The delta is located in the heart of Botswana and is quite a magical place as it changes constantly throughout the year due to the water that flows in and around the area. The area of the delta was once part of Lake Makgadikgadi, an ancient lake that dried up some 10,000 years ago. Today, the Okavango River has no outlet to the sea. Instead, it empties onto the sands of the Kalahari Desert, irrigating 15,000 km of the desert.  Each year some 11 cubic kilometres of water reach the delta.

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The gateway to the delta is the town of Maun where we stocked up on many litres of water, snacks and goodies for our 3 day 2 night bush camping experience. Now when I say bush camping I mean bush camping, it was back to basics, watch out for snakes and the toilet was a hole in the ground. I genuinely did not think I would survive but as I am writing this I obviously did, although I am slightly scarred.

Our safety briefing  before we entered the delta was severe, we were warned what to do if we were bitten by snakes, if a hippo charged at us and if animals came into our camp at night and the key phrase, was whatever you do don’t run. Or if you are desperate and in a group of people try an out run the slowest person and you would be fine.

We were picked up for our campsite by speed boat and we loaded our luggage, tents, food etc onto it and raced around the river bends to the Mokoro station. The mokoros are traditional wooden canoes that are the only method of transport around the smaller islands of the delta as it is surrounded by bull reeds and as the water is so shallow in parts a normal boat would just have got stuck. It was a 2 hour trip to our campsite so we sat back and relaxed whilst being poled down the river. Our poler was called Julis and was so sweet, he told us about his life before he was a poler, and how he his dad and brothers coped after the death of their mother to malaria.

I am slightly digressing here but I would like to stress that malaria along with HIV is the biggest killer in Africa. It is so common, even our tour guide has had it twice and we were at one campsite and our tour guide tested a helper there and told him ‘Jo Jo you have malaria, get it sorted’ It was said so casually as if you were telling your friend you had the flu. Medication to help cure it is expensive or the older and more rural Africans can’t afford medicine or believe in natural healing, that the disease  goes untreated and the consequences are fatal.

Back to the beautiful Delta, the first evening we went on a sunset game walk with a guide called Best, he again reiterated the fact that if we spot or are approached by an animal please do not run. The game walk was interesting as he pointed out many different types of bushes used for everyday purposes, various types of animal poo and my favourite an elephant foot print which I could fit inside! Unfortunately no animals were spotted within the vicinity of our campsite but the trill of walking unprotected in natures playground was amazing.

The following day we were up early to go for a another game walk on another island the delta had to offer. We were taken by mokoro and then hot footed through the bush land to various waterholes in search of animals. Our first spot were springboks, zebras and a family of warthogs that scampered across the green land away from us.

Our guide must have ultra-supersonic vision in order for him to spot our next animal that was miles away and hidden behind trees. Best checked which way the wind was blowing and we set off downwind of a loan bull Elephant. The closer and closer we got to it the bigger it became, we got within 50 meters of it and then just chilled in the shade watching this magnificent beast chomp its way through trees. Suddenly, it stopped dead, walked towards us (we were ordered to stay still) and then it turned away from us and walked off into the distance, probably because it caught a scent of us.

Unfortunately after that we did not see any more animals on our 4 hour walk and as the heat of the day was starting to set in we called it a day and headed back to camp for a fabulous breakfast of eggs and bacon.

The temperature rose to above 40 degrees that day and after a nap in the shade we decided to go to the swimming area which was so refreshing and if you ran out whilst wet the breeze would momentarily make you feel cold until you dried off so you would have to back into the water.

When the heat of the sun retired and was about to set we were taken by the mokoros to an open span of water filled with the most gorgeous water lily’s you have ever seen. Whilst we were waiting for the sun to set Julis showed me how to make a necklace from a lily and then made me a hat from a lily pad.

That night the polers put on a song and dance for us to say thank you for their big tip we gave them and it was very funny and full of happiness which was lovely. A perfect way to end our African bush camping experience!

A bit of history spiel first and then an account of what we got up to in this small but busy town.

The town of Livingstone in Zambia was named after the Scotsman, David Livingstone who was born on March 19, 1813. After studying medicine he joined the London Missionary Society and became a minister. He aimed to gain access to China through his medical knowledge but the Opium Wars were raging at this stage and with no signs of peace on the horizon, it forced Livingstone to consider other options. From 1840 he worked in Bechuanaland (present-day Botswana), and in the period 1852–56, he explored the African interior, and was the first European to see the Mosi-oa-Tunya waterfall (which he renamed Victoria Falls after his monarch, Queen Victoria).

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Livingstone was one of the first Westerners to make a transcontinental journey across Africa. The purpose of his journey was to open the routes, while accumulating useful information about the African continent. In particular, Livingstone was a proponent of trade and Christian missions to be established in central Africa. His motto, inscribed in the base of the statue to him at Victoria Falls, was “Christianity, Commerce and Civilization.”

OK so, we arrived at a lovely campsite about 8Km out of Livingstone town called the Waterfront, it overlooked the Zambezi River and as you followed the bends of the river you could see the mist of Vic Falls in the distance, incredible.

As we were staying here for New Year, we decided to upgrade from our basic tent to a posh tent for an extra $10 a night and for that we got an actual bed and electricity, a massive bonus whilst camping throughout Africa.

Livingstone is known as the adventure capital of Central Africa and there were plenty of activities to choose from to help us enjoy our time here but, as always it comes at a price and for a third world country they have no worries in putting on hefty price tags for white tourists!

Anywho, our first activity was the next morning and it called for an early rise, so we could catch the 06:15 bus to the centre. We got off and were greeted by staff offering us cups of tea and fresh biscuits followed by a safety briefing as what we were about to do could be quite dangerous. We were about to walk with lions! We were very excited about this as one of the main reasons we came to Africa is for the beautiful wildlife it has to offer and after a few game drives and being lucky enough to see these gorgeous cats we had to get closer to them!

The Lions were part of a programme that aims to increase the number of wild lions across Africa, as their numbers have diminished over the years. There are four stages to the programme to ensure that the cats are completely wild.

Stage 1 – 3 week old cubs are hand fed and as soon as they can move onto game meat they are fed in a wild manner and the keepers simply walk with them in the bush to give them exercise and to get them used to humans.

Stage 2- At 18 months they no longer have human interaction and are let lose into a game park where they hunt for themselves and start to become a pride.

Stage 3 – Lioness’ will have cubs in this stage and it is then, that the fully wild lions start to evolve.

Stage 4 – When the cubs become old enough they are moved to other national parks and conservation areas within Africa to help to increase the overall lion population.

This programme was very successful in Zimbabwe until all the political disruption, so it was thought that by setting up another programme across the border in Zambia would be a good idea.

The Lions we walked with were approaching the end of stage 1 so were aged about 14 months, Dena and Demara were their names and they were the most gorgeous cats we have ever seen. We first met them with their keepers out in the bush and they were typically lazy, sleeping under a tree.

Our guide led us on a walk and they followed behind us so elegantly across the grass that we were in ore of them and we just wanted to take one home with us. The girls walked right by us, less than half a meter and then flopped themselves down on the grass, allowing us to approach them and stroke their soft golden fur, this was such an adrenaline rush. Especially when during a photo moment one of them growled and turned her head towards me, so I had to take a swift step back as my heart skipped a beat.

As we carried on walking through the park, we passed the waterhole where elephants were playing and the girls took a slight fancy to the baby elephant but nothing came of it. Proceeding further the cubs found a tree and climbed it with ease and then bounced on some of the branches that looked like they were going to give way at any point. Demara found another tree and climbed right to the top and then looked puzzled as she couldn’t figure a way down. This was highly amusing to watch as she stuttered her way down, in the end she decided to turn around on the branch and come down backwards…priceless.

After an hour of walking with these amazing cats we had to say goodbye and get back into our bus and head back to the campsite. The rest of the day was spent lazing by the pool and then the girls and I took the free shuttle into town to hit the markets where I bought Fraggy the best present ever, a giraffe half the size of me. We still aren’t too sure how to get her home, fingers crossed South African Airways let her on as hand luggage. I will just explain that our friend Emma saw her and encouraged me to buy it so the giraffe has been named Emma and she has become quite a character on the trip.

That night, the usual group of us cooked dinner from the truck which was meant to be a stir fry with a mild peri peri sauce but it turned out to be an almighty hot curry like dish which none of us could eat. Luckily Dave found some cream to tone it down which made it just about edible. Needless to say that from then on we ate at the restaurant.

New Year’s Eve was a leisurely start and we slept in for the first time in about 2 weeks but only until 8am as the tent heated up pretty quickly so we had to get out and enjoy some fresh air. We had breakfast with the Kiwis (some more friends of ours, surprisingly from New Zealand) and made a plan for the day. They would go elephant trekking in the morning whilst we did chores and then we would head to the falls.

The falls were absolutely amazing and we were not disappointed at all. The falls occur in a country that is perfectly flat. From its source on the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Zambezi River meanders for 1300 km across the wooded plateau of Zambia, eroding for itself a shallow valley on its mild descent to the site of the falls. The river eventually found a weak spot on the lower lip of the surface over which it passed, and forced a passage which was steadily deepened into an exit gorge. During the last half million years the river has scoured out eight of these cracks across its bed. The Victoria falls occurs where the river is 1688m wide, presents the spectacle of an average maximum of 550 million litres of water a minute tumbling over the lip of the trench in five main falls, the Devil’s Cataract, Main falls, Horseshoe Falls, Rainbow falls and the Eastern Cataract.

We then got a pass to walk to the bridge that links Zambia to Zimbabwe and watch Emma and other members of the group do their bungee jump…scary!

Our New Year’s Party was at the campsite, where there was an awesome BBQ but drinks were tres expensive so we moved onto the Kiwi’s posh chalet, drank our own booze, danced to our own songs and laughed our way until midnight and watched the fireworks over the Zambezi River.

New Year’s Day was filled with all sorts of emotions, we had to say goodbye to Emma and the Kiwi’s as they were heading to Jo’berg (mugging capital of the world) as part of another tour. All was not lost though as the Kiwi’s will meet us in Cape Town where we will live it up large again! That part was the bad emotions, the good emotions were better than good in fact they were immense!

We took a boat to Livingstone Island, a national heritage site located at the top of Vic Falls. Here we got the option to swim to Devil’s Pool or the Jacuzzi Pools, we were torn between which one to go to but having spoken to some fellow travellers, and thinking sensibly with regards to the rainy season, the current was incredibly strong to swim to Devil’s Pool and after one too many sherbets the night before we didn’t feel like battling the current which could potentially take you over the edge. So we opted for the latter option which turned out to be the best decision ever!

Some more friends of ours, Anna and Dave chose the same option and it was so much fun. As you can see from the photos we were at the very top of the falls, in the rock pools splashing around enjoying the mini waterfall and then our guide told us to look over the edge and we saw the massive drop into the canyon where the Zambezi River was gushing through. It was the most breath taking view and experience ever as there was nothing to protect you from going over the edge, the thrill was incredible. We all soaked up the atmosphere for as long as possible and then moved onto the canopied area for our most delicious breakfast to date, eggs benedict and freshly made scones. There we got chatting to an older British couple who were retired and spent their days traveling and were currently Land Cruising their way through Africa before heading over to Australia to visit their children, one day I hope Fraggy and I end up like them as they were amazing.

Our time was up on the island and Prince Harry (our boat driver, no joke) took us back to port and we all caught a taxi into town, where we bought another giraffe, luckily this one is smaller so can fit in our luggage and we named it Li!

Next stop, Botswana.

For us Christmas is all about being around our families and enjoying the warmth of central heating and burning fires! This year was very different for us as we would be spending it in Africa in the very magnificent Lake Malawi and the baking heat.

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Before arriving at our Lake Malawi campsite on Christmas Eve we stopped at a local clothes market where we were all told to buy a Christmas outfit. I ended up buying what resembled an elf’s outfit and Caz ended up with some sparkly material which she would make look like a star. When we arrived at our campsite we were greeted by a pig on a spit that would be cooking for a few more hours before our festive meal took place.

While we all waited for dinner we all took the opportunity of a hot shower and started to make our outfits for the Christmas party. I went the full hog and had a Christmas tree shaved into the back of my head and Caz’s costume ended up making her look like the Statue of Liberty! That night we all exchanged our secret Santa gifts and I ended up with a locally carved knife and Caz ended up with a Hot and Spicy Nando’s sauce, who ever got her that knew her very well! After our amazing dinner we all proceeded to party the night away and have a jolly good time.

The next morning was none other than Christmas morning, so we all got up with a rather sore head and had some breakfast while opening our presents that were kindly delivered by Santa´s little helpers. By the time breakfast was over the heat of the day had well and truly arrived, so what better way than to spend Christmas Day on a beach on the banks of Lake Malawi? We spent Christmas Day taking in all the rays and enjoying some really good company from the people on our tour.

Next stop, the adventure capital of Africa, Livingstone!

After leaving the awesomeness of the Serengeti and suffering a manic 11 hour drive in the baking heat. We arrived at Dar Es Salaam, the capital of Tanzania, just before dark and as we were all roasting hot we bee lined for the beach. As soon as we hit the water we were distraught, the temperature must have been around 30 degrees, so instead of cooling us down it made us even hotter!

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The next morning we all headed for the ferry and enjoyed the views of Stone Town as we approached the island. Once on the island we had our passports stamped with the Zanzibar emblem and then headed for our hotel. For lunch we went to a renowned Indian restaurant call the Silk Route where we indulged in a mini feast, that night we went to a local food market where everything is cooked on a barbeque and you can find all the fresh fish and meats from around the area. We tried the local sugar cane juice here which you watch them make right before your eyes, they take a sugar cane and pass it through a set of rollers 15 times to squeeze out every drop of juice from it, you can then ask for more sugar to be added but we opted against it as it was already really sweet.

The big thing to do in Zanzibar is to go and check out the numerous spice farms, so low and behold we all headed to one. We were taken around the various plantations of avocado trees, durian and peppers. Zanzibar is a perfect place to grow vegetables and spices as it has a very tropical climate, and we experienced this first hand as whilst we were there, there was a massive storm that passed over and got us all drenched. We got a chance to taste a wide variety of fruit that is grown on the farm and we tried things such as passion fruit, grapefruit and the notorious durian. Durian is a very smelly fruit once cut open and it is very common in Asia, in most hotels and taxis you are not allowed to bring the fruit in. The insides have about 4 or 5 pods inside and you just spoon out the gooeyness inside and eat it, we both hated it!

After the spice farm we spent a couple of nights in the very nice beach north of Zanzibar. The water here was beautifully blue and not too hot so you could actually cool down when sunbathing. We checked out the local fasai (fake Masai tribes who wear gold and lots of bling pretending to be a tribe so you buy from their markets) markets and spent most of the time on the beach enjoying the glorious weather.

After our two nights in the north we headed back again to Stone Town where it is the norm to go in and get lost in the wonderful Arabic, Indian and African buildings. We headed out nice and early in the morning so that we would make it back to our hotel in daylight. There are many buildings in town with many different styles of doors, and they all boil down to what kind of person lived there. For slaves there would be one type of door that was less extravagant than those of people of higher social ordering and royalty would have the most glamorous. We spent a good few hours in Stone Town and really did get completely lost there, at one stage we just gave up and went into a restaurant for a quick drink and then asked for directions back to the main square.

On the way back to the hotel we ran across the famous Mercury house where Freddie Mercury himself had been born in and lived in for a few of his childhood years.

The next morning we headed out of Zanzibar a 5am and headed towards Malawi where we would be spending Christmas.

So, after our month in Thailand it was now time to start the last leg of our trip and head to Africa to begin our 40 day tour from Nairobi (Kenya) to Cape Town in South Africa. We arrived early into Nairobi and headed straight for our hotel where would meet the tour group that would be coming with us on our adventure. We didn’t really do much there so nothing to tell.

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We met our group and leader the next morning and all crammed into the tiny truck that would be our home for the next few weeks. The first drive was to get out of Kenya and into Tanzania where we would head out into our first game drive of the tour to the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater. The ride to our camp in Arusha was bumpy to say the least and we finally felt as if we were a million miles away from home.

That night we put up our tents and packed our bags for our 3 day 2 night game drive. The process of putting up the tent was really easy and we are even provided with awesome mattresses that make sleeping a real pleasure! 1 – 0 to Gap over Tucan.

The next morning we were picked up in 4x4s that would take us to the Serengeti National Park and its driver. Our driver was named Jacob and he had been brought up in one of the tribes nearby and has been a game driver for the last 9 years. The drive to the national park was long but it all paid off once we were in there. The first port of call was at the Ngorongoro Crater entrance where we would skirt the rim and head into the Serengeti. From the viewpoint you could make out spots of black which were all the wildebeest and buffalos. This view was simply amazing as it looked like a tiny little oasis with an abundance of life surrounding it.

On the way to the Serengeti we made a stop at a Masai tribe village where we were welcomed in the traditional way of them singing and jumping high. I even made an attempt at the jumping and failed miserably. Now, we do believe that there are tribes out there that actually are self-sustained but sadly this tribe has now made tourism its primary source of income, meaning that instead of you being able to ask them questions about their lifestyles they in turn try and sell you everything. What a shame and something we would strongly advise against as you will only be fuelling their greed.

Once we got into the Serengeti we were gobsmacked, it went on for miles and miles and was magnificently green. Serengeti in Swahili means ‘open plain’ and it was clear for all of us to see. It was now time to do some real game viewing and start our hunt for the big 5. The big 5 consists of buffalos, lions, rhinos, elephants and cheetahs. Some may ask why these are the big 5 and the answer is pretty simple, it is basically the animals which were hunted most in the past for their skin, horns or meat. Now these are all protected animals in the national parks and they are allowed to roam freely with no interruption.

To say we were lucky is an understatement; within 10 minutes of being in the Serengeti we witnessed a male lion in the distance walking towards our Land Cruiser, so, Jacob the driver killed the engine and we popped up the roof and watched it make its approach. The lion walked about 5 – 10 metres in front of us, amazing! This lion was with its brother and must have been looking for a new pride as it was only the 2 of them around and no female lions about.

And to continue on our lucky streak, within 20 minutes of spotting a lion we spotted a cheetah in the high shrubbery. Again, it is very rare to see a cat on its feet and they are usually up trees, in case of cheetahs or leopards, or in their pride lying down, in case of lions. This cheetah was prancing around the grass and then crossed the road in front of one of the other Land Cruisers and as if to pose for pictures for us it sat down on the other side and looked straight down into our camera. This has got to be one of the best pictures we have taken on our whole journey around the world, as it captures the massiveness of the Serengeti and this beautiful running machine.

On the way back to camp that day we spotted a massive herd of elephants which were grazing and we were in awe of their greatness. There were new born elephants that were testing out their trumps on us, simply amazing. That night we got to our muddy camp as it had been raining pretty much all day and we all had our dinner and exchanged stories and photos, this really was what Africa was all about for us.

The next morning we got up nice and early and headed out for another game drive, you head out early as the temperature is not so high so therefore it is common to see a lot more wildlife. This morning we saw lots of impalas, wildebeest, zebras, buffalo and giraffes. We saw hundreds of thousands of wildebeest that had made the migration from the Masai Mara in Kenya a few months before to follow the rain and food. We have a couple from Australia, Dave and Anna, who had been to the Masai Mara in July to watch the wildebeest make the migration and cross rivers, they said that it was a great experience, so guess what we will be doing soon!

On the way back to the camp the message over the radio had come in that there had been a leopard spotted, so our driver whacked the car into reverse, did a 180 and we sped towards the sighting. When we got there we could only see the cat’s tail, so we manoeuvred the car to get a better look at it, and we did! That would conclude our morning excitement so we headed back for some brunch before heading back to the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater to sleep for the night.

We got to the crater rim just before dark and it would be the first time that we experience the cold in Africa, as we were around 2500 metres above sea level. Whilst having dinner we heard a commotion outside and we all ventured out to find a huge bull elephant at our campsite! Incredible! What I failed to mention earlier is that we camp out in the national parks and are surrounding by nature, so it is not uncommon to find a lion lying on the outside of your tent up against your body for some heat! Some people on our group said they could hear lions roaring in the night, but we didn’t hear anything, so we just put it down to excitement and vivid imaginations.

The next morning we headed into the crater which in itself was an experience as there was a massive fog inside, which made it look like something out of Jurassic Park. Once in the crater we got to see flamingos, wildebeest, a family or warthogs (Pumba from the Lion King) and lots more antelope. Towards the end of this game drive we headed up to where there had been some lions spotted and we saw a lioness with her two cubs just wondering through near the cars. This was a great experience as we were so up close to them that you could practically reach out and touch them.

Further up the road we spotted a whole pride of lions just basking in the sun. Just over the hill were 2 zebras that were wondering straight for the pride of lions and didn’t seem to care. As the zebras drew nearer the lions got up and approached the zebras. We thought we were going to see our first kill here but the lions just scared the zebras off and they ran away. The lions must not have been hungry otherwise they would have jumped at the chance of a free meal.

So, after all the excitement with the lions we headed out of the crater and back to Arusha, but not before we saw a few rhinos in the distance. That completed seeing the big 5 in 3 days. We cannot explain how lucky we had been to see these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat out of human’s reach and influence. Definitely something that we would recommend everyone must do in their lifetime.

Next stop, Zanzibar!

Bangkok used to be a seedy town where American soldiers from Vietnam came to rest and relax in the city’s go go bars and brothels. However, with the boom in the 80’s and 90’s throwing itself east, Bangkok transformed into a metropolis of skyscrapers taking over the green paddy fields and the BTS Skytrain towering high above the hectic road system showing that it truly has changed and has a lot more to offer.

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We spent 5 days in BK and our main activity was shopping, so automatically I was in heaven. As this would be our last chance of luxury for the next 2 months we splashed out on an awesome one bedroom apartment in the shopping district of Siam Square, which served a complimentary breakfast in our room, had a roof top garden and swimming pool, plus free to use washing machines and dryers, so we went to town and did all of our laundry!

We arrived by sleeper train from Chiang Mai which was so much fun, we each had our own bunk which clean sheets and a curtain for privacy. I slept soundly until about 5am but Fraggy didn’t sleep too good as the motion of the train wasn’t that comfortable. As we approached the city we could see the signs of the recent flood that seemed to go on forever at one point but it died down on the outskirt of the main city.

The main historical tourist attractions in BK are the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew which is the colloquial name of the vast fairy-tale compound that includes the former residence of the Thai monarch. It covers 94.5 hectares and encompasses more than 100 buildings that represent 200 years of royal history and architecture.

Now as it was the Kings birthday (5^th Dec) the Wat Phra Kaew was free of charge so we saved ourselves 750 BHT (15 pounds) but unfortunately could not go into the Palace as it was reserved for Thai nationals only. Never mind, we thought we would return one evening to explore the palace rarity as it usually shuts at 6pm. Anyway we took a taxi from our hotel to Wat Phra Kaew which took about 20 minutes and only cost us 5 pounds hahaha! As we arrived we were mobbed by people telling us that it was closed and that we were dressed inappropriately. From our past experience of temples in Chiang Mai and a thorough reading of the guide book we ignored their comments and attempted to enter. Our attempt was good but not good enough as Fraggy wasn’t allowed in because his shorts weren’t long enough, he basically had to be wearing trousers. Although I had my legs covered and a shawl around my shoulders covering my arms it wasn’t correct so we stood in a corner and discussed our options.

The famous backpacker street of Ko San Rad was only a 15 minute walk away so we walked there and bought some cheap hippyesque clothes that would allow us entry. We could have hired clothes from the touts at the gate but they were hideous and we did not want pictures of us in a fabulous place wearing dodgy clothes that even a homeless person would refuse.

The Wat Phra Kaew houses the Emerald Buddha which you can just about see once inside the temple as it sits atop of an elevated altar. It is clothed in royal robes, one for each season, hot cool and rainy, this is done by the Crown Prince. The history of the Buddha really interested me as for something that is only 66cm it has had a colourful life. It was just an ordinary Buddha with no fancy colourings or markings until its monumental coming out in the 15^th century in Chaing Rai. During a fall the image revealed its luminescent interior, which had been covered in plaster in order to protect it from being stolen. It is thought that the actual material of the Buddha is jasper quartz or nephrite jade but despite this it is beautiful.

We explored the grounds around the Wat and the only way to describe our view was so gold and shiny it blinded you. It really is a stunning sight to see that anyone who finds themselves in BK must go as it will be a place you will never forget.

There was another temple named Wat Pho just down the road that is famous for housing the largest reclining Buddha and the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand. The reclining Buddha is impressive and stands at 46m long and 15m high, illustrating the passing of the Buddha into nirvana. As for the most amount of Buddhas in Thailand I believe the figure is around 400 but we certainly weren’t going to count them as the sun was too hot and we needed to get back to the hotel for a swim in the pool.

We spent most evenings in BK hitting street markets for food, drink and shopping opportunities which suited us fine, but on a couple of occasions we decided to stay at the hotel and enjoy a midnight swim in the roof top pool and a romantic dinner on the roof top garden that made us feel we were a million miles away from the busy city.

After enjoying some food and drinks down Ko San Road we decided to walk to the Grand Palace and experience that beauty at night, which personally is more stunning than during the day.

Like I said earlier our main purpose in Bk was shopping and I won’t bore you with where we went and what we bought as it will ruin the surprise for some of you but I do want to tell you about one of the shopping malls we saw. It was called Terminal 21 and was themed as surprisingly enough an airport terminal. As you walked in you were greeted by a pilot and you looked at the departures board to see what floor you would like to shop on, London, Italy, San Francisco etc. Even when you asked for help at the information desk the ladies were dressed as air stewardesses, it really was brilliantly thought out.

At the end of our 5 days in BK we had spent up and had to purchase a carry on suitcase EACH to accommodate for our extra luggage but it was so worth it. BK is a great city to party, eat, shop and get a feel for Thai culture and is now on our list of favourite city getaways.

Chiang Mai is snuggled into the foothills of northern Thailand; it becomes a sanctuary with a refreshing combination of city necessities and country sensibilities. It is a city of artisans and crafts people creating a laid back creative atmosphere, which is a million miles away from Bangkok.

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We arrived late in the evening and took a taxi straight to our guesthouse where we were greeted by Goi (the owner) who showed us to our basic but super clean room and the house keeper rushed around serving us a glass of ice cold water as we were hot and sweaty.

A leisurely lie in was welcomed and we set off in search for another hotel as we had only booked to stay at Goi’s for two nights although for 4 pounds a night it was a bargain. We found a great hotel, with a pool located in the heart of the city and we bartered the price down and got a good deal, it is amazing to think that you can chose how much you want to pay for a hotel room…you wouldn’t even dream of doing that in England.

With our confidence sky high we wondered the streets and came across the 3 Kings monument which commemorates the alliance forged between three northern Thai-Lao Kings in the founding of Chiang Mai. The statues mark one of the city’s spiritual centres and have become a shrine to local residents who regularly leave offerings of flowers incense and candles at the bronze feet in return for blessings from the Kings.

As the heat was killing us we headed back to the Guesthouse and spoiled ourselves with a foot scrub and massage whilst sipping ice cold water brought to us by the cute house keeper. Hunger started to strike so we grabbed a lift with her on the back of her motorbike, which was an interesting experience and got dropped off at the top of the walking street which was street food heaven. I was instantly drawn to a pink van with flashing lights that was selling pork balls on a stick with a side of chili sauce for 5BHT and they were yummy! Then we joined the masses and slowly shuffled our way down the long street. We did not know what we wanted for dinner so we decided to eat our way down the street and ate quails eggs, noodles, more meat on a stick and various other things, it was great! This sort of backfired on us as Fraggy wasn’t well during the night due to a watermelon shake, he hasn’t had once since.

The following day we decided to head up the hills of Chiang Mai to visit one of the most beautiful and sacred temples called Wat Doi Suthep (Wat is the Thai word for temple). The surrounding grounds around the temple are nice and pretty but it is within the sacred area that it is truly stunning when you lay eyes on the golden chedi (umbrella looking thing) that brings all the Thai people to this temple. This is also where we saw one of the Thai Princesses, laying an offerings to the Buddha and according to Goi we were very lucky to see this as catching a glimpse of Royalty is a rare occurrence. We also took a cheeky picture of her which apparently you are not allowed to do.

As we were doing well on the temple sightseeing the next day we decided that we would tour some of the temples located within the city walls. The first one we visited was called Wat Phra Singh which owes it fame to the fact that it houses the city’s most revered Buddha image Phra Singh (Lion Buddha). Legend says that it originally came from Sri Lanka but it is not particularly Sinhalese in style…so who knows. Then we trotted down the road to Wat Chedi Luang which was built in 1441 and believed to be one of the tallest structures in ancient Chiang Mai. This is the temple where we took some time out to partake in Monk Chat which is exactly what it sounds like, chatting with Monks. The whole Buddhist religion really interested me but I had very little knowledge of what it was about or what the Buddha symbolises so there was no better person to ask than a Monk.

We asked them all sorts of questions from where did Buddhism originate from to what is your daily routine. They loved practising their English with us and we thoroughly enjoyed talking to them about their faith. The last temple on our list was Wat Su Dok which is slightly off the tourist trail and tends to be only visited by people that want to partake in the spiritual retreats it offers. We just enjoyed its white chedi’s and watched locals come and give offerings to the Monks and getting blessed in return. As all this temple visiting was exhausting we decided to rest at a corner café which was very quintessentially English and served some of the best lemon meringue pie I have ever tasted!

We woke early the next day and waited for our pick up which would take us deep into the jungle for our trekking adventure. First activity of the day was elephant trekking, as we pulled up at the elephant centre we were immediately greeted by the noise of trumpeting elephants which made us giggle like kids. Our elephant pulled up alongside the high bamboo structure and we stepped aboard, then slowly but gracefully she moved away and plodded up the hill into the forested area.

After about 5 minutes I started to feel guilty and really didn’t like being sat upon the back of this beautiful mammal and seeing her owner punish her if she stopped to eat a few shoots of greenery. She should be set free and allowed to roam the jungle at her own pace and not have to carry tourists around all day, unfortunately we couldn’t get off as it was a long way down and communication between us and her owner consisted only of smiles. We bought a bag of bananas to feed her on the way round which was incredibly fun to do and was a small apology for making her carry us. Approaching the elephant depo we saw a baby elephant chained to its Mum and all it wanted to do was run around and say hi to all the other elephants passing but it couldn’t, I just wanted  to give it a hug and set it free.

Second stop of the day was Bamboo rafting down the river which is basically white water rafting Thai style…ish! A young lad stood at the front of the raft and using a stick and the natural current of the water he glided us down the river, getting us soaked from taking us through various rapids along the way.

After lunch we headed to see a village tribe which are no longer cultural as the effects of tourism have ruined their natural ability to provide for themselves. The kids run up to you trying to sell necklaces and bracelets for 5BHT until you just want to scream at them ‘go away’! Our guide could see we were frustrated and not going to buy anything so he told us to don on our walking boots and start trekking. We passed paddie fields and cucumber plantations before arriving at a waterfall which was very pretty however, we weren’t allowed to go swimming in it as the current was too strong having recently demolished the bridge that is used to cross over it.

Once back at the hotel we were starving so it was a quick shower and a fast walk to try and find some good food. To be honest we were bored of noodles and rice and longed for some ‘normal’ food which enabled us to find this awesome Italian restaurant located just off the main road. We ordered pizza and chips and hands down it has to be one of the best pizzas we have had since traveling, absolutely delicious.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a pancake cart and each had a calorific chocolate, banana, condensed milk and sugar pancake, and it tasted so good. The reason I mention this is because the young girl who was making them had her little baby girl underneath the cart sleeping peacefully in a cardboard box. Now most of you will freak at this sight and to be honest I did too, but when I asked her about it she said ‘Dad has to work and a sitter is expensive, I know she is safe with me’. When money is tight and you have to make a living I guess you do what you can for your family.

Another early morning and pick up with a 3 hour drive north of Chiang Mai to another city called Chiang Rai. Our tour guide Moon was the best guide ever, her knowledge was outstanding and she was happy to tell locals to move out of the way whilst taking your picture. Now out of all the temples we have visited the one we stopped at was spectacular and only 15 years old. It is the only all white temple in Thailand and prides itself on is modern concept of religion. As you walk towards the main doors you cross a bridge over hell where all these stone hands are reaching up trying to grab you or are begging for you to help them out. You are not allowed to look or turn back once on the bridge as apparently you will never make it to heaven. The toilets at this temple are the grandest I have ever seen and beat the ones in Caesars Palace Las Vegas.

We hit the road again and arrived at our second destination of the day, the golden triangle. This is a very interesting sight for many reasons but my two favourite are the fact the you can see the borders of Thailand, Laos and Burma (Myanmar) from this one spot and that anything can happen in the Golden Triangle as it is no man’s land. Up until about 30 years ago, the GT was the main area of opium trade and instead of buying opium with money they bought it with gold, hence the name.

We boarded a boat that would take us across the river to Laos where we will have half an hour to shop etc. Moon took us to this shop where there were various types of animals fermented in whisky, and she had no fear in picking up the animals and showing us. We both decided to have a shot of whisky, Fraggy chose Tiger penis and I chose Turtle, both of them tasted vile.

Laos was a possible option on our itinerary when we hit South East Asia but Thailand had so much to offer we decided to spend a whole month there and do it well as supposed to rush around to get to as many countries as possible. Anywho, since Fraggy and some mates got drunk at a festival on Laos’ finest beer, Beerlao, he hasn’t stopped going on about it and within the half an hour of being in Laos he had bought an actual Beerlao, a Beerlao t-shirt and two Beerlao fridge magnets!

Once we had demolished a very tasty lunch we headed to the most northern point in Thailand, the border of Burma. Burmese people flock over this border to buy food, drinks and clothes as it is much cheaper especially coca cola. This border is famous for having the purest quality of Burmese Gems at very reasonable prices if you are into that type of thing.  After our allocated time there we piled back into the van and began the long journey back to Chiang Mai.

Our last activity in Chiang Mai was something I had always wanted to do since we had planned on coming to Thailand and that was to partake in a full day cooking class learning how to make several dishes of exquisitely delicious Thai food. We booked it all on the net and everything was perfect, our teacher Nancy was a very funny woman who just loved to cook all day every day and her husband Pot was the brains behind the operation and together they have built very reputable company that they are very proud of.

The pictures will explain a lot more of how we made the food and the setup of cooking area which will save me rambling on about it but I will give you a brief low down of things. We made curries, stir fry, spring rolls, soup, dessert and a fruit carving lesson all in one day and all from scratch. We were a group of ten and we all tried each other’s food as we could choose many different variations of the recipes. Both of us had so much fun and we cannot wait to get home and cook all of the dishes again perfecting them to our taste.  Whatever food we did not eat we could take home in a doggy bag which was our dinner, although we didn’t have much room in our already fat bellies for dinner, well maybe a spring roll or two!

To walk off all of the food we had consumed we hit the walking street again only stopping for drinks breaks and to purchase souvenirs. As we were walking, something caught our eyes and we were both drawn to a series of paintings hung up. They were gorgeous and nothing like anything we had seen, they were black and white with the odd splash of colour on significant objects in the painting. To cut a long story short we got chatting to the artist and because we took ages to decide which painting we wanted she made us a very very good price on one depicting the main Chiang Mai gate and Monks walking along the street next to it. SO we counted our BHT and she wrapped up the painting making it traveller proof and we walked away with massive smiles on our faces. Now we just need a house to display it in.

Our time in Chiang Mai had come to an end and we were sad to be leaving a fabulous city that we had loved from day one of exploring it. We did manage to squeeze one last visit to the great Italian restaurant just off the main road for our dinner before we hopped in a taxi to the train station to embark on our overnight adventure to Bangkok City!

Touch down at Krabi International Airport was 15 minutes ahead of schedule and immigration was a breeze. Originally we were going to catch a bus from KL to Thailand or the train but, if you enter Thailand overland you can only get a 15 day visa where as if you fly in you are granted a 30 day visa. As we wanted to stay a month and couldn’t be bothered to do visa runs to other countries we decided to fly, and for 40 pounds each it was a steal! So our visa expires on 11^th Dec and we fly out on the 10^th Dec which has worked out perfectly.

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Krabi is the launch pad for the Thai islands of Ko Phi Phi, Ko Lanta, Phuket and many more so it was an ideal place for us to start our Thai adventure. We stayed in Krabi town for 3 days in a fabulous hostel called Pak Up, for 6 pounds a night and did boring chores like washing, stocking up on essentials and probably most importantly working out a route around Thailand.

We hit the local weekend market which was buzzing with locals and our first real taste of what street food there was to offer as it was in abundance. We wondered and tried pretty much everything that was on offer from meat on a stick to dough balls with crab meat in them and obviously a Chang Beer which is a Thailand must!

Ko Phi Phi

We took a rather dodgy boat from Krabi pier probably because we bartered that lady down on the price of a ticket saving ourselves one pound each whoop whoop! This island is best known as the island that they filmed ‘The Beach’ with Leonardo Dicaprio on, and once we had seen the whole island it really is one of the most picturesque places we have been. Although when we first arrived at the pier we were greeted with jam packed streets of tourist shops, dive shops, restaurants and guest houses nothing at all like we imagined. We found our guesthouse which was a complete dive, it smelt of damp, the ensuite bathroom was a wet room and when you had had a shower insects crawled out of the drain across the half tiled floor. We would have up sticks and left but we had paid in advance as accommodation was pricey and scarce due to the high season. So we took it on the chin and spent all of our time during the day on the beach and at night in the bars.

There are no vehicles allowed on the island so taxi boat and bicycle is the only way to get around, although the island is pretty small so you can walk everywhere. We took a taxi boat to Long Beach which was sparsely populated and we enjoyed the refreshing crystal clear water that went on forever. Once we had had enough sun we taxi boated it back to the main pier and thought it would be a good idea to climb to the view point as it was such a clear day. This was at about 3pm and I will tell you now it was not a bright idea, as it was steps galore and the combination of the sun and humidity made it really difficult however, when we reached view point 1 it was well worth it. View point 2 was meant to be a 5 mintue walk from view point 1, well, that is a down right lie. It was 15 minutes and all up hill, I won’t even include the photo of when we made it to the top as we both look positively ghastly. Fraggy’s t-shirt is wet right through and my face is as red as a tomato. On the other hand the view again was awesome, you can see the two main bays of the island, Tonsai Bay to the left and Adaman Bay to the right. Going back to when the Tsunami happened it washed right through Adaman Bay and destroyed the main town.

We thought whilst we are on this beautiful island we will do a boat tour around it and the other islands within its perimeter. We visited Monkey beach and snorkelled around and swam to the beach. Then sailed to bamboo island which is the most idyllic island you have ever seen, green lush tropical trees surrounded by a ring of white fine sand that ran out into the clear sparkling water surrounding it. I swam from the boat to the shore which was further than I first thought and then lazed on the beach whilst catching my breath and watching Fraggy snorkel to his heart’s content.

Next stop on the trip was shark point, no prizes for guessing why it is called that, but no such luck. Although Fraggy did see a sea snake which wriggled its way along the bottom of the ocean floor and then we later found out it is meant to be poisonous. The penultimate stop of the day was Phi Phi Lei Bay, the waters and cliffs surrounding it were so stunning the pictures don’t do it justice. We got a kayak and whilst dodging all of the speed boats that visit the bay we rowed (well Fraggy did, I was in charge of not getting the camera wet) around the nooks and crannies that were beautiful. One thing that we did notice though that spoilt the whole effect of the beauty was that in the corners of the bay was a lot of rubbish, consisting of water bottles, plastic bags and cigarette packets, this definitely ruined the pureness of the area.

Last stop of the day was Maya Bay which was used as the beach location for the film ‘The Beach’. We didn’t take the long tail boat to the beach as to be honest it looked like any other beach so we decided to go snorkelling instead and boy are we glad we did. This is where we found a turtle minding its own business picking at food on the bottom of the sea bed and then coming up for air every 5 to 10 minutes. It was absolutely magical that we got the opportunity to just tread water and watch it, we did this for about 20 minutes as we were in ore of it. Then as we were so excited we got a kayak and tried to find it again but it had disappeared until we got back onto the boat and then it resurfaced…typical but we did get a photo!

The following day we checked out ASAP, picked up a shake from the shake shack outside of our dodgy guesthouse and boarded the boat to Ko Lanta, another one of the islands.

Ko Lanta

Due to a shocker of the guesthouse in Ko Phi Phi we decided to book into a lush hotel for 5 nights on the quiet island of Ko Lanta. It took us 2 hours to get there and when we disembarked there was a man waiting for us to whisk us away to our accommodation.

It was fabulous, big double bed, gorgeous bathroom and an infinity pool that was so inviting that as soon as we dumped our bags we bombed right in!

We didn’t do a great deal on this island as to be honest there isn’t much to do so it was just some time for us to relax and not worry about packing our bag and moving on for a few days. Although both of us did manage to get food poisoning again on separate days, from street food and restaurant food so that took up a few of our days!

We did hire a scooter from the hotel which turned out to be the receptionist’s bike and she earned an extra bit of cash on the side which didn’t bother us as the bike was fine and it came with two helmets and a map! On the bike we visited a different part of the island most days for dinner or to relax on a new beach, it was fabulous, our own wheels again!

One day when it poured down, we made our way to the Old Town which was quite different to the rest of the island as it is built on stilts and all the houses have an old Thai charm to them. There is also an amazing hammock shop that we stopped in and pondered buying one as they were so unique but they were a tad out of our price range. We zoomed our way down the roads back to the hotels, taking photos of local life and videos of crazy drivers that allowed 4 people to a motor bike, when coming over the hill was a man sat on an elephant! It was so surreal and we were both in amazement as we had never seen anything like this and it seemed that for the man and elephant it was so normal.

Phuket

Phuket was an island we had no desire to go to as it is a massive tourist hub but as we had a flight out of there to the north we had to spend a night or two. We had no accommodation booked and completely winged the whole trip there but it turned out ok. As we docked we decided on an area of the island to stay and bartered a price for the hotel, which turned out to be quite nice, basic, clean and a 15 minute walk to the beach.

For the one day we were on the island we hit the beach, experienced a tropical storm that lasted for 15 minutes and ended with clear blue skies and enjoyed a candle lit dinner on the beach.

Then it was off to the airport for 10 days in the North of Thailand, Chiang Mai!

Arriving at our hotel was something out of a fairy tale for Fraggy and I as we had not had the luxurious service that the Hotel Istana had to offer. As our taxi approached, a bell boy opened my door, took our bags and whisked them away. Now, first rule of backpacking is never let your bag out of sight, so we immediately started questioning what had just happened, but we had no choice as it had just gone. Dad came out to see us as Mum was checking in and assured us that this was the norm in these establishments so we were put to ease. Obviously they were more accustomed to this sort of service!

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Our room was gorgeous with fabulous views of the Petronas towers that really are the iconic symbol of KL. Mum and Dad got a duff room as there was no safe, the lights didn’t work and the bathroom door got jammed causing Dad to get stuck and ring for help. Despite all of this it was a lovely hotel and the staff could not be more helpful.

We all headed down to the pool to enjoy the last few rays of afternoon sun and feel slightly more refreshed as the humidity was a killer. Suddenly we all realised we hadn’t eaten since breakfast and it was now 5pm, and you could visibly see Fraggy wasting away, so we decided to rendezvous in an hour and find some good food. We found a great place near Petaling Street which serves the best chicken and chips in Malaysia…NANDO’S.

Now firstly I will explain Petaling Street and then I will carry on from there. Petaling Street is famous for its counterfeit goods ranging from Calvin Klein boxers to top quality (and I mean that) watches and tacky souvenirs and every stall is pretty much the same but for bargain hunters like us it is heaven.

So dinner tasted good but was served badly as they forgot Fraggy’s meal (do they not know who he is) and when Ma and I went to use the bathroom a mouse ran in front of us on the stairs so we paid the bill and left pronto. Although I will admit that like the picture says ‘the taste of Nando’s is the only thing you cannot fake on Petaling Street’.

Weaving in and out of the tiny stalls and shuffling along the narrow walkways was pretty much the pace of Petaling Street and all the stall vendors shouting, ‘come look I give you good price.’ Fraggy and I were ready to spend some dollar but we were reserved and just pursued the stalls and would venture back the next night. The stalls started closing around 10pm so we caught the cheapest taxi ever back to the hotel as we were off sightseeing again the next day.

Unfortunately we found out that we could not go up to the sky bridge of the Petronas Towers as it is being refurbished, bloody typical, so we changed our plans and headed up the KL Tower instead which was 10 minutes from our hotel. The lift takes 54 seconds to reach the top and Dad and Fraggy made sure that was true by timing it on the iPhone…GEEKS!

The view was pretty cool, seeing how big the city was and how it had changed in 5 years as there were pictures around the tower showing the difference. Basically if there was an open space a sky scraper has been built on it and made sure it was taller than the one next to it and all of the others around it.

As part of our ticket up the KL tower you got a free ‘experience’ and we all chose the F1 racing car experience which was really good fun. Mum won’t mind me saying that her and I were pretty rubbish where as Fraggy and Dad actually finished the race in a position, is there some stereotypical thing there or not?

After we took the MRT (which isn’t half as good as the Singapore MRT) to the old colonial area known as the Merdeka Sqauare. It was truly beautiful to see the grand buildings outlining the green pavilion that has its place in history of where the British Flag was taken down and the Malaysian one reinstated on 31^st August 1957 to demonstrate Malaysian gaining back its independence.

The humidity was melting us at this point and the clouds were getting darker and drawing in close so we hopped on the MRT back to the hotel and tried to use the pool but due to safety reasons for the impending storm they closed it. So we watched and heard the tropical storm from the comfort of our posh hotel room.

For dinner we thought we would eat at the Petronas Tower complex as we could not come all this way and not see the famous towers. I have to be honest here and say that they are definitely something to see, as they are so prominent and beautiful in the night sky. The towers were designed to symbolise strength and grace using geometric principles typified in Islamic architecture, they are 452m which is 88 stories high.

As Fraggy and I had some shopping to do in Petaling Street we left Ma and Pa in the cocktail bar at the hotel where they enjoyed the live band and fruity Singapore Slings on tap. Everything on the market was cheap, yet good quality and we ended up getting some right bargains, from Ralph Lauren T-shirts for $10 to a Chanel Purse for $15. Needless to say we will be back in the UK ‘labelled’ up to the max!

The next morning was an emotional one as we had to say goodbye to Ma and Pa, they were bound for Pennang by train and we were bound for Thailand by plane. We waved them off in their taxi and I was an absolute wreck for the entire day, poor Fraggy had a useless, emotional and quiet girlfriend to contend with.

The six days we spent with Ma and Pa was absolutely fabulous and is something I will definitely remember forever. It is quite surreal to think that the family was reunited all those thousands of miles away but brilliant to know that they got to share a tiny bit of our adventure with us. Next time we will see them is January, which if you think about it is only next month…eeek cue more tears, mainly from me!

I won’t lie to you but I have been waiting for this day for quite some time, because as the title of this blog suggests I was going to see my Mum and Dad after 6 months of not seeing them it was the longest we had been away from each other.

See all the photos from Singapore

After a slightly delayed flight and an hour long round the houses trip to our hostel we had finally touched base with Singapore. Our hostel was great, clean, centrally located and the staff were so friendly (Rucksack Inn2 if anyone needs somewhere to stay). We hopped on the 51 bus which cost us about 50p and dropped us right outside the hotel Mum and Dad were staying and let’s just say that the reunion was emotional. We went for a bite to eat, a quick catch up and then retired to our hotels as we were going to miss the last bus as they stopped at midnight and Mum and Dad were rather jet lagged after a 14 hour flight from Birmingham International.

Our first day in Singapore was a national holiday for the locals and Mum’s friend said that most places would be packed and suggested we visited the Marina Bay Sands hotel, so we did. We walked from their hotel to Chinatown and caught the MRT all the way there. Before I carry on I will just explain that all of our journeys around Singapore were made by MRT because it was so efficient and the air-conditioning was always welcomed as the humidity just melted you. So back to Marina Bay Sands, we followed the crowd towards the mighty building which is basically a boat built on three stilts (you will know what I am on about if you see the pictures).

We wondered along the waterfront to the 3^rd tower where you could get the lift up to the viewing deck at the top (for a price obviously). The view at the top was great and you could see how sprawled out this high rise city actually was. Dad and Fraggy tried to work out the F1 circuit by debating what the first corner was whilst Mum and I had a nose at the infinity pool located just around the corner from the viewing deck.

As we are all F1 fans we decided to check out the track which was free to walk around as it is all public roads anyway. To get to it you had to walk over the helix bridge which is quite a sight but even better when lit up at night. We reached the pit lane and the starting grid where Fraggy and Dad sat in first and second position dreaming of someday driving one of the cars.

We visited the Merlion which is opposite the Marina Sands Bay and it spouts water into the river quite elegantly. This is the symbol of Singapore and has the head of a lion and the body of a fish. It is the mascot of Singapore, the fish body represents Singapore’s origin as a fishing village when it was called Temasek, which means ‘sea town’ in Javanese. The lion head represents Singapore’s original name, Singapura meaning ‘lion city’.

That evening we went to visit Mum’s friend Janice who lives in a very nice neighbourhood and has a very nice house. Her housekeeper made a lovely light supper for us and we were supplied with a never ending supply of alcohol, it was a great evening.

The next morning we were all woken up early to the sounds of thunder rumbling for hours so Ma and Pa came over to our hostel to have a sticky beak (peak) and use the free Wi-Fi until the storm cleared which it did after a few hours. We had to collect our tickets for our train journey to Kuala Lumpur which as of September was at a new station and thank god we did a test run as it was about an hour by MRT to the station then a 20 minute bus ride to the checkpoint.

Anyway, we got our tickets, took the MRT back to the city and decided to wonder Orchard Road which is the best place someone with lots of money can go to shop. Gucci, Prada, Armani, and more Gucci line the super clean famous street. As it was nearing Christmas there were decorations everywhere, can you tell which one was my favourite?

That evening Fraggy and I treated Ma and Pa to dinner at a local hawker centre which is a massive warehouse dedicated to selling local fast food. Lau Pau Sat Market is the oldest Hawker centre in Singapore and they close a whole street at night and it becomes a dedicated satay street, all you can eat satay for dirt cheap prices.

Our last day in Singapore was a major sightseeing day starting off at Chinatown which is a wonderful place as if you look up above the souvenir shops you can still see evidence of the old Chinese houses. We reached the end of the street and came across a Hindu temple, cows lined the outside of the wall and as you stepped inside you were blinded by bright garish colours and figures that I can only assume from memory was Vishnu.

We headed further down the street to a Buddhist temple called Buddha tooth temple which is famous for having a 50cm solid gold Buddha on display. As we stepped inside there was a service going on which involved one or two Monks chanting and the congregation following. The more we listened the more soothing the chanting became. We ventured up to the roof top garden and for a temple that was in the middle of a busy city it was surprisingly calm and tranquil, a real breath of ‘fresh air’.

After we took the MRT via Dohby Ghaunt to the old Colonial town which we thought would be obvious but as Singapore grew and developed new high rise buildings were built alongside the old buildings giving a time warp feel to the area. Raffle’s was stood grandly in front of us so we decided to go as near to the entrance as possible without getting told off. For Mum I think it was a real ‘I am in Singapore’ moment as I have never really seen her so memorised by a fabulous building. Unfortunately we saw a dark cloud beckoning and felt a few big splodges of ran so we took cover at the Long Bar within the Raffle’s complex and had a few cheeky cocktails and threw our monkey nuts shells on the floor.

For dinner we headed to the waterfront and had a lovely meal looking towards the Marina Bay Sands. This meal was absolutely delicious and has to be some of the best food we have tasted on our travels. We were in time for the laser show projected from the MBS which was mediocre at best, but we all agreed that we had seen something similar in Vegas and it just doesn’t compare.

The following morning Fraggy and I took a taxi from our hostel to Ma and Pa’s hotel to pick them up as we were due to get the train to KL. We arrived in plenty of time and went through Malaysian customs on the Singapore side which would save us having to busy around doing it at the other end. Mum and Dad booked us all in first class as it had aircon and to be honest that was the best thing about it. The coach was quite dated and wasn’t 100% but it was only for 7 hours which we all slept for half of it. The train passed through acres of banana, sugar cane and papaw plantations as well as native villages along the way.

As we got closer to the city you could see the surroundings starting to build up, and as we got even closer we spotted our first glimpse of the Petronas Towers, which confirmed that we had arrived in Kuala Lumpur!