http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/DanT/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from DanT en-us Thu, 31 Dec 2009 09:20:13 +0000 Thu, 31 Dec 2009 09:20:13 +0000 I'm back in KL meaning that my trip is nearly over. It's been a while since the last blog so I'll try to cover everything I've been doing over the last couple of weeks.I last let you know that I was set to go on to the big cats section of the zoo. I only spent two days here but it was rather brilliant. It's hard to get close to the cats as you may imagine what with them being huge deadly carn http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Wilayah-Persekutuan/Kuala-Lumpur/blog-282784.html I'm back on the computer again hopefully with long enough to get down everything I want to and check for the numerous typos that I make. The state of my last blog was frankly appalling. I shall try harder this time. Zoo Events As I mentioned before I've been placed on the African savannah section of the zoo. Just for two days this placement which is OK with me as there isn't really a great dea http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Perak/Taiping/blog-278570.html It's been a little while since my last blog as I have been a busy little zoo man. I have many things to witter on about so today I'm going to be efficient and use headered subsections. Marvel.The ZooniverseBeen having a fine but utterly exhausting time of it at the zoo. I spent three days with the chimps which was a bit of a chore as the main ape keeper clearly doesn't like having volunteers th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Perak/Taiping/blog-277707.html Hello there once againI'm going to start this blog with a little explanation of where I am as not everyone seems to know that much about Malaysia. Malaysia is a federation of 13 states nine of which are monarchies split between Malaya the peninsula in the west and Borneo the island in the east which are seperated by the South China Sea. I'm in Taiping a town in the state of Perak in the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Perak/Taiping/blog-274380.html Afternoon fansArrived in KL yesterday as planned. RealGap were up to their usual standards having not informed the coordinators here of my flight time or the guesthouse that I'd be arriving on this day. After all they've only had the information for four months so you can't really expect them to have bothered phoning people yet. That would be too much to ask. So I had to make my own way here. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Wilayah-Persekutuan/Kuala-Lumpur/blog-273087.html Evening allIt's my last full day in Singapore and here I am on the computer. Well frankly it's far too hot to be doing anything else even if it is nearly seven. I'm just above the Equator here and it's frankly baking. Thankfully Singapore is almost fully airconditioned. Almost every building has it it's just lovely. There are other wonderful things about this place of course. They serve G http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Singapore/blog-272425.html Hello allApparently my little blogs have become quite popular reading so here's another. I'm safely in Singapore having taken a swift flight from Bangkok this morning. I recommend Cathay Pacific nicest plane I've ever flown in. So much room It's the evening now but it's still damned hot here I'm only just north of the Equator on this little island. Frankly I'm feeling tired and still rath http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Singapore/blog-271213.html Hello everyone who's still reading this nonsenseI'm back in Bangkok following my final week in Chiang Rai province. It has been fine fine fun but it's nice to be moving on to new adventures. I've visited several more Akha villages since I last posted. First my fellow travellers and I went to a village in the most astonishingly beautiful mountainside location. Don't ask me the name of the plac http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-270387.html So I've just got back from a little village in the middle of the mountains. It's under an hour from the city centre yet somehow manages to be very remote at the same time. I stayed with Lek one of the Akha girls who was staying at AFECT for the last couple of weeks. Two of my fellow phalangs western foreigner sorts Zoja and Suzie spent three nights sleeping on the floor of her house. Lek an http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Rai/blog-267286.html Morning all.It's Song Kran today the traditional Thai new year. Actually the celebrations have been going on for a good few days now and aren't likely to stop just yet either. Song Kran isn't just about the new year though it's the celebration of the upcoming rainy season and is also called the water festival. People celebrate this holiday by chucking huge amounts of water at each other. T http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Rai/blog-265841.html Afternoon allJust back in town after a week in an Akha village. Chose the above title because it really isn't Thailand up there it's clearly the home of the Akha. The village is at the very north of the country you can just about see the Burmese border from the hilltop and the whole way of life is different. I was staying in the Akha Garden Logde sic. This may sound like a holiday resort http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Rai/blog-263913.html Hello Sawat dee krap UdutamaNot too much to add since the last posting but I won't have much chance to get back on here for the next week at least. I'm currently in Chiang Rai a city in the province of the same name the northernmost in Thailand. We're very close to the area known as the Golden Triangle where the borders of Thailand Myanmar Burma and Laos meet. We should be visiting the b http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Rai/blog-261539.html Hello allMy wordy I've been online a lot this week because for once I'm in a place with lots of reliable electricity and computers that work. But what have I been doing these last few days on Koh Samet I hear you cry Well the answer is very little. It's just tremendously relaxing here. I'm staying in a basic but comfortable little shack of a place just off Hat Sakieaw the Diamond Beach. It http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/blog-260254.html It's well past one here in some interwebcafebarvenue thingy on the island of Koh Samet nestled in the Gulf of Thailand. I owe the few who read this blog a proper update so here we goThe first weekend involved a messy day out in Bangkok celebrating the birthday of my new friend Ziggy. Much cheap alcohol was consumed and all culture was ingored for the day. When we got back to Singburi prov http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/blog-258949.html Sorry not much time in this crumbling internet cafe in Singburi town. So what have I done since I last posted To summariseSpent a night in a run down monestary meditating with a Man U supporting mink called Lam and sleeping on a fleainfested carpet.Spent a very pleasant day at a resort spa where I had my back cracked and my body massaged by a pretty Thai girl who kept giggling.Chased two fro http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/blog-256549.html Since last I blogged we've had a pretty packed schedule here. We've been taken around several beautiful temples some fairly new and still in use some simply ancient ruins. Some of them I could have stayed in all day and just relaxed but frankly I'm feeling a little templed out. Still I'll be spending a couple of days with the monks next week. It's pretty bizarre seeing orangerobed monks wan http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Singburi/blog-254164.html Hey allVery quick update slooooow interweb connection and not much time. Had a fantastic time in Bangkok even though we arrived during an alcohol ban due to the election we found ways around it. Have tried many forms of travel including the riverboat the rickety truck bus and the terrifying tuk tuk the tiny rickshaw type car that is clearly made for two passangers but can squeeze in five http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-252957.html Hello ladies and gentsThere's not going to be much in this my very first travel blog entry because I haven't even left yet. I fly tomorrow evening at eight of the evening clock after a journey to Heathrow by National Express with the song playing in my head.I'm flying to Bangkok via Dubai and shall arrive on friday. If I haven't told you yet or if you've forgotten here's what I'll be do http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-250613.html