Archive for the 'Travel' Category

Sydney – Part One – In The City

Finally, an account of my trip to Sydney, 4 months ago. I have been busy :)

Skyscrapers from the Botanical Gardens
Skyscrapers from the Botanical Gardens by barryprice, on Flickr

I had never been to Australia before. I had been meaning to, ever since my aunt & uncle emigrated there from the USA in 1995, but it was always so far away.

Of course, I had previously thought that about Thailand, where I now live, so given that I was already half-way there, it was only polite to complete the journey and explore the land down under…

I had a week, and the folks are in the Sydney suburbs, so my destination was a simple enough decision. Australia is utterly huge, and a side-trip to Melbourne, or Perth, or Alice Springs or Adelaide would just have taken far too much time. So a week in Sydney this trip, and a hope that the next trip will allow me a little more time.

And there will definitely have to be a next trip, because – well, wow.

I would split the week in half, spending four nights in the heart of the city alone, then four more nights out in Penrith with my aunt and uncle.
Continue reading ‘Sydney – Part One – In The City’

Here, There and Everywhere

Sunset over the Gulf

The three weekends before last, I was in Koh Sichang (again), Chiang Mai and Nong Khai.
Continue reading ‘Here, There and Everywhere’

Dear Old Blighty

Southport Pier

A week in Southport would once have seemed the dullest of destinations.

But having now lived in a variety of elsewheres for about seven and a half years, I think I’ve spent long enough away to appreciate what can be a surprisingly pleasant town.

Perhaps absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I’ve no doubt that I’d be bored silly if I were to spend years, or even months actually living there again, but yet a week was not quite enough.

I hadn’t been back to England for almost two years, and quite aside from family and friends there was so much more that I’d missed without even realising it.
Continue reading ‘Dear Old Blighty’

Samut Songkhram

A day trip to Samut Songhram (Thai: สมุทรสงคราม) began with a shrieking alarm clock at 7am. Then another at 7.30am. It was, it appeared, time to get up. Not my favourite activity, and certainly not my favourite time at which to perform it. Continue reading ‘Samut Songkhram’

Phnom Penh

View from the hotel window

Spent last weekend in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Diary here:

Day One

Day Two

Days Three & Four

Photos here:

Phnom Penh photoset