Sunday 20 January 2008

The Sunday Post

I didn't know whether to carry the blog on or not when we got home, and to be honest I'm still not sure that I can write anything interesting enough for anybody to want to read, but I'll give it a go..

We've been home 4 days now and I'm still glad to be home (so is Matt) I've being staying with my mum and dad and on Thursday Matt went back to Droitwich to see his family, which is where he is now (or at least that's where he's supposed to be!!) I have spent the last couple of days finding all my clothes and shoes (a task in itself) updating my C.V, drinking gallons of tea and watching trashy t.v, as well as spending time with Stew in his lovely new HOOSE, oh yeah and getting the much talked about new hair doooo!!

Travelling certainly opens your eyes to a whole new perspective in life, and I can safely say I feel a totally different person for the experience. Life back at home is an absolute walk in the park to the life we have lived for the last 9 months. Everything at home is familiar to us, even the faces of people driving up the M1 on the way home from Heathrow looked familiar. I know what bus to catch (my dad will be thinking well why do you keep asking me for a lift and to borrow the car then!!) I know the route the bus will take, I know where all the shops are, I know where to buy what I want. I can talk to anybody (I just don't want to) I don't have to convert the price of everything into Sterling. I don't have to find somewhere to do our washing, I can use the phone and know it isn't going to cost me 50p a minute, I know where to get good fish and chips. Are you getting the picture?

Life at home is soooooo easy and at the moment relatively stress free. Every day that you are away when you're travelling you are constantly thinking and planning, where you will travel to next, how will you get there, how much will it cost, how long will it take, where will we stay, how long shall we stay for. At home your life is almost a matter of habit and we can manage most days without even having to actually think about what we're doing. Get up, have a shower, go to work, come home, have dinner watch T.V and go to bed. I'm not criticising that kind of life, quite the opposite, I now appreciate the most simple of pleasures.

Yesterday I walked to Stew's house which is about 2.5 miles away from my parents house, I loved it. I could have taken one of a hundred ways to get there, because I know them all, I knew where I was going and roughly how long it would take me to get there. You probably think all this sounds really crazy, it may make more sense to other people that have travelled, surely it can't just be me who feels this way after 9 months on the road?!?!

I think back to all the buses, trains and planes that we have travelled on since we have been away, and all the people who have got us to our next destination, i.e the bus driver, the pilot, the taxi driver. I'm home now back in my comfort zone and all those people are still out there, driving the taxi's, driving the buses over the Andes in shit weather on hazardous road, none of the experience is lost on me. It is like being dragged out of 'reality' and thrown into a surreal existence for 9 months and then all of a sudden being plunged back into the 'real world'

We are already talking about our next trip, which won't be for another 6 years as we have a few 'grown up' things we have to tend to first, like me getting a job, us buying a house and getting married. It all takes time and money.

On Tuesday I am back on the road again and getting the National Express to Birmingham to meet Matt, we are going to hopefully get me an engagement ring (oooooh how exciting) and I will see Matt's family and friends, so really looking forward to that. We are then going 'darn Sarf' to see Gary and Eve and the infamous bump, and hopefully catch up with a few work colleagues (only the elite) before we head back 'Ooop North' so start 'Life in a Northern Town'

I can honestly say that 2007 was the best year of my life in so many ways, our travels, Gary and Eve's pregnancy, our engagement, Stew and Kirsty's new house, and so much quality time together. We have enjoyed so many new experiences together and seen so many amazing places, it is difficult to put it all into words.

It was sad when Matt left on Thursday to go and see his family, I felt like I'd lost a limb after spending so much time together, he has being an absolute rock while we have been away. I can't wait to see him again on Tuesday. Matt Looby you truly are the best friend this girl could ask for and I can't wait to be your wife :o)

Wednesday 16 January 2008

They think it's all over... It is NOW!

Well, we arrived back in the U.K at 6am today and it was fluffing freezing (STILL IS)!! It is such a great feeling to be back, as much as we have loved every minute of our travels (even Oz!) it is good to be 'Ome.

Anyway, I'm not writing a BIG blog 'cos I'm suffering from travel/motion sickness and finding it difficult to form sentences, which is most unlike me!

It was a great feeling driving up the M1 on the way home from Heathrow, knowing that we are making a fresh start 'Ooop North'

Not sure if any of you ever used to watch Victoria Wood, but she used to have a comedy show and one of the sketches was a woman reading the news. One of the news readers gags went like this "We'd like to apologise to all our viewers in the North... It must be dreadful"

I love the North, it's full of Northerners, and they ALL acknowledge you when you give way to them on the roads!

As Oasis sang... It's good to be back!

Sunday 13 January 2008

Suited and Booted

Ooooh I'm feeling a bit delicate this morning after a late night on the Chang beer, we didn't get in 'til 3am courtesy of a tuck tuck! They should have tuck tuck's in England. Hull is a nightmare place to get a cab on a weekend and it's not uncommon to be waiting well over an hour in the freezing cold after a night on the toooown! Here tuck tucks line the streets at all hours of the day and night, you often see the driver slumped in the back seat catching 40 winks before his next fare. It usually costs 60 baht (1GBP) to go anywhere in Chiang Mai, for tourists anyway, it's probably 20 for the locals!!

We haven't being doing much this week, just spending our last days of freedom relaxing by the pool and chilling out. The sun is out every day here and never a cloud in the sky, we have also seen some magnificent sunsets. Unfortunately we don't get up early enough to see the sun rise!

We have also been to get measured up for some new "Saville Row" style attire. I'm not sure if anybody knows but in Asia (mostly Thailand I think) they are fantastic tailors and can make you anything to wear with any fabric of your choice. We went in a couple of days ago to select some styles and fabrics, the shop has Armani catalogues etc and you just pick out the style you like, chose your fabric from the many different types they have in the shop and then they do the rest. Once we had told him what we wanted he measures you up and draws a small diagram of the specific requirements you have, this includes how many buttons you want on the cuffs of your shirt, if you want a back pocket, pocket with buttons, slits at the side of your shirt, rounded bottoms to your jacket etc etc. They really do go into the most intricate detailing to get the garment just how you want it. We arranged to go back the following night to see how our clothes were shaping up. Within 24hrs they had made us 4 shirts and 2 pairs of trousers, we then had to try them on to make sure that the fit was OK and to check the cut of the trousers. When I tried mine on I have to say I felt like a million dollars. The fabric we chose for our suits is Cashmere and the cut of the trousers was just amazing. I have never had anything made to measure before, I don't suppose many of you reading this have either. I normally buy my suits from Next straight off the shelf, opting for the best fit from the small selection they have. Having something made to fit though really is something special, and if you ever get to Thailand I would definitely recommend it. My trousers were a little bit big around the waist and baggy around the crutch, so the guy marks it all out with chalk where they need to be cut and sends them back to the anonymous seamstress. They came back another 24hrs later fully altered and perfectly fit. I was that impressed with the cut and quality that I ordered another pair of trousers and a shirt. I did enquire about having a wedding dress made but he said that it would take longer than a week so I didn't bother. We have both got Cashmere suits each, an additional 3 pairs of trousers and 5 shirts and it came to less than 300GBP. I'm sure my new suit will get me the job that I want when we get back ;o)

Matt went for a Thai massage the other day as he has been suffering with a bad neck for quite a while now and pain killers aren't giving him much relief. I left him in the shop as it was going to be over an hour that he would be in there. He looked like a child whose mum is dropping him off for his first day at school ;o) It wasn't one of the "dodgy" massage parlours, maybe that's why he looked so worried?!? He came back over an hour later like a new man, he was bending, stretching and full of beans, telling me how good he felt and going into detail about how they bent and stretched him this way and that way. He also said that all the pain in his neck had gone and that he could almost turn it 360 degrees. Definitely 3 pound well spent. But the effects were to be short lived I'm afraid, yesterday he woke up complaining that his neck was aching again, and he's never shut up about it since. Now I know where the saying comes from "what a pain in the neck". Anyway he is going back for another one tomorrow so we'll see if that cures him.

Massage and pedicure are so cheap here, as is hair dressing, dentistry, opticians, plastic surgery, handbags, sunglasses... No wonder they call it the land of smiles!!

2 more sleeps and then we are on our way...

Wednesday 9 January 2008

It's the final countdown...

Well we're into the very last week of our travels and I have to say it feels good knowing that we're homeward bound.

We've being having a great time in Chiang Mai, doing far too much eating and drinking and very little exercise!! Last week we went out with Alan and Apple and some of their U.K friends to a brand new 5* hotel for an all you can eat buffet. The hotel is the Shangri La and it only opened on the 22nd December last year, so you can imagine how new everything is, you can actually smell the fresh paint when you walk in. Not a familiar smell in Thailand!! The carpets are those that sink as you walk over them they are that plush, and the attention to detail was amazing. The food was also 1st class although being a veggie my options were slightly limited. They had a sushi bar, an Italian section, local Thai dishes and an abundance of fresh salads, not to mention the delectable desert section. I think it's safe to say that between us (me and Matt) we polished off about 8 portions of desert!! You may find this difficult to believe but I'm not a big fan of sweet stuff either, probably just as well! It was a lovely night and it cost us just over 5 pound each. In currency that is not weight.

On Saturday night we headed to the Riverside on our mopeds (Apple and Alan driving) to a really busy bar where all the wealthy Asians and holiday makers hang out. It was soooo busy that we had to wait to be seated. We had another good night in there with some fine Thai tucker and lashings of Singh Beer. There was a Thai band playing too, doing covers of The Eagles, Queen, Coldplay etc. We were a little bit worse for wear when we left, or should I say I was! Sunday was spent sobering up by the pool.

Monday and yesterday we headed off to the Thai Cookery School for an introduction into Thai cooking. The classes are anything between 2 - 9 people. Luckily for us there were only 6 in our group, the only downside is that 4 of them were ozzies!! I'm only joking they were a decent crowd actually, it's not their fault they're from Oz. The first day we made a Pad Thai, a crispy Catfish Salad, some green curry paste (which involved a lot of pounding) and then a green curry with the paste. It was all delicious, despite the cockroaches jumping out of our eating bowls as they were set out ready for us to serve up our food!! We finished off with bamboo shoots in coconut milk, I wasn't too sure about those?!?!

Yesterday we made Chicken and Cashew nuts, I had to substitute all meat with tofu which was incredibly bland, despite the over powering presence of chilli's in everything. If I was cooking at home I would change tofu for fish. We then made a chicken and glass noodle salad with a chilli dressing, red curry paste and then a red curry with the paste we had made, and some Thai fishcakes with a chilli jam. Again the results were fantastic, even if I do say so myself. Both days before we started cooking we headed out to the local markets to get all our fruit and veg, it was great to be in the markets were all the locals do their shopping. Also everything was so cheap. At home we buy a Thai cooking kit from Waitrose when we want to make a Thai curry, it has a few shallots, a couple of leaves of coriander, garlic, lemongrass and a few other random leaves and it costs us 5 quid. At this market we were getting massive bunches of coriander and huge bulbs of galangal and all for about 20p each!! The cookery classes were great and we both enjoyed the experience, but the recipes are quite similar and we decided that we didn't need to do the 4 days that we had planned. We both got a recipe book to bring home so we can always refer back to that for some pointers. God only knows where we will get all the ingredients.

We have done a fair bit of shopping since we arrived too, our room is starting to look like Del Boys lounge with dodgy knock off gear in every corner and on every surface. I'm sure we will get hammered for excess baggage on the way home. We will just have to layer ourselves in clothing, adorn ourselves in jewellery and fake watches and carry a couple of designer handbags each and we should be ok. We don't plan on taking much (if any) of our original clothing home with us so we should have created a bit of space in our packs by the time we leave.

Today and tomorrow we have/will be lazing by the pool soaking up the last of the rays before we brace ourselves for the biting temperatures back home. I'm getting regular updates on the weather from my mum and dad and I think it's safe to say we are in for a very cold welcome when we get home :o(

Friday 4 January 2008

Chilling in Chiang Mai

We arrived in Chiang Mai on New Years day after a 60 minute flight from Bangkok - what a breeze! It was such a relief to get away from the hustle and bustle, not to mention the intense heat.

We were met at the airport by an ex work colleague and his family (Alan, Apple and Andrew) Alan used to live here a few years ago and is currently on a career break and back in Chiang Mai soaking up some culture. It is not difficult to see why he has come back. Chiang Mai is a fantastic place. It is much cooler than the rest of Thailand and without the humidity, it is less busy than the touristy resorts and it has so much to see and do and fantastic restaurants, bars, shops etc. It is going to be difficult for us to leave!!!

We are due to fly home to the U.K on the 16th January, a little bit earlier than we anticipated but we are both ready for home now, despite it being mid winter there! So rather than clock up more miles travelling to Cambodia for a week or so we have decided to put down our packs for the last time and spend the rest of our trip in Chiang Mai, it has got everything we need to end our already superb trip on a high. Cambodia will have to wait for the next trip when we will have the time and inclination to do the country justice.

On Wednesday we hired some bikes with Alan and Apple and they took us to the Elephant Reserve, about 20k outside of town. It was a great drive (despite the pot holes ;o)) through windy roads up into the hills and away from city life. Myself and Matt went on an elephant ride, it is something I have wanted to do this trip and obviously Thailand is the perfect place for such activities! There are loads of elephants at the reserve and they are amazing creatures, I love them. Our elephant was a female and she was called Mae Moo, she was 38 years old which meant we were the same age, she did seem to be aging better than me though, although I'm not sure I had quite as many wrinkles as she did!! We were on Mae Moo for an hour, we sat on a seat that is attached to her back and there is a local sat up front (on her head) giving her directions and steering the way. I couldn't help but think that it was a cruel thing to be doing, but the elephants handled our weight with ease and it is such a relief knowing that these animals are protected and looked after daily without the fear of being hunted or separated from their herd. Elephants are extremely protective of their young and the rest of their herd, and they become very distressed when one of them is captured by predators or runs into difficulty. They do everything they can to protect each other, they really are something special and it was a real treat for me. It was a slow and bumpy ride, and often quite smelly when one of them would stop to do their business ;o) We also went into one of the rivers where the elephants had a drink and sprayed some water around, it was a great experience and one I will never forget.

After that we headed off to a great Thai restaurant for a lovely Thai lunch, because Alan and Apple have lived here before they know all the best spots so we really have being spoilt since we arrived. We then went to see some waterfalls before heading back. A fantastic day. Yesterday we opted for a lazy one, so we headed across the road to a "posh" hotel and made full use of their sun deck and swimming pool amidst the Germans. We sat sipping ice cold drinks soaking up the rays, thinking of our friends back home venturing back to work after the Christmas holidays!

We have been doing a bit of shopping since we arrived here as we have put it off our whole trip as we couldn't afford to pack any more weight. They have a night bazaar here every day and it is huge. The handicrafts are beautiful and if I had my way I would but them all. There are shoes, handbags, t-shirts, dvd's, cd's, jewellery, souvenirs you name it it's all here for the taking. The only thing I'm not too good at though is the bartering, they come in with a ridiculous price and then we have to haggle. I have had a few attempts, some successful and others not so. We have another week and a half though to get the rest of our pressies so I hope to have it cracked by then.

On Monday we begin our 4 day cooking course. We attend cooking classes Mon - Wed, 10am - 4pm and then our last day is Sunday. We are shown how to make our own curry pastes, Thai soups and other local dishes, this involves a trip to the market to buy our own ingredients. We are really looking forward to this. We get to eat all our own cooking too so we will be stuffed by the end of each day, it's a hard life!!

Today we are just going to amble into town and have a look around, we have had Alan showing us the sights and delights of Chiang Mai since we arrived so we have being spoilt not having to get the maps out finding somewhere to eat, best places to shop. We'll probably end up in some girly bar paying through the nose for our drinks being accosted by lady boys!!