Sue Tonkin

Our holiday begins! Pleasant flight on Singapore Airlines. With a stop in Singapore, Singapore Airlines give you $40 Changi dollars to spend in the airport. Jules and i used ours to buy booze at the duty free desk. 1ltr Johnny black & 1ltr Gentleman Jack. Difference in price for us to pay? $6. Bargain!!! Glad we paid the little bit extra for preferred seating. Leg room to spare, however we were right behind the toilets. You have no idea how much action those little suckers get! People start as soon as they get on the plane, and there is absolutely no empty sign the entire trip. We were in dire need of a cool beverage when we arrived at our hotel, so sussed out a pub nearby. We battled the crowds on the streets, the very ... read more

Took the free shuttle into Orchard Road again and had a good wander. What a world away from the countries I have just visited. Names like Armani, Dolce, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Massimo, Marks & Spencer, Chanel are everywhere. All the cars are clean and in excellent condition. The streets are clean and lots of vegetation. The many pedestrian over passes and undergrounds mean you rarely have to negotiate traffic lights. You never see any jay walkers. The traffic flows freely without many pesky pedestrians clogging up the works. Even the buskers and disabled people selling little packs of tissues are only found in the underground tunnels. When I got lost it just meant I found more places to see. I booked a trip on the Night Safari to see the wild animals at night. The ... read more

Went to see Wut's baby. There was a large celebration in progress. As they are muslim there was no alcohol, but lots of watermelon, other fruit, water and juices. The celebration starts first thing in the morning, and continues all day. When we arrived there were no adult men present, but lots of women sitting around talking and watching the baby. Sounds like an Aussie BBQ doesn't it!! Christine and I decide to have a pedicure before she went to the airport. I enjoyed mine, but Christine winced the way through hers. After she left I decided to revisit Pantip Plaza, the mega electronics store. Went by TukTuk, but you guessed it, the driver wanted me to visit one of his bloody sponsors!!!!!!!!!!!! I thought what the hell, it knocked 30 baht off the trip, and ... read more

Back in Pattaya. Christine booked a 2 day trip up the River Kwai. She had to get up at 5.00am to go. I lazed around doing nothing. My knees needed the rest. Planned on a massage too. Nitaya wanted me to send some photos for Derek's mum to see her house.... read more

News break!!!!!!  5 men from Laos arrested for drug smuggling at the Haon Kiem lake  Celebrities from Australia attend Vietnamese weddings But more about that later! Christine and I decided to have a look around Hanoi today. First we made our way by taxi to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Another dodgy taxi driver. He asked for 40,000 dong, but we refused and told him to use the meter. Final cost, 18,000 dong. We didn't get to the mausoleum until 11.30 and found it closed. It is only open from 7.00 until 11.00, so missed that one. You can't take photos anyway, and your cameras are confiscated at the door. You are not even allowed to put your hands in your pockets. No viewing of Uncle Ho for us. We made our way to ... read more