Off The Cooper Trail!

Friday, February 04, 2011

The Unsinkable

The Dead Sea is a place that most people have heard of, some people know where it is, and a few have actually been to. We were lucky enough to visit the Dead Sea and experience the amazing feeling of floating in a sea that is so high in salinity that nothing can live in it. It actually felt more like sitting in the sea than floating - it is a feeling that is very hard to explain. Perhaps the pictures can do a better job:

An indication of how far below seal level the Dead Sea actually is

Heed the warnings

Sinking is not an option

Getting chatted up by a friendly tourist

Floating about

Panorama of the beach scene

Monday, December 13, 2010

Going Back to Kuwait

Back in September we had the chance to go back to Kuwait and show H the city where he was born. He has always spoken about visiting Kuwait one day, so Jenene and I were thrilled that we were able to make this dream come true for him. The last time we were there was June 2001, so it was strange to be in a place that felt somewhat familiar and quite different at the same time. We visited all our old hangouts and even got the opportunity to catch up with Jess, a colleague from the school we used to work at. Some highlights of our visit:

· Getting through customs and purchasing a visa relatively hassle free – this would not have happened 10 years ago
· Realising at 2am on our first night that our hotel near the airport was actually in the flight path – talk about a rude awakening
· Visiting our old apartment building – it is good to see that it is now derelict….it probably should have been when we lived there
· Enjoying the seafood buffet at the Crown Plaza hotel – delicious!
· Having pancakes and shakes at Johnny Rockets
· Shopping at the Sultan Center
· Walking around in 47 degree (Celsius) heat and not really sweating
· Entering the lobby on our first morning with the kids and our swimmers asking which way to the pool only to be informed that “…the pool is at our city hotel. We don’t have a pool here.”

It was all good!

We are really here

That's right - 45 degrees Celsius at 4:30 in the afternoon!

We had a great time exploring the Dhow at the Radisson Hotel

Our old grocery store - good times!

The best milk shakes in the world!!!

Enjoying a Shwarma on the streets of Fahaheel - NICE!

The coastline is truly beautiful in places

Inside Kuwait Towers overlooking the city

The Kuwaitis sure know how to spend their money

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Iftar With Some Very Interesting People

Each day when the sun goes down during Ramadan family and friends gather for an almighty feast called Iftar. On Sunday night our landlord, Isahn, invited us to his house for Iftar. He also invited another couple and a single lady who we later found out are also tenants who rent his apartments. He seems to be somewhat of a real estate mogul in cahoots with his father-in-law.

This was a very interesting evening as the guy who was there, David, is a design engineer and has been employed by the King of Jordan to design armoured vehicles and tanks. He works out in the desert near the Iraqi border where he blows a lot of stuff up as part of his regular work day. His wife is from Jakarta and they share their time between Jakarta, Jordan, and England, where David is from.

The lady who was there, Margo, is the Deputy Commissioner for the UNRWA and spends her time traveling from Jordan to Lebanon, Syria, Israel, and the West Bank to work with Palestinian refugees. She had some fascinating stories, and she even offered to take us on a tour of the Palestinian refugee camp here in Amman. I hope we get the opportunity to take her up on this issue. In the short time we have been in Jordan I have become very much aware of the plight of the Palestinian and Iraqi refugees and I am really enjoying talking to the locals (many of whom are Palestinian and Iraqi) and raising my understanding of where these people have come from and why it is so important that we do what we can to help them.

I am really looking forward to the end of Ramadan and life returning to normal, but I am also very thankful that our kids got to experience Ramadan in the Middle East and that we all got to experience the generosity and hospitality of the Jordanian people through this Iftar.

Our Happy Place

One of the things that we have found to do here in Amman during Ramadan is to visit the inner city hotels and make the most of their resort style facilities, although this does come at a cost. Recently we visited the Crown Plaza for the day which read something like a Mastercard commercial:

Entry fee to use the pool all day = 66 JOD ($100 AUD)
Cost of lunch by the pool = 41 JOD ($63 AUD)
Cost of feeling normal for the day = PRICELESS!

Take me to my happy place!

You meet all sorts at the pool - a Belgian Canadian who bailed me up for about 20 minutes

Having a waterproof camera makes being at the pool a lot more fun

Being able to find some creature comforts from home also helps to make life a little easier.

A little Cadbury's can make you do strange things - love it!

The kids were over the moon that we could buy Weet-Bix here in Amman!

Monday, August 30, 2010

Saying Goodbye to Korea With Some Firsts

As we prepared to leave Korea in June there were a couple of things that we really wanted to try before we left. We had a great time at the Dr Fish Cafe - a coffee shop where after you have your coffee you can submerse your feet and lower leg in a small pool where small fish will come and bite off all the dead skin. Yes - they really do bite! The smaller ones feel a lot like small electric shocks, while the larger ones feel like fish biting you on the legs. This was great fun and we really enjoyed it.

Look at those little suckers go - no pun intended

Even though this was my second time it didn't make it any easier - it's actually very relaxing after the initial shock

The face says it all

There aren't many places in the world where you can go to a restaurant and order dog meat. Yes, you read correctly. This was something I had to try before I left, so my friend Andrew agreed to take me and let me experience what for Koreans has become a delicacy. I have to admit that it was very tasty, although quite stringy. The highlight was the 3 year old kimchi - absolutely amazing!

Hold still Rover!

Before we left we also shared a wonderful meal of Galbi (Korean BBQ) with our very special friends Andrew and Helen, Joni, and Nami.

H taking care of the BBQ - chef in the making

Helen, Joni, and Andrew

Helen and Joni

Nami, her beautiful little daughter and P

This was a great way to finish our time in Korea and we are very thankful for the wonderful people that we met and became friends with over the years.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

5 Things You May Be Taking For Granted

Water - it makes sense that when you live in the desert water is a precious commodity. Here in Jordan there is no underground plumbing, so water is delivered to your house rather than pumped in underground. We have a 2 cubic meter tank in the basement and another 2 cubic meter tank on the roof - this means that when our roof tank is empty (which is about every 5 days at the moment) we have to pump water up from the basement tank to ensure we have a continuous flow of water. We have a separate delivery company that brings 20 liter bottles of drinking water a couple of times a week.
Electricity - with the extreme heat that Jordon has been experiencing since we arrived (not sure if we brought it with us) everybody has been using their fans and AC more than usual. This has led to an overuse of electricity - so to compensate, the electricity is cut off to different parts of the city at different times. Unfortunately there is no warning as to when your part of town will be without power or how long it will be cut off for.
Going out for coffee - I love to go for coffee, or sip on a grande latte while I stroll about. Unfortunately this cannot be done at the moment as we are in the holy month of Ramadan - 4 weeks where Muslims fast during daylight hours. This means that nothing can pass their lips while the sun is up - for foreigners it means that it is illegal to eat or drink in public while the sun is up. September 8 cannot come fast enough!
Your car - having the freedom to jump in your car and go wherever you want, whenever you want is a luxury that most of us take for granted. Jordan does not have a public transport system to speak of, so we are reliant on taxis and our personal driver who takes us to school everyday. This one will take some getting used to.
Road rules - apparently these exist in Jordan but they are not that important. It is quite normal to see three lanes turned into 5 and you should never expect anyone to give you the right of way. It is a system of organised chaos that seems to work. I have been having great fun making sure drivers notice me when I am on my bike!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Is There Anybody Out There?

Well after a very long hiatus the Cooper Family blog is finally back on track. Since our last installment there has been a lot happening - I will try to summarize these events in chronological order:

During June/July 2009 we traveled to Bali for what can only be described as the holiday of a lifetime. We spent 5 weeks in a private apartment in Nusa Dua, hired a car for a month, bought a surf board and lived the life. Jenene's Mum and Dad and my Mum even traveled over from Australia to spend some time with us which made it even more special.
In October 2009 we traveled back to Seorak Mountain on Korea's East coast for some amazing hiking and scenery. This is truly one of our favourite places in the world.
Christmas 2009 we traveled back to Australia for an action packed 2 and 1/2 weeks, spending some time in Bundaberg, on the Gold Coast, and in Sydney.
February 2010 we traveled to Taiwan where we stayed with our good friends Chris and Nicole and their wonderful children Matthew and Teaghan. We even got to catch up with Cath and Jeff (friends from GSIS), and spent an afternoon with Joni Cho - our favourite Korean friend in the whole world!
In April 2010 we traveled back to Beijing for a truly amazing 6 days. We also took a day trip to Xian to see the Terracotta Warriors. This was a fantastic holiday and cemented Beijing as one of our favourite cities.
In June 2010 we left Korea for the final time on our way to Australia for the summer. We spent a fantastic 4 years in Korea and there are many things we will miss about this great country - but we were ready to move on.
And move on we did - after 6 weeks in Australia we packed up and moved our lives to Amman, Jordan, which is where we are right now. So let the blogging begin about our new life in Jordan and the countries we can visit from this part of the world.

I think you will have to agree that this summary is a very concise way to catch up on a year and a half of adventures. The photos below might help as well.