After breakfast we return to Skopje. We discover the bus station behind the flyover where we were dropped yesterday, on the other side of a complicated one way system the driver obviously couldn’t be bothered to negotiate. I’m not a big fan of bus travel. I can’t yell “stop” whenever we pass anything interesting that may warrant further investigation/photography. Plus, this particular bus looks like the driver stole it from a museum then got it really, really dirty before deciding to see if it could still manage a trip to Skopje. We do, indeed reach Skopje, pick up our hire car and set off for Ohrid. It’s a scenic drive through the mountains but takes longer than expected due to a succession of roadworks and one way systems. Finally we reach Ohrid where a quaint, cobbled ... read more

Time for another trip. This time it’s a jaunt round the Balkans. First stop – Skopje, capital of Macedonia. We’re off to a good start with an uneventful flight and shuttle bus into town. We had booked into the Alexandar Square Hotel but were telephoned yesterday to say they were overbooked so could we go to the new Alexandar II instead. This is a longer walk from the bus stop. It’s also 10 degrees warmer than not-so-sunny Bournemouth, so we haul our overdressed selves and our luggage to Alexandar II to be told we have a room at Alexandar the original after all. So it’s back the way we came, somewhat sweaty and unimpressed. But it’s a nice, boutique hotel right on the main square and after a freshen up, we set forth to discover Skopje, ... read more

Our final day in Singapore, which is a shame because it’s a lovely city. But after almost 3 months on the road, I’m looking forward to going home tomorrow. I wake up with a bad back; the bed is incredibly hard so maybe I slept at a weird angle trying to get comfy. It hurts so much to bend, that the old man has to help me get dressed. He sets off to do East Coast parkrun, but I decide I’m not up to it and go back to bed. He returns some time later literally dripping wet. Running in near 28 degree heat is an extremely sweaty business. Once he has showered, we take a bus into town for one last sightseeing outing, starting with Esplanade Park home of Singapore’s iconic Merlion fountain, although it’s ... read more

Today we begin our long journey home, but not until much later; we leave for the airport at 9.30 pm. First a day in hot, dirty, polluted Colombo. We decide to pay for another night at the hotel so we don’t have to check out until evening. After breakfast we plan a walk along Galle Face Green. It’s a British style seaside prom. There’s even a memorial from its opening by Sir Henry Ward in 1859 where it is ‘recommended to his successors in the interest of the ladies and children of Colombo’. Poor Henry would be turning in his grave if he could see it now; it’s a stinking mess of garbage and sewage and makes me long for the pristine beach of Bournemouth. Next we head for the lake, in theory. In practice, the ... read more

We are breaking the return journey with an overnight stop in Kandy. This time we take the express train. It is a modern Chinese train with an air conditioned first class carriage. It’s quicker, more comfortable and we face the direction of travel. But it doesn’t have openable windows so it’s not so good for viewing the scenery as we descend towards Kandy. The difference in altitude is 1400 metres, so whereas we chugged slowly uphill two days ago, our return involves hurtling downhill at breakneck speed. It is a relief to reach our destination as a selection of small children have swung from the seats and parcel shelf for much of the journey. We reach Kandy around lunch time. We check into our hotel and head straight to the rooftop pool to cool down. It ... read more