We were up at the crack of dawn to catch our 7am flight from LA to Seattle. It didnt happen that way. We got to the airport, stood in line forever for Starbucks (I dont regret it), finally boarded our plane and sat there for about 45 minutes as Delta announced we were waiting for pilots, that they had no pilots and were searching for more pilots, and finally, our flight had been cancelled. But the Read on...
The school and university years had ended so we set off for a two week jaunt in Thailand. We landed in Phuket and were driven an hour or so north to the small beachside town of Khao Lak. The coastal area around the town had been hit harder than any other parts of Thailand in the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami. The official death toll was around 4,000, but the ever reliable Wikipedia reports that due to l Read on...
Breakfast was included in my guesthouse, so I made my way to the restaurant. I had a nice, strong cup of coffee and fried egg on toast, which was pretty basic but good and filling. The homemade dumplings were the stand out dish. I really, really enjoyed those and could have eaten another plate or two. Looking out the window, the streets were still quiet, it was still early though. To see all the s Read on...
Last night wed stopped at Gretna Green to have a break in the long drive home. As we have been to Gretna Green before, we werent overly excited at visiting it again. So I looked at the map and decided we should do a detour through the Pennine Way as as far as I recall, Ive never been there before.
The Pennine Way is AONB (Area of National Beauty) and Glyn thinks thats just bragging. I dont even a Read on...
Today, John did errands and I him. We needed to go to the Omani consulate for my visa to visit the Musandam Peninsula (Straits of Hurmuz) on Thursday. So, I got up at 7:00 and we dropped Peggy at work (Dubai Womens College).
Then we went to the Omani consulate. Outside, there was a little building for visas. We were apparently the first there, and no one was inside to help. After a brief wait, tw Read on...
Lachung is a small village near Tibetan border situated at 9,000 ft. It is a very scenic place – for that matter, entire Sikkim is a scenic beauty. On 5th May, day time temperature forecast was 6°C and night temperature forecast was 1°C.
We were told that taxi will arrive anytime between 9 and 11! This is a major problem in Sikkim. Taxi operators have formed a cartel and they dictate the term Read on...
Following Roys Gay Hat Party, I was certainly not feeling too flash when woken next morning around 9am. I was out on the road soon after with a lift from Mary, but I didnt manage to get a hitch until an hour later. I then got a lucky run of around 200 miles down the A1, with the day also turning out warm and sunny. However, my luck ran out after that, and after reaching Stamford, some 60 miles eas Read on...
Yesterday morning, May 13th 2022, I learnt from the Guardian newspaper that Robert Gillmor, the bird artist, had died. I was slightly shocked. He is probably the most famous person I have ever spoken to. We have several things he loved birds; he was Reading born and bred; he was a teacher (at Leighton Park School in Reading); he knew my mother.
I first came across him in Reading in the At that t Read on...
This morning, at 9:30 AM and 83 degrees (and it seemed like 100% humidity), we put Satellite Beach in our rear view mirror and headed for the panhandle of Florida. For anyone who has made this trip, you know well that it is less than interesting and largely boring. We crossed the state to and drove up to and west to Panama City Beach. We had expected to hit a lot of rain, remnants of Nicholas, b Read on...
What a year!! We had two overseas trips planned and paid for but struck and so they were on hold. However, we saw that The Ghan was and there was a generous package being offered for a trip on the train, seven nights in Darwin and various excursions all for the price of what it usually costs for the train alone!
So here we are, on the train on our way tot he Top End. We left on Sunday morning. T Read on...