Round the World Wanderings

Chris and Lisa

Round the World Wanderings

Hi All.

Fed up with working all the hours only for the taxman to take most of it away so we have decided to do what we have always dreamed about and take off round the world. We are currently planning our trip and have been inspired by all the great bloggs on here, thanks.

We are looking to leave in Sept 2009 and travel first to the USA. I have visited many times but mainly for work, now is the time to see it for real.

Then onto New Zealand to meet family, some for the first time, and see that beautiful country. Next Australia to catch up with some 'old' friends - Diane and Richard would hate being called old - and finish what we started a couple of years ago.

Then on to Asia, and we can't wait. Thinking of visiting Thailand, Cambodia, Laos & Vietnam all waiting to be explored.

Back through India and a slow ride through Europe.

Then? Who knows.

We hope to share as much of the trip as possible with anyone interested.



Asia » Sri Lanka » Southern Province » Galle April 16th 2012

We had just seen some of the best things that the natural world has to offer, now the 2ndpart of this trip was to watch some of the greatest sporting achievements this planet has to offer, or so we hope. Yep, Sri Lanka’s main sporting passion is the same as mine, cricket, and luckily, and obviously totally coincidentally, England happened to be playing a test series here so we headed off to Unawatuna, just south of Galle, where the 1st match was due to be played. So we didn’t have any surprises on day 1 we decided to head into the town and see what it had to offer, luckily for later in the week the bus station is right outside the ground and just the other side of the stadium is the impressive Galle Fort. ... read more
Fashionable Fort
The southern tip
Huddle Up

Asia » Sri Lanka » Southern Province » Yala NP March 30th 2012

On arriving in Tissa we decided to explore the town in search of transport for the following day’s safari and were advised to take the scenic route which took us around Tissa Wewa a large lake near our guest house. What a surprise was in store for us as immediately we happened upon a small troupe of monkeys just hanging around and then a little further around the lake an excited couple of young lads on a motorbike pointed to a crocodile lazing in the sun. Easy to be excited to see one when you have the luxury of a motorbike, but I wasn’t too sure we could out run one if necessary. Then further on still we saw hundreds of fruit bats in two large trees waiting for dusk and tea time. What a wonderful ... read more
Eagle eyed
Pigging Out
So sad

Asia » Sri Lanka » Central Province » Horton Plains NP March 22nd 2012

We bid farewell to Kandy and headed off through the manic morning rush hour to catch the train, a short hop in 3rd class to the nearby Peredenia Junction before boarding another Expo Rail carriage for our journey up to our next stop in Haputale. Given our time constraints we flipped a coin and chose a few days in Haputale rather than the larger town of Ella which, everyone tells us, is beautiful. The train journey was amazing, sharp peaks and dramatic 500m vertical plunges punctuated by mile after mile of beautiful geometric tea plantations, pickers perching on impossibly steep slopes providing the basis for our daily cuppa. This, now, is the Sri Lanka people have waxed lyrical about, it really is quite spectacular. Haputale is perched on a ridge between two peaks, it has to ... read more
The Railway Children!
Such a long way down
On the edge!

Asia » Sri Lanka » Central Province » Kandy March 22nd 2012

We had been slightly at a loss as to what we were going to do whilst in Kandy, mainly because there were quite a few things in the area that we wanted to see and very little time, so we had to be selective. After much deliberation and changing of minds we decided that our destinations would be the Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage, Sigiriya Rock and Dambulla Cave Temples: we hoped we had made the right decision. We were not going to splash out on a guide and driver to the elephant orphanage and instead opted for a local bus. The guesthouse owner advised us to get an intercity bus towards Columbo, as it would be less congested and more comfy, get off at Udamulla and then catch a tuk-tuk or hop on a local bus to ... read more
Bath time
Almost made it
Trunk twisting

Asia » Sri Lanka » Central Province » Kandy March 22nd 2012

Well here we are again, finally. After a few cold months at home then a few lovely warm months lounging around Thailand our travels have kicked off again, and it’s somewhere we have both been looking forward to immensely, Sri Lanka. A lot of friends, including two very good ones, constantly wax lyrical about the joys and splendour of this country so we couldn’t wait to see for ourselves. A stupidly early flight from Bangkok taught us one thing new about the city, it is possible to avoid the traffic jams, you just have to drive around at 4am. We landed at Colombo airport mid-morning and after thinking, briefly, about the kind offers of taxis for the 40km journey into the city, “very, very cheap Sir, we’ll even stop at a bank so you can take ... read more
Nice Pad
Clock Tower or ...
Serene Statue

Asia » Thailand » Western Thailand » Hua Hin March 10th 2012

To break the journey to Bangkok we had decided to stop overnight Surat Thani in order to catch the train to Thailand’s oldest beach resort: Hua Hin. Booking 2nd class train tickets, on the express train to Bangkok, on-line suddenly made train transport so much easier and worked a treat. The train ride was relatively comfortable and the free lunch and afternoon tea and cake were a pleasant surprise; maybe a lesson for British Rail!On arrival at Hua Hin Chris was pleasantly surprised to see a rather lovely looking 18 hole golf course, which had apparently been expanded from the original 9 hole golf course commissioned by Rama Vi in 1922. Hua Hin has a couple of claims to fame, which sets it apart from other Thai towns. The first is that the Thai royal family ... read more
Olde Worlde
Nice but noisy
Not bad beach

Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Ko Pha-Ngan March 3rd 2012

I thought I would break our adventures in Koh Phangan into two blogs because we were on the island for almost a month and in that time there was bound to be lots going on to talk about. Well actually we ended up doing nothing more than lie on the beach and snorkel with only the odd day out on the bike, so you will be pleased that Part 2 is relatively short. We decided to try another beach location, Srithanu, for a few days; mainly to get a chalet right on the soft white sandy beach. Chalet sounds quite posh doesn’t it, but the beachside huts at Laem Son 1 weren’t at all. They looked very quaint from the outside all wood, distressed pale blue paint, hanging shells and the clincher, hammocks, but on the ... read more
Attractive couple
Favourite
Monster

Asia » Thailand » South-West Thailand » Ko Pha-Ngan February 17th 2012

From one beach to another one, Koh Phangan, again in the Gulf of Thailand, but some 24 hours travelling distance away. This one is definitely party central for full moon parties and we were heading there to relax some more before we partied the full moon night away with thousands of other revellers!! Yeah right. We planned the journey meticulously incorporating various forms of transport in order to get us to our overnight bus in time for the 12 hour journey. We left the resort on Koh Chang at 6.45 in order to get breakfast at our usual haunt which was open 24 hours a day …. wrong. When we turned up the place seemed closed and when we spoke to the girl behind the bar the concept of breakfast seemed too difficult to master. Oh ... read more
Mae Haad
Yet another ...
Fish friend

Asia » Thailand » Central Thailand » Ko Chang February 4th 2012

After a 5 hour coach ride and a 1 hour rusty ferry ride we found ourselves at our first island destination, on Thailand’s second largest island, Koh Chang, which lies in the Gulf of Thailand. We headed for Lonely Beach, or to give it it’s official name Hat Tha Nam. The English version is certainly a misnomer as there is nothing at all lonely about it and in fact “Lonely” should be replaced for “lots of young backpackers”, but I admit that doesn’t roll off the tongue quite so freely. Obviously we fit right on in!!! Arriving at gone 5.00pm meant that there was no room at our preferred beach shack, so we had to settle for an overpriced one until the following morning when we could search for one more in our price range. First ... read more
Sea Flower Resort
Home Sweet Home
Rickety

Asia » Thailand » Central Thailand » Bangkok January 23rd 2012

It's been over six months now since we hung up our rucksacks and stored away all those travelling essentials, but finally it’s time to dust it all off and load up for another Asian adventure. So those of you who are going to continue our adventure with us ... welcome back and we hope you enjoy the ride, we certainly intend to. Catching up with family and friends and celebrating Christmas and New Year at home has been fab but, as the cold weather starts and the excesses of the festive season continues to take its toll on our expanded waistlines, we both agree we have picked the right time to head off into the sunshine. The warm weather, beautiful beaches and clear blue sea are calling to us and we shall answer that call. Before ... read more
Golden Home
Welcome home
The Golden One




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