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 [View Full Entry]

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Well it wouldn't be me if I didn't do something very railway orientated so I spent the weekend exploring the old Bangkok - Burma railway, better known as the Death Railway. Kanchanburi was a great contrast to Bangkok, and probably getting much nearer to the real “Thailand”. The pace of life here is much calmer and although there is a small bar scene the emphasis is far different form Bangkok. I managed to watch Stoke lose live on telly against Fulham sat with a bunch of drunk Aussies, a new experience :) Kanchanburi is home to the bridge over the River [View Full Entry]

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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. [View Full Entry]

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Those of you who know me quite well know I love eating Asian food of all varieties. I have to say I’ve never been in a city like Bangkok where literally type of Asian origin was available and sometime in a single place. Eating food “on the go” from street stalls is very common, the major difference here compared to India is hygiene and associated stomach bugs do not seem to be a problem and culturally all kinds of people happily eat out by a street stall. However they were not the main feature for, as hinted at in the title [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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Ok OK It's been a while, my body didn't adjust as good as I hoped to the time diff and I slept 10 hrs straight in Kula Lumpur and didn't really get going which meant I missed my plane, which cost me a few pounds to change to the later one which meant I got to Bangkok at 10pm and it was chaos. I was later to find out it's always chaos bu that's another story. Anyway I went to Kuala Lumpur via the monorial, I was very impressed by Kuala Lumpur, a well thought out place. So eventually onto Bangkok, [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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Well here we go again exploring the world in mad dash way trying to catch up on trips I always wish I had done. I'm starting here in Singapore, off to Malaysia before tearing round Thailand. I'd love to say I have learnt lessons from last time of not over planning, of building in breaks where I will need them but that would be far too easy so I have far too much booked already and I'm going to far too many places, ah well it keeps you young! Actually this holiday has come far too quickly, I was still working [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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So after a brief sojourn in the hills a quick flight (should have been but due to bizarre India bureacracy a wasted day at Siliguri airport (I really dont like Siliguri!) to New Delhi and straight out again on the train to Amritsar and the Pakistan border at Wagah. The golden temple is a truly wondrous and spiritual place. I spent the best partt of the day just taking in the atmosphere and the incredble sight of the temple and its surrounds. The Sikhs are a very frinedly and respectful poeple, this was the only place in India I wasnt subject [View Full Entry]

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