Tuesday 31 January 2012

Mount Bromo...

After a long journey across Java, we eventually arrived late at night to Mount Bromo. As we where staying in a homestay, we where ferried up the volcano chugging away in a bus that remarkably resembled the Scooby-Doo Bus! As we chugged along, we ventured further into the clouds, quite high up that you instantly felt the cold chill in the air as looked down into the white mist. Once we reached our basic cabin, we went to the local village hall for a nice cup of tea before bed, then went over what was going to happen once we woke up. 


The coldness in the air was something new to us, it instantly caught your body and you felt the chill from your nose all the way to your toes. In a way, this is the closest feeling of home I have felt, in terms of weather. As we where so high up in altitude, it was difficult to get warm, therefore, I became five sizes bigger as I piled on the layer upon layer to insulate myself. We even opted to buy two wooley hats from a local seller. We justified the buy, as saying to ourselves it will be good to use in future for when we head to NZ. Plus, we needed it on the trek and the early morning journey to keep ourselves warm. We settled into bed around 10am, I felt bad as I hadn't had the chance to actually buy John anything for his birthday. So while he got ready for bed, I composed a small poem and created a little birthday card for him to open in the morning. Once we where snuggled in the tiny cot of a bed, it was still super cold, I even slept with two pairs on socks on! As the alarm clock buzzed at 3am, I sleepily dragged myself up and sang 'Happy Birthday' to John. Then, we had to get ourselves ready and the jeep collected us just before 4am, this was the start of the trek. 


The jeep rummaged upwards on the volcano, then it stops at a base level, the rest you have to trek up, at this time we are still in darkness. It was a great experience, the lovely cold air smothering you as you trudge up the hill and await the sunrise to follow. Once at the top of the viewpoint, reaching 2770m in the sky, there are only a small number of people and a couple local villagers who have somehow managed to set up a shop selling fruit and hot tea and coffee. The viewpoint overlooks three volcano's, Mount Bromo, Tengger and the last and most spectacular Semeru. The Semeru is still smoking and displays a spellbinding picture bursting through above the clouds. Everybody waits and the feeling of anticipation that filters through the air is electric. I felt calm, relaxed and happy, this was an amazing place to be at sunrise and one that I will never forget. As the sun began to rise slowly, the sky grew lighter in colour and the presence of the landscape began to appear. We took some pictures, then spent most of the time enjoying a local cup of tea, sitting and just watching the volcano's in the distance. Everywhere you look the landscape is beautiful and I ensured I spent the time taking it all in. 


As the time rode on, we headed back down towards the jeep just before 7am, then we ventured across the land over to Mount Bromo. At the base the jeep drops you off, then you hike across the elevating hill and hike up the crater of Bromo itself. This was a tough walk up the crater but most definitely worth it. As I reached the top of the steps climbing up the crater, the sight of the inside of the volcano and the wide circumference of the volcano was mesmerising. The inside of the volcano almost looks like a round green lake, when you look closely you can see small whispers of smoke lifting through. The land is a sullen blackish brown colour and when you look across the landscape you almost feel as though you are on Mars. There is quietness that surrounds the land, everything is calm and seems untouched. The baron colour and whisps of smoke and sands makes it almost eerie in ambiance. You have to be really careful with your footing, as the edges of the crater is quite narrow and one false move and I may be sizzling in that luscious green lake below. We spent some time sitting on the edge of the crater, looking down into the ibis of the lava hiding underground, thinking about this natural feature growing from our earth. After reflecting on the whole experience of Mount Bromo, we felt content, happy and truly inspired by this natural active volcano. We then headed back to base and the jeep ferried us back to the homestay. 


Here we enjoyed breakfast, more tea and had time to take in the last sights of Mount Bromo. Then, it was time to pack and get ourselves ready for the journey to Bali. Feeling happy and fulfilled by the magical sights we had seen, we now looked forward to exploring Bali and taking our time to get to know the island and enjoy the 'Balinese' culture. So, for John's birthday, he expressed it was one of the best things to wake up and do, something I know both of us will always remember and cherish when thinking back to the smoldering landscape across the famous 'Mount Bromo'...


As darkness lifts, the clouds smolder through...

The sky grows lighter and our view appears...

The landscape is enchanting to observe...

Admiring the three active volcano's

Overlooking the vast landscape...

The smokey volcano in the distance...

Feeling the morning chill and staying warm in my new hat...

The sun is slowly appearing...

Observing the sun in the distance...

Enjoying our morning tea and coffee..

Enjoying my cuppa on top of the viewpoint...

Hello mr sunshine...

Walking across the base of Mount Bromo...

Trekking upwards towards the crater...

Peering into the abyss...

Birthday Boy!!

On the edge of the crater on Mount Bromo...

Admiring the landscape, it almost feels like Mars...

Taking in the sights of the active volcano's...

Immersing myself in the clouds...

The enchanted landscape that was a magnificent experience for me...

Sunday 29 January 2012

Jakarta to Jogja...

As I arrived safely and soundly into the hustle and bustle of Jakarta, I touched down in the evening air, filled with darkness, noise, life and non-stop hassle. Well...sometimes hassle is a good thing, I think it gives the experience more motion and my answer to it 'smile and keep on walking', always seems to work for me. When your tired, hot and sweaty and almost frustrated walking down narrow streets of Jakarta city centre, all you can do is smile and I always start singing a little song to myself, knowing that soon enough I will be happy in a room, sitting down and relaxed. We managed to barter a room for the one night we where staying and then ventured out to catch a bite to eat on the street. As it was getting late, we managed to doze off to sleep around 1am and we woke up not so fresh as a daisy at 5am in order to catch our train to travel across the country of Java. Jakarta is vibrant and never seems to sleep, however, in ways it reminds me so much of Mumbai and the madness that goes with it. There is a great deal of poverty here, the land is not so clean and certain streets, more or less the place we stayed in was rather 'seedy'. Why use such language you may ask, as I woke at 5am I could here from the next room, a lady of the night leaving with her male companion! That's the sort of place we where staying in, can't really complain though, we had our own bathroom with a real toilet, not squat and it was cheap, good enough for me. 


So, as we headed out in the bristle of dawn, we flagged a tuk tuk ride to the train station, then at the train station, we somehow worked out which platform to go to and awaited our train. We ended up chatting to two Indonesian woman who gave us the advise of 'Hati Hati' which is beware, as many people pickpocket or try to rob you at this train station. I literally sat on my backpack on the floor and did not move until the train arrived. Well, when it did arrive an hour late, this is normal in Indonesia, almost reminiscent of Indian train times. We boarded our 'business class' seats, which was a wooden bench for two people to sit on and a window which air could filter through, I dread to think what economy class looked like. We settled in for the ride, then realising we where the only non Indonesian people on this whole train, was a funny experience. As I said, I always like to do what the locals do and how they travel. Every stop the train makes, so many sellers hop on the train trying to sell everything from food, drinks to toys and plants! We ended up chatting to the people around us and managed to learn words in Indonesian and the guy who was next to us loved The Beatles, so next minute he is blasting out Beatles songs from his phone and singing along, was a memorable experience. 


After 9 hours on the train, we arrived into Yogyakarta, which is otherwise known as Jogja. We settled in a lovely homestay called Utar. It was family run, where the grandma made breakfast, the children served the breakfast, the father cleaned the rooms and the mother sorted all the washing. After a night there, we where chatting to the owner and he explained he was the 'Secretary to The President of Indonesia' through the week and in the evenings and weekends he helped out at home. Now I realised why every picture around the place was of the Presidential Palace in Yogyakarta or of important people in uniform. They where a lovely family who gave us lots of information and assisted us in getting to our next destination. While staying in Yogyakarta for a few days, we headed out in the city. We explored the sights and wandered around the endless street markets they have here. Reflecting on this city, it oozes arts, every corner is filled with artwork and they actively promote creating art or being musical or performing in anyway. I looked back to one morning we spent looking round a gallery, it was university students work and the tutor explained what they do here and also how its a really free, open and supportive community. This is something I appreciated and admire, as the Indonesian people take huge pride on their arts, not only representing themselves but also their culture, country and national identity. 


After we had rested enough in Yogyakarta, we booked to venture over to a place called 'Ganung Bromo or as we know Mount Bromo'. This is a vast active volcano that is situation in the East of Java. We worked it so that we could arrive at Bromo then do the trek to the viewpoint and also to the crater of Bromo on the morning of John's birthday. This would be a brilliant way to spend his birthday and one to remember. So, with the excitement growing with this new adventure, we quickly booked to head over there and finally said our farewells to the lovely family in Yogyakarta. All I needed to do now is sleep and await my 12 hour bus ride to get there...


Shattered and fatigue in Jakarta...more one beer will help me sleep!

The secretary to the President of Indonesia...oh and our homestay owner

Walking around the spacious Palace of Yogyakarta

Saying hello to the wildlife in the cage...

Hitching a ride back into town

John taking over and offering a lift...this may be his new profession 'Cyclo Taxi'

It's harder than it looks...those where the words of John offering rides around the block

Friday 27 January 2012

Singapore....

Hello Singapore! It's amazing how such a small and concise island can how so much influence, power and wealth within South east Asia. It is not so big and can be explored within a day or two. As we crossed the border out of Malaysia, we greeted the overcast skies and vast humidity with open smiles. Arriving just before dusk, we ventured into the suburb of 'Little India', known for its metropolis of cheap accommodation, delicious eateries, most being of Indian origin and accessible distance into the heart of the city. 

Our original plan was to somehow work out how to get the boat across from here to Indonesia in the next day or so, well that proved an interesting topic. When we spoke to lots of people about the journey by boat, they each grew a strange unearthly smile. This was because the journey was in fact by a huge shipping container type boat that crossed from Singapore through to Jakarta and the epic journey would last at least 30 hours. This journey entailed you sleeping side by side in one big hall next to 300 local people, queing as cattle class for food and all sharing 2 toilets. My initial response was perhaps not a positive one. Everybody we spoke to urged us to book a flight across and vowed we would be thankful for it. I evidently enquired about the cost of the boat and to weigh up our options, as I dug deeper into research, it all became apparent that the cost was merely the same for both means of travel. So, do I spend the 30+ hours on the shipping container boat, which I do have to say would have been an 'experience' for me, or do I opt for the practical and easy option of flying. We opted to think it over for a day and then settle on a decision in the morning, the more people we spoke to about the journey the more I was being pushed into flying. I heard many stories of minimal safety, people being robbed while they slept and also the boat itself didn't have the greatest safety record. Three days before, a shipping container boat had sank doing the same route we where going to be doing, luckily all crew managed to survive and the next boat that was following the same route managed to turn back to land and not be swept under in the thunderstorms that where occuring that week. This inadvertently finalised my decision to fly, for fear of becoming the next 'Rose' in Titanic 3! 

Once our flights where booked, we had another 2 days to enjoy Singapore on as much as a budget we could, this is one expensive place. In terms of European standards, its probably the same costs of back home in England, however after spending the past 6months in India and most of South East Asia, I felt this economy burn within my purse. Our days where spent wandering the city, taking in the local architecture and meeting people. We ensured we had some time to relax, eat some local food and catch up on some reading. Singapore is a vibrant city and is very forward thinking in the approach to its own society. Here, they are always looking at ways to improve the place, as it has minimal rubbish and the strict laws and rules across the place is clear. It is known as 'fine city', as there seems to be fines for everything, from littering, smoking in public to the more absurd of jaywalking, chewing gum being illegal, dancing or speaking out in public without a license. All sounds a bit crazy, but I found the the people of Singapore are more proud and obedient to these rules in a sense to keep order and harmony among the influx of diverse people that live within its land. 


As our flight approached, I was more so excited about travelling by aeroplane again, its been a while since I'd used this means of transport. Also, I wanted to be open and showed excited to see what Indonesia was like. I braced myself for the rumble of Jakarta but became more focused on looking forward to travelling across Java, exploring the open lands, local people and embracing Indonesia's culture. Looking back upon my decision to fly, should I have easily succumbed to opt to fly or should I have took the slow journey and the 'experience' of a large scale vessel across the seas in the thunderstorm. Who am I kidding, I have the worst travel sickness going and with all the travels I have carried out recently across Malaysia and going to be doing across Java, I quietly reflect to myself... yes Laura you chose wisely!

Walking around Singapore

I think Singapore displays good objectives when it comes to policies, education & the arts

Overlooking the Harbour in the evening

Taking in the sights of the colourful skyline of Singapore






Wednesday 18 January 2012

Melaka...majestic lanterns & mini markets...

Arriving into Melaka Sentral was a smooth and comfortable ride. We ventured through the station and hopped onto the local bus to head towards the town square and more importantly Chinatown, the area we had decided to stay. As we departed the bus in the centre of town, the first thing that hits you is the traditional colonial feel that this place holds. The 'British' influence is grand, this is observed through many of the old buildings architecture and style, the side of road that is driven on in Malaysia and most shockingly or more so to me it was....Malaysia has English plug sockets!! It's sometimes the small things I am most fascinated by and this was one of them. Melaka is a very traditional town, life is no rush and Chinatown is graced with narrow streets which display beautiful lanterns hanging outside every persons home. 


We randomly bumped into an English guy who offered to show us a room, as we where just wandering along looking for a place to stay. The place was called Jalan Jalan and it was very bohemian yet simple. I loved it. The uber artistic atmosphere that oozed along the walls, the open area had a huge creamy couch where you could lounge and read a book. There was facilities to browse the internet, listen to music, read from the mini library and most of all relax. The room was quite modern and we overlooked the street, with a huge rectangular window that allowed the gusty wind to cool and ventilate the room. We ventured into the evening with many others staying at Jalan Jalan, we opted to walk a small distance until we reached a busy restaurant. This restaurant was filled with many locals, a sign that it is god cooking and most of all friendly staff. We ate at Puk Petra Restaurant, this was a Pakistani restaurant that offered spicy, mild and homemade Melaka cuisine. I opted to eat a curry and it was super tasty and delicious, a pleasant evening had by all. The next day we explored Melaka, taking in the sights and ambiance that filled this whole enchanted town. The evening involved visiting the main market which was situation in the heart of the town, you had stalls filled with foods, clothes, random items and even entertainment. There was a stage where locals performed, ensuring all the crowd became involved, I observed from the back, soaking in the sights and sensations of the true Melaka experience. 


I could have easily have stayed longer in this small majestic town, however, with time permitting slightly on my travels, the decision was made to venture to Singapore. After enjoying breakfast, it was back to Melaka Sentral to hop on a bus to Singapore. As we got there, the Chinese woman was quickly ushering us to outside the station, here we realised that she had called the bus that had left 5mins ago back to pick us up, otherwise we would have had to wait 5 hours for the next bus. We thanked both her and the driver immensely and scooped ourselves into the nearest available seats. The driver was friendly and ensured we had a safe journey down to Singapore, as we ventured to both sides of immigration, he explained everything to us and even kept a look out and waved to us, once he would spot us in the crowd. A nice genuine guy who wants to help you, makes you feel safer and happier in your journey. As the rain crashed along the windows of the bus, I became excited and also intrigued to see what Singapore, an even more diverse and affluent country has to offer...


Wandering around the town of Melaka

Eating some local street food...tasty!

The colourful and imaginative tuk tuk's around town

Having a browse through the market

I do love a 'bargain'!!

On the way into the museum, with the brightly painted walls

A famous statue in town...weighing up my buffness!

Heading home, onto the street we live on

Outside the front door, this captures the essence and beauty of Melaka way of life

Friday 13 January 2012

Kuala Lumpur or KL as I now refer...

I arrived into Kuala Lumpur feeling sleepy yet with a hint of excitement as the bus dropped us into the centre, which even at 3.30am hustled and bustled with life. The journey South from Thailand ended up taking us around 16 hours, but it was a comfortable journey with lovely people who looked after us on the journey down. When we departed the bus, the first element that overwhelmed me was the vast concrete skyscrapers that filled this vibrant city. Everything has a feel of contemporary and modern architecture flushes through the skies of KL. As we didn't want to pay for a nights accommodation by arriving at 4am, we opted to throw ourselves into the only cafe type of place open, good ole McDonald's!! We ventured upstairs with our backpacks on and armed with a fresh cup of tea and coffee, only to be met by ten other backpack type of travelers doing the exact thing we where doing, I see here great minds think alike. The time passed quickly, by the time I had a read and enjoyed my cup of tea, we headed over to a hostel around 7am. Here, we checked in to a tiny cube shaped room, which literally only had space for the small double. The mattress was as thick as a baby changing mat and you could feel every piece of the metal frame of the bed underneath it. Surprisingly, we where able to crash out into our cot and have a good couple of hours sleep before we began our adventure around the city. 


When we awoke, the guesthouse was filled with life and unusual smells. The hostel is owned by a Chinese family and the reception area has its own aquarium, filled with two small turtles and huge fish, was an interesting place to stay. Outside, the sun was shining and the humidity clung to my skin as tight as it could, within a couple of minutes you already feel fatigue and the sweltering heat as it drips you of energy. We explored the city, moving through Chinatown, through to Little India, managing to stop off for a curry lunch. We sat in the city centre park and took in the big city surrounding us, I really like the fact that KL tries to ensure there is still open spaces of nature, even in this concrete clad city. The evening was spent on the rooftop of our hostel overlooking the majestic landscape and finally having a wander through the night market below. The infusion of sights, smells and seriously good bargains was a brilliant way to end my evening. 


The next day we ventured through the city again, making our way over to the Petronas Towers, this is a famous landmark within KL. The sheer presence and power they project is overwhelming, it is a beautiful building, filling the sky with an inspiring shape that almost compliments KL as a city. I spent the next 30 minutes standing outside staring up towards the sky, amazed by the buildings and how cool they are to see. Inside, we ventured into a shopping mall, there are over a 100 shopping malls with plenty of brands covering this diverse city. As the afternoon followed, we headed back to the hostel, collected our backpack and made way for our journey heading to Melaka. Even the journey to the main station is super efficient, the people are so friendly and helpful and the bus station is magnificent. Sounds almost plausible to say how great a bus station is...I must stress it is a beauty! The place was amazingly clean, open and contemporary and it ran efficiently and all on time, with a bus departing every 3minutes, I left as a customer highly satisfied. Therefore, my journey through Kuala Lumpur has come to an end, a diverse city that has many people of all backgrounds (Indian,Chinese & Malay population) living and working together. The city boasts so much nature and yet smart, constructive architecture of buildings that swarm through the air, making KL a city that I thoroughly enjoyed. As I jostle along the highway, eagerly awaiting the coastal town of Melaka...


Enjoying the humidity of Kuala Lumpur

Needing a cool down after walking all day long

Standing on the old cricket pitch in Kuala Lumpur

The inspiring power of the Petronas Towers

Inside one of a 1000 shopping malls in the city

Having a rest after exploring the whole of Kuala Lumpur on foot

Monday 2 January 2012

Khoa Sok, Koh Phi Phi, Railay...then it's hello Malaysia...

Venturing back on the boat to the mainland from Koh Tao was not as bad as I'd anticipated, I awaited the array of crashing waves, wild winds and swooshing swarms of motion sickness to hit me like a bat. Luckily, it was smooth (ish) and not too bad at all. The journey itself was quite a long trip, leaving Koh Tao at 9am and not reaching Khao Sok National Park until 8.30pm at night. As we arrived in darkness, we settled into a decent enough place called the 'Jungle Hut', it was literally in the jungle, tucked away in a winding tiny track along the jungle. The next day, I was able to take everything in around me, the surroundings, the smells, the sounds...everything. This place was vast in size and enormous in beauty. There was lush green coating that smothered the mountains and around the mountains you had stumps of gigantic karst cliffs that overpowered the small village. Our days in Khao Sok where spent walking through the National Park, visiting lots of small waterfalls, engaging with lots of wildlife, even not intentionally, as they tended to engage directly with you. I shall expand on this point...one morning, I was awoken by a tapping sound on the window and strange noises on the roof, as I looked out, there was a family of monkeys hopping on our bungalow, ravaging anything they could get their hands upon. The monkeys didn't seem too aggressive, however, with jungle or any wild monkey you always have to be cautious and keep your distance. It was brilliant as looking out the window, one monkey popped up and looked back a me through the window, in an almost telepathic way, I was communicating, moving my head up and then the monkey followed and then moving my hand and then the monkey followed, such a brilliant experience. Other wildlife that engaged upon us, as I was going to sleep one night, a mouse was running around the walls inside the bungalow, we had two juicy cockroaches living in the bathroom, a military unit of ants which where each around 2cm in size living all over the place. On the way back to the room one night, a large group of bats swarmed through the tree's, so you had to slowly work your way through the flying creatures in order to reach my room. While I adore nature, this was definitely a trip where I lived with nature side by side up in the jungle huts.

After chilling and spending some time in the National Park, we headed to Koh Phi Phi, the paradise island and beautiful beaches for Christmas. Around this area is where the famous film 'The Beach' was filmed and the scenic beauty is clear; the luxurious green sea glistening in the bay, the mountains enclosing with lush greenary and the smooth golden sands to spend my days is what this place has to offer. Koh Phi Phi is a tourist resort, so there are plenty of restaurants, guesthouses and most of all a buzzing nightlife. There are many bars in the small town and the night follows as everybody heads to the beach to worship the fireshows and downing the buckets. We enjoyed Christmas Eve doing just this, having lots of fun, laughs, I even ended up doing press-ups with people from Newcastle, something that I am known and moreso prone to do, during night's out with alcohol, you could even describe it as a 'party piece'! I must admit, the fitness had diminished over the past 5months, therefore, I achieved only 10 pressups, back in the day...I could easily do 50, how times change! Christmas Day was spent mostly recovering...then me and John noticed that Santa had paid us a visit all the way over to Koh Phi Phi. Therefore, we managed to open our presents around 3pm and ventured out for dinner around 4pm, we opted for a quiet evening, therefore, indulged in snacks and watched a brilliant film called 'The King's Speech' on good ole HBO. For me, this was a perfect end to my Christmas Day!

The next few days where spent taking it easy and relaxing on the island. As it is a resort style place, the island was swarming with tourists. We have found this a bit too touristy for us, therefore, opted to head over to a smaller, more chilled place called Railay to enjoy New Year. Railay is a beautiful place, surrounded my karst cliffs which are a rock climbers dream. We opted to stay on Tonsai, just further North, a lot more chilled and calm vibe happening. We originally planned to stay up West, however, as we arrived late in the day, all the guesthouses on the whole place was full or at an extortionate prices. We evidently hitched a ride by a fisherman in his boat over to Tonsai, where we hiked up the jungle hill and begged each guesthouse to offer us something. Finally, as the night was filled with darkness and plenty of blood sucking mosquito's, we found something. I say 'something' loosely as it was basically a mattress on a floor in a room with holes as windows and a door hanging on for dear life. As I was so tired at this point and fatigue from all the stress of finding somewhere to stay, we thanked the owner and whipped it up straight away. We felt so happy having found a place to sleep for the night. Thankfully, the next day we booked into another accommodation, where we had a real bed and our own toilet, I felt as though I'd checked into a 5* place, having my own toilet and running ice cold shower, marvelous! We spent the days lounging on the beach, paddling in the deep green sea, surrounded by amazing cliffs and climbing routes, I watched many times in awe the climbers wrangle and hitch their way up the mountains. As New Year approached, we opted to have a traditional Thai curry then head to the beach, where the shack bars are an array of reggae/rasta style colours and in each place you can find a Bob Marley song blasting into the darkness. We welcomed the New Year with laughter, smiles and so much fun, looking out into the sea, as many fire lanterns lit the sky and fireworks exploded to display amazing colours and formations. The rest of the night entailed dancing to a brilliant Thai Reggae Band, who played everything from The Beatles to Spice Girls...reggae style, superb! 


As we awoke on New Year's Day, the heaven's welcomed us to 2012 with a huge amount of rainfall. It literally did not stop raining for 12 hours, we now have the news that nobody can head South and cross the border to Malaysia, as the Southern Province is flooded. So, we have decided to come to Krabi Town and wait here chilling for a few days and grow even more excitement for our next adventure to Malaysia. I have enjoyed this roller-coaster of a ride in Thailand, I have embraced so many beautiful places, met some very interesting people and tasted some of the most delicious curries in the world (I highly recommend Thai Green Curry!) However, the time had now arrived where I feel ready to move further on the adventure and explore a new country...the Magestic Malaysia awaits me!


On our first walk through Khao Sok National Park

Dressed in my jungle attire...

A spider saying hello outside my door

Mother and baby monkey heading home after paying me a visit

A baby gecko in a lamp shade


The view from my jungle hut over the National Park


Koh Phi Phi, overlooking the whole island

Brisk walk along the beach on Koh Phi Phi

Enjoying being in the sunshine, adoring the beautiful island...


Yey...Santa's been!! 
Feeling delicate on Christmas Day! Loving my new present 'Beatles Top' 

Enjoying some brunch in Koh Phi Phi
The beautiful place of Railay


Our 5* luxury guesthouse! This is the most the door will close, good enough for me.
John playing bass with the Reggae Band on New Year's Eve

Me and Nancy enjoying the party on New Year's Eve

As the party rolled on, we all danced, laughed and had fun to welcome in the New Year


Happy New Year, welcome 2012!! My view on Railay Beach
Awaiting my journey to Malaysia, tucking into some insects in Krabi...yum yum!