The Final Countdown

Today is the last day, not only of our time in Bangkok (and not a moment too soon), but also of our Four Week World Tour (and not a moment too soon) and I'm ready to get home and back to normal (if normal is what it is)! I'm laying in bed thinking to myself 'is it too early to get up' as I don't want to disturb Becky and I can't quite believe that I'm still being that considerate - God, what a good mother I must be!

At last she disturbs, gets out of bed and gets on with the day and I wonder why I just laid there in wait! However, there's no rush today, we've got no plans except to be checked out by noon and then be back at the Hotel by 9 p.m. tonight to get the taxi back to the Airport. I suggest that I go down to the Lobby to try and check-in for the flight later and get some coffee and juice from McDonalds to start the day and she's quite happy to let me do that, so I throw on some clothes and quickly check the mirror before going downstairs - boy have my standards slipped in the last month - I would never have gone out without the obligatory makeup, eyeliner and lippy - now I just check my hair is not too sticky up and my face is still in roughly the right place!

When I get down to the Lobby and try to get the Internet up, it just doesn't want to know, but it is only 7 a.m. and the morning is just getting started in the Hotel, so I think I'll go for the coffees and juice and come back and try again. When I get back and try again, it all starts up and I can check-in online for the flight later and when I check the seats it says 53H and 53J, so I check to see where they are on the airplane to see if they can be changed. They are the very last row - we're practically in the tail, so I check the map of the plane to see if I can change them and the only seats not taken are all single and, tempting as it is to take two separate seats, I leave it at the final row thinking at least if there's a plane crash, the tail will probably be the last thing to drop out of the sky and we could well survive! On the downside, we're right by the toilets - always good (not).

That done, I return to the bedroom with the coffees and orange juices to get on with the packing, and by the time I get back Becky has packed most of her stuff up and, as I had put a lot of my stuff away last night, we haven't got too much to do. We have no plans for today, except that we had talked about getting a Thai Massage before we go, but we've got all day. Pretty much everything is packed into the cases, there's just a few items to go in at the last minute, as the cases have to go in the Hotel's luggage room for the day, once we check out at midday. I think we're organised so decide to go out for a look around and as we walk through the Lobby area, our attention is drawn to the man at a desk, who always greets us as we walk by, and here on our last day we realise he is the Tour Manager with a book of available Tours and this book is open at the Floating Markets page - funny we haven't noticed this before! We enquire about the Floating Markets and the man tells us that we can have a private car with driver to take us there, wait while we look around, and also take us to see the Elephants for a ride if we want to, and the driver will bring us back when we're ready and this costs just 2500 Baht! At this point, we tell him that we'll go and think about it and continue with our walk and, whilst out, we discuss the possibility of doing the trip, as we have nothing else arranged for today and a whole day to waste until 9 p.m. this evening in fact!

Walking around, Becky finds the postcards she's been looking for since our arrival in Bangkok as she has managed to send a card from every stop so far to her work colleagues back home. It's about ten o'clock in the morning and the traffic is queuing way back, you would have thought by this time, the rush hour would be over but apparently not! As you can see in the photo, those cables, presumably telephone and electricity, are there again draped across the road ready to drop onto cars below - it reminds me of the Transformers ride that we did at Universal Studios with everything blowing up! As we walk back, it seems most of the shops and Malls don't open until 10.30 a.m. so we're a bit early today.

By the time we get back to the Hotel, we have discussed the trip and decided that we will go for it, I think the Elephant ride swung it for Becky as she had mentioned doing this if she could, even before we had left home, so we go back to the desk where a young woman (hippy type!) is going through the book of Tours and the man is waiting to see if she'll ever make a decision. As she doesn't seem to be deciding, we jump in and ask if we can do the Floating Market trip when she pipes up with "ooh, I went there but you need to go first thing and I went at 6 o'clock in the morning when I arrived off the plane and ... blah blah" - we're starting to lose the will to live! The man asks if we want to go tomorrow morning and we tell him that we're going home tonight so if possible would like to do it today but if it's only on first thing in the morning, then we'll have to give it a miss. He says he'll check to see if the driver is available so we suggest going for a coffee in the Lobby area as we're not in any hurry and he can let us know.

Having then sat down and ordered two coffees, the man quickly comes back to tell us that his driver is available and ready when we are and could I pay up. One of the reasons I decided to do it was that I had 2500 Baht left in my purse and thought it was probably the best way to use up what was left, so I pay up and tell him we will be ready in about 15 minutes and suddenly it's a bit of a panic as we've just ordered coffees and need to drink them, one of us needs to go back to the room and get the bags packed up and ready to go and one of us needs to go and check out and pay the bill - guess who gets which! All without leaving the coffees until finished, Becky goes up to the room and puts everything left into bags and makes sure that we haven't forgotten anything. I am just trying to finish my hot coffee when the driver comes over to let me know he is ready when we are and I tell him we'll be there as soon as we've checked out. As I'm waiting to pay at the Reception Desk, a porter comes to take the key to go and collect our bags and when I've paid up and Becky and the bags are here and the bags go into their Luggage Room, I think we're ready to go at last!

Our driver takes us to the Hotel car park and we get into the nice air conditioned car, phew, that was all a bit of a rush but we got there in the end! As we drive along the road from the Hotel, stopped in traffic as usual, our driver says "madam, my name I'm Lodger, in Thai cjdbdueifnf" funny name I thought to myself and then I clicked "oh, ok Roger, thanks". Obviously, it takes a good while to get out of the busy roads and that strange hippy woman had told us it wasn't far so we happily enjoy the fact that we haven't got to drive ourselves, get a train/bus/tuk-tuk/bike or any other form of their crazy transport system. The traffic eases as we head out of the city and I'm completely lost, as I have no idea what direction we're heading and where we are going - I had imagined it to be on the river where we had previously had the boat trip but we seem to be heading away from the city and after over half an hour of relatively fast driving we still don't seem to be near anything and of course my mind starts to work and I start taking mental note of buildings, temples, landmarks just in case we've been abducted. We pass some interesting sights, including some of those temples and landmarks, and also we pass salt flats for quite a large area, reminding us of the ones we passed in New Zealand, except they don't look quite so clean!

It is well over an hour when we finally pull up in a deserted car park, our doors are whipped open and we are greeted by the girls who guide us to a make-do desk where we are asked for 4000 Baht to see the Floating Markets, and I thought we would just walk along a bit of river and watch some boats with stuff to sell on them, looks like I got that wrong! Seems like the Floating Markets are a bit more than I had thought, and I gave my last Bahts when I paid for the car so what do we do now? Well, we both looked at each other and told them we haven't got any money, so the calculator comes out, which is standard kit out here so you can tell them how much you want to pay and they come back with another figure, and she shows us 3500 which is a start but we still haven't got any money! We're wondering what to do, whether to just get back in the car and go back or just go for a walk, although there's nothing to see except muddy water in the river alongside the car park. With that, Lodger jumps in with the offer of a loan which I'm sure wasn't in his brief but nevertheless is very sweet of him and now we're stuck as he gives them the money, ok we get away with only 3500 instead of 4000 but now I'm starting to wonder how low they would have gone! So bear in mind if you ever visit the Floating Markets, you can barter on that too!

Becky and I get into one of the boats and are handed a coconut and straw each which we are told is free (just as well) and the same lady that took our money, is putting us in the boat and handing out coconuts then she takes a photo of us which we just know is going to cost money later. Apparently these boats are sometimes called Gondolas but there the similarity ends with the famous Venetian boats and I certainly don't think our boat driver will be serenading us on this trip. He drives us through the canals and there are some beautiful shrines - each residence seems to have one and some are more ornate than others, along with their washing, mangy dogs and other rubbish - obviously some places are in a poor way, others well maintained.

There's a stop to see how they make coconut sugar which it seems is just a case of boiling the liquid down for a couple of hours then when it cools its divided into small rounds which are left on a table to dry out which we witnessed, and the flies walking over all of them was more than a little off-putting, but this then makes the coconut sugar - yum?! We continue through the canals, meeting a few boats coming the other way, and as we approach the area where stalls are set up along the waters edge, the boat driver pulls us into the stall holders to try and persuade us to buy something. It's unfortunate but a, we have no money and 2, it's our last day and we've got pretty much all we need to take home. Having said that, Becky sees one stall has trousers that she had admired yesterday at the MBK Mall but couldn't get the colour she wanted and when she looked at others she couldnt get them for the price she wanted either so had gone without. The lady stall holder tells her they are 1200 Baht and she has them in black which is what she wanted, but she says "no" and the calculator comes across with "how much you pay". Becky says 300 because she really has only got 300 Baht, and the lady says 900 to which Becky says she can't pay that and the lady pretends to cry to make her feel guilty, but eventually the poor woman realises she's not going to get a sale unless she takes the 300 Baht and so, in the end, she gets a sale and Becky gets her trousers - everyone's happy (even though the woman is still crying).

The further we go the closer we get to the main area of the Market and in the central area there is a seated cafe area and this is presumably where all the excitement happens earlier in the day, and there are many boats here with little old toothless ladies rowing their boats up and down and trying to sell different types of fruit to anyone passing by on the water. It is fascinating seeing it all going on but I sense it is a different kind of market nowadays to how it used to be, or maybe it was just like that this morning and we just missed it by a couple of hours. We get to a junction and make a left turn and the driver accelerates to a much greater speed before slowing to allow us to get out for a walk around the temple here but we both feel that we've seen enough temples so turn down the offer and are taken back along a different route back to the starting point. There are palm trees everywhere you look and they have varying numbers of coconuts at the top, I guess they harvest them as they drop so giving them away free is not really costing them anything although it must be one of the main crops for income in this area. When we get out of the boat, there is a cold water waiting for us and our friend Lodger has got a cool towel for each of us, lovely and as suspected, there is the photo taken as we left put onto a small plate BUT it is a surprisingly good photo of us both and we decide we might as well have it, thanks again to Lodger for stepping in with his money again so that we have something to remember our trip by. We only get one as I tell Becky she can have it when I die - should work well!

When we're ready to move on, Lodger takes us to the nearest outbreak of commerce where we find a cash machine so that I can pay him back his money. Heaving thought I had done well not spending so much and using the last bit of Thai cash for the trip, now I've got to get more money out but I guess it's worth it as we've seen the Floating Markets and if I get some money out and pay Lodger back, we might get to see the elephants too. The cash machine works and I get some cash out except that my card doesn't come out at the end and the screen is covered in pictures and Thai writing, so Lodger comes to my aid and pushes the right button which ejects my card and we're good to go, phew! Lodger then takes us to the nearby Elephant Camp where Becky can have an elephant ride for 600 Baht which we pay up and she manages to get on before the large group of tourists that arrived just before us. Before I know it, she's up on the elephant and off into the jungle and I did wonder if that might be the last I saw of her but Lodger told me she should be going around the area on a large path and reappear at the other side of the car park in about 20 minutes, which she did and here's the picture showing how she was allowed by the elephant driver to slip down off the seat and ride on the elephants back for the last part of the ride. Taking the pictures as she returned, I was surprised to see how hairy the elephant was, made me feel better about my hairy bits!

Time to get back to Bangkok and Lodger gets us back in about an hour and a half and drops us back at the Hotel, wishing us a safe journey home - what a nice man he was, can't help wondering why he didn't call himself Tony though! Having got back safely, which I must admit I doubted on our way out there, we use the facilities and then go for something to eat at McDonalds in the way of their Thai style Ham and Egg Pie each with a portion of chips between us and a nice cup of coffee each.

After this, we're ready to hit the shops again and try a couple of the places we had seen earlier for a Thai Massage which are 300 Baht each so we head to one that we had seen in the morning when we were out walking which was 250 Baht each, and having paid up we are both sent upstairs for, hopefully, our proper Thai massage! When we get up there, it's very dark and Becky is whisked away to a cubicle and I'm shown into another, still trying to get my eyes adapted to the dark, and am given two items of clothing which, judging by the gestures, I have to take all my clothes off and put these on. I really hope I've guessed right as it could be very embarrassing if I get it wrong. The girl (I think it's a girl) goes away while I change and comes back after a few minutes by which time I have managed to change into the cotton type shortish trousers and top. When she comes back in, and pulls the curtains around us, she makes a noise and points to the table for me to lie on and we try to work out if she wants me up or down and decide that palm up must mean face up so that's what I go for. She rubs my feet one at a time, but it really is quite painful, and then she gets one toe at a time and twists and pulls each one until it cracks. I've never had noisy joints but she manages to get each toe and finger to crack and if it doesn't crack first time, she does it again until it does!

So she works on the foot and the calf of both legs and then suddenly she's up on the bed with me and I'm thinking 'hello, that's not what I was after' but she continues with the very painful pressure, up the thigh and then she's pushing my leg and hip and I'm doing moves I didn't know I could do! Then she does the arms, cracking all the fingers first and then it's a roll over for a bit of back treatment before sitting me up and doing my shoulders and head. There were times when it was really hard not to cry out in pain, but you can hear others having their massages and being good and keeping quiet so the pressure is on, literally! I was a bit confused by wearing the clothes but actually it worked well and no smelly oils to try and get out of my clothes after. It's strange as it was all really painful and I felt well and truly pummelled afterwards and expected bruises to come up all over, but it was surprisingly good and no bruises (that I could see).

We both left, thanking them very much for beating us up, and then we tried to find the Post Office that we had been pointed in the direction of a couple of times earlier, so that we could post Becky's cards back home. We walked back up the road towards where we had bought the cards earlier and asked a security guard who pointed us back down the road the way we had come where we retraced our steps and eventually found the Post Office, right next door to the Massage Parlour we had just come out of. Anyway, Becky was able to get her cards posted home and still we had time to spare.

The last thing we do before leaving is go for a walk around the block where we find some food stalls and get a couple of pork skewers and corn cobs for our tea and whilst it's not the easiest thing to eat whilst walking around the streets of Bangkok, it goes down well and after our final walk around, we head back to the Hotel and claim our bags and make sure we've got all we need in the right bags. It's still hot outside and we won't be spending a lot of time in un-air conditioning but we decide to change into winter-wear at the airport. Sitting in the Hotel Lobby, we wonder if maybe we should get changed now, and we also wonder if the car booked to take us back to the airport is actually going to turn up and what we'll do if it doesn't. It's getting close to 9 p.m. which is when the taxi is booked for and I'm starting to get ready to panic, but it turns up and the porter takes our luggage out for us, it's all as if it was planned.

Our driver takes us to the airport but once again it takes ages and many queues of traffic to get out of the city centre but once we're out of the city, it's a good journey albeit a quiet one as the driver doesn't speak at all, in fact this is the quietest taxi journey of our round the world trip! It's not long before we arrive at the airport and get ourselves in and check our bags in nice and quickly - this on-line check-in is wonderful, we've done it all the way round and it has saved a lot of queuing. After we've got rid of the big bags, we go to the wc and get changed out of the flimsy cool clothes and into jeans, jumpers and cardigans, ready for our air conditioned flight and then arrival in the cold UK. Passage through security is relatively quick and once again neither of us has a problem so that's all flights which we have gone through without any problems - not bad going!

We have a bit of Thai change to use up and, as it's the last flight, we make some duty free purchases to take home and then slowly make our way through to the Gate ready for the flight. We always have to buy a bottle of water for Becky once we've gone through security so that she can take her painkillers for her ears, and we have just enough change to buy one. Hopefully we'll get fed on the plane and then get some sleep before arriving back in good old Blighty after about 13 hours flying.

Home is where the Heart Is

Not quite sure when night is over and morning starts here as the flight goes on for what seems like ever and arrival in London is set for 6 a.m. after a 13 hour flight and leaving Bangkok at midnight - I just don't know what the time of day is and my body clock certainly doesn't!

However, we got some sleep, we got some food and we got some entertainment and the flight arrives on time so here we go with the last stage of the journey - getting home! We get through arrivals and baggage pretty quick, despite being second to last off the plane, the only one after us was in a wheelchair, and as we go through the Duty Free area, we spot the flavoured Baileys that we had tried in Sydney Airport and hadn't seen anywhere else, so we treat ourselves and more importantly, my other daughter/Becky's sister. It is also a bonus to find that we have arrived at Terminal 3 which is great news because we thought we would arrive back to Terminal 5, where we left from four weeks ago, and would then have to find our way from there to Terminal 1 or 3 to get to the Central Bus Station to catch the National Express Bus home. It's lucky as I'm out of English Currency, only Becky has proper money, so when we've walked three miles through the underground tunnels leading from one terminal to another and finally get to the Central Bus Station, and it hasn't cost us a bus or taxi fare, she can at least buy the coffees.

It's pretty chilly, only 2 degrees apparently according to the pilot when we landed, but we have added layers during the course of the journey from Bangkok and the coats come out of the bags now and we're set to go, except that we have two hours to sit in the draughty waiting room. Finally the bus appears on the screens showing that at least it will be turning up to take us home - thank goodness! The bus was due to depart at 8.50 a.m. and by the time we've got all the bags in the hold and everyone onto the bus, it's a little late leaving but we're on the last part of the long journey that we've been on for the last four weeks, so we don't mind.

After a driver change, we get a stop at Gordano Services to get something to eat before setting off again for Plymouth and it is now that the rain starts, which gets more persistent the further west we go - it's nice to be home! We arrive at Plymouth slightly later than expected and most people leave the coach here, and quite a few get on for the remainder of the journey down through Cornwall. The new driver gets on the bus and checks through the list of stops, asking if there are requests for Liskeard, then Bodmin, then on through the rest of Cornwall at which point I'm thinking that the first stop will be Saltash and he didn't mention that so try to bring his attention to the fact that there are two for Saltash. At the end of his list, he asks if there are any other stops and I try again to tell him that there are two for Saltash whereby he checks his list again and with a blank look and a slight shake of the head, says "aahhh, yes, two for Saltash" as he returns to the top of his list and ticks us off. Fills you with confidence doesn't it?

At this point, I text my husband to let him know we're just leaving Plymouth in the hope that he will meet us from the bus in Saltash and as we approach that bridge, the rain gets harder - what a welcome home, funny how that always seems to happen! The bus stops to let us off and the driver gets our luggage out from the hold and John is there to help put the bags in the car and get us back under our roof and back home. Oh it's nice to be home and the dog is pleased to see us and even the cats are a little curious and John is probably really pleased to see us but does that thing where he tells us all about what he's been up to. It's funny how people do that - ask how your holiday was and then change the subject or tell you about their trip somewhere or someone they know who went somewhere. I'm very conscious that most people don't really want to know all the details, there's nothing more boring than someone else's holiday (well there probably is but not much)! I'm trying very hard not to bore people with all the details, but if you're reading this, then it's too late, sorry!

Finally, A Lazy Day

Today, at last, is the only day of the holiday when we might be able to have a lazy day to ourselves, and we have no-one else to answer to, so neither of us wants to do anything. Becky has her heart set on a day by the Pool and I'm just happy not to have to go on a tour or be rushed off somewhere or other. After sitting by the pool yesterday afternoon in the shade, Becky picks her spot for the longest amount of sun and I elect to go to McDonalds for a take-away breakfast. Yesterdays stop for coffee at McD's had got us hooked, so this morning's breakfast consisted of two orange juices, two coffees, an egg McMuffin and a sausage McMuffin (so we can go halfy halfies) and we sat by the pool in the rising sun to have our breakfast - one of the better breakfasts of the holiday!

Factor 50 has been applied in abundance so we're good to go but, for the first hour or so, we're the only ones by the pool this morning. The pool area is beautiful, as you enter you are met by this little cascading waterfall with the usual Buddha statue at the top, and the pool area is around behind this and up some steps. The bottom decking area is laid out with some tables and the trees have lights wrapped around them for nighttime effect, I presume. As we sit there quietly on our own I suggest having dinner here tonight (the decking area by the waterfall is laid up with tables and is one of the Hotel's restaurants) and Becky agrees that we probably should as its the last proper night of the holiday, the last night at the hotel, as our flight home is tomorrow night at midnight!

Gradually the loungers around the pool start to fill up and the temperature goes up as the sun gets higher. Lying in the sun, reading, is very pleasant and I'm not usually one for sunbathing (I'm not good at sitting still!) but I'm quite happy, even in the shade of the parasols. As the temperature rises, Becky goes for a dip in the pool to cool, and by midday we decide a caramel Cappuccino by the pool is the way to go so I talk to the nice chap who looks after the pool area and he orders them from the bar downstairs for me. They arrive with the usual cookies and that's enough to keep us going for most of the day!

By lunchtime, it is so warm that even I go for a dip in the pool and everyone knows that's unusual for me - I don't do water if I can help it as I don't enjoy swimming, however this is just right to cool down. Becky has several dips in the pool and even moves around the pool to different loungers to get the best bit of sun, she's like Goldilocks, trying them all out! Eventually, by about three in the afternoon, we've both had enough sun and decide to get dressed and go for a walk and maybe get some souvenir bargains!

We decide to try and get the Skytrain to the MBK Shopping Centre which is just one stop past Siam station and is the end of the line so we shouldn't miss it. I'm surprised to find that we get there without any problems and find our way into the Mall. It is huge, eight floors apparently but we don't go near most of them, we only manage three of them but Becky wants to get some bargains and bits to take home for her friends, good job I haven't got any to take crap back for! She soon finds some scarves and gets the girl to knock her prices down and she's happy that she's got a bargain. I spot some beautiful Thai silk scarves that are marked on sale at one stall and instead of 250 Baht they are down to 100 Baht. I ask the girl if I can have 6 for 500 Baht and she says 'no, they're on sale already', so I walk away and just as I've given up hope, she calls me back and agrees to my deal which I'm very happy with, as every other stall has the same scarves but all marked at 250 Baht each. We've both had a tiring couple of hours wandering around looking at everything, so many shops and stalls; we even stopped for a milkshake each, and Becky's managed to use an ATM to get some money out and it didn't swallow her card, phew! So we decide to head back to our stop and actually manage the Skytrain again and get off at the right stop, despite being stuck in the middle of the carriage and having to push our way off!

We get back to Nana station and walk back towards the Hotel, most of the stalls are already set up for business but it's funny as we walk along seeing the stallholders sat by their stalls, most of them are more interested in playing on their ipads, or watching films on said device (other devices are available), and we also have to avoid the walking (more wheelchair bound than walking to be fair) wounded and some of them aren't even walking as we have to make sure we dont step on the ones just laying on the pavement - there seems to be a lot of limbless people begging here which is distressing but obviously a big problem over here. I can't help but wonder if it's a result of their driving and the crazy motorcyclists that weave in and out between all the other vehicles. Not only are the pavements littered with handicapped bodies, the kerbstones and dips in the path keep you alert if you don't want to end up deformed too and as we round the corner by McDonalds I take a couple of photos of the electric cables that run along the streets from large junction boxes (these are at most of the junctions and are quite worrying, how they stay put is a miracle in itself!) at just above head height and I'm sure all of these things combine to be an accident waiting to happen!

Before going back to the Hotel, we call into the shopping mall opposite where Becky had seen a top she wanted so we get that and then head back to the room where we dump our shopping and then decide what to do next. Our usual catch up with the Hotel wifi in the Lobby and Becky goes to use the Hotel computers again whilst I sit and mind my own business with my IPad, blogging after I've caught up! We decide to go out for a walk to get the last few gifts and mementos so that we can get everything packed up in the morning and get a few bits, obviously well bargained over! It's dark by the time we get back to the Hotel and we can't be bothered to go back to the room to change so go straight to the Season Thai Restaurant by the pool area. It's really beautiful at night, although its a bit windy tonight, but lovely to eat in the warm evening open air, and we are the only ones there when we arrive, although others arrive after us. The very attentive waiters give us an insect repellent spray to use as we're near water so after a spray on all exposed bits, we go for a glass of wine each and order a couple of dishes so that we can go halfy halfies again.

We had a really good meal between us and didn't get bitten either so, all in all, a good night! Back to the room to finish off the bottle of wine, which I'm afraid I couldn't manage (too full) and Becky had to finish mine for me! What a lightweight I am! Still we get to bed, knowing that we have to get up and pack in the morning and at last we'll be on our way home.

Getting to know Bangkok

Basically, if you want to get around, don't get in a car/taxi/tuk-tuk, or go anywhere near the roads - they are so full of traffic that doesn't move for ages, you just can't even imagine it, so we're looking forward to the Half Day Tour that we booked ages ago when we booked the holiday which is going to take us around Bangkok and show us, as well as a few of the sights, how to use the Skytrain and other modes of transport - at least, that's how it was sold to us. The Tour is booked for 8 a.m. and we're down in the Lobby by 7.30 a.m. catching up with Facebook and Family and ready for when the Tour Guide arrives. Unfortunately, we haven't had breakfast, but that's ok because we're still adjusting to the new times and not really hungry yet!

At about 8 a.m. a nice lady comes to ask us if we're booked on a Tour and we show her the Voucher which she gives back and tells us it's her colleague and goes off to find her people. Then a funny little guy who reminds me of Hiro from the TV show 'Heroes' turns up and introduces himself to us as our Guide and says his name is 'Tom Mi' or Tommy I guess. He suggests Becky get a proper cardigan to cover her shoulders as the shawl we brought does not cover enough skin to go inside some of the Temples, although mine is ok, so she goes back to the room to get something else to wear. As he sits to run through a few details, we notice that it's raining outside - now that's not fair - we came here for sun! He tells us it won't last long, Becky returns, and after five minutes, we give it a go. Stepping out of the Hotel and the air-conditioning, we realise it's nothing like rain that we're used to - the temperature when we arrived last night was 30 degrees so it's probably 36 degrees now but will go up to 38 later according to Tommy and the rain is barely rain in this heat so we use Tommy's umbrella to stop us getting too wet. Being in the Hotel in the cool air-conditioned environment, makes you forget how hot it is outside.

By the time we round the corner of the street and head up to the Skytrain Station, the rain has stopped and Tommy has his umbrella back because he uses it for the Sun - who'd have thought umbrellas had a different use? He shows us very briefly how to get tickets for the Skytrain and we go through to the platform which is pretty crowded. There are marks on the edge showing where the train stops and where to queue, and a gap is left for passengers alighting so the people waiting can get on from queuing either side of that gap, and surprisingly they all queue patiently and orderly - I thought only the British could do that!

When the train arrives, and they run very frequently at this time of the morning, it is crowded but we all manage to ease ourselves in and stay put for the next three stops where we have to change at Siam Station. At this point I'm wondering if this bit is still called Siam then it must be where the King and I was set, one of my favourite films from when I was young, with Yul Brynner, and can almost picture it going on around me! Time to wake up and we follow Tommy off the train and to the next Platform onto the other line and are met with queues of about 30 people deep on each queuing line - the platform is jam packed and Tommy joins a queue so we follow him. The train arrives and fills up and the queue moves along and down to about 10 deep and a few minutes later the next train arrives which we manage to cram onto. Soon the train starts to empty so that we can sit and before long we get off for our stop. We have no idea where we are at this point but Tommy leads us down from the Skytrain Station and into a covered area where we are about to catch a Water Taxi up the river.

There is a big queue and whilst waiting a boat comes in rather quickly, suddenly slowing, and a boy at the rear of the boat with a whistle tweeting various toots steps onto the pontoon and wraps the rope around the bollard which brought the boat to a sharp stop for passengers to get off and new passengers to get on before accelerating away. This boat is apparently going in the opposite direction and before long our boat arrives with the same speed, wash and whistling and it fills up with the people in the queue, including us, and we manage to get a seat at the very front in a good position to see all the sights as well as all the debris in the water as we travel up the river. As the boat goes up the river, it stops at the stations with the same sudden movements and I realise that the whistles actually mean something: one long toot, two short; three short toots; one long toot going from high to low - these all seem to mean something but I have no idea what, good job the driver and the boy at the back know! I watch the driver watching the boy at the rear as he pulls the boat into the pontoons and how he reverses and then accelerates away when the rope comes off the bollard and am amazed that the rear of the boat isn't ripped away when it is suddenly tied up whilst the boat is still moving forwards!

Our stop looms and Tommy guides us to the rear of the boat ready to disembark, the whistles ring out and the boat moves in to the pontoon where it is tied up (and fortunately doesn't rip apart) and amongst great movement of the swell and pontoon together, we manage to get off and walk away without falling flat on our faces! Tommy leads us along the road and round the corner and we arrive at a Temple called Wat Pho (Wat means Temple) where we soon find ourselves with shoes removed and shoulders covered and in to see the Reclining Buddha, which didn't sound too impressive but when we see it, is amazing as it is HUGE. Apparently it's 46 metres long and 15 metres high and it's huge feet are covered with a picture story made from inlaid Mother of Pearl.

The surrounding temples and buildings are all very impressive with influences from China and India and probably many other countries but all are beautiful. There are some with ceramic flowers with a Chinese influence and others with jewels and gold and look quite Indian and everywhere there are more Buddhas. Tommy informs us that all us these are kept in good condition with regular renovating. There are triangular pyramid type buildings that Tommy says contain the remains of King Lama I and King Lama II etc, and that they each built many of the temples that we are visiting. It's not until Becky tells me later that I realise its King Rama not King Lama, it's just that Tommy can't say his 'r's' - it's an Asian thing.

When we leave this temple, we go to the Golden Palace next door, which isn't an Indian Takeaway, it is actually the Golden Palace with many buildings, some temples, all housing different Buddhas - I don't know why they need so many, but the first temple we enter has many people sat listening to a Buddhist Monk delivering a sermon to some of his pupils, apparently this doesn't happen every day, we're just lucky to witness it and we can take pictures too! Tommy explains that the feet are deemed as the lowest of the low (well, technically they are!) and cannot point at the Buddha so that's why we all have to kneel with our feet away from him!

Next we go to see the Emerald Buddha, which is the most revered by the Thais, and we are not allowed to take Photos, a chap at the front makes sure of that (not) but he does point to a few people blatantly taking photos and wave his hands at them! The Emerald Buddha is not actually made of emeralds but of Jade, making it green and he is clothed according to the season so at the moment is wearing a nice gold cloak as it is winter but will shortly be changed into a nice little number for the spring and then later in the year he changes his outfit for the rainy season! Only e King is allowed to touch him and change his clothes, sounds like a fun game! From here we go into other temples where we are not allowed to take photos and see other Buddhas that we can photo so it all seems a bit hit and miss but we do get a nice picture of us outside the temple, taken by Tommy!

The buildings are amazing, so much gold everywhere if they ever have an economic crises, they can just use all these buildings! The buildings are guarded by huge demons three times the size of us mere humans and quite what these statues will do I don't know but they're impressive as are the half human, half bird statues made of gold. These palaces are definitely more like the Siam of the King and I that I was imagining earlier.

We leave here and by this time we are starting to feel quite hungry so Tommy stops a tuk-tuk and we climb in to go find some lunch then have a look at the backpackers area. It is not the most comfortable of rides, being open to the heat and fumes of the traffic surrounding us - it is basically a small motorbike with a frame built around it and a bench seat set behind the driver which comfortably takes two passengers, three is a bit of a squash! There is a cover/roof which I managed to bang my head on as we clambered out in a very unladylike fashion.

We walk to a small untidy looking Noodle Bar that Tommy knows and we leave him to order for us. Neither of us know quite what to expect but we get a bowl of noodles with beef and vegetables and, slightly more worryingly, two round objects which I assume are meatballs (I fear the emphasis is on 'balls') and I don't really want to ask too many questions so we get stuck in with the chopsticks and don't do too badly - the condiments on the table consist of a bowl of dried chillies, a vinegar mix of goodness knows what and sugar - not what we're used to! After lunch Tommy lets us know that if we want to see any shows whilst in Bangkok, he can get tickets, and seems quite keen to tell us about the Ladyboys show (I think it likely that this is Tommy's other job)!

After our lunch we walk through the Backpackers Area which is probably a lot livelier at night but just as interesting during the day. When we come out the other end of this area, Tommy tells us to wait while he gets a taxi, if the taxi knows we are with him, he will have to pay more so we wait to one side and he soon calls us over to clamber into the back of a taxi. We get into one of those long queues of traffic after driving along a couple of roads and chopping between lanes, when we are at a standstill, the engine suddenly cuts out and the worried female driver talks to Tommy in Thai, presumably discussing the problem! She keeps trying to restart it and eventually it does, fortunately before the traffic starts moving again. The driver tries to change lanes, moving to the left but there isn't room and nothing's moving. The engine cuts out again and won't restart this time for some time. Eventually it restarts, then stops again. Seems like our lucky streak has hit us again! Tommy buys a bag of fried bananas from vendors walking down between the lines of traffic, presumably to keep us happy, and the driver gets out and goes to the boot to get a bottle of water which she then takes to the front of the car and lifts the bonnet and with a rag and not enough hands, she eventually manages to get some water into whatever it was that was overheating. As she's doing this, the traffic lights at some junction ahead change and the traffic starts to move and all vehicles go around us. The driver gets back in and restarts the car which fortunately gets going this time and we manage to get through the lights but Tommy obviously decides it's time to get out so we get dropped before the next junction and have to walk across a very busy crossroad to a bus stop where, luckily for us, a tuk-tuk stops to drop a lady off and Tommy is able to negotiate a lift to the nearest Skytrain station.

At the station, Tommy buys our tickets and we board the train when it arrives and he tells us that he is leaving us at Siam station to go back to his office and we need to stay on until Nana station, where we had got on in the morning, so I think we can manage! As we walk back to the Hotel, for the first time we notice that there is a McDonald's on the corner of the road which we hadn't seen until now so I suggest to Becky that we have a decent coffee which turns out to be a good plan. Suitably refreshed, we then head towards the Hotel and stop to admire some sparkly handbags opposite in what appears to be a shopping mall so we enter and have a look around. It seems fairly new with most shops open and a few closed but it's quite nice to browse and there's a supermarket at one end so we go in to buy some water and also get a bottle of red wine for later, and then return to the Hotel for a cool down and decide to spend a couple of hours by the pool. Unfortunately the sun has passed over and is now behind the hotel and whilst it is still very warm, the sun shines on just one spot which is taken up by sunbathers who have had that spot for most of the day by the look of it. Still, it's nice to rest by the pool and cool, slightly.

When we return to our room to change out of our swimming costumes, we decide to go down and sit in the Hotel Lobby for a while to catch up with home and Facebook and, whilst there, accidentally order a cocktail each, seeing as we can! They turn up and go down very nicely, then Becky decides to try her luck with the Hotel computers so that she can do her Blog and whilst she is gone, I order myself a Caramel Cappucino which, when it arrives, is so pretty it seems a shame to drink it and spoil the pattern on the top, but I do, and it also comes with two cookies. I feel a bit guilty after, having spoilt myself and not Becky so when she comes back from her Blogging, I suggest another Cappucino each and of course she goes with that!

After a while we decide to go for a walk and have a look at some of the street markets and maybe pick-up something to eat. We walk along the street and dare not look at anything for too long as we are asked how much we'll pay for any of it. There is only a narrow walkway between the shops on one side and the stalls laid out on the other side of the pavement next to the road. There are a couple of Massage Shops that we pass and whilst one of them looks like it probably is a Massage Parlour, one definitely looks more like Ladyboys offering a different kind of massage! We cross over via a bridge and walk back along the other side and cross back over via another bridge and then look up some of the side streets where we find a stall with various meats on skewers being cooked up. Becky bravely asks what's what and we choose a beef one each (I think we both err on the side of caution - chicken and pork not being quite so good if undercooked!) and then we get a banana pancake to share and that's dinner. We head back to the Hotel room for a glass of wine, as we've found another great label and it was nice and cheap here, and it tastes ok too, so hopefully a good nights sleep for us both after such a busy day.

I Come From A Land Down Under

Today is the day - we're moving on again and this is the penultimate journey, flight, and stay of the whole journey. We get up early to say a fond farewell to Sue and Phil who both have to work today, and to thank them for their generosity whilst we've been with them. It's only been six days but it seems like a week, no it seems like we've been with them for ages!

After a quick run through of where to leave everything and what to lock up with, we're left to get ourselves packed up and ready to go and Phil has left us with his IPad to use the Go-Catch App to get a taxi for the airport when we're ready to go. I'm wary of this, I like to have things booked and organised so doing it at the last minute just doesn't sit right with me, however he assures me it'll work just fine!!!

Breakfast and coffees keep us going and the packing is completed again, not that much really came out of the cases, but before long we are ready to go again and I bring my sheets and towels down to the washing machine ready to be washed but don't want to set it going as it'll probably break, but at least I've tidied up! At last it's nearly time to go so we use the Go-Catch App to request a taxi which takes about 3 minutes before one responds and confirms and we can then track him as he drives towards us, telling us that he will be with us in ten minutes. I'm impressed and as he gets closer, we get our cases down the stairs and make sure we've locked up everything that needs to be locked up, then the final challenge is to get the cases out to the top of the drive, and ourselves, then to press the button to close the garage door and place the closer inside the garage before running out, hopefully not getting trapped inside with everything else outside! Phew, did it, just like Indiana Jones in a very girly way!

Once again, it's a lovely day and a shame to be travelling but needs must as they say. We manage to get down the steep drive with our bags in one piece and we've only been waiting a couple of minutes when the taxi arrives. I could definitely get used to this, as he picks up the bags and packs them into the boot for us! The friendly driver chats as he drives us to the airport, telling us as we approach the Sydney Harbour Bridge and pass a truck stuck in the middle between freeways that it had held up the traffic that morning as it was too high to go through under a bridge - I bet the commuters loved that!

Arriving at the airport, once again having checked-in online the day before, we just drop off our bags and collect the boarding passes and then make our way through departures and security and into the Duty Free area where, once again, we find free liquor and this time there's three to choose from, two of which were flavoured Baileys which went down surprisingly well, even though it was still before noon! After trying these, we then continued through and Becky started looking at some jewellery, where a nice young lady tried to encourage her to look harder for something she might like!

It seems she had decided that she'd like to get herself some Australian Opal jewellery to remind her of her trip so I continued to look around at the other pieces, wondering if I should get something for the granddaughters and that they were probably too young. At this point, my eyes were drawn to some very pretty, sparkly items and upon closer inspection, I found a necklace that I just couldn't take my eyes off, it was sooooo pretty, with all colours of crystals in it. The girl suggested that I try it and I was tempted so agreed. When she passed it to me, it was quite heavy, a sign of quality I think you'll find, and as I put it round my neck, I was caught. I had to have it, and whilst it was probably more than I've ever spent on a piece of jewellery in my entire life, I thought 'I can treat myself', I had allowed myself a certain amount of money in my account and hadn't used it all so, yes, I could treat myself and I would, so there! Then, I noticed the bracelet that went with it and I should probably have the earrings too - Oh, go on then! As I was treating myself, I sort of said I'd pay for Becky's Opals too as it was easier to put it all on one card and only have the one commission charge, ooops! Also, sorry to the granddaughters, no jewellery for you two! I hope it wasn't the alcohol consumed just prior to purchase that is to blame!

Time to move on, quick, before either of us spots anything else! I did purchase a couple of little soft toys for the granddaughters in one of the shops and then had to go and sit down quick, before I spent any more! Whilst sitting waiting for the flight, they showed a short film of Bangkok and what to buy and how much cheaper everything is and I just began to wonder if I should take the jewellery back ... Nah!

It wasn't too long before the flight was called and we were herded on for the last but one flight. Finally leaving 'Down Under' and getting back to the northern hemisphere - a step in the right direction! A nine hour flight to Bangkok and by this stage I was kind of wishing it was home instead, but still, not long to go!

When we arrived in Bangkok, we went through pretty quickly and out into the Arrivals Lounge where we soon saw someone from Oriental Escapes and a piece of paper with our names on - Phew! You don't know how good it is to see that when you arrive at a foreign airport where the language is not your own and not anything like it - it doesn't even use the same letters of the alphabet! We were quickly guided through the airport with the young man taking two of our cases, and when we eventually came to a exit and taken outside, the heat hit us like stepping into an oven or sauna - Wow!

However, soon we were in the air conditioned car and were given bottles of iced water and driven into Bangkok itself. The roads were pretty good at 9 p.m. at night, until we got into the city itself, then it was a real eye-opener and we just couldn't believe the traffic. It just didn't move for ages and then it all streamed forward and cars swapped lanes and went into gaps that weren't even there - it was frightening! When we arrived at the Hotel, our bodies were telling us it was early hours of the morning and we needed our beds, so we checked in and our bags were taken to the room for us and before we knew it, we were ready for bed.

Goodbyes

This morning, we've barely woken up when the peace is broken by Philip and the children all arriving with Auntie's newspaper - a regular sunday morning occurrance. Probably, most Sundays, Auntie will be up and waiting for them! Today, the children are confronted with Auntie Sue and Uncle Phil still tucked up in the sofabed in the Lounge which Auntie had been trying to keep secret from the two littlest children so that they won't want it put up every time they call. Next time they call, they will be told that Uncle Phil and Auntie Sue took the bed with them - lets hope that works!

We all have coffees and come to while the kids jump all over Uncle Phil - he definitely has his uses! It's really nice to see them all this morning as this is our last chance before going back to Sydney and then our next flight tomorrow morning. So we have a final catch-up with cousin Philip anf say our goodbyes to him and the children before he takes his leave with the children and then we get ourselves up and breakfasted. Before long, it's time to make our way and before moving on we say a quick and very fond farewell to my Auntie, trying to keep it quick to keep the tears at bay, and we head back to Sydney to leave Auntie to her usual Sunday lunch meeting with friends.

It's another lovely day and getting away before lunch means that the roads back to Sydney shouldn't be too busy yet. Sue and Phil suggest stopping at a place called 'Pie in the Sky' which is a roadside cafe on the old Pacific Highway road back to Sydney, a road that Phil uses when he's out on one of his Motobike rides. Sue hasn't been before but has always wanted to, even though she can't eat Pie! Still, we can so it sounds like a good idea to us and we get parked in the dirt car park only to see three police cars parked, obviously getting their lunch, and Phil makes a mental note that lunchtimes is a good time to use the road and avoid getting seen by the Police! As we get out of the car, another car parks in the corner of the dirt area and there is suddenly a very loud bang and cloud of dust from his front offside and apparently he has had a blowout - that was probably meant for us and somehow, someone else has had our bad luck today - how lucky is that?

We have to negotiate the many bikers and their parked bikes as this is obviously as popular a place for them as the road is because of the bends - when they put in the new Freeway, they made it nice and straight whereas the old road has lots of uphill and downhill bends - apparently what bikers love (along with pies)! The long list of pies makes it hard to make a decision but, eventually we decide and order and Becky wins the paying game, and we sit at a table in the sun enjoying the view over the bush where they have had plenty of fires, but it's all looking good and green today.

Pies devoured and drinks drunk and Sue's eaten her packed lunch she brought with her, so we move on and continue along the old road and before long we are in the Ku-ring-gai National Park and park up in an area called Bobbin Head and go for a walk along the Gibberagong Walking Track through the Mangroves to an area where rock carvings show where Aborigines used to live and used the rocks to make tools and carvings.

There are also some amazing trees growing at strange angles and with branches that make very odd shapes. This one in particular looks like a giant bird perched on a rock!

Then we walk to where there is a Marina and admire the beautiful setting where, all along the edge of the river there are picnic areas with bar-b-q's provided for people to use, all you need to do presumably is get there early enough to claim the one you want - what a good idea. I suppose if we had better weather in the UK, we might have some of these?


After such a lovely walk in beautiful sunshine, we are quite satisfied, but after returning home and getting ourselves settled back in, we decide to go out to a place called Balmoral Beach to get some fish and chips to eat by the beach.

When we get there, it is absolutely beautiful, but unfortunately rather too windy to sit out and eat so we walk along the front and admire the view as the sun sets across the bay, and from the small peninsula that goes out into the bay, we can see the remains of the Shark Net that was used after a number of fatal shark attacks and was erected in 1935 and only removed in 2008! Fills you with confidence!

After a pleasant stroll, we then head off to a Thai Restaurant not far from where Sue and Phil live to have dinner and prepare Becky and I for the next part of the journey. Fortunately, we've remembered the two bottles of almost empty red wine from our two meals out and this gives us a chance to use them up to save them being thrown down the sink - such a waste!

A Little Piece of Haven

Today, we have no need to get up too early so when I get up to use the facilities at 8.30 a.m., I'm surprised to find I'm the only one up as my Auntie had said she gets up at 6 a.m. evey morning. When I come out of the bathroom, she's emerged from her bedroom where she's been quietly waiting for movement, so I go and put the kettle on and slowly, people start to wake up and get moving.

After some breakfast, my Auntie takes us for a guided tour of her Retirement Village, showing us the main 'Village' hall which has communal facilities for residents which includes just about all you could possibly want. There are rooms for all sorts of different things - cards, table tennis, darts, library and a kitchen where you can help yourself to tea/coffees etc., and even a beautiful swimming pool outside.

The whole area is landscaped with paths and a stream that just make you feel like sitting and soaking it all up. It truly is a place where you would want to spend your retirement (well I would), with like minded people, all enjoying the facilities as and when you feel the need.

We have a light lunch back at Auntie's and leave her to have a restful afternoon as we go off to Philip's house to spend some time with the family again, where we get introduced to the family pets, Rex the dog and Fluffy the rabbit. After a quick tour of the house, I go for a drive with Philip to pick up one of the children who's been out on a playdate. It's really good to catch-up and also to see a bit of the area where he lives, the beach there is beautiful and apparently where a lot of Sydney's residents head for the weekend! When we return, the little ones get very over-excited in their home environment and once again, Uncle Phil gets the full brunt of their excitement!

Becky and I struggled with what little gifts we could bring for these children who don't even know us, but felt we should bring something. Rather than something like sweets when we arrived in Australia (although previously mentioned Lindt Chocolates had been bought as a back-up plan), we decided on something a bit more British and bought three items from Heathrow Airport that were probably left over from the Jubilee/Olympics last year! We gave these items to the kids at this point and the excitement was soon curtailed as they asked what they'd been given and then threw them aside to continue playing with Uncle Phil. The Chocolates were a little better received!

It is decided that we'll go down to the beach and then for a walk to the Haven, we have no idea what that is but it all sounds good. We park in the ample parking area and meet up with the family when they arrive, then make our way down to the beach, down the slipway, only to find there are a large number of Pelicans in the water there which is quite normal for the locals, I'm sure, but is really surreal, and quite exciting, for us!

The children and adults enjoy wave jumping and we all get our feet wet, in fact most of us even get clothing well past the knee wet too, but it's all dried in the sun pretty quickly and then it's time to share chips at the beach cafe before walking up the path, along which Becky finds a suitable pole to try for another photo opportunity for her Pole Group. She manages to climb and strike a pose quite quickly, but not quick enough as the two youngest children decide to come back and help, and want to climb the pole too. Good old Uncle Phil steps in to lift them up the pole and they're soon sliding down. Becky suggests that if she gets into position, Uncle Phil can lift one of them onto her lap, which works well for the photo!

We continue the walk up the hill to enjoy the views from an area called The Skillion which is part of an area called The Haven where we enjoy fantastic views from the two viewing platforms provided as this is a good spot to see Whales as they pass along the coast but, unfortunately, we've timed it wrong again.

Time is getting on so we return to the cars, and get back to Auntie, only to find her having had all her old photo albums out and had a lovely afternoon of tears and smiles, looking through them and remembering a lot of good times.

Once again, we go out for a meal with all the family and to a Chinese Restaurant this time, and we remember to take a bottle (fortunately Phil had bought half a dozen, hopefully not because he thought we'd have drunk them all before it was time for us to leave, more because it's always good to have some in store in case of visitors like us!) - I love these Bring Your Own places - what a good idea! We arrive after Philip and his family as we had to return because Auntie realised five minutes down the road that she had forgotton to put her teeth in (not the whole lot, just a couple of falsies!) so we returned for her to save herself any embarrassment. As we left once again for the restaurant, she said "Don't tell them why we're late!"

When we arrive, the large round table has a paper tablecloth for which the restaurant provides a pot of crayons and already the children have written and drawn over quite a lot of the spaces. Much fun is had by everyone writing comments and scribbling out and re-writing, and drawing pictures of each other. Becky was talking to Philip's wife soon after we arrived and Auntie asks if Becky was telling them about her and her teeth, which she wasn't but now everyone knows anyway!

It's a lovely meal, once again everyone shares their dishes and the lazy susan in the middle is constantly spinning one way and then the other so I manage to keep missing out on most of the food as it whizzes past, still its good for the diet I'm starting when I get home!