http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Pensiongapper/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Pensiongapper en-us Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:51:33 +0000 Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:51:33 +0000 Looking back and rounding up a travel summary Sunday 19th April 2009This is our final blog number 85 and 666 photos. We've had our Pension Gap so now we shall go back to Spain to retire and try to grow old gracefully unless the feet start itching againTravel doesnrsquot just broaden the mind and stimulate the senses it also nourishes the soul. Having spent eight months with the most ba http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Berkshire/blog-392175.html ldquoGoodbye Bangkokrsquo updatelast day in Bangkok Wednesday 15th April 2009 Just a quick update to our last and we thought final blog from Bangkok to enable us to publish these couple of fairly dramatic photos taken on our way to the airport on Monday. The situation there had escalated by Monday morning when armed forces turned on demonstrators with tear gas. We had planned to spend http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-390775.html Songkran and Riots Monday 13th April 2009ldquoAnarchy reigned in parts of Bangkok this morning following the Thai military's predawn raid on antigovernment protesters who had blockaded parts of the city. The Times news reportWhere we are there is thankfully no evidence of rioting only of people celebrating the New Year Songkran. Here people are throwing water elsewhere some are thr http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-390149.html The start of Songkran in Bangkok Saturday 11th April 2009Some people armed themselves with huge water pistols this morning ready to soak unsuspecting victims in the Khao San Road. It is the start of the Songkran weekend Thailandrsquos New Year. The water pistol terrorists neednrsquot have bothered By lunchtime Khao San Road had become Khao San River flooded by torrential rain after a dr http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-389825.html Ultimate Destination Bangkok Thursday 9th April 2009We have arrived at our last destination on this ldquoGrand Tourrdquo the eastern ldquoCity of Angelsrdquo Bangkok. Just seven months ago we were in the western ldquoCity of Angelsrdquo Los Angeles. How time flies In some ways however time has passed at a leisurely pace since we left home last August. We have done and seen so http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-388973.html Bo Sang San Kampaeng handicrafts Monday 6th April 2009The Bo Sang San Kampaeng region which is a western suburb of Chiang Mai is home to several handicraft centres a silk farm and provider of employment for a large percentage of the local Chiang Mai populace. Tourists can see craftsmen and craftswomen working in leather silver silk cotton lacquer ware bronze and jade jewellery cerami http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Mai/blog-388083.html Elephant trekking and rafting Mae Taeng Valley ChiangDao Friday 3rd march 2009One and a half hours drive north of Chiang Mai near to Chiang Dao lays the beautiful Mae Taeng Valley. Having spent two days doing very little apart from enjoying Chiang Mai city especially the night bazaar and the food we spent today elephant trekking and rafting at Mae Taeng. The scenery is stunning with fore http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Mai/blog-387478.html The Journey to Chiang Mai Monday 30th March 2009The train took the strain. The journey to Chiang Mai by train was considerably more comfortable than the longhaul bus trip of a few days ago. Despite the fact that the train arrived 30 minutes late from Bangkok to Ayutthaya and it was sweltering and inescapable heat at Ayutthaya station we knew as soon as the train arrived and a smartly dress http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Mai/blog-386408.html Ayutthaya the City of Gorgeousness Sunday 29th March 2009The journey from Khao Lak wasnrsquot exactly enjoyable. Thirteen hours on a coach is a long time. It is OK if one travels on the ldquoV.I.Pldquo. busses because they are very spacious. Unfortunately we couldnrsquot get booked on one of those and the bus we were on was very squashed with little leg room. We arrived at Bangkok sout http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Ayuthaya/blog-385772.html Are we in Thailand Thursday 26th March 2009Khao Lak is one of those places that could be anywhere. Full of mostly German tourists pizza restaurants and ldquoHappy Hourrdquo bars. Travel guide books usually give an accurate impression of a place but not this time. Our ldquoLonely Planetrdquo unfortunately is rather old and other guides are misleading. We envisaged this area to be sim http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Khao-Lak/blog-385148.html Noppharat Thara Bay Klong Moung Ao Nang Sunday 22nd March 2009We have found another little Paradise Noppharat Thara Bay is pine and palm fringed dotted with islands in a clear blue sea Koh Phi Phi Koh Thub and Chicken Island to name a few with a golden sandy beach and just a few very small developments. Behind it is jungle interspersed with rubber plantation. It is pristine clean beach an http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Ao-Nang/blog-384848.html Maybe Song Kran has come early to Thailand It is very wet Saturday 21sy March2009It is raining heavily here in Phuket. Tourists have enjoyed brilliant sunshine for months until we arrived trailing the thunder lightning and torrential rain in our wake Our ferry trip from Langkawi to Georgetown on Thursday started and ended in rain In between however it was a smooth and sunblesse http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Phuket/blog-383656.html Luscious Langkawi and Irresponsible Tourism Wednesday 18th March 2009The Langkawi group of islands should be one of the jewels of the Andaman Sea. The islands are mostly covered by lush jungle where large groups of monkeys chatter and play and tropical flowers abound. The beaches are whitesand coral and the sea is turquoise blue and green dotted with limestone stacks craggy cliffs and numerou http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Kedah-and-Perlis/Pulau-Langkawi/blog-382779.html Georgetown Langkawi and visa problems Sunday 15th march 2009Visiting Georgetown was more than just visiting a city. It was a step back in time to colonial pomp redcoats and cannon and the intrepid exploits of the East India Company. Georgetown was the first of the Malacca Straights British strongholds to be secured for the Crown back in Georgian England followed thereafter by Melaka and Sin http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Kedah-and-Perlis/Pulau-Langkawi/blog-381778.html Back to the beach Pulau Penang Thursday 12th March 2009We have been in Malaysia over one week and this is the first chance wersquove had to enjoy the beach because we have been enjoying cities and mountains. Yesterday we came to Pulau Penang Penang Island by bus from the Cameron Highlands. Since our arrival it has been sunshine sunshine sunshine with just a little bit of rain last nig http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Penang/Batu-Ferringhi/blog-381027.html The Cameron HighlandsDonrsquot say yoursquove seen the sunset Monday 9th March2009The five hour coach journey from Kuala Lumpur to Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands took us through some stunning countryside. Unfortunately unlike the coaches from Singapore to Melaka and Melaka to KL this one was a 1960s bone shaking relic with windows so dirty that photos of the waterfalls and mountains http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Pahang/Tanah-Rata/blog-380504.html Orchids Railways and Urban Monkeys Saturday 7th March 2009We didnrsquot expect to meet any monkeys in the heart of the Kuala Lumpur but this city is full of surprises Today we walked got lost walked some more got lost and eventually returned to Chinatown having seen far more of KL than planned and met up with a troupe of monkeys on the way They were hanging out in the trees between the N http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Wilayah-Persekutuan/Kuala-Lumpur/blog-379607.html Kuala Lumpur KL is Knockout Lovely Friday 6th March 2009 our daughterinlawrsquos birthday ldquoFeliz Cumpleanosldquo MamThis is a great city It is noisy crazy jammed with traffic hot and humid twentyfour hours totally manic and just what we expected The journey here yesterday was a breeze. Coach travel in Malaysia really is first class. The coach was comfy and air conditio http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Wilayah-Persekutuan/Kuala-Lumpur/blog-379503.html Melaka a good introduction to Malaysia Wednesday 4th March 2009Melaka was a good destination choice for our first stop in Malaysia. The four hour bus journey from Singapore was very comfortable in a spacious air conditioned coach passing through spectacular countryside jungles green hills distant mountains and miles and miles of palm plantations for palm oil.Melaka is a lively little city http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Melaka/Melaka-City/blog-378785.html From hassle in Dempasar to sanity in Singapore Saturday 28th February 2009Every time we visit Dempasar airport and this is the fourth time on this trip we have problems We checked in OK with Singapore airlines for our flight then made our way upstairs paid 150000 Rupiah each for departure tax about ten pounds sterling and then went to pass through security to Departures. The officious li http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Singapore/blog-378122.html