Europe Challenge

If it wasn’t enough of a challenge organising 70 people going to one destination at the one time, most doing different things along the way, and also putting together a tour itinerary for some of them, then being on the tour was. It was definitely the experience of a lifetime, sent to be travel coordinator for a group of 46 ‘crane related’ people travelling from Monaco to Munich visiting crane factories along the way. I won’t go into details of the tour itself, more the places we visited and the hotels we stayed at and my experiences.

I flew with Cathay, Melbourne to Hong Kong in their newer business class and then Hong Kong to Frankfurt in their older one. They were both fantastic, fully flat bed, the older one seemed to have more luggage storage for easy access, and I found the new business class more private as I faced in to the window rather than out to the aisle. It is interesting that in business class they still come down the aisle with the food on a trolley rather than on a tray like other business classes, but it is certainly not like the trolleys you experience in economy. The food was really good, an Asian feel but not over the top. Arriving into Frankfurt it was a bit of an effort to get over to the Lufthansa area and onto my next flight, but thanks to watching too many movies on the Cathay flights I slept well on the flight to Nice. From there it was an hour plus by car in traffic to Monaco. It’s a nice drive, but by the time you get there you just want to get into your room. I had a number of participants with me so they checked in first and I waited in the lobby for my room to become available, greeting other participants as they arrived.

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The Fairmont Monte Carlo is a large hotel on the water with the F1 track right out front, and rooms with views to ‘the corner’ which I only learnt about once I was there. Stand at the entrance of the building and you will see a row of expensive cars including Bentley’s, Jaguar’s, Ferrari’s, and a Mini to make you laugh at the scene in front of you. Walk up some stairs and you are at the most famous casino in the world, and surrounded by more expensive cars. I learnt that there is something like 35000 citizens of Monaco and about 8000 Ferraris registered so you don’t see many ‘normal’ cars here. I spent the next day touring around the towns of the region, seeing the famous theatre in Cannes, along the coast of Nice and up into the mountain villages of St Paul de Vence and St Andre de la Roche. I much preferred the charm of the mountain villages than the pretentiousness of the coastal towns. That being said seeing the cars, yachts and glamour is a sight to behold and I’m glad I have seen it now.

From Monaco we headed to Torino in Italy, a small industrial city with a typical Italian feel and appeal. We stayed at the Golden Palace here, and boy was it a confusing, it seems to be two old buildings somehow made into one to house all of their rooms. The rooms were lovely, but small as expected for an inner city hotel, mine overlooked a courtyard and back over to the main lobby and restaurant area. I had to have a pasta, I was back in Italy after all, and it didn’t disappoint…

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From here we travelled to the town of Como on Lake Como. One of the highlights of the trip for me, I enjoyed another pasta for lunch before we walked around the city and up the cable car for a great, albeit foggy, view over Como and the lake. I had arranged dinner at Grand Hotel Tremezzo for some of the participants and was offered a trip in an original speedboat with a tour of the lake on the way. I found my future home, owned by George Clooney, and where my future friends holiday – the Versace’s and Richard Branson. The Grand Hotel Tremezzo itself is one of only three 5 star hotels on the lake and it is spectacular, situated next to Villa Condotti with its famous gardens, it has views over the water to Bellagio. The lovely Elena took me to see some of the rooms, including the suites with Jacuzzi’s on the balcony with the same view. I’m already trying to work out when I can get back to stay there. The rates in rooms aren’t as ridiculous as you’d think, and they are worth it for the experience, view, food and service. We stayed at Metropole Suisse in Como, and although its location was fantastic, across the road from the lake and close to the train station and on the edge of town, it was in desperate need of a refurb. The reception area was nice enough, but the bar and rooms all needed some basic updates. Comparing these two in quality and price I couldn’t imagine not spending a small amount more and staying at the Grand Hotel Tremezzo.

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And then we were off again driving through Switzerland and Liechtenstein (although we only found out we were in Liechtenstein as we were leaving) into Austria and the small town of Bludenz, this is in a ski area surrounded by mountains. The Hotel Val Blu was a modern hotel, and quite querky. The most common comment I heard was that it felt like Ikea, and that’s a bit true. But it had fantastic gym facilities and a good bar with snacks, the staff were nice, although I’m not sure they realised how busy 40 odd Australians could make their bar.

We then crossed the border into Germany and into the town of Straubing where we stayed at the Hotel Asam in the centre of town. I was impressed with this hotel, it was modern but not over the top after Val Blu, they had taken the old world charm of the building and made it comfortable, but not quaint either. The restaurant and bar were fantastic, although they did get a few of their bourbons and whiskeys (not mine!) confused. I’m not sure why you would be travelling to Straubing, but if you do I’d highly recommend this hotel.

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From here it was to Ulm not far from Munich, a town famous for its Cathedral. There’s a bit of contention over whether people liked this hotel, it wasn’t in the centre of town, so you couldn’t just walk out the door to the shops or the cathedral, but there was a tram stop out front from that it took 10 minutes to get you to town and cost €2 if you chose to pay (although I believe it’s meant to be required). The hotel itself was located on a small lake/dam so made for a beautiful outlook from the lobby, bar and restaurant as well as many of the rooms. The rooms were spacious, and I really enjoyed waking up to sunrise over the ‘lake’. The restaurant didn’t seem to know how to handle larger groups, trying to force participants onto a set/limited menu, so many made the journey into the city, and others chose to stay in the bar and enjoy the menu there. This is a great town if you want to be in the Munich area but not in the thick of it and see some of the surrounding areas. Personally I really liked the hotel, but not everyone likes the same things.

Before we ended the trip we took a side trip from Ulm to the Black Forest staying in a town called Freiburg. The drive through the Black Forest was nice, we stopped in a small town that was rather touristy, and then headed to our hotel in Freiburg. I could spend a long time complaining about this hotel, but I’ll put it simply. The hotel was meant to be on the edge of the main part of Freiburg, instead it was located in an area 20+ minutes away from real Freiburg also known as Freiburg. I met a local friend here and he said he didn’t even know that the area was Freiburg. So the confusion is understandable, unfortunately the hotel doesn’t quite explain any of this on the website. The hotel itself was nice enough, they were really not prepared for the rapid influx at their bar, which lead to issues and rudeness from staff, and some of their rooms left a lot to be desired, mine was nice enough and had doors out to the garden, unlocking the front door was difficult and I had to get help a couple of times. Their beer garden and restaurant were well situated and when the sun was out it was nice to sit back with a stein or similar. They had refurbished their lobby which did mislead you as to the quality of their property overall. So sadly not one I’d recommend in future.

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The next day it was off to visit the Mercedes Benz and Porsche Museum. For a non-car lover this was still an enjoyable experience, learning a lot about the history of the automotive industry. From here we headed to Augsburg on the outskirts of Munich, a cute town undergoing a massive restoration so I’d suggest going back here in 6-12 months once the work is done. Here we stayed at the Dorint hotel, a great business hotel near the train station and not a long walk from town (or a short cab ride). I was impressed with the shopping in both Munich and Augsburg. But maybe by this stage I just needed some retail therapy.

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My final day was spent at BAUMA, a massive convention held every three years in Munich. It’s a trade fair for construction machinery, but that seems like too simple of an explanation. In the 5 days it ran there were over 530,000 visitors from over 200 countries looking at 3420 exhibitors. Let’s be honest, I spent most of my time here staring at machines that made little or no sense to me and getting lost trying to find some of the brands/people I did know. It was definitely an experience, and the boys in Lederhosen gave me a laugh.

I’d like to finish by thanking all the participants on the tour for their support as I undertook this new adventure, CICA for the opportunity to come along, and the crane manufacturers that were hospitable to the tour group and myself – Manitowoc, Liebherr, Sennebogen and those represented by participants on the tour.

Classrooms of Uganda

This story doesn’t describe the normal trip you’ll read about from us at The Departure Lounge. This wasn’t just another trip, it was a volunteer trip that had been at least 2 years in the making. I’ve lived in a developing country before and travelled to others, so the poverty and lack of human resources did not surprise me as it did others. But still this trip affected me deeply. The main purpose of the trip was to build classrooms at Sunrise Community School, about 6-7 hours North East of Kampala the capital of Uganda, and about 25kms from the Kenya border. I was travelling in a group of 10 people, 8 male and one other female from Australia, all of whom I’d met for a few hours in preparation meetings in the months before going, yet only one of whom I knew relatively well. Of the 10, 3 had travelled to Uganda and Bwugogo (the village where Sunrise is) before, to build two classrooms and a small office at Sunrise. Since then the other classes had been run out of mud buildings that continually fell apart.

We arrived into Entebbe Airport an hour (depending on traffic) out of Kampala on Lake Victoria, and had a few hours running errands/eating before heading north to Mbale, the 3rd biggest city (if you can call it that) in Uganda. The traffic was crazy, there were people everywhere, trucks, cars and motorbikes squeezed around each other, and blew a lot of thick black smoke. The city itself was crowded, and thanks to the heat, not the nicest smelling place, markets are packed with a lot of people just standing around. I’d say Mbale is a medium sized town, and it was a 5 hour drive there (after 20 hours in the air) so we arrived in time to go to bed! The next morning we spent preparing for the village, buying necessities such as bottled water and toilet paper, as well as rice, oil, coffee and tea etc. The next hour or so took us into more remote areas and ultimately to Bwugogo and the house of Taopiska and Andrew, our local host for the next week and a bit. We two girls were put in a room with a bed smaller than a double (to share) and barely enough space to put our luggage on the floor. The ‘boys’ shared the other bedrooms and our hosts along with their housekeeper Grace (and her two year old Stella) were at either end of the house in what I think at other times would be used as storage spaces.

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Photo Top to Bottom Left – Gloria, Anna, Rose. Right – Vicki and Stella (holding Caitlin’s hand)

From the moment you stepped off the bus you were surrounded by enthusiastic local children, my hands were being held, or my top or skirt grabbed as next best options. Whenever we were at the house , there were children touching you, climbing on you, wanting to be with you, and have your attention. They were adorable children, and there were a number we became especially close to; Stella (mentioned above), Vicki (the daughter of a neighbour who came around to help Grace with cooking etc), Anna (who lived across the road), her older sister Rose and Gloria (who with her younger brother, Junior, lived with Anna as their mum was nowhere to be found and the dad was trying to make his way in Kampala). But as much as they were gorgeous and lovely, for the next 8 days whenever we were at the house the children were all over us (I’m not talking a few children, I’m talking probably about 15-20 at any one time). As much as this was lovely, it was hard not to want some space after a while, but then once we’d left the village I missed them, and still do.

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Upon arriving at Sunrise we were welcomed with a number of songs by the students. The previously built classrooms stood in all their glory, although they needed a paint touch up. Luckily we had a professional painter in our team. The slab for the new classrooms had already been laid and the local workers, headed up by foreman Mike, were starting on the walls. The 6 days we were onsite mostly consisted of creating lines of 15 or so meters and throwing bricks person to person to get them from the large pile where the truck had dumped them to where they were accessible for the workers to lay them. We also had the opportunity to mix cement, lay bricks for walls and chop down trees from the local area (with a machette) and carry them back to the site (on foot) to be used as scaffolding. It was hot and for those of us (me) who sits behind a desk all day it wasn’t the easiest work, but Caitlin (the other girl) and I took it upon ourselves one day to build a step from broken bricks for the old classrooms; we just hope it’s still together when the team head back in two years. We left the building at the rim beam stage, a term I learnt in Uganda, which is a beam of cement capping window frames and ultimately balancing all the walls and the weight of the roof to be put on top of it.

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We were able to help construct the metal rods that held the cement together for the rim beam and watch it all come together before we had to leave the village. The frame and roof, along with theverandah and rendering will be completed by the local workers, with the money supplied through our fundraising. We expect it to be done before the children head back to school at the start of February. During our time at the school they held a meeting with parents and local council people which gave us a better understanding of what our work meant to them and the issues they faced, and before leaving the village we dedicated the new classrooms and promised to come back and finish the school.

Daily life in the village was interesting, eating chapatti with Nutella for breakfast, amazing pineapple for lunch, and different meat stews along with rice and mashed cooking banana for dinner. We found a local stall that cooked meat skewers (fresh) and hot chips, and cold soda was sold nearby so we made several trips there just for some piece of home. Bathing and laundry consisted of a daily trip to the river 5 minutes walk away, where the kids would jump in with us as well, or stand around watching and laughing. The water was not exactly clean, nor warm. But after being on site, in the heat and getting red mud over you from the bricks you didn’t mind so much. All part of the experience! The final part of the experience I feel it would be remiss of me to not say, but fear it may not be what you want to read, namelythe ‘bathroom’ experience. Let’s put it simply and quickly – there were drop (pit) toilets at the house, and they certainly weren’t my favourite thing, but you adjust because - well, nature calls. Luckily I was able to avoid using the ones at the school which were drop toilets with no doors… I’ll leave that topic there.

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After leaving the rim beam stage in progress, and giving donated clothing to the people at Andrew and Taopiska’s house we headed back to Mbale. It was a mix of emotions as we said goodbye to these beautiful people we’d become so close to, yet we were heading off on the next part of our adventure – and a shower and flush toilet. We spent the night in Mbale before heading off to Sipi Falls, the memory of the lovely shower and flush toilet would have to last me another day. We spent the day at three different waterfalls, walking through gardens and on small paths to get up close to them, I’ll admit I didn’t do all of the walks… From our accommodation we could see one of the waterfalls, and over a beautiful valley that seemed to stretch for miles and miles. Our rooms were huts built from traditional materials mostly, and the lack of electricity and internet connection (we’d had it on and off in the village) forced us all to relax a little. Several of us continued our 500 game which would become an enjoyable time passer, even while on the bus, over the next few days (I’ll note here I was on the winning team more often than not throughout our time away!)

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After Sipi we headed to Jinja, a rather touristy town in comparison and the source of half of the Nile river. After a long lunch and waiting for Clarice, a very special girl from Melbourne doing an amazing job in Uganda, we didn’t end up seeing the actual source of the Nile, but instead we saw the difference Clarice is making in Uganda. Globally in 2005, according to UNICEF, there are 132 million orphans, 2.5 million are in Uganda (1.2 million orphaned by AIDS). To give it some perspective, Uganda is about the size of the state of Victoria. Clarice runs Care4Kids orphanage in Jinja (http://www.isaaustralia.org.au/OurWork.aspx), with about 80 children in her care, the youngest just 18 months. She is only in her early 20’s, and is supporting herself financially; the children and orphanage are run through child sponsorship mostly. The children here sang a number of songs and danced for us as well. The little 18 month old decided to be my friend while we were there… I struggled to hand him back!

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From Jinja we headed to Kampala for the night, before heading to Murchison falls, a drive that took about 5 hours. Once inside the national park it was bumpy and hot, and there was a risk of putzi flies (a dangerous fly!) getting into the van, so with windows shut and no aircon, it was not a fun ride for someone who suffers motion sickness. But once at Murchison Falls’ Paraa Lodge listening to the calls of Hippos only a few meters from your room and watching the baboons come up pool side, you forget the drama of getting there. We went on two game drives while at Murchison Falls and a river cruise. We got to see a lioness, giraffe, hippos, crocodiles, elephants, ‘Pumbas’, a jackal, monkeys, buffalo and many different birds and deer. It was my first safari experience, and one I won’t forget in a hurry.

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After two nights at Murchison we got to visit Murchison falls (the actual falls) before we went back to Kampala, to unwind, debrief, relax, and of course buy souvenirs. In Kampala we also got to visit Watoto’s Suubi Village. Watoto is another orphanage, with a difference. I won’t go into detail; feel free to check out their website http://www.watoto.com/home They house several thousand orphans in the villages and baby houses. The wonderful Peter who accompanied us on all of our travels, and headed up the Uganda side of things as far as the building and transport, used to work for Watoto, and now runs Border-less travel, a tour company with a difference for Uganda and Kenya (http://www.borderless-travel.com).

There are no words to adequately sum up this trip and explain the life changing difference it made in my life. So I’ll finish by saying thank you for your interest and your support. The team headed up by Andrew (in Australia) and Peter will be heading back in 2014 to build the last few classrooms and offices at Sunrise. I personally would love to go again and hope that circumstances allow me to. If you would like to know more, see more photos (I have thousands!) or be involved in anyway, please don’t hesitate in contacting me. Wanyala Nabi (Thank you very much).

Fiji for the First Time

I have 3 reasons for writing this blog post about Fiji - firstly, this was my first experience to Fiji so I came with a different view to those who have been many times. Secondly, I also stayed at the Radisson at Denarau and would like to share my feedback. Thirdly, I travelled with my sister and two nieces, aged 7 and 9 so our experience was a little different. Ultimately, we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Fiji and at Jean Michel Cousteau especially.

We started off on the horribly timed flight leaving at 1.35am with Air Pacific. This meant the girls had slept for about 2 hours before we had to leave for the airport, and by the time we checked in and got through immigration the girls were wide awake again. We finally got on the flight and tried to settle the girls in… they stayed awake for most of the 4 and a half hour flight. The airline food offerings are limited and the service leaves a lot to be desired, but at that time of night you don’t mind too much, on the way back this is a little more frustrating. They also don’t have good entertainment for children (and I wasn’t overly impressed for myself either), so make sure you bring a book or movies on an iPad. We arrived at 8am Fiji time and were transferred to the Radisson, it takes about an hour or so depending on traffic, and when we arrived our room wasn’t ready for us, so we took our bags to a corner and got out our swimming gear. We headed to the restaurant to find their limited options for breakfast as the buffet had closed. After breakfast we settled in by the pool until I headed up to reception around 1, having not received the promised call, checking if our room was ready. It was, so we headed to the room to finally shower and rest a little. We spent the rest of the day by the pool and relaxing in our room. At dinner time we decided to stay close by and have dinner at the Thai restaurant onsite, from here we were able to see a wedding reception happening at the property, that was a bit of fun, and we enjoyed a lovely al fresco dinner. The following morning we headed to the buffet breakfast where we paid around $30 per adult, and not much less for the girls. The food we had was good, unfortunately there were a lot of people there so queues were long and food wasn’t restocked very quickly so the options almost felt limited. My biggest disappointment with my stay here and on Denarau in general would be the food.

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The pool area is really large, which is good as there are lots of people, the island of Denarau is built up on mudflats so the ocean isn’t inviting at all, thus everyone congregates around the pool. There is an adults pool just separated from the family pool but I was hanging out with my nieces so didn’t really spend time there. The swim up bar was a bit of fun, but the service again let it down, so much so that I actually contacted the hotel afterward to let them know and received sincere apologies. Anyway, fantastic pool area over all, our room was large, we had a king bed in a separate bedroom and a kitchen, dining and lounge area, and a balcony overlooking the gardens. The bathroom had doors to the bedroom and the kitchen area, so I was on the fold out couch but able to access the bathroom directly. The staff from activities were fantastic with the children and we played different water games for many hours. There was also a waterslide in a separate but attached area that the kids loved and was a bit shallower and less crowded so you didn’t feel you had to be in with them the whole time. We decided to head to Denarau Port for dinner, and enjoyed a dinner of tapas here. The quality of both our dinners was really good, unfortunately none of the food lived up to the price point it was given. This to me is a sure sign you are in a touristy area. Even though the rates at the Radisson are significantly lower than JMC and other island properties, the experience and inclusions very quickly make them comparable.

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After two nights at the Radisson it was time to get our flight on the small 11 seater plane to Savu Savu Island and then the quick drive to JMC. We got a bit lost finding the terminal for our small inter-island airline but we made it and were the only ones on our flight. The plane is noisy, as a lot of small planes are, so make sure you have appropriate entertainment (and maybe earplugs) for children. The view from the plane is pretty incredible though!

You arrive at a small terminal building at Savu Savu and drive through fields of farms and banana trees before hitting the small town and then along the coral beaches to JMC. Upon arrival you are made to feel at home, with a small band playing and singing and fruity drinks on offer. While Sarah (my sister) and I checked in the girls were taken off by their new buddy to look around the kids club and down to the water to become quickly accustomed to the lay out of the property. Check-in was easy and soon after we were in our villa 10 meters from the beach and with day bed and hammock overlooking the water. The girls didn’t need much encouragement to change into their bathers, get their bag ready and head off to the kids club. Not long after Sarah dropped the girls off we were treated to a foot massage at our villa, and then Sarah headed off for her complimentary massage, what a way to start a holiday!

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Because the girls were a little older they don’t have a nanny each, instead they had one buddy who was with them from morning to night, whenever you wanted them to be. We would have breakfast together and then their buddy would meet us, organise their program and meals for the day and then head off with the girls. There were other children of similar ages at the property so they organised special activities like building a raft that was then connected to the back of a speed boat and they were taken for a ride. They do offer a scheduled program for the kids including trips out snorkelling, basket weaving and the likes. If you specifically want these to happen you need to ask for it, otherwise as is the culture of the Fijian’s they won’t push you to do anything except relax. That being said whatever you ask for is given, quickly.

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JMC organises a village experience with a customary kava ceremony in a nearby village, home to many of the staff of JMC. This was a great experience, as expected it was very put together, and they have a small souvenir market set up which is a good way to give money back to the locals directly rather than paying the high mark ups of the stores. And you get to see where and how the locals live. They also organise a visit to a waterfall, the hike through the rainforest is a little daunting but when Sian (7) fell over she was carried there and then back because of a blister on her foot – tough life for some. The pool at the bottom of the waterfall is lovely, however its deep with only a few places you can hold on to, so be prepared. The staff accompanying the trip enjoy climbing the rocks and jumping in/showing off.

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The staff also organised a trip for the girls and Sarah into town to do some shopping, or just experience a little more of how the locals lived and they organised for me to go to a local bar one night for my own individual experience. As you can imagine there aren’t many young, single, childless people that come to a resort well set up for families so I felt like I was treated extra specially. The activities staff at the resort are eager to please also, we all went sailing on several occasions, and snorkelling as a part of the daily snorkelling trip – even if its just one person who wants to go. They have a private island where you can enjoy a private picnic, and from here I came close to some small sharks. The water is shallow and clear so you can see the schools of fish swimming around your feet. And from the resort you can take a walk, when tide permits, to the same village visited as a large group and get a personal tour of the village, meeting staffs families and friends.

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Now I don’t want to talk too much about the food, but all I can say is WOW! Every meal you are served as many courses as you can handle and a range of fresh fruit juices. As well as morning and afternoon tea, if you really think you can fit it in. The girls are given the choice of eating with us or eating from a more limited but still fantastic menu at the Bula (kids) club. They are the Masterchef generation so they have an appreciation of the many foods on offer and regularly tried to complete the multiple courses on offer with much enjoyment. All meals and non-alcoholic drinks are included, so then when the kids are brought back to the bar/lounge area before dinner for a presentation by the on-site marine biologist the adults sit along the bar listening in and happily enjoy a cocktail or two as this really is all you have to pay for when you are there.

It’s hard for kids and adults alike to leave, there are not lots of staff at JMC, as many as are needed, which means you create close relationships with the people you have seen and spoken to daily. We all left with a feeling of sadness but determined to return again, because this was the perfect holiday, filled with relaxation, entertainment for the children, culture and amazing nature.

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Thailand Trails

Thailand – Emily is determined to figure out what this beach holiday thing is all about…

Let me preface this by saying I’m not a beach holiday kind of person. If I look back at all of the trips in my life there has only been one where I actually spent a significant portion of the holiday at the beach or by the pool. I’m an explorer, and get bored easily. So why would I choose to go to Thailand? Because I was made to! Well not completely but it was about time I went to Phuket, one of the big beach holiday destinations I send people to, and my mum needed to go to Bangkok for a conference and having not travelled much was in need of a travel companion. So at a month’s notice I planned a trip, a few days in Bangkok, 4 nights in Phuket and 2 in Chiang Mai – one of the few places in Thailand that I had really wanted to see.

We stayed at Siam @ Siam in the centre of Bangkok for two nights. I really liked the hotel, it was boutique but still had several restaurants, great breakfasts, and a pool overlooking the city. The spa, with the discount voucher I’d received on check in, was a great way to unwind at the start of my holiday. We organised a private tour with concierge to the floating markets and around the river-ways of Bangkok. So began the start of a long journey into the reality of a holiday in Thailand. They are all about making money from tourism. The boat took us to too-numerous-to-count stalls selling all kinds of kitsch souvenirs and from what I can now tell, not very cheaply. So we bought a few things and then kept going, repeatedly saying no at every other stall. Don’t get me wrong, going through the small canals and seeing how people lived was interesting, and the nature beautiful, we even came across a big market eating area, where people in boats cooked up hot food, on small stoves on their boats, to others in boats, or you could hop off and eat from a food stall, at a table. We kept going and after an hour or so hopped back in the car heading for Bangkok. We were then taken to my most hated tourist trap, the ‘factory’ for exports that is just a big shopping area where someone follows you the way through, and if you’re anything like me can’t find the exit quick enough. I can’t stress how much I disliked this being put on us to do and how much it tainted my experience of Bangkok. It also added a lot of time to our day. So then we headed back out of the city to the main river and hopped on another boat for a look at how the inner-city people dwell on the river. I have been told that about 30% of people in Bangkok live on the river or canals, this was really fascinating, there are some ramshackle properties right next door to some beautiful houses that could be from any city in the world. After another hour or so on the water we headed back to the car and to the hotel, so these few hours on the water at most took up most of our day.

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The next day saw us back in the car, but for a more exciting adventure, heading north to Kanchanaburi, the home of the ‘Bridge over the River Kwai’ and the Hellfire pass from WWII. We visited the bridge on the way and then it was off to our raft for the night, the River Kwai Jungle Rafts are a fun experience, but you wouldn’t want to stay more than a night. We had a lovely dinner ‘onboard’, and saw a Thai dance show with people from the local village. No electricity meant nothing to do but hang around and make a dent in my book. The next morning we made a quick visit to the local village for which the rafts had been built – the workers and profits all, apparently, go back into the village. We then caught our boat and car up to the Hellfire pass. The ‘Death Railway’ was an important part of the Japanese take over during WWII as they built a railway from Burma to Southern Thailand and used POW’s from throughout Asia along with other Asian ‘employees’ to build it. It is definitely a sad part of our history, and you can see how Hellfire Pass, a portion of the railway, ended up with its name. Over 100,000 people died to build the railway, so there are a number of monuments, and a large cemetery to visit as well as a few museums explaining the story.

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And so I abandoned mum and left for Phuket. Upon landing and exiting I was so glad I had organised a transfer for myself, with the number of people hanging around offering taxis and all competing for your attention, its very daunting especially when travelling by yourself. I then headed north of the airport, and to the Renaissance hotel, a large hotel, on a beautiful strip of beach secluded from the rest of Phuket. I spend 4 nights here, and enjoyed happy hour with $5 cocktails, massages by the beach, way too much choice at the breakfast buffet and a range of meals from around the world in the 4 different restaurants. I didn’t leave the resort much except for a few short bike rides to ‘stretch the legs’ and a half day trip in a taxi to show me around the rest of Phuket island. Nothing was as bad as I had pictured in my mind, but I was still glad I was staying ‘out of the way’. I did have one fun experience in Patong where I got my feet nibbled by small fish working as an exfoliant. It worked somewhat, and I’m glad I did it, but it is a strange feeling… 

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From Phuket it was off to Chiang Mai. I had spent some time in Phuket preparing for Chiang Mai. I’d booked a Thai Cooking School, and a day at an Elephant sanctuary (feeding and bathing elephants). That left one night at the markets (where no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t spend ‘too much’, and half a day riding a bike around town (it is really hot, so the earlier you do this the better). And that’s exactly what I did and I can’t recommend a stay in Chiang Mai highly enough, nor anything I did there. It’s not exactly the beach holiday, but it’s definitely my type of holiday.

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Back in Bangkok for the night before flying out mum and I headed out into the city for another day exploring. We first went to the Grand palace, but didn’t last long in the high heat, and hoards of people. Then off to Jim Thompson’s house, an ex-American who moved to Thailand after world war two and perfected the traditional ways of making silk. An avid art collector and architect in a previous life his house is definitely worth a look. Then off to MBK for some last minute shopping before heading home, I now understood why people say they go shopping in Thailand, it really is that cheap and you can get everything! One very yummy thing to mention here is the mango and sticky rice dessert. A popular dish throughout Thailand, I tried it twice, and would have to highly recommend it, just make sure you leave space…

So I definitely enjoyed my holiday but still not sure I’m the beach holiday type of girl, but I can easily accept a few days of relaxing by the beach!