Our White Xmas trip would not have been possible without the support of friends in the UK, who put us up and entertained us when we weren't somewhere else. We are also grateful to the A&E staff at Stoke-Mandeville General Hospital, who replaced Elaine's cast so that we could get home without too much distress. ... read more

Imlil and Kasbah Toubkal We arranged a day tour through Kasbah Toubkal. This was a fantastic day, not only for the sights but also because the tour was so well run. At the end of our tour, Elaine dismounted awkwardly from her mule, and badly strained the ligaments in her left knee. Even with that, we thought that this was the best day of the tour for what we did and saw, even if it was also the worst. Some more descriptive stuff to come. For now, it is just the photos.... read more

Xmas arrives Since much of the trip planning had turned around getting to Europe for a White Xmas, it was all pretty much of an anti-climax on the day. Good, but not great. There were too many little niggles with the way the tour company's organization kept going wrong to make this a really good day. Disappointing, really, given that it had so much more potential. Here are the photos for that day. The major activities were a horse-drawn carriage ride and a trip on the Gisella train to Zell am Zee. ... read more

Visit to Kanchanaburi Province We knew that with only three days in Thailand, we would have to pick and choose among the icons that the country presents, missing some things that should not have been missed, and perhaps doing some things that might not have been as rewarding. We also knew that we were confident enough to use public transport within Bangkok, but would use a commercial tour company for any travel outside the city, whcih meant that we might not get the absolutely best arrangements, but those that made it attractive to a wide audience and were easy to run with a larger group. Some venues did not open every day, which might also limit our choices. Finally, we had wanted to have the major activities already booked before we left Australia, and we would ... read more

The proposal Simple really - have a white christmas. Then it became a bit more complex - lets stopover in Bangkok for a few days. Finally, it got really complicated - we've got time to visit Morocco, and shop in Marrakesh. Its taken a bit over a year for Elaine to plan this trip - in part because we needed to use frequent flyer points for the air legs out of and back to Australia, and we knew that if were didn't book these as soon as the flights we wanted opened, we were not going to get a good outcome. We are now on the final countdown, with all the bookings completed, other preparations made, and just under a fortnight to go before we head off. Our plans include visiting Thailand, England, Austria and Morocco. ... read more