The Start of Our Day Trip : Pimai Temple, Korat December 6, 2009
Posted by Martin in : Thailand, travel , add a commentAfter picking up Careys friend Craig from the airport we began our Issan Road Trip.
After a predictable stop at ChockChai Farm for our routine burger we arrived at Pimai temple in Korat.
The temple itself is derelict, it is still a hub of tourism and seems to be used for festivals. We were all impressed by how much the ruins looked like Ankor Wat in Cambodia.
Tik’s real motivation for taking us here was to take photos. My personal favorite was her “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” shot, modeled by Craig and Carey.
Malta Photos Online August 5, 2009
Posted by Martin in : Family, malta, travel , add a comment
Sorry for the long delay and the lack of blog updates for what was truly a lovely holiday.
Since returning I’ve been snowed under with work and only just had time recently to upload and organize everything.
The remaining photos from the week are online here.
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.
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 Ayutthaya April 25, 2009
Posted by Martin in : Leisure, Thailand, travel , add a commentCarey, Tik and I went to Ayutthaya for the weekend.
Ayutthaya is a historic city that once operated as the capital of the country. It hosts a lot of temples and, having not been there for over 5 years I felt it was about time we revisited.
On the way we stopped at a local tourist village and park which had an aviary, aquarium, park and local handicrafts.
Back From Japan April 20, 2009
Posted by Martin in : japan, travel , add a commentWow, with about 2,000 photos and a fortnight of non-stop eating and sightseeing, Tik and I have really got our work cut out to update the blog. We’re organizing the photos as I type.
Here’s a selection of the stuff we’ve been busy with: (in no particular order)
Bus Trip to Shiragawa-go April 18, 2009
Posted by Martin in : japan, travel , add a commentOur bus left to the exact second it was scheduled to leave and took us from Takayama to Shiragawa-go where we were spending the night.
Here are some photos of the local scenery, taken from the bus.
Arriving in Takayama – Japan Day 13 April 17, 2009
Posted by Martin in : japan, travel , add a commentWe arrived in the about 5pm in Takayama, a beautiful quiet town in a mountain area thats compared favorably with the Swiss Alps.
Much of the local architecture is old and wooden and the town sports some unique craft stores.
We spent the night with Martin, a very hospitable Couchsurfer who was really enjoying his life. Martin worked as a teaching assistant which meant he worked with far less stress than a full-time teacher unlike other teachers we met, he lived a lifestyle that very much made the most of his time there.
Martin treated us to some traditional Japanese tea before taking us out to explore the bars for a bite to eat.
Tokyo to Takayama – Japan Day 13 April 17, 2009
Posted by Martin in : japan, travel , add a commentHere’s a few photos we took from the train as we travelled from Tokyo to Takayama.
We stopped briefly in Nagoya for a bite to eat.
A Night At A Capsule Hotel, Tokyo – Japan Day 12 April 16, 2009
Posted by Martin in : japan, travel , add a commentCapsule hotels are space-efficient places to stay and are usually found in the city centers.
They are mainly used by Japanese businessmen but there are a rare few that have separate floors for women.
Janglish April 16, 2009
Posted by Martin in : japan, travel , add a commentJanglish (English written by the Japanese) is surprisingly far less understandable than Tinglish (Thai-English).
A Night On The Town, Tokyo – Japan Day 12 April 16, 2009
Posted by Martin in : CouchSurfing, japan, travel , add a commentWe’d arranged to meet Aikiko (and her friend Yuka) in central Tokyo to experience authentic tokyo nightlife.
Aikiko is a fellow Couchsurfer and both her and her friend Yuka spoke perfect English, have a very sharp sense of humor and we couldn’t have hoped for better hosts to spend our time with.
After an enjoyable dinner together we went to a bar in Omoide
yokocho (translates at ‘memory side-street’).
The area used to be a popular haunt for Yakuza but nowadays it’s safe, friendly and very fun.
We enjoyed refreshing beers here and also an assortment of grilled nibbles such as the mushrooms below.
The bar was only small and after about 90 minutes we were asked to vacate our seats for waiting customers but got a lot through some great food, drink and conversation during that time.
We left Aikiko and Yuka about 10pm and headed for a Pachinko parlor to finish off the evening.
Shibuya Crossing, Tokyo April 16, 2009
Posted by Martin in : japan, travel , add a commentShibuya is similar to Picadilly Circus in London. It contains large stores, bright lights and, a hell of a lot of people.
Edo-Tokyo Museum, Ryogoku, Tokyo – Japan Day 11 April 16, 2009
Posted by Martin in : japan, travel , add a commentWe returned to Ryogoku (the sumo area) during the daytime to visit the Edo-Tokyo museum.
This well-organized museum details the history of the city and contains both life-sized replicas of authentic buildings as well as very detailed miniatures.
