9th feb - Sunday Lovely lazy morning. Woke thinking we would give breakfast of Pho Noodle soup a miss in favour of an extra hour's sleep. Carried out our usual morning routine and dawdled down to reception to hand in keys only to find we were an hour earlier than thought and with a little more haste could have made breakfast, having missing the soup by only 10 minutes. Phew! Close call. Armed with map and glorious sunshine we brave the streets of Saigon. Made great headway, first port of call was the Art Cafe opposite the Ben Thanh Market where we enjoyed a much needed caffeine kick and shared a Croc Monsieur (French influence still evident), before braving the market. Within seconds we were assaulted by vendors anxious to sell us their wares, unfortunately for ... read more

7th feb - Friday Reluctantly leaving Ayuthaya. Despite our intentions to travel first class rail, ha, ha, not always have such carriages. Hence, after much bartering with rail clerk, paid 250 baht (£5) for 2 very good 2nd class tickets to Bangkok. 'Very fast rapid train'. Of course it was running late, but only a mere 30 minutes, nothing to worry about. On arrival at our destination we tried to follow all the rules according to well laid guidelines :-Do not take taxi directly from train station, drivers rip you off-Insist upon air-conditioned taxi with meter-Insist driver turn meter on before you get in to car-Barter the fare or get out of cab-On no account take Very bad Tuk-Tuk- Walk away from station using hand signal like patting dog to attract meter taxi with honest driver ... read more

5th feb - Wednesday Today has been a bit of an adventure. Arrived Pak Chong train station 8.30am to discover 'ordinary' train delayed by an hour and a half. Great start to the day. However, as we sat patiently on the pretty platform a theatre of activity unfolded before us. Local vendors appeared from every direction, mostly trawling across the railway tracks. Choosing their spot carefully, buckets, packs of ice and cartons of drinks soon became tempting pails of chilled drinks. Others had woven baskets containing meat on sticks, sticky with spices, types of fish on stalks, carved fruits such as papayas, tied tightly in air-filled plastic bags, small sachets of sticky rice with sesame covered meat balls, corn on the cob, huge woks filled with cooked noodles and vegetables, and more. By now the vendors ... read more

3rd feb- monday Another beautiful day. New experiences. Chose to drive into Pak Chong this morning to locate it's railway station. Driving here is pretty easy, same left hand side as UK and the drivers seem really chilled out, sluggish rather then nippy. Never seen so many expensive shiny twin-cabs, not a smart or compac car in sight. The owner of the house where we are staying made only one express wish. 'Do not let the dogs (there are three here) eat the chickens from the neighbouring farm as the farmer is a little less than thrilled about this problem).' As we walked towards the car we heard excited barking and loud clucking. Yes, two happy dogs about to enjoy a late breakfast. We managed to help the hens make a hasty retreat then drove away. ... read more

1st feb Our flight. Left Larnaca on time. Surprisingly full. Lots of Cypriot passengers so had usual disputes on seat allocations, baggage room, and rosary chanting. Excellent food on both flights with first taste of eastern food. Fragrant basmati and steamed fish, byriani mmmmmm. Incidentally, on our coach journey from Larnaca we noticed a strange chap who had a younger companion. They sat towards the rear of the coach, 2 rows behind us. Throughout the trip he cussed, berated the world and was very disturbed. Leo commented that he hoped they were not booked onto our flight! We made up a couple of scenarios about them including terrorism etc and were dismayed to see them on the Abu Dhabi sector of our journey, back row, handcuffed. His young companion being a police officer. Great beginnings. The ... read more