film!
Hawksbill Turtle:
Say Cheese:
Flying to Bird Island (Population: 50). Baggage handling is done by a tractor; it's very old worldy:
Beaches like no other:
Chilling with these prehistoric beasts. These giant tortoises species are descended from a species 250 million years old. Eventhough they weigh upto 300kg, they float (that's how they arrived in Seychelles) and have survived what seems like several cataclysmic events. Needless to say, regardless of what the Mayans predicted, I'm pretty sure these giant toroises and their children will outlive us and go way beyond the new era.
Back on the main island of Mahé, Mrs Lau decided to test her Blu-Ray disks in the cinema. She has a showing there on 18th Jan:
We also found some other cool things at the dilapidated craft village on Mahe. It's a great shame what has happened here, but it seems that the craft village does need a bit of TLC:
I guess that's all for now. I'm not sure when I'll feel like blogging again. I don't just want this to be a photostory kind of blog. Hopefully the blog paints a realistic picture of the islands of Seychelles and gives us all food for thought. It's not always paradise, indeed I crave things like seasons, not having to wear sun cream and obviously all my family and friends. I miss you dearly. The only thing I don't crave are material possessions. Maybe we are moving into a new era.
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!
WL and SC.x
