Did virtually nothing all day. Swam. Scrabble (won). Finished reading Game of Thrones (book 3). Table tennis. Rum & Coke. Off for dinner. Hard times……..

More tomorrow (possibly less).

30th Jan to 2nd Feb, 2016

Well, life is certainly slowing up over here in Thailand and I am delighted to report that we are starting to take it a little easier. Sunday we made a day of rest – no yoga and no cross-Channel swimming training. We did manage a game of Scrabble – phew! Val won, for the record, though the long-term score is 10-3 to me. Oh and I have opened up a lead on the Yahtzee of 92 to 78 of the 172 games we have played (we started before this trip you will be relieved to hear). If your maths is good you will notice that the scores do not add up to the games – one tie and one cock-up when scoring by me!

Monday we went on our  longtail boat trip to Koh Phi Phi (pronounced Pi Pi – yes, I know, we went to Pi Pi, very funny…….). It took about 90 minutes to get there but it was well worth it and the scenery was fantastic. Loads of (other) tourists, especially at Maya Bay, scene for the film,  The Beach, but it was still worth seeing. I managed a bit of snorkelling which was great – the fish come right up to you and brush past and look in through the mask. It was quite unnatural. I presume they thought I was just another (very large!) fish.

Other than that not much else to report. We have had some great food, great massages and are having a great time!

A glimpse of the trip to Koh Phi Phi… you even get a chance to see the large fish about to descend to the ocean depths. I think the light must have been a bit harsh on that photo as I swear I am not THAT white! The cliffs are much higher than the photos show – the effect of wide-angle. The last pic is of our resort from the sea.

More soon – if anything happens……

30th to 31st January, 2016

Ok, it’s that time again. Yes, it’s sunset time!!! Oh come on, everyone loves a sunset. And look on the bight side – I have not taken any butterfly or bird photos (yet).

Anyway, to get you in the mood, Val and I took a little road trip to see the eastern side of the island and it is so different to the rest. Old Lanta is charming, a slightly sleepy fishing village that caters to the tourists who make it this far south. Beyond that there is a ‘gypsy’ village with a beautiful beach and lots of rubber and oil palm smallholdings that took me back to my days in Malaysia (did I ever tell you of those days? Remind me to fill you in some time…..). The island is about 90% Muslim and you see lots of women in their headscarves, but everyone is working their socks off with many of the women and girls driving the tuktuks.

First up, some scenery…

Now some general scenes (don’t worry, the sunsets are coming soon)…

And finally…..

We are off on a boat trip tomorrow to Ko Phi Phi, so stand by!

20th to 29th Jan, 2016

I feel you should get a feel for what it is like being on holiday with John and Val. Hopefully you have already appreciated the touring regime from the posts on India (0800 breakfast, 0900 depart hotel, visit site, endless photos, drive to next site, more photos, etc), but what happens when we get a chance to ‘relax’?

Well, first up Val is not really the lounge-by-the-pool type, so she likes nothing more than to head to the gym first thing, while I get a few minutes extra sleep. Breakfast is included in the cost of the hotel so that is next and then back for an hour or so R & R before we set off for some yoga. Then back for a swim, maybe, followed by some table tennis (we brought our own bats and balls!) and then another swim. Rest up, then supper and a few games of Yahtzee before sleep.

A few details….

YOGA

We have been doing yoga almost every day and I have to admit that it is excellent, though some parts of me are obviously not meant to go in certain directions, but every day is a small improvement on the previous one. Val is excellent and it definitely helps her Parkinson’s. Enjoy the pics – I think the camera has rather shortened my legs!! Post-yoga is a walk to the nearby beach and the Easy Bar for Val’s first coconut and my soda water of the day, followed by a dip in the sea – yes, that is a hat I am wearing. You can’t be too careful!

SWIMMING

I have decided to challenge myself to do an extra 2 lengths of the pool every day (200 metres) and, at time of writing have managed 18 lengths or 1800 metres. This has been great as I am fitter and am actually losing weight. The downside is that it makes the yoga pretty tough, especially my downward facing dog!

TABLE TENNIS

You will not be surprised to know that this is a competitively contested activity. Val is winning by some margin (to be honest I lost count (honest) as it was hard to remember the score of the games and the score of the number of games). Just to keep the record straight – the winner is Val if she reaches 11 points or me if I reach 21 points before she reaches 11. And if she reaches 11 before I do that counts as two points in games. I think she may be about 42 games to my 25 or something like that. I will keep you posted – and check out the Yahtzee score below!!

MASSAGES

Well, you cannot come to Thailand and not indulge in a massage. We have found a really nice one aptly called Serenity. 90 minutes of pure bliss – followed by a cup of tea and some fruit on their veranda overlooking the sea. They can certainly find those muscles and joints that need attention. So far I have managed not to scream, but I suspect it is only a matter of time!

FOOD & CHILEANS

The island itself is pretty much full of tourists, but is not the party scene like Phukett is. After India it is unnervingly calm and well ordered, though we have been surprised by the relatively poor level of English. The Thais are genuinely lovely people and so friendly, always smiling and greeting you with ‘shawadi karp’ (spelling?).

The island is quite long, with effectively one main road, loads of restaurants and lovely beaches. We have had some great food at some great restaurants (thank you Tripadvisor) and are now better at not over-ordering, though the photos do look as though they tell another story! And we met the nicest Chilean family it is possible to meet, going by the unusually English names of Susana (grandma), Pamela (mum) and Natalia (daughter). Great company, great stories (Susana should write hers down – now!) and we are looking forward to visiting Chile in Sept, 2018!

We did have one unfortunate moment. we were coming back from yoga and turning left from a small junction to join the main road. I looked right and all was well so started to pull out at which point a young lad (14 or 15 years old I would think) on a motorbike was coming at some considerable speed down the wrong side of the road towards us and managed to clip the front of the car doing a surprising amount of damage.

What was even more surprising was that he managed to stay on the bike. 6 inches to the right and he would have been dead by my reckoning. The ensuing discussion was made rather more problematic by the lack of each other’s languages, but a really nice man from a local travel agents helped out as did the hotel who called the hire car company and, eventually, the insurance man came down from Krabi (3.5 hours away) to have a look. All was sorted out (including police report) – though it did take about 8 hours. Val was a bit shaken up by the whole incident, but is better now – and the important thing is that no one was hurt!

Stand by for scenery and sunsets in the next post!

18th Jan to 19th Jan, 2016

I did plan on covering 10 days in one blog, but it has proved to be impossible, so bear with me.

We arrived here on 18th January  via Bangkok but were too late to make our way to Ko Lanta as the journey involves two ferries and we would have been too late to catch them before they shut down for the night. So we spent one night in Krabi. The difference in temperature was the first thing we noticed as it had been almost chilly at the end of our time in India (OK, I know, not as bad as where you are!). Hotel was simple, but clean and comfortable.We went out to eat at a local restaurant which had some great food and amusing staff as you can see from the photos. Val was in heaven as she got stuck in to some good Asian grub – and a coconut!

The next morning was MY BIRTHDAY! We had breakfast and then took a quick stroll along the promenade by the river where a quick birthday photo was taken to prove that 61 is not really all that bad and I am obviously surviving fine. Note the pathetic attempt at a selfie!

Then off we set in our little Mitsubishi for Ko Lanta. It took a bit longer than we thought it would as there are two ferries to cross, but some 3.5 hours later we arrived at Crown Lanta Resort that will be our home for the next three weeks. Our room is really nice, the star attraction being the pool outside. Luckily neither of us sleepwalk! The pool runs the length of our block and then does the same at a right angle down the side of the other block, making it, by my estimate, about 100 metres in length. I managed 2 lengths on the first attempt! More on this later. The rest of the resort is also very pleasant, though VERY HILLY. The climb to the restaurant (called The Peak) for breakfast is a challenge!

As it was my birthday we decided to celebrate with a visit to the Reggae Bar at Happy Hour, which we enjoyed so much we stayed on to eat and to enjoy the birthday cake that Val had organised. We shared it with the staff who were there (there were 4 of them and 2 of us) and had a nice chat. All in all a lovely way to see in another year. Here are the embarrassing photos…..

16th Jan, 2016 (continued)

Sadly (this is a matter of opinion) we did not have time to visit one of the most unusual temples in India (according to my guidebook), the Karni Mata temple in Deshnok. For any of you who might think to follow in our footsteps and take a similar itinerary, you may want to divert here. Apparently you step inside the Italian marble arched doorway and “within seconds you’ll be accosted by teeming hordes of free-roaming holy rodents, known as kabas, who, devotees believe, are reincarnated souls saved from the wrath of Yama, the god of death. For newlyweds, the sick and other pilgrims, it’s customary to eat prasad or blessed food from the main shrine after it has been nibbled by the kabas and many spend hours hunting on their hands and knees for a glimpse of the auspicious white rat. It’s also considered a blessing for a rat to run over your feet, but whatever you do, don’t step on one or you’ll have to donate a gold model of a rat to placate the deity.”

Well, we didn’t go and Monu seemed very unwilling to take us there. I must add here that Val seemed to have a mental block about his name and usually called him Manu, which she says is Malayalam for ‘son’. As Monu seemed to take great pride in looking after Val as he would his mother, it ended up as a wonderful relationship – but one where he was definitely not going to take ‘Mama’ to a rat temple!

Now, Mandawa. Our last stop in Rajasthan – and that largely to break the journey from Bikaner to Delhi. And we were so glad that we did  as it gave us the opportunity to stop over in Mandawa Castle, our last and possibly most spectacular hotel in Rajasthan. I will let the photos do the talking. First up, our room (suite?)…

And now, the Castle – during the day…

And at night (there was a wedding reception)…

In between all this we were given a tour of the town of Mandawa by a really nice young lad called Ali who is a student who does a bit of part-time guiding on the side. Mandawa is part of an area north of Jaipur called Shekhawati, the easternmost part of the Thar Desert and it lay on the trade route from Delhi to Sind (now in Pakistan). The local merchants, the Marwari, vied with each other to build ever more fanciful and elaborate havelis (after the Persian word for ‘enclosed space’) and all the towns in the area can boast a wide assortment of these magnificent mansions. Sadly many of them are in a very poor state of repair, though some have been restored to their former beauty. Over all, though, a vast quantity are going to disappear altogether unless some pretty drastic measures are put in place.

This is what Mandawa looks like…

17th Jan, 2016

Not much to report other than we had the usual exciting drive to Delhi (about 5 to 6 hours) and nearly got stuck in a traffic jam a mile from our hotel because there was a wedding going on on the side of the motorway and everyone stooped to look!

Holiday Inn, New Delhi Airport was much as you would expect, so no photo this time!

18th Jan, 2016

We were really sad to say goodbye to Monu who picked us up at 6.00 am and drove us the short distance to the airport. He was superb throughout the trip and was one of the nicest guys you could meet. So two final photos from India…

Next stop – THAILAND!!!!!!

15th Jan, 2016

Next stop on our tour of Rajasthan was Bikaner. Now, if you thought we could not be impressed by anything more following our stay at Jaisalmer, then you are obviously unaware of the hotels you can get in this part of the world. This time we checked into the Laxmi Niwas Palace aka the Lallgarh Palace (still home to the local royal family). Honestly, you just have to smile and pinch yourself. Our bedroom was enormous with a sort of ante-chamber and a very long bathroom with about a 10 yard walk from the loo to the shower. The Maharaja, Ganga Singh, who built it in 1902 was a complete anglophile and represented the Indian princes at the signing of the Versailles treaty in 1919, having served on the Western Front. Sadly we could not get Room 108 which had been occupied by the likes of George V and Mountbatten, but we were still impressed. We didn’t have time for a game of snooker! If you are sensitive to dead animals hanging from walls, best not to look at all the photos – just remember it was another era. For the rest, enjoy!!

Bikaner itself is a little less impressive than some of our previous visits, but the local fort and royal palace is still worth a visit as you can see from the photos I hope. The plane in the Public Audience Chamber was a present from the British in gratitude for the Maharaja’s service during WW1. There was also a nice little museum with some fabulous textiles and clothes from the royal collection as well as some ‘everyday’ items – everyday if you are a maharaja, that is…..

16th Jan, 2016

I thought it would be good to get a feel for the town of Bikaner as the guide book seemed to indicate that the streets were of interest and that there were some havelis worth seeing so I persuaded Val to venture out with me into the bustling streets the next (rather chilly) morning. Initially this looked like a bit of a mistake and indeed, Monu seemed somewhat bemused by the whole idea, but agreed to drop off at the Kote Gate and to give us an hour to explore before we set off for the drive to Mandawa. Well, we started walking up the main street with all the usual noise and bustle and smells as the shopkeepers were opening up for business. It was interesting, though nothing exceptional and I think Val was having her doubts – quite rightly, as I was too! In desperation to find some charming alleys as in Jaisalmer, we hailed a tuktuk and headed for the only place mentioned on the map in the guidebook, which was a haveli now converted into the Rampuriya Haveli Hotel. The driver took us down some fairly rundown backstreets, avoiding positively herds of cows, dogs and people, through mud and round potholes and dropped us outside what I assume was the back of the hotel, which looked like the trades men’s entrance. Undaunted and effectively with no other choice we ventured in. What a gem! The gentleman on the front desk seemed more than happy for one of the staff to show us around virtually every room and it was worth it in spades. Have a look……..

A brief walk walk back to Kote Gtae and a possibly anxious Monu (to be honest, he is so cool and unruffled it is hard to tell) picked us up and off we went to Mandawa.

14th Jan, 2016

Dear loyal followers, my apologies for the late posting – when, eventually, I catch up with this blog you will understand that this holiday is not just one long sojourn lying by the pool. Anyone will understand who has been on a touring holiday with me (0800 hours, depart hotel, morning sightseeing, lunch (if you are lucky!), more sightseeing, photo session, revise what we are going to see tomorrow, etc); or a poolside holiday with Val (up at 0600 (if she is having a lie in), gym at 0700, breakfast, yoga, scrabble, Shaun T exercise video, Yahtzee, quick nap, table tennis, swim, supper, more Yahtzee and sleep within 2 seconds of reading her Kindle). So time is a premium!

Well, we last left you travelling through the Thar Desert on our way to Jaisalmer. It has been described as something from The Arabian Nights – with tuk-tuks. Rajasthan has its Pink City (Jaipur), its Blue City (Jodhpur) and Jaisalmer, its Golden City as I am sure the photos will make self-evident. We checked into our hotel, Rang Mahal, the night before – and again were moving rooms as we managed to flood the bathroom a little (honestly, not our fault – the shower:shower curtain ratio was about 80:20!). I know how much you enjoy seeing the way we have had to slum it on this trip, so here you go with the latest offering (the pool was, once again, refreshing).

After our hearty breakfast it was off into the town. We were met by our latest guide, Imran and transported first to the Gadi Sagar Tank, a man-made lake (built in 1367), which was once the town’s only water supply. We had to go through an imposing triple gateway, built by one of the maharaja’s concubines, which meant that it was not seen as appropriate by the local populace. To get round this, she put a small shrine in it – so all was well again. All in all, a truly lovely, tranquil spot.

It was then off to the fort itself through the market place (complete with very young tightrope walker – why not in school? See photos) and through the gates up to the fort. Jaisalmer Fort is different to the others in as much as it encompasses about 2000 people living within the confines of the 100m high walls. There are lovely winding streets with lovely winding cows and less lovely motorbikes and tuktuks and it is the sort of place you can happily get lost in. The city was founded in 1156 and as is usual you have to enter through a number of gates (complete with nasty-looking spikes on the doors to stop elephants from pushing them in when besieging the city). It was pointed out that traitors and criminals were thrown in the ‘death well’ by the second gate. The fourth gate leads into the main chowk or square which is dominated by the old palace of the Maharaja and that for his women (one of them had 21 wives).

The streets are narrow and there are no cars, but quite a few smaller forms of transport, but generally it is magical and unlike anywhere else we have been in India – a little like Venice without the canals. There are several havelis or mansions, which are a particular feature of Rajasthan especially the western end. They are simply magnificent – fabulous carving of the soft Jurassic sandstone with elaborate latticework with three or four storeys around a central courtyard with most commissioned in the 18th and 19th centuries. I hope the photos do them justice – if they don’t you will have to see them for yourselves!

We took Val back to the hotel and Monu very kindly dropped me back in town to take a few more photos which I have put together as a montage of faces and colours of Jaisalmer.

Well done for getting this far, assuming that you are still reading this! The final part of our day in Jaisalmer happened outside about 35 minutes drive into the desert. Yes, it was time for the obligatory camel ride and sunset photo opportunity. My camel was called Rocket – I could not work out if it was more in hope than expectation, but he did go quite quickly at one point – and I am not sure if our mahout (or whatever a camel handler person is called) was into irony. Not too uncomfortable once you got going. The sunset was fairly standard and the drive back to our hotel was exciting as Monu enjoyed what were relatively empty roads!

Ok, well done – that was a long one – the next ones will be a bit shorter, promise!

13th Jan, 2016

We were sad to leave Jodhpur, but it was time to head further west towards the desert outpost that is Jaisalmer.

Before we left we visited the Umaid Bhawan Palace, part of which is still occupied by the local Maharaja, part is a museum and the rest a hotel. It would have been great to stay there and I believe you can get the Royal Suite for a mere £1,900 per night. Another time, maybe. We visited the museum and had a look at the collection of vintage cars. It took 15 years to build, being completed in 1944 and was built  to help relief a famine – which was nice of the Maharaja! He did end up with a palace, which was nice for him too! The photos show the Maharaja’s throne (I think), his Rolls (Jodhpur No 1) and some pictures that show the original art deco concept for the interior. The one of the palace also includes what looks like someone doing a jig!

From there we set off for Jaisalmer, but with a stop at Osian where there are some temples well worth a visit. Monu dropped us off and told us not to speak to anyone, but within two minutes we had a lad in tow who seemed happy enough to be our unofficial guide. It was worth having him as it helped us find our way around Rajasthan’s largest group of early Hindu and Jain temples. The first one we visited was the Vishnu and Harihara temples, built in the 8th and 9th centuries, then the Sachiya Mata temple from the 12th century. The decorative carving is outstanding – though Val and I are still bemused that whilst the code for women in India is one of modesty and decorum, most of the females depicted, whether goddesses or dancing girls, are fantastically sensuous.  We also visited the Jain temple (8th century) which was wonderfully peaceful and a little less flamboyant than its Hindu neighbour.

The first photos are of the Hindu temples

And now the Jain temple (plus street scenes!)

It was a long way to Jaisalmer, but the roads were a little less congested and we entertained (?) Monu with a selection of my Spotify music with accompanied singing. He seemed to be driving considerably faster as time went on, so we thought we had better desist.

We arrived finally in Jaisalmer of which more soon.

Oh dear, I seem to be playing catch up again. Apologies for the absence, but, as ever, we have been busy, busy, busy. We left you last in Pushkar…..

11th Jan, 2016

We had quite a long drive from Pushkar to Jodhpur and now that we are allowed to leave at the leisurely departure time of 1000, it meant that we arrived in Jodphur mid-afternoon, so we went straight to our hotel. This is the Ajit Bhawan Palace, described in the guide book as somewhat Flinstones like, but that we should not be put off by that. It was a bit that way inclined as some of the photos bear out, but it was largely fine apart from an initial hiccup with the plumbing. A few photos first and then I will elaborate…

The bedroom at the top was our first room – all very nice and we settled in for our two nights. Val & I headed for the pool and I managed a few lengths, though you can see how cold it was by my rather pathetic effort to get in! It was then back to our room for a shower before heading out to dinner. This was where it got interesting. The shower was lukewarm at best, which, after my bracing dip, seemed just about OK and I thought that maybe I just had not given the water time to get through the system. Val then had a shower and decided, quite rightly, that it just simply was not hot enough – tepid at best. So we called reception and a nice man arrived with little or no English, but a determination to make it work. This failed and another man appeared with the same amount of English, but this time with tools (which he did not use). The main method of repair was to turn on the taps and say (I am paraphrasing), ‘there you are sorted’ to which my reply was (paraphrasing again), ‘no, it is still only warm at best’. The third member of the maintenance crew appeared and disappeared to try to sort out the boiler only to return some time later and advise that all we had to do was turn on the hot tap for 10 to 15 minutes and hot water would be gushing from said faucet. He attempted this, but, sad to say, the only steam to appear was starting to come out of Val’s ears. The lady from reception was then called, who advised that this temperature was what they usually provided… I will leave our reply to your imagination. Long story (sorry, I expect you have been looking forward to hearing of the delights of Jodhpur than our first world problems), short (!), we were given another room (photo at the bottom) which, surprise, surprise had excellent and copious amounts of lovely hot water.

12th Jan, 2016

It was up for a 1000 start the next day. Val unfortunately had a touch of the Delhi Belly and even I, the night before had been feeling a bit iffy. We had experienced a ‘village’ dinner (in the hotel grounds) and were possibly paying the price. Anyway, game as ever, we set off for the Mehrangarh Fort. Val got as far as the first floor and sadly had to pull out and head back to the car and hotel, leaving me with our guide for the day, Ashish (‘hashish with out the s, as he described it). He was very jolly, not least with many amusing muses on married life as a Maharajah, dealing with numerous wives and other consorts. The fort is magnificent. I think I said before that we keep thinking we have seen the best that Rajasthan has to offer, but it keeps getting trumped by the next one.

It was described by Kipling as the work of angels and giants and I hope the photos explain why. It was started in the 1500s and for a while was unoccupied and going to ruin before the maharaja of the day decided in 1972 to restore it and open it to the public. It has some excellent exhibits of such items as howdahs, palanquins and royal cradles. Photos, please!

And for anyone who might think that the exterior carvings are wood, they are actually stone and exquisitely done.

From the Fort there are magnificent views over Jodhpur, which is also known as the Blue City for obvious reasons, when you see the colours of the walls of many of its houses (indigo mixed with white limewash – good against termites, apparently). Ashish and I then had a quick visit to the family marbled memorial before setting off downhill to the most vibrant and busy market I have ever seen.

It was then back to the hotel to discover that Val was fine after all and so much better that she was up for a bit of shopping. So it was once round the market place, just to show her what it looked like and then to the jewellers! We had seen a lovely coral necklace in the hotel shop, but decided it was too expensive. We then arrived at the jewellers only to discover that they owned the hotel shop! I will not give away any secrets, but just know that we bargained VERY hard and check out photos of Val in later posts…..