John from Totnes

Arrived back in Thailand after our family get together in Perth and started our trip around Central Thailand. Our first stop was in the garden province of Samut Songhkhram which included visits to a unique country market along the railway tracks, several floating markets, a paddleboat journey through the canals and of course a Buddhist temple. The next stop was in the district of Kanchanaburi and here we spent lots of time visiting the various memorials dedicated to the those who worked and lost their lives in the construction of the Thailand to Burma Railway during WW2. We walked the bridge over the River Kwai which has now been restored after the original bridge was destroyed by Allied bombers. Particularly moving was the Hellfire Pass Memorial which included a well laid out museum and a trail ... read more

Lynne and I are on the way to Perth, WA, for the wedding of my nephew, Thomas. It is such a lengthy flight to Perth from London and so we decided to stop off for 6 days on the island known as Koh Samet in Thailand which is a two and half hour drive from Bangkok before the short ferry ride over to the island. We are staying at this wonderful resort known as the Paradee and it is an ideal retreat for plenty of rest and relaxation with lots of time for reading, swimming and dozing by the pool and sea. The Thai staff are so friendly and helpful and everything is so efficiently run. The Thai food in the restaurant is both delicious and well presented and furthermore served with a smiling face on ... read more

Travelled from the snowy mountains of Southern Patagonia to the dust and warmth of the Atacama Desert in the north of Chile via Santiago. Our base was San Pedro de Atacama, a small oasis village of clay-coloured adobe houses and dirt streets and here we stayed for 3 days exploring the area. San Pedro is 2436 metres above sea level and every now and again altitude sickness kicked in and to help overcome this condition coca sweets or leaves are recommended. Our trips out included a visit to the Valle de la Luna which is a lunar type valley of unusual rock formations and sweeping sand dunes,the highest being the Duna Mayor. Here we climbed the dune at dusk for wonderful views of the Andean peaks and volcanoes coated in the late evening light. Our visit ... read more

From The Lake District we flew further south to Southern Patagonia into Punta Arenas which is not only 3000 miles couth of Santiago but the furthest town south on the mainland of South America. After a visit to a penguin colony we headed for Puerto Natales being one of the gateways into the National Park of Bernardo O'Higgins. After a nights rest we boarded a boat that was to take us on a 4 hour cruise deep into the park where the scenery was breathtaking. Plenty of photographs were taken. We were treated to the spectactular Serrano and Monte Balmaceda Glaciers which unfortunately are decreasing in size due to the changing climate. After lunch we were transferred to a large inflatable speed boat to take us the last 35 km to the National Park of Torres ... read more

Arrived in Santiago after a 13 hour flight from Madrid on Iberian Air. It must rank at the lower end of the world airlines with its poor quality food and service. BA, having taken it over, have got their work cut out if they want to improve its image. Managed to get a few hours of sightseeing in following our arrival, including a visit to main square in the centre known as the Plaza de Armas which is at the heart of this modern city. The city centre square and the surrounding streets were a hive of activity with many shoppers, tourists and street vendors. The city cathedral, known as Catedral Metropolitana, is one of the oldest buildings dominating the square and has a very European feel to it. The catholic religion is the dominant religion ... read more