It is 12 years since we have been to Thailand and maybe we have a rosy coloured view of how nice it and its people are. We taxied to a stop in our beautiful and massive Airbus A380 and the man driving the catering truck raised it to our level. He saw us both through the window and gave out a beaming smile and waved. Welcome back to Thailand. Ninety minutes to clear Immigration and we were soon on our short flight to Chiang Mai. Our hotel was fantastic and only £28 per night. We were soon out having a snack and cheap beer with friendly Thais. Chiang Mai itself does not have much to commend it, no fabulous temples or like, however, it has some charm and we enjoyed it. The main reason for being ... read more

MISTAKES We should have gone at a different time of the year when we could have missed much of the rainy season. Ten days on New Zealand South Island was not enough. Thirty five days in Fiji was too long. HIGHLIGHTS Inevitably we will be asked what was the highlight of our trip. Well, they were: Hong Kong - Hot, humid, dirty, loud, but we loved it. Australia - Best beaches and the people we stayed with. New Zealand - South Island knocked us out. Seeing Milford Sound and the helicopter ride over the glaciers we will remember all our lives. Fiji - Best snorkelling we have ever seen and the friendliest people we have ever met. Cook Islands - Just absolute paradise when it is not raining. So the highlight was New Ze - No ... read more

Rarotonga is probably the most idyllic place we have ever been. The whole island, except the north, has a continuous glorious beach and beautiful lagoon. The lagoon is great for swimming, although snorkelling was a disappointment. Much of the coral is dead and ,therefore, there is not the amount, nor variation, of fish that can be seen on other islands. The best snorkelling we found was on the south coast by the Fruits of Rarotonga cafe. Rarotonga is without the litter and general poverty seen on many tropical islands - no hassle and no beggars. Grass verges are cut and gardens maintained. Accommodation is reasonably priced and similar to Fiji mainland, however, the food, taxis and eating out are more expensive. The island is served by a 20 mile road around the perimeter and an hourly ... read more

Wednesday was very hot and we went looking for a good place to snorkel. We stopped for a while at one beach, then drove around and into town for some shopping. Terry, who considers himself a world expert on putting sunscreen on had forgotten his lips and the bottom of his nose. The result was that he had blisters all over and he had trouble eating and drinking. Next morning the weather was cloudy so we decided to walk the Cross Island Track. It said in Lonely Planet that it was 'hard but possible' without a guide. It takes over 4 hours and ends at a waterfall 1 km from the sea. We set off from the north side with lots of water, cereal bars, mosquito repellent and, of course, paracetamol (for Terry's knees). After about ... read more

We enjoyed and will never forget Fiji. The locals were so friendly and this appeared to rub of on our fellow travellers who were by far the friendliest we have met and we found many who we now call friends. On the Yasawa Islands there were beautiful beaches, super snorkling and fab food. However we were there too long. All the resorts include compulsary food packages (anyway there are no shops), so we paid the same as people (like our sort of friend David) who eat double what we do.! Also we were obliged to pay the resort's prices for drinks. We stayed on 3 Yasawa Islands, the cheapest cost 70 pounds per night and the much hyped Octopus Resort a resounding 162 pounds per night! When you multiply that by the 25 days we were ... read more