The ferry journey from Koh Samui to Ko Tao took a bit of working out as to what was going on, where we had to go, etc, but we eventually piled on and our luggage was heaped up at the front of the catarmaran. About 10 minutes into the journey one of the crew rushed up to the front and […]
After a 90 minute flight from Chiang Mai we arrived at the first of our two islands – Koh Samui. We had chosen a place to stay based on the fact that is was on the west side of the island and we’d therefore see the sunsets. We were not disappointed 🙂 This was our first evening. Early next morning […]
The Chatrium Hotel in Bangkok was a good find. Because it was right on the river, access to the heart of the city where the main Wats are was a ferry journey away, rather than a crawl through crowded polluted streets. We enjoyed our stay here, the food was delicious, and the bed was one of the most comfortable hotel […]
For several years I’ve been following Elephant Nature Park on Facebook and have considered volunteering there for a couple of weeks. However, when we decided to come to Thailand I suggested that we include an overnight stay at ENP, which is about 1.5 hours north of Chiang Mai. This wonderful place is a sanctuary for elephants who have lived a […]
As we only had two days in Bangkok we had decided in advance what we wanted to do. With everything ticked off our list for Day 1, we wanted to visit Ayutthaya, the original capital of Siam, which is now in ruins. Between 1350 and 1767, Ayutthaya had 33 Kings and no Western power ever ruled Siam. During that time […]
When I was 12 my grandfather died. Not the usual start to one of my blog posts is it! However, it is very relevant, because he left a small amount of money to my mum, and she decided to take the family on an exotic holiday. Up to that point, the only other holiday I remember is going to a […]
Another enjoyable 24 hours camping at Klaserie Game Reserve a couple of weeks ago. It was a little marred by the fact that the two cubs that I wrote about in my first ‘camping’ post, were killed the day before 🙁 The two lionesses were feeding on a Zebra kill, and another pride came by – the cubs were […]
10 minutes into Klaserie with Africa On Foot – I’ve never seen so many buffalo at a dam! As Impala definitely do not climb trees, this can only mean one thing……… We searched and searched for the leopard but couldn’t find it.However, at dusk we heard over the radio that it had been spotted, and we raced back towards the […]
One of my current photography volunteers had found a company near to us who offer hot air balloon flights near Kruger National park, so 6 of us left Dumela Lodge at 3.50 a.m. last Saturday to go to the take-off site. I love how it’s dark one minute, and light about 15 minutes later. Whilst the balloon was being inflated […]
I really dislike all the pre-Christmas hype that we can’t escape in the UK. As soon as the schools start again in September, the shops start displaying Christmas goods. Before I left to come here, our local supermarket had tins of Roses and Quality Street piled up just inside the entrance. Being in Africa at this time of year is […]