Duncan Langtree

Well the 2nd week was all about getting away from the cities and heading to the islands, starting with Koh Tao, a small island just north of Koh Phangan of full moon party fame. The atmosphere here was very laid back, the island has only really been developed in the last 15 years and the centre is virtually untouched (more of that anon), with all accommodation on the various beaches and bays. I stayed at the Viewpoint bungalows which had a stunning view form the Balinese style bedroom, but necessitated an unlit 10 minute walk along the beaches and rocks to get to, a bit of a pain by the end of the stay. The main reason to be here apart from seeing the view was to go scuba diving and do an introductory course. The ... read more

Bangkok has an amazing mix of people. The Thai people here seem very focused, and clearly enjoy living a middle class lifestyle on the whole, given the type of high quality Western brand shops that are common and streetwise the relatively low numbers of beggars for a major city. I know it’s a different picture in the countryside, but I haven’t has the chance to see that in any detail.. Perhaps the most striking feature is that it is a very cosmopolitan city quite similar to London. Substitute, Koreans, Japanese and Chinese for Poles, Americans and Europeans, you get the picture. Pne aspect that it is famous for and was unfortunately for me in my face due to the area I chose my nice hotel (I didn’t realise I was so close to “that” part of ... read more

So it’s been a busy week! The pace and surroundings have been a complete contrast to the first week, moving from city life to jungle life to beach bum … To finish the city part of my tour I spent the day at the Royal Palace and Wat Po which is one of the oldest temples in Thailand. The colours and details are incredible but it has to be said what was more remarkable was hardly any one was there, clearly a result of the recent “troubles” in Bangkok incidentally of which I didn’t see a single trace. Wat Po, apart from being to the world’s biggest Buddha, is also the home of Thai massage and was effectively the first university in Thailand, and Thai massage its first degree course! Well when in Rome as they ... read more

Yesterday was all about getting to Kuala Lumpur. My brain has got wildly out of sync with my body and time zones so it was 3.00 am before I dropped off only to be up again at 6.30 to get out and onto the train at 740 for a 6.5 hr train journey through rural Malaysia. Once you are through the border checkpoint the countryside settles down into coconut tree plantations and semi jungle looking conditions for mile after mile ….. after mile. Two hrs of starring at that was enough so after doing some leftover work (what a sucker am I) I grabbed some sleep and whilst taking some pictures of the train, struck up an in depth conversation with the train guard about how Stoke City are going to stay up in the Premier ... read more

The last days were spent around Jaipur and Agra. Jaipur was a great city, the place and the fort(s) outside the city were amazing places to visit, the Elephant ride at Amber fort another tick in the life achievements box and I really overdid the scenery shots :) I spent the day with my own tuk tuk driver who was a bit of a character to say the least, I can't reccommend him for any female visitors, he had a long list of conquests! The last stage was onto to Agra and the Taj. Yes the views are stereotypical, yes there are thousands of tourists but almost without exception when tourists come through the doorway arch and look on it for the first time all they can say is "wow" and then take a picture or ... read more