True to its name, March certainly has quick-timed by leaving us feeling a little breathless if I’m honest. And looking back through all we’ve done this month, it’s little wonder.
Cruise ship tours, Socceroo wins, fishing mayhem and a Fawlty Towers escapade — all punctuated with an incredible trip to Laos — managed to squeeze into the last 31 days.
Here’s more about March ’25.
Cheers
Jim & Christina xx
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It’s been a while since we last had a tour of a cruise ship. I find them fascinating. So much packed into a relatively small space that’s set to float around the ocean for days and even months at a time.
This is Cunard’s latest ship the Queen Anne, and it’s the first time she’s berthed in Sydney.
Things kick off with a lavish garden party on the pool deck overlooking the Opera House.
There’s even an ice sculpture here, as well as a fun kind of whack-a-mole wall where you ring a ship’s bell and a glass of Laurent-Perrier Champagne appears through one of three portholes.
Soon we’re off on a tour of the ship that takes us from top to bottom. We see the various restaurants — of which there are 15, including a sushi bar and Irish pub, an impressive spa zone and even an 850-seat theatre that has two shows per night as well as acts going on throughout the day.
She’s an incredible ship. The only time we’ve really been on a cruise was ages ago when we were on an expedition voyage with National Geographic and that had under 100 passengers on board.
The Queen Anne has a capacity of just under 3,000, so whether this kind of travel is for us still remains to be seen. But like I say, she’s a beautiful vessel.
You can see our IG Reel of our tour of the Queen Anne here.
We’re very excited today — not only to be travelling internationally again, but because we’re going to a new country: we’re off to Laos! Here’s a photo of our tasty Thai lunch while we transit through Bangkok Airport.
Sandwiched — or perhaps burrito’d — by countries on all sides, Laos is landlocked by Thailand to the west, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south, and Myanmar and China northward.
Of course, we’ll have so many stories to tell you about this trip, which we made with InsideAsia, but for the moment, here’s the top-line stuff.
Our first stop is in Laos’ capital, Vientiane, an interesting little city right on the Mekong River, which marks the Lao-Thai border.
As far as Asian capitals go, this one doesn’t have a huge amount going on, but it’s a great way to wet your toes in the country. While we’re here, our guide, the excellent Sakhoe, takes us around some of the many Buddhist temples in Vientiane and to the Victory Arch — a monument to Lao’s independence from French colonisation
We also go to some excellent cultural spots like COPE(Cooperative Orthotic & Prosthetic Enterprise) Visitor Centre, focused on awareness of unexploded ordinance from the Vietnam War, and Lao Disabled Women’s Centre, which provides training and shelter to disadvantaged and disabled women.
Next, we hop on the country’s brand new high-speed train that takes us up to Vang Vieng. Once a known backpacker hotspot, this odd little town still has a somewhat unpolished vibe, but its incredible countryside, overlooked by giant domes of karst mountains, is well worth visiting.
We have a morning hot air balloon ride amongst the karsts and a fascinating tour of a local Kmhmu village. Laos has 49 distinct ethnicities with 160 ethnic groups coming from that. Kmhmu is the most populous of those groups.
Our last — and to be honest our favourite — stop on the train is Luang Prabang. Normally, to get from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang, you’re looking at a bumpy eight-hour drive through mountain roads. The train gets you there in under an hour.
Luang Prabang is a beautiful spot clenched in the confluence of the Mekong and the Nam Khan Rivers. There’s plenty to do here, from tumbling waterfalls and romantic river cruises to MandaLao Elephant Conservation Centre and Living Land water buffalo dairy and farm.
But the town itself is pretty and interesting, just right for wandering around, sampling some of the local food and enjoying the laid-back atmosphere of this little riverside town.
Our outstanding guide AK shows us all the best parts of his hometown, but all too soon we’re making our way to the airport for our flight home.
While we’re decompressing from the amazing yet busy trip to Laos, we take advantage of one of the last evenings of late summer weather and relax in our garden for a spot of backgammon and a glass of wine.
This is one of our most favourite spots in the world. We feel very lucky to be able to call this little spot home.
This evening, I’m out with my pal Ben Groundwater. Courtesy of Destination NSW, we’re lucky enough to score sell-out seats at the FIFA World Cup Qualifier match between the Socceroos and Indonesia!
It’s a great game, made better by the 5-1 scoreline to Australia, but made even better than that by the big Indonesian contingent in the stands. Their energy and enthusiasm is so contagious, and not even the one-sided result dampens their spirits.
Tonight, our mates Kath and Jarrod are round for a spot of fishing. It’s been ages since we caught up with these lovely people, and even longer since we cast a line.
Christina dominates the haul with some lovely little bream, but when she pulls her line in for the last time, on the end is a very grumpy moray eel. In my naive attempt to unhook this toothy beast, it whips round and slices my finger open with its sharp gnashers.
My fault — and I’m not angry. After all, what a story to tell. I just hope it leaves a scar so I can ‘do a Richard Dreyfuss’ a la Jaws. #iykyk
Christina and I are out for lunch today. We’re in our old stomping ground, Surry Hills. We’ve heard a lot about the giant filled Yorkshire pudding of the Foresters, so today’s the day.
The Foresters has changed so much since we lived here. I actually boycotted this venue for many a year because of a bad experience I had with the staff. Now, its light and airy renovation and friendly staff may just have put it back on my ‘safe to visit’ list.
As for the giant Yorkshire, it’s pretty good. In the form of a Sunday roast that you can get any day of the week and a different meat served each week too, it’s definitely worth checking out. I’ve hit the jackpot today as this week’s protein is brisket.
However, I still hold a contention here. Foresters claims the giant Yorkshire pudding filled with goodies as their own invention, but this is a fairly well-known quantity in English pubs. In fact, it was a giant Yorkshire filled with all kinds of roast goodies that got me out of a homesick funk when I was at university many (many) years ago.
This one at the Foresters is good, but does measure up against my nostalgia?
We’ve received a lovely package today from one of our favourite Sydney distilleries: Solander Rum Co. in Botany.
From their parent distillery (Banks & Solander Distillery) these guys make wonderful gin and limoncello, and world-beating coffee liqueur (seriously, the distiller adds like a dozen shots of actual espresso shots to the mix), as well as a host of other delicious spirits.
But owners Ed and Marty Svehla have just launched their latest rum release. From a single 200-litre ex-bourbon cask, where it’s been ageing quietly for the last three years and four months, this rare rum is something extraordinary.
On the nose, you’ll find sweet fruity notes of sour cherry and oaky vanilla alongside a touch of true blue Aussie funk that seems to be in all our aged spirits and something I always look forward to.
To taste, you immediately taste the sweet supple notes of American oak and the Heaven Hill bourbon it once held. There’s also a wholesome nuttiness to this rum and tropical notes of banana and roasted pineapple that sit nicely alongside the spice and unctuousness from the Aussie molasses.
Also, bottled at an impressive 48%ABV (diluted down from a heady in-cask of 56%), this rum lingers delightfully on the palate, coating your mouth in a syrupy, oily spirit that you’ll only want to add an ice cube to or perhaps a dash of bitters for an old fashioned.
Get your bottle of Solander Rum SRC-2632 here.
Today, Christina and I are back up in the Blue Mountains. We’re in the pretty town of Leura — specifically in the Leura Gardens Resort.
Not far from its big sister hotel, the more formal Fairmont Blue Mountains, Leura Gardens has more of that ‘retro-motel’ vibe. Far from the somewhat scary budget roadside option that motels once proffered, the trend for these smartened-up versions is a lot of fun. Our stay in the Hillcrest Motel in Merimbula is a great example of that.
This hotel is set on the historic Lady Fairfax Garden, which dates back to the 1920s. These beautiful gardens are full of dramatic trees, bright colour and even bluebells.
Modelled on Lady Mabel Fairfax’s memories of her English gardens and woodland back home, then added to with a Japanese flair in the 1960s, this is a must-visit for any horticulturalist.
The original house that stood here burnt to the ground in the bushfires of 1957, but the garden remains, and the hotel that exists now, with its recent renovation, is a great place to stay in the Blue Mountains.
Our room — a Pool View Balcony Studio — is neat and well-thought through. Touches like comfy chairs, fabric artwork and a very sharp bathroom suite bring the room right into line with what you’d expect from a modern hotel with retro origins.
The views from the little balcony out over the pool and the beautiful gardens, and with the golf course in the distance, give the room that extra pop of pleasure.
But we’re not here to just review the hotel.
To coincide with the centenary of the Lady Fairfax Gardens, the brilliant comedy Fawlty Towers is also turning 50 this year (can you believe it?!), with its first episode airing in 1975.
Christina with Sybil Faulty aka Monique Lewis Reynolds
In line with the ‘70s feel that the motel still retains, it’s a perfect fit for the remarkable Faulty Towers Dining Experience.
Interactive Theatre — an Australian performance company that started in 1997 — has been running the Faulty Towers Dining Experience from the beginning. It now tours globally in 43 countries.
I’m not usually a theatre person, nor do I enjoy audience participation — a two-word horror story that sends shivers down my spine. So as dinner time approaches, we move to the restaurant with some trepidation.
As we take drinks in the lobby before dinner, we become aware of a tall man with a suspicious moustache moving through the crowd. Behind him, another man, with a simian gait and wearing a white butler’s uniform, follows him closely.
The shenanigans are about to begin.
The snooty, irascible Basil Fawlty, played by Jack Newell, and his comic foil Manuel, played by Adrian Espulso, are perfect representations of the original. Full of confused commands and silliness, it’s a brilliantly run show.
And then the screech of “Basil!” rents the air. Below a perfectly teased beehive, the dolled-up visage of Sybil Fawlty, played by the exquisite Monique Lewis Reynolds, enters the room. Far from quelling the disorder, but calming our nerves of being dragged into a slanging match with the confrontational Basil, she sets the pace for the evening.
Basil Faulty played by Jack Newell
Dinner goes as appallingly well as anticipated. Mercifully, I’m sat far from the centre of the proceedings, able to enjoy the show with minimal interaction. The cast are brilliant, never breaking character, always ready with the perfect come-back to interjections from the guests and following a well-developed script at the same time.
There are hints from all 12 shows (yes, there were only ever a dozen episodes of the programme) throughout the evening. From Basil the Rat to fire alarms to that unforgettable high-kick goose step, it’s such a clever show.
Of course, if you’re really not into this kind of interactive theatre — it’s not usually my cup of tea either — then avoid Faulty Towers the Dining Experience. However, being held somewhere like the Leura Gardens Resort makes this wonderfully camp, gently piss-taking show work.
Manuel played by Adrian Espulso
As for the food, it’s fine. The cream of cauliflower, blue cheese and truffle soup is delicious, the chicken supreme with pumpkin risotto and green beens is serviceable and the alternate desserts of white chocolate creme brûlée or white chocolate panna cotta are both well done.
Wine options — both locally sourced — add much-needed lubrication to proceedings and take the edge off the cruise ship cabaret notion of the show.
We leave feeling thoroughly entertained and somewhat in awe of the performers, who have turned what would have been a reasonable meal into an evening we’re never likely to forget.
This evening, Christina’s running solo for a food event on King Street Wharf in the city. Here’s her report:
Alegre is a Mexican restaurant, inspired by Tulum, and the beautiful backdrop to the inaugural Gluten Free Foodie event.
Though not gluten-intolerant or coeliac, I was thrilled to be invited to the first event to support our friend Sarah and learn from the guest speakers.
We mingled while sipping on sangria and later asked questions of nutritionist and dietitian Josephine Rand, and gastroenterologist Dr Vincent Ho, also known as Gut Dr, to learn more about managing life without gluten.
Sarah, a coeliac, has created an amazing resource for the gluten-free community, and Alegre did an incredible job providing a coeliac-safe dining experience and catering to the dining restrictions for all of us.
Keep an eye out for future Gluten Free Foodie events and make sure to follow Sarah for all of her incredible resources for gluten-free food and travel.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this Flavour of the Month.
Cheers
Jim & Christina xx
