“Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.” – Paul Theroux
Cinque Terre and Florence
So after recovering from the epic trek from Vernazza to Monterosso (I may be exaggerating a trifle) we walked the Vie D’Amour (Sneakily after the ticket booth was closed) and checked out all the padlocks with peoples names on them to symbolise true, everlasting lurve . . .
Other people, clearly with no padlocks, had simply entwined plastic in the shape of a heart, or fastened a hair band, brooch or other trifle to the cliffs.
We, romantics that we are, stuck a couple of mangy old bus tickets on the wire fence
Onwards, here’s Manarola, another cute little village clinging to the cliff . . . .
Then it’s off to the gorgeous Florence, full of mind blowing architecture.
Here is the Cathedral with its ornate facade and the domed cathedral of the city, Santa Maria del Fiore, known as The Duomo. The iconic dome was built by Filippo Brunelleschi. The nearby Campanile was partly designed by Giotto.
The dome, 600 years after its completion, is still the largest dome built in brick and mortar in the world. (Cheers Wikipedi!)
View from the campanile shows the epic Duomo and the terracotta tiled city sprawling into the distance.
Above are more details of the ornate cathedral facade.
And here’s the Ponte Vecchio (the old bridge) lined with super expensive jewellery shops.
And finally some pics of my favourite topic- piles of colourful food!!!
Enjoy!!!!
Italy, sullen, smelly and strikes!!
So finally arrived back from an (unintentionally) extended stay in Italy, thanks to Italian strike action and Ryanair being their usual shite selves, we were forced to stay an extra four nights. Costing us an extra £500 which we can ill afford, so cheers for that!
Now there are worse places to be stranded than Italy granted, but 1) it was Pisa, that you only need half a day in and we ended up with 6 nights and 2) It is bloody expense!!!
But hey. Here are some of the sights of the trip: The tower at Pisa, still impressive (although after the sixth day of it it got tedious . . )
We stayed at the Relais Dei Fiori a cute little hotel just a stones throw from the tower. No mossie nets though so spray the repellant at night!!
Here we are stuffing our faces as usual, from our favourite little fast food place close to the hotel.
Then it was onto four nights in the Cinque Terre, which translates as Five Lands. Staying in the pretty little village of Riomaggiore, the first of the five villages that cling to the side of the sea.
We stayed in the Caribana Grifone apartment, run by the Mar Mar travel company. http://www.5terre-marmar.com/
Riomaggiore is a tiny little village with a lovely harbour area and a larger stony beach. It has easy train links to the other four Cinque Terre villages and an easy flat walk (Vie D’Amour – Lovers Walk) to the next village of Manarola.
You do have to pay to walk the Cinque Terre now and a train and walk pass is 10 euros but it’s only valid for one day.
We walked between Vernazza and Monterosso Al Mare, the most demanding walk out of the whole lot!! There’s a very steep climb to begin with and the whole walk takes about 2 hours (panic attacks aside)
Here’s the azure habour at Vernazza before we started the epic hike . .
Here’s looking longingly back down after the near death panic attack . . .
Here’s a view from the hike and the steps past vineyards at the other end . . .
And here is the end destination, Monterosso Al Mare!! Woo hoo!!
Thailand ends on a high
So after the serenity of the old capital, the mania of Chinatown, the sobering WW2 reminders and the swim down the river Kwai, we had to end our holiday in typical style, on one of Thailand’s many idyllic, gorgeous, perfect, pristine, baking hot beaches.
We stayed in Ao Nang, Krabi. A nice little town that has easy access to some of the most picturesque azure waters and white sands.
The area is renowned for its impressive karst formations that jut out of the sea as well as its “hongs” – caverns in the rocks that you can canoe through.
Sadly for me, a combination of 36 degrees and no shade to be seen for miles = hell on earth!!!
All in all a lovely, albeit too hot for me, end to our first experience of Thailand!!!
As I watched a seemingly endless parade of perfectly proportioned, honey golden, waif like women parading in their perfectly fitting string bikinis with not a pimple of cellulite to be seen
How I sulked, sun burnt, heat rash covered and in the most unfortunate all in one swimsuit known to mankind . . Not really a bathing beauty . . . . . . .
But the beaches at Krabi really are lovely!!! We stayed at the Ao Nang Paradise resort.
It is about ten minutes walk to the beach along the main street crammed with shops, bars and restaurants.
Set in a lovely garden, backed with magnificent mountain views. It’s a brilliant place, would definitely recommend!
The main beach at Krabi has some inquisitive, hungry little locals . . .
Neil gets a close up call from one of Krabi beach monkeys!
But they are soooo cute!! Then we took a speed boat trip to several of the islands off Krabi, including Railey beach, Chicken Island and Poda.
We also checked out Phra Nang where the James Bond film Man with the Golden Gun was filmed.
All in all a lovely, albeit too hot for me, end to our first experience of Thailand!!!
Apt thought for the day
A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” – John Steinbeck
Bridge over the River Kwai and the fab River Rafts
Next up we took a James Bond style speed boat tour upto the iconic bridge over the River Kwai. A sobering reminder of Thailand’s part in the 2nd World War.
During its construction, approximately 13,000 prisoners of war died and were buried along the railway.
An estimated 80,000 to 100,000 civilians also died in the course of the project, chiefly forced labour brought from Malaya and the Dutch East Indies, or conscripted in Siam (Thailand) and Burma.
We also visited Hell Fire Pass.This is a railway cutting on the former Death Railway which was built with forced labour during the war.
The pass is noted for the harsh conditions and heavy loss of life suffered by its labourers during construction.
Hellfire Pass is so called because the sight of emaciated prisoners labouring at night by torchlight was said to resemble a scene from hell.
Moving on from the horrors of the pass, we headed to our accommodation for the next two days, the peaceful waterbourne River Kwai Jungle rafts. http://www.riverkwaijunglerafts.com
Inaccessible except by boat, on a bend in the river at Kanchanaburi, these were fantastic.
With no electricity, they were lit by wick lamps after dark.If you fancied a dip you just jump off your floating pontoon into the river (just be sure to grab the last handrail or you’ll be swept down stream on the fast currents!
Neil takes the plunge!
Our pontoon out front – don’t I look delighted to be there!
A few random pics of Bangkok streets
Tempted by a golden deity or two to pop in the back garden?
An eclectic mix of things for sale, disco balls and gourds anyone? While delicate lotus blossoms form part of serene rituals in the Buddhist temples.
China Town and a taste of luxury
After our Buddha extravaganza we headed to the China Town district of Bangkok for two nights stay in the sumptuous Shanghai Mansion. http://www.shanghaimansion.com
A lovely little taste of luxury in the middle of manic China Town. It’s a little hard to find, but once there is well worth it.
Rooms are each exquisitely decorated in 1930s Shanghai style, complete with water garden in the lobby. We stayed in the Peony Classic room with a huge free standing tub! Lovely!
You definitely need a little oasis of calm before heading out into the chaos that is China Town!
Crammed full of stalls and shacks selling every conceivable food, textile, craft or ornament, this is a whirlwind of colour, smells and humanity.
The small alleys and streets between Yaowarat Road and the Chao Phraya River are crammed with market stalls and small shops
Once crossing Chakraphek Road you will enter Pahurat – one of Chinatown’s premier attractions. Goods such as flip-flops, toys, household items, and herbs can be bought here.
There’s some uneasy practices too such as Sharks Fin soup, Birds Nest Soup and many exotic and unsustainable ingredients in the pharmacy
Neil is not too sure about this first foray into the world of exotic ingredients. . .
Ayutthaya and endless Buddhas.
Next up was Ayutthaya, one of Thailand’s old capital cities.
Located in the valley of the Chao Phraya River, the city was founded in 1350 by King U Thong, who went there to escape a smallpox outbreak in Lop Buri. Ayutthaya became the second Siamese capital after Sukhothai.
Strewn with epic sized Buddhas, swaddled in vibrant orange cloth, busy yet still serene at Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon
Here you can see the scale of some of them, they make the tourists look like little ants.
Once again Neil scaled the heights while I sat and “contemplated” (mainly how to get out of climbing steps in 36 degrees heat!!)
Here’s one of my favourite pics of the whole holiday. Neil passing a line of serene, saffron clad Buddhas. Again at Wat Yai Chai Mongkon
And here you can see the ruined grandeur of the old city.
Travels in Asia – Hong Kong and Thailand
After getting all nostalgic over India I’ve decided to go back in time by a year and put up my pictures of Thailand too. We travelled there in December 2009, flying into Bangkok via Hong Kong.
Here’s a few snaps from the futuristic city of Hong Kong. A Blade Runner esque mix of towering high rise, and grimy underbelly.
There’s a heck of a lot of weird food to see – including this alien looking item that is some sort of squid or cuttlefish.
Neon signs light up the night sky – the first time I have seen so many!
And yet more unappetising looking meat products….
To say Hong Kong has a lot of signage is to put it mildly . . . .
Here is the precise moment I fall in love with the zany, colourful packaging of Asia . . even if I do not agree with what they are selling.
Then it was onto Thailand – Land of Smiles! We stayed at the New Siam Riverside (www.newsiam.net) on the bank of the Chao phraya River.
It provided a much needed respite from the hustle and bustle of the crazy city. Having breakfast overlooking the majestic river was fantastic. This is a wonderful hotel and I can’t recommend it enough!
So first on my hit list was obviously the Grand Palace in Bangkok. With its myriad of glittering spires and epic grinning demons, it has been on my travel wishlist for a long time.
So braving 36 degrees and a lovely heat rash that was developing nicely, off we trundled!!
After being way laid by lots of helpful people telling us the Grand Palace was closed! (it wasn’t) and offering us alternative trips in their tuc tucs (we politely declined) we arrived.
The sunlight was so bright it was almost blinding as it hit the golden tiles and intricate details of the temples. It was a beautiful sight. But sunglasses were a definate must!!!!
Huge demons grimaced and guarded the gates, detailing covered every surface. The work involved was immense.
So much detail that my snappy finger nearly overheated!!
But i was finally dragged away andthen it was on to Wat Po.
Wat Pho is one of the largest and oldest wats in Bangkok (with an area of 50 rai – 80,000 square metres), and is home to more than one thousand Buddha images, as well as one of the largest single Buddha images: the Reclining Buddha.
And a monk keeps cool in the heat of the mid day sun.
We also visited Wat Arun – The temple of the Dawn, perched majestically on the edge of the river. The full name of the temple is Wat Arunratchawararam Ratchaworamahawihan !!!!
The whole temple is decorated with broken porcelain and seashells, creating an amazing, if somewhat bizarre spectacle! Neil braved the steps, I however sat sulking and sweltering in the little shade on offer! (I should point out that i am not good in hot climates, ironically)
Then day one was over, so we retired to the hotel to sip cocktails at the rivers edge. Fantastic start to our trip!!