Lets try a bit of a catch up to where I left the parents. So in Luang Prabang, we stayed a day or two more than most slow boaters, and did a bit extra. Dad and I rented a motorbike (more like a scooter really) and tore up the countryside on it. We also did a "night as a Mahoot" trip, where we had an elephant each- went for a splash with them, took them into the jungle and tied them up with a 30 metre long chain for the night. The next day when we collected them the clever little [View Full Entry]

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Bangkok So Bangkok the second time mainly consisted on trying to bring down the daily spending average, which consisted of watching the free films being played from every restaurant (trying my best not having to buy any food or drink) and living off the food vendors reverse osmosis bottled water. February the 14th brought something a bit different as I was able to get a bit off the beaten tourist track through a genuine authentic Thai date with a friend I met from the previous time I was in Bangkok. We went to a Marina Restaurant and had dinner whilst cruising [View Full Entry]

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Continued.... Back on the road to the islands In an effort to save 200 baht (which works out to about 4 poundage) I turned down the tour operators offer of an air-con 4 hour mini-bus ride to Champhon ferry port for the local bus, which took twice as long, unbeknownst (that is a cool word if it exists!) to me due to there distinct lack of English and my debilitating inability to learn Thai. I was convinced I was convinced I had missed my stop, and as most of the signs were in Thai, I had resigned myself to the fact [View Full Entry]

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Ok, so its been a few hectic weeks of lying on beaches, basking in the sun and the occasional bucket, so as I await the imminent arrival of The Parentals to join my jaunt for three weeks around Laos and Cambodia, I thought it would be a good time to try and get some wordage down. In the format of a well organised essay I will structure it with a sophisticated framework of subtitles (possibly underlined if I work out how.) Ton Sai, Railay Beach This was where I left off in an internet cafe in Au Nang, the nearest town [View Full Entry]

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So I have tried to acculmulate a few days since the last blog in the hope of stuff to write about rather than "I lay on the beach.... I went for a swim in the sea.... I ate some plain steamed rice.... I lay in a hammock.... I walked along the beach.... I considered another swim, but it was really too much effort.... just easier to lie on the beach again". Not the most exciting of posts. But this is the beaches around Krabi, and that is what people can be content doing for months, and what I am forcing myself [View Full Entry]

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A lot to say, some real corkers, but my bus is leaving for Krabi in South Thailand in half an hour so I may be posting a few days late. To start off with, writing my last blog nearly stopped me getting to Thailand in the first place, it is a mere miracle with my time management skills that I made the flight. As I was typing away, delighting you with stories of Bollywood, I completely forgot that the Laundry Shop closed at 19:30. As I cruised along there at 8 (already cutting things a bit fine on getting to the [View Full Entry]

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Just a quick post for the last couple of days, as my plane to Bangkok is leaving in a few hours, and I want to "complete" India as it were. It still has not really hit me that I am leaving this part of the world- after being in it for 14 solid weeks. Although I cannot imagine early morning Bangkok will be that different than a lot of India's urban sprawl- it is still Asia and there are still tuk-tuks and congestion and grime and urine- just in different quantities and prevalence. I am definitely going to miss India, despite [View Full Entry]

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A well of tears brims each lower eyelid causing a film to form over a pair of spectacularly glistening irises. Eyes that have depths of green so radiant that they seem to have soaked up every shade of colour in every light from the the Keralan tea plantations. Shining pupils surrounded by an explosion of gold so great that they must have been stolen from the sunsets over the sandy beaches of Goan paradise. The beauty demanding recognition in such a moment of sadness is something that I will remember for a very long time. I tear myself away after [View Full Entry]

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After lazing away the days on the beaches of the Arabian Sea, the culture vultures in us has made for quite a contrasting few days around old skool buildings and historical sites. From where I left off, after checking out of our authentic Portuguese family guest house at the painful hour of 8 am, we had a day to burn before our overnight bus to Hampi and thought we would check out Old Goa. A fair amount of churches to ogle and cathedrals to leer at in the Indian-man-on-a-foreign-girl sort of way, but we did not go as far as a [View Full Entry]

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Goa. The title of this blog works best when said in a clear deep voice over the incessant backing beat reverberating from one of many beach shacks nestled amongst the swaying palms touching the edge of the pure white beach that I would be stretched out on. It is not because I don't like Goa, quite the opposite in fact, as with only a couple of weeks left in India, Amy and I were dangerously close to just getting stuck in Anjuna and the laid back "hippie" lifestyle without even making it to Hampi or Kerala. So after 5 days we [View Full Entry]

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