Thursday, April 26, 2007

SAWASDEE KAA

Another long absence I know... but it was spent in the beautiful, friendly, fantastic... THAILAND. 2 weeks away in this gorgeous country is enough to cure just about anything that ails you.

Except for the bloody long flights to get there and back (17 hour flying time each way) the holiday was magical.

To start the holiday off we spent 3 days in Bangkok... a sprawling city with over 12 mil inhabitants. We went Wat (temple) trawling till we were Wat'ted out... then spent a day at the zoo :) It is a magnificent zoo even though we felt like we were one of the attractions being the only foreigners there. The kids were the best, staring at us with coy little smiles and then the little hands come up and wave so enthusiastically... it was LOVELY.



'View from atop the Golden Mount Wat towards central Bangkok'


The Wat's were spectacular with their incredibly ornate decorations in blue's and green's and red's and GOLD LEAF EVERYWHERE. It is impossible to describe to you just how magical they were and most are under CONSTANT restoration of the murals etc.



The one thing you have to get used to over there is the HUMIDITY... and the fact that you WILL sweat all the time.... even at night.... and just resign yourself to that fact. Luckily water (ice cold water) is readily available around every corner.

From the hustle and bustle of Bangkok we headed down to the island of Koh Pha-Ngang and spent 5 days doing very little of anything. LOVELY.

'Me at the zoo with Henna tattoo aquired in Bangkok'



We stayed at the beautiful OceanView resort on the beach of Hat Khom on the quiet northern end of the island. With sunshine every day and cocktails apleanty I could not have asked for anything more. The snorkeling was phenomenal and spending a few hours in the water every day I ended up getting the back of my legs horribly sunburnt (you just don't realise how hot it gets when you are floating on the surface of the ocean). We also hired scooters for 2 days (my first time at the helm of one of these) and spent our time slowly driving from town to town taking in the beauty of the island and all it's inhabitants


"OUR" Beach



After 5 days we were very sad to be leaving this little peice of paradise... but leave we did to head over to the neighbouring country of Cambodia and to Angkhor. This is also a beautiful country with equaly friendly inhabitants although there is a level of poverty and sadness that reflects everywhere, even in the eyes of the smiling locals.

What a magnificent place Angkhor is... the grandure and the history is astounding. 2 days isn't nearly enough to do this place justice... and if you come make sure to pack in a good pair of walking shoes and are prepared to share the spleandour with the THRONGS of tourist that pass through every day.


'The GRAND Angkhor Wat'



From Cambodia we headed back to Bangkok and one more day, and one last visit to KhoSan Road (the backpackers haven). We had the good fortune of arriving back on the last day of their 3 day new years celbration and the end of the Songkrang (water) Festival. For 3 days straight the streets and lined with people throwing water at each other... with water pistols of all shapes and sizes and buckets and hosepipes and anything else that can hold the liquid. EVERYONE gets involved, including the local law enforcement and no passing person or vehicle is safe. IT WAS FANTASTIC.

This is truely one country (other than my home) that I could see myself living in quite happily, and a holiday I will never forget. Now to get back to planning and budgeting for my visit there next year :)

I have uploaded a sample (well 166) of photos here... this constitutes about 1/4 of the pics taken.

Monday, April 02, 2007

The BIG girl


My first born is now 8 years old... man how time flies. I got to spend the day on Sat trying to keep an eye on 13 of the little blighters while at ten pin bowling. Then got them all hyped up on sugar and cake just in time for their parents to come and collect them...


Happy Birthday my Angel