Goodbye Thailand and hello Laos !

Our last night in Thailand was a fun one , a Lady boy show, boy ! I mean girl, could these boys dance ( and in very high heels )It was totally OTT, like being in Vegas, feathers, sequins, one guy in "hot" pants lost his cargo out the side with a little too much thrusting , which was very funny....  Brian seemed to be enjoying it a little bit too much, which was slightly uncomfortable.... At the end when I asked him ... " well what did you make of all that !!" he replied " the choreography was very good " !!!
Flew into Laos the next day, it is very very beautiful, jagged mountain peaks covered in jungle , wonderfully friendly people. Luang Prabang is an untouched colonial town, and our hotel for the next few days is Villa Santi, the ex home to the royals !!!! and it will have to do .....

I had told them of course it was our wedding anniversary so we were upgraded to the princess suite, with flowers and champagne on ice.. oh and of course our own pool, I tell you this backpacking lark ... pah !!! The town here is beautiful, very small very calm, very old buildings, little night market, Mekong river running through and jungle surrounding it .. I love it here, after a meal and a mooch it was back before the 10pm curfew ( you gotta love communism) and into our pool for a midnight dip.....
It seemed like only five hours ago we had gone to bed !!! Up at 5am to see the monks walk the misty street collecting alms from the local people... one of the most wonderful things I have been lucky enough to see...300 saffron clad , barefooted monks walking  around the town in single file, collecting sticky rice, then giving it to the street children who are following very closely behind them. The whole town turns out every single day to do this. Click on this video below to get some idea of whats its like.... having got up at 5am we then had breakfast and went back to bed ... only to be

woken by the most thunderous rainstorm.... Man alive it can rain... this is the first rain we have seen..... those waterfalls are going to be fun tomorrow.. Ethan would not like it here in Laos ....So far we are both having a wonderful time, It is very easy travelling around here, everything is set up for the backpacker, buses to next place, trips out... almost feel cheated that it is so easy.... Can you imagine if the UK was a little more helpful.... Two weeks in and we have seen and experienced so much , we have had many many laughs , most at Brians expense of course but he is used to that.... Not too homesick ! skype is really really helping , seeing my babies and friends... Had a good old chat to Chloe on skype last night and it made my evening, love to you all, and keep those comments coming on the blog... am I writing too much.. not enough ? too many pictures ? more of us ????? Take care all .. XXXXXXXXXXX

Baa Chang Elephant Park .

Best day so far of our trip... We had heard very bad stories about the mis treatment of Elephants on treks and trips in N Thailand and had actually talked ourselves out of a tour until we found this charity run camp.. It was amazing and worth every penny... Only 8 of us on trip, we had to change into these attractive clothes , and had a talk about our elephant .. ours was called Tong Yai , and was 35 years old.. we had to feed her whole bunches of bananas ... Brian nearly jumped out of his Mahout clothes when he bent down to his basket to get some more bananas ... oh we have no bananas .. we have no bananas today -hey-hey-hey... sing along kids... anyway - he was very surprised to see Tongs trunk resting on his shoulder !! very funny, these guys were not chained down or tied up... it was like a health and safety acid party .... After feeding them, we had to learn to ride them bareback... and some basic commands...Non long- sit down.. pai - go, and most importantly how - stop...not easy to remember when you are 13ft in the air .... seriously when you scream how they literally stop on the spot with one foot raised .. amazing ..

After a yummy lunch and a lay in a hammock it was time for our jungle safari... Brian was my driver , I was the passenger.... the elephant looked bemused ..
Brian had his ears to hang onto , me just a bit of cord wrapped round its waist... It was very hot, very high and very steep climbs, fine on the way up... hairy on the way down... with nothing to cling onto and a wide girth for my legs to cling to , it was scary.... but great fun, these gentle wonderful creatures are very nimble on their feet and the trunk has such dexterity , very humbling, they could of taken us out easily, I kept shouting "stampede" which Brian thought was as funny as a car crash !!

After our jungle trek we took Tong to the bathing pool to give her a well earned muddy bath... The most amazing experience, she was rolling around , head under the water, we very scrubbing her and chucking buckets of water over her, she was sucking up water and chucking it over us .. one thing led to the other .... only joking...She was lovely and clean , and we were very muddy and soaking wet ...after a shower and a beer and a final goodbye we headed home, very tearful.. very overwhelmed ... These elephants are very well looked after, have a lovely life after having been mistreated , I got so much out of the day, but they get even more.. its the first time I have felt exploited on this trip, and by an elephant and I am delighted to have been so .. Thank you Tong, Have a happy life...... xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Cooking up a storm !!

We were picked up, and whisked off the the train station for a day of learning Thai cooking... Now believe me when I tell you... I don't like cooking in the UK so why I would want to cook over here in 90 degrees is beyond me , however everyone does the course and raves about it ....

So arrive at station to meet our thai tutors .. " Oi ! " ( oi oi savaloy ) and " Hope " ( might need a bit of that after this course ) !! Hopped on the train and clacked our way by diesel train to our destination...past paddy fields and jungle.
See photo... happily Brian new exactly where to sit ....
After a quick look around the signal station which had a lot of levers and a complicated metal ball in slot machine affair ... that sends a ting ting along the track to the next station !!! ( reeks of Clapham Junction  but has been working for the last 100 years ) . We then climbed aboard our bikes !!! mine was ok... Brians .... a penny farthing would have been safer.. His had - no brakes . no gears. no tyre tread, no bell.. he nearly had no life as he careered down the road shouting " no blakes no blakes " and I could smell the burning of rubber from his crocs on tarmac as he tried to stop himself from crossing the train tracks...

Unfortunately the barriers were coming down, and after a lot of swerving and swearing and me totting up his life insurance , he made it too the other side... No metal ball in a slot machine was going to stop my Brian.

After a pleasant ride ( for me anyway - Brian looked a little wild in the eye when we arrived !) we arrived at our beautiful outdoor cookery school. After donning hats and wicker baskets in hand we had to go and pick our own herbs in the garden.. Then cooking began... what a lot of faffing about, crush this, squeeze that, grate this , bruise that .... ( dont get excited old friends, you will not be getting this back home ) 7 yes 7 courses later , she had me being disruptive after the 2 course !! we had finished..

Brian got told off a lot !! but hey whats new .. Great day , met and made lots of new friends.. back to the hotel to relax...

Life on the ocean wave !!

22nd July - up and at it, picked up for our snorkelling and kayaking trip out at 42 islands where the one we are visiting was a volcano and now its crater is a blue lagoon - for those remotely interested the film " the beach" was filmed here!! Brian was !!! Nice people on board - a few Irish , jocks and Indians .. Not red ones .. real ones on their honeymoon.. they looked knackered .... cos their wedding was 3 days long .. Jesus .

Anyway off we went and pulled up at this lovely deserted beach hopped in a kayak and hawaii 5 o ed it about in and out of caves etc.. then hiked up and up some sodding steps to see the blue lagoon which was pretty awesome ... apart from obviously the other 100 people coming down at the same time ... !!
It was back on the boat to go to another beach for snorkelling ... that is until the " perfect storm " rolled in.. OMG it was horrendous , we had to rescue two fishermen in a long tailed boat who were being whipped about.. they came on board looking very shaken and white.. as I wrapped my towel around one of them I noticed he had " lifeguard " written on his bright orange top.... The snorkelling was off and survival was on !!! a stugeron tablet later and a lay down across Brians' legs I was praying the trip would be over ... Boy was I pleased to see dry land and I could put my three words to rest - Zeebrugge, Titanic and Marchioness !!!
Went out for a post survival dinner that night and laid on cool loungers on the beach with candles lit around us , listening to cool sounds being spun by the DJ.... we are well buff !!
23rd July
So eating food here is like playing Russian roulette where the bullet is MSG ... woke with the most dreadful headache .... but new tabs worked a treat ... hooray...laid by pool listening to very funny pod casts I had downloaded and kept Brian awake all day laughing... looked for my kingfishers and saw them again.. Brian says he loves birdwatching - its the only thing that keeps me nice and quiet ....Leaving Koh Samui tomorrow... if I had booked this for two weeks or as a honeymoon would have been disappointed ... Still dont know what I am looking for but we have not found it in Koh Samui !!!!!
24th July

Arrived in Chang Mai.... hmmm.... very noisy , hot , markets selling same old tutt... English bars.. its a bit like being in Soho but in 90 degrees ....hoped in a tut tut and went to a beautiful temple called Doi Suthep ...

The story goes .... bear with me on this one !! A famous monk was looking for a place for a new temple , as you do , and said he would build one where his pet white elephant stopped !! imagine the size of his pooper scooper !!!  Unfortunately for the builders this was up a  1000m  jungle covered mountain ... honestly huh elephants !! who would have them !! so anyway the elephant trumpeted 3 times , turned around 3 times and fell down dead ... now without getting too personal ... that sounds similar to what was going on in our bathroom last night ... only I believe Brian wished he was dead... You certainly could have built a temple on top of it by all accounts... poor old Brian ...The temple was awesome, great views , lots of gold etc, lots of Buddha with huge long ears that  they could hear the grass grow .. or rice paddies at least ..Lots of lovely monks wandering around with shaven heads and saffron robes !! one on his mobile !!! wonder what his ring tone is - ohommmmmmmmmmm !!! hello - Harry Monk here !!!!  Anyway enough about me !!!! just writing this up before heading out and and early night ready for our cookery course tomorrow !! Have a lovely lovely holiday Jo , Nick , Daisy, Henry, Tilly and Mum ... Thanks Kate for having the dogs ...XXXXX Also Happy Birthday Ethan for tomorrow if I don't get to speak to you sweet cheeks XXXXXX

Koh Samui ..

This backpacking lark is easy peasy !!! After a lovely flight here, 1 hour , free food and drink and pleasant staff.("why cant easy jet take a few tips ) we arrived at the beautiful island of Koh samui .  Our room is amazing , teak floors, palm fronds, outdoor jacuzzi,(which doubles up as a great washing machine for our clothes ) orchid flowers floating in every bath and basin .... Wonderful... after a quick frolic in the jacuzzi , and Brian had retuned the TV !! we donned our free dressing gowns and flip flops and flipped our way to the beautiful beach... It really is very very lovely , and very very hot .... Did some snorkeling and lots of swimming in our infinity pool... i was rewarding by seeing not one but two kingfishers knocking seven bells out of a crab !!!

It is very quiet here in the evening and the recession is really starting to show, not only have we ruined their island with commercialism we have know ruined their hope !! great !!

We are off on a boat/ kayaking and snorkelling trip tomorrow so getting excited about that... Brian is retuning the TV again ... 4th time.. If we leave anything behind on our 6 month trip, it will be a wake of well tuned Televisions ..  Happy Birthday Rosie Posie  Big kiss my darling... happy watching  xx

Bangkok !!!!

We have arrived and our adventure has begun !!!!  Straight through customs , visa stamped " no shop shut this time " and us being backpackers jumped straight on the train and then tube , then tuk tuk and checked straight into our 5 star hotel.....and very plush it is too .....

Woke at 3am !!! damn you international date line and then at 9am we were up and at it .... come on Bangkok... show me what you have got ... A very hot , noisy , chaotic , friendly city , oh and a lot of temples and fat Buddha !! and that's not just Brian !! this one to the right weighs 5 1/2 tonnes of gold and is 16 ft high !! ( sshhh apparently was stolen from the Burmese and hidden in plaster cast .. in 1957 whilst being lifted from a boat in port the crane snapped) !! no surprises there !! and a golden Buddha was born !!!  Then onto Lucky Buddha ... not so lucky for me , I stubbed my toe on the way in and it ruddy hurt !!  After lots more temples we made it to the weekend market after an amusing long trip up the river .... you can buy anything .. I mean anything .... I had my eye on a gibbon but really don't have the room in my rucksack !! For those males out there into soft porn , I thought you might like this market stall....  to the right..
That evening we went into Patpong for dinner ..... well..... Brian was surprised at how popular the game of ping pong was amongst Thai girls and that you rarely see them at the Olympics !!! it wasn't until I pointed out ..... well you can guess the rest ... Not for me ... I did not realise a winkie woo could do so much .... Mine is so redundant in so many ways ... got very confused in Patpong and came back pretty melancholic, not mainly cos of my unskilled winkie woo but of the total exploitation , and male  repulsion of need !!! Still who is exploiting who !!! Maybe one needs the other and the other needs one !!!
The next day we headed for the Grand Palace ... OMG like a Buddhist Disneyland !! this weekend was a pilgrimage for all Buddhist all over the world , like our Easter but without the eggs ( derr they would melt in this heat ) it was wonderful to see them all praying and offering up gifts , this place is dripping in gold and diamonds and jewels , and that's just the visitors....  after a lot of ohh and arrring ing we finally made it to him !! the emerald Buddha !!!! and all 75 cms of him ... hummph !! Brian called him " the wee green fella " as he is made out of jade .... although small and green ( not unlike a leprechaun ) he was sitting on the biggest tower of gold and diamonds I have ever seen, pretty awesome ...
After so much excitement and templed out we headed for Khao San Road ..
Here we decided to sit down for an hour and treat the old plates of meat to a well earned massage.. I had a lovely young girl ... Brian who was very much looking forward to this got an toothless old hag !!! This made me chuckle ... until she then proceeded on singing him Elvis songs !! " are you lonesome tonight " followed by that well known Matt Monroe song " it's impossible, " and Stlanglers in the night " and no that is not a typo !!! at the time Brian had both arms behind his back and her foot on his back and I had Ting Tong walking up and down my back !!!  I was laughing so hard she was wobbling all over the place !!! A really funny hour..  After this and dinner we made our way by tuk tuk to the sanctuary of our swanky hotel to pack ready for our flight to Koh samui the next day... xx

And we're off !!!

After a surprising good  nights sleep .... haven't slept for nearly 18 months and the night before an exciting trip of a lifetime slept really well !!!! well apart from a lot of licking , scratching ... shaking of head and long thirsty drink from a bowl with chain " chink chink chinking" on the ceramic ,  NO the dog Ceide not Brian ... Jesus man ....
the first day of our trip began ....

After the last bits had been packed and lots of phone calls and tearful goodbyes we were ready to head off into the distance... Well the 4 minute walk up the road but boy were those rucksacks heavy !!!! thank god we only went for the 35 litre cos we would have filled a bigger one with stuff we really didn't need ....

Cried all the way up the road.... leaving fluff !!! and Mum was tricky .... but mainly due to the weight of my ruck !!!!

When we finally made it to the station, and rehydrated !!! with coffee and diet coke ! Big sis Jo turned up for a final ( 6th time ) goodbye !! more tears , why am I so sad , not sad just ... you know emotional !!
Anyway just our luck, and some buggers poor luck , someone jumped in front of the train... at Chatham , brought back lots of thoughts of recent events in Whitstable , also made me contemplate life at how we are embarking on a trip of a lifetime and and someone is trying to end theirs ... I am very lucky to be have given this opportunity and to do it with Brian my 'soul mate ' ( he will probably be throwing himself under a train after 6 months with me !!)
So arrived very late into London and decided to go for a lovely lunch in Sloane Square ... finally arrived at Heathrow.. whoop whoop we were upgraded ,  and we are sitting in the executive lounge drinking Champagne and waiting for our flight ....
Feel ok now and quite excited... thank you kids for calling in this morning and for all your lovely hand drawn cards ... Henry Boys ... buck up !!!  ( sorry the monopoly game had no red dot !! nuts !!) also kiddo hope you had a lovely prom and thanked Mummy for all her hard work..
Off to Skype Mum  now , thanks for having us Mum , fingers crossed she can remember how to do it !!!

HELLO ... HELLO .... Bloody thing ... you get the picture ....

See you all on the other side .... hopefully not that one !! xxx

One week to go !!!

After a busy busy week moving out of our house.... We were looking forward to a quiet night in !!! only to find Mum was having a party , oh yes a Moroccan party in full fancy dress .....   It would have been rude not to have joined in so after a lot of dancing and drinking we finally went to bed at 2.30 am !!!

This week has been go , go , go ... Mum to the airport and sports days back to back... I feel I have seen all three social classes of Sports day,.... ending with Pimms and Cream teas at Vernon Holme ... Well done to all kiddiwinks in all your races.....

This weekend Andrew and Lisa came to pick up the camper van to take back to Belfast !!! I hope she is ok and that they enjoy her as much as we have... I was very sad to see passion wagon and Andrew and Lisa go ... I am now jobless, homeless and carless !!!!!! 5 days to go .... dun , dun , daaaaa...

Take that on Friday were awesome .... thanks Kate for getting the tickets.... Oh and Jo has cut all my hair off... I did look like Ann Widecome... now I just look like a crazy old Lezzer !!!!

Off to Chloe for dinner so better go, xx