Malta – Day 2 July 27, 2009
Posted by Martin in : malta, travel , add a commentAfter breakfast a group of us decided to walk round Juliana Bay.
Sadly, with the supermarket closed half-day on sunday, and as all the dcent cafes had closed their kitchen when we wanted to eat we resorted to a Mcdonalds for lunch 
Malta – Day 1 July 26, 2009
Posted by Martin in : malta, travel , 1 comment so farAfter a midnight flight from Bangkok I arrived at Frankfurt airport with three and a half hours to kill before my connecting flight.
This holiday I’m flying alone a Tik has work and study commitments and killing time at Frankfurt was quite an effort. Frankfurt must be one of the world’s most expensive airports and I really resented paying 10 euros for a sandwich and drink. I’d already used up the 40 minutes of battery on my laptop and as much as I wanted to get some work done I wasn’t happy to pay 20 euros for a 2 euro plug adaptor that I’d only need for a few hours.
I find the German accent so hard sounding that I felt that everybody at the airport was somehow shouting at me. I boarded the connecting flight to Malta feeling like a naughty schoolboy who was being disciplined by his teacher. Wow those Lufthansa air hostesses are big. Compared to the petite frames of the Thai airways staff these women scared the crap of me.
I found Mum, Dad and Lisa waiting for their bags at Malta airport. They had arrived just a few minutes earlier from Manchester so it was practical for us all to share the hotel taxi together.
We are here during a heatwave. It was 38 degrees outside – significantly hotter than Thailand!
We are staying at the Hotel Juliani. This is a lovely hotel that usually caters to business guests. The rooms are clean, each having large TVs, DVD players and a large bath. The staff are very friendly, very professional and I’d highly recommend staying here.
Our family had arrived first so we headed to the rooftop pool to await the rest of the group.
Sam and Orna Stay July 24, 2009
Posted by Martin in : CouchSurfing, Friends , add a commentWe just hosted Sam and Orna for four nights.
Sam is Australian and Orna is Irish. They are traveling the world together and are heading to Koh Tao and then to Vietnam where they plan to teach English for 6 month.
Tik and I were both busy working this week but got the opportunity to take them for dinner at Fah Sai restaurant and, today to Crepes and Co for brunch.
Protected: Lonely Planet Online July 23, 2009
Posted by Martin in : Thailand, Travel Tips , Enter your password to view comments.RunPee – The Best Times To Pee During A Movie July 8, 2009
Posted by Martin in : Creative / Humour, Websites , add a commentI found this fun website today which solves my complaint about cinemas not offering toilet breaks despite the fact that the drinks they sell to you are usually huge and movies seem to be getting longer over time.
RunPee is a database of current movies with a listing of when in the movie you’d be best running to the toilet without missing anything important.
RunPee also tells you what you’ll have missed too and also if there’s anything displayed after the final credits roll.
Kanchanaburi Safari Park July 6, 2009
Posted by Martin in : CouchSurfing, Friends, Leisure, Thailand, travel , add a commentThe following morning we visited the safari park.
I’d seen videos of this park online and looked forward to how close we could get to the giraffes. The park itself was great value; 300 baht for westerners, 130 for Thais.
Outside the park we had the opportunity to play with an excitable lion cub and have a group photo with a pretty lethargic tiger.
The park itself was as I’d imagined it, animals so used to tourists that they stuck their heads right into the car.
I found the zebras a little aggressive. They constantly snarled and jumped at the giraffes in a bid to get into our windows. (more…)
Weekend in Kanchanaburi July 5, 2009
Posted by Martin in : CouchSurfing, Leisure, Thailand , add a commentOur Couchsurfing friends David and Sharon were only meant to stay with us one night. Even before meeting them I felt bad that we’d not get more time with them as they were an extremely interesting couple with a positive and proactive attitude and a lot to share. Thankfully we managed to convince them to join us for a weekend in Kanchanaburi as I was keen to visit the safari park there.
We chose a bank holiday weekend so a few guesthouses were booked up but we were lucky enough to find Sams Rafthouse which is along the river Kwai and not far from the infamous (and infamously dull) railway.
Although we were planning on only modest accommodation Tik was excited to be offered the VIP rafthouse with fully fitted bathroom. At 800 baht for the night this was very reasonable and the room was clean and well-maintained. We were looking forward to sitting outside on the floating patio and getting to know our new friends.
We sat outside on the porch, discussing life until late.
