Jun 13, 2013 - Both sides now

Both sides now Not quite 7 am Donna downloaded a four of Edwin St Aubyn’s books before I left. I don’t Both sides now Not quite 7 am Donna downloaded a four of Edwin St Aubin’s books before I left. I don’t know who he is really, I heard a playwright being interviewed and she’d said they were a discovery. My plan was to read them as continuity across the five countries of my travels. I read a little of one on the plane – the characters became life sized people in just a couple of pages but were so very awful I switched back to the inflight...

Jun 9, 2013 - handsome men everywhere: memo to self - eat less

June 6 Chris and Meng’s house is an oasis the weirdness that is Pattaya, sex capital of Thailand. It’s a Surface Paradise with tower after tower of condohotels along a receding shoreline interspersed with those tiny Asian concrete houses and dusty footpaths dotted with foodsellers. It has sex streets, ladyboy shows and bars, go-kart tracks, paintball parks and shooting galleries. Lonely planet describes the main beach as being taken over by ‘jet skis buzzing like angry bees’. The house is just far enough out of the city centre to be a few...

Jun 9, 2013 - Eclectic journey - first stop

June 5 2013 Second holiday morning. I am in Pattaya – out of town staying with Chris and Meng. Their house is next to the Sanctuary of Truth – a temple that has taken thirty years to build and remains a work-in-progress (like the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona). I’m taking the proximity to such a merit invoking project as an omen for my holiday. Chris and Meng refuse to visit because of the “outrageous” tourist price entrance fee but I feel I must. I woke to the sound of the cukal – not so much a bird sound as the notes of a medium sized...

May 9, 2013 - Chiang Rai - Chiang Khong - Hua Xai - Pak Beng - Luang Prabang - Phonsavan

Howdy folks, Last time time we checked in we were preparing to leave for Chiang Rai! It was a short bus journey, as far as SE Asia bus journeys go.... About 4 hours. Chiang Rai was even smaller than Chiang Mai, but a nice place to ramble around. We spent 3 days there, we visited the famous white temple which was incredible. A Buddhist temple with a modern twist.... A really interesting interpretation of the modern world from a Buddhist perspective. We had a brief encounter with a rented scooter... In the interest of public safety we decided...

Apr 19, 2013 - London - Bangkok - Chiang Mai

Hi guys sorry we have been a bit slow to update but we have been trying to cram lots into our days so here's the update since we have arrived... Landed in Bangkok and its as crazy as everyone says it is! We spent three days there checking out Kao San road and surrounding areas tasted lots of pad Thai noodles, heard some great music and tried to do some site seeing. We had great intentions to visit the Grande Palace which is one of the main attractions however when we got there it was 40 degrees out and seemed like the population of china...

Apr 12, 2013 - Phuket, Thailand

Phuket Island, Thailand is connected to the mainland by a causeway and to the rest of the world via an international airport and cruise terminal. The name “Phuket” means mountain or hill in Malay Language but for our money it should be named for its miles and miles of beautiful white sand beaches leading into crystal clear azure waters! We could have thrown a dart at the map of Phuket and landed on an awesome beach, there are just that many. We had a day snorkeling trip canceled due to anticipated high winds so we shifted gears at the last...

Apr 2, 2013 - Laem Chabang (Pattaya), Thailand

As this was our second venture into Thailand this trip, we opted to not return to Bangkok and visit the more remote rural areas of Thailand instead. We were rewarded with awesome days in the “country”. We first spent a half day visiting an elephant camp where some 25 elephants were housed and cared for by some very interesting and caring folks. The logging industry does not exist by law in Thailand anymore, so the elephant is not used anymore leaving many homeless and uncared for. This camp serves as a reminder and an honor to these gentle...

Mar 27, 2013 - Navy in Thailand - Max's traveling teddy

Dear Max I’ve been a very lucky lion and, after India, have also been to Thailand. I was in the capital city, Bangkok. Thailand is fantastic and is known as the land of smiles because everybody is so friendly. When they say hello, they put their hands together and do a little bow. Like in India, the roads are really busy and there is lots of traffic, but Thai people do not use their horn nearly as much as Indian people. I’ve attached a photo of a Thai tuk tuk which is similar to the Indian one. Thai people have lots of gods and there are...

Mar 10, 2013 - I love Thailand - 10/3-08/4

11/3/13 - & then there were 2 again! Both Keith's & my flight got in yesterday within minutes of each other & we're back in the wonderful land of Bangkok. I love it! 13/4/13 - Hey, hey, back again, i haven't forgotten you! What have I been up to? 5wks on & 7 islands, I can't believe how quick it's gone! Spent a few days back on Ko Chang (big) then back to Bangkok (again!) to meet Iki as she was flying out for a holiday. A few lethal long island ice teas & trying to get each other home without the use of our legs, her holiday had truly...

Mar 7, 2013 - It's all over now

Ground Hog day today. Up for breakfast. Go to pool. Very similar to yesterday, but tonight we must remember to head to the airport for a flight home early hours of Friday. We have set an alarm on the phone to remind us. The restaurant manager is still hovering around. Getting free drinks at the pool. Pretty much all the staff know we missed our flight as they are saying to us “you missed flight, how you do that” we wish we knew. We are now at the airport, have checked in and now in the lounge finishing the blog. Have added some random...

Mar 6, 2013 - Oh Dear, how did we manage that

Well we are pretty much packed up and ready for home. Again a day sitting around the pool. The weather is getting better and it’s still humid. Went to the local shopping area, during the day, only to find it shut until 4 o’clock. Roger went off to the room for a nap and I stayed by the pool. Next thing he’s standing over me waving a bit of paper at me saying “we’ve got a big problem” He then went onto say he had received missed calls from his brother Stephen and a text from him asking where we were. It transpired Stephen was at Heathrow...

Mar 5, 2013 - China Town

We sat around the pool all day to day. It wasn’t particularly sunny but was warm. Roger made a complaint this morning about the service we received in the restaurant last night. Since then the restaurant manager has been stalking us. Finding us at the pool and giving us free drinks. Finding us in the Club Lounge asking how things were with us. Chasing us around in the reception area. It really is getting quite embarrassing now. In the evening we went to China Town to a street restaurant that had been recommended for really good sea food....