Blogs from North-East Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 4

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

We spent a few nights in Chiang Mai after leaving Pai, to get ready for our long journey east to Laos. Sunday night was spent at the night market, where I bought Christmas presents, a few things for myself, and ate way too much food. We had some of the most amazing sushi (didn't get sick!), fruit shakes, and mashed potatoes and gravy while strolling through the maze of stalls, hordes of people, and unrelenting swarms of bugs. The highlight of the night was seeing a Pomeranian circus. One was wearing sunglasses and "driving" a kids electric pink car, another was dancing in a skirt to bad pop music, while the rest were sleeping off their hard night of performances. Pictures to follow. I spent Monday afternoon walking around the different markets, where locals were loading ... read more

It is exactly 2 weeks and two days until I board that plane home. Looking behind me I see 12months filled with amazing, weird, and hilarious memories. Ahead of me lies the next chapter: Sol Fest, University and life in Glasgow. I still find it hard to comprehend all the happenings, the ups, the downs and the craziness of this year… That first time we walked into this house we were pasty-skinned, sweaty, and unnerved at the thought of teaching 700 kids a week for the rest of the year. We had been sharing the same, hard bed and had only known each other for a week. Now I regard Ben as one of my best friends and cannot imagine doing any of this without him. That’s not to say things have always been easy. We ... read more

Geo: 14.89, 103.49It's still tough getting back on the bike when I leave Ubon but I'll just take it easy and try and be careful so I don't do any more damage, and I'm pleased that my route out passes a number of ruines and temples which are meant to be very like Angkor, so I can enjoy some exploring. I found my route out and set off towards Si Sa Ket, the roadside shops and stores which mainly consist of bamboo shops selling beds, sunshades/huts, hammocks, baskets etc. many of which have designs painted or burned into them although some are still plain are great. I get lots of shout outs on the road, and loads of thumbs up and it seems like I'd better get used to them, I love it and it makes ... read more