Koh Chang - White Sands beach

We left Bangkok the next morning and took a very stylish PINK taxi to Koh Chang (just the 6 hours!). We thought it safer to travel alone than risk being in a confined space (bus or plane) with many other people. I don't think our taxi driver had been out of Bangkok before and took lots of photos of the ferry and the sea.

Our hotel is lovely and although not on the beach it is very close

We had an evening meal seated on the beach (delicious barbequed snapper) and watched some young boys dance with fire

Yesterday it rained almost all day so we went for a walk and look what I found along the high street - unbelievable!

As we couldn't do much we decided to spoil ourselves and have a massage, it cost £6 for an hour - I would have one every day but I feel a bit bruised today, I had so many knots in my shoulders! Maybe I'll get my feet done, it's so hard to resist........

The only birds I have seen are a few drenched pigeons, crows and minor birds so I'm not holding my breath, sorry Mandy

Over the last couple of days we have had sunshine and as we are barely moving at all (sunbathing and snoozing doesn't take much effort!) we have started a regime of going to the rooftop pool in the morning and doing a few lengths (I'm increasing by 2 lengths every day but I'm not telling you how long the pool is - I have too many friends that think swimming a couple of miles is nothing!). In the afternoon we sit under a tree on the beach and read - how nice is that? We have to make the most of it as we will be very busy on our next stop which is an Intrepid trip touring Sri Lanka - there will be no slobbing about there I can assure you.

The main street that runs parallel to the beach

The beach

Sunset from my balcony

Yesterday I managed to force myself to have a pedicure and foot massage - horrible I know but it had to be done. That cost £12 - I am seriously considering getting a Thai housekeeper who can look after me in my dotage! Actually there is a scene here where there are a lot of middle aged/old white men with beautiful Thai women on their arms. In fact we went to a bar next to our hotel where there was a live band the other night and before we knew it we had 2 women chatting to us and we were buying them drinks and playing pool (they worked in the bar). We had a lovely time but what a way to earn a crust. Both of them had children living with their parents (not in Koh Chang) - at least we just chatted and played pool and they were safe with us for one evening

By the way, I have changed the habit of a lifetime, I am now addicted to Thai curry for breakfast - especially duck red curry, it's delicious

On Sunday 1st March my nephew Oliver and his wife Gemma had a beautiful daughter called Matilda - congratulations and lots of love XXX

Today we had a bit of a drama as Denise had been suffering from a toothache for the last couple of days so she went to the dentist (our hotel manager Henry was extremely helpful) only to find she had an infection in her root canal. She decided to have the tooth out as treatment would have been difficult and might not work. She recovered this afternoon by relaxing on the beach with an ice pack. I took a photo of her but was under strict instructions to exclude the tits and include the tat. She had a Koi Carp to replace the previous one which she didn't like, whilst in Melbourne

Oh and the sea here is warm - it must be at least body temperature, it's soooo lovely. Tomorrow is our last day here before we head back to Bangkok and the forecast is thunder and lightening, hopefully it will blow over by the afternoon.........

Bangkok

Amy (bless her) volunteered to pick me up at 6am for our flight to Bangkok! I was a bit shocked when she turned up at 5.35am but, believe it or not, apart from putting the rubbish out, I was ready to go (a bleary eyed Denise was already in the car). Thanks to Amy we were able to get the 7.15am flight to Sydney, instead of the 8am. This meant we had nearly 2 hours to get to the international terminal instead of just the one - phew!! and hurrah...I was able to hand in my tax documents for the ring I bought and actually wear it. The flight to Bankok, which was nearly 6 hours was uneventful except we were more aware of the Corona virus as many people were wearing masks. We had decided not to bother as they are pretty ineffective but we are up to our eyeballs in hand gel and have the most hygenic hands in Thailand - we have been getting quite a few stares though as Denise has got a hacking cough that she caught in Melbourne (no fever though!)
We only had one full day in Bangkok, which to be honest was enough as the sky was thick with a dark grey smog, so we made the most of it. The hotel had a free tuk tuk which took us to the Palace (no Denise didn't drive!)

When we got out of the tuk tuk a man in the street advised us that the palace wasn't open until 11am and sent us off to the river where we got on a boat and went around the backwaters of Bangkok - it was fascinating and something we would never have done if it wasn't for him

We had to go through a lock

Look at that for a fancy engine

I only spotted one type of bird, but look what's

in the backgound - it's a water monitor lizard

- No wonder no-one was swimming in there!

Bangkok skyline (with smog)

The boat dropped us off at the Palace where we donned our sarongs and went in - what an incredible place, the quantity and quality of all the buildings and decorations - I was quite taken aback. The Palace was established in 1782 and consists of the royal residence, throne halls, government offices, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and many statues. It covers an area of 218,000 square metres.

An unusual bird for you Mandy

The trees were exquisitely manicured

The birds enjoyed the offerings

Our ticket also included free transport and entrance to The Khon performance at Sala Chalermkrung Royal Theatre. This show is staged to follow the footsteps of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkom in preserving and carrying forward the nation's high art form of classical dance. It was a most enjoyable performance with excellent scenery and exquisite costumes - a lovely way to end our cultural activities.

After the show we headed back to the hotel in a tuk tuk for a pre dinner cool-off in the pool, which was well needed as it had been extremely hot all day

Can you see us?

That night we had arranged to see an old friend of mine, Jaki, who I haven't seen for years despite living only a few miles apart (Denise organised it). We met her and her wife Veerada at a restaurant called Cabbages and Condoms - an unusual name for a restaurant don't you think? Anyway it had a very important 30 year history which was to promote better understanding and acceptance of family planning and all profits go to support development activities of the Population and Community Development Association (PDA). All decorations that you see in the next few photos are made from condoms! (the message couldn't have been clearer)