I'm surprised to see some of my posts actually worked. Internet connections were so poor that I just put the odd few comments on Facebook.
I arrived back to the worst flooding in Cumbria within living memory. But it somehow passed me by, or I passed it by, while I slept off my jet-lag. High up on the hill above the estuary the house in Arnside was safe from rising water and no power cuts killed the supply of electricity. On Monday I found that Lancaster had been almost cut off from the rest of Lancashire and had been without power for over two days.
What memories have stayed with me from my trip to South East Asia?
Surprise to find Bangkok less westernised than I'd expected for a huge cosmopolitan capital. There were the vast shopping malls rising like islands from the confusion and tumult flowing through the streets below; safe air conditioned resorts for the wealthy with all the shops you might find in London, New York, Paris and Hong Kong. But down below in the streets there were not that many signs in English and few people spoke even a few words of it. So finding my way around was not that easy. I was staying in an AirBnB self contained room in a place called My Condo, about an half an hour from the Royal Place complex. It was owned by Joe (Watanapun) but he lived on the other side of the city. If I did not want to make a long hot walk into town then there was the 203 bus. I never got to try any other bus route than the good old 203. I was also never sure how much I was supposed to pay so always just handed in a 20 Baht note and took my change.
I remember the way the traffic beeped. Cars, bikes, tuk-tuks and buses chatted to each other in sharp little beeps like a flock of tiny birds. Beep, I'm here. Beep, I'm over here. Beep, I'm changing lane. Beep. Beep. Beep.
The magnificence of the Royal Palace complex and Wat Pho cannot be forgotten, and the mixture of styles and influences in the architecture and decoration, Chinese, Indian, Cambodian and Lao.
The mad ride through the congested traffic on the back of a motor bike; something my guide book said was too dangerous to risk. But the skill of the driver as he wove his way between buses, trucks and cars at break neck speed was undeniable.
I arrived back to the worst flooding in Cumbria within living memory. But it somehow passed me by, or I passed it by, while I slept off my jet-lag. High up on the hill above the estuary the house in Arnside was safe from rising water and no power cuts killed the supply of electricity. On Monday I found that Lancaster had been almost cut off from the rest of Lancashire and had been without power for over two days.
What memories have stayed with me from my trip to South East Asia?
Surprise to find Bangkok less westernised than I'd expected for a huge cosmopolitan capital. There were the vast shopping malls rising like islands from the confusion and tumult flowing through the streets below; safe air conditioned resorts for the wealthy with all the shops you might find in London, New York, Paris and Hong Kong. But down below in the streets there were not that many signs in English and few people spoke even a few words of it. So finding my way around was not that easy. I was staying in an AirBnB self contained room in a place called My Condo, about an half an hour from the Royal Place complex. It was owned by Joe (Watanapun) but he lived on the other side of the city. If I did not want to make a long hot walk into town then there was the 203 bus. I never got to try any other bus route than the good old 203. I was also never sure how much I was supposed to pay so always just handed in a 20 Baht note and took my change.
I remember the way the traffic beeped. Cars, bikes, tuk-tuks and buses chatted to each other in sharp little beeps like a flock of tiny birds. Beep, I'm here. Beep, I'm over here. Beep, I'm changing lane. Beep. Beep. Beep.
The magnificence of the Royal Palace complex and Wat Pho cannot be forgotten, and the mixture of styles and influences in the architecture and decoration, Chinese, Indian, Cambodian and Lao.
The mad ride through the congested traffic on the back of a motor bike; something my guide book said was too dangerous to risk. But the skill of the driver as he wove his way between buses, trucks and cars at break neck speed was undeniable.