Perfect Place For Parrot Lovers, Hotel Hana Lodge near Rotorua, New Zealand

 We had arrived in Auckland, a major seaside city on New Zealand's North Island. We slept off jetlag staying with friends for a couple of nights before driving south. Hotel Hana was our first hotel stop  near Rotorua, famous for its erupting hot springs.

As we drove up the drive to our hotel, a rabbit scampered across into the grass.

Photos by Angela Lansbury. Copyright. 

An impressive, imposing, fun and friendly hotel, isolated at the end of a long drive through trees and bamboo, to a building with a grand staircase. 

To the side of the hotel is an outdoor pool. It was cold and some insects had settled, but we enjoyed the outdoor spa bath.having lifted off the lid, and the two person sauna, having switched it on during the guided tour from the manager. 

The outdoor area had towels. No shower but the compact house hotel was conveniently alongside. 

Our bedroom's en suite bathroom had amazing tiled floors. The hotel was full of colourful paintings by an artist inspired by Chagall. If you had a large holiday or investment budget you could buy one. The paintings were for sale

Sculptures were scattered through the grounds giving the whole place a surreal feeling. 

Best of all were the parrots in human high cages on the front slope.

The rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. Sculpture at Hana Hotel. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Anything the hotel could or should add? Maybe showers by the sauna. And the outdoor pool could do with heating and daily cleaning with suction hoses or a greenhouse style cover with anti insect doors. 

The food was fabulous. Except for soup being too salty, but that was instantly replaced with an alternative starter. The croissants at breakfast were dry. 

However, you can forgive a couple of little glitches with a quirky hotel, obliging, chatty, friendly, informative staff - and those wonderful, beautiful parrots!

The modern hotel at Theth - and our hiking base in Albania

I loved our hotel at Theth. Theth is tiny.  Hotel Kulla e Bajraktarit is isolated on a mountain road. An oasis. The name means castle of Mr Bajraktarit. 

I had trouble remembering the name. First, I got, castle, how cool is that, K as in German Cassel for castle. Then I remembered a badge, and rack up a bill (for raki, the local brandy strength drink), finally tarith, or tar (gravel) road (w)ith ..." Baj- rak-tar-it. i put the hotel room key and address card in a conference name card holder on a lanyard around my neck.   

Let's start with what I liked most. 

The Spa

The hotel was isolated, but with an indoor spa, open from 10 am until 10 at night.  The swimming pool water was cold for some. The pool had a Jacuzzi in the corner and once you worked out that you had to tread on the blue light on the floor to activate it, that was great. The sauna was downstairs, and a steam room. I loved the refrigerated cabinet of water, all with herbs in the large water jars. Also, while using the spa, we got chatting to other hotel visitors from overseas who were users of the spa pool area or sauna.

Reading Corner

Upstairs by the window are a couple of sofas. And a sideboard supporting books to read. I read through most of a novel (the start and end).  Then I read most of a book of short stories. 

Big Breakfast With Honey Yogurt

Breakfast included yogurt and honey and fresh fruit and fried eggs and boiled eggs, sausages, and domed pancakes to which you could add the runny honey. And freshly squeezed orange juice. On a couple of occasions, latecomers found the yogurt in served in drinking glasses had run out. One member asked and got a spare one. I didn't. The next day, I was earlier.

Delicious Chocolate Birthday Cake

My husband had a birthday and we asked for a birthday cake. The cost was 40 euros. The cake was large enough for 30 pieces for our group. We were all delighted with the chocolate and cream cake. 

Beautiful Beds With Perfect Pillows

The beds were so comfortable, and the pillows were perfect.  

We took Wizzair from Luton to Tirana, the capital of Albania. The early morning start meant losing a lot of sleep. So we really appreciated relaxing and supportive beds. Thick mattresses. Soft overlay. 

Tip One For Travellers - Pack Hangers

A couple of warnings to other travellers, or a return visit. They provided bath robes and slippers and shampoo etc, but only two hangers per person. So do take a stack of wire hangers from dry cleaners. We thought of buying hangers. No supermarkets for miles and only the sorts selling bottles of drink and crisps. Sometimes I pack all my clothes on wire hangers for quick unpacking and repacking.

Tip Two - Toilet Roll Holder

 The other lack was a toilet roll holder. The lovely Fiona on the desk, whose family run the hotel, assured me that toilet roll holders were on order. But the hotel has been open 18 months and still no toilet roll holders. 

If I returned for an extended stay, I would pack one of those wooden racks which hold a kitchen roll. The sort which flatpack into a dsic of wood or plastic as a base, and a screw in vertical stick. Actually, I got used to reaching forward for the toilet paper. Or taking a piece of paper from the roll first (like in many Singapore public train station toilets where the toilet roll is outside the cubicle. But other guests were upset. One friend kept telling me how she had knocked toilet rolls off the shelf under the basin onto the floor and sent them rolling in the watery floor.

Front or back room, and is a balcony helpful?

The front rooms overlook the car park and the road.  Could be jollier. Less claustrophobic. The back rooms overlook the mountain. Can be quieter.

Balcony - we paid extra for a room with a balcony. The balcony is not big enough to sit, only to stand. All the same, it is less claustrophobic to be able to step out for a moment. 

All in all, we were happy with the hotel. More about the hiking in another post.

 

How to wash and dry your hair when travelling

Worldwide, Hairdressers and Hotels

If you can afford it, for special occasions you can often find a hairdresser in or near a hotel. However, apart from the expense, you are likely to lose the effect as soon as you go swimming later that day or the next day. When I go to the hairdressers, I ask them for an easy to maintain cut and style and a demonstration of how I can wash and dry my hair quickly using a shower and  hairdryer in a hotel on holiday.

When you go into a hairdresser's, anywhere in the world, they wash your hair in a wash basin. In countries with four seasons, when it is too cold to undress for a bath and show, using a wash basin to wash hair used to be the case and often still is. 

This is what everybody did in the UK when I was growing up. If you were lucky, the shower attachment over the bath would stretch over the basin. When you are in hotels, in a hurry to wash your hair, when dressed, you can still wash your hair in a wash basin, but watch out for low central taps which hit the top of your head. 

On one occasion, before a trip overseas to see a boyfriend, I cut off my long hair from breast length to shoulder length so it would dry quicker. My potential new man was not pleased. He said, "What I liked about you was your long hair. Now, you've cut it off."

Later, he phoned to say he was in a taxi or car, being dropped off at the hotel, so please be ready, dressed to go out. I jumped in the shower, washed my hair in the shower, got into an evening little black dress and was washed and ready when he arrived. He was impressed with my speed.

Swimming Pool Shower

On another occasion, I was on a travel press trip to Finland. We arrived at our hotel late, a quarter to 7 and dinner was at seven. I asked, "Can we try the sauna, before or after dinner?"

The answer was, "Sorry, the sauna closes at 7"

In my room, I opened my suitcase, took out my evening dress, and thought, I have just time to take a two minute shower and put on my dress and race to the dining room. What a pity there was no time to shower, go to the sauna (so I could experience it, photograph it and write about it), and run to the dining room.

I took off my travel clothes, saw the bathrobe behind the door, put it on in case somebody knocked on my door. 

I thought, I must photograph the sauna, even if I don't have time to use it. I picked up my swimsuit and evening dress and took the lift down to the basement sauna. Nobody there. I dipped into the pool, washed off and washed my hair in the shower, dried off in the sauna with the towel, put on my dress, and run to the dining room, with my swimsuit in a gold tote bag. Several other people, inlcuding the VIP host, arrived after I did. 

Somebody apologized to me for not having enough time for me and everybody to see the sauna. 

I replied, ""That's okay. I have a picture, and I've tried it, so I can write about it."

Next morning, a fellow journalist said to me, "You were joking about having seen and used the sauna, weren't you?"

I was astonished that he had questioned my determination and veracity. I showed him my pictures of the sauna.

He was astonished, and impressed. Mission accomplished. I felt much cleaner with washed hair.

 An American Woman's Hair Routine

 In the USA on a travel press trip, a glamorous lady who edited a travel magazine had long, shining hair. 

We enviously asked her, "How do you get such lovely hair?"

She replied, "I wash it every day - in the shower, when I have my morning shower."

UK Hair Washing Habits

That was back in the nineteen eighties when in the UK most people had baths, and washed their hair once a week, on a Friday night, ready for the weekend, in a wash basin.

Modern Hair Conditioner

If you don't condition your hair, you risk having fly away hair which increases in volume and tangles, irritating you.

Singapore

Now, living in Singapore, humid Singapore, where you shower at least once a day, in the morning, and if you are at home, often morning, lunch time, evening, even four times a day, in a cold shower to cool off, 

I often wash my hair in the shower. Having wet hair helps me stay cool at home at the desk or out on holiday In summer in the UK, Washington DC and the USA, beach holidays in Europe, out for the day driving around Cyprus, and Singapore all year.

In any case, since Covid, I have been swimming daily to help me with weight loss. I needed to lose weight. Covid strikes hardest at the elderly and overweight. I could not get any younger, but I could lose weight. So I swim in the condo swimming pool every morning. Wearing a swimming cap.

Swimming Pools - Swimcap rules

You are supposed to shower before entering the pool. To wash off any sun cream, as well as to be clean. And loose hair goes in the shower instead of clogging up the pool filters.

You are supposed to wear a swimming cap. I have read an article by an American woman outraged that a swimming pool overseas insisted that she wears a cap over her long hair, and if she does not, she buys one from them, at what she considered an inflated price.

Many people like to swim with their hair loose. This is banned at swimming pools. You are supposed to wear a swimming cap. 

Why? Mainly for the health and cleanliness of the pool water. Dandruff? Head lice? Firstly grease, not from greasy hair, but hair oils used by men and hair sprays and conditioners used by women. Equally importantly, hair is sucked towards the filter.

Long Hair Accident

If there is a Jacuzzi, or you swim underwater or dive, it is for your own safety. In the UK, in north west London, where I live, a girl lay her head back in a Jacuzzi and end of her long hair was sucked into the pump inlet. The lifeguard who was on duty gave her mouth to mouth resuscitation under water, for several minutes. He had to keep doing this for several minutes, whilst the security guard ran to the nearby office to find a pair of scissors. She survived.

I read about this in the  local paper. I wrote a reader's letter, saying, "The lifeguard should get a commendation in the newspaper's award at the end of the year to local heroes."

When I went to visit my local GP (UK wording for general practitioner, what Americans call personal physician), the doctor said to me, "I saw your letter to the local paper. I agree with you!"

So I shower before leaving home - I want to smell fresh. I might meet somebody in the lift.

I prefer to shower at home rather than in the shower beside the pool which sometimes has mould growing, or live or dead insects underfoot. Once the shower tray was already blocked by a long leaf fallen off from the nearby palm tree.

 After the swim, you are supposed to rinse off to remove the chemicals from your swimsuit. Why? To remove the chemicals which keep the pool water clean. The pool attendants should be checking the quality of the water every morning before anybody starts swimming, and keeping a record, for health and safety. The chemicals eat into the swimsuit fabric and shorten its life.

An Indian's Long Black Hair

This year, In Swanwick, Derbyshire, England, at Writers' Summer School, I sat beside an Indian woman who had lovely waist length black hair. I asked her, "How long is your hair?"

She stood up to show me, smiling, "I often get asked!"

She was very proud of her hair.

I continued, "If you don't mind me asking, how often do you wash your hair - and how do you dry it?"

She replied, "I wash it every day. In the shower."

I asked, "In the morning?" I was wondering if you bothered to dry it with a dryer or let it dry hanging loose.

"No. Last thing at night."

"Ah. How do you dry it?"

"I don't bother drying it."

I gasped, open mouthed in astonishment, "But doesn't that make the pillow wet? You have wet hair on your face?" 

She continued, "No. I make a long plait, from the top of my head. I push it up over the pillow and out of my way. It dries overnight." 

There you have it. Now you know. One woman's solution.

Useful Websites

Friday Night Is Amami Night

https://interwarlondon.com/2021/01/27/4/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lenton_sands/16727785875

Please share links to your favourite posts

In Singapore an outdoor swimming pool was cordoned off with tape and a member of staff was telling residents not to use the pool.

It is a huge pool, outdoors.

The directive, according to what I was told, came from the management of the leisure complexes across Singapore. The management of the residential complex apparently sub-contracts the running and maintenance of various parts of the complex, such as the entry gates, the lifts, the waste disposal, and the leisure facilities, to other companies which specialise in those areas.


Singapore flag

On March 31 2020 I read in the Daily Mail online that a superspreader in China had infected several people in a swimming pool and sauna complex. That is alarming.

Does that mean an indoor complex? Or an outdoor pool and indoor sauna? It was not clear to me. Either way, I can see why the management of leisure facilities across a city or country might decide to shut all parts of their operation.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-8168025/Coronavirus-spread-warm-humid-conditions.html

About the author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, trainer of speakers and teacher of English and other languages. See other posts on the USA, UK, Europe, Singapore, Asia and learning languages. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Learning Afghan Languages: Pashto; Persian Dari; Numbers 1,2,3

Problem
How do you recognize another language? How do you understand what people are saying - at last the general subject matter?

The ladies in the gym's sauna are chatting away. I cannot understand a word they say. I cannot even tell which language they are speaking. Yesterday a pair of ladies from Morocco and Egypt were conversing in Arabic.

Today a pair born in Afghanistan were speaking in another language. I learned that Afghanistan has two major languages.

They speak enough English to speak to me. (I was speaking to one of them earlier in the swimming pool.)

My first question is:
How can I tell I identify a language from Afghanistant? Is it more sing-song than English, like Welsh and Italian? Is it more guttural like German?

Answers
They said, more gutteral, like German.

I was not convinced.

I asked which country's language are you speaking?

They are speaking the language of Afghanistan, the main language, officially called Dari (also commonly called by the old name, called Farsi or Persian), although they can get by in both, the other language being Pashtu (also spelled as Pushtu or Pushto).

Which of the two languages you are speaking?

I decide that they only way for me to identify which language is which, if not by pronunciation, is by vocabulary. That may reveal the different letters. So I start by asking for the numbers one to three in both languages.

English - official language one pashtu/ pashto - official language two dari (also called Dari Persian or Afghan Persian)
one - yak - yo
two - dua - du
three - dree - sree?

What is hallo and goodbye?
Salaam aleikum. (As in Arabic.)

Thank you

Translation Tips
Duolingo does not yet have Arabic or any of the Middle Eastern languages. I am learning the Hebrew, Russian and Greek alphabets on Duolingo. (The Japanese and Hindi are both being prepared but have not yet reached the draft or beta stage allowing you to try out and debate translations on the first version before it is finalised.

Google translate gives Pashto and Persian but translates both into cursive scripts which I cannot read. Dari language is not in their long list.
However, if you type into Google translate Pashto you are offered the link:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gkapps.translate.psen

The Reverso dictionary gives Arabic and several European languages and Hebrew but not Pashto nor Persian.

Tips
http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Languages_of_Afghanistan
http://wikitravel.org/en/Dari_phrasebook

Dari is written with a version of the Perso-Arabic script.

Dari alphabet and pronunciation (الفباى دري)

ح (he) is also known as ی جیمی (ye-jimi), and ﻩ (he) is also known as ی دوچش (ye-docešma)

http://www.17-minute-world-languages.com/en/dari/
http://wikitravel.org/en/Dari_phrasebook

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. See later post on Afghan foods. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Ten more handy Malay and Indonesian words

Problem
You want to learn another language. You want to read signs in Singapore and Malaysia and Indonesia.

Answer
Start with the easy ones. Ten a day. For fun. First thing in the morning. With coffee over your coffee break. Last thing at night to clear your head of your worries. At least you are making progress at something, increasing your general knowledge.

English - Malay / Indonesian

brandy - brandi
hill - b u k i t
rum - rum
sand - p a s i r
sand dune - b u k i t p a s i r

sandal - sandal
sauce - s a u s
sauna - sauna
sausage - s o s i s (memory aid SOS I See a sausage)
shampoo - sampo

Seen around Singapore

English - Malay / Indonesia
school - sekolah

Indonesian / Malay - English
s e k o l a h - school

Author
Angela Lansbury, teacher of English and languages, speaker and author.
Please share my posts and blogs.

Recycling and Reviving Warm Winter Clothes

Problems

A traditional deerstalker hat worn by Sherlock Holmes and sold in Scotland and England protects your ears from the cold and your eyes from light on snowy days. I had just given up hope of finding one when I saw it half price in the children's section of Primark in London, England.

1 HATS
Light hats blow off.

2 CLOTHES
Clothes are not warm enough.

3 SHOES AND SOCKS
Sensible summer sandals are too lightweight for winter walking and let in water and frost.

4 FEELING CHILLED

Answers
1 HATS
Sew a ribbon to secure your hat. To tie a bow under your chin, you need two pieces of ribbon. Allow a long enough piece to tie a bow. If your ribbon is too short. Use one piece of ribbon extended with a piece of elastic. Alternatively have a pice of ribbon or Velcro which links at the back of the neck under your hair. (Like the join in a baseball cap which fits different sizes.)

2 CLOTHES
Check the temperature at your destination. Pack accordingly.
Jumpers with worn sleeves can be cut down to make neck warmers. If you have old jumpers which you no longer like, or the body is too small or old but the arms still fit, cut out the arms to use as a warm lining for your jacket or coat.
Add a warm hat, matching gloves and a matching scarf. You could also cut arms off to make two mittens, a pair of fingerless gloves, or one muff.

3 SHOES ANS SOCKS
Travel with spare socks. If the pair you are wearing get wet in rain or snow, remove them and store them. The wet pair can be washed and dried later. Use a hair dryer in a hotel bedroom or gym, or a hand dryer in a public toilet. Meanwhile, wash your feet in warm water in a bathroom or toilet, dry your feet with paper towels, and put on the dry spare socks.

4 CHILLED?
INSIDE YOUR BODY
DRINKS
Coffee and hot chocolate and tea. If you don't like calories, drink lemon tea. If you like joy, drink mulled wine.
Warm your hands on the cup of hot drink.
Carry a thermos flask or hip flask to save leftover long drinks.

GLOVES, MUFFS AND HAND WARMERS
Gloves can be lined, waterproof, padded, mittens, fingerless gloves for typing, or fingertip sensitive so you can operate a mobile phone without removing gloves.
You can buy a muff. Or make a muff from an oblong of material made into a cylinder large enough to insert your hands and sleeves. Use fake fur, discarded teddy bears and soft toys, or from a cushion, or an old ski jacket, the back or the sleeves.

HANDWARMERS
You can buy gloves for ski resorts with built in hand warmers. (Might only last a few hours. But good for a special occasion such as New Year's Eve.)
Hand warmers are various types. Some use batteries. Look for rechargeable hand warmers.

In my late father's childhood, children went to school carrying a hot potato in their pocket for their lunch. You warmed your hands on the hot potato.

OUTSIDE YOUR BODY
Book a hotel with a Jacuzzi or Sauna. Warm up in a sauna in a hotel or gym.
Warm your hands in the drier in a public toilet.
Warm up in the hot shower in a hotel bedroom, a hotel gym, or by a swimming pool.

Story from Angela
One year I was planning to do a winter walk around the East End of London. Even in the house before setting off I felt cold. I thought, I can't go out in such cold weather.
I reflected that the previous year I had been in the USA, in a ski resort, and had walked around in much colder weather, with snow on the ground. What was the secret? Padded ski clothes.
I looked in my cupboards and suitcases and the attic for my ski clothes. Off I marched, in aki wear. When I arrived and we gathered to meet the tour guide, everybody stared at my ski resort, neon, day-glo colours. I don't know whether they are simply a fashion, or have a practical use in locating you lying horizontal amid the snow and if you fall over or leave an arm out when stuck in a snowfall.
I felt distinctly foolish.
However, as the hour long walk progressed, everybody else got colder, and colder, shivering, blowing on their hands.
At the end of the walk, an American woman said to me, "What a great outfit you are wearing. You were the only one dressed suitably for the occasion!"

SKI CLOTHES
Advantages of most ski jackets
1 Jolly colours; reflective - so you can be seen at night crossing roads.
2 Inside pockets give added security.
3 Strong zips and secure fastenings.
4 Sealed seams and no fiddly buttons leaving gaps.
5 Raglan or wide sleeves and armholes and shoulders so they cover thick jumpers underneath.

Tips
HATS AND HOODS
In previous years I have had to wear a brimmed hat covering the neck bought in a ski resort in cold winter weather.
This year you can buy brimmed woolly hats which cover your ears and neck, with a secure tie-ribbon from markets and pound shops.

When buying a hat or coat I always look for one with a hood to keep my head and neck warm in winter and cold weather.
I have also added detachable hoods from one black coat or jacket to another. All you need is a button on the back of the jacket or coat and a loop of ribbon sewn onto the hood the right length to hold the button. If you have time, add two more buttons at the corner of the hood. This gives a neater effect, more warmth, and added security against losing the hood.

Scarves which are too long and get in your food can be sewn together at the ends to make a snood which keeps your chest warm.


Websites for further research:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_warmer
http://www.xxl-sale.co.uk/search/?q=Hand%20Warming%20Gloves
Poundshop.com (Beanie hats, thermal gloves, thermal socks, £1.)
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
Like my pages, share, and follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. See my books on Amazon and Lulu.com.

House hunting in Singapore for Expats - top tips

What is the difference between an apartment and a condo?
In Singapore flat, apartment and condo are used as technical terms. A flat is basic and small. An apartment is larger.

A condo, usually occupied by more affluent ex-pats has facilities socialising and sports facilities such as a swimming pool, sauna, spa bath, squash courts, tennis courts, a gym, an outdoor children's playground, a waterfall and landscaping in modern blocks. Indoors are meeting rooms or function rooms for parties and entertaining.

An HDB is near an MRT because the residents are less likely to have cars. Also a hawker centre is likely to be nearby to provide cheap eating. A hawker centre has stall around communal tables and mostly stools rather than chairs, often outdoors or in an open-sided area in clusters on the ground floor of the housing blocks.

What affects price, facilities and size?

Price
High floors with better views and less traffic noise are likely to be more expensive. Completely redecorated will be more expensive. Swimming pool is likely to mean more expensive.

Size
Older buildings are likely to have bigger rooms and a maid's room (a box room off the kitchen or scullery, with an adjacent toilet, small basin and shower.

A 'walk-up' flat has an outside staircase and no lift. This will be less expensive. So if you are young and fit and like exercise, that is a good option for saving money. However, a fit, young friend of mine warns, what seems an easy climb on a sunny day carrying nothing, is less fun on a regular basis during rain with two bag of shopping or a big box of equipment.

Also harder to bring in a pram, bicycle, toddler, or elderly relative. Another hazard if somebody likes a drink. Or might develop an injury such as twisting on ankle, pulling a hamstring, getting a hernia.

Pool pleasures and problems
My list n/f plus points inc dudes swimming pool. The perfect pool for me has waterfalls and trees. Steps you can walk down, instead of metal ladders, are convenient as well as attractive to look at. Some shade is good.

Negative Windows
Obscured view from windows - too narrow, darkened by an overlay designed to cut heat and stop light fading furnishings. Light obscured by nearby buildings feed away, or large block which blocks your view.

I like balconies to be protected. Other members of my family don't mind railings so long as the metal is painted white.

The other great problem is noise. Traffic from roads can be noisy on floors lower than 6 or 7. Up on floor 8 you might get a better view across the treetops and city.

The biggest problem is buildings sites which spoil the view and create dust and noise. Pile drivers are worst. A nearly finished building could mean shops and restaurants nearby. But check the dat when building works are likely to end.