Blogs from Asia - page 15578

Once again I'm playing catch up with my travelblogs! James and I spent about six days on Perhentain Kecil Island, one of the two main Perhentian Islands. We arrived in early July and we would probably have spent longer there if we had not had to make our way up to Bangkok for mid-July. Nonetheless, six days was time enough to recharge from the exertions of mainland Malaysia and to generally just chill out on this small isolated beach. I doubt I'll ever find a beach and sea that I like more than this one. In the six or seven weeks that have passed since my time there I haven't found a place that can challenge its number one spot on the 'Chris List', although some have come close. It's also pleasing for me to have ... read more

On arrival at Singapore Airport, we were greeted by the cutest baby you have ever seen (we may be a bit biased - but she is gorgeous). Gill finally got to meet her niece Chloe face to face. We were staying with Jenny and Simon whilst were waiting for our Vietnamese visas to be processed. Our first stop was back to their appartment and then off to the pub to catch up with Simon (who was in dire need of Gill's physio services as he had slipped a disc!!!). The next day all the girls went shopping on Orchard Road - including a stop at Marks and Spencer! Jenny had organised for us to have breakfast at Singapore Zoo - which involved sitting down with the orangutangs, whilst they too enjoyed a fruit buffet. Gill decided ... read more

Nach dem fuer mich zu langem Aufenthalt in Bangkok habe ich beschlossen zuerst das Meer abzuchecken. Es ging auf die kleine Insel Ko Samet. Von Bangkok etwa 4 Stunden Fahrt mit dem Minibus, anschliessendes Warten auf das Boot (von Faehre kann hier wohl nicht die Rede sein, da sie nur Turisten transportiert) in der Abenddunkelheit und der abendlichen Fahrt ueber das Meer. Anschliessend noch schnell ein Bungalow suchen, moeglichst weit von der Turistenmasse entfernt und dann den Magen fuellen, der schon seit langem geknurrt hat. Uebrigens sind die Portionen hier in Asien meiner Meinung nach sehr klein. In Bangkok habe ich immer mehrere Sachen gleichzeitig bestellt um satt zu werden. Die Insel Ko Samet ist ideal zum entspannen: weisser Strand, badewannen warmes blaues Meer, und ein wolkenfreier Himmel. Was will man mehr? Da bleibt einem nur ... read more

And it's time for the weekly news report. Today's been frustrating.. figuring out schedules and hours, etc. I taught my last "After School Activities" class at the JAC to the class I love so much. I was sad to see them go.. I might see some of them again in other classes, but a lot of them I won't and they are such sweet kids, always giving me little gifts and watching my face turn upside down when they give me sour candies. Though today they picked on me a bit, told me I have a bastketball belly (!!), a long nose, and thick fingers. All very attractive features (haha hello self-consciousness!). I'm done for today (thank god) and tomorrow was supposed to be a full day off, but because of the way my hours worked ... read more

The Taj Mahal (meaning crown palace) is situated in the industrial town of Agra about 200km southeast of Delhi in Uttar Pradesh. I was compelled to get up early and see the Taj Mahal at sunrise as this is the best time to see it apparently, I was not disappointed. I entered through the east gate at 6.30 am. The Taj Mahal is the resting place of Emperor Shah Jahan's second wife, Mumtaz Mahal who died during labour. The white marble building houses her tomb and is surrounded by very well kept gardens and a red sandstone perimeter wall that makes an wonderful contrast to the white marble of the Taj Mahal proper. To the west of the tomb is a mosque and to keep the symmetrical balance on the east is a guest house of ... read more