UPDATE OF INDEX 1

15th Feb 2018

I am now happily back home, yet again, amidst the fog, rain, ice, wind and general gloom which so characterises our delightful country at this time of year. Whoopee!

The reason I write this stuff is primarily for my own amusement and record. When eventually I sit, immobile, dribbling, and incontinent in the Sunnylands Home for the Elderly and Confused I will hopefully be able to re-read these posts and remember where I have been and what I did. Of course my memory will have gone by then so every time nurse opens up the computer for me each page will always spring out as a complete surprise. It might also give a potential visitor to the places I have visited a sort of light-hearted 'heads up' of what to expect. 

To remind my reader of how to locate a particular location: Click on to 'arrow' next to the relevant year at the blog archive list top right of page. This opens up the months with titles. Then click on to relevant month arrow and that will open up the blogs in that month.
Incidently, if using a 'smartphone', scroll down to the bottom of the first page where you  should opt to 'view web version'. This allows you to select the 'arrows' as above. 

List of Posts

2011

Jan

1.      The Beginning

2.      At Sea - Now Antwerp - Belgium

3.      Stranded in Le Havre - France
Feb

4.      Crossing The Pond

5.      Noo Yawk, Noo Yawk - USA

6.      Virginia - USA

7.      Washington DC - USA

8.      Columbia - South Carolina - USA

9.      Charleston - South Carolina - USA
Mar

10.    Miami - Florida - USA

11.    Fort Lauderdale - Florida - USA

12.    Savannah - Georgia - USA

13.    Boston - Massachusetts - USA

14.    Boston - Post Script - USA

15.    Niagara Falls - Ontario - Canada

16.    Toronto - Ontario - Canada

17.    Winnipeg - Manitoba - Canada

18.    The Canadian - Toronto to Vancouver - Canada
Apr

19.    Vancouver Island - British Columbia - Canada

20.    Seattle - Washington - USA

21.    Amtrak. Seattle to San Francisco - USA

22.    San Francisco - California (Part 1) - USA

23.    San Francisco - California (Part 2) - USA

24.    San Diego - California - USA

25.    Tijuana to La Paz - Mexico

26.    La Paz - Mexico

27.    Mazatlan - Mexico
May

28.    Guadalajara - Mexico

29.    Mexico City

30.    San Christobal de Las Casas - Mexico

31.    Antigua - Guatemala

32.    San Salvador - El Salvador

33.    Managua and Granada - Nicaragua
Jun

34.    San José - Costa Rica

35.    Panama City

36.    Flight to Lima - Peru

37.    Lima - Peru

38.    Nazca - Peru

39.    Cusco - Peru

40.    Machu Picchu - Peru

41.    Andean Explorer - Peru

42.    Puno (Lake Titicaca) - Peru

43.    Arequipa - Peru
Jul

44.    Panama to Auckland - New Zealand

45.    Bay of Islands - New Zealand

46.    Lake Taupo - New Zealand

47.    Cape Reinga - New Zealand

48.    Russel Birdman Festival - New Zealand
Aug

49.    Rotorua - New Zealand

50.    Napier - New Zealand

51.    Wellington - New Zealand

52.    Blenheim - New Zealand

53.    Nelson - New Zealand

54.    West Coast, South Island - New Zealand

55.    Queenstown - New Zealand

56.    Lake Tekapo - New Zealand

57.    Christchurch - New Zealand

58.    Kaikoura - New Zealand

59.    Auckland - New Zealand

60.    Across the Tasman Sea
Sep

61.    Sydney (Part 1) - Australia 

62.    Sydney (Part 2) - Australia 

63.    Melbourne (Part 1) - Australia 

64.    Melbourne (Part 2) - Australia 

65.    Tasmania - Australia
Oct

66.    Adelaide - Australia

67.    The Ghan - Adelaide to Darwin - Australia

68.    Darwin - Australia

69.    The Red Centre - Australia

70.    Back to Adelaide - Australia

71.    Onwards to Brisbane - Australia

72.    Brisbane to Singapore (Part 1)

73.    Taxis
Nov

74.    Brisbane to Singapore (Part 2)

75.    Brisbane to Singapore (Part 3)

76.    Singapore (Part 1)

77.    Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia

78.    Up Country - Malaysia

79.    Singapore (Part 2)

80.    Mozart. Malaysia to Sri Lanka

81.    Colombo - Sri Lanka

82.    Coffee
Dec

83.    Kandy - Sri Lanka

84.    Nuwara Eliya - Sri Lanka

85.    Back to Colombo - Sri Lanka

86.    Galle - Sri Lanka

87.    The Ancient Cities - Sri Lanka

88.    Trincomalee - Sri Lanka

89.    Negombo - Sri Lanka

90.    Tiruchirappalli - India
91.    Kerala - India

2012

Jan
92.    Goa - India
93.    Bombay - India
94.    Delhi - India
95.    Palace On Wheels. Rajasthan (Part 1) - India
96.    Palace On Wheels. Rajasthan (Part 2) - India
97.    Palace On Wheels. Rajasthan (Part 3) - India
98.    Palace On Wheels. Rajasthan (Part 4) - India
99.    Palace On Wheels. Rajasthan (Part 5) - India
100.  Calcutta - India
Feb
101.  Rangoon - Burma
102.  The Train To Bagan - Burma
103.  Bagan - Burma
104.  Mandalay (Part 1) - Burma
105.  Mandalay (Part 2) - Burma
106.  Inle Lake - Burma
107.  Ngapali Beach - Burma
108.  Bangkok - Thailand
109.  Siem Reap - Cambodia
Mar
110.  Phnom Penh - Cambodia
111.  Saigon - Vietnam
112.  Hanoi - Vietnam
Apr
113.  Sa Pa - Vietnam
114.  Ha Long Bay - Vietnam
115.  Beijing (Part 1) - China
116.  Hong Kong
117.  Beijing (Part 2) - China
May
118.  Mongolia
119.  Siberia - Russia
120.  Trans-Siberian to Moscow
121.  Moscow (Part 1) - Russia
122.  Moscow (Part 2) - Russia
123.  St Petersburg - Russia
124.  Helsinki - Finland
125.  Rovaniemi - Finland
126.  Up To Kirkenes - Norway
127.  Hurtigruten (Part 1) - Norway
128.  Hurtigruten (Part 2) - Norway
129.  Hurtigruten (Part 3) - Norway
130.  Hurtigruten (Part 4) - Norway
Jun
131.  Bergen to Oslo - Norway
132.  Oslo - Norway
133.  Copenhagen - Denmark
134.  Hamburg - Germany
135.  Hook of Holland - and Home
Jul
136.  The End
Aug
137.  Post Script - London
138.  Stand-by For More...

2013

Sep
139.  To The Democratic Peoples Republic Of Korea (North Korea)
140.  Pyongyang 1 - North Korea
141.  Pyongyang 2 - North Korea
Oct
142.  Kaesong and Panmunjom - North Korea
143.  Back to Pyongyang - North Korea
144.  Pyongyang 3 - North Korea
145.  Samjiyon and Mount Paekdu - North Korea
146.  Daehongdan County - North Korea
147.  Chongjin - North Korea
148.  Hamhung - North Korea
149.  Wonsan and Mount Kumgang - North Korea
150.  Mount Kumgang 2 - North Korea
151.  Mount Kumgang 3 - North Korea
152.  Wonsan Again - North Korea
153.  Back To Pyongyang and On To Nampo - North Korea
Nov
154.  Nampo and Back To Pyongyang - North Korea
155.  Train To Beijing - North Korea
156.  The Finale
157.  Impressions of North Korea
158.  Vids From North Korea
Dec
159.  Zambia
160.  Battledore Farm - Zambia
161.  Cool Bananas - Zambia
162.  Banana Hazards - Zambia
163.  Back On The Farm - Zambia
164.  Continued Jollities - Zambia

2014

Jan
165.  Christmas In Darkest Africa - Zambia
166.  Lusaka 1  - Zambia
167.  Lusaka 2  - Zambia
168.  Livingston (I Presume) - Zambia
169.  On Safari - Botswana
170.  Ndola N'Home - Zambia
Feb
171.  Onwards To Sarf America
Mar
172.  Buenos Aires and The Wedding - Argentina
173.  Around Buenos Aires - Argentina
174.  Jujuy Province - Argentina
175.  Salta - Argentina
176.  Cordoba - Argentina
177.  Mendoza - Argentina
178.  Santiago (Part 1) - Chile
179.  Olmue and Valparaiso - Chile
180.  Santiago (Part 2) - Chile
Apr
181.  To Osorno and Bariloche - Argentina
182.  Bariloche - Argentina
183.  Ruta National 40 - Argentina
184.  El Calafate - Argentina
185.  Tierra Del Fuego (Part 1) - Argentina
186.  Tierra Del Fuego (Part 2) - Argentina
187.  Iguazu - Argentina
188.  Buenos Aires - Finale - Argentina

2015

Jan
189.  The Saga Of My Nearly Lost Hat - UK
Jul
190.  We Wish To Apologise... - UK
Aug
191.  Those Blasted Announcements... - UK
Sep
192.  Tuscany By Train - France
193.  Mulhouse to Montecatini - Italy
194.  Florence - Italy
195.  Around Montecatini - Italy
196.  Lucca and Pisa - Italy
197.  Venice 1 - Italy
Oct
198.  Venice 2 - Italy
199.  Venice 3 - Italy
200.  Turin - Italy
Dec
201.  'Nam Revisited - Vietnam
202.  Saigon Again - Vietnam

2016

Jan
203.  Merry Keesmah - Vietnam
204.  Up The Mekong - Vietnam
205.  Happy Noo Yeer - Vietnam
Mar
206.  Snowdrops - UK
207.  Turkey - An Inspiration
208.  Istanbul Or Bust
209.  Budapest - Briefly - Hungary
210.  Brasov - Transylvania - Romania
Apr
211.  Bucharest - Romania
212.  Onwards To Istanbul - Bulgaria
213.  This Was Constantinople - Turkey
214.  Up The Bosphorous - Turkey
215.  The Turkish Bath - Turkey
Sep
216.  Up The Kennet - UK
Oct
217.  Down The Baltics
218.  Tallinn 1 - Estonia
219.  Tallinn 2 - Estonia
220.  Tallinn 3 - Estonia
221.  On To Riga - Latvia
222.  Around Riga - Latvia
223.  Riga Finale - Stuck Up A Steeple - Latvia
224.  Vilnius...And The Dark Side - Lithuania
225.  Vilnius...The Bright Side - Lithuania
Nov
226.  A Damp Day In Warsaw - Poland
227.  Berlin And Bed Bugs In Brussels - Belgium
228.  Cultural Day In Lille - France
Dec
229.  Bah Humbug And Chrexit - Vietnam
230.  Laid-Back Laos - Vientiane - Laos
231.  Va Va Vang Vieng - Laos
232.  Vang Vieng Voom Voom - Laos

2017

Jan
233.  Luang Prabang - Laos
234.  Luang Prabang And Elephants - Laos
Oct
235.  Ariba Ariba and Off to Cuba
Nov
236.  Havana Wander - Cuba
237.  Havana Further Wander - Cuba
238.  On West to Viñales - Cuba
239.  Cienfuegos - Cuba
240.  Ye Olde Town of Trinidad - Cuba
241.  Santa Clara. Viva La Revolución - Cuba
242.  Varadero. - Cuba
243.  Guanabo. Playa del Ested - Cuba
Dec
244.  Back to Havana - Cuba
245.  Havana Finale - Cuba
246.  Chrexit 2017 - Thailand
247.  Phuket and Beaches - Thailand
248.  Phuket Town - Thailand
249.  Saigon Again - Vietnam

2018

Jan
250.  Wats in Chiang Mai - Thailand
251.  A Day Out in Chiang Mai - Thailand
252.  More Chiang Mai - Thailand
Feb
253.  Chiang Mai - Bangkok - and Home
Apr
254.  Silly Signs
May
255.  By Plane to Ukraine
Jun
256.  Kiev Part 1 - Ukraine
257.  Kiev Part 2 - Ukraine
258.  Chernobyl Disaster. The Background Story - Ukraine
259.  Chernobyl Part 1 - Ukraine
260.  Pripyat. The Ghost Town - Ukraine
261.  Chernobyl Part 2 - Ukraine
262.  Bermuda or Bust - Bermuda
   

CHIANG MAI- BANGKOK- AND HOME

11th - 16th Jan 2018

Trip up the Ping.

I took a short boat trip up the river Ping which runs through the centre of the city. There were only  three of us on the smallish 'long-tailed' boat, myself, a rather charming Chinese student and the boat driver. The Chinese guy was an IT student living in Seoul and spoke good English. We only went for an hour upstream to a riverside farm which grew all sorts of weird herbs and vegetables and we were given a conducted tour.

This 'farm' had an extensive restaurant and bar, and I believe tourists stayed here. The restaurant (left) had tables made from small canoes and could cater for large parties.

The menu looked quite interesting; especially item #93, the 'deep fried chicken knobbly knees'. 

I had eaten earlier and so resisted the temptation. There were indeed several chickens knocking about the place but they didn't appear to have knobbly knees....which is presumably why they were not on the menu.

Left: There was an interesting gents loo. The urinals and sinks are made out of carved tree trunks. Quite original, but I can't think very hygienic. 

Right: Another boat tethered alongside was kitted out for a cruise with dining. 

We were told that the river contained many large black and yellow coloured water snakes (in fact I saw one on the river Taing when we were on those rafts), but they are not venomous, apparently, and eat fish or perhaps slow witted knobbly kneed  chickens. 

On the way back, about 15 mins out from the farm, we had a total engine failure. After a bit of tinkering the driver gave up and dropped anchor. Fortunately he had a mobile phone and summoned rescue. We were passed by another boat (left) whose passengers gave us a cheerful, if unsympathetic, wave.

A rescue boat duly arrived and towed us back to the farm where we tetherd the broken one and then set off back to the city. My Chinese companion was getting a bit worried as he had a flight to catch back to Seoul in a couple of hours.

There are long stretches of tiered seating along the banks in the city, as there were on the river Wang in Lam Phang. I asked why and was told it was for spectators when they had frequent (rowing) boat races. And by the way, nobody here believes in  wearing life-jackets.

OK, not a particularly exciting voyage, but a pleasant way to spend an afternoon and thankfully the river Ping didn't pong after all.

After several blogs I can't think of anything else of general interest to record from Chiang Mai; a pleasant enough place as it is. Apropos of nothing, I asked myself 'why do the majority of younger western tourists here (as in Phuket and maybe other warm locations), who mostly wear those knee length 'cargo pants', have tattoos down their lower legs?' Am I missing out on something? Talking of which, I saw a young man in a bar here (of unknown language/nationality) with 'VOLE' and 'HATE'  tattooed on left and right knuckles respectively. There can be few more irritating experiences in life than being inscribed by a dyslexic tattoo artist. 

Finally, the poor old dog which went missing from the Guesthouse on New Years Eve never showed up again.

I returned to Bangkok by sleeper train; a 13 hour overnight journey. It was quite comfortable with a fold down bed made up for you by a steward with, unusually for this part of the world, a surprisingly soft mattress. I slept very well. Although there were two bunks I fortunately had the cabin to myself. Fortunate, that is, for any possible 'sharer' who would have got no sleep at all due to my 'alleged' mega-decibel snoring which has been likened to a maddened starving pig at feeding time.  The restaurant car was no great shakes and, as with all rail/bus services, did not serve alcohol. Also as with the rail/bus services that I have used here, it was all relatively cheap and on time.

I had three, or was it four, days (a bit hazy here) to spend in Bangkok and was mostly, and generously, entertained by a French ex-colleague and his family who live there. His wife had to go with their children to a house they own on the south-east coast which allowed her husband 'off the leash' for a couple of days. So I have nothing much to report, or willing to report, on a fairly debauched few 'soirées'.

One place I did visit, only because the description in my Lonely Planet tickled my curiosity, was the Siriraj Hospital Museum. This is situated amongst a vast hospital complex (some of the best hospitals in the world are in Bangkok) on the western side of the river Chao Phraya. I walked there from Silom and it took me nearly 2 hours including a ferry trip across the river. I had underestimated the distance, but it took me past the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew which I would have visited had it not been for the scrum of tourists and packs of ghastly unofficial 'guides' hassling you for a 'special tour' and undoubtedly trying to rip you off.

The Siriraj Hospital Museum boasts several 'departments' dedicated to anatomy, pathology, forensic science and entomology. It is, for the most part, fairly gruesome. Lots of dead bodies and, preserved in formaldehyde, babies and children with extraordinary birth defects. The forensic science part was particularly entertaining with graphic photos and stories of a variety of horrendous deaths, including murder victims, occasionally mummified and displayed in glass cases, murder weapons and the like. One particular exhibit of curious interest was the murder of a victim by a dildo!
The entomology display was no less worrying. I hadn't realised that there are so many horrendous and disfiguring diseases caused by tropical worms and insects. I won't bore you with painful descriptions of the exhibits but, suffice to say, I will now be jolly careful where I go for a swim.
Photography was strictly forbidden, for good reason perhaps, so I only managed to get a quick snap in the anatomy section.

Although Bangkok has a serious traffic congestion problem, one of the city's impressive features is its intra-city rail transport system. It is fairly new, and therefore state of the art, and consists of a skytrain (BTS) and an underground (MRT) which are still in the process of expanding. It puts our London Underground to shame (what doesn't). It is cheap, quiet, no unnecessary announcements, reliable and generally very passenger friendly. If you are a 'Senior Rabbit', ie half-price, (see right) a single ride to most places will not cost you more than 40p, often less.


On one MRT (Underground) trip the inside of the carriages were strewn, full length on every hang-strap, with an advert to go and see Liam Gallagher perform at some stadium in the city. The cost of the lowest 'standard' ticket was £100 (equivalent). I hadn't realised that Bangkok was so desperately short of musical entertainment. I can think of numerous things I would rather do with £100, indeed I would probably pay something not to have to listen to Mr Gallagher.

Right: A final excerpt from a menu in my hotel. Somewhat politically incorrect perhaps.

Well, that's it for now. Flight back to UK via Bahrain with GulfAir was uneventful and comfortable enough with most obliging cabin crew (much better than the flight to Havana with Iberia). Of course, it was so nice to be welcomed back to London Heathrow in the cold and damp and not a recognisably British person in attendance. I much enjoyed my 'Chrexit'. Where next? I'm thinking.