Bangkok for Christmas sounds like a dream, but when you have been to the city a few times, it becomes more of a place to relax and get over the long flight to Asia. Still, it's always fun finding new places to explore so this time we stayed at the Grand Sathorn Hotelin the Silom district. The area was a lot more traditional than the overly westernised Sukhumvit district. That had its advantages and disadvantages for sure, but we had a great time there. We even got our bags fixed for next to no money on the market! A place we had wanted to visit before but never managed to get round to was Jim Thomson House. Without Jim, there may well be no Thai silk industry. It had been a long neglected cottage industry until ... read more

It's 14 years since we were last in Berlin. It's hard to believe that our last visit to this amazing city was before my days on Travelblog, back in an era when we both had "proper" jobs!!! We loved it then, and we still love it today, although the Park Inn on Alexanderplatzhas changed a lot, and not for the better in our opinion. On our last visit it was a very friendly and comfortable place to stay. Now it has been "modernised" and the rooms are about half the size, no doubt to pack in as many visitors as possible. We didn't even have a bathroom! Instead there were glass screens and a "modesty curtain". Principally, we were there for another of Trish's RAF reunions and an opportunity for them all to reminisce about days ... read more

Brunei is certainly not top of everyone's list when it comes to travelling around South East Asia. The town of Seria is probably even further down anyone's list of priorities. The only people who visit are probably involved in the oil industry or the British military. Alternatively, like us, they may have friends connected with either of those industries. It's a curious place though, and really shouldn't be so easily dismissed. Like many visitors, we were surprised at how "un-rich" Brunei seemed to be. Seria is a nice enough town but it could do with a little sprucing up. There is a lingering subtle smell of oil in the air, but that's hardly surprising when you see the nodding donkeys and the storage tanks all over the place. Most of the town is in the streets ... read more

Whoever would have thought that island life would suit us?! We decided to take a minibus from Krabi to Koh Lanta and return by boat a few days later. That was probably the right decision as it meant we got there a couple of hours earlier. The trip involved a transporter ferry which was fun, and a brand new bridge, only a year old. Taking the minibus also meant that we were taken door-to-door which saved a lot of hassle. Our first thoughts of Golden Bay Cottages were good. The cottages themselves were comfortable enough but they were a little expensive. We loved swimming in the pool and adored lying on the beach and splashing about in the Andaman Sea. The sunsets were to die for. We were having a very relaxing time. Two things tarnished ... read more

Five years ago we fell in love with PKK and the Sun Beach Hotel. Back then we stayed for five nights but this time we only had two. None of our friends had ever heard of the place but last year, to our surprise, we worked with acouple who had visited the town and loved it as much as we did. Our aim this time was to relax and we certainly did that. The very high tide meant that once again the beach was unusable so we'll have to check the tide times and levels carefully before our next visit! Lounging by the pool or wandering through the sleepy streets was good enough for us. The town had changed a bit. There are quite a few more hotels and restaurants but there didn't seem to be ... read more