http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Tycroes-Two/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Tycroes Two en-us Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:42:28 +0000 Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:42:28 +0000 I can't bring myself to travel 5000 miles for a holiday and then just languish on a beach for two weeks. If there are trips available to be taken some awful compulsion forces me to cram them all in. For unfilled intervals Tuk tuks and Taxis are pressed into service ... or even Shanks's Pony. See as much as possible then fly home to relax oHOUSEBOATThis was our third overnighter and the one http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Goa/Baga/blog-460462.html Thompson's CurseIs it just meEvery time we book an excursion with a Holiday Rep it starts and ends in the same wayAn empty coach arrives we climb aboard. Then drive for the best part of an hour touring all the local hotels to pick up more clients. We cheerily acknowledge each new arrival as the coach gradually fills. At some point there will always be clients who aren't quite ready. Engine swi http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Goa/Baga/blog-460140.html We feel really privileged to live just above the Gower with its miles of golden sandy beaches and stunning scenery Britain's first ever Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. But there's one huge downside Every November it starts to rain.Every Day.Every single dismal dayNot just the occasional downpour but constant driving rain. Relentless uninterrupted depressioninducing rain. Grey skies dr http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Goa/Baga/blog-459779.html Nothing enhances an excursion so much as a good guide Last year in Northern Thailand and then two months ago in Sri Lanka we had been blessed to be in the company of some of the very best o Good guides are warm witty and approachable. They will quickly get a feel for their clients needs and tailor their approach to what interests them and how much detail they want to absorb....We were met in http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/blog-458171.html Our transfer from Hong Kong proved to be a lot faster than expected My pockets feeling significantly lighter after paying our room bill an endless list of cocktails and laundry added to an overwhelming feeling of loss as our car whisked us through the streets of Honky for the last time. We arrived at the airport for our Thai Airways flight to Bangkok with plenty of time to spare a chance to http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-457974.html Clearish skies at lastVictoria Peak has been wreathed in cloud and haze ever since we arrived in Honky. But today our last full day before transferring to Bangkok the view was finally all clear. Our itinerary was simple find the Victoria Tram walk round the Peak and then hit the shopping MallsClutching my trusty street map I strode out confidently from the Star Ferry terminal family tra http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Hong-Kong/Kowloon/blog-457219.html Today we ate one of the best meals we have ever experienced The meal was served in one of the shabbiest restaurants we've seen where arrogant rats openly strolled across the floor to stand whiskers twitching sizing up the chances of joining in our feast.....The day began with a stroll down Nathan Road to the Star Ferry terminal. Simon was in a buoyant mood having discovered the wonders of Ch http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Hong-Kong/Kowloon/blog-456698.html Funny how idle promises made to small children can come back to bite you on the bumI'd been to RAF Kai Tak at the end of the '60s and returned to Honky once more in the early eighties. Fran my toddler daughter and son Simon were fascinated by 'photos I'd taken there and by my description of the incomparable nighttime Hong Kong skyline. I'd also raved about a holiday Jan and I had taken in Thai http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Hong-Kong/Kowloon/blog-456327.html Although the end of our Sri Lankan Odyssey has come around far too quickly we managed to finish on a final excursion that encompassed all the things we love an exhilarating safari in Yala National Park an overnight stay in a lakeside hotel a morning mingle with fishermen selling their catch at a local market and finally an idyllic visit to the home of a schoolteacher.As always Siri wanted an e http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/blog-455564.html So far we have enjoyed several excursions to some of Sri Lanka's major tourist attractions ... Sri Lanka is a destination stuffed with historical sites and stunning scenery. But the most memorable moments so far all occurred away from the established circuits Stumbling across a working lime kiln or taking a tuktuk to a local market thrust us in amongst real local people untainted by the lure o http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/blog-454800.html Another day another hotel and another driver.Following yesterday's car crash we were met in reception by a young man who had been sent as a replacement driver. Padmasiri had spent the evening in custody and was not currently available to us so we would continue the tour with a substitute. This new driver seemed to be half Siri's age with a quarter of his skill and a tenth of his personality o http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/blog-454105.html After a poor night's sleep in our cold damp and fusty mausoleum Jan and I were relieved to checkout and hit the road for Kandy. Siri was in a chirpy mood and as we left Nuwara Eliya the clouds lifted the sun broke through and our spirits soared. The landscape began to flatten out once more and we were soon passing through gently sloping fields of crops and plantations. A roadside fruit stal http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/blog-453907.html The day started with the squeaking of walking boots down deserted Blue Water marble corridors. It was still a couple of hours before dawn and we were heading off to explore the hill country. A dazzling farewell smile from the receptionist lit our way as we were introduced to our driver and guide Padmasiri. Safely belted into the back of our hire car we headed into the dark.Two things instantly be http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/blog-453636.html Serendipity the art of making unexpected and happy discoveries derived from Swarnadip the sanskrit term for Sri Lanka.Having finally taken early retirement at the end of the last century last week Jan and I were at a loose end plodding puddled pavements in a drizzly grey Aylesbury. We stopped to scan the Late Deals in a travel agents window Benidorm Canaries Cyprus Majorca .... ha http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Sri-Lanka/blog-453094.html We left Kathmandu eagerly anticipating our stay in Pokhara blissfully unaware of how our agenda would be transformed by someone else's political agenda....The first hint that things were not running exactly as planned came when we left the hotel and walked to our coach. The driver was busily stripping Kuoni logos from the side of the bus before hanging a large green banner on the front saying http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Pokhara/blog-450446.html We arrived in Nepal after a week or so in Rajasthan. Although we had enjoyed our exploits in Sariska it was a breath of fresh air literally to arrive in vibrant Kathmandu. Physically and spiritually Rajasthan and Nepal seem close but Kathmandu's clean streets smiling faces and bustling activity were actually poles apart from the squalid gutters and sullen resignation we'd seen in India.The fl http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Nepal/Kathmandu/blog-449950.html Our last two days at Sarika were thankfully much more relaxed than those that had gone before The alarm clock was consigned to the bottom of a suitcase and we were able to resume lazy lieins followed by breakfast on the Palace terrace. Breakfast was always followed by a bracing chilly swim in the pool before taking some gentle excursions.Our final jeep Safari went deeper into the National Par http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Sariska/blog-449459.html Are we glad we did it Yes absolutelyWould we do it that way again No. Absolutely NOTI would love to see the Taj Mahal in all its morningmisted majestic beauty atmospheric and enchanting. I know that it could easily move me to a different spiritual plane. Instead we saw the Taj through throngs of jabbering visitors were carried on a crushing tide of humanity around its inner sanctum to emer http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Sariska/blog-449235.html The sound of the alarm clock battered our senses through a fog of fatigue. The clangour inflicted a pain that was almost physical. Somehow I managed to find a light switch in the unfamiliar darkness of our room and reluctantly oh so reluctantly we dragged ourselves blinking to the bathroom. After yesterday's long excursion to Jaipur the last thing we needed was an early morning safari. But once http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Sariska/blog-448927.html Jan and I were full of eager anticipation as we made the chilly early morning stroll from our bungalow to the Palace entrance. The day promised much an elephant ride up to the Amber Fort in Jaipur plus visits to Hawa Mahal Palace of the Winds and the City Palace. It also promised a less than comfortable coach ride to Jaipur and back. As a consequence not all of our group were prepared to make http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Sariska/blog-448632.html