Some things are just hard to give up. Once you get the taste for them, once you find out how good they are or how fun they are you just have to do it again. This is how we feel about Thailand, our home for over four years, now an irresistible magnet which was drawing us back. So since we were in the neighbourhood after visiting Sri Lanka we had to … Continue reading →
The bright yellow fish darted in and out of the coral reef below us, completely oblivious to our presence. They were joined by inquisitive little black and white striped fish, the larger colourful coral trout and dozens of other Nemo-like friends. And we had a private viewing of all this colour and movement through our mask and snorkel floating in the calm warm water of this protected bay. Such is … Continue reading →
Thailand is obsessed with elephants. They have been revered in Thailand for centuries, kings have ridden them into battle, people keep them as pets, they are the ever-lasting symbol of Thailand. And as it happens, one of our favourite places to visit on long weekends is Koh Chang, or Elephant Island. So when Julie’s youngest sister and her husband were in the neighbourhood we all agreed to spend a few … Continue reading →
5 March 2013….The rain is coming down harder and harder, the wipers can’t keep up with the torrents of water hitting the windscreen and the steep winding road has disintegrated to almost a four wheel drive track as it finds its way up this shrouded mountain. I put the car in its lowest gear, squint my eyes and hope for the best. If only I had my co-driver next to me … Continue reading →
No self-respecting cook in Thailand can survive long without a mortar and pestle. Julie is becoming a more serious student of Thai cooking, much to my benefit, but she was seriously lacking in the mortar and pestle department. I wasn’t even sure which one was the mortar and which one was the pestle so it seemed like a good excuse to have a weekend excursion and include a stop at … Continue reading →
22 November….The monsoon season, or rainy season as the Thais call it, can be pretty exciting. The thunder and lightning storms that come very predictably in the late afternoon almost every day can be spectacularly bright and deafeningly loud, especially when the storm is right on top of you. The rain can come down like there’s no tomorrow and sometimes it feels that way. From my office window on the … Continue reading →
20 October….A small group of people had the unique life experience of leading young people around Europe in 1970’s and 1980’s on camping bus tours for 18-35 year olds. Through the main attractions of Europe, Scandinavia, North Africa, Eastern Europe and the Greek Islands, these tours provided a great introduction to Europe for people travelling for the first time. I had the good fortune of working for one such company … Continue reading →
“Oh Bill” Julie cried out, “look out!” But I didn’t need this loud advice to realise our awkward situation. I quickly hit the pedal and swerved over onto the dirt shoulder of the road to just barely maneuver the car around the fully outstretched trunk of a huge bull elephant. I nervously glanced back at him in the mirror as we drove off, a look of curiosity and maybe … Continue reading →
4 August 2012…Our rattling old local train slowed down as it rounded a bend entering the local town of Mae Klong. The view from the train driver’s cabin was a surprise – a busy weekend market sprawled out across the train tracks as if a train hadn’t been through there in years. But as we approached the stall keepers quickly pulled back their awnings and moved their boxes of vegetables as … Continue reading →
8 July 2012….It doesn’t matter where you are or what your circumstances are, everyone enjoys having good friends come over for a catch up and a laugh. The difference for us is that when our friends in Sydney want to ‘come over’ to visit us it means taking a nine hour flight and a week’s holiday. So we’re always touched when it happens and usually end up turning what might … Continue reading →
As it turns out, Julie and I have recently developed quite a taste for islands, or so it seems. There is no master plan at play here but the last couple of trips have been to islands. So maybe there’s no surprise that on a recent long weekend we decided to visit one of the lesser known islands of Thailand, Koh Lanta. It didn’t work out exactly as we expected … Continue reading →
In February 2009 I moved to Bangkok after living in Sydney for 26 years. That was an amazing three years ago this month but it seems like only yesterday. The plan was for Julie to visit Thailand as many times as possible during the year but by her own choice she had one more year of motherhood duties at home with Zach as he settled into Uni. So we would … Continue reading →
15 February 2012….Thailand is impressively committed to preserving some of its natural settings despite the insatiable demand for more places for people to live, more farm land and more commercial development. There are almost 150 national parks in this country covering over 60,000 sq. kms of space – about 10% of Thailand’s total land. That’s outstanding evidence of the value the country accords its wild places.
Continue reading →The brave white water adventurers 26 December….A common question is ‘What do you give someone for birthday if they say they don’t need anything?’. Well, Julie is the master at these situations so when my birthday recently came up she had the perfect answer – a two day adventure white water rafting and camping trip on the Pai River in Northern Thailand. Perfect.
Continue reading →Koh Kood is not your normal first pick island holiday destination in Thailand. In fact for most people it wouldn’t rank in the top four or five islands, mainly because it is further away from Bangkok, not really developed to western standards and overshadowed by its larger and more popular neighbour Koh Chang. All these reasons made it an ideal place for us to spend a recent long weekend.
Continue reading →What does a children’s orphanage, a dam, a tent, 3,000 year old rock paintings and a couple of ferry crossings have in common? Normally I would say very little. But on a recent weekend we combined all these features plus a whole lot more into a busy couple of days up in the Kanchanaburi region northwest of Bangkok.
Continue reading →13 November….I’ve heard it described as surreal, the slowest train wreck of all time, living in a parallel universe or perhaps most succinctly – unbelievable. Yes, unbelievable probably says it best. Bangkok, a city of over 10 million people, is slowly being flooded, so slowly in fact that while some parts of the city can be under 2 metres of water the downtown area is completely dry. It is … Continue reading →
30 October….Family, sport and travel seem like three good ways to fill one’s leisure time and that’s pretty much what we’ve been doing lately. Unfortunately we’ve also had to deal with the massive flooding in and around Bangkok as the late season heavy rains have swamped all rivers and canals and the people of Northern Thailand have suffered enormously as a result.
Continue reading →6 October 2011….It’s a big world, right? I mean, as an example we’ve got family in California, Arizona and Washington. We’ve got most of our family in Sydney of course, when they’re home that is. We used to have family in Ireland and we still have family in Holland and Singapore. Plus there’s us in Bangkok. So we’re scattered and by definition our paths sometimes don’t cross often enough. That … Continue reading →
We’ve had a buffet of unique life experiences lately and been reminded that it’s the diversity of life in Thailand which is so fascinating and gives us all so much to learn from and enjoy. This place has such enormous scale from the super elite of society, including the royal family, to the humblest and simplest of life in the local villages. Any chance we get to experience that … Continue reading →
Every great city has much to offer its visitors but Bangkok seems to have an endless supply of memorable places, moments and experiences that makes living here such a joy for Julie and I. And through the benefit of having lived here a couple of years now we can scratch the surface beyond the typical tourist activities and begin to see how unique and special the Thai culture and society … Continue reading →
And they said it would never happen – Julie dragging me to the driving range 16 August 2011….Julie and I are living the old line ‘there’s just not enough time in the day’ or week or month or year. With our various travel and work commitments filling most of our calendar we always look forward to a free day or weekend to explore more of Bangkok or interesting … Continue reading →
On the banks of the Mekong 22 May 2011….You have to like the number of public holidays in Thailand this time of year. It creates opportunities to have three and even four day weekends – perfect if you want to explore northern Thailand and see the sights on the banks of the Mekong River as it separates Thailand from neighbouring Laos. On such a recent weekend we jumped in … Continue reading →
When you visit Khao Yai you gets lotsa waterfalls 1 May 2011….Khao Yai National Park is the jewel in the crown for Thailand’s outdoor natural playground. It doesn’t get the beaches, resorts, tourist brochures or airports of more well-known attractions but if you want mountains, jungles, wildlife and the natural beauty of inland Thailand, this is the place. It’s also Thailand’s first national park, and a World Heritage … Continue reading →
Happy little campers, Thai style 31 January 2011…What do you buy a girl who has everything? That’s exactly the dilemma I face every Christmas, which awkwardly arrives each year in the same week as Julie’s birthday. Well, this Christmas the answer was easy! I bought her a tent and a sleeping bag and a sleeping mat. Not because she only had 12 tents to choose from back in … Continue reading →
Resting after a long day of temple gazing Thailand is divided into 75 provinces, many of which have their own unique culture and history. Two neighbouring provinces north of Bangkok that have buckets of ancient history, unique cultural traits and a big dose of current controversial political affairs is Sukhothai and Tak. On a recent long weekend we hit the road to see what they had to offer.
Continue reading →14 November 2010….Life in Bangkok this year has been fantastic for many reasons but the most fun Julie and I have had is when we’ve had visitors. Which is just as well because we’ve had a lot of visitors, nicely spread out over the year, family and friends, former work colleagues, short stayers, long stayers, first timers, seasoned veterans, in singles, pairs and groups, we’ve had the lot. And as … Continue reading →
A window of opportunity to explore ancient Khmer temples 18 October 2010…At some time in everyone’s life you have to answer the question – how many 11th to 13th century Khmer temples is too many? Well, on a recent long weekend here in Bangkok Julie and I decided to find the answer to this all important question.
Continue reading →26 September 2010….On the weekends when we’re both in Bangkok and without any other plans we head out to explore this fabulous city. Our method and our plans vary from excursion to excursion and our transport is by any means, be it by foot, boat, car or train. There are so many places to explore, sometimes a couple of temples, sometimes a particular museum or park, maybe a market or little … Continue reading →
On 19 May after two months of increasingly hostile and violent protests here in Bangkok between the so-called Red Shirts and the government/military we saw the unimaginable happen.
Continue reading →Our website is finally up and running but still very thin on content or anything worth looking at. But hopefully that will change. In the meantime, we are not lost and hopefully not forgotten in the magnificent jungles of Bangkok.
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