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. [View Full Entry]

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Fugen and Salzburg Just photos for now. Will provide some description of the events later. [View Full Entry]

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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 [View Full Entry]

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Arrival and First Sights We landed a bit before midnight, and arrived at the Pathawam Princess Hotel about 1.00 am. The reception was smooth, and we were into our room without any fuss. We got a few hours sleep, but were up reasonably early, had breakfast and explored the immediate surrounds of the hotel. Jim Thompson House First stop today was the museum that has been created from Jim Thompson's house. The american credited with reviving the printed silk industry in Thailand, he disappeared many years ago, but his reputation and work lives on, and is on display in [View Full Entry]

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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. [View Full Entry]

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Going Back to Portsea ... The Officer Cadet School was never a place that attracted me back for sentimental visits. I think that I drove down once with the family when they were quite young, and turned away at the gates without going any further. I was glad to be overseas when it closed and was absorbed into the Royal Military College, Duntroon. That, at least, let me avoid avoid going back. Even then, I couldn't avoid begging letters from past graduates flogging this history or that limited edition sketch of the old buildings. After the Officer Cadet School closed, [View Full Entry]

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Visiting Brian ... and Helen and Lucian Elaine and I have flown to Melbourne for the Queens Birthday Long Weekend to celebrate the 30th anniversary of my graduation from Portsea. About 20 of us will be gathering. Some arriving tonight. Some, like me, making the trip down the Mornington Peninsula tomorrow. Today, though, is really Elaine's shopping day - the sweet siren song of the outlet centres is calling, and I know that there is little point in trying to resist. Last year she planned to come down for the weekend with an old friend, and somehow they ended up in [View Full Entry]

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Heading Home After nearly a month away from home alone, I was finally on my way back. Getting from Quito to Canberra was not going to be easy. It couldn't be done in one hit unless one went up to Miami, across to LA and then to Sydney, and even then there were some quite long breaks. Another route seemed to end up in the US mid-West for half a day in some city whose name I barely recognised - not enough time to go anywhere, but too long just to hang around the airport without getting horribly bored. So I [View Full Entry]

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We must spend two days in Cuenca Lisa, the Kumuka guide had been adament that Cuenca needed a full two days, and we had altered the proposed itinerary in Peru to make sure we had an extra day up our sleeves for just that purpose. Arrival So far today we had done a temporary repair when an accellerator spring had snapped, and it was impossible to rev the engine. We also put a bit of grease into the pivots and hinges which had not seen grease for some time. By the time this was fixed, Mark was not only relieved had [View Full Entry]

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The long road north The travel dossier entry makes it look so easy - 'we drive north through the Sechura desert to the tiny beach resort of Punta Sal'. It doesn't say 'we will abuse the driver by forcing him to drive for nearly 14 hours with as few rest stops as possible, give him almost no help when he has a flat, ask him to turn the truck in an area that would be tight for anything bigger than a small car, and still expect him to drive the rear wheels'. Nor does it say 'at every opportunity there is [View Full Entry]

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