bumpy buses-red roads So in the end, and weighing it all up - you wouldn't have tried to travel by any other means... I suppose you can't escape from what you are at the end of the day - still a kind of tourist, and you can't expect not to have to let SOMEONE make some profit out of you! You're all looking good, healthy happy and handsome! (and pretty-Celia!) So good to read the blog, interesting and amusing as always lots of lovexxxxxxxx
WOW Well if I wasn't feeling sorry for myself enough that it is Monday morning, raining and I'm at work, I have just spent near on the past hour ready your last few blogs....It all looks totally amazing! Glad your well, getting drunk and causing trouble still Pete. Take Care babe, Charlie xx
Golem On The Rocks Those Temples are defiantly my kind of thing. I could probably spend a week scampering around the rocks just like Golem, with a digital camera in my hand of course. A squad of glamour girls would be the only other must. I think then I would be truly happy.
Discomfort Your journey seemed awful but just cannot compare to the suffering, anxiety and total discomfort of enduring the five England matches. If you indeed saw those games as well, then you truly have my sympathy. Lee Barker, English but not proud.
Oh my god you look like some gay American commando in that picture!! Haha! it's becoming quite a theme. Is the the next get up the builder or the sailor??!
You're both looking well though which is always a good thing!
The whole bus thing sounds to me like a complete laugh. Can't wait to have my turn at it...
Love and hugs, eL* xxxxxxxxx
Dearest Pedro!!!!!! hello my darling pedro!!!!
sounds like you are having some interesting times over there.
So pleased to see u have got shot of you Gay Handlebars, i am afraid that look just wasnt you!!!!
Everyone @ svc says hello, we are still missing your dulcet tones here, but we have rosie back with us now which is good!!!
Still young free and single, thought i would save my self for you!!! Sure you have learnt alot from the lady boys!!!!! :-)
Anyhow look after yourself and look forward to the next installment.
Ps rabbit popped in today and said to say hi to you
Mel
x
Hey, I don't care what anyone else thinks. I LOVE THE BEARD. Keep it. Everyone will definately think you're israeli now...
Football is good. We are shit as usual. Argentina are going to win without a doubt - but what would you care anyway!! Miss ya bruv, eL*xxx
Many apologies!!! Hello geezer! It's your old pal from BDW. Sorry about taking so long to contact ya, I have no excuses, I've just been lame. I've been very impressed with your travel journal. So much so, I've appointed myself as your Agent. Your job at Lonely Planet starts the first Monday you get back. Hahaaa!
The World Cup has gripped the nation and everyone is very concerned about Rooney's foot. Only slightly less worried than we are about yours. Has that healed yet mate??? Because my sister has been reading your travel blogs, she has some wise words of wisdom to impart following her travels around Thailand. Get medical attention on any proper cuts or scrapes because they can turn uuuuugly! My sister had a problem with her foot which only really healed after she got some antibiotics. Believe it or not, they have Boots pharmacies in Thailand. Check that place son!!
Anyhoo, enough of that shite, I'll leave the caring and sharing stuff to your mum (hi Pete's mum!), let's get to the real exciting shit. As I mentioned to you before you left, Lucy and I will be in Sydney from 19th October until 25th. It would be wicked if we could meet up with you and your cousin at some point.
As for your handlebar moustache. Geeze!!! That look, coupled with your self appointed porn name Pete 'The Girth' Townshend, is surely gonna give peeps the wrong impression. Hahaa! Here's me thinking that you wanted to get laid on holiday.
Since my company was taken over by a much larger broker in January this year, things have started to settle down after the initial panic of people's job security. The most recent upshot is that my talents have finally been recognised by our new overlords. They have made me a member of the Sports and Social Team. Hahaa! Basically, if any parties or events are going down, I'm the one orchestrating things from the Colchester office. Our first Beer Fest in London was wicked. I definitely made a name for myself that night. The next morning I regretted some of my drunken actions but, what the hey, that's what parties are all about. Hopefully a promotion is in the pipeline.
Lucy and I are still going strong. We are seriously saving up for a house at the moment, which means that we are going out a bit less. Mind you when we do go out we tend to get really slaughtered. Something you're pretty used to now.
The rest of the family are cool. Ryan (my sister's boyfriend) and I went quad biking in Kent the other weekend. It was blistering hot but still muddy as f**k in the woods. The best bit was trying the wind up the dick head instructor. He couldn't understand that all we wanted to do was rag the bollocks out of them and cause proper carnage. Our aim was to see him crack.
Now I've started to write this I could go on for hours, but I won't. You've probably got better things to do than sit in front of a computer, such as learn the words to YMCA. Hahaa!
Keep up the journals, they provide me with a welcome relief from the world of insurance.
Good luck for your travels to Cambodia and Vietnam.
Laters rude bwoy!!
R
God help your liver Dear Pete, I'm seriously worried about your level of spirit consumpton! Slow down!! - if only for Celia's benefit...nasty whiffs and rude noises...(Good luck Celia) Mind you, looking at the 'stall food' that's probably as much to blame as the booze! Are you eating fruit and veg.? Don't want to be rude BUT your gay handlebars are, well , just too gay. Yuk. Please all take care of yourselves in Cambodia, will look forward to haring from you as soon as it's possible. From mum with loads of lovexx
Summers here ha ha, that's soooo funny, I can totally see that Israeli thing, I'm gutted that I'd never noticed it before, think of the fun I could have had with that!!
What did I tell you about Patpong??!! I thought you'd like it there, I can remember when I was there, as soon as I sat down in one of the bars I had a banana shot at me, I was going to eat it but then I looked up and saw where it had come from!! Remember to keep one hand on your wallet in those places though dude, whilst you've got two hands on the titties, they're reaching round and lifting your money!
Pete man, that cigarette story!!, I felt for you, I can imagine how you must of been feeling!!, good job with the blagging though mate, I'm proud of you, that's your salesman background coming through!!
All has been ok back here in blighty, the weather is totally kicking arse, blazing squad most days, way too hot to work, (sitting in my office in a suite with both, yes both, testicles stuck firmly to the side of the leg and a nice gathtering of moisture under the armpits and arse-crack!! mmmmm, nice!!!)
Did you get to see the game? England were terrible, but at least we won, I'm not even going to go into detail as you know as well as I do that my football knowledge is terrible, I went along to watch it cos its a good excuse to get drunk and shout and sing. We all ended up in Yates watching it, quite a big crowd of us, then onto the hogs head for the rest of the evening........very messy, i was eventually dragged home by sally and bridie, I wanted to stay out and play but think I was a little worse for wear!
My dad keeps on telling me to say hi to you, so does my mum, I keep forgetting, so, hello from both of them, they send their love.
Glen and Tank have gone off now on their month round Europe, Emily's off again soon so we're having a night out in Curve for her on Friday.
Not really got many stories for you this time matey, had a few quiet weekends due to being rather skint, I'll try and get out and cause some mayhem for you so that the next message is more exciting. I bought and poured a beer out for you on saturday in the hogs head, we were all sat out the back, the nayland boys, colchester boys, all the band, thought you should be there so poured a lager out in your name, think people though I was a bit of a strange one!!, come to think of it, what a waste!!
Anyway, gonna go for lunch now. Take care pedo.
Gareth
Interesting? Hi Pete, or Israeli Pete, sounds like you're having a great time. In the street drinking picture I guess your lady was the blonde? The ping pong bar, how did they blow out the candles? (Jane asked!!!!!)
Take care of yourself apparently Vietnam is fantastic, friends have just come back, mind you, their travel budget was a little different.
All the best,David xxxxxxxxxx (from A.Jane)
Family day (sans Pete & James) Great fun seeing mum (granny to you) typing on the laptop! (took her quite a time to write that!!) Grandad wanted to send you a message - but dictated it to me! Had a great day, God was kind and decided to make it sunny, so we were all outside, including Nana and Grandma, the babes, et al. Now they've all gone and I've just finished clearing up. Missed you, wasn't quite the same without you.(maybe because there were no baked beans...!) Love you - Mum xxx
Hi It seems your getting a good feel of the place and taking in all the local atmosphere I must admit I rather envy you, although I don't think I'd have the staying power to hang in there. Nevertheless I enjoy hearing what you're up to, so keep the news coming and I'll just have to use my imagination. Lots of love, look after yourself - don't do anything I wouldn't - which gives you plenty of scope! Grandad.
Alrite Pete, wow the pics look amazing..reckon you're puttin me to shame coz i didnt return from phi phi with photo's like that-didnt even make it to Maya Bay..oh well thats what being Irish and generally drunk does to you!! not sure when your leaving for cambodia but trust me you've got so much to look forward to, i loved it there, beautiful scenery, really cool people and a nite life to rival even bucket-fueled kho phangnan!! really, anything goes there its so much fun! make sure to hop on the back of a moto pissed drunk and intoxicated with any other substances that tickle your fancy and just buzz around the city for a while..doesn't get much better than that! and try to beat our tuk tuk record if you dare-thats 11 people in the one tuk tuk-there were people on the roof, hanging out the sides, from the back, dont know how we did it but we did...reckon we would have been quicker walking but wheres the fun in that?!! i think our driver made about a months wages from that one journey! if you wana get off the beaten track for a bit id def recommend that you go to prasat preah vihear. its a temple built at the top of a mountain on the border between thai and cambodia-absolutely breathtaking views, you can see across cambodia, thailand, and laos from there. even getting there is an adventure in itself, i got a pickup truck from siem reap to anlong veng(the town nearest it), very funny stuff altogether-me in the front and about 40 cambodians piled into the back all staring, smiling, taking photos of me and trying to talk to me in cambodian! i was the only tourist in the town and practically no one there could speak english so it was a bit daunting but i managed..so long as your not paranoid about people literally stopping dead in their tracks to stare at you you'l be alrite!! you can hire a moto driver from there to drive you up into the mountains where theres beautiful views aswell, and to drive you to the temple-it takes about 2 hours, then when you get to the base of the mountain you've to hire a specialised moto to bring you up the mountain "road". i cant even begin to describe how bad and steep this road is-kho phangnan has nothing on it! u can imagine how scared i was after the fall, especially coming back down but it was all good, these drivers know what they're at. i managed to stumble upon i think one of the only guys in the town that could speak english. he works in a restaurant that has a sign outside saying 'music restaurant' so hel help you find a moto etc. shit this has turned into an essay hope im not rambling too much but reckon you wanted some advice for cambodia. im in vietnam now, going touring the countryside tomorrow on a motorbike with this easy rider tour guide..sounds pretty shit cool to me! anyway i gots to go now cos this cafe is closing an im the only idiot left here typing, looking forward to hearing bout your cambodia experiences, be good, have fun... xxx
Hello Uncle Pete & Uncle James Hello Uncle Pete i would like to tell you about my yoyo ive got. I can now swing it up and down! Ive got a fish tank and have bought four fish today and I have called one Uncle Pete after you. We are round Granny's at the minute. bcccccccccccc7787hnayreqaz - Hannah typed that all by herself!
Hope youre ok Pete miss you lots. We are all ok just got back from a 5 day break with Aunty Jane had a superb time. Spent a night in London with Claire which was brilliant - drank far too much wine! Cant beleive how beautiful it is where you are and how blue the sea is. Sounds like youve met sum lovely people as well. Must go and put the kids to bed. Love you lots and lots Big Sis x x Josh is sitting up by himself now and can roll across the room. He is very cheeky and blows raspberrys at you if he doesnt like something. He has great delight in pulling his sisters hair which causes chaos every time! He sends a big kiss x x
ccccctttttwwwwwwxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx - message from Hannah x
Fantastic and Beautiful Fully understand your need to rant on about the way the western influence can spoil it all. Just glad you have experienced the real thing along with the tourist version! The approach to Maya Bay from the sea looks fantastic. Great that you got the place to yourselves!
These buckets you talk about, I presume are full of some alcoholic mix but can you choose the ingredients?You both look very fit and healthy, I am surprised!
Rosie came to stay with Hannah and Josh the last 4 days, it was lovely, they are both so gorgeous and noisy! Lots of love, A.Jane x
Well I can't complain about lack of scenic pics this time!...it all looks so beautiful. So glad you actually DID it Pete - all those months of working, dreaming and saving - was it worth it? Still like WINTER again here (half-term, my hol.) north wind (icy cold) and rain. Think of us as you soak up the rays... birds nest soup sounds delish, unfortunatey (luckily!) not readily available in Colchester. Thanks for the pin-up of the pants model - but (though I'm sure he's a nice bloke...) he's got NOTHING on you!!!!Both you and James look great in that photo! Having a 'family day' on Sat. so I'm going to set up the laptop on your blog, then Nana and Grandma, and Granny and Grandad etc. can all have a read and see the photos! What I'll then do is start another reply to you and try to get them all to type a little bit (quite good for Nana - being deaf - very visual...just think, she's 100 - when she was young it was horses and carriages... the progress in technology is quite mind-boggling). So we'll all be thinking of you. Really growing to like computers after all, it's so nice to be in contact like this. Love you very much, mumxxxxx
Awesome. Alright Pete, spoke to Ryan and Paul in the last week or two and was told of your epic beer-swilling thai-boxing adventures so thought I'd track down your blog. Just read through the lot - Sounds/looks like an unforgetable experience!
When I last saw you I was off to Arctic Norway for 6 months... Hmmm, somehow think I got the short straw! lol (Here's a link to a few pics I took - just a tad chillier there. ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/44846486@N00/sets/1277704/show/ )
Pass on an 'alright mate' to James aswell, haven't seen him in years though fondly remember messy all nighters in Ipswich of a Friday night with him and Chewit.
Keep up with the scribblings/photography, I've never really seen much of this blog business before but this is awesome - looking forward to the next installment...
Take it easy,
George
Oh, and please tell James.... I keep trying to subscribe to his 'friend' thing, but for some reason I keep having probs. have him email me at james@jjharding.com sometime...
wheres the sun hey Pete.
Lucky you didn't get caught up in that eathquake that hit Java!
Thanks for the pics mate, just what I want to see after a rainy bank holiday!
It was the may fair yesterday, the New Town Kings played a blinder, they where the only band to hold off the rain! I heard on the radio this morning that summer is finally coming, the weekend is supposed to be a scorcher, well, lets hope so anyway!
take care mate, I'll send you an email with more detail about whats been going on.
mum
non-member comment
bumpy buses-red roads
So in the end, and weighing it all up - you wouldn't have tried to travel by any other means... I suppose you can't escape from what you are at the end of the day - still a kind of tourist, and you can't expect not to have to let SOMEONE make some profit out of you! You're all looking good, healthy happy and handsome! (and pretty-Celia!) So good to read the blog, interesting and amusing as always lots of lovexxxxxxxx