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Monday, 10 February 2014

Playing Away..Travels in a strange land

Please paint this country sea blue..

 I have to admit, I thought a holiday to Thailand would do the following for me:-

1. End in wild adventures in boozy smoky bars full of naughty women
2. Broaden my horizon with massages and enlightenment
3. Teach me humility and patience and understanding

Ah well I achieved none of the above. What a boring country. North to South was like staying in the tourist end of Albufeira. If you are 18 to 28, go there, party all night but dont walk past my cabin at 6am singing " We dont care, we dont care we dont care" because I do, and I will donate half a tin of cs gas directly into your offsprings eyes completely free of charge.. 
The Golden Temple, Bangkok. Nobody we met in Thailand could speak English fluently, in fact it was always point and press regardless how simple the menu. They could not even tell you the name of the hotel they worked at....

Average tourist expression when receiving a bill... accomodation was up to six times higher than the prices quoted in Lonely Planet. It seems between these guys and Tripadvisor they have the market stitched up. We found Agoda.com very efficient for quick bookings.

Leaving Thailand for a few days, we found Cambodia very intelligent, relaxing, cheaper, nicer, people better looking, food more interesting, more honest, happier...

These are some of the Angor What ruins that were used to film Tomb Raider. They are falling to pieces day by day and I guess wont be open much longer to the public. Despite massive tourism there is little attempt to restore it - these ruins have a team of six people to restore it... Sad beacause they are superb. Siam Reap is one of the best towns I have ever stayed in, cheap, vibrant, lovely!!

  More holiday tales soon, including an attempted drowning in Kao Tao, the worlds noisiest beach, and where not to shop, meanwhile must do some work, busy fixing wind damage and a new dog!!

Thursday, 10 October 2013

End of season

A gentle October

Lovely weather and no guests gave us time to take down the shade sails and hammocks, prune the vines, get new chickens and take a few days off. High on my list was to find a small caravan and convert it into new volunteer accomodation, with the view that it must be as comfortable as our own room.

New in 1971, this poor baby was left under trees for the last ten years

One careful owner?

A few hours jet washing later
And now tucked into a snug spot

  Now up to Owl to strip out the inside and redecorate, and me to build a deck and shade area. Watch this spot!