Inspiration H Donna n Neil.
Just want to say thanks for such an interested and inspirational series of blog posts.
My girlfriend and I have decided to hand in our notice early next year, rent out the flat and do an initial 4 months travelling and see where it takes us. It's blogs like yours that really inspire us and also fill us with ideas and advice on what to do.
Unfortunately I think there will have to be an end date for our travels, and I'm sure our savings will run dry eventually, but, after reading through your experiences, the dream is still strong!
Back in England Sometimes we find when we go back to a location that at one time we knew really well that it can be an experience to look at it with new eyes. The architecture caught your eye and you could now appreciate the history. It is like being in a new place. This growing up and maturing thing can be interesting. Glad you were able to enjoy food, drink and family. Dave would have loved the golf open.
RE: Back in England Hi MJ and Dave! Thanks for reading and commenting :). Yes, growing up and maturing is interesting in the things we notice now! We really did appreciate all the history and the food was yummy...we'll have plenty of food pics in our next few blogs! If Dave likes golf, the Royal Liverpool is a good golf tournament - a couple of years ago George Clooney was there watching as well - we think that suddenly got a lot of ladies interested in golf who otherwise didn't like it! ;)
Oh, you English! I love your charming, historical towns and don't mind at all the various revival architectural movements that let us imagine we're in some by-gone period. I was rather surprised that Asia doesn't also have that ancient architecture, but perhaps it's just the temples that have been preserved. Very funny your comments on English vs SE Asian manners--I often feel the same here in Peru.
Re: Oh, you English! Hi Tara, thanks for reading and commenting. It was only when we stopped and thought about it that, other than the temples, the oldest buildings really are colonial in SE Asia, so not 'that' old! If you like these kinds of historical towns, you are going to like the rest of our blogs on the UK! Yes, SE Asian manners sometimes drive us mad...you just have to take a deep breath and go with the flow ;).
Loved Chester, too! I am rewriting a blog I wrote about Chester (Gunga- Southern talk in Northwest England dated May 18, 2014) and saw your excellent blog. I loved Chester- the black and white timber houses, the walking street, the friendly people, and the man I met in a church/café who, when he found out I lived in Memphis, Tennessee, USA wanted me to 'talk southern'. It is one of my fondest travel memories. Keep up the good writing.
Carolyn Taylor/Gunga
Re: Loved Chester, too! Hi Carolyn, thanks for reading and commenting. Yes, Chester is lovely - we love the fact you met a guy who wanted you to 'talk southern'! That sounds like a typically British thing to do to us ;)
A family visit No reason to get excited about flight delays....nothing can be done. But, we are amazed at how poor all airlines are at communication and customer service. We'd love to go to Liverpool. Great reading. It sounds like a great town. I hate being ill when traveling. Glad the food stalls finally called to Neil. Glad you had a nice time sipping tea and then going to Argos.
Home from home Have to say the last thing I expected to find on logging on to Travelblog was a picture of my old house! Used to Live in Wapping Dock a quarter of a century ago in pre-travelling days when I still had a proper job and swanky lifestyle, and also in the days when Liverpool was considered by most to be a colossal dump... Now it's a holiday destination... Funny how life has a habit of performing neat 180 degree turns when you're not looking! And, being originally from Scotland, I can fully relate to the whole temperature thing, as After years away I frankly no longer consider the UK climate as suitable for human habitation...
Home from Home Thanks for reading and commenting! Liverpool really surprised both of us with how nice it is, as you say a quarter of a century ago it was the butt of jokes about stealing cars! We agree, the temperature in the UK is unfit for habitation...we did struggle a little bit but the 3 layers and coats/scarves helped a lot! We some some nutters walking around in shorts and t-shirts which just made us gape in amazement!
Argos is irreplaceable Love reading observations about the UK - like an anthropological self-analysis! Hope you're having a great time re-discovering the best bits. I'm living abroad for the first time at the moment and needed to get a laundry basket and a bedside lamp for my apartment when I moved in... before realising I didn't have the faintest idea about where to get such things in a world without Argos. Felt like the stable bastions of my world were crumbling around me!
Argos is irreplaceable It most certainly is irreplaceable! We know how you feel about stable bastions of your world crumbling....been through it ourselves and just not knowing where to buy things from! Glad you enjoyed our observations about the UK, it was very strange indeed being back there and because we have been away so long, it made us really see things differently! Thanks for your comment.
Argos! You made me laugh as I remembered my first visit to an Argos store - it took me a while to figure out what was going on! Neil must have been really sick to miss out on those chocolate digestives... :)
Argos! Thanks for reading and your comment! It was only when we looked at Argos from a 'foreigner' point of view that we saw how strange it actually was as a shop! We can see how it took you a while to figure it out! Yes, we knew that Neil was truly ill as he had to miss the chocolate digestives...well he missed out on almost two days worth of food, he was so upset!
About goan and rest part of india Dear Neil,
I agree with many things you mentioned in your blog. But let me tell you one thing is that am a goan n lived here for 29years been around I agree rates are high people cheat but if you find the true story you catch a real goan and he won't cheat you. It's the rest part of Indians who are here to do business and they put up their high rates n cheating is done by them. A goan as far as I feel n experienced will not to a foreigner at least. And secondly about the pervs it's surely the tourist which travel to Goa from rest part of India. We goans are so used to see foreigners here that it's become a part of our own. But it's d rest part of Indians rather than Goa that spoils it all. Next time you come you find a local talk to him and see the difference.
Thank you, hope u loved Goa trip keep coming back mate.
Thanks! Thank you for documenting your trip to Japan! I stumbled across them when googling trip reports and have enjoyed reading them. We came back from our first trip to Japan a month ago and like you despite only spending a couple of weeks there, we really miss it. Its a country that gets under your skin! I loved that it was such an organised country as well! We learnt lots from your earlier entries before we left and liked reading the later ones since we got back. Thanks again :)
The Kit Kat shop!?! Lots of people have told me that Japan would suit my personality (I suspect some of them weren’t being complimentary), but I have to agree that the order, efficiency, politeness and cleanliness you have talked about is very appealing. Donna I get HAngry too - Andrew has learnt to recognise the early signs and knows when to shove food or drink at me to avert possible grumpiness. Loved following your Japan adventure - thanks for letting us armchair travel with you guys. :)
Japan is an OCD country! Hi Ren and Andrew! Oh the order and efficiency were a joy...for an OCD like me (Donna), it was amazing and therapeutic! I'd say living in SE Asia is great aversion therapy for OCD ;). Neil is good at recognising the hangry signs too! Thanks for reading and we are glad you have enjoyed armchair travelling with us! x
Farewell Japan You've seen so much in your time and we've loved traveling along with you. Loved the experience and can't wait to explore Japan ourselves. How long have you been there in all? I think I will like this neat and tidy country. Also looking forward to the food.
Farewell with sad faces Hi MJ and Dave! We did see a lot but we also had to cut down a lot from our original list (just gives us an excuse to go back!). We were there for just on 3 weeks in total. If you are a neat freak (like me, Donna!) then you will love the order. The food was great too. Thanks for reading, we are glad you enjoyed them! x
Farewell with sad faces Hi MJ and Dave! We did see a lot but we also had to cut down a lot from our original list (just gives us an excuse to go back!). We were there for just on 3 weeks in total. If you are a neat freak (like me, Donna!) then you will love the order. The food was great too. Thanks for reading, we are glad you enjoyed them! x
We saved for 3 years and then went Hoff to travel the world. Chris Columbus and Magellan eat your heart out...do you reckon other people will have already discovered the places we are going to? You bet!
About Us
Neil, originally from Hartlepool, UK and Donna, originally from the Wirral, UK have known each other for 19 years. We bought a house, got cushy jobs in Nottingham and always had a passion to travel and see what more was out there in the big wide world (sounds corny or what?). The opportunity came when we were both made redundant and given nice r... full info
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Inspiration
H Donna n Neil. Just want to say thanks for such an interested and inspirational series of blog posts. My girlfriend and I have decided to hand in our notice early next year, rent out the flat and do an initial 4 months travelling and see where it takes us. It's blogs like yours that really inspire us and also fill us with ideas and advice on what to do. Unfortunately I think there will have to be an end date for our travels, and I'm sure our savings will run dry eventually, but, after reading through your experiences, the dream is still strong!