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good news from Thailand We are going to Chiang Mai , also from Luang Prabang, we got good idea after reanding your experience , we want to do it the same way, Thanks
Thanks for the tip about SKOOSH Hi Jim and Ann,
I stumbled across your blog entry when looking for information about the Grand Ayudhaya and checked the price on Skoosh which was far cheaper than the one I was about to book. It's is a great site I'll be sure to check Skoosh more often.
http://www.skoosh.com/bangkok_hotels/grand_ayudhaya_hotel_bangkok2.html
Thanks Again! Thanks for the tips. Unfortunately you've been tricked by our slow blog posting...we were actually in northern Laos in June...we are just that far behind in our blog. Bex and I are now in Kuala Lumpur. We fly out for Borneo tomorrow for our last adventure. On August 11 we fly back home to Victoria.
I see that you are home now. It sounds like you had a great trip. You'll be ready to go again before you know it. After all these months living out of our backpacks, we are also starting to look forward to the comforts of home.
Thanks again for looking at our blog.
Cheers,
Chris
Now on Koh Samui Hi you guys - We flew down to Koh Samui today and have spent the day by the pool. Trying to work on our tan. The weather today has been good. Hopefully it will stay that way but this is the rainy season.
Sounds like you are doing a great job down sizing. Keep it up. I will email Dana.
Love you,
Jim and Ann
Thanks Reida Hey, Whatta bout me??? I thought I looked pretty good too - Jim.
Thanks for the good words. We are back in Bangkok and frankly we are getting tired of living out of a suitcase and moving around so much. We are heading south to the islands tomorrow and will decompress there for a bit. Weather is getting wet but still warm, creating a real humid environment.
Did a north to south train ride yesterday of about 700 miles. Amazing how beautiful northern and central Thailand are. It looked like one big rice paddy once we got out of the mountains.
Say hello to everyone at home. We miss you all.
love,
Jim and Ann
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Annie, you look so refreshed!! We are so much enjoying all the pictures and stories as you travel. That Panda looks like he is really go it made. Weather here is in the 70's, partly sunny and evening showers. Memorial Day was a busy time in the Pondo! Pool is open and lot's of people. We miss you two and wish you well the rest of the trip. Love Reida. Molly say's Hi!
Chiang Mai Hi Larry and Caroline - it's great to hear from you guys. I love the idea of jigsaw puzzles. We may have to do that when we get back. We are having a lot of fun traveling around southeast Asia. We have been lucky to not have experienced any of the cyclones and earthquakes other parts of Asia has experienced. It is getting into the wet season so each day is sunny, cloudy and rainy as well as hot and HUMID.
Our next stop is Bangkok and then on to Samui (again). Still not sure about going to Australia. We will have to decide shortly.
Good to hear from you,
Love,
Jim and Ann
Beauty I like the sunset and the flowers wow. Bring me home a river boat for my collection. I can run it up and down the Columbia river. Mom is doing fine. She is excited abount each new blog. I wish she could see better to enjoy all the wonderful pictures. Love Jim and Karen
Luang Prabang Hi you two - It only took three days to get the blog published. Next time we travel we are taking a lap top. Enjoy China.
We did get a nastygram even speaking about Myanmar and the possibility of visiting.
Leaving tomorrow for Chang Mai and then Chang Rai. Will post again from there.
Good travels,
Jim and Ann
Vientiane Hi Doug and Bonnie - as you probably know from our post we are in Laos. We fly out today for Luang Prabang and will be there for 4 days. From there we go on a two day river boat trip - weather permitting - to a place near Chang Rai, Thailand. Will update you further once we are at Chang Rai. Doubtful if internet availability will be present for the next few days but if it is we will do another blog. Have fun on you trip. Keep us informed as best you can on your trip. Are you taking a lap top?
Love to all - Jim and Ann
Hanoi Hi Chaire - the message was taken incorrectly at our hotel. We tried to get a hold of you and the hotel did not have room 203 or know your name. Please contact us again 84 4 845 2270 and leave a new message for room 1419.
Jim and Ann Blanchard
I didnt know the crew were illegal (in our eyes) and had no safety training!
A perfect example of a same same but different trip to mine, what a great place! Ill be seeing you guys later Claire x
Nha Trang Glad you are still having a good time. Mom enjoys the news and keeping track of where you are. Pictures are to small for her to see, so have to describe theto her. Jim and Karen
You look wonderful ! Everything must be agreeing with you !! You look great, relaxed and happy.
I slammed my hand in the car door yesterday Ouch !! Looks pretty bad but I do not think it is broke. One finger is gross but Oh well !!
We leave in one week for a 5 weeks trip so we will try to keep in contact .
Halong Bay tour Peter - we booked our tour through the hotel - Halong Plaza Hotel - We did the deluxe boat seven hour trip. Not sure if other hotels have the exact itinerary or not but there are probably many possibilities. The cost was $280 for us to have the whole boat to ourselves. There are overnight cruises available for 2-3 days or more. I would not book until you get here because if you want an overnight cruise, you do not want to have booked a hotel room for the same period of time. Write if you need more information. There are probably over 500 boats available so no issue of everything being booked. You should look up Halong Bay tours on the internet to get some idea of availability. We did see some high end boat cruises advertized in magazines throughout Vietnam as well as on Vietnam Airways.
Ha Long Bay Tour Did you book the cruise before getting to Ha long or
did you pick up the cruise when you were there.
We are coming over in 3 months.
What cost was the cruise ?
Peter
Way too much fun Hi Reida and Gloria - yes you are right we are having a great experience and actually learning some things we were not aware of. We are difinately getting an education. A lot of the pictures we are sending are just hours old in some cases as in yesterday's post from Halong Bay. The tap water here is not recommended for drinking but bottle water is provided by the hotels and is available everywhere. This is prodominately true troughout all asian countries. As to the saltwater or rivers, they tend to look murky close to the coast and upstream. The islands however, being off shore, have very clean saltwater unless it has been stirred up by the weather.
Wishing you and Gloria a happy birthday and understand your need to get warmed up. Wish we could send you some of our heat, less the humidity.
Have a drink on us,
Jim and Ann
Way to Much Fun You guy's sound like you are having a wonderful experience. I am loving the pictures and all the great information you send.
It's a great education for all of us at your expense! And Knowing that the pictures are within days old. Is the water dirty or is it clean?
I am in Arizon today and off to Reno tomorrow. Helping Gloria close up and move back for the summer. And celebrating our Birthday's Again. Really needed to get warmed up as it has not really been warm enough for me in the Pondo.Have a wonderful day. Reida
Pictures Hi - glad to hear you are getting bites on the house. We are sure it will sell fast. The weather is rainy tonight but it was hot all day. Went out on a tour of Ha Long Bay today and had a good time. We had the boat to ourselves as there were about 300 other boats carrying 1 to 50 couples. See the pictures we are adding to a blog.
Stay in touch. Love you,
Jim and Ann
Once again we are off to adventures in the Western Pacific. This deployment will find us in old liberty ports as well as some new ones.
Our course should take us to Japan, Thailand, Viet Nam, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Australia, India and China if time permits.
Will depart Seattle on Apr.3rd and return when we get tired.
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pics.
Hi this picture is cool can I use it for school?