Monthly Archives: November 2007

On our arrival in Sydney we went to see if we could check into our hotel. It was around 9:00 in the morning, as our flight from Singapore was overnight. The good news was that they let us check in. The bad news is that our room was right next to the elevator shaft. This […]

We did not have a long time to experience Singapore. We arrived in the afternoon and we left the following evening on an overnight flight. Singapore has many strict laws. You are not allowed to chew or even possess gum. It is strictly enforced that you only cross the streets with the lights, at the […]

The French were repelled from Cambodia on at least one occasion, before being kicked out for good in 1953. This did not bring a happy democracy to Cambodia. In 1970 while the king was visiting Russia, he was deposed. The new government didn’t fare too well either. The war was raging in Vietnam, and as […]

…from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. Warning “The Killing Fields” gallery may be disturbing, but not as disturbing as being there!!!

In the early 12th century King Suryavarman II ruled the Khmer Empire, a very rich reign of a kingdom which took in a large amount of South East Asia, but not a peaceful one as there was always threat from the neighbours, particularly Vietnam and Siam (now Thailand). The Kingdom was ruled from the area […]

… or a couple! Andy and I both really enjoyed Bangkok. This could be partially due to the fact that we stayed at one of the nicest hotels in the world (according to Conde Nast), the Oriental. The Oriental has a long and illustrious history from the time it opened as a boarding house for […]

We left the Chiang Mai Thai House and headed out of town to the Jasmine Rice village (apparently the type of rice used in regular Thai cooking is called “jasmine rice”, and this resort was in the middle of fields of the stuff). The resort is owned by internationally famous Thai TV chef Sompon Nabnian […]

I am in the process of uploading some more photos. These are the last of Thailand, a few more of Chiang Mai, when we moved out of town and took cooking lessons, and Bangkok where we shopped till we dropped and greatly enjoyed the Mandarin Oriental hotel. They should be uploaded after a few minutes […]

It is becoming more and more popular to go to countries where labour is cheap to receive high quality health care. There is concern that the treatment will not be a good as home, but according to the World Health Organization, there are 36 countries which offer better treatment than the US (and this includes […]

After our transition time at the beach in Hua Hin we flew to the town of Chiang Mai which is in the north of Thailand. We have both really enjoyed our time here. There are many things to see and do. Although there are lots of other tourists it is a big enough city to […]