tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85583945792499250002023-12-12T06:40:56.150-08:00Travel AdventuresA diary/blog to try and capture anything cool that I spot whilst travelling around.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-40176273153833288622016-08-02T05:09:00.002-07:002016-08-02T05:09:14.536-07:00Uvala Ježinac, Beach, Split, Croatia<h2>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidB04TDX9OSGREC7RUVyE4hH7cOFog4Uuv0EldEjmWHHKT6XnqELMPdRHFrHrHwXD9qZoN_zX-J3SbvB8b00JzOa2HrxwqVMciBkVdM0pJYqMW_jV5hrCvDPkPnALpagKHwGTo2nSD-aQ/s1600/IMG_20160731_140234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidB04TDX9OSGREC7RUVyE4hH7cOFog4Uuv0EldEjmWHHKT6XnqELMPdRHFrHrHwXD9qZoN_zX-J3SbvB8b00JzOa2HrxwqVMciBkVdM0pJYqMW_jV5hrCvDPkPnALpagKHwGTo2nSD-aQ/s320/IMG_20160731_140234.jpg" width="240" /></a>Uvala Ježinac Beach</h2>
Split, Croatia<br />
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<span class="s1">The city of Split has the distinct benefits of a range of beaches nearby. They are sadly rocky shores rather than sandy but the water is a beautiful hue and the water quality very high. </span></div>
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One of the closet beaches Uvala Ježinac beach is just a 20 minute walk from the centre of Split along the Split Riviera which is lined with white stone that almost blinds you in the sun.</div>
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<span class="s1">The beach has multiple areas where you can set up camp and swim. There are public changing booths, showers, and drinking water dispensers dotted along the coast and there are also multiple cafes and restaurants serving food and drink. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">These aren’t really wide beaches though, more a selection of gaps amongst the rocks where it’s flat enough to lie down. A lot of the beach is really close to the main footpath and we walked a little further along to try and escape the constant traffic of people walking along the path.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">If the walk along the coast to the beach and a day’s swimming have worn you out it is possible to get a water taxi right back to the centre of split - result!</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-4338353388859188542016-08-02T04:16:00.004-07:002016-08-02T04:16:44.086-07:00Diocletian's Palace Tunnels, Split, Croatia<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8k-AHjBbK30LekON1OZ5KPu7EAyvFD6qpIDQsMCDnv-v6YT2VI3Djhk1veLOOkSXLWDhb0WCL5pKcZrhHnflMW_vAZWMZVQ5RM9Nx43ysdIeSQvUdYsEc9doyTnX6VCjed0WXxigNGY/s1600/IMG_20160731_195234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg8k-AHjBbK30LekON1OZ5KPu7EAyvFD6qpIDQsMCDnv-v6YT2VI3Djhk1veLOOkSXLWDhb0WCL5pKcZrhHnflMW_vAZWMZVQ5RM9Nx43ysdIeSQvUdYsEc9doyTnX6VCjed0WXxigNGY/s320/IMG_20160731_195234.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Typical tunnel shot</td></tr>
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<h2>
Diocletian's Palace Tunnels</h2>
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More information: <a href="http://www.diocletianspalace.org/">http://www.diocletianspalace.org/</a><br />
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The <a href="http://www.diocletianspalace.org/" target="_blank">Dioceletian Palace</a> in Split is an incredibly old building, first constructed around 295AD.<br />
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These tunnels mirror the upstairs layout of the original palace in a largely untouched way, whereas above ground construction has replaced/removed walls and distorted the original shape.<br />
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The tunnels underneath the palace were filled in for many years, largely with rubbish (hmm, nice) but after clearing them out they have been open as a tourist attraction.<br />
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The tunnels cost 40 Kuna each to visit and it took about 20 minutes to walk around them.<br />
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Signage/Information on each room is quite sketchy, there was water dropping into the rooms when we visited, and once you have seen one of the empty rooms and admired the old brickwork, there wasn’t really a lot more on offer.<br />
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Split is a beautiful city with a lot of well preserved Roman architecture. I personally didn’t think that the tunnels rate a visit but architecture buffs may well disagree.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The condition is remarkable given the age of this building</td></tr>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-24519562909845340092016-07-06T02:31:00.003-07:002016-07-06T02:31:49.256-07:00The Museum of Broken Relationships - Zagreb, Croatia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://brokenships.com/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1cDzEb7bfJ7oZ2xjPjAbZ3lFXcOkYNKa6ubIB8uX35Hwj0ExQ2rwYmvlALNFfwBG4VgxYc5YzDdQJ8VhP1vOFdZZ7nlhDQ8LP9U-tL7U1zMbRMA5HmJa0wo9YoS3_uTPpdhKwjy8gFrM/s320/Museum-of-Broken-Relationships-Sign.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<h2>
The Museum of Broken Relationships</h2>
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"What Becomes of the Brokenhearted?" is a lyric from a song of the same name by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Ruffin" target="_blank">Jimmy Ruffin</a> (also covered by other groups but we won't dwell on that). </div>
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In Zagreb, Croatia the <b>Museum of Broken Relationships</b> may have an answer to that.</div>
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What's inside?</h3>
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This unusual museum houses a collection of items donated by people who have experienced a broken relationship in their lives. The museum then displays these exhibits along with a short description card.</div>
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The exhibits ranged from small items like Champagne corks, necklaces through to larger items like an unused wedding dress.</div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYh4EvA8Izb7C-u-i0g34dczDtByxEp6YESeTEfReByu0N9l1YwKY3TZRXRMwQ_3GHmHaWH5hMK4VrL6skbtt1DergEmshigW41pkpyS__5uxXu9okR11EGhrPUJrxWzE1OgKf_73avW4/s1600/IMG_20160705_191726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYh4EvA8Izb7C-u-i0g34dczDtByxEp6YESeTEfReByu0N9l1YwKY3TZRXRMwQ_3GHmHaWH5hMK4VrL6skbtt1DergEmshigW41pkpyS__5uxXu9okR11EGhrPUJrxWzE1OgKf_73avW4/s320/IMG_20160705_191726.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Introduction to the Museum Collection<br /></td></tr>
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At the entrance to the museum, the museum's founder explains that a lot of museums cover world history, and that this museum wanted to focus purely on individual history. The museum's success shows that they were on to something, and the lady behind the museum counter told me that they receive new exhibit donations from newly broken up couples every day. <h3>
Is it depressing?</h3>
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The exhibits and inscriptions from each broken relationship cover a wide range of emotions. Some are sad, some are funny, and some are a little well... intense (see Axe below).</div>
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The museum staff regularly rotate the exhibits and I think overall that they have done a good job on balancing the exhibits to ensure that it isn't all sad there. I would say that the experience is more poignant than depressing.</div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4fa_gQFvtw03hfYcPekitCsaxJ-z0uBYiGNMpxQTJMJsVo9uiA2y9VCSrIrqAOXqDCjazhRZsAZwLJL1CJ2u7izubntnRZubBM20VNu5SX-rAEMZ7fbdtAXLshl9wu_UwQG0_SocObnQ/s1600/IMG_20160705_194813.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4fa_gQFvtw03hfYcPekitCsaxJ-z0uBYiGNMpxQTJMJsVo9uiA2y9VCSrIrqAOXqDCjazhRZsAZwLJL1CJ2u7izubntnRZubBM20VNu5SX-rAEMZ7fbdtAXLshl9wu_UwQG0_SocObnQ/s320/IMG_20160705_194813.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">This person returned their partner's furniture in rather smaller pieces<br /></td></tr>
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<h3>
Visiting Information</h3>
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<b>Location: </b>Centrally located in Zagreb, easily accessible by Taxi/Foot/Funicular</div>
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<b>Cost</b>: Visiting the museum cost 30 Kuna in July 2016 (around £3.50 at time of writing)</div>
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<b>Time</b>: Around 1 hour to read the cards for each donated item, less if you just browse</div>
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<b>Food & Drink</b>: There is a cafe inside the museum and lots of other food & drink places nearby</div>
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<b>Website</b>: <a href="https://brokenships.com/en/visit">https://brokenships.com</a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ugw2Gr4zm7eSekmX7tYuLcRQkYjEdWZAKKqXup9tu4DV0zl2psghBRLS-8pOKHKOrdRVvkClE5Mub3nycI7jA8cvjWOqip01BQGAHxhyRv568eWk64E6U6RjbYzSw3Qzd9TMuYWyO6c/s1600/IMG_20160705_192451.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ugw2Gr4zm7eSekmX7tYuLcRQkYjEdWZAKKqXup9tu4DV0zl2psghBRLS-8pOKHKOrdRVvkClE5Mub3nycI7jA8cvjWOqip01BQGAHxhyRv568eWk64E6U6RjbYzSw3Qzd9TMuYWyO6c/s320/IMG_20160705_192451.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This love caterpillar had a leg pulled off each time this couple reunited. Luckily they broke up before he lost all of his legs</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-33295155921776665472014-02-17T23:27:00.001-08:002014-02-17T23:27:13.597-08:00Erawan Museum, Bangkok<h2>
Erawan Museum, Bangkok</h2>
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Slightly off the beaten track the Erawan Museum was founded by Mr. Lek Wiriyapan who had a dream of building a museum that celebrated the faith of Buddhism so that future generations could continue to learn about it.<br />
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The main feature of the museum is the fact that it is housed in a huge 3 headed Elephant, which has to make it one of the more unusual buildings in Thailand.</div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ7iteG-x5HoyvEOP8xTJqg4TRMgLnIYnqaI67OOG9OMobP_hMGGF-YKj4B_7O7lB17go2AUat3hEXhVn4xozjrGSGdK88Wua-wnyE6RG3LnJEEjU4H3jVSm32XgMMgCtKyDnrGgJIJ1A/s1600/P1010640.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ7iteG-x5HoyvEOP8xTJqg4TRMgLnIYnqaI67OOG9OMobP_hMGGF-YKj4B_7O7lB17go2AUat3hEXhVn4xozjrGSGdK88Wua-wnyE6RG3LnJEEjU4H3jVSm32XgMMgCtKyDnrGgJIJ1A/s1600/P1010640.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Not many museum sport a 3 headed Elephant on the top.</td></tr>
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The Erawan Museum is slightly out of Bangkok. To get there you have to go to the end of the BTS line and take a short taxi journey. It's worth it though, this is one of the craziest buildings that I've ever seen and is testimony to someone's dream.</div>
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Starting in the museum basement you move up through several levels of the Bhuddist religion. The whole place is full of intricate carvings, statues, pottery items, and images of The Bhudda.</div>
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Directions:</h3>
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<li>Go to On Nut BTS, right at the end of the line</li>
<li>Taxi to Erawan Museum takes approximately 15 minutes and should cost 100 Baht.</li>
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There are some good directions on this website but note that the cost has gone up to 400 Baht now (2014). </div>
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http://www.paknam.com/tourist-attractions/erawan-museum.html</div>
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Cost:</h3>
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We paid 400 Baht per person to enter in 2014. This is the higher "foreigner ticket" price.</div>
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Links:</h3>
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erawan_Museum</div>
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http://ancientcitygroup.net/erawan/</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja7hYalpZHxU22LP56pwi6dQWkfl3WmUV3tMveW8vlfvn2PjXYU14a6GdbiVczVcJ7vtkv9qSBndiTp99c-jskxZrcHYAAt3dW79dhljtxjjWFKv7kANrfSumyiI-_1E8xh36HxrMa1Z8/s1600/P1010652.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja7hYalpZHxU22LP56pwi6dQWkfl3WmUV3tMveW8vlfvn2PjXYU14a6GdbiVczVcJ7vtkv9qSBndiTp99c-jskxZrcHYAAt3dW79dhljtxjjWFKv7kANrfSumyiI-_1E8xh36HxrMa1Z8/s1600/P1010652.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stained glass ceiling was one of my favourite features of the inside.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQzelJe0WWZstyr0iDMuMah1ooUlJwXAzUuNudx0ZC60MpJ7dwpN-DlT6MtiILGV5zSdE7dXrx5ZbZ0kfTAs7cxcVXuU7HGmjIWfP-5-zV5EF7ybCjjT-aVPnScYbfq2Dpzkp485wONFY/s1600/P1010646.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQzelJe0WWZstyr0iDMuMah1ooUlJwXAzUuNudx0ZC60MpJ7dwpN-DlT6MtiILGV5zSdE7dXrx5ZbZ0kfTAs7cxcVXuU7HGmjIWfP-5-zV5EF7ybCjjT-aVPnScYbfq2Dpzkp485wONFY/s1600/P1010646.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0The Erawan Museum, Mueang Samut Prakan District, Samut Prakan 1027013.6284336 100.58912110000006-16.548006899999997 59.280527100000057 43.8048741 141.89771510000006tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-8680765440894444172013-11-20T21:27:00.000-08:002013-11-20T21:32:52.831-08:00Malaysia - Penang, Cameron Highlands, and Kuala Lumpar<h2>
Mini tour of Malaysia</h2>
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Another chance for a change of scene from Bangok, here's a quick write up of a recent mini tour of Malaysia.<br />
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Penang</h3>
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We flew from Bangkok to Penang on Asia Air. The flight took just under two hours and cost just over 2,500 BHT. We did look at the bus/train transfer options down from Bangkok to Malaysia which can be a lot cheaper than this, but we went for the faster option.<br />
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<b>Penang Hill</b></h4>
The highest peak in Penang, Penang hill is worth a trip up on the funicular railway for the best view of the city. Check out their official website for the latest prices/times of the trains. http://www.penanghill.gov.my/<br />
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<h4>
<b>The Worlds Only Owl Museum!</b></h4>
When you've finished look around at the viewpoints on Penang Hill you could always take a trip to the Owl Museum at the top of Penang Hill. We nearly didn't go because we worried that it would be full of stuffed owls, something that neither of us would support, but actually it's a collection of over 1,000 Owl themed crafts and goods, some good and some very random...<br />
<a href="http://theowlmuseum.com/">http://theowlmuseum.com/</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEiTlXKmJDsDOeTh2J4BUvvbgpn1m9RiTLPe1tqWYGMCsHMzGyZbKEzroSTo25gqiyGsQKeh00kEIuPj6kzq5Zl8GDp157Ak-_D8Iqin2c-o-go0H3EyN60Ko7JDzI1l2SR4N0nZ9awUY/s1600/IMG_0435.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEiTlXKmJDsDOeTh2J4BUvvbgpn1m9RiTLPe1tqWYGMCsHMzGyZbKEzroSTo25gqiyGsQKeh00kEIuPj6kzq5Zl8GDp157Ak-_D8Iqin2c-o-go0H3EyN60Ko7JDzI1l2SR4N0nZ9awUY/s320/IMG_0435.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Owltastic!</td></tr>
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<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
Cameron Highlands</h3>
<h3>
<ul>
</ul>
</h3>
<div>
<h4>
Tanah Rata</h4>
Tanah Rata is the main town in the centre of the Cameron Highlands. If you get a tourist bus from either Penang or Kuala Lumpar chances are it will drop you here. There isn't a whole lot to do in the town, it's just a useful place to break up your journey overnight.<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanah_Rata">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanah_Rata</a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Our tour bus from Penang to Tanah Ratah<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h4>
<b>Tea Plantations</b></h4>
<div>
After our overnight stay in Tanah Rata we headed out early the next day into the highlands proper. I was really surprised to hear that coffee isn't really grown in the Cameron Highlands any more, instead Tea is the hot crop. Our guide explained that coffee harvesting took a lot more machinery than tea brewing, therefore they were having to ship the coffee beans back down to Penang or Kuala Lumpar for processing which made the costs too high. Therefore, the place is all about Tea!</div>
<div>
One of the biggest producers in the area are Dilmah.<br />
<a href="http://www.dilmahtea.com/">http://www.dilmahtea.com/</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: medium;">
Tea Planation near Tanah Ratah</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<h3>
</h3>
<h4>
</h4>
<h3>
Kuala Lumpar</h3>
</div>
<div>
<h4>
Petronas Towers</h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
One of the most photographed buildings in the world, the Petronas Towers is impressive from any angle. Of course we managed to turn up in Kuala Lumpar on Monday which happens to be the only day of the week that the tower is closed - doh! I've been told that if I ever manage to turn up in KL again on a Monday then heading to one of the Skybars in hotels like the Traders Hotel gives just as good a view.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Petronas Towers - impressive from any angle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Aside from that, the only other thing we had time to do in Kuala Lumpar was shop before we hopped onto our plane back to Bangkok.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Tanah Rata, Pahang, Malaysia4.47385 101.378567200000024.2205854999999994 101.05584370000003 4.7271145 101.70129070000002tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-73962382585113629482013-09-13T02:19:00.003-07:002013-09-13T02:19:52.379-07:00Koh Samui trip<h2>
Koh Samui</h2>
<div>
One of the big challenges of living in Thailand is choosing which island to visit next. With several hundred of them to choose from ranging from well developed destinations back to empty beaches there is something for everyone. Koh Samui has long been a favourite destination for travellers so I thought it was definitely time to visit there myself.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Setting of from Surat Thani - Samui is just on the horizon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<h3>
<a name='more'></a></h3>
<h3>
Getting there</h3>
<div>
There are 3 main ways to travel down to Samui, Road, Train, or Plane. We decided to try both forms out and went down to the island on the Train & Ferry, before returning via Ferry & Plane back to Bangkok.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
There's a good summary of the different travel options on this blog here: <a href="http://voices.yahoo.com/how-koh-samui-bangkok-thailands-third-4641093.html">http://voices.yahoo.com/how-koh-samui-bangkok-thailands-third-4641093.html</a></div>
<h3>
<ul>
<li>Bangkok to Surat Thani by train</li>
</ul>
</h3>
<div>
We travelled down to Surat Thani by train. Surat Thani is the port where all of the ferries set off for Samui. You have 3 options of ticket to get on the train. There's a good summary of the different options on this site: <a href="http://www.seat61.com/Thailand.htm#Southern Thailand">http://www.seat61.com/Thailand.htm#Southern Thailand</a>.<br />
<br />
Being slightly too old now for wooden bench seats we opted for First Class where you get a private cabin. First class train ticket (private cabin) with bus and ferry transfer to Koh Samui was approximately 1,300 Baht per person. The cabin was cold (super air conditioned with no controls) but very comfortable. The second class cabins looked ok but you're sharing the carriage with about 10 other people, and third class without bunks just wasn't an option for us even though it was much cheaper.<br />
<br />
Overall we liked taking the train. The ride was comfortable but just soooo long. We were very glad to only be doing the trip one way.</div>
<h3>
<ul>
<li>Flights</li>
</ul>
</h3>
<div>
For those people heading to Samui for 2 or 3 nights a flight really is the best option. Bangkok Airways has a monopoly on flying directly to the island but a number of other operators like Air Asia and Nok Air fly to the port town of Surat Thani where you can get the Koh Samui ferry.<br />
<br />
We paid about 1,250 Baht per person with Nok Air when we travelled. It seems crazy that the low cost airlines can fly you there for less than the price of the train.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitacOoxBN13NGBStOp-uXaUzsx1WJpNrkQoHHgJ-qbP2BWbkaXxUxrE3fmVIyyk9QZb9ko8aQ8g-qtvm7ArH2vzIxPzQ38jVpNc_PemG2pKlSmhZ4QQlyaY2trAIyIjM1BDpFCWCaAUNk/s1600/SL381038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitacOoxBN13NGBStOp-uXaUzsx1WJpNrkQoHHgJ-qbP2BWbkaXxUxrE3fmVIyyk9QZb9ko8aQ8g-qtvm7ArH2vzIxPzQ38jVpNc_PemG2pKlSmhZ4QQlyaY2trAIyIjM1BDpFCWCaAUNk/s320/SL381038.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Many lovely beaches await you on Samui</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<h3>
Getting around</h3>
Once you finally get off the ferry or plane on Samui your next challenge is to get around the island. During our time we used 3 forms of transport.<br />
<h4>
Taxi</h4>
Unlike Bangkok Taxis in Koh Samui long ago gave up using their metres, now every trip costs a flat rate of 600 Baht for every journey. Ouch!<br />
<h4>
Songthaew (2 bench Pickup Truck Taxi)</h4>
The bench pickup taxis navigate around the edges and main tourist routes of the island. After a couple of very expensive taxi journeys we kept our eyes peeled for these - prices range from 100 - 150 Baht for a short journey, but that's per person.<br />
<h4>
Scooter hire</h4>
<div>
We really wanted to visit a couple of the waterfalls on Koh Samui whilst we were there so asked around for Taxi prices. Hiring a taxi for a day was coming in at 1,500 - 2,000 Baht (not bad value compared to 600 Baht for each journey but still quite pricey. However, Scooter hire on the island was very cheap and ended up being our favourite way of getting around. Just be careful who you rent your bike from, there are some stories of unscrupulous renters claiming imaginary damage when the machine is returned.</div>
<h3>
Our Highlights</h3>
<div>
There is lots to see and do on Samui, here are just a few of the things we liked best.</div>
<div>
<br />
<ol>
<li>Waterfalls - <a href="http://www.amazingsamui.com/waterfalls.htm">http://www.amazingsamui.com/waterfalls.htm</a></li>
<li>The Beaches (we liked Lamai the best) <a href="http://www.kosamui.com/beaches.htm">http://www.kosamui.com/beaches.htm</a></li>
<li>Ang Thong marine park <a href="http://www.amazingsamui.com/angthong.htm">http://www.amazingsamui.com/angthong.htm</a></li>
<li>Mummified monk in <a href="http://www.thailandselection.com/attraction/The-Mummified-Monk.html">http://www.thailandselection.com/attraction/The-Mummified-Monk.html</a></li>
<li>Grandmother and Grandfather rock <a href="http://www.kosamui.com/lamai-beach/hinta-hinyai.htm">http://www.kosamui.com/lamai-beach/hinta-hinyai.htm</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirb1sVzfg9x6bMriygqiauArl78PHDgjNuyoGdFBTB-74I-LhUwygithSoryXyFlucK4Qozckz-0CYI8azRlPP6OvanALvUgltKT-OMKW4NyTa8AvcHX04Q4dJsqqC3N6E4xgsEabQSxE/s1600/SL381032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirb1sVzfg9x6bMriygqiauArl78PHDgjNuyoGdFBTB-74I-LhUwygithSoryXyFlucK4Qozckz-0CYI8azRlPP6OvanALvUgltKT-OMKW4NyTa8AvcHX04Q4dJsqqC3N6E4xgsEabQSxE/s320/SL381032.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grandmother and Grandfather rocks provide an unusual photo opportunity</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQz83L1qL9ePa_cdn9iYI6dMUPCC01E_P35YvznGFNhU86gak4Jjr5PUK112Ov4tY3H7ATOcTYa_VTVOh-5BNfl0HXR68J-HWnTxh-nrhRDCHJlDcp_vu7ND8FGrYhaQmJC7UDnhkd6kk/s1600/SL381044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQz83L1qL9ePa_cdn9iYI6dMUPCC01E_P35YvznGFNhU86gak4Jjr5PUK112Ov4tY3H7ATOcTYa_VTVOh-5BNfl0HXR68J-HWnTxh-nrhRDCHJlDcp_vu7ND8FGrYhaQmJC7UDnhkd6kk/s320/SL381044.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hin Lat Waterfall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
Koh Samui Resources: </h3>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko_Samui">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko_Samui</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thailand/ko-samui">http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thailand/ko-samui</a><br />
http://wikitravel.org/en/Ko_Samui<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Ko Samui District, Surat Thani, Thailand9.513301199999999 99.9688635999999639.0121666999999981 99.323416599999959 10.0144357 100.61431059999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-13024790667549984672013-07-28T01:29:00.003-07:002013-07-28T01:33:00.476-07:00Benjakiti Park, Bangkok<h2>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Benjakiti Park</span></h2>
<div>
Now that the weather is cooling here slightly in Bangkok it's much easier to do more physically active outdoor activities. This weekend I followed a recommendation on another travel blog to go rent a bicycle and do a few laps of Benjakiti Park in central Bangkok.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjP8Ey99NKdG6w71OuOHISYl8OeTR8Xx9ahhtOu__PCBmW94uEkJe7bXHM6OoMm9ypmsQJfvJUPIwp2OGxt1YFFYNlDTH-HIiNU_ItAtgpSmSlAfv2XB1XNYVUNpdS2t0egbeTrogvevY/s1600/IMG_20130727_144703.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjP8Ey99NKdG6w71OuOHISYl8OeTR8Xx9ahhtOu__PCBmW94uEkJe7bXHM6OoMm9ypmsQJfvJUPIwp2OGxt1YFFYNlDTH-HIiNU_ItAtgpSmSlAfv2XB1XNYVUNpdS2t0egbeTrogvevY/s320/IMG_20130727_144703.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2km circular bike trail around the lake was excellent</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT_3Cqzo2hMhwFh9bVfxrCvVjnlGTeq0nrYa1UZvO3xzZkFJhBqrCzW7WRUiWwihYbEgbIUQriueU6Ky51uBAhUFYEQgWQPxtDGk8hHlX6ZxNevGsrFX_N3JGv4VK9mlwMqZqvwrunl74/s1600/IMG_20130727_141237.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT_3Cqzo2hMhwFh9bVfxrCvVjnlGTeq0nrYa1UZvO3xzZkFJhBqrCzW7WRUiWwihYbEgbIUQriueU6Ky51uBAhUFYEQgWQPxtDGk8hHlX6ZxNevGsrFX_N3JGv4VK9mlwMqZqvwrunl74/s320/IMG_20130727_141237.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
<h3>
Getting there</h3>
Benjakiti Park is centrally located in Bangkok. The nearest BTS Station is Asoke. Just come out of Asoke, turn so that Terminal 21 is behind you and walk down Rachadaphisek until you come to the park on your right. </div>
<div>
<a href="https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Benjakiti+Park&rlz=1C1CHMC_enTH500TH501&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&sa=N&tab=wl" target="_blank">Google Map Link</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
The Park</h3>
<div>
Having read some of the other blog postings on this park I learnt that this is one of the newest parks in Bangkok, built on the site of a former Tobacco factory. The new-ness definitely shows as the walkway around the lake is in excellent condition and makes it very popular for walking/running/riding around.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The lake itself is 800 Metres long and 200 Metres wide so a complete circuit is just under 2KM.<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
Hiring a bike</h3>
<div>
Once you are in the park you have to walk down the left hand side of the lake to find the bike rental place. So, you get a nice warm up walk before you can start cycling.<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
The Cost</h3>
<div>
The bikes aren't excellent Tour De France carbon types but they'll get you around the track all the princely sum of 40 Baht per hour (no deposit required).<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
Other stuff in the park</h3>
<div>
There are several other things to see in the park including a Water Garden, an outdoor Gym, and this fantastic small area where trees had been donated from several countries around the world. The British Embassy donated a Mahogany to the park. The tree is pretty small at the moment, but I'm sure it'll be v impressive in a few years. We also saw a couple of monitor lizards on the way around.<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
More reading</h3>
<a href="http://live-less-ordinary.com/living-in-bangkok/cycling-in-benjakiti-park-bangkok-bike-rental">http://live-less-ordinary.com/living-in-bangkok/cycling-in-benjakiti-park-bangkok-bike-rental</a><br />
<a href="http://www.thaibis.com/bangkok/gen/benjakiti-park">http://www.thaibis.com/bangkok/gen/benjakiti-park</a><br />
<a href="http://www.whampoah.com/benjakitipark.html">http://www.whampoah.com/benjakitipark.html</a><br />
<a href="http://www.travelfish.org/blogs/thailand/2013/02/11/bangkoks-benjakiti-park/">http://www.travelfish.org/blogs/thailand/2013/02/11/bangkoks-benjakiti-park/</a><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Benjakiti Park, Khlong Toei, Bangkok 10110, Thailand13.7294732 100.5585128999999813.721760699999999 100.54842789999998 13.7371857 100.56859789999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-69265614518662939912013-06-30T20:40:00.001-07:002013-06-30T20:40:23.498-07:00South Coast Road Trip in a VW Campervan called Mango<h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Iain Clements & Abi Hesketh-Roberts June 2013</span></h1>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-4fb4b68b-9848-de55-9024-d7508c2d8058" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This post is a bit of a departure from my usual Thailand adventures as I took my summer vacation back in the UK this year.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Abi and I recently ticked a long awaited holiday item list by going on a mini road trip along the south coast in a classic VW Camper Van called Mango. We just made a note of some of the places we stayed along the way and some other information about the trip.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 17px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Van</span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mango</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, rented from RetroCamperVans in Guildford</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://retrocampervan.com/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://retrocampervan.com/</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img height="234px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/LcgulRp5JNWv8TazDw0biPQwSZueJbFm-aMrydoJkvly4pfrM8_q6vXobKVQceOWCavO0f3BCCk7A4J2Fo9UIWSxlk4PGu3hMTslUtQdWXzH1TDtV5KKTlN6" width="312px;" /></span></b></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mango by Beach huts in Studland Beach</span></b></div>
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<a name='more'></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 17px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Route (main points we passed through)</span></span></h2>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Guildford > Southampton > New Forest > Lymington > New Milton > Christchurch > Bournemouth > Studland > Corfe Castle > Lulworth > Weymouth > West Bay > Seaton > Sidmouth > Dorchester > Winchester Guildford</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 17px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Holiday Costs</span></span></h2>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 17px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Campervan rental: £325 Mon - Friday</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fuel: approx £110</span></span></div>
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<li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Campsite fees: £37.50</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Parking: approx £20</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Food for van: approx £40</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Eating out: £75</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Total holiday cost: about </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">£600</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 17px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Highlights</span></span></h2>
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<h3>
<span style="color: #666666; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Shorefield Country Park</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.shorefield.co.uk/lyttonlawn/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.shorefield.co.uk/lyttonlawn/</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Cost: £12.50 camping with Electric hook up</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Head Office Switchboard 01590 648300</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Reservations & Enquiries 01590 648331</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Holiday Home Sales 0800 214080</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Park Reception 01590 648306</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Shorefield Road</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Milford-on-Sea</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hampshire SO41 0LH</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Notes: </span><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Great campsite, clean with great facilities and friendly staff. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">New Forest - Lyndhurst</span></span></h3>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="349px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/9u0gB_j06QIluYFqjmFmLDb92G91fSq7YhfTJFbS0z_565Fb5lzEU-Hh4vbgZEWSxFhZlXlgR5L3ZKsZPKHkFg437rPiv1OFI0KQ64tsvTgQByzkTGaNEqjqSQ" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="466px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Forest near Lymington</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Notes: </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The New Forest is a fantastic place to stop on any road trip. There are so many car parks that it’s easy to find a space to park up and enjoy a cup of tea with a fantastic view like this. Most of the car parks are free, but when we visited in June 2013 we did find one which had introduced Pay and Display. We just hope that isn’t the start of Pay and Display rolling out across to more areas.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kingdown Tail Campsite</span></span></h3>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.kingsdowntail.co.uk/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.kingsdowntail.co.uk/</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Kings Down Tail</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Salcombe Regis,</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sidmouth,</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Devon,</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">EX10 0PD</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Telephone/Fax: 01297 680313</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Cost: £15 per night with electric hook up</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Notes: Nice, clean campsite, with good facilities, really close to Sidmouth and some nice beaches. Much smaller site than Shorefield Country Park.</span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img height="286px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Tw6dx7jntCUiz-yTR6UXYL-v6CePTriiLfMMOiZGCMkX3NYHKPZbxJNy9zBriwLS3WnN8i4Q1pFIMMF-eQqw6yDPBfzOx-V3EG62a4Sqvn-g3fUmKbY1zD6SiA" width="406px;" /></span></span></b></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hardy Monument</span></span></h3>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hardy-monument/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hardy-monument/</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Black Down Portesham, Dorset DT3 4ET</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">01297 489481</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardy_Monument"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardy_Monument</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/hPbqBxDGRL9kGAmyHGmFktsrRMMKq3c593DCsVQ5CBS-0yigCZGyV4qukd85lU7lbiHIZ2VKcqT-8eDCRUkiWGsVLJiP0jBLrn0eswbDJ2x-3bF_r_Dg34Uu3w" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="327px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/hPbqBxDGRL9kGAmyHGmFktsrRMMKq3c593DCsVQ5CBS-0yigCZGyV4qukd85lU7lbiHIZ2VKcqT-8eDCRUkiWGsVLJiP0jBLrn0eswbDJ2x-3bF_r_Dg34Uu3w" width="436px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mango parked up for the night</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="323px;" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Cr1wOq5s8sUBb9L181LzFeqttl6j7ngylTh2ou07nm2dxH-Z7azqf_QODiIFJsehOYqCkXHLxXn-rzQvzOcQhe7cpdAiwKW5verF7-vzPQVGLTw994vI6_Xcfg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="431px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hardy Monument at Sunset - Amazing</td></tr>
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</span></b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Notes: </span><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our favourite </span></span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px; white-space: pre-wrap;">camp-site</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of the whole trip. Hardy’s Monument is National Trust property but there is a private car park near the site where you can ask to park up for the night. You pay £10 to the person who runs the mobile catering van, and then when that closes for the night you get the whole place to yourself and an amazing view to wake up to.</span></span></span><br />
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">National Trust - Studland Beach nature reserve</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/studland-beach/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/studland-beach/</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Address:Studland, near Swanage,</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Telephone: 01929 45050</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Notes: Getting across to Studland is great fun, just take the chain ferry from Poole over (only a 15 minute journey/£3.50) and you are deposited right in the middle of Studland National Park. Studland Beach has a nice Cafe, a good stretch of sand, and there are a lot of nature walks leading around the reserve. Well worth a stop off on your way through.</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img height="336px;" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/RQGhPybqQTEGIKfhXPei-MvvFU-3Acx24rhDKZeRo6PRkAzXQ6Dn2ubRRdxIj5zoS-vNqZyHhFSUKrDkcDj15VfYERwJunDbCbf-XEdPk99mZJDS-xyDJ1g-" width="448px;" /></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Corfe Castle</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/corfe-castle/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/corfe-castle/</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Address:The Square, Corfe Castle, Wareham, BH20 5EZ</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Telephone: 01929 481294</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Email:</span><a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?view=cm&fs=1&tf=1&to=corfecastle@nationaltrust.org.uk"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">corfecastle@nationaltrust.org.uk</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">OS Grid Ref: 195:SY959824</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Notes: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Great ruined castle, and wonderful ancient village with a great selection of tea rooms and bakeries. The cost of a ticket to the castle is quite steep though so watch out.</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img height="382px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/UkuNqIbnYsXkYBm0sZoHv3xXk6kVKpok8ri0U-mKAGBQPzZvvvEZHFw0EshG6nAosw6jH6szKJ12K32yPfdSRGnQ02SVaYcuNeWyNCbGHmOLbNlLY6LZ45awgg" width="509px;" /></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Corfe Castle</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #666666; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Durdle Door</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durdle_Door"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durdle_Door</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.durdledoor.org.uk/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.durdledoor.org.uk/</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Notes: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nothing quite sums up the Jurassic Coast like Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove. These were two of our favourite stops along the way.</span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><img height="379px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/z0Qf1K3xkyM21Ic0WVhkmkmiAchlLFxzW1vI7arUvEhRA15uF5f6WwIE1qga8uLxeA1a33HypckcOPiDiPJzhdBW77ZprnNF4eo48m_tB9qnDTeC4_cZCq1oBw" width="505px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Durdle Door</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">West Bay</span></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.westbay.co.uk/"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.westbay.co.uk/</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Notes:</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> WestBay is a pretty village on the South Coast with a working Harbour, stunning sandstone cliffs and a nice beach (even though it is made of Pebbles, not sand). We originally only planned to stay in WestBay for a couple of hours but ended up staying the whole day. We really enjoyed the Tea room in the old railway station TStation.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><img height="397px;" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Vfr_mpF8mK-DK0L2DlXbSlZkHOh8j2awvAIHi3jPHwwQebeK3gkKi3O2u7MXwzrr8CA1W-9pt3cCJoUSIDZvrUqNIxO6HYY6qHrBRvcKAtbXga5lqpjKXsCw6g" width="529px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">West Bay</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, that's it. I hope you get a chance to see some of these places on your own road trips in future.</span><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0United Kingdom55.378051 -3.4359729999999912.202562 -86.05316049999999 90 79.18121450000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-40975197928047965052013-06-05T23:46:00.001-07:002013-06-05T23:46:14.110-07:00Buy a house or a 2nd hand BMW in Thailand<h2>
How much is that car?</h2>
A colleague of mine in the office recently commented that cars are madly expensive here in Thailand. I hadn't really thought about this before, but then I saw an advert for a used 2009 BMW X3 for a "bargain" 2.2 Million Baht!<br />
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<a href="http://www.topgear.com/uk/assets/cms/4f1b022b-dc45-4939-a19a-c5f31c3c4cf3/Large%20Image.jpg?p=090416_01:44" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://www.topgear.com/uk/assets/cms/4f1b022b-dc45-4939-a19a-c5f31c3c4cf3/Large%20Image.jpg?p=090416_01:44" width="320" /></a></div>
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[Source: <a href="http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/bmw-x3-new-2009-04-16">http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/bmw-x3-new-2009-04-16</a>]</div>
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Just to put that in context, 2.2 Million baht is about £46,000 at today's exchange rate. For that you get a several year old BMW with 30,000 Kilometres on the clock. (Now, where's my chequebook).<br />
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This might not sound too outrageous a price for a premium European car, but when I thought about this in context of other typical prices in Thailand it blew my mind away.<br />
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How much are things in Thailand?</h3>
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<ol>
<li>The average meal (street food) is between 50 - 100 BAHT/£1-£2</li>
<li>Apparently the average salary is 300 BAHT/£6 per day.</li>
<li>The average rent is 10,000 BAHT/£212 per month.</li>
<li>An average condominium can be purchased for between 3 and 4 Million BAHT/£63,000 - £85,000.</li>
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So, I could either buy this old BMW or pay my monthly rent for 8 years (my rent is 20,000 BHT per month)!<br />
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Or I could nearly buy a brand new apartment outright. So many choices...<br />
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Why are they this expensive?</h3>
In a word - tax! Apparently import tax levy can be up to 300% of the car's initial value. That instantly trebles the price of any car shipped in from outside the country. A new Lamborghini would set you back approximately 25 Million BAHT/£530,000 when the same tax penalties are applied.<br />
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However, tax rates are still high on domestic units. Even a basic Toyota will set you back 500,000 BAHT/£10,607.00. That's a bit more realistic but in the UK an equivalent specification car would be several thousand pounds cheaper.<br />
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Conclusion</h3>
Sorry, there's no specific conclusion on this blog posting! I just can't understand how anyone in Thailand can afford to buy a car and run it. The traffic outside the office window today would indicate that many people have found a way to get mobile though.<br />
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Next time you see a slightly battered old European or a brand new Italian luxury car drive past you in Thailand just marvel at how much the person paid for it.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Bangkok, Thailand13.7278956 100.5241234999999713.2342916 99.878676499999969 14.2214996 101.16957049999998tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-65372346033306020812013-05-27T09:19:00.003-07:002013-05-27T09:19:29.738-07:00Damnoen Saduak Floating Market<h2>
Damnoen Saduak Floating Market</h2>
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An easy day trip from Bangkok to the most popular floating market.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Main entrance</td></tr>
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Following on from my other reviews about some of the day trips that I've been on from Bangkok, we recently went to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market.</div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4b_Y48dqTGYu1D_keaBzIi_iUVn1_0Rrmt7fsLecyO0-VIyrJVUlHo-7S8NZGXAHvN-45M7uCd74Vm0MRDb6MUcLXTVZTxrwRB3GcpF0z9tKTO1ABnyUbPyKis8ymLfA__Y9q6s3jrp0/s1600/SL380104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4b_Y48dqTGYu1D_keaBzIi_iUVn1_0Rrmt7fsLecyO0-VIyrJVUlHo-7S8NZGXAHvN-45M7uCd74Vm0MRDb6MUcLXTVZTxrwRB3GcpF0z9tKTO1ABnyUbPyKis8ymLfA__Y9q6s3jrp0/s320/SL380104.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">You can buy anything at the market</td></tr>
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<h3>
Getting there</h3>
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It takes about 1.5 to 2 hours to get to the market from Bangkok. You can either go to the market as part of an organised tour or hire your own taxi for the day. When we compared the figures the organised tour was cheaper for the 2 of us, but if there had been 4 of us a taxi would have been cheaper and more flexible.</div>
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The flexible part stood out for us as soon as we saw the departure time on the ticket. 06.30am pick-up time! (Eek).</div>
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The early start was meant to "beat the crowds" to the market but when we got there it seemed that everyone had tried the same trick. The market wasn't overly crowded but it did feel a little cattle-pen style as we were herded from our bus to a waiting long tail boat which shuttled us to the market entrance.</div>
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Once in the market your world is really your oyster on what to look for and buy. Fruit and Vegetables were mainly sold in the boats, you just wave or call to a friendly vendor rowing up and down. They then come over to you where you complete your deal.<br />
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Clothing and souvenirs are mainly sold in stalls dotted around the market. Prices are a little higher than similar markets in Bangkok, but you're paying for the experience really.<br />
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We mainly ate good food and people-watched. We also saw quite a lot of snakes on the day. People just wander around with huge snakes around their necks. If you'd like to hold them or have a picture taken with them you just agree a price with the person beforehand.<br />
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If you're not a fan of snakes though watch out, as they just appear suddenly in front of you and tend to gather at the entrances to the market.<br />
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Conclusion</h3>
Damnoen Saduak Floating Market was worth a day trip, but I'd recommend adding it to another destination on your trip at the same time if you can. After an hour or so we were done, and then it's quite a long drive back.<br />
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Some further reading on the market:</h3>
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<ul>
<li>Trip Advisor reviews of the market (<a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g303902-d317729-Reviews-Damnoen_Saduak_Floating_Market-Damnoen_Saduak_Ratchaburi_Province.html" target="_blank">read here</a>)</li>
<li>Other floating markets near Bangkok on Bangkok.com (<a href="http://www.bangkok.com/shopping-market/floating-markets.htm" target="_blank">read here</a>)</li>
<li><a href="http://landlopers.com/2012/05/31/thailand-floating-market/">http://landlopers.com/2012/05/31/thailand-floating-market/</a></li>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very impressive to see people actually cooking on the canoes - we kept worrying about fire or spillage!</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Damnoen Saduak District, Ratchaburi, Thailand13.5521718 99.96886359999996313.3051983 99.646140099999968 13.7991453 100.29158709999996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-60927147057895803282013-05-23T01:11:00.000-07:002013-05-23T08:21:22.560-07:00Morning visit to Wat Arun<h2>
Wat Arun</h2>
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One website I checked out recently stated that there are over 31,200 temples in Thailand : (<a href="http://www.watarun.net/">http://www.watarun.net/</a>).</div>
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A couple of weekends I finally made it to one of the best know, Wat Arun, or the temple of dawn located on the south side of the Chao Phraya river in Bangkok, opposite to the Grand Palace.</div>
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Full profile on Wat Arun: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Arun">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Arun</a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wat Arun, a very impressive site</td></tr>
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<h3>
Getting there:</h3>
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Now, even though it is called the temple of dawn you cannot actually visit the temple before 08:30am in the morning. This left me wondering how all the people I read who claim to have climbed the temple tower before sunrise managed to do it. </div>
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Getting to the temple after dawn is a lot easier. We took the BTS down to Saphan Taksin and then got on the <a href="http://www.chaophrayaexpressboat.com/en/tourist/" target="_blank">Chao Phraya Express Boat</a>. Don't get a whole day ticket, you only need to go a few stops down to Tha Thien Pier (No.5) which cost us 40 BAHT.</div>
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The Express boat is really useful but drops you at the wrong side of the river to visit Wat Arun. Luckily a smaller ferry operates from Pier Tha Thien across to the other side. It's slightly annoying to change boat but only costs 3 Baht.</div>
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Once you've done all that, you just need to pay your entrance fee at the temple (100 Baht) and you're in.</div>
<h3>
Climbing it:</h3>
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One of the most striking aspects of Wat Arun is the amount of colourful porcelain that it's been built with. That and it's height.<br />
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We started taking lots of photos from the bottom of the temple, but were soon eager to climb for both a close up view of the statues and figures along the way, and for the eventual view at the top.<br />
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The climb is quite steep with a one way system operating to prevent people from colliding too much.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgosnDiVr91C0zAyfR84001rHxnNIPhbZGtUXYOFBAKIgMTG2gouRaVWmE4mwbSNGIXXCtbTLsigaiWEZmvVAFQfYpDUw7qO2qh_bOQb8fhQSvjsVtMFLA-ddaNyOHdx_TpM6rp9Xv_Bk0/s1600/SL380836.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgosnDiVr91C0zAyfR84001rHxnNIPhbZGtUXYOFBAKIgMTG2gouRaVWmE4mwbSNGIXXCtbTLsigaiWEZmvVAFQfYpDUw7qO2qh_bOQb8fhQSvjsVtMFLA-ddaNyOHdx_TpM6rp9Xv_Bk0/s320/SL380836.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nearly there</td></tr>
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<h3>
The view:</h3>
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It's a steep climb up the stairs to the temple. There are lots of blogs giving different counts of how many stairs there are. I was wheezing too much to count as I went.<br />
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The view gets better and better along the way though and you're soon presented with one of the best views of Bangkok. Once there, we just took some time enjoying the sights before eventually making our way back down.</div>
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One strange thing we saw at the top was a piece of cloth that had been wrapped around the top of the temple. People had attached hundreds of business cards to this cloth, presumably for luck and it made quite a beautiful effect. I added mine for good measure of course and shall immediately buy a lottery ticket, just in case.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Novel form of advertising for The Code - I added my card for good luck and to keep building up awareness </td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-86272872439255994642013-05-07T00:45:00.000-07:002013-07-12T07:30:30.929-07:00Birthday trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia<h2>
Siem Reap</h2>
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To celebrate turning 32 this year Abi and I took a short hope across from Bangkok to Siem Reap in Cambodia. Here's a quick write up of our trip.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Angkor Wat site</td></tr>
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<h3>
Getting there</h3>
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There are 2 options to travel from Bangkok to Siem Reap. One is overland by bus which is much cheaper than the plane but takes several hours, and you have to switch buses at the Thai border. There's a good write up of the travel options here:</div>
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<a href="http://www.travelfish.org/feature/71">http://www.travelfish.org/feature/71</a></div>
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The second option is flying directly from Suvarnabhumi airport to Siem Reap which takes just over 1 hour. As we were pressed for time this is the way we went. 2 airlines currently do this route, Bangkok Airways and Cambodian Angkor Airlines, but I'm sure more will be added in future.</div>
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Our tickets were 3,500 BHT each way. This was slightly cheaper than Bangkok Airways when we went who wanted just under 5,000 BHT each way but do check both airlines before you plan your trip.</div>
<h3>
Arrival</h3>
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Siem Reap airport is really small but very nicely maintained, almost new in appearance. Our plane arriving seemed to be an event as people lined up to graciously guide us into the terminal.</div>
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Your first expenditure in Cambodia will be your visa. $20 dollars per person for a tourist class visa. Please note: you also need to give immigration a passport photo of yourself or pay an additional $5.</div>
<h3>
Getting into town</h3>
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We noticed that a lot of the hotels on websites like Agoda on Booking.com offered a free airport transfer. However, just outside the airport there are several tuk tuks that you can take into town. We learnt that $5 was the standard fare from the town centre to the airport.</div>
<h3>
What to do in Siem Reap (that's not a temple)</h3>
All of the restaurants and pubs in Siem Reap are on a road called Pub Street (nice!). You can get a Tuk Tuki to Pub Street from anywhere else within the city for $1 - don't pay any more.<br />
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Aside from that there are several markets in Siem Reap and hundreds of massage places.<br />
<h3>
Temples!</h3>
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Once you've had a night out in Siem Reap you're probably ready for temple action.</div>
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We hired a Tuk Tuk for the day to take us around as many of the temples as we could fit in for $15. That seems to be the going rate, don't pay more!</div>
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We managed to fit in a visit to 3 large temple complexes and finished out day visiting Angkor Wat at sunset. It was a great day and I highly recommend each of the temples we visited but Ta Promh, or the tree temple (also where they filmed tomb raider) was just amazing.</div>
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Rather than repeat what other guides have done in much more detail - here a few links/reviews of the temples we visited.</div>
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Have a great trip to Cambodia.</div>
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Top Ten Temples - <a href="http://travel.cnn.com/explorations/play/outlook-cambodia/siem-reap-guide-sheet-224128">http://travel.cnn.com/explorations/play/outlook-cambodia/siem-reap-guide-sheet-224128</a><br />
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<b>Bayon</b><br />
<a href="http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g297390-d552507-Reviews-Bayon_Temple-Siem_Reap_Siem_Reap_Province.html">http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g297390-d552507-Reviews-Bayon_Temple-Siem_Reap_Siem_Reap_Province.html</a><br />
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<b>Ta Prohm</b><br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ta_Prohm">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ta_Prohm</a><br />
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<b>Angkor Wat</b><br />
<a href="http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g297390-d317907-Reviews-Angkor_Wat-Siem_Reap_Siem_Reap_Province.html">http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g297390-d317907-Reviews-Angkor_Wat-Siem_Reap_Siem_Reap_Province.html</a><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-25176352828733207952013-04-12T01:57:00.000-07:002013-05-31T01:11:07.191-07:00Koh Chang escape April 2013<h2>
Koh Chang</h2>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paradise, just a 5 hour bus journey away</td></tr>
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So, after a few weeks stuck in Bangkok it was time to escape to an island again for the weekend. Having a long weekend for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Thailand" target="_blank">Chakri day</a> here in Thailand was a good excuse. <br />
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I've been here for a few months now and I've only visited 3 leaving about another 1,400 to visit apparently (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_of_Thailand">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_of_Thailand</a>).<br />
<h3>
Getting there</h3>
So, getting to islands is always going to come down to a choice between time and cost. For about £50 - £80 GBP (depending on when you go) you can fly down to an airport in Trat with Bangkok Airways and drastically cut short your travel time or for £5 you can take a 5.5 hour bus journey and then the 1 hour ferry crossing to Koh Chang.<br />
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After a lot of Googling I eventually opted for the coach. Having read lots of horror stories about the small mini buses that zoom all over the country from Victory Monument in Bangkok I decided to go for the larger Government Coach company that departs from Ekkami bus station.<br />
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The coach journey down to the pier at Laem Ngrob was fine, lots of legroom and you even get a free bun and water bottle with your £5 ticket. One of the best investments I got recently was one of those inflatable neck cushions, which although look really silly, make a long journey a lot more comfortable.<br />
<h3>
The crossing</h3>
The ferry from the mainland to the island takes just over 1 hour and costs 80 BAHT each way. The ferry was amazingly rusty but it got us there faithfully.<br />
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Once we landed in Koh Chang there were lots of Taxis waiting to take people around the island. It's actually a pretty big place, but we'd booked our first night's accommodation on the North East side of the island only 800 metres away from the ferry landing site so we walked.<br />
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Friday - North East side of the island - <a href="http://www.thesoukkohchang.com/" target="_blank">The Souk Resort</a></h3>
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We stayed at a place called The Souk Resort on our first on the island. The resort consisted of 8 or 9 individual huts, right alongside the beach looking out over the sea.<br />
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The outdoor shower and bathroom were interested but it was great to look out the window to the sea. Also, the place was deserted - it felt like we had the whole resort to ourselves.<br />
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The place was great value too, about 700 BHT per night when we visited.<br />
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The next day we got up and in a rare burst of energy went Kayaking which was very cool.<br />
<h3>
North East Coast - <a href="http://www.remarkpuzi.com/" target="_blank">Pruzi Resort & Restaurant</a> - Bangbao Village</h3>
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Our next stop was right down the bottom end of Koh Chang. Our original idea was to take a ferry over to Goh Mak but in the end we decided to stay on Chang as it was much bigger than we thought.<br />
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Our second night's accommodation billed itself as a 'truly authentic' Thai hut experience and the hut was certainly novel. Not one for the faint hearted, we spent the night keeping a sharp eye out for any animals in the bed with us as we'd seen a number of cockroaches, spiders, termites, and ants in the hut in the space of about 10 minutes earlier.<br />
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This resort seemed a bit more run down that the Souk Resort but the location was right next to the pier in Bangbao village where most of the bars and restaurants are. After checking out various TripAdvisor reviews we eventually ate at the <a href="http://www.thebuddhaview.com/Home.html" target="_blank">Bhudda View</a>, which is cheesey and touristy, but you get to eat your dinner with your feet poking through the floor looking at the ocean underneath you!<br />
<h3>
South West Coast - <a href="http://www.plalomacliff.com/" target="_blank">Plaloma Cliff Resort</a> - Had Sai Khao/White Sand Beach</h3>
The next day we continued our island tour and started off with a long walk around the south of the island. It really is a pretty island and most of it seemed very under-developed. In fact, the busiest beach by far that was saw was called "Lonely beach", a nice ironic twist.<br />
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When we got fed up of walking we flagged down yet another Songthaew and headed to our final night stop.<br />
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We'd been on the island 2 days and hadn't had nearly enough beach time so we headed to White Sand Beach and spent a great last day working on the tan/burning and watching the world go by.<br />
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A little scared after our experience with the bugs we were really pleased that the Plaloma had lots of creature comforts and even better no cockroaches. The resort was a little run down but right next to the beach and we really enjoyed our last day hanging out there.<br />
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<h3>
Heading back</h3>
Journeys back home always seem longer don't they. We set off about 11am the next morning and eventually got back to Bangkok at 10.30pm.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Ko Chang, Trat 23170, Thailand12.0479159 102.3234815999999211.799459899999999 102.00075809999993 12.2963719 102.64620509999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-21082982142257755052012-12-05T08:14:00.001-08:002013-05-31T01:13:04.620-07:00Chiang Mai November 2012<h2>
<b>Getting there</b></h2>
3 options, bus, train and plane. Bus and Train are cheap, but take forever! If you're on a relatively short trip then flying has to the way to go.<br />
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Air Asia seems to be the main provider, although there are others. Prices are changing all of the time but we managed to get a return trip for 3500 BHT each but I'm sure you could get it cheaper.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Try and visit Chiang Mai during Loy Krathong - amazing lit up displays everywhere</td></tr>
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<b>Getting around</b></h3>
The old walled city of Chiang Mai is only 1 square mile across so it's really easy to get around. There's no public bus service and it can be hard to find a meter taxi, or a meter taxi that will turn his meter on so we favoured Red Songathaew taxis and Tuk Tuk. Both are reasonably cheap, just negotiate the price for where you want to go before you get in.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The outer wall of Chiang Mai</td></tr>
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<h3>
<b>Chiang Mai Sights & Activities</b></h3>
<b>Wat Prathat Doi Suthep</b><br />
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Phrathat_Doi_Suthep<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amazing golden template in the sunlight</td></tr>
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This is one of the things you have to do in Chiang Mai, and it's always in the top ten of experiences there. Doi Suthep is one of the tallest peaks around Chiang Mai, you get amazing views from the top, and to cap it all off there is a wonderful golden temple at the top.<br />
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You have the choice of either climbing a staircase up the mountain to the temple or taking a funicular railway.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from Doi Suthe</td></tr>
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<h3>
<b>Chiang Mai Zoo</b></h3>
<a href="http://www.chiangmaizoo.com/">http://www.chiangmaizoo.com/</a><br />
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A must see attraction for anyone visiting Bangkok, we really enjoyed our day here. It's a huge site so dedicate a whole day, particularly if you go to the aquarium as well.<br />
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We particularly liked seeing Elephants and Pandas. Also, we were amazed that 7 Eleven even had branches inside the zoo! They are literally everywhere in Thailand.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mother and baby elephant</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zoo 7 Eleven</td></tr>
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<h3>
<b>Around the city, Mountains and Trails</b></h3>
In addition to spending time in the city we also took a couple of tours that took in the broader countryside.<br />
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One place we visited which we thought was really impressive was the White Temple or Wat Rong Khun about an hour outside of Chiang Mai.<br />
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Rong_Khun<br />
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Some people say that the temple is too touristy, which I have to agree with but it's certainly impressive architecturally and worth a stop if you're passing through the area - wear sunglasses though, it's so bright!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wat Rong Khun</td></tr>
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<b>Golden Triangle</b></h3>
One of the most popular tours from Chiang Mai is called the Golden Triangle Tour (http://www.thailandgreattours.com/trips/chiang-rai-and-golden-triangle-tour). Nearly every tour place was pushing this "trip of a lifetime" up from Chiang Mai to the place where Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet.<br />
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The views along the way were nice but this trip was a bit over the top for us. You don't get much time at any of the stops on the way, you're in a convoy with every other bus from Chiang Mai, and it was quite expensive. After a lot of haggling we paid 1,000 BHT each.<br />
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We don't regret doing it, but we think next time we'll go up and actually stay in Chiang Rai overnight and see the sights at our own pace. Then again if you're on a strict schedule and really want to stand in the Golden Triangle - go for it!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standing at the Golden Triangle</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Karen "Village" is more like a tourist market - not very authentic but very friendly people </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful views all around</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-78649138339395895762012-11-29T20:00:00.002-08:002013-05-31T01:13:51.858-07:00Hua Hin - 10th to 12th November<h2>
<b>Weekend trip to Hua Hin</b></h2>
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This blog update is seriously overdue because my new shiny Samsung computer freaked out on me and has only just been fixed.<br />
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It was a few weeks ago now, but here's a quick overview of our recent trip to Hua Hin.<br />
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<b>Friday - Getting to Hua Hin from Bangkok</b></h3>
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Lots of people talk about the scenic train journey from Bangkok down to Hua Hin, but personally I find that the Minibuses that run from Victory Monument are faster, more convenient, and lower cost. Our trip to Hua Hin cost us 180 BHT per person each way. However, the bus does drop you slightly outside of town whereas the train station is a little more central.<br />
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Regardless of whether you come via Bus or Train, you have to go and see Hua Hin railway station. It's very very nice, built in traditional teak, and even has a separate waiting room for the royal family when they come for their holidays down in Hua Hin.<br />
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<b>Downtown Hua Hin</b><br />
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We didn't have too much time in central Hua Hin, but we liked the main beach. The only odd thing about the beach was the number of horses on it - mind where you step.<br />
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There were hundreds of hotels, both chains and independents so you won't have any trouble finding somewhere to stay here.<br />
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<b>Getting away from the centre - Sahwan Boutique Hotel</b></div>
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After a day in central Hua Hin we hopped in a taxi and went to a hotel called Sahwan Boutique http://www.sahwanboutique.com/ which was about a 10 minute journey by taxi (costing 250 each way).</div>
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The hotel was brand new and very nice. We were the first people to use the pool so the owner sent over complimentary drinks to thank us for trying it out. During our stay there the staff made a huge fuss of us so I hope the place does well.</div>
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<b>Saturday: Khao Takiab or Monkey Mountain</b><br />
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Having rested up in our hotel for a bit on the next day we took a taxi to "Monkey mountain". The cost there and back was 500 BHT. I'm not sure how they ended up there but hundreds of monkeys live on Khao Takiab in relative harmony with the locals (although I did see that lots of the local houses had huge grills on every door and window to keep them out).<br />
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Whilst you wonder around the moutain you definitely have to keep your wits about you, we saw lots of poor tourist getting mobbed as soon as they pulled out a snack from their bag, or having items stolen from them by cheeky monkeys. Some monkeys even broke into a car whilst we were there as the owner had left out some crisps on display.<br />
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In addition to the monkey mayhem the views from the top of Khao Takiab back to Hua Hin centre were definitely worth the climb.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-63269693408696671482012-10-15T02:50:00.000-07:002013-05-22T21:22:40.017-07:00Khao Yai National Park 12 - 14th September<h2>
<b style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Khao Yai National Park</span></b></h2>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Setting off from Victory monument</span></td></tr>
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So, after a few weeks staying in central Bangkok I thought it was time for a change of scene. Several of my colleagues had told me about this great national park called Khao Yai only a couple of hours away from Bangkok so we decided to get some country air for the weekend.<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">A typical park visit involves you leaving Bangkok early Saturday morning and getting back late Sunday night, perfect for people working there.</span></span><br />
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<b style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Day 1</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Getting to the park turned out to be so easy, we got a mini bus from Victory Monument, paying 160 BHT and 2 hours later we were in Pak Chong, the town nearest the park. We a</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">rrived in Pak Chong not really knowing what to do next, but we were soon met by a really helpful park guide who gave a lift to our Tour company Green Leaf Tour, talk about great service. </span><a href="http://www.greenleaftour.com/">http://www.greenleaftour.com/</a></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Things I learnt on the way to the park...</span></b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Khao yai is the oldest national park in Thailand</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Khao yai is a world heritage site</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Khao yai is the 2nd largest park in Thailand, 2000 sq km</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;">More facts available: </span><a href="http://wikitravel.org/en/Khao_Yai_National_Park">http://wikitravel.org/en/Khao_Yai_National_Park</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Our time at Green Left started really well with a great P</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">ad Thai meal</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFaFSOJ79u3KlGljoMeRjJ-K2wREDEaZ_8yBca-1inCCpKV-_R4ctPQfn2wHgZdLPoAbuZEVHHj-4fYqMJbXe4EQy7yxgiuty-brAthQykRVWQp9OTkVEFu9TXsNYfXvTcEgif1kdEEOU/s1600/SL380472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFaFSOJ79u3KlGljoMeRjJ-K2wREDEaZ_8yBca-1inCCpKV-_R4ctPQfn2wHgZdLPoAbuZEVHHj-4fYqMJbXe4EQy7yxgiuty-brAthQykRVWQp9OTkVEFu9TXsNYfXvTcEgif1kdEEOU/s320/SL380472.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Bat cave temple</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once charged with grub we set off on our 1/2 day tour.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;">About 5 minutes into our drive to the National Park our driver stops suddenly and the guide jumps out of the cab and then charges into the undergrowth. He soon returned carrying a snake! He'd seen it hanging from a tree whilst driving past at 20 or 30 miles an hour - impressive!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Our first stop after that was a </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">cave underneath a Buddhist temple. The monks use the cave to go down to meditate in the dark with bats.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We climbed down some steep stairs with our guide Joe to this fantastic cave full of stalactites and stalagmites. We could hear the sound of bats as we ventured further into the dark. Then, shining our torches up to the ceiling we could see them hanging down. Shining the light or taking pictures didn't startle them, but we were sure quiet as a group as went around the cave.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Suddenly the guide got us all to stand perfectly still then he pointed to an area on the floor where we could all see a Tarantula! </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">After we'd calmed down a bit our guide told us a bit about Tarantulas and when we'd reassured ourselves that it wasn't going to suddenly launch itself at us we carried on further into the cave. Everyone kept their torches on the tarantula as they walked away though just in case.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghqm6ANvvCHvNJ0JwFD0W_P7le25r5hvhQ1xQxhkQf46s5gEUBwpfFTrn5u3rFTqPHjGVn9jjXyBSptzLjNZnq4gXZxtYI9FWnh7yO1ZeyluXl2MIYFDYEGBj1fry7vekolGt0LcJ6-G0/s1600/SL380453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghqm6ANvvCHvNJ0JwFD0W_P7le25r5hvhQ1xQxhkQf46s5gEUBwpfFTrn5u3rFTqPHjGVn9jjXyBSptzLjNZnq4gXZxtYI9FWnh7yO1ZeyluXl2MIYFDYEGBj1fry7vekolGt0LcJ6-G0/s400/SL380453.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr cave Tarantula</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The cave was fantastic, we saw lots of bats, a couple of crickets and a </span>millipede<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Fair play to the monks going down there to pray in the dark with all of the creepies and crawlies.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Facts about bats</b> - they are mammals just like us, their body temperature is 36' C and they always hang off of the same bit of rock in the cave. They also leave their cave at the same time each evening to go feed (more of that later)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>A sight to behold</b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUBKQieyFLP4jVPjtqWwihct0xoN-2hz7-WD4dMPZqBpcBGh2WAImieHZlt0Aiyf6pwDpNUmMuUIxnbA644wUIh3x2YErcBbZMNQzxece3aSe3PY9ohibcz8RecYfV3TPvaEy0gcdRDuI/s1600/SL380481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUBKQieyFLP4jVPjtqWwihct0xoN-2hz7-WD4dMPZqBpcBGh2WAImieHZlt0Aiyf6pwDpNUmMuUIxnbA644wUIh3x2YErcBbZMNQzxece3aSe3PY9ohibcz8RecYfV3TPvaEy0gcdRDuI/s400/SL380481.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fantastic sight</td></tr>
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The first cave was quite small compared to the second cave we visited. We went to the small cave first as unfortunately people aren't allowed in the bigger cave due to all of the people who go in there to steal Guano/Bat poo. Apparently you can make explosives from it, as well as fertilising your lawn.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">At the bigger cave where there is an amazing site to see. Each evening the bats go hunting, all 2 million of them, at the same time!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">We stood just outside the cave entrance and over the course of an hour watched 2 million bats leave over the course of an hour. S</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">o, 2 million over an hour is 55 odd per second flying out the cave mouth. Very cool thing to see!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><b>Night time swim</b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After watching the bats until it went dark we went to natural spring, </span>night-time<span style="font-family: inherit;"> swim.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The swim sounded lovely at first but people were quite wary of jumping in, imaging that their would be all sorts of leeches etc in the water.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However, once we plucked up courage and jumped in it was </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">lovely!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Back to base afterwards to dry and get changed into dry stuff.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilh6HBFaFEBIYo-ZMf93i8HpmF5etQ84XGrZ6p2108l4AW78PC7AGfhhNl_yv-JYPC1tWBCiMBRbhrSO8qmlJkwBUmKYLU3KOlqT5a5b6Fun9BZ9AeQm70Yuf3D-mJeQ7wrTTPh7vfeU4/s1600/SL380479.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilh6HBFaFEBIYo-ZMf93i8HpmF5etQ84XGrZ6p2108l4AW78PC7AGfhhNl_yv-JYPC1tWBCiMBRbhrSO8qmlJkwBUmKYLU3KOlqT5a5b6Fun9BZ9AeQm70Yuf3D-mJeQ7wrTTPh7vfeU4/s400/SL380479.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">2 million bats flying through the air</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">We went out for beer before dinner (of course), but we </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">took too long, and found the restaurant closed closed back at the tour </span><span style="color: #222222;">lodge</span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> This was an alien concept after being in Bangkok for a few months as you can eat there all of the time. It wasn't too hard to find somewhere else </span>though<span style="font-family: inherit;"> and we just went to another place for pork ball noodle. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mine started nice then I messed it up adding spices. (doh!)</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Maria makes best friends with romeo the dog, feeds him pork balls</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Finished with random pancake, stringy candy floss desert thing that I bought earlier on.</span><br />
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Day 2</span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Power breakfast had in the morning with lots of fruit to keep us going throughout the day.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We set off in the truck and shortly entered the park. After a bit of negotiation </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">and showing my work permit I managed to get in at the local of 40 BHT instead of the foreigner 400 BHT price.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After only a few minutes driving in the park s</span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;">aw Macaque monkeys, a great way to start the national park experience! </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnH1KXFryzsWffel2qQdHY892ZggdkqedUoXnUBcNehzyHVT5H26-ZUBzPz4jQ1ph8WtwgEF5eGm61M1FZ6ZVm6a1lGYc_ZVmTe_gnYDBnxKzcqd83ENSwI4-8FjskTiZIc8bFPnThTY0/s1600/SL380608.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnH1KXFryzsWffel2qQdHY892ZggdkqedUoXnUBcNehzyHVT5H26-ZUBzPz4jQ1ph8WtwgEF5eGm61M1FZ6ZVm6a1lGYc_ZVmTe_gnYDBnxKzcqd83ENSwI4-8FjskTiZIc8bFPnThTY0/s400/SL380608.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In national parks animals rule the road</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDUDOSyVjF8A6WdQcs9Oo2g_En4CZwFD_56ygHTiHsbdF8LsLzLclc9_VdKfMINW0qYDCLGnl7mKx0vnl-XX-w7eozng6LmRIy9LK8D98WgC9RpNymEiVHW69uW5TC81xp9qNcIX8Xfyk/s1600/SL380607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDUDOSyVjF8A6WdQcs9Oo2g_En4CZwFD_56ygHTiHsbdF8LsLzLclc9_VdKfMINW0qYDCLGnl7mKx0vnl-XX-w7eozng6LmRIy9LK8D98WgC9RpNymEiVHW69uW5TC81xp9qNcIX8Xfyk/s400/SL380607.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheeky chap</td></tr>
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<b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"></span>Things I learnt about macaque monkeys</b><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;">Macaque </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">social groups, will steal food any chance. They also get used to being fed from cars so have started hanging out on road and getting squashed. They also stand up in a very human pose when they want something from you.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><b>Top tip:</b> If you go into the jungle put on leech socks. They are very, very useful. I had no idea leeches were on land, I just thought they were in still pools but these guys actually chase after anything that moves on the ground, hundreds of them. It was quite a site seeing them gather around you if you stood still too long.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After a while we stopped at a great </span>photo<span style="font-family: inherit;"> spot which showed a fantastic view of the park.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ndIKQ8goZj1xX2maa7PZeR4s-C6tpfBWeKb8lBW0Iv6oPVQIbjzBunwqj2R2bZkwHuEjUuzp0AJ9DTFGp7omTjzf-Oj370kud-Ew1TsoJyadwhaDHkO9w72CWeBfgavJbERWNVzKVcU/s1600/SL380534.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ndIKQ8goZj1xX2maa7PZeR4s-C6tpfBWeKb8lBW0Iv6oPVQIbjzBunwqj2R2bZkwHuEjUuzp0AJ9DTFGp7omTjzf-Oj370kud-Ew1TsoJyadwhaDHkO9w72CWeBfgavJbERWNVzKVcU/s400/SL380534.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The tropical park</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Shortly after we stopped again to look at a huge Horn billed toucan sitting in a tree. It was huge! Yellow male and females look the same. You can only tell them apart by looking at the colour of their eyes. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Shortly after we went looking for Gibbons. Shortly after we spotted some hanging out and chatting </span><span style="color: #222222;">in</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> the trees. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Gibbins grow baby 1 year then carry for 3, gibbon family has about 1 sq km to itself and fights for that. They also talk loudly to each other and other groups.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsIcXe71M_fUynDd8XxGgsrCW5q_38wTlpqhXwwGNWac5rrnUTFGfsdoarxd7dTvdwSvVE5lP-7hCsw45PBBM3zqOBWOP-UKVLcPIp-nn4B3KMGOkP7KyWIIMO-mG_DuG-wPIFIKaBkHU/s1600/SL380557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsIcXe71M_fUynDd8XxGgsrCW5q_38wTlpqhXwwGNWac5rrnUTFGfsdoarxd7dTvdwSvVE5lP-7hCsw45PBBM3zqOBWOP-UKVLcPIp-nn4B3KMGOkP7KyWIIMO-mG_DuG-wPIFIKaBkHU/s320/SL380557.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><b>Highlights during the day</b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Chinese water lizard</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGhce6A_sF2ZgNDTszCmMMPrQgmK6fofvSQL6aNk8IhLaDDB_tQKrwJD6vM6HO6eMGzwHqXR0fQ-hxqvZH4c7UZ5VuO_mgj4MkHZdhYl4lZCkA4DqWHpchjUEiTQxXcutr-E8bP2ZcR1c/s1600/SL380567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGhce6A_sF2ZgNDTszCmMMPrQgmK6fofvSQL6aNk8IhLaDDB_tQKrwJD6vM6HO6eMGzwHqXR0fQ-hxqvZH4c7UZ5VuO_mgj4MkHZdhYl4lZCkA4DqWHpchjUEiTQxXcutr-E8bP2ZcR1c/s320/SL380567.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chinese water lizard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">A Horn bill lizard, which the guide's book said was only ever seen in the south</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><b>Mr Scorpion!</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Our guide was determined to find a scorpion for us, and had explored several holes during the day looking for them. While we had our lunch stop he went off again and proudly returned with this guy, in his pocket! </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">During his talk we learnt that this scorpion wouldn't kill you, but a much smaller, browner one would.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQ6w-hQQk7xS8H0UqlVM-7nkvwwsGUHu3jR5PNnHU2dFq9Sk7ef_GZDU5GbbMpuESyfqmdFGkFlNjMGnBJIfULO6C7SNfq1AZ7dVYiJe0DcjXY2-Y3CoMHfwSNfr9iMMkArt03RAN4EE/s1600/SL380590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQ6w-hQQk7xS8H0UqlVM-7nkvwwsGUHu3jR5PNnHU2dFq9Sk7ef_GZDU5GbbMpuESyfqmdFGkFlNjMGnBJIfULO6C7SNfq1AZ7dVYiJe0DcjXY2-Y3CoMHfwSNfr9iMMkArt03RAN4EE/s320/SL380590.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just a "medium" size scorpion apparently</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>Tree vipers</b><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
As the group walked along we all missed this chap asleep in a tree - without a guide you'd either miss everything or stand on it by accident</div>
<div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7CKfygc_3aesLEsKWEaP15O-4mP-78Jxs6rIeIkktc5fPpn4Nyi_vCFghodSRvnlUv1GFmPKkWAdVdIWFitDLdgJPnBWUpbOVOAzhX5ggN9eG7f4C2KguGuwT4QbNpdylyiXBXHSUY8/s320/SL380625.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Green viper</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQ6w-hQQk7xS8H0UqlVM-7nkvwwsGUHu3jR5PNnHU2dFq9Sk7ef_GZDU5GbbMpuESyfqmdFGkFlNjMGnBJIfULO6C7SNfq1AZ7dVYiJe0DcjXY2-Y3CoMHfwSNfr9iMMkArt03RAN4EE/s1600/SL380590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQ6w-hQQk7xS8H0UqlVM-7nkvwwsGUHu3jR5PNnHU2dFq9Sk7ef_GZDU5GbbMpuESyfqmdFGkFlNjMGnBJIfULO6C7SNfq1AZ7dVYiJe0DcjXY2-Y3CoMHfwSNfr9iMMkArt03RAN4EE/s1600/SL380590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfQ6w-hQQk7xS8H0UqlVM-7nkvwwsGUHu3jR5PNnHU2dFq9Sk7ef_GZDU5GbbMpuESyfqmdFGkFlNjMGnBJIfULO6C7SNfq1AZ7dVYiJe0DcjXY2-Y3CoMHfwSNfr9iMMkArt03RAN4EE/s1600/SL380590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK7CKfygc_3aesLEsKWEaP15O-4mP-78Jxs6rIeIkktc5fPpn4Nyi_vCFghodSRvnlUv1GFmPKkWAdVdIWFitDLdgJPnBWUpbOVOAzhX5ggN9eG7f4C2KguGuwT4QbNpdylyiXBXHSUY8/s1600/SL380625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><b>Food</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">As a snack we had this lovely rice and banana thing in a banana leaf, called something like <u>Khao to ma </u>(not the correct Thai I'm sure)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi60BBeaW3R-FWm_Ov-qOFFU6ndtg351KulpnUoOke-PvgUQRe8XwIYPrCphqActGR9hw_l4vlgGOqqzoo3vM-NvPv76mekOpMulkdxeuT7j2W1h_rlnALwdIcrSD2V6g1VyCNHHjiRmNY/s1600/SL380614.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi60BBeaW3R-FWm_Ov-qOFFU6ndtg351KulpnUoOke-PvgUQRe8XwIYPrCphqActGR9hw_l4vlgGOqqzoo3vM-NvPv76mekOpMulkdxeuT7j2W1h_rlnALwdIcrSD2V6g1VyCNHHjiRmNY/s320/SL380614.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rapids leading to the fall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><b></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><b></b></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><b>Haew Narok Waterfall</b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Awesome!</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">100M high</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Best seen in the rainy season</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Quite a tricky walk from the car park to the actual falls up and down several steps of stairs.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR4SNg-UjD22SwgBSg6N9uqyd8yRTUZSv1WdT6MXLF6zhNTcWRBO8C_0-AxOTsOsDWAdJ0HZPFUnKu1fpt7sRWi-hbRVUvUPtM2ZAU5-kO_2CdooVs6hSHYjGYn4LjYf6OBSjpzr0sjLY/s1600/SL380615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR4SNg-UjD22SwgBSg6N9uqyd8yRTUZSv1WdT6MXLF6zhNTcWRBO8C_0-AxOTsOsDWAdJ0HZPFUnKu1fpt7sRWi-hbRVUvUPtM2ZAU5-kO_2CdooVs6hSHYjGYn4LjYf6OBSjpzr0sjLY/s200/SL380615.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR4SNg-UjD22SwgBSg6N9uqyd8yRTUZSv1WdT6MXLF6zhNTcWRBO8C_0-AxOTsOsDWAdJ0HZPFUnKu1fpt7sRWi-hbRVUvUPtM2ZAU5-kO_2CdooVs6hSHYjGYn4LjYf6OBSjpzr0sjLY/s1600/SL380615.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHXvbcy_njjBdGI_T7PP4zEurbjR20LivP5NKr1D6A8_PjDVAlp-7-y_FgLCGSMYB6OBXZsePHukdW6Nh_oU1HRRnMtNXyK_mlQUdQTMEes9lmo8P4KE1-cd826qRvXGQP9jIq6Z_QY2k/s1600/SL380619.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHXvbcy_njjBdGI_T7PP4zEurbjR20LivP5NKr1D6A8_PjDVAlp-7-y_FgLCGSMYB6OBXZsePHukdW6Nh_oU1HRRnMtNXyK_mlQUdQTMEes9lmo8P4KE1-cd826qRvXGQP9jIq6Z_QY2k/s320/SL380619.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standing proudly at the falls after the long walk to get there</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi60BBeaW3R-FWm_Ov-qOFFU6ndtg351KulpnUoOke-PvgUQRe8XwIYPrCphqActGR9hw_l4vlgGOqqzoo3vM-NvPv76mekOpMulkdxeuT7j2W1h_rlnALwdIcrSD2V6g1VyCNHHjiRmNY/s1600/SL380614.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Other things we saw</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span></b></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ue9aLRsXeoVcgK7gHwAmS1wAvqUEVf0BoBHfpMp-4_UIxNPBoEF4xpiLWIX1iYQ_R4Lo7oeZkb1JTJ9NCBrx38NsE01sQUCCIZS4cwh9JwJ1_zjAhfzYkq_Etnd6KJYwywZMvUn57uw/s200/SL380573.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bear marks on this tree</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdqtpy0bVf_ZJRbDK1YNl6D_ar0-Y5HMhQK2i22I4jWDyPE8DmiSfo5COrpXItFxsKvbYdvtnfP4EmAsP3RfKswE735MmyH9FXeJ1rjluRNJjQIrvMxWlXz2Cy6i267GOHYVWzInVKX_M/s1600/SL380572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdqtpy0bVf_ZJRbDK1YNl6D_ar0-Y5HMhQK2i22I4jWDyPE8DmiSfo5COrpXItFxsKvbYdvtnfP4EmAsP3RfKswE735MmyH9FXeJ1rjluRNJjQIrvMxWlXz2Cy6i267GOHYVWzInVKX_M/s320/SL380572.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bravely entering the jungle</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji9G2mB9GWM46Qzatizj_2CTD5rZq67wicaDLRKveC-3NUx9_h_VKO90PKpToC4xvL7HgF9ziEOhyphenhyphenq-AHqydiiCvAfvVNC6RY3KSko0rYRIYSJHbGW00p5vURRoyVjeFA1_mya2Wa2jqY/s320/SL380580.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our guide fearlessly looking for other wildlife to show us</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoO8vSIN79VGsAR9QVFMjq7z0aU9sVqjhtw4atR4ZlBGxNW1k0oseEp_Im4WiCsQdIxuv9zxKJlBNNGCNypUuhIUuR3yc1ta0loCyLSYgB7X7Wmv3BJ2Cyg0ui3Zyg9DLcKodl9T_ezI4/s320/SL380582.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strangling fig tree</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaj5pYs5ZeA-3bUun_BZYDKgZqA63N0-N_swfSNwewrmq1b9x7sHrvdbS6cr0j5S5AJ3zBNTAxxrzyRuInJQjsorHMWU9G3R8j3TGmz-mAml1_sOZF_aBfFhPvbHynnHLGLmv0RWKRyB0/s320/SL380583.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maria posing with her leech socks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Our journey back was easy and uneventful with the exception of nearly having a crash when a crazy driver swerved straight in front of us!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Summary</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
It's well worth visiting Khao Yai in my opinion and it's a very easy weekend trip from Bangkok. It was quite a reasonably priced adventure too, costing me just a little over 2,000 BAHT. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Next time you've got a weekend free and fancy a change of scene I'd recommend checking it out.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Thanks!</div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Khao Yai National Park, Mu Si, Pak Chong, Nakhon Ratchasima 30130, Thailand14.441553 101.374095514.439631 101.371628 14.443475000000001 101.37656299999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-31105011582858390002012-10-09T20:59:00.001-07:002015-12-09T10:57:05.597-08:00Cup chandeliers anyone?<h2>
Modern Cafe Design</h2>
Since being in Thailand I've been into several bars and cafes where I've really been struck by the innovation and creativity of the internal decoration.<br />
<div>
<br />
<div>
There has been a lot of variety but cup chandeliers must be the "in" thing at the moment as I've seen them (in carious configurations) in shopping malls, cinemas, small cafes and restaurants.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Either they are currently really fashionable or someone has made a job lot of them and is now selling them all over Thailand...</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMaQYJyANJFeK-2dMT30-gFtZxqZOrgbTG1jSMWNuZ-W_TClH2YLrfwdDrIcPSVSSKjR1MaIQTFH1NQt-Vo4h-GvnSHxHhHmEeiQGku3RfNaBvL7vKfnPPJe2INvMUO44WWlIkBIAPF7I/s1600/SL389386.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMaQYJyANJFeK-2dMT30-gFtZxqZOrgbTG1jSMWNuZ-W_TClH2YLrfwdDrIcPSVSSKjR1MaIQTFH1NQt-Vo4h-GvnSHxHhHmEeiQGku3RfNaBvL7vKfnPPJe2INvMUO44WWlIkBIAPF7I/s320/SL389386.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glass cup Chandeliers are really popular here</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Thanon Lak Muang, Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok 10200, Thailand13.7522222 100.493888913.505449200000001 100.17803190000001 13.9989952 100.8097459tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-16348309295147685082012-10-09T20:44:00.001-07:002012-10-15T00:42:03.018-07:00Me-O and funny adverts<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUrWCy8XF_5K4OmODsIAvLoFshrSTJo7F2-Y5ztiPUkUIt6QEAxzr1_w_uWNHL62s-iMnt81CuLvCGOFqxvdsI5GN_QSMpgQNo8O9ZPHLqUlLa5JN9npPTTm920D62kL4qC_-D-xM1ras/s1600/SL389384.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUrWCy8XF_5K4OmODsIAvLoFshrSTJo7F2-Y5ztiPUkUIt6QEAxzr1_w_uWNHL62s-iMnt81CuLvCGOFqxvdsI5GN_QSMpgQNo8O9ZPHLqUlLa5JN9npPTTm920D62kL4qC_-D-xM1ras/s320/SL389384.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Me-o definitely had some memorable adverts playing on the BTS system during the morning commute<br />
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</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Gotta love the advertising here in Thailand, there seems to be a real focus on making adverts fun and the vast majority of them are cartoon style.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span> <span style="font-family: inherit;">If you do a quick Google for "Funny Thailand adverts" you'll find hundreds of examples</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span> <a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/thailand-s-top-5-funny-tv-commercials-they-re-hilarious"><span style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.examiner.com/article/thailand-s-top-5-funny-tv-commercials-they-re-hilarious</span></a><br />
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</span> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-37583052309567734242012-10-07T00:06:00.000-07:002012-10-15T03:26:42.456-07:007th October - A day out to Wat Pho<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Sunday 7th October </b></div>
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After waiting in a lot this weekend for the tropical storm Gaemi to come down and flood Bangkok (thankfully it didn't) I bravely ventured out to a temple that I've totally managed to miss when I went to the Grand Palace.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRui-ZeOodCrAZmqnLJEbRqpGlcKWETFDyJUZ9Jik_86qCUaY4PJ2XByLxU63v4IaVttS_9CA6Vt3wXPMLb1A6RqKHSKFwabS8Chy_tG-B4ITvQnmq6gFSyNxlQyyK3TdvtTT5OIFMGyM/s1600/SL380394.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRui-ZeOodCrAZmqnLJEbRqpGlcKWETFDyJUZ9Jik_86qCUaY4PJ2XByLxU63v4IaVttS_9CA6Vt3wXPMLb1A6RqKHSKFwabS8Chy_tG-B4ITvQnmq6gFSyNxlQyyK3TdvtTT5OIFMGyM/s400/SL380394.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The highlight of Wat Pho - the reclining Buddha</td></tr>
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Wat Pho is right next to the Grand Palace and has the world's largest reclining Buddha in it. How I missed it I'll never know.</div>
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Determined to make up for this oversight I got a BTS and Boat over there Pronto and met "the big fella".<br />
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More information on Wat Pho: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Pho">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Pho</a></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Wat Pho, 248 Thanon Thai Wang, Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok 10200, Thailand13.7466632 100.493462113.744735200000001 100.49099460000001 13.7485912 100.4959296tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-81847603757839244532012-09-06T01:26:00.000-07:002012-10-15T03:30:29.132-07:006 - 9 September<br />
<b style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">9 September</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Abi's last day in Bangkok - for a while</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Got up far too early for a Sunday to take Abi to the airport. Lots of long faces between us, but hopefully she'll be back in just over a month and there's a lot to throw myself into at work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: red;"><b>8 September</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Abi's last big push on the shopping front. 6 of us met up at the massive local market to shop until we dropped. Abi managed to pick up a lot of her souvenirs on this mission so if you got something from her it may well have been picked up on this day</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>7 September</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />Abi and Andreas' wife An all meet up for a final lunch in our favourite corner restaurant near work</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><b><br /></b></span>Our last big meal out on the town before Abi heads - chips from The Secret Recipe cafe. Neither of us were really hungry so it just seemed like the best thing to do. Somehow the bill managed to be 10 though, not really sure what happened there...</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>6 September</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Girl power night tonight. Abi, An, and Mam all had out to be pampered and massaged at a highly recommended place. The boys stayed back and drank beer, ate Pizza and watched Men in Black 3. A highly successful night all around, maybe except for the quality of Men in Black 3 :)</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Thanon Lak Muang, Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok 10200, Thailand13.7522222 100.493888913.505449200000001 100.17803190000001 13.9989952 100.8097459tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-44326424287515266912012-09-05T22:22:00.000-07:002013-05-31T01:10:26.677-07:00Ayutthaya<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;">5 September 2013</span></b></h2>
Here's a very short (read lazy) write up of a recent trip to Ayutthaya from Bangkok.<span style="color: red;"><b><br /></b></span>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the most famous sights in Ayutthaya</td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;">What we did!</span></b></h3>
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<ul>
<li>Day out with the Elephants :) A day trip to Ayutthaya </li>
<li>Only a small place but full of temples or wats </li>
<li>Halved price of tuk tuk by walking 100 yards. Think our bus driver had deal with guy who popped up when we got off the bus </li>
<li>Elephant ride, good haggling by Abi. Got it for about half price. </li>
<li>Elephant called toto, 2 years old, we think they said he'll work until 10. Driver called . Toy or something like that </li>
<li>Driver was ari for the day' same as the tube station we live at </li>
<li>Bronze Buddha covered in gold </li>
<li>Saw very leany bricks, temples from 1300 </li>
<li>Abi bought magnets</li>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Thailand14.330435 100.529611513.8370085 99.8978975 14.8238615 101.1613255tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-35498870297227926562012-09-03T19:24:00.003-07:002012-10-15T03:35:17.758-07:0031st August - 4th September<b><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;">3 and 4 September</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dinner out with Maria, a fellow intern at Ecpat</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: red;"><b>1 September</b></span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">China Town tour</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Saw a Gold buddha</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Pizza :) Abi managed to find one that was even Dairy free - result</span></li>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: inherit;"><b>31 August</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Abi goes slightly mad shopping, buys lots of cute things at Terminal 21 mall</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Main purchase is Phi Naaam, a very cut cat</span></span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">I think there was also a bag purchase and various buttons and stickers, but I lost count after a while :)</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-12929689348272784072012-09-03T19:23:00.004-07:002016-08-02T05:29:59.638-07:0020th - 30th August Koh Samed<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfnUhKi51Ee8NtHt7c7aEACvjt1F1EO026CXspom0uW3shgXCBoFZcdkAxLoUd6Rz7dOSVfShmOInbbJjoVdh7l2DuwcGRAfBU3ipnV1z2uMGhGVH0kitLLPRSgkdQsSYOEZazxEfLdEU/s1600/SL389467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfnUhKi51Ee8NtHt7c7aEACvjt1F1EO026CXspom0uW3shgXCBoFZcdkAxLoUd6Rz7dOSVfShmOInbbJjoVdh7l2DuwcGRAfBU3ipnV1z2uMGhGVH0kitLLPRSgkdQsSYOEZazxEfLdEU/s320/SL389467.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Koh Samed</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h2>
Koh Samed</h2>
30 August<br /><br />Saw new Brave movie in 3d - it was very good<br /><h3>
25 - 27 August Koh Samed trip </h3>
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<ul>
<li>Koh Samed trip - a great chance to get away from the city for a while. Highly recommended escape from Bangkok as it was only a 3 hour bus journey </li>
<li>Fireshow on the beach - very cool </li>
</ul>
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During our time on Koh Samed we went to a Floating restaurant, just near to the shoreline which promised fresh fish meals and an unusual dinning experience. <br />It's difficult getting out to the restaurant at certain times of the day so the restaurant has a shuttle boat service that will come and pick you up if you cannot get at the floating pier. Luckily, the time we went to eat we just about managed to get on there. <br /></div>
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Once you're in the restaurant you immediately notice that there are no chairs, just cushions to sit on and that each table in the restaurant is Glass topped. When you look again you can see that underneath the glass table it's a sheer drop into the ocean through holes that have been cut in the floor to watch the fish. </div>
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<br />We really enjoyed the meal and the ambience of the place, even though we were quite high above the water I kept having visions of a massive fish diving up to take a bite on my toe! Luckily though, that didn't happen. <br /><br />The next day we walked along the beach, and I managed to catch Abi looking ever so contemplative<br /><br />If you like empty beaches visit Koh Samed in the off season - lovely to get a beach all to yourself<br /><ul>
<li>One major touristy beach </li>
<li>Nice empty beaches </li>
<li>Hundreds of motorbikes </li>
</ul>
<h3>
22 August</h3>
Intense workshop on new <a href="http://www.salesforce.com/">Salesforce</a> system and e-learning system. Use the office whiteboard to maximum effect trying to capture all of the input and output flows associated with the Salesforce system. We made good progress, but there's a lot more to do!<br /><h3>
21 August</h3>
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Heads down day preparing for workshop on Wed <br /><h3>
20 August </h3>
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<li>Adventures with VPN - trying to get UK TV to work with mixed results. Looks like I'll have to watch more Thai TV going forward </li>
<li>San Francisco trip confirmed - awesome</li>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Ko Samet, Phe, Mueang Rayong, Rayong 21160, Thailand12.5670943 101.453790212.5360978 101.4143082 12.598090800000001 101.4932722tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-58885228220395002492012-09-02T01:36:00.000-07:002012-10-15T03:40:11.686-07:00Lumphini Park Visit<span style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: inherit;"><b>2nd September - </b></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Lumphini</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"> Park Visit</span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumphini_Park">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumphini_Park</a><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;">Lumphini Park for the day, hiring a pedalo, getting soaked mid lake</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Seeing lizards in the water was a bit freaky, they were huge</span><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Lumphini Park, Lumphini, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand13.7298627 100.542268613.7260067 100.5373331 13.7337187 100.5472041tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8558394579249925000.post-15927067615566215292012-08-19T01:34:00.000-07:002012-10-15T03:43:34.423-07:00Grand Palace/พระบรมมหาราชวัง, Bangkok<b><span style="color: red;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">19 August</span></span></b><br />
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<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Grand palace, very impressive. Jade Buddha most venerated in Thailand</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Soldiers with millions of medals sweeping up and making coffee, very odd</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">False teeth and dentures for sale, why ?</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">Girl wearing glasses with no lenses, fashion crazy or what</span></li>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Palace">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Palace</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Grand Palace, Thanon Na Phra Lan, Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok 10200, Thailand13.7499974 100.49199513.7480694 100.48952750000001 13.7519254 100.4944625