Ever since my arrival Florence has talked about going to the museum to see the dinosaur bones, so today we're doing just that. Of course, the museum in question isn't in Weston Super Mare, or Bristol even, let's head straight to the top - to the Natural History Museum in London. Now, anyone who's done a long day trip with small children knows just what an ambitious plan this can be. The amount of paraphernalia required to meet the needs of two small people can be mind boggling to the uninitiated. Florence's main concern was ensuring her packed lunch wasn't left behind. It was a two hour drive to the outskirts of London. The plan was to leave the car at Hillingdon Station and catch the train into South Kensington Station, the closest one to the ... read more

Over the past few days I have spent some time in Bristol, visiting particular areas of the city, wandering around snapping photos of landmarks and browsing in some lovely shops. An enjoyable way to pass the hours, especially if the day is broken up with a good lunch. Unfortunately the weather isn't always as I'd like it to be, I rug up well against the cold but when the rain starts and the day turns dismal, it's time to head home. No visit to Bristol would be complete without walking across the Clifton suspension bridge, which I did early Friday morning. The bridge spans the Avon Gorge and River Avon, linking Bristol to Leigh Woods in North Somerset. A competition was launched in 1829, with the hope of finding someone to design the bridge. But it ... read more

As my flight prepared for landing at Heathrow Airport in London, the pilot's announcement rang through the cabin - 'one degree and foggy outside with visibility of 400 metres'. Welcome to winter in England! Long haul flights can be trying and I was feeling sleep deprived and headachy by the time I passed through immigration and made my way through the airport, following the signs to the bus station. My journey wasn't quite over, I had a two hour bus trip from London to Bristol yet. I was pleased to be able to change my booked ticket (an extra £8) for an earlier service once I'd found the National Express desk, and was able to hop on a coach leaving in five minutes. Bonus! How wonderful it was to see my daughter Petra, her husband Ben, ... read more

My Melaka bus left from KL's new intergrated transport terminal, Bersepadu Selatan, situated 30 minutes south of the city centre. It's connected to Bandar Tasik Selatan LRT station via a covered walkway, and was only three stops from the closest station to my accomodation. So it made perfect sense to me to use the train to get there, which I did. The trip to Melaka passed quickly in another comfortable coach. Two hours later I stepped out at the Bus Terminal and caught a taxi to my accomodation for the next 2 nights, Heeren House. This guesthouse is situated in the heart of the Old Town, in Heeren Street, a street of traditional shophouses beside the Melaka River. Melaka is the capital of the state of Malacca and is conveniently situated on the west coast of ... read more

After chilling out in Vientiane for a week longer than I really needed to be there, it's time to move on. It's been a very laid back week, I've read three books, caught up on some naps and hibernated in my air conditioned room as the temperature outside rose to 40 degrees some days. I ventured out for breakfast, and again late afternoon, to mooch around the markets, walk along the riverfront and enjoy dinner and drinks in a different restaurant each night. I didn't feel the need to fill every day with activity, travel can be hard work! So, now I'm looking forward to flying to Georgetown in Malaysia and getting the most out of what's left of my time away. My Air Asia flight left Vientiane on time at 9.45am, and landed in Kuala ... read more